The legs definitely felt heavy as the rollout from Court Square began on Stage 4 but spirits remained high within the group. Almost immediately after leaving I had some fresh legs coming up and talk smack, the Men's Leader jersey definitely comes with some weight. The first KOM of the day over Mole Hill came only 30 minutes into the ride. Seriously harsh. I'm not warmed up before an hour ever, especially with all the junk in my legs. Mr. Fresh Legs Smack attacked and took the points and threw them in the air where they vanished before Dan and I came over for 2nd and 3rd with Charlie Snyder and a single speeder grabbed the final points. We continued our PP for another half hour before the sprint line was set up. Sitting on Fawley's wheel the whole way I rode past him and his lead out man to take the win only to hear him complain about it for the next 20 minutes. Following me was Reuben (Fresh Legs Smack), then Bryan Fawley, Dan Atkins, and Charlie Snyder rounding out the points. More PP would finally lead us to the first race section 90 minutes into the day. The race section was simple, up up up followed by a quick super D down and a gravel road smash to the finish line filled with food, soda, and beer.
The climb started very gently with a huge group staying together, the heavy legs were getting to everyone. The singlespeeders in the group actually gapped everyone else just to keep the pedals spinning. Eventually the gravel switched to double track through the forest. While the climb was the longest straight climb of the tour it was also one of the most beautiful. Just rolling through the fresh green woods. Dan and I created a gap more just to keep moving forward than anything else. I was just happy to not have to hike a bike across the entire ridge. Some seriously steep stuff at the end still had me off my bike but it wasn't bad. I cautiously made my way down the Super D timed section before smashing the gravel...it's sooooo good!!!! I've learned my descending lessons within the le Tour, who knows when a log or a nasty switchback will cause significant issues, better safe than sorry. Andrew Moore joined me from UVa for the last two days found this out the hard way. The guy that "never crashes" found one of those hidden logs and hit it pretty hard bending his derailleur all the way into his wheel. A quick derailleur hanger swap and some food and he was ready to go again. Finally we made it to the best support group in cycling...these ladies were killing it all week! I couldn't thank them enough. They even made me an awesome custom sandwich, feeling special. THANKS!!!!!
Stage 4 Segment 1:
Bryan Lewis: 55:07
Dan Wolfe: +:14
Bryan Fawley: +2:28
Charlie Snyder: +4:24
Chris Scott: +4:37
Super D:
Sam Skidmore: 10:41
Ian Beckner: +:18
Frank Dubec: +:20
Bryan Fawley: +:41
Chris Scott: +:44
Stage 4 Segment 1:
Bryan Lewis: 55:07
Dan Wolfe: +:14
Bryan Fawley: +2:28
Charlie Snyder: +4:24
Chris Scott: +4:37
Super D:
Sam Skidmore: 10:41
Ian Beckner: +:18
Frank Dubec: +:20
Bryan Fawley: +:41
Chris Scott: +:44
After the re-fuel stop the slumming began with a trudge up toward the top of Reddish Knob again. A long single track climb was followed by more constantly uphill double track riding. Unlike Stage 2 this seemed much more enjoyable, probably caused by the constant views off either side of the ridge. It was just too good. A group of us rallied across the ridge, fairly quiet considering, but le Tour does wear on you and it was wearing on us, even at the front. We finally made it to Reddish Knob to be accompanied by a reverse GC order ITT down from the top of Reddish starting with a nasty set of stairs that many didn't ride and promptly got a squirt gun to the head. I decided to take Chris Wiles's favorite line to heart and give it a go, it was way sketchier than some of the earlier guys made it seem but I survived and began a rip roaring descent. And hey, "bikes are for riding", something le Tour only takes so seriously.
The descent from Reddish was unbelievable. It had everything, some steep spots, some rocks, some serious flow at the bottom, a little bit of pedaling. If it weren't for that thunderous descent on day 2 it would have been the best descent of le Tour. Rough life when you have two descent like that in 3 days. Harrisonburg was killing it! The Blur reminded me why 26" bikes are still the fun of the party, hanging off the back I went flying down the hill and enjoying every minute. I dropped my chain 3 times and unfortunately the 3rd time was the charm. By charm I mean a broken rear derailleur. I lost a little bit of time but no worries. Jeff got it fixed up enough to get me home. I ended up doing well on the stage since there was just enough climbing to keep me close. The Super D was a different story, but those guys are just on another level. Bryan Fawley caught his first bad luck of the week as he flatted on the section where he was hoping to put some time back into Dan Wolfe in the GC. Chris Scott had the perfect combination of quick descending and hard pedaling and took his first stage victory of le Tour.
Stage 4 Segment 2:
Chris Scott: 38:49 **Yes it was 40 minutes of descending, yes it's as good as it sounds
Ian Beckner: +:20
Sam Skidmore: +:51
Bryan Lewis: +1:39
Charlie Snyder: +1:42
Super D
Sam Skidmore: 23:04
Ian Beckner: +:14
Bryan Fawley: +:18
Chris Scott: +:38
Zach Morrey: +:49
Stage 4 Segment 2:
Chris Scott: 38:49 **Yes it was 40 minutes of descending, yes it's as good as it sounds
Ian Beckner: +:20
Sam Skidmore: +:51
Bryan Lewis: +1:39
Charlie Snyder: +1:42
Super D
Sam Skidmore: 23:04
Ian Beckner: +:14
Bryan Fawley: +:18
Chris Scott: +:38
Zach Morrey: +:49
After the derailleur fix we headed back on the same roads as yesterday from Reddish. A similar sprint had Bryan Fawley taking the victory, followed by Dan Atkins, Reuben, myself, and Charlie Snyder. We made our way back to town tired and glad to have a Mexi Night at Little Grill and not another TT. Food was incredible as always with all you can eat plates of 2 tacos, enchilada, potato skin, salad, rice and beans. I had 4. Vive!!!!
I finished the day with a little extra room to bleed some time on the final stage. Anything can happen in le Tour though and 26:00 just doesn't feel safe. Can't image what people in the other tour feel like with only a minute or two to spare. Here's to one more day and hoping the old derailleur and new hanger make it through tomorrow. Disaster could be looming. Hopefully one more day in the jersey that just keeps getting heavier.
Damage Report:
Men's Leader: Bryan Lewis
KOM Leader: Dan Wolfe
Sprint Leader: Bryan Fawley
Super D: Sam Skidmore
Women's Leader: Sue Haywood
DFL: Jeff Cheng
Great to see Jeff Cheng making a solid reverse attack on DFL. Jeff is a master mechanic and all around nice guy that has help me time and time again in my return to cycling. I couldn't thank him enough and could not be happier to end the final stage bookending the GC. Get it Jeff!!
Survive and Advance,
BSlow
I finished the day with a little extra room to bleed some time on the final stage. Anything can happen in le Tour though and 26:00 just doesn't feel safe. Can't image what people in the other tour feel like with only a minute or two to spare. Here's to one more day and hoping the old derailleur and new hanger make it through tomorrow. Disaster could be looming. Hopefully one more day in the jersey that just keeps getting heavier.
Damage Report:
Men's Leader: Bryan Lewis
KOM Leader: Dan Wolfe
Sprint Leader: Bryan Fawley
Super D: Sam Skidmore
Women's Leader: Sue Haywood
DFL: Jeff Cheng
Great to see Jeff Cheng making a solid reverse attack on DFL. Jeff is a master mechanic and all around nice guy that has help me time and time again in my return to cycling. I couldn't thank him enough and could not be happier to end the final stage bookending the GC. Get it Jeff!!
Survive and Advance,
BSlow