2009 Green Mountain Stage Race

Monday, September, 7 2009

This September, we had a big team heading out to race GMSR. Andy, Andrew, and Cary all registered in the M40+ field and Rhys took a stab at the all new S2 race. GMSR has always been a highlight of our racing seasons in the past and this year's edition was no exception.

The first stage on Friday was a 9.5 km Time Trial that included a long ascent for the first 4.5K and a fast but shallow tail end in the last 4.5 K - last year, many riders averaged a blistering 60 kph for kilometers 5 and 6 on the back half of the course. This year, despite a clear sky and moderate temperatures, a slight head wind slowed the descent, and the overall times, by about 30 seconds. Although none of the Project Freeride team managed to crack the top 10 for the TT, we all logged respectable times and were feeling good heading into Stage 2.

Stage 2 saw us back on the traditional GMSR circuit course. Two and a half laps of rolling terrain and KOM points meant for a tough ride. The 40+ field managed to stay together despite frequent attempts to break things up.  In  the final 5 km, a series of attacks off the front left 6 riders with a 15 second gap that stretched to 25. The rest of the field (including all of the PFR riders) finished together.

Stage 3, the Mad River Road Race is the premiere event at GMSR. This is the stage everyone looks forward to ... and dreads. With a KOM climb at 50 km and a pair of back to back Cat 3 and Cat 4 climbs leading up to the finish, the total saddle time for this event is generally 3.5 hours. This year was no exception. The 40+ field was content to ride easy most of the day with nothing more than a few surges. The gravel section (5 km of gravel on a slight descent) produced the usual bevy of flats and included a massive blow out for myself - being at the front of the peloton when I flatted meant that I was also the last (of six riders) to get a wheel change. I chased hard for the remaining 20 km and finished more than seven and a half minutes down on the field. Andrew lead the team with a great performance to stay close to the leaders on Baby Gap finishing 4:45 behind the leader. While the stage didn't quite turn out as expected, dinner at the house was an epic affair. Feels good to feed the body after three hard days of racing.

Stage 4, the Burlington Criterium played out like its predecessors. 35 minutes of all out crit racing on a 1 km crit loop featuring 6 corners, 150 m of cobbles and a short leg-cracking climb to the start finish. The 40+ peloton started the weekend with nearly 70 riders and less than half, 33, finished in the bunch at the crit.  Both Andrew and myself stayed safe for a pack finish.  One more epic GMSR weekend over and many more to look forward to.

- Cary