Valley of the Sun Stage Race Recap
It is the time of year for cyclists’ annual migration south to the Valley of the Sun Stage Race for the first bike race of the year. The fresh snow on the day of our departure from Colorado reminded us of why we were going to Phoenix; even when many of us were not in fighting shape and getting the last ounce of use out of our equipment before the new Fezarri bikes and Pactimo kit arrived. This legendary race has been bringing around the start of the season since the 90s, seeing the likes of Floyd Landis, Christian Vandevelde, and Dave Zabriskie take to the desert tarmac. Last edition’s winner, Magnus Sheffield, took his first world tour win this week. This year the competition consisted of a mix of professional and top amateur teams from around the country.
The race is 3 stages long with the initial time trial often deciding the race. Our team was there to support our time trial specialist Tyrel Fuchs. Despite poor wind conditions, Tyrel averaged over 49kph in the TT to take 7th place ahead of former quickstep rider Ian Garrison. Peter Behm somehow managed a mid-pack finish on his road bike. Stage 2 consisted of a 95-mile road race with a 4% drag to the finish each of the 6 laps. The climb wasn’t steep or long enough to make much time back in the finale, so Tyrel risked his luck in the breakaway. Unfortunately, his breakaway escaped with only two riders total, dropping to just Tyrel after the first ascent to the finish. Tyrel rode by himself until he was joined by two others on the final lap. Many teams like Legion, Skyline and Project Echelon were interested in a group finish and had Tyrel on a tight leash. Tyrel held a monstrous 395W for over two hours is his breakaway but was brought back before the final drag to the finish. He still held on to his 7th place as the group thinned up the drag to the finish. The last day was spent ripping corners in the crit in Phoenix. The fast course had us averaging 30mph, deterring breakaways. The finish was a common sight over the past few years. The Legion train once again delivered Cory Williams to victory while our entire team was caught in or behind crashes in the last few laps. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.
One of our new signings this year, Ethan Moyer, got his Cat 1 upgrade with a strong result in the Cat 2 race. Racing on a borrowed 15 year old TT bike, he placed 8th in the time trial and rode strong all weekend. His result was only put into question before the crit when changing in the Van. He felt something very strange when putting on his bibs and immediately took them of to reveal a pissed off scorpion. It stung wildly at his knee while Ethan screamed and cast it aside. His knee swelled and stung. The locals informed him that the large scorpions are less venomous. Ethan carried on to protect his top ten in the crit, the adrenaline of racing masking the pain in his knee.
-Written contribution provided by Henry York.