Alisha says: Last Tuesday afternoon Dave and I made a last minute decision to take me to the Joe Martin National Stage Race in
Fayetteville, AR. We spent that evening arranging the trip and by noon the next day we were both on a flight. This race is a big one on the national calendar with all the major US squads there, however with many of my teammates racing in Europe and South America, I was the only PB & Co. rider to participate. It was a bit of a gamble to throw together such a quick trip right after the Gila but in the end it turned out to be a great week of racing.
Stage 1: This stage was a two and a half mile uphill time trial in Devils Den State Park. This was the hottest day of racing and I warmed up with ice packs to keep from overheating. I was very excited for this stage given that the course averaged a 7% uphill grade. However, a combination of traveling and racing took a bit of a toll and my legs did not cooperate during the last half mile. I had almost caught my 30 second girl but watched her slip away in the last couple of minutes. I finished the stage in 9
th which is a good result but I just know that if I could have held it together a bit longer I could have been faster.
Stage 2: This stage was point to point race that started an hour's drive away. As we were about halfway to the start I realized that I didn't bring any cycling shorts. I quickly called a few people to see if they had any extra shorts and no one did. We did some quick time calculations and decided to go back to the hotel and get my shorts. We thought we might get back to the start of the race with 10-15 min. before the start. I was so nervous because it was going to be so close. Luckily we made it to the start with a few minutes to spare. One the start line I got several funny comments about forgetting your shorts as word had spread about my forgetfulness.
The race was just over 60 miles. It was a fairly inactive race with a stiff headwind. There were a couple breakaway attempts but the big teams were motivated to keep everyone together so nothing made it too far down the road. The run into the finish was a little technical with narrowing roads and a handful of corners so position was key. I finished 10
th in an uphill sprint.
Stage 3: This stage was a circuit race covering two loops and an out and back. The pace was either fast or slow but things mostly stuck together and the whole
peloton finished together and got the same time. It was a long, straight, fast downhill run into the finish line and I was content to let the sprinters duke this one out.
Stage 4: I would be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous for this
criterium. It was very technical with 12 corners in just over a mile. As most
criteriums do this one started fast and furious. The technical course along with several unfortunate crashes split the field into pieces. I made it in the lead pack of about 20 riders and by the end of the race there was literally only half of the original field on course with many riders being time cut and a few crashing out. Fortunately, the
crit had a pretty good hill leading up to the start/finish line and was able to get around a few riders at the end to finish 11
th. I am not a
crit rider and it was a heck of a tough race but in the end I think that this finish was my biggest accomplishment of the week.
The results of the crazy
crit reshuffled some of the general classification results and I was able to move up two spots to finish 8
th overall which is my highest individual
GC result in a national race. After racing Gila with a whole squad of super awesome team mates it was very different and a bit lonely to be at a race by myself. I loved having Dave along though. It was so fun to go on a trip with him and he is such a good supporter. Also local rising star
Tayler Wiles was there with a couple of her team mates that were super nice and even invited Dave and I to eat dinner with them one night. After racing 9 out of the last 12 days, I am excited to be heading back home to
SLC for some recovery.
Dave says: I had no idea what Arkansas would be like but
Fayetteville exceeded my expectations. While the Ozarks hardly look like mountains compared to
SLC, the terrain is rolling and lush. The races were mostly held on beautiful country roads lined in trees that often times made a canopy over the top of the asphalt. I love bike racing, even when I am on the sidelines, and it was fun to watch Alisha throw down some good results and to crack the top 10 overall in a national event. I was especially excited about her
crit performance as I watched half the field, including talented girls on major teams, get shed from the main group on a course that was straight-up-crazy.
Rather than flying out right after the
crit on Sunday, we decided to do some sightseeing before flying home on Monday night. On Monday, Alisha traded in her $7,000 road bike for a $95
Wal-Mart cruiser as we rented bikes and rolled around the University of Arkansas campus and on the paved Skull Creek trail. Next, we returned to Devil's Den State Park where we did a cool little hike that took us past some caves and waterfalls in the lush forest. Finally, we headed to a little park with a lake since we still had some time before our flight left. Somehow, Alisha managed to have energy for all these adventures even after racing.
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