From The Peloton: Bill England On 'Toona Stage 6
0 Comments Published by Unknown on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at 6:29 PM.
Stage 6: Altoona-Blair County Road Race
In Saturday’s decisive Stage 6, Toyota-United strongmen Chris Baldwin, Justin England, and Chris Wherry put amazing heat on the leaders but were unable to crack Karl Menzies’s hold on the top spot.
The stage was a tough 98 miles with three climbs, all of them rating category 1 or 2 in the Tour de France parlance. But the route excluded the most difficult climb to the Blue Knob Ski area, for many years the hallmark climb of the entire stage race, the one that has usually winnowed the pack down to a tiny lead group battling it out for the win. Absence of that climb substantially changed the character of the race in a way that did not favor Toyota-United’s climbing strength.
The team gave it a powerful, courageous shot nevertheless. In the early going the usual flurry of attacks popped off the front, all of them reeled in by a watchful peleton. But as the miles and the strain added up, a group of eight escaped with Toyota-United’s Caleb Manion included. Caleb timed the jump perfectly at a moment when Health Net’s chasers needed a breather.
The gap slowly widened to a minute, dropped back to thirty seconds, then opened up to nearly two minutes. Health Net obviously did not want a big gap with Caleb only 24 seconds back on GC. The break included motivated riders from Navigators, Slipstream, and Colavita. Only six of the eight were working, and no one had a greater stake than Caleb Manion so he had to be the workhorse, driving the pace and encouraging the others to do their part. It was a terrific effort that lasted for more than 30 miles, a distance that kept pressure on the yellow jersey team and off Toyota-United.
At mile 56 the peleton reached the base of Blue Knob and the climbers put the pedal down. Burke Swindlehurst of Toyota-United laid down a torrid pace over the first half of the climb, blowing the peleton apart. The first to crack were several young riders from Equipe de Quebec who had for some reason helped to chase down the breakaway. As the punishing climb took its toll, we were allowed to pass small clutches of riders who had fallen off the pace, sweat dripping from their noses, heads down, concentrating on some inward locus of determination that kept their legs churning on the pedals. On tough climbs the race seems to become a mostly individual enterprise, especially for the non-climbers, each rider’s progress independent of the others.
Up at the head of the pack, the stronger climbers are still able to be tactical, watchful of their teammates and opponents, following attacks, and throwing down attacks of their own. By the summit the lead had split into two groups of about 12 riders each, with Baldwin, England and Wherry in the lead bunch, the yellow jersey in the group behind. It was a small gap, only about 100 meters, and the guys poured it on to try and widen it. But the chasers used the long downhill to shorten and eventually close the gap. On the ensuing smaller climbs and rollers the attacks came fast and furious but nothing was able to stick and it remained largely gruppo compacto to the end. In the sprint it was Taylor Tolleson of Slipstream out-sprinting the rest to take the win.
It was another nail-biter of a day in the team car for this Dad, feeling a jumble of emotions: the suspense of intense competition, desire for victory, white-knuckled terror in high speed descents, and awed admiration for these world class athletes pushing themselves to the limit.
After the race a curious article was being passed around for show and tell: the front half of a Slipstream bicycle. Word was the rider had crashed hard into one of the service vehicles, breaking his bike literally in two; thankfully the rider escaped with minor injuries. Taking a deep breath, I gave Justin a big smile and a thumbs-up as he and his teammates pedaled off to the hotel.
P.S. Many thanks to the Toyota United team for accommodating me in the team car. It was a thrilling and memorable experience for this cycling fan.
In Saturday’s decisive Stage 6, Toyota-United strongmen Chris Baldwin, Justin England, and Chris Wherry put amazing heat on the leaders but were unable to crack Karl Menzies’s hold on the top spot.
The stage was a tough 98 miles with three climbs, all of them rating category 1 or 2 in the Tour de France parlance. But the route excluded the most difficult climb to the Blue Knob Ski area, for many years the hallmark climb of the entire stage race, the one that has usually winnowed the pack down to a tiny lead group battling it out for the win. Absence of that climb substantially changed the character of the race in a way that did not favor Toyota-United’s climbing strength.
The team gave it a powerful, courageous shot nevertheless. In the early going the usual flurry of attacks popped off the front, all of them reeled in by a watchful peleton. But as the miles and the strain added up, a group of eight escaped with Toyota-United’s Caleb Manion included. Caleb timed the jump perfectly at a moment when Health Net’s chasers needed a breather.
The gap slowly widened to a minute, dropped back to thirty seconds, then opened up to nearly two minutes. Health Net obviously did not want a big gap with Caleb only 24 seconds back on GC. The break included motivated riders from Navigators, Slipstream, and Colavita. Only six of the eight were working, and no one had a greater stake than Caleb Manion so he had to be the workhorse, driving the pace and encouraging the others to do their part. It was a terrific effort that lasted for more than 30 miles, a distance that kept pressure on the yellow jersey team and off Toyota-United.
At mile 56 the peleton reached the base of Blue Knob and the climbers put the pedal down. Burke Swindlehurst of Toyota-United laid down a torrid pace over the first half of the climb, blowing the peleton apart. The first to crack were several young riders from Equipe de Quebec who had for some reason helped to chase down the breakaway. As the punishing climb took its toll, we were allowed to pass small clutches of riders who had fallen off the pace, sweat dripping from their noses, heads down, concentrating on some inward locus of determination that kept their legs churning on the pedals. On tough climbs the race seems to become a mostly individual enterprise, especially for the non-climbers, each rider’s progress independent of the others.
Up at the head of the pack, the stronger climbers are still able to be tactical, watchful of their teammates and opponents, following attacks, and throwing down attacks of their own. By the summit the lead had split into two groups of about 12 riders each, with Baldwin, England and Wherry in the lead bunch, the yellow jersey in the group behind. It was a small gap, only about 100 meters, and the guys poured it on to try and widen it. But the chasers used the long downhill to shorten and eventually close the gap. On the ensuing smaller climbs and rollers the attacks came fast and furious but nothing was able to stick and it remained largely gruppo compacto to the end. In the sprint it was Taylor Tolleson of Slipstream out-sprinting the rest to take the win.
It was another nail-biter of a day in the team car for this Dad, feeling a jumble of emotions: the suspense of intense competition, desire for victory, white-knuckled terror in high speed descents, and awed admiration for these world class athletes pushing themselves to the limit.
After the race a curious article was being passed around for show and tell: the front half of a Slipstream bicycle. Word was the rider had crashed hard into one of the service vehicles, breaking his bike literally in two; thankfully the rider escaped with minor injuries. Taking a deep breath, I gave Justin a big smile and a thumbs-up as he and his teammates pedaled off to the hotel.
P.S. Many thanks to the Toyota United team for accommodating me in the team car. It was a thrilling and memorable experience for this cycling fan.
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