9/1 - 9/3 Steamboat Springs Stage Race

I decided to do the Steamboat Springs Stage Race this year with our Sonic Boom Team.  Shanon and the kids came with to Steamboat for the first time and we stayed in a condo, brought all the bikes along for the adventure.  We got the take in some of Steamboat attractions – the Strawberry Hot Springs, the Alpine Slide, swimming in the creek, biking around town and to the Botanical Park. 

Day 1 was the Time Trial, a 12-mile, hilly, out & back course.  With the last name being Anderson, I got the honors of leading the CAT 3 race.  After the start, I felt good and was pushing over 400 watts, but found myself unable to maintain a little over 20 mph. After the first mile, I was already passed by the guy behind me and miles, 2, 3, and 4 were respectively the same so I knew then that something was majorly wrong.  I could smell the scent of burning rubber.  When I looked down, I noticed the problem: my rear wheel had slipped (at the start) in the horizontal dropouts causing the tire to rub against the frame.  The harder I pushed, the harder the tire would push against the frame so I had no choice but to stop.  I stopped on the side of road and readjusted the wheel and got back on to continue my ride.  The rest of the TT was uneventful with good climbing, but I believe I lost about five minutes on a thirty-minute race.  Walter and Andy had a good TT and were well in front of me on the GC.

time - 35:10

distance - 12 miles

place - 41st

n watts - 337

Day 2 was the Road Race, a 82-mile, scenic ride through Steamboat Springs and into the surrounding area with almost 7,000 ft. of climbing.  Walter, Andy and I road with the pack for the first 55 miles or so until a long climb towards the town of Oak Hill, but Andy fell off, Walter was not too far behind and I tried to stay with the pack with about 15-17 riders.  I made it almost to the summit, but fell off hard right near the top.  After descending and going through the town of Oak Hill it was going back to climbing again.  Right after Oak Hill and the water station, I could see Walter and a group of about 5 behind me and I was still hurting from the last climb so their group caught me.  I knew I had enough in me to stay with their group so I climb to the summit with them and we were now about 12-14 miles with one last switchback climb up.  On the last switchback climb up, the group feel apart, but I was feeling better so I climbed ahead of them and could see 3-4 guys down the road so I sat my sights on them to catch before the end of the race.  With about 2 miles left, I finally caught up with them and we took pulls for about a ½ mile or so and on my last pull and I knew I could get away from them so I gave it what I had left to finish the day and put in a considerable gap between the groups and ended up in 12^th place for the road race. Walter finished a few places back and Andy only a few minutes back.  Overall, a good day for Sonic Boom.  None of the RMRC finished before me, which was a goal of our team.

time -3:56:08

distance - 82 miles

e gain - 6434

place -12th

n watts - 278

Day 3 was the Criterion Race, .8 kilometers around for 45 minutes near downtown historic Steamboat Springs.  Andy, Walter and I just had to finish within the main group in order for Sonic Boom Team to take the Rocky Mountain Cup for the season.  The course had one uphill, a gradual downhill, but was moßsßßre or less rectangular – the pace was fast right from the start and at about 10 minutes in, I decided that it would be fun to lead for about 3 laps, but was quickly pulled back in.  Andy did the same after about 30 minutes in and he too was pulled back in.  There was one crash on a straightaway, but fortunately none of us were involved and nobody was seriously injured.  45 minutes came pretty quick and soon we were at 4 laps to go and the pace picked up even more so.  I kept trying to find a way out in front, but soon ran out of time and laps.  There was a good sprint to the finish.  Walter and I were still in the main pack and finished with the same overall time.  Confirming the Rocking Mountain Road Cat 3 Team Cup for the season.

time -0:44:38

distance - 20 miles

place - 22nd

n watts -333

GC place - 20th

Overall, a great stage race.  Good time and memories with the family as well.  We will definitely be back to visit Steamboat again this winter to ski!