What a race - a 5 day stage race with close to 30,000 ft of climbing!  The town of Silver City, New Mexico sits at 6000 ft above sea level.  The area is a desert and temps hit 40 degrees during the races.  We had 194 cyclists start the Pro/1 field with 18 Pro Teams including Radio Shack and Garmin Transitions.  We had about 150 Pros and 44 Cat 1 riders like myself.  101 riders finished the race. I unfortunately was in the unlucky pack of 93 who didn't finish with an official time. I was amazed how young all the pros were..most were between 18-26 years old and super skinny too.  But super strong..

 

Also, thanks to Owen from McCully Bike Shop who picked me up at the Phoenix Airport.  After a 6 hour ride to New Mexico, I got some shut-eye and woke up the next morning for the first stage.

 

Stage 1 - 96 miles

 

I knew I was in trouble when neutral support was unavailable.  Had to go 96 miles with only two bottles.  The last 8 miles are all uphill to the top of the mountain with pitches up to 19%.  I was sitting good until mile 65 when Radio Shack's Jason McCartney went to the front and all of a sudden we were riding at 36mph single file into a head-wind.  The pack split down the middle.  A big crash then happened in our group of 90 riders or so with about 6 riders going down.  I was caught in the back and then blown out the back.  I hit the bottom of the climb with two other riders from Team Orbea. We crawled our way to the top but lost over 30 minutes from race winner Levi Leipheimer. We knew the time-cut was going to be 35 minutes --barely made it.  This was no fun!

 

Stage 2 -80 miles

 

Imagine riding through a typhoon with 50 mph winds.  This race stage was tough.  The first feed zone saw a split when Garmin's Tom Danielson went super hard.  I was able to grab on to the wheels of three Bissell riders and three other Pro's.  Those guys pushed the pace so hard.  Pro Adam Carr from Team Adegeo Pro Energy was super nice and he let me draft his wheel for almost 50 miles. i think I finished in 89th place - about 1:44 seconds after the stage winner.  Now, sitting in 131st place. 

 

Stage 3 - 16.5 miles

 

I probably should have ridden the course and tried the TT bike Owen loaned me.  But the temps dipped below 40 degrees and I had no heavy gear so I decided to warm-up by sitting in the car.  Heck...losing 5 or 10 minutes may cost me a couple of places???  right before the Pro start, the refs checked our bikes for weight, length, etc. to ensure we were within the NRC/UCI rules.  After the start I knew I was in trouble since I still had a hard time breathing.  I felt like I was towing around an iceberg....2 large climbs in the TT with a screaming 5 mile finish.  Most Pros had 58x11 gearing....I think I had a 53x12 but the gear wouldn't shift into the 12...so just a 13...oh well.  As I crossed the line I pretty much knew I had a bad time...oh well..

 

Stage 4 - 43 mile hilly crit

 

Felt good before the crit.  After several laps, a large crash happened heading into the hill.  I was caught behind it with about 15 other riders.  The pace then went single file since Dave Zabriskie decided to hammer on the front?  Why i asked myself as 10 of us popped off.  I felt bad for the Jelly Belly rider and two Team kenda riders who were on my wheel. We tried to bridge but the ship already set sail.  We needed to complete 22 laps or risk not starting the next stage.  We got pulled....our race was over.

 

Stage 5 - 106 miles

 

Since about 20 of us weren't allowed to start I decided to drive back to Tuscon, AZ to meet my friend and return the TT bike to Owen.  Anyway, the last stage was indeed epic...40 degrees with rain and snow.  I see 55 riders quit the stage.

 

Final Impressions -

 

This would be a great race to have a team from Hawaii.  This race is really geared for teams. Maybe next year we can form an Elite Team from Hawaii and ensure we stay in Silver City at least 7-10 days to acclimate to the altitude.

 

I'll attach some pictures of some famous cyclists tonight.  Probably should have been warming up but decided to snap a few photos instead.  Tony