Tour de Beauce: Stage 3

Tour de Beauce: Stage 2

Tour de Beauce: Étape 1

Pre-Beauce spin avec team

SMOKE?!?!?!?

Fort Bayard > Fort Bayard

TL;DR - SCOTT WON! TYLER 3RD! CADE 4TH!!!! This was the hardest easiest day I think I've ever had. 
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With Medellín stacking 5 in the top 7, all within 1min 20sec of the leader, we were prepared for them to wreak havoc today. In our team meeting, we envisioned a non-stop onslaught of attack after attack to get somebody up the road in a group that would be willing to work with the prospect of a stage win up for grabs. 

We lined up, loins properly girded for what we assumed was going to be an utterly painful day and...it never materialized. The first and only major dig from their team was from Fabio Duarte, more than 5 minutes down and not a GC threat. He attacked to get into a move, and at first we were unconcerned. He wasn't a GC threat, and neither was anyone else in the group, but we quickly realized that Medellín was actively trying to block the road as much as they could (a hopeless effort given how wide the roads are), and our assumption was they were going to do anything they could to make sure that he could gain back time so he could be another card to play in the GC battle. Scott quickly launched Laurent to get into the move, but that would re-ignite the breakaway formation phase, and riders would go flying again. 

Finally, one rider would head up the road at the beginning of the major climbs of the day. Shockingly, Medellín had decided that they were not going to go on a rampage, but rather they were just going to ride the day in. We were all so confused, as it seemed like they were squandering a huge opportunity to gain time back on a stage where a breakaway win isn't out of the question, but we weren't complaining. With them pacing the front and the our ability to slot in behind, the run-in and subsequent down the Sapillo climb was extremely safe and not sketchy at all, as it has a history of being. 

We then hit the valley, and Medellín simply continued to ride a steady pace, with us second train. We we neared the end of the valley, Team Skyline put in a 2-up launch to get up the road before we turned right up the last Cat-3 climb of the day. They would catch Stephen Schaefer, the single rider who had been out front by himself all day (similar to stage 2 of Redlands; my god that man knows how to suffer), and would go over top of him as we began the fast descent back into town. 

Medellín began acting squirrelly. I still can't really explain what their logic was, but they seemed determined to let the break win, despite not even having a rider up the road. They kept riding to the front and then trying to set a soft tempo so the peloton would just ride it in. We were having none of that, as we knew we had a great chance at another stage win. Zach took up the front along with Laurent and me and we would work to bring back the riders that had managed to get up the road in the race reset that happened over the top of the Cat-3. 

We brought those riders back within 10 kilometers to go, and continued to ride until Medellín got back to the front and began to set a slow tempo again. At that point, I was sick of it, and told Laurent that we should bring the train back to the front going into 4 kilometers to go. Laurent put in a huge dig to do so, but as Medellín moved across the road, I was cut off, and quickly Laurent found himself in a small separate up the road of about 4 riders. Scott would attack to bridge to the move with another rider, and the rest of the team would sit up and let other riders work to bridge the gap. 

Going into the righthand turn back into Fort Bayard with a little more than a kilometer to go, Team California attacked and I hopped on their wheel as they worked to bring the group up the road containing Scott and Laurent back. We banked left going into the last 350m of the day, and seeing that the group containing Scott and Laurent was playing games and slowing rapidly, I opened up the sprint to leadout Cade and Tyler who were in tow. 

It was something that we had talked about in Greece at the Rhodes GP one-day that Tyler won from a select group up the road. If you see the group your rider is in starting to slow, and the catch of that group looks like a serious option, you have to execute the best leadout you can with the riders you have left in the peloton because then you can ensure you still have a shot at winning if the group is caught. Sure, you could waffle and see if another team will take up the chase, and that hesitation could keep the break away, but if it doesn't, it'll mean that you're caught in the cheap seats and you will have lost positioning to contest the win.  So, with that in mind, I lead out the sprint, and Scott was hip to hopping on the train, and we ended up stacking 4 riders in the top 10, with Scott winning, Tyler in 3rd, and Cade in 4th?!?! Yee haw. 
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Photos courtesy of Kai Caddy
Website: 
IG: @kaicaddy

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Sam Boardman

Tour of the Gila: Stage 2

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Tour de Beauce: Stage 3

Tour de Beauce: Stage 2

Tour de Beauce: Étape 1

Pre-Beauce spin avec team

SMOKE?!?!?!?

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