2009 Everest Challenge
An account by Kurt Garbe:
There is training and there is training. Riding back to back centuries with Lemmon repeats is easy… Yes, easy. Everest is the same mileage as our Lemmon training was, but there is an extra 9,000 ft of elevation spread around the climbs!
| FIRST CLIMB | Mosquito Flat (10250′) |
| 22 miles long, ave. grade 5%, max. grade 12%, total elevation gain 5825′ | |
SECOND CLIMB |
Pine Creek (7425′) |
| 8 miles, 7% ave. grade, 11% max. grade, total elevation gain 3000′ | |
THIRD CLIMB |
South Lake (9835′) |
| 20.4 miles long, ave. grade 6%, max. grade 17.5%, total elevation gain 5410′
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Elliot sailed into infamy blowing by his fellow Aggressors before the end of the first 20 mile climb. He succumbed to a knee problem half way up the day’s final climb. He was roughly in the top 10 at this point, but was forced to abandon.
Don had wheel issues that manifested themselves between the 2nd and 3rd climbs. In true General fashion, he soldiered on before the fear of descending on said wheel (broken spoke, and a flat that only happened when trying to pump it up: still not too sure about tubulars….) and extreme weather turned him back half way up the final climb.
Khrash punished his fellow master’s riders before succumbing to stomach problems and severe weather half way up the final climb. He was easily the strongest of our team save Elijet.
Yours truly, lacking common sense or a quit button fought into the headwind, rain and final ramps that hit 20% (the race bible said 17.5, but it was a wall!) and arrived, completely shattered, at the top of the final climb. To save face and champion the Aggress spirt, I kicked the crap out of a fellow descender and hit 57 mph on the way down… Yes, I am a slow learner too.
FIRST CLIMB |
Glacier Lodge (7800′) |
| 9 miles long, ave. grade 8%, max. grade 12%, total elevation gain 3900′ | |
| I took the summit first with Khrash arriving shortly thereafter. Don kept it smooth and steady. Tough warm up as you could see miles up the climb.
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Waucoba Canyon (6545′) |
| 8.5 miles long, ave. grade 5%, max. grade 7%, total elevation gain 2600′
Khris dropped me at the base and soloed on to summit first, waited for me at the summit with Don still coming along steady and sure. This is the easiest climb and the only one remotely resembling Lemmon with its steepness (or lack thereof). |
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THIRD CLIMB |
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest (10100′) |
| 21 miles long, ave. grade 6%, max. grade 15%, total elevation gain 6160′
. This was the mother of all the climbs: HC all the way. Hot at the start. Khris said he’d pull the plug after two rounds, but he tackled it anyway. We swapped ‘leads’ and fought extreme heat, serious sweat, too few gears and ourselves as we literally fought for every foot of the bottom half of the hill. Khris would turn back with 15 K to go. What a bad ass MF! Knowing I had to finish what I started (or lacking any real sense), I pitched myself against the hill and the final three miles that averaged 15%! It was beyond brutal. My bottom had developed a severe allergy to my seat, and I had to stand for much of the day! I fought and I won against myself and gravity. I have the fucking medal and I’m damn proud of it. It cost me more than all the other medals I have combined. After chillacking at the summit and eating the tastey nibs, THE GENERAL COMES ROLLING UP LIKE HE’S JUST HAD A WONDERFUL SPIN AROUND TOWN!!!! He floated the climbs and passed countless riders in the final miles. What an animal! He actually enjoyed it!  |
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2009 Green Mountain Stage Race
Victor Riquelme headed out on the road recently, to the the mountains of Vermont for a challenging late season stage race.
His trip did not start out well, as he was involved in spectacular high speed crash the day before the prologue, going off the road at 45mph while pre-riding a descent scheduled to be included in Sunday’s road race. None the less, he was on the start line the next day.
Big World Time Trial
The prologue was 5.5 miles long, and started out with 2.5 miles of about 6% grade. Then came 2 flat miles with a stiff head wind, followed by a short downhill, then a steep power hill, which finally gave way to a gentle 4-5% grind for the last 500m to the finish.
Riquelme finished with a time of 15:42.57
GC after stage 1 – 8th/105 +1:05 to the leader.
The Bridges Circuit Race
The circuit race featured 3.75 20 mile laps on rolling terrain. Starting just past the feed zone was a steep, two tiered, two mile climb, with a KOM point on the top. After that was a downhill section, followed by a few corners and a few short climbs. 5k of gradual downhill led to a screaming fast downhill last kilometer, which flattened out for the finish with 300 meters to go.
In the feed zone on an early lap.
Riquelme survived a treacherous last kilometer, narrowly avoided 3 crashes, and sprinted out of the pack for the stage victory. With the 15 second time bonus that was on offer for the stage win he moved up to 6th in the GC.
A huge pile up mid pack inside the last 200m.
Riquelme wins the circuit race by half a bikelength.
The Cat.3 circuit race podium.
Mad River Road Race
The Cat.3 field cresting the Brandon Gap
The road race course was difficult, 75 miles long, with a few large climbs along the way, and a very steep mountain top finish. A non-threatening break of 6 got away early, and 4 of them sat up after 14 miles, following a green jersey sprint point that was out on the road. A lack of team organization allowed the remaining 2 men in the break to build up a gap of almost 3 minutes. The main field stayed together all the way until the final climb, and the break went down to 1 man, Randall Jacobs, who won the stage by 1:41 and took the yellow jersey. Riquelme finished 15th, +2:44 to the stage winner, and slipped down to a tie for 10th in the GC.
Riquelme finished the road race glued to the wheel of Todd Robertson, who he had gone into the day tied in the GC with.
Burlington Criterium
The final stage was a 32 lap criterium in downtown Burlington. The course had 8 90 degree corners, with a technical downhill section and an uphill finishing stretch. Of 94 men that started this final stage, 20 were dropped before the halfway point, and eliminated completely from GC contention.
In the early laps the peloton snaked across a full 2 city blocks. Those not in front had to move up, or face elimination.
Marshall Ambros, who after winning the prologue had worn the yellow jersey for the previous two stages, attacked the field after an intermediate sprint for GC time bonuses. He could not be reeled back in, and lapped the field. Riquelme hung on, finishing with the leading group, 31st/35. 40 others were dropped, pulled, and give pro-rated times. This performance moved Riquelme up to 7th in the final GC, with a time of 7:43:44, +2:35 to the race leader.
