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Jeremy Fliss is a St. Paul-based soigneur for the WEBCOR Professional Cycling team. He has provided us with yet another blog about another stage race. This time, it was Joe Martin in Arkansas.

We left Silver City almost immediately following the race finale and made our way to Fayetteville, AR by way of Albuquerque to send our director home and to see Canadian rider Joelle Numainville off to Pan Am Championships. Aside from being stopped by Oklahoma highway patrol for a burnt out headlight, the 750 miles went by without a hitch.

However, the following day I went out for a spin with the riders who intended on riding for ~1.5 hours, and I wanted to add another 30 minutes or so. Which turned into another 3.5 hours only after a kind landscaper returned me to our host house. I definitely need to get the internal compass checked. So after a good work out, all of the riders got quick massages, or “rubs,” to flush out their legs after a day and a half in the car and a short bike ride. Wednesday, was another relatively laid back day with another easy ride. I did NOT stray from the others and returned home safely. Dave, the mechanic, and I spent the evening preparing bikes and supplies for Joe Martin’s Thursday individual time trial at Devil’s Den State Park.

Arriving two hours before our first rider sets forth, essentially a drag race up hill for 9-10 minutes, we set up stationary trainers, chairs and supplies in a campground. As the riders warm up, Dave makes sure the bikes are running smoothly, as I make sure the riders get what they need as they ride the trainers. When all was said and done, Webcor’s Katheryn Mattis stood on top of the results by a fraction of a second over Vera Bradley Foundation’s Alison Powers.

Day two was a point-to-point race finishing with an uphill sprint in downtown Fayetteville. Conditions were reminiscent of day two at [Tour of the] Gila, and the riders faced a fierce headwind for the last 30 or so miles while ascending. The wind held the field together as they came through the feed zone, all the way to the finish, where a bunch sprint was won by the Colavita/Baci team. The overall standings shuffled Katheryn Mattis and Alison Powers into reverse order by a handful of seconds.

On the third day, the weather looked as though it could open up and rain at any time, but once again held off. The day’s course was a lollipop, or out on one road to a smaller circuit, do two laps and then head back on the same road taken out of town. Again, the field was not motivated and the pace stayed civil, allowing another bunch sprint. There was no major shake up of the standings, everyone stayed upright and a major showdown was scheduled for the crit finale the following day.

After all of the riders visited the massage table, we headed out with our awesome host mom and some other riders to celebrate my birthday at the Flying Burrito, a Fayetteville institution. If you are ever in that area and feeling invincible, order the MOAB (mother of all burritos).

Sunday morning started with more promises of rain, wind and cold temperatures. Two out of three is not bad, and everyone stayed dry. After some modifications to the course over previous years to accommodate a simultaneous event, the riders struck out on 60 minutes around the 12 corner course. Even for professional and elite cyclists, it’s a lot of corners. Early crashes splintered the field and the selection was made from which the day’s winner would emerge. With 2 laps to go, the Vera Bradley team was on the attack.  When the riders emerged, charging for the finish line, Vera Bradley rider Alex Rhodes was pulling away from Katheryn Mattis, who was trying to put a gap between herself and Alison Powers. In the end, Rhodes won handily and Mattis didn’t gain enough time to overtake Powers for first place overall. I’d have to say that I haven’t seen a much greater display of determination and guts in a long time. Well done to everyone involved. You did your best and that is all we can ask.

OK…time to pack and drive. For me, that is home for a few weeks before the big race in Philly. The mechanic is headed out east, most riders flying home. Katheryn Mattis is off to the Tour de l’Aude, and Joelle will return from Pan Ams after winning a silver medal in the road race, just behind Shelly Evans Olds of Peanut Butter and Co. 2012.

After roughly 3000 miles of driving, I need to sleep now.

Webcor,Women's Cycling,Women's Professional Cycling   Tags: Jeremy Fliss, Joe Martin,   Comments Off