GMSR Day 1

Another summer gone, and another trip to Vermont to do my favorite stage race, Green Mountain Stage Race. This is a four race across some of the most scenic areas of Vermont. This years race featured many changes, some seemed good, others would need to be raced before judgement was passed. Gone was the mass start prolouge up App Gap. I've never fared well in this stage, where the first rider gets 50 points, and each subsequent rider gets one less point. Rider 51 gets nothing. Having done the race four consecutive years, my total points for stage 1 was zero. Replacing App Gap was a 9.5k TT starting in Warren and ending in Waitsfield. The course had 514 feet of climbing in the first 2k, then it settled down for the next 5k before a fast dip down and up into the finish. With racers starting at 30 second intervals, I saw my 30 second man in the first k. I kept him in sight, then was surprised to see my minute man at 2.5k. I continued to pace off my 30 second guy until the final 2k, where I passed him and used him as a driving force into the finish. Overall I was at 15:30 which I am hoping puts me in the top 10 for the day. While it was a TT style race, there was no TT bikes, which seemed to be a leveling factor. Results to be posted later.