Stage III. San Dimas Stage Race

Stage 3 was the downtown crit. The course had six turns including a sketchy left hand turn with a huge dip through the gutter. There was a four block climb that was enough to make the legs burn followed by a fast five block descent leading into the last turn before the finish line. After holding my lead in the road race, the GC classification would come down to this race, and I can’t emphasize enough that I owe the GC win to my teammates. Without them, I would not have held the lead. Again, from the beginning, PAA set a quick pace. I pulled for the first lap and Rafael pulled the second lap. After that, people started to move around and the pace remained high. In fact, the average speed for the race was over 31 mph. Some of the PAA V’s commented that this was the fastest crit they had ridden in. There was a one man break early in the race, but we worked to reel him in after a lap or two. Jason won the intermediate sprint with Lyle on his heels in third. Fortunately for me, they were able to hold of 530, who also went for the sprint. The remaining laps were fast as well. With four laps to go, a teammate of 530 (both were riding for Covina Valley) moved in front of me on the wheel of his teammate. This made me pretty nervous, as I was not feeling as fresh I had wished. I hung close until one lap to go when 530 passed the few people in front of him to get out front. Fortunately, Lyle and Jason also moved up past me to the front, because I no longer had the legs to defend my position. Coming through the downhill and into the final turn, 530 was out front and Lyle and Jason were close behind. I was back in 15th or so, watching all of this unfold and feeling helpless. The sprint started and at the line Jason came through first winning the stage! 530 finished 3rd, gaining a 6 second time bonus, but not enough to put him in front! As I said, I owe my GC win to my teammates!
Overall, we had a great race and worked well as a team. I certainly owe them all a great deal. Said and done, PAA (my non-collegiate team) won all three stages and had three riders in the top 5. We also won the yellow and green jerseys, and finished second in the KOM competition. I have included a couple pics Banner (I think) took. Thanks again to all the PAA V’s for helping me maintain the overall GC. I had a great time and look forward to racing with you all again.