La Vuelta de Bisbee & Tour of the Gila Race Reports
By Dan Vinson
Ready or not, time for a road trip!! The year's second (of three) racing blocks for me started well enough including the L.A. County Cycling Classic and Conquer the Canyons Stage Race, but catching bronchitis slowed me down a bit afterwards. I was put on antibiotics just before leaving for La Vuelta de Bisbee and Tour of the Gila - two high altitude climbing stage races that you typically don't want to tackle with anything less than excellent form. However, like many cyclists, I pressed on and went anyway. I would be doing 9 difficult races during an arduous 10 day period. Happy travels! If, of course, you can call groveling up a climb at 7500 feet elevation "happy"?
La Vuelta de Bisbee (4 stages): La Vuelta de Bisbee (AZ) is a classic stage race that has been around for nearly 30 years. In fact, Greg LeMond, as a 16 year old on the USA National Junior Team, won the Pro 1, 2 event in 1979. That same year, Thurlow Rogers, age 18, and also a member of the USA National Junior Team, placed 4th in the Pro 1, 2 event. For me (age 32, not on the Junior National Team) my initial goal was a top 10 G.C. placing. However, on meds and still recovering, my expectations were somewhat reduced. On the upside, however, Ben Bradshaw (Kahala LaGrange), age 17 and in the U23 competition, was with me on this trip so maybe I could help him if his legs picked up where mine stopped. We would race 4 times in a 44 hour time span, and although difficult, this would almost be a "warm-up" before Tour of the Gila.
Prologue - Mule Pass Prologue (2.8 miles/837 foot climb): The course climbs through the historic town of Bisbee before kicking up even more as you exit the town and tackle the twisty ascent to the summit at over 6000 feet elevation. Most riders opted for regular road bikes but I took the other route and used my time trial rig. I had a decent start and kept a respectable pace through town, but when it kicked up I couldn't get the requisite power out of the machine. Okay, fine, I couldn't get the power out of my legs, but the time trial bike on the steeper section definitely didn't help my time and I'm sticking to that story. I finished in 11:23 (32nd place), 58 seconds behind stage winner, Phil Zajicek (Navigators). Jeremy Powers (Jelly Belly) was second. Climbing specialist, Drew Miller (Successfuliving.com) was 5th. Bradshaw was 16th.
Stage 1 - Sulphur Springs Road Race (80 miles): This race was mostly flat with a gradual 6 mile climb that increased in gradient as you approached the finish. The race was fast and aggressive. The attacks started early and I figured I didn't have much to lose so I went with several moves and ended up in a few short lived breakaways. Later, while resting in the peleton, more attacks went and sure enough a break got away with 5 riders. I felt like complete crap during this stage and was definitely still sick. While starting to regret that I was racing, it got worse. A rider knocked a cone down right in front of me and I hit it square on, albeit at slow speed, and went over the bars. I landed on my left arm which hurt like hell and another rider, Curtis Gunn (Successfuliving.com) landed on me. It took a while to untangle the mess. I laid there for a moment and almost decided not to get up and thought it was time to go back to California. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), before having too much time to think about it, I reflexively got up and began to ride. A few of us got paced on by follow vehicles and we were back in the race. My swollen elbow (probably small sprain) hurt for a few days, but eventually was okay.
At one point, the break had an advantage of nearly 5 minutes. A full on chase reduced it to just over a minute and we were piano again. Two riders escaped the field and bridged across. Again, the break started to increase its lead on the field. The final few miles to the finish were fast. Several riders popped off the back in the final mile as the break began to come back. They survived though, by a mere 20 seconds, with Joey Thompson (Rocky Mountain) taking the stage. Daniel Vaillancourt (CCB/VW/Time) moved into the leaders jersey. Ben Bradshaw (Kahala LaGrange), a junior I the U23 competition placed 9th and was 17th G.C./2nd in the U23 competition. I finished 37th and moved to 30th G.C.
Stage 2 - Warren Time Trial (6.8 miles): Later in the same day as Sulphur Springs Road Race was this next stage. The course was an out and back - gradual downhill and then gradual uphill to the finish. We had a small crosswind, tougher on the return home. I went out hard, but controlled and was able to maintain my speed all the way to the turn-around. I got up to speed once again, sat on the rivet, and surprisingly felt better than in the morning. I finished in 15:19, good enough for 10th place on the stage. I was 48 seconds behind stage winner Phil Zajicek who also moved back into the leaders jersey. Zajicek had an advantage of 23 seconds over Curtis Gunn (Successfuliving) who also placed 2nd on the stage. Drew Miller was 6th on the stage and moved to 4th G.C. I moved up to 20th G.C.
Stage 3 - Tombstone Road Race (88 miles/6400' climbing): This stage started with a short climb which was followed by several miles of descending and flat roads with a couple tough rollers. The last 15 miles of the race, however, was another story, beginning with a 6.2 mile (10 Km) climb. The climb started gradual, but got steeper as you went. Next a 4 mile descent and then the final 5 mile (8 Km) climb (5-7%) to the finish.
The average speed of the first half of the race was high with the "easy" terrain but there were attacks nonetheless. Eventually, a break got away with about 6-7 riders and they opened up a huge advantage (several minutes) as we noodled toward the old west town of Tombstone, Arizona. Back in the day, battles were fought here with revolvers. But now, at least once a year, they are fought with . . . bicycles! A few riders from California Giant and Successfuliving went to the front and drilled it for a while and gradually began to pull back the break. Once we hit the climb, riders began to pop off the back one and two at a time as the intensity increased. I managed to stay with the shrinking lead group (about 25 riders) until one mile left in the first climb. I lost time but tried to minimize the damage on the short descent.
At the start of the last climb, the lead group had about a minute on our chase group. For myself, the final climb was just survival to minimize time loss. Up ahead though, a battle was taking place. Drew Miller attacked Zajicek and was able to get a gap on the final climb. They flew up the slopes where Miller won the battle and stage. The war and overall G.C., however, was won by Phil Zajicek of Navigators. Drew Miller's victory was enough to move him up to 2nd G.C. The podium was rounded out with Jason Donald (Team Einstein's). Ben Bradshaw finished 14th on the stage and ended 13th G.C. which won him the U23 competition. I placed 20th on the stage and ended 18th G.C. Despite less than ideal circumstances and form, it was a pretty cool race - one definitely to go back to next year. Definitely recommend it to all southern California riders.
Tour of the Gila (5 stages): This NRC event based out of Silver City, New Mexico, featured a challenging time trial, three road races with serious climbing, and a super fast and challenging criterium. This is the type of race that tests your love for the bicycle and racing in general. I was the only rider from Kahala LaGrange. The start list featured several cycling stars from Toyota United Pro who had a full roster including Chris Wherry (2 time Gila winner) & Chris Baldwin. Additional participants were: Healthnet's Gord Fraser & Scott Moninger (2 time Gila winner), Navigators' Burke Swindlehurst (3 time Gila winner) and Phil Zajicek, Drew Miller (3 time Gila winner, Successfuliving.com), Lucas Euser (TIA-CREF), and several others. Many were saying that this was the most "stacked" field at Gila in several years. Ugh, what timing! There were 111 riders signed on to compete in the Pro 1 event.
Stage 1 - Tyrone Time Trial (16.2 miles): The course: starts with a 4.5 mile (2-5%, Cat. 4) climb, followed by a fast decent and then three challenging super rollers, all with a headwind, to the turnaround. Then, back over the rollers to the 1 mile climb (6-7%, Cat. 3) and then 4.5 miles downhill with a tailwind to the finish. After two days of rest since Bisbee, I felt a little better. My chest was clearing up and I was beginning to feel normal, although unfortunately I still wasn't at top form, but I would give it a shot. Nothing to lose. We started alphabetically, so . . . Chris Wherry started 30 seconds behind me. Lucky me. I figured if I could hold him off until the top of the first climb, it would be a personal victory.
The time trial starts and I settle into a pretty fast rhythm - or at least I think it is. I look up and am catching the guy in front of me. I pass the 2 miles to go (to the summit) and still have not been passed. Hey, maybe I'm having an awesome time trial, I thought. Then, it happened. Yeah. I heard the roar of Wherry's disk wheel come up on my left. He steadily passed me. It wasn't one of those demoralizing instances of someone passing you so fast that you want to jump your bike into a crevice. I actually thought I could pick it up a notch and pace off him. Well, I did for a minute, but the check engine lights began to go off and so I let up and settled back into my more reasonable pace. I struggled through the rest of the time trial but was able to pass a couple more riders. I finished in 38:58, 41st place, 4:07 behind stage winner Chris Baldwin (Toyota United Pro). Scott Moninger (Healthnet) and Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators) rounded out the podium. To give an idea of the difficulty of the time trial 60th place was over 5 minutes down and 90th place was over 8 minutes down. Yikes!!!
Stage 2 - Mogollon Road Race (95 miles): The course consisted of a descent, flat roads, and some rollers through the feed zone during the first 85 miles of the race. Then, we hit the town of Glenwood which had a few "warm-up climbs" for a few miles. The last six miles of the race are tough: the first 1.5 miles start at 4% but kick up to 13% before hitting Whitewater Mesa - a 1.5 mile false flat plateau with a strong crosswind. This takes you to the final 3 miles which start at 10% and never really lets up, including a few pitches of 15% and 19% in gradient! The finish is at 6800 feet elevation.
The race started quick but it wasn't so difficult to sit in the field. I went with a few early moves to get into the inevitable breakaway, but unless I got into one early, I wasn't going to continue wasting energy. If you are tired and crack on the final Mogollon climb, you better call a tow truck, because that is the only way you may make it to the finish. A break got away, without me in it, and I conserved energy the best I could during the race. Toyota United Pro went to the front and controlled the race, setting a strong pace most of the day. They didn't have a rider in the breakaway and kept the leaders from getting too much time. A few times the pace was on and riders were in the gutter hanging on for dear life, but most of the time it was manageable.
After nearly 85 miles, we hit the town of Glenwood and started up a small climb. Many were getting feeds so I used the opportunity to move up to the front of the field. With just 3 or 4 miles left to the final right hand turn that takes you up the climb, I was sitting right behind the Toyota United and Healthnet riders. Yes! Unfortunately, the next two miles were a little more difficult with riders swarming up both sides and suddenly my position wasn't so good. In fact, by the time we made the right hander, my position sucked. Full gas was on in the front of the peleton and there was an immediate explosion with riders all over the place. I resolved myself to doing a 6 mile time trial. I bridged a few gaps and rode with a few other riders up to and across Whitewater Mesa. I had already lost about two minutes by the time I hit 3 miles to go. I set into a solid pace on the steep slopes and began picking off other riders who overextended themselves early on.
Up ahead, it was a battle between Scott Moninger, Chris Baldwin, and Burke Swindlehurst who finished in that order. Moninger, with the stage win, closed to within 32 seconds behind Baldwin in the G.C. I finished 43rd on the stage, 5:12 back, now 42nd G.C.
Stage 3 - Fort Bayard Inner Loop Road Race (80 miles): This race consisted of two challenging category 3 climbs in the first 25 miles of the race that took us up to 7473 feet in elevation. Next, is a dangerous and technical descent where several ambulances are parked along the way, "just in case". Then, we have a gradual incline that takes us over the continental divide (6710' elevation), and then down to another category 3 climb (at 18 miles to go) which is a rolling climb, about 7 miles in length. Finally, 10 miles of descending and relatively flat roads to the finish.
Today we had an early start and I ate breakfast less than two hours before start. Unfortunately, the race started real fast and felt as bloated as Goodyear. In no time we hit the first climb and tore up it. The field was split in half - several riders were dropped. I was in difficulty, but managed to hang in there over the top of the first climb. By the time we hit the second climb, my food was digested and I felt much better. Many of the riders dropped earlier had caught back on and we were a large group once again. Two riders got away early (Jon Tarkington, Vitamin Cottage & Owen Gue, Broadmark) and motored over the climbs and down the descent.
Toyota United took control of the race as we ascended and passed by the continental divide, but the 3-4 minute advantage of the break was not coming down very fast. We hit the final climb of the day and it happened to be a headwind, which neutralized attacks. It wasn't too difficult to take shelter and sit in on the climb. However, when Rahsaan Bahati made it over the major section of the climb, TIA-CREF went to the front and drilled it which caused many riders to pop. The final miles were ticked off quickly and the breakaway's lead began to diminish rapidly. With 2 miles to go, we saw the break up the road - it was going to be close. I felt alright and started to move up, but then the vision started getting a bit blurry from the effort and thought I better just get through the stage. The last mile the field blew apart a bit. Gord Fraser timed the sprint to perfection, catching the breakaway riders in the final 20 meters before the finish line to take the victory. Moninger took 2nd on the stage. The overall leader board stayed the same. I finished 47th, 7 seconds back, now 39th G.C.
Stage 4 - Silver City Downtown Criterium (44 miles): Forty laps on a four corner 1.1 mile course with a sprinter hill between turns two and three. Fast, flat finish, all at 6000 feet elevation. My plan was to conserve everything possible for the final stage of the race which is a beast. Last year, I raced the Cat. 2's and was 7th G.C. at the start of this stage. However, my front deraileur loosened, my chain broke, and I lost 3 minutes on the stage - taking me down to 13th G.C. where I eventually finished. So, as long as I don't have any bad luck, it's all good!
Like expected, it was a fast race with several attacks. I stuck my nose out into the wind on a couple occasions (unnecessary induced pain) but thought it better to stick to the original plan. At one point a breakaway with several riders got away and obtained a 35 second advantage on the field. With about 8 laps to go, the chase was on and the field went single file for a couple laps straight, reducing the advantage to 17 seconds. We let off the gas a little but the breakaway was pulled back with just under five laps to go. Again, the final few laps were fast with TIA-CREF, Healthnet, and Toyota-United organizing on the front. Approaching the final turn, I saw that a Toyota United and Healthnet rider had a gap over the other riders. It must have been Chris Wherry and Gord Fraser who was charging toward the line. However, it was a long sprint and Rahsaan Bahati (TIA-CREF) closed in and threw his bike past Fraser for the stage win. Fraser was second and Ken Hanson (BMC Racing) was third. The overall G.C. remained the same with Chris Baldwin (Toyota United Pro) still wearing the pink leaders jersey. I rolled through 59th, now 38th G.C.
Stage 5 - The Gila Monster Road Race (106 miles): Like the title suggests, the stage is a monster with over 9100 feet of climbing. After doing a category 4 climb and going up and over the continental divide during the first 54 miles of the race, the real race actually begins. It starts with a 7 mile/1600 foot climb (Cat. 2, 5-6%). Next, we descend and have four miles of rollers to the turn-around point. Then, we climb back up the mountain 6 miles/1800 foot climb (Cat. 1, 6-8%) to the Cima Pantani summit. Next, there is a 8 mile climb which starts with 3.5 miles at 7-8% and then is rolling toward the summit. Finally, the stage ends with a small category 4 climb to the finish line at Pinos Altos.
The race started fast with several attacks. Eventually, Gord Fraser got away with a couple other riders. Toyota United went to the front and took control of the race. They set a tough tempo all the way to the first big climb of the day with the field essentially intact. Toyota United hit the climb pretty hard and the field began to fall apart. I hung on for a while but lost contact just over a mile from the summit. I ended up in a small chase group, which grew a bit as a few riders joined us from both the front an back. By the time we hit the turn-around, the break with Fraser had a minute over the field, which was in turn less than two minutes ahead of us. Our group hit the next climb and we went pretty slow, everyone seeming content just to get up it. I'm sure the leaders put another 7-8 minutes on us during this climb.
Next, after a fast descent, with 18 miles to go in the race, we hit the final "monster" climb of the day. I was already over 10 minutes down on the leaders but I wanted to finish the race on the same calendar day so I set a faster tempo than the previous climb and rode away from everyone in our chase group except one other rider. He sat on my wheel for a few miles but then worked with me as we hit the roller sections of the course. We picked off a few riders on the way and kept a solid pace as we made our way toward the finish. Surprisingly, I didn't feel too bad 100 miles into the fifth stage of a tough race. I just didn't have the high end to stay with the leaders over the top of that first climb. With a little bit more form, I may have made it a lot farther. Oh well. Up ahead, the race broke up and was in multiple groups. About 15 riders made the lead group with about 10 riders in the second group. After that, there were small groups of three or four riders, one in which I finished. In the lead group, Baldwin and Moninger marked each other. Jason Donald (Team Einstein's) and Anthony Colby (Targetraining) took advantage and attacked. Donald took the stage win with Colby in 2nd. Scott Moninger was 3rd. Swindlehurst placed 11th. I came in 39th place, 23 minutes behind the winner. The overall G.C.: 1st - Chris Baldwin (Toyota United Pro); 2nd - Scott Moninger (Healthnet); 3rd - Burke Swindlehurst (Navigators). I ended up 40th G.C., 32 minutes, 28 seconds down, most of the time lost in the final stage.
Anybody who likes mountains will love this stage race. For many, it is the closest that you may come to "Tour de France" type climbs during a race. Just make sure you train and are ready because if the climbing, altitude, or speed don't get you, the Gila Monster will! Until the next one . . .
Dan Vinson
