Neil Shirley Diary Tour De Beauce – Stage 3
6/13/08 - This stage was a climbers delight! The only problem for me is that right now I can’t be referred to anything of the sort. Today was 100-miles of up’s and down’s and then a few bigger up’s and down’s before hitting the 10%, 6 K climb of Mt Megantic.
Anytime they put an observatory on top of the mountain you know you’re in for a tough one. What do Mt Megantic, Brasstown Bald, Palomar Mountain, and Mt Hamilton all have in common? They all have observatories on top! Stay away from these climbs, they are way too painful!
Tecos took the reins again early on since they still had the race lead. They allowed a 3-man break go about 10-miles into the stage and then immediately started riding tempo. They set such a hard tempo on the rollers and the KOM climbs it discourage any attacks. The field split apart multiple times over some of the bigger climbs but it kept rolling back together on the descents. Tecos kept the pressure on and brought back the break away going into the last 10-miles. As the climb started the fireworks went off! Team Type 1 drilled it from the bottom to set up their GC guys, all three of them.
I exited out the rear of the front group pretty quickly once we hit the steep slopes of the climb. I watched the leaders dance away out of the saddle as I suffered to turn the pedals over. It was a long ride to the top but at least the views were amazing on the way up.
“Little Mig” (Miguel Martinez) put the smack down on the climb today. If you don’t know who he is then I’ll give you a quick rundown. He is the most dominant male mountain biker of all time. He has won two Olympic Gold Medals on the mountain bike; he is former multiple times World Champion and World Cup Champion. He made the jump to the road four or five years back and rode for Mapei and then Phonak and now Amore & Vita. He never made it to the same level on the road as he had on the mountain bike but he still has some great accomplishments on the road, including today. He comes from some good genes, as his dad was a Tour de France stage winner back in the day. Bernardo Colex of Tecos rewarded his teammates efforts on the day and finished second, but more importantly he held onto the overall lead. Team Type 1’s Mexican climber and former KOM jersey wearer at the Giro d’ Italia, Moises Aldape came in third.
I am hoping to have a little luck over the next few days and sneak out a result. My legs aren’t going to overpower anyone right now so I will have to race extra smart.
Tomorrow is a double day, a 20K Time Trial in the morning and then a 90 minute criterium in the evening. I’m not sure if I will give the TT 100% or not, I guess I have to see what the boss says.Thanks for reading!
