Strong winds were the prevailing force in today's Tour of the Gila stage. Jon was in it to win it after an arduous 120 kilometers and was actually on race leader Levi Leipheimer's wheel for a while in the final kilometers. Disaster struck when he was echelon-ed into the dirt, crashing with about 600 meters to go. He was sixth wheel at that moment, racing for the podium. "Usually I'm always suffering but I was feeling good today," Jon said in regard to his form at this year's Gila.
The day started with the first Category 3 climb to Pinos Altos, where much of the field was left behind. Zach Davies, also from the Groove Subaru Squad, managed to stay in front of the split with Jon and got him into good position before they hit the crosswind section. It was a group of just 50 of the remaining riders (out of 177 starters) that made it through to Fort Bayard together, though even in this group there were gaps because of the high winds. After his crash, Jon was able to hop up quickly and get over the finish line, not sure of his exact placing yet.
The crash wasn't the only craziness blown in with the wind. The Elder Bakers, at the Gila to feed the Groove Subaru team, accidentally locked the keys in the car and missed getting to feed zone number one. Someone had to Slim Jim the door open. Also, this just twittered: a porta potty has blown over at the race headquarters. Hopefully no one was in it! Lance Armstrong was heard saying after the race that it was the windiest day of his career.
Great news for Greg Krause, the Groove Subaru rider racing with the cat 2's, he'll be getting his cat 1 upgrade soon enough after WINNING today's stage of the cat 2 men's race. Congratulations Greg! Tomorrow everyone is racing solo in the 25k time trial, which sounds punishing but will certainly mean less time in the saddle. More tomorrow.
The day started with the first Category 3 climb to Pinos Altos, where much of the field was left behind. Zach Davies, also from the Groove Subaru Squad, managed to stay in front of the split with Jon and got him into good position before they hit the crosswind section. It was a group of just 50 of the remaining riders (out of 177 starters) that made it through to Fort Bayard together, though even in this group there were gaps because of the high winds. After his crash, Jon was able to hop up quickly and get over the finish line, not sure of his exact placing yet.
The crash wasn't the only craziness blown in with the wind. The Elder Bakers, at the Gila to feed the Groove Subaru team, accidentally locked the keys in the car and missed getting to feed zone number one. Someone had to Slim Jim the door open. Also, this just twittered: a porta potty has blown over at the race headquarters. Hopefully no one was in it! Lance Armstrong was heard saying after the race that it was the windiest day of his career.
Great news for Greg Krause, the Groove Subaru rider racing with the cat 2's, he'll be getting his cat 1 upgrade soon enough after WINNING today's stage of the cat 2 men's race. Congratulations Greg! Tomorrow everyone is racing solo in the 25k time trial, which sounds punishing but will certainly mean less time in the saddle. More tomorrow.
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