Course: Ten miles point to point. Rolling up hill for the first seven miles with a steady climb for the final three miles.
Course Description: The start is just past the Mariposa County line on Ben Hur Road. Initially the road is rolling up and down with short steep climbs and short fast descents. There is some steady gradual climbing also. After about seven miles you reach the final climb which is approximately three miles long and has a steady grade of around six or seven percent.
Distances: 10 miles.
Road Surface: Fair to poor county roads.
Gearing: 12x21. You will want the 12 for some fast stretches. Most riders will probably get by with just a 19 for the climbs though.
Facilities: Portable toilets available at registration area. Sandwiches and groceries are available in Raymond which is approximately four miles from the start.
Weather: By early April the weather should be pretty nice in the Central Valley. It could be windy and allergy sufferers will want to bring the appropriate USOC approved medicines.
Feeding: N/A
Rules Specific to this race: Since this is part of a stage race on time you will be credited with the last place riders time if you have a mechanical problem. If you continue on after your mechanical YOU could record the last place time so it's best to just stop and call it a day.
Race Advice: Conserve your energy until the final steady climb.
Always choose to shift down over the roller instead of powering over the top.
If you blow on a small roller you can lose an immense amount of time. A heart
rate monitor is quite useful in keeping yourself under control through this
section.
Don't use a funny bike. If possible ride the course before the race.
With a start time of noon that shouldn't be too hard. Do use clip on aero
bars. Tri-spokes, Spinergies, or a light disk will work well, otherwise use
light wheels without too many spokes like Rovals or Zipp's.
Once many moons ago I placed 3rd on this stage behind Mike Engleman
and Steve Larson. A couple of years later I wasn't terribly fit and placed
pretty poorly about two minutes behind the leaders. The interesting thing is
that my time was almost identical to when I placed 3rd and the winners time
(Peter Davis) was quite faster than Engleman's time. The difference as far as
I could tell was aero bars. The aero bars were quite useful for those first
seven miles. So the moral of the story is that you WILL lose
significant time on this stage if you don't use aero bars.
Lodging: Most riders stay at the Madera Valley Inn in Madera. It is the race headquarters. The phone number is (209)673-5164.
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Corrections and additions, please email me!
Kevin Metcalfe
[email protected]