Tour of Virginia Stage 3 – Bedford to Covington

4/25 – Stage #3 – Bedford to Covington– 107.6 miles (closer to 110 miles)

Today was the first big day of the ToV. The race started at noon, it was sunny, and temperatures climbed throughout the day. We started at the D-Day Memorial site in Bedford, completing one loop around the memorial before officially starting the race. Today’s race consisted of two Cat 3 climbs, and a big Cat 1 climb starting at mile 85, along with numerous uncategorized climbs throughout the race.

The pace was fast from the start, averaging 30mph through the rolling hills leading to the first Cat 3 climb at mile 27. Jame got into a break of about 25 that lasted the next 40 miles, over the second Cat 3 climb, and to the final climb of the day, a monstrous 7-mile Cat 1 climb. The break away dissipated during this last climb, with a group of 20 guys from the peleton joining the break as they wound their way up the big hill. John and Boyd were in this group, with Joe not too far behind. A contingent of Colombians from the Caico Team led the pace through the hills and their big climber crested the KOM first.

The finish was at the bottom of a 10-mile-long insane descent. John and Boyd were in a group of 11, chasing 2 small groups ahead of them. Boyd was on the front driving the pace through the bottom stretch before the finish, putting John in a good position to sprint for 16th place overall on the day. Winning time was 4 hours and 33 minutes. John and Boyd finished about 5 minutes back, Joe came in a few minutes later finishing 34th day, Mike finished 57th and Chris finished 73rd. Overall, a very successful day for Team Alliance.

On a side note, Team Alliance was also representing in the team car caravan today. Bill was driving, Dana was getting bottles ready for the feeds, but most importantly we were the only team to have a team dog along for support. Check out Buster on cyclingnews.com

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