Here it is, the first big objective of the season kicks off in a fast and furious fashion at the Redlands Bicycle Classic (RBC) in California. In the run-up to the race, the team had spent a week in the testing hills of Thousand Oaks for team training camp with their passionate sponsors, followed by a taper week in the flat citrus groves of Oxnard before transferring to the cycling friendly community of Redlands, California. The RBC is one of the largest and longest running stage races in North America consisting of the Highland Circuit Race (20 laps, 90km total), the Yucaipa Road Race (145km, 2800m elevation gain), Route 66 Time Trial (14.7km), the Downtown Criterium (90 minutes, 68km), and finally the Sunset Road Race (12 laps, 135km). Due to school commitments and RBC being a professional/category one race, our team consisted of myself (Aidan), Declan, Matthew from Red Truck Racing, Al Murrison, Alex Fraser-Maraun, and Cole Glover from Bici Factory Racing (Red Truck Alumni), and two guest riders; Sam Medlicot from New Zealand and Ian Witkowski from the US. The lads would have their work cut out for them at this edition with the addition of several professional teams resulting in one of the fastest and most hotly contested events in recent years.
Stage 1
Nerves were high going into stage one which promised fast racing and a high likelihood of crashes and splits due to 20 laps of a technical circuit featuring a sharp and steep two minute climb followed by a blistering fast descent into a technical neighborhood. Some of the veterans on the team had their sights set on this stage and devised a plan for placing AFM in position for a strong finish while the majority of the team was just hoping to get through the stage to shine in the coming days. Lap after lap we successfully navigated the twitchy peloton and technical road infrastructure threatening to dislodge our bottles or slash our tires. In the end, a fast breakaway stayed away with the main bunch almost a minute back with AFM finishing strong for 39th, I maintained my GC aspirations coming in just behind the favourites for the race, and the rest of the team rounded out the day by keeping it rubber side down.
Stage 2
Stage two, the Yucaipa Road Race, promised type 2 fun with the infamous Oak Glen mountain top finish. I’ve had my sights set on this stage since I imploded spectacularly in the blistering heat last year. While I knew I wanted to have a good showing on the climb, a lot has to go right in order to get to the base in the right position to launch with the leaders. After many delays and BG carrying arm-loads of jackets, the race finally got underway just in time for the dark and dreary rain clouds to settle over the circuit. As we ticked off the laps, I kept myself tucked in the bunch and out of the wind to conserve my legs for the finale but was always keeping an eye on where my teammates were in the bunch. While I was having an uneventful stage up to this point, Matthew was having to ride his heart out to get back to the pack after flatting at an inopportune moment. As we entered the final lap of the circuit, the pace was heating up and tensions were running high as everyone jockeyed for position towards the front as we approached the all-important left turn onto Oak Glen. Red truck assembled like the second-coming of the autobots as Declan executed his task to perfection to bring myself, Cole, and AFM to the front of the race. As we swung left and started up the climb, the only thing blistering about this stage this year was the thermonuclear pace of the front group as we climbed into the rain, fog, and single digit temperatures (in celsius because we’re Canadian, eh). As the miniscule front group crested the plateau at the midpoint of the climb and the speeds picked up, I found myself slowly being distanced as my legs rebelled against the pain that we put ourselves through. It wasn’t long before the front group was out of sight, about 10 meters due to the dense fog we were swimming through, so I settled into a sustainable pace with four others. Slowly but surely the mile markers came into view so we once again ratcheted up the pace. As we came past the 100m to go marker the line was still invisible through the fog, my group opened up their sprint. I asked my legs for everything that they had left to come across the line second in my group and 37th on the day; a time that would have had us well in the top 20’s in previous editions; a sign of how prestigious and sought after this event has become. Wet, tired, and right frozen, the seven of us (Ian unfortunately did not finish), practiced our team bonding antics to fit into the team Mazda to thaw out until the women finished. This is how we would remain until the call came out that our teammate Nadia WON the women’s stage! What an exciting end to the day.
Stage 3
Stage three featured the Route 66 Individual Time Trial, a real test of character and willpower to eek out the most of yourself against the clock. Most of us were just hoping to make time cut and get through this stage as only Matthew and I had brought TT bikes this year. Being towards the pointy-end on the general classification, it meant that I had a later start and got to listen to my teammates reports of increasing wind out on the course, exactly what I needed to hear knowing that I don’t have the most inertia and will be riding a 80mm deep front wheel and a full disc rear. A lapse on my part left me fixing my bike 15 minutes before the start but I made it through the bike check jig in time. I won’t bore you with tales of me battling wind gusts like the three little pigs against the wolf but I improved on my time from last year and made it through the stage. Everyone made it through the TT within the time cut.
Stage 4
Stage four, the downtown criterium, either your favourite event of the week or your least favourite. This paragraph is all about the fastest accountant in the world, Al Murrison, and the epic siege he bestowed upon the green sprint competition. With more laps of the course than we have fingers and toes, Al’s spreadsheet-like brain kept crunching the numbers to figure out down to the watt what he needed to do to win the green jersey. Lap after lap, Al kept himself in the front of the peloton and laid siege to the sprinters in the race ticking off points laps one after another winning three of the six sprints to put himself in green going into the final stage. Luckily, we all stayed upright this year and got through the criterium unscathed other than AFM requiring a first lap wheel change after a puncture warming up.
With Al needing to defend the green jersey on the final stage, the lads got to devising a strategy on how we could balance defending the jersey and finishing one of the hardest races in NA, the Sunset Road Race. Al needed to win one of the two sprints on the two opening laps of the criterium course to wrap up the sprint competition which he did through the stellar lead out Matthew gave him off the line. Job successfully done and matches spent, Matthew parked up to help the rest of the team by being the most iconic feed zone feeder, an important job on the hottest of the stages. As the group climbed up to the sunset circuit, Declan once again doggedly brought me up to the front of the pack and putting me in stellar position for the all-important first few laps. The next couple hours involved gritting teeth and suffering just a little more than everyone else on the climbs followed my high speed technical descents of 90+ KPH trying to eat and recover. Sam, AFM, Declan, Cole, and Al, were climbing incredibly well and all got a finishing time, great riding and work from all of them. In the end, I stuck in to finish at the circuit with the main chase group for 27th on the day and achieved my goal of finishing this beautiful and brutal race. Al winning the sprint jersey is an incredible feat that will go down in history of not only Red Truck, but also North American road racing. And to top off an incredible week, Steve was honoured for his hard work, dedication, and love of the sport through the Carol King Award, truly an inspiration. Lastly, Brians efforts throughout the week keeping us on track and running smoothly didn’t win a trophy but definitely won in our eyes and hearts for the work that he does to make this team happen. We will be back next year!