Finally getting around to writing about Tuesday’s last stage (#5). Just didn’t have time to write earlier, as we had to pack up for the two-day drive back home.
The Borah team had perhaps their best race of the Tour, with five out of six riders finishing with the main peloton, and the sixth just off the back despite a crash. Below is an edited version of our team director’s (Larry Martin) race report, since he always provides much better analysis than I ever could.
Excerpt from Larry’s “last day” email:
Tuesday’s last stage was 97 km from the town of Amos to Val-d’Or. We would finish as we entered the town on the main street in front of the Dessau office. Dessau, an engineering firm, is one of the sponsors of the race.
The start in Amos for the road race is in front of a large domed cathedral that was built 100 years ago. We had all of the caravan cars lined up and the boys were preparing for the race as a funeral procession arrived. They were quiet for a moment as the casket was carried in, then resumed their pre-race chatter.
The race started and we were on our way before the funeral mass had ended. The start was extremely fast, we were hitting 40 mph and faster on the way out of town. Our caravan position had dropped to 25 with only the Mid South team car behind us. The caravan position is determined by the highest placed rider on the team, which was Colton. That meant that 24 teams had at least one rider higher in the GC than Colton. On the other hand, I had all six of my riders in the race with all of them with 15 places of one another.
The race Caravan would speed up, slow down for the next 20 miles before it got into a more steady rhythm. One of Lowell’s riders popped of the back early in the race and was soon out of the caravan. I had told my riders before the race that I would not try to pace them back up on this day since we had nothing to gain by doing that. In the end it became unnecessary anyway.
When we hit 50 km and the Feed Zone opened we prepared for feeding. The first car called was Major Motion which was the 23rd position. They drove up to feed and settled back in, the second car called was Major Motion, the official on the race radio warned them to give more than one bottle. The third car called was Major Motion, again a warning, then another team was called, then again Major Motion and the official told them that could no longer feed their riders.
Ricky called us for a feed, we reached him quickly and Rick-Daniel passed him two bottles and we went back into position.
Everything proceeded very well and as we entered the outskirts of Val-d’Or I told Oscar that I had always seen a crash on this one section of road. And at about the point where I predicted it would happen, it did. The team cars expanded across the road and I was able to get Oscar into a short race to the scene. The official said that one of our riders was down, but when Oscar got there he was already up and gone. Larry Warbasse went down again and Barney, his director was pacing him back to the caravan. Larry went by us with his legs spinning 200 RPM. His chain ring had been bent in the crash and he was in the small ring. He was going over 30 mph and caught the peloton and rode in the last 8 km like that. He had some help from some teammates as well, but it was pretty impressive to watch. Larry finished 8th overall in the standings and was 36 on the day.
The finish had one rider crash off the front, but his was the only one. Ricky was 21st for the stage, Colton was 25th, Mac was 32nd, Kevin was 50th, Sam did well and Tony who had crashed finished just off the main group.
This was the hardest racing team that I have had up here in a few years. Each of the guys came to race and worked steadily toward the front in each stage and they were not afraid to mix it up with the bigger riders. It was a pleasure for me to work with them and share this experience with them. I appreciate all of the support that has been given at home and from the parents of these young men and I look forward to sharing the experience with them again, either as Team Members or adversaries.
Phil writing again:
I can only second what Larry has said about the character of these boys. They showed true grit, determination, stamina, and incredible will power. Not only that, they were all nice young men, personable, smiling, friendly, and having fun. Great role models for their peers, their parents, and anyone else.
Thanks to Larry and Oscar for all the hard work, and to all the other parents for their support in this grueling race. A great life experience for all involved.
Le Tour de L'Abitibi 2008 