The Killington Stage Race is a three day stage race held in Killington, Vermont. The event features a 72 mile circuit race, an 11 mile time trial and a 63 mile mountain stage. Frame and Wheel entered the Category 2 race this as there are no team mates in the 40 plus category. The Category 2 race features a longer circuit race and a much younger and larger field. Temperatures were in 70s and conditions were dry and calm. This is the first stage race on the Ausrto-Daimler Superleicht Di2 Carbon. The bike has been running very well. It has a new Cane Creek 110 Series head set and it is set up with sample FOS carbon tubulars. Frame and Wheel tracks the event on Strava.
The circuit race features a long gradual climb, a very fast half kilometer down hill and a gradual descent. The race begins mid day. Right after the first lap four riders get away and build up a three minute lead. It is windy and the field is very big; the four man break has a long way to go and the field has a lot of momentum on the descents. Frame and Wheel sits in and concentrates on conserving energy. Soon enough the pace picks up on the climbs; the field is interested in closing the gap. This happens on the 3rd lap when the entire race is neutralized because of a crash in a previous category. Everyone pulls over and takes the opportunity to use the woods and even freshen up bottles. Once the race is restarted, the break is down to only 50 seconds. The break is caught at the KOM. The field plunges down the fast descent a final time; riders throw commons sense out the window and use the left lane to try and gain some kind of advantage. This does not work out for at least two riders who plunge into the ditch at 40 miles an hour. The EMT car passes the field for a second time in a single day. A lone rider finished the race 30 seconds ahead of the field. Frame and Wheel finishes with the group, unscathed and very rested.
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| All done with the circuit race |
The time trial features a gradual uphill, followed by a flat straight section and concluded by a winding and rolling section. The race starts early afternoon. The wind has picked up and become a head wind. Temperatures are in the 70s. This is the fourth time trial on the Austro-Daimler tt Carbon. The bike is running very well and it feels very comfortable. Frame and Wheel concentrates on staying on top of good gear and staying aerodynamic. The climb section goes by quite quickly and almost feels flat; Frame and Wheel makes good time here. The flat section seems to go on for ever. Frame and Wheel pushes hard over the short sharp hill at the one kilometer mark and tries hard to keep up the intensity to the line. The drool is begining to advance. Frame and Wheel hits the line with a time of 24:13 (2011: 23:33) which is fast enough for third place. Michael Reidenbach of the Hydromax Cycling Team is in second place (23:58) and Steve Perezhula of BikeRay USA is in first (23:35). Frame and Wheel gets some podium time for the effort and cannot help but observing that the combined age of the first and second place finishers is less than the age of Frame and Wheel.
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| Going up Route 4 on Austro-Daimler tt Carbon |
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| KSR Stage 2 ITT Podium (Cat 2) |
The mountain stage features a long descent, some tough climbs mid way through the race, dirt roads and the final three mile climb up Eastern Mountain Road to the Killington Ski Resort. The race starts early morning. The weather continues to be fine. The Austro-Daimler Superleicht is holding up well and so are the Pellegrinos. These wheels have great acceleration and the braking is fantastic. Unfortunately, Frame and Wheel forgets to activate the GPS so that the race can be tracked on Strava (a minor iTronski). There is a break up the road but the field does not seem worried. Frame and Wheel sits in and conserves. The pace accelerates sharply on the climbs at the mid way point, but the field does not break up. After some dirt roads and a long grind up Route 4, the field comes charging into the base of Eastern Mountain Road and the second part of the race begins. Frame and Wheel moves up and is soon with ten riders laboring up the first steep. There are two riders up the road; they are soon out of sight. The chase group pushes on to the KOM and soon after two more riders get away. Frame and Wheel is not in a position to chase. The group enters the molasses zone, where time and space become slow and sticky. Frame and Wheel tries to move up a bit in the last 500 meters but no real progress is made. Frame and Wheel finishes in tenth place, which is good enough to secure fifth place in the General Classification. Frame and Wheel is very pleased with the result. Frame and Wheel thanks the organizers for putting on a well run race and congratulates OA / Cyclemania riders in the other categories on their results.
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| The last 500 meters of Eastern Mountain Road |
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| Austro-Daimler Superleicht Carbon Di2 with FOS tubulars |
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| Heading home |
