The day started off in stunning fashion in Crested Butte, CO. With the legs being shaken out yesterday with a huge first day of pedaling to wake everyone up, it was now time to really see who was was here to race. Mother Nature greeted us with an outstanding sunrise over Mt. Crested Butte, and the coffee was actually on time today, which always makes early mornings easier to handle.
Same early start time, first shuttles loading up at 630 am, but with a lot more tired faces being seen this morning. Who recovered well last night, and who drank too much beer after a hard first day? With over 33 miles of pedaling taking place and more than 6700 feet of descending, we would soon find out.
The sun comes up behind Mt. Crested Butte, and when clouds hover in the sky, the surroundings become glorious. Here’s to another great day of racing.A long mountain valley started the racers on Stage 3 (first of the day), leading to the steep of the second half of the stage.Jennifer Crew carrying good pace through the flatter part of Stage 1. Riding through these high alpine meadows is rewarding.A small creek runs along the bottom of the valley, keeping everything lush and green. Perfect for high speeds and flowing turns.Occasionally the creek needed to be crossed. The water wasn’t quite as deep as some spots on Day 1, but it certainly kept things interesting. Taylor Lideen kept to the correct transfer courses today, and seemed to have an extra pep in his pedal stroke.Not everyone was enjoying the track. Breathing at this altitude can really have you getting oxygen anyway you can.Blurring the lines between racing and having fun.Curtis Keene is taking the first couple days easy, playing things a bit on the safe side, but in the top ten. I think we’ll see him open it up the last two days.This didn’t end very well for Curtis Cole. He did jump right up and get after it in no time.Ross Schnell was the first Pro Male to come down the track. He looked to be flying.Nate Hills rounding a corner that you didn’t want to overcook. The drop off was very steep and the consequences ugly.Jerome Clementz moved up a few spots in the overall standings today, but still sits over a minute back of teammate Marco Osborne. Clementz is a veteran of multi day races, and anything can happen.Macky Franklin communing with nature. His riding kit matches the foliage and ground cover. Coincidence? Probably not.Something doesn’t taste quite right, or the photographer interrupted us when we were trying to eat.I can do this race with my eyes closed. Clementz doesn’t have any fun racing bikes.Stage 4 (2nd on the day) ended on the Doctor’s Park trail. Sandstone mixed with ponderosa pine.Part 2 of “this didn’t end well.” Two riders were riding closely, and were soon approached by a third in the dust storm. No one was hurt and everyone rode away.Definitely steep in sections on this trail.Josh Carlson preparing for the last EWS race in Finale Ligure, Italy.Chris Johnston rode well today, and is recovering nicely from a summer long injury.Casey Coffman is having a blast in Colorado and loves the trails in the area.Clementz just makes every turn look smooth.Janae Pritchett lives in CB and know these trails well. It shows. She sitting in 3rd with some very fast company.Kathy Pruitt held steady to her 11 second lead over Irmiger.For the second day in a row, Marco Osborne is showing the other racers he’s here for the win, and increased his lead over Schnell to 11 seconds.
Pro Women
Pruitt
Irmiger
Pritchett
Kinsler
Kuennen
Pro Men
Osborne
Schnell
West
Clementz
Franklin
Words, Photos: Daniel Dunn
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