Barb and Greg give strong performances at TOTV
Tour of the Valley
July 9-10, 2010
Youngstown, OH
July brings stage races, and our first stage race of the season presented Team SCE with three days of fun in and around Youngstown, Ohio. The Tour of the Valley, organized by Carbon Racing, is one of the areas biggest and most well-run stage races, and this year it did not disappoint. Located less than 2 hours from Pittsburgh, the commutable distance made it even easier for our team to compete. This year the racers included Kate, Barb, EJ, Greg, Jim, Stacie, and me (PG). From the Time Trial to the Road Race and the Sunday criterium, this event was fun-filled from start to finish.
Time Trial – Friday Night, Mastropietro Winery, Berlin Center, OH
The race began with a 9.6-mile out and back prologue time trial on Friday night. Starting from the Mastropietro winery, the setting for this event was spectacular. This was an out-and-back TT with one 90 degree turn about 1 mile from the start/finish, over rolling hills and smooth roads. Barb and Greg laid down the best times in the TT, Barb coming in 8th in the women’s event (23:00), and Flood taking 7th in the Men’s 4/5 with a time of 22:04. These initial performances were crucial in an event where the GC was scored on overall time.
Road Race – Saturday, Columbiana, OH
The next day brought the road race. In this race the women and the men’s 4/5 did one lap, but EJ’s and Jim’s race did 2! Unfortunately Jim was stricken by a bad upper respiratory infection, and had to pull out of the race, and EJ suffered back spasms on the 2nd loop that would disallow him from continuing on competing in the GC. This left the women and Greg to carry forth in the SCE quest to completing the tour. The KOM/QOM climb proved to be the deciding ground for many racers in this race, and Greg and Barb put in more than respectable performances, keeping them in the GC. Stacie and Kate raced well with fellow Pittsburger, Donna, and helped guide her through her first road race.
Criterium – Sunday, Youngstown, OH
On the final day, the streets of Youngstown were closed off and the course delineated, as racers took to the streets. Greg, a crit specialist, looked amazing as he crossed the finishline 5th. While Kate unfortunately suffered mechanical issues, Stacie was amazing, working to help both Barb and me in the women’s crit race. I took 11th, and Barb finished 12th, maintaining her top 10 position in the GC.
Great job SCE racers who competed in the Tour of the Valley! Our team overcame health and mechanical issues to rally together and put in strong performances, with Barb and Greg each taking 10th in the GC. This race was a lot of fun. We’re definitely already looking forward to next year.
Overall race results can be found here.
