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Photos: Clark Maxwell

Nick Reistad is running for the USPro Rider Representative on the USAC Board of Trustees. Vote for Nick!

 

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photo: jrowland

After finally recovering or more so hoping that we had recovered from Qing Hia Lake 10 day Alititude Stage race over China we head towards Chicago, IL for the Alekian Brothers Elk Grove Stage Race weekend. As we all show up from our places of origin you can tell that the team is a little different this go around. We know that we have just put in some serious training and racing coming up to this point and understand the importance of this first race leading us towards our collective goals for the later half of the season.

We line up for the individual Time Trail, hoping our legs are ready to shine, but as we feared our week and a half of recovering for China has left us blocked and lacking the red hot intensity that the Time Trial required. Over analyzing the effort we cross our fingers that the next days Road Race will go a little smoother or at least less painful as we just blew all our rest week cob webs out. The road race started off as expected fast and very aggressive as teams attempted to gain precious seconds off the front to hopefully make it to the intermediate sprints just in time to grab up so well deserved points and time bonuses.

Although funny thing…the race bible states that each sprint will be on a specific lap, but the reality of that was far from the truth as the person manning the lap counter must have been taking a nature break the first time through as we were a full lap off(7.5km). As you might think this caused some very disgruntled teams, because all our efforts were completely miss timed. Thanks Lap Counter Flipper person! Luck did look our way when we were able to win the mid-race big money sprint. Fast forwarding to the finish the three main teams were attempting to set up there specific sprinter and speeds were high. Barreling towards the last corner the front team was a little too eager and ended up stacking it right in the apex of the corner. Leaving everyone behind grabbing handfuls of the estrogen levers and making evasive maneuvers to avoid the carnage. We lost our sweet position and Nic Sanderson had to through in one of the most impressive hell marries I have seen in quite some time. Coming from now where placing to just reach the last podium spot 3rd by the finish line.

With the rest of us limping in with our bikes and bodies still intact. With the general classification still tight moving in to the last day criterium we knew that we could still possibly make something happen as long as we were attentive. Lap after lap we were able to sit pretty as our long legged recently married man Bryce Mead was holding tight up in the main break of the day. Taking one for the team is just part of the job and Bryce really stepped up. In the final laps things were once again heating up after Toyota United had controlled the race for nearly the entire day.

Team after team attempted to come to the front and over take the race lead, but the course left just too many possibilities to the opportunistic team willing to risk loosing to win. Lucky for the Jelly Belly squad we show patience under pressure from all side, holding tight near the front, and waiting for our chance to shine. In the end we nearly lost the race as Kelly opened the gap or attacked through the final corner leaving Toyota to place the race leader with in striking distance for the stage and overall win. With the final meters came quickly upon us we showed once again why we are an underdog that should not be overlooked. Thinking that we still had Nic Sanderson in prime position to throw in another impressive hell marry we hit out just as we were inside 300 meters. With Kelly still dangling in front of us as the finish approached we hit top speed just inside 100 to go and grabbed victory from the almost certain with of Kelly. Nic fighting his way in to 4th and our final lead out man Brad Huff winning the day.

Without the amazing support of our host family The Stenbriekers non of this would have been possible. I think that the next time we show up we will not be bringing a bike box, but instead a dog crate as about half the team wants to steal there lovely female boxer Scout. I mean old man boxer Buck is great too.

Whew! Another successful trip to China for the Tour of Qinghai Lakes completed. Jelly Belly did an awesome job of fighting through the altitude and questionable food to score three top-five finishes. We all had a blast racing through the beautiful, yet untamed, western province of Qinghai. When we weren’t in race mode, we had a little opportunity to do some sightseeing and DVD buying.
We started the race off with a bang in the prologue by getting four riders in the top twenty. Brad Huff was a mere 13 seconds off the pace, with Bernard, Nic, and Jeremy also within 25 seconds of the win. After we crossed the line, I think we were all gasping for the air that wasn’t quite there. The next day, we hit the first of many climbs to come, with Mike Lange and myself making the front group. From there on, Mike did an awesome job of getting over the 12,000ft plus climbs, finishing an impressive 22nd place in GC.
On the flat stages, Jelly Belly did a great job of getting Nic Sanderson to the finish line. Barely outsprinted, Nic scored two fourth places and a tenth, just inches away from the win each time.

I was the only non-finisher for Jelly Belly succumbing not to the food poisoning that steals the legs from most riders at this race, but from a killer case of tendonitis in my left knee. After a meeting with Danny, we decided that in stage 6, if I had any pain I should withdraw. Never having pulled out of a big stage race like this, I wasn’t sure what the proper protocol was. When I got to the broom wagon, the driver suggested that I hope on the bus while it was still driving. I was pretty sure that wasn’t the right way to get on, so I finally convinced them to pull over and stop for me. It wasn’t fun, and I hope to never ride in a broom wagon again!
Chicken Feet for dinner! Mmmm…

A few personal notes from the race:
Bernard- After stage 2, Bernie boldly claimed that he would NEVER come back to this race; however, a few days later he was saying how cool of an experience this was with a full Cheshire cat grin on his face. He also bought a sword for $25US.

Brad- Ate only rice and eggs the entire trip.

Micro- Entertained the team with his AK-47 BB gun, popping the mechanics from his perch in his hotel window as they loaded the team car.

Matty- Again bought a DVD player and about 200 DVDs for under $150US.

Jenni and Katie- Once again, these girls took the best care of us the entire trip. They also put up with countless shenanigans. Thanks girls!!!

The Jelly Belly cycling team is racing in China!!  The team of seven riders and five staff is competing at the Tour Of Qinghai Lake  We’ve all seen a lot of the beauty that the Qinghai lake region has and it is amazing.  The race has some brutal climbs but with those comes amazing views.  We’ve climbed some big mountains topping out at 13,000 feet and we’ve raced competitively at a true international ten day stage race half-way across the world.  Our best result so far is just shy of the podium with a 4th place finish last Thursday.  The fans / spectators have been truly amazing and come out to support the racers in the 10’s of thousands.  The team is really looking forward to the final stage tomorrow which is 110 kilometers in downtown Xinging.  We’re all hoping for good legs and a little bit of luck to pull off a big one in China.  Thanks for reading and enjoy some pictures!