In Joe Martin, Jelly Belly came close to victory in the criterium stage. We knew Brice had good legs when, out on a training ride, we came across two deer on the side of the road munching on some grass. It kind of appeared as though one of them wanted to race us, and B. Rizzy was up to the challenge. He took off, full sprint, side-by-side with the deer running along in the grass. The rest of the group stared in awe as Brice started to pull away from the deer. Just as it was clear that the Jelly Belly rider was the victor, the deer darted off to the right, disappearing into the bushes. We stopped and took a breather, laughing, not quite sure at what just happened. All we knew was Brice had some good legs leading into Joe Martin.
The following weekend, Jelly Belly climbed to the top of the GC podium as The Baj tamed Mt. Neebo for a second year in a row. Team Jelly Belly powered their way to victory in two stages, with Brice taking the win in Stage 2 nearly a week after winning the two-up sprint against a deer, and The Baj won the last day to claim the GC. We came into this race confident in our climbers and sprinters, knowing that we could take down at least one stage. When all was said and done, we walked away with two stages and nearly a third. It was all due to teamwork and a lot of Sport Beans.
