Jelly Belly Cycling Team Report:
The team has taken the momentum we built in Georgia and run with it! We started the week off right with a palatial home stay thanks to former JBer Brice Jones. Really out was his parents Johnny and Sandra Jones who opened up their lovely home to the team, Brice’s in-laws were also very kind to us this year and housed three more JB racers. Between the home made Granola for breakfast and the BBQ for dinner, we had no excuses not to perform.
And Perform we did!
We started the week off right with four riders in the top twenty in the opening Hill Climb Time Trial. Sprinter Sanderson came in for 19th, climbing specialist Mike Lange pulled out a 14th, Aaron Tuckerman rode to a strong 8th place while Bernard van Ulden showed our true colors for a podium finish in third. So the gauntlet had been laid and Jelly Belly was there to race.
Stage two featured a 110 mile road race with a bit of a monster climb half way through the stage. Try as the teams might to stir the pot and break the group up over the climb, team tactics would decide otherwise. A dangerous break did manage to get away for a short bit over the top of the climb, but with GC threat Tuckerman covering the move, Jelly Belly quickly shut it down. Per usual the sprinters would have their day on this finish. Matty Rice and Brad Huff did excellent jobs shuttling Nic Sanderson thought the group in the run into the finish; in return Sanderson rewarded their efforts with a strong 4th place finish in the mad dash for the line. Bernard also finished safely in the bunch so Jelly Belly retained their podium spot on G.C.
Stage three was a bit more difficult a stage to get around. A long hilly circuit the riders would have to get around three times before the long decent to the finish would prove to be a taxing day. To add to the difficulty of the course, mother nature decided to spice it up a bit with some strong winds. MIke Lange and Aaron Tuckerman took turns softening up the group with attacks on the climbs, while Brad huff had a go at it on the windy plateau of the course. Never the less, with a long fast decent to the finish the eight ton gorilla that was the peloton would have nothing less than a field sprint once again. With the final kilometers of the course covering a wide open stretch of four lane highway, the field was nothing less than chaotic. Apparently Brad Huff finds solitude in this sort of mayhem because in his own words he simply “floated” up and through the group and just kept floating to a third place finish on the day. The sprinters really must be a breed of their own. So on this day team Jelly had a podium finish for the stage and retained a podium spot G.C. as well. Spirits were running high.
The final stage was a technical and hilly criterium course in downtown Fayetteville. However before we could turn a single pedal, manager Danny Van Haute was out waving the Jelly Belly Flag. Danny came out and did a great job supporting the kids race with sample packets of Jelly Bellies and Lexus Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team T-shirts. Witnessing the speed at which these items disappeared was something else. Moreover, a few riders gave up their T-shirts as well because no matter how many we brought, there were more people who wanted a piece of the fun. As a rider, it really is a nice feeling when no matter where you go, everyone is always happy to see you. I credit this primarily to our wonderful sponsors who make it happen for us.
Onto the race!
It was a text book day for the team. We placed our dangerous sprinter Sanderson into the break and although it was reeled in shortly before the finish, Aaron Tuckerman was immediately there to counter attack the group. Although the group proved to be too strong on this day, once Aaron was back in the field Brad Huff managed to perfectly time a last lap attack that saw him take the final turn of the course free and clear. It was just a bit too bad there was a windy hill between Brad and the finish. In situations such as these it is all too easy for the force peloton to out weigh the lone rider. Brad was caught just meters from the finish, by this time the 90 rider group had been whittled down to 14. However, Bernard was one of the riders in that group and safely rolled in to secure third place on G.C. for team Jelly Belly.
It was a great week all around for the Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team and with this we’ll travel to Russellville for the Tour of Arkansas next week
