Since the very beginning of the day a blistering pace was set by the riders of the Jelly Belly squad. Stage Six began in Chillicothe and traveled over 110 miles to the historic town of St. Joseph, headquarters of the Pony Express. All day Jelly Belly stayed in front in order to respond to every move put out by every team.
Since the beginning of the day, Team Director Danny van Haute said it was an incredibly fast race.
It was fast all day,” he said. “I’d say the average speed was about 32 mph and that’s the fastest stage in all three years of the Tour.”
Jelly Belly held on to their energy all day. They stayed in the front in order to help control the pace and bring back and breakaway attempts. Although there were no breaks that lasted all day, Jelly Belly’s Phil Gaimon did enable a two man break last in the day.
“It was really a gallant effort made by Phil today,” van Haute said.
Gaimon took off at about 93 miles and was caught on the KOM very close to the finish.
“Today was the first day the guys were finally getting into the groove of things, they were really racing in top form today,” van Haute said. “Unfortunately it’s the end of the week.”
Tomorrow’s circuit race in downtown Kansas City will be a fantastic route for the quick flyers that are sure to come from the teams with sprinters.
-Molly Saunders
PR Jelly Belly Pro Cycling Team
