June 18, 2008 - Nature Valley Grand Prix

The guys have been racing in the country's biggest NRC stage races with some good results and photos of Phil, Erik, and Toby on cyclingnews.com

Nature Valley GP, June 11-15
Eric Schildge: 3rd Young Rider

It seemed that disaster had struck before the first stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Both Dillon and Alister were out with injuries, and Whitey and Lipka were not able to make the trip out to Minnesota. However, thanks to the depth of the team this year, we were able to put together a motivated 6-man roster including Toby, Roz, Steve, Hayden, Phil and myself.

The first stage was called off halfway through after the lead moto crashed on the slick streets of downtown St. Paul. That meant that Thursday’s Cannon Falls Road Race would be the opening stage of the race. The race was fast, but the wind was calm, which made the first 55 miles of the race rather uneventful. The racing really started as we approached the finishing circuits. Everyone jostled for position near the front, as the big teams pushed the pace over the dirt road that immediately preceded the circuits. As soon as we were on the circuits, Healthnet took the lead and strung out the bunch. Hayden and I held onto our position near the front of the pack, and when we came into the final corner I was able to hold on for 26th.

The next morning was the St. Paul Time Trial. I started with the big boys, but without a TT bike, it was all but assured that I would lose a substantial amount of time.
Phil and Hayden put in impressive times, with Phil nearly cracking the top 20, in 23rd place as the #3 amateur.

That evening was the Minneapolis Crit. It may have been one of the coolest crits I have ever raced. There were thousands of spectators lining every inch of the course. It was exciting, and fast! With one to go, the field was recorded at a speed of over 40mph!

The next morning was the Mankato Road Race. The team rolled up to the line in our new white kits, prepared for what would be a hard 92 miles of racing. As expected, the powerful teams used the ripping crosswinds to split the field apart. Hayden, Toby, and I were able to stay with the leaders, and entered the challenging circuits with a field of about 60 riders. The circuits consisted of a steep, 600 meter climb, followed by a quick descent. The field would do 4 laps of the brutal circuit. I was able to stay with what was left of the main group on the road, finishing 26th. Toby finished one group behind in 37th, and Hayden rolled in 44th.

Coming into the final stage, I was sitting third in the young rider classification, with Hayden a few seconds behind me in fourth. We knew that the Stillwater Criterium would be hard, and that we would have to hold on for as long as we could to maintain our positions. Toby, Hayden, and I were all able to finish within the time cut, and finished 7th, 4th, and 3rd in the Young Rider GC, respectively. However, far more important than our results was the chance to tune up our legs before the Tour of Pennsylvania, which will hopefully be a breakout event for the young riders on Fiordifrutta!