2011 Fayetteville Stage Race Sunday Cat 3 RR

Mino Giunta, winner of Sunday's Road Race

Sitting 18th in GC I was just out of the cutoff for upgrade points that I was so determined to gain. So far I had nothing to show for my hard work, and I was mad and ready to hurt.  Others had the same idea.  Patrick of NW started the hurt fest that would last the rest of the day.  I came to the front on the first lap and after a half lap of the pace being high, and I attacked on the backside, trying my best to make the race hard and weed out some people in hopes that I would move up in GC.  Jesse Slate of  Woolly Mammoth followed and we were joined after about 5 minutes by 3 others, including Jorge Munoz, Ryan Coover (?), and Trevor Brooks of 787 Racing.  We worked very well together for about 2 laps, gaining 2 minutes on the field until we were reportedly reeled in by riders from Chipotle Dev, AustinBikes, and Alchemy.

As we were caught I recovered and surveyed the rest of the group.  It had gotten much smaller!  The race started with over 50 people, and now there was probably only 30-35 riders left.  I knew that the ‘make it hard’ tactic had worked, and I would have to continue to put the pressure on.  After half a lap of resting and recovering, I attacked again.  Jorge Munoz was the only one to follow.

We gained a quick 20 seconds on the peloton, and then our lead just kind of hung there.  We could see the group behind, and they weren’t moving up or back.  Jorge and I talked about what we should do, either go back and wait for the sprint, or keep the pace up and see what happens.  We decided to see what would happen, and luckily Mino Giunta of 787 Racing bridged up to us.  He was strong and ready to go!  Jorge and I, both being in the break earlier, hung on as Mino began to pull.  We traded pulls well, but all three of us knew that Mino was stronger than Jorge or I, and he was doing the work of 2 people at this point.  I began to see that he was risking it all for the win in this break and that it just might work.  With 1K to go we still had 40 seconds on the field, and Mino attacked.  He dropped both Jorge and I, but we were able to limp in barely in front of the pressing peloton for 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  I was so happy to risk it all and gain a 2nd place finish for me and Shama Cycles! The pain was indescribable, and this was definitely the hardest race I have ever done. The podium placing moved me to 12th overall in the GC, passing 6 people.  Mission accomplished.

It was also cool that the Cat3′s passed the Cat 2′s….. twice. We were originally started 10 minutes after them!  Congratulations to Mino Giunta for such a strong effort, making the break stick, and winning the race with some strongman style points.  See you in the Cat 2′s, Mino.