Stage 3 Recap - North River Buck Mountain Trail and Narrowback

Stage 3 Recap - Official Tour d Burg Website is www.svbcoalition.org

 

Another big mountain day was on tap for the peloton, with some classic terrain around Stokesville, Virginia. The ponies were utterly flabbergasted to find the Charlottesville team toeing the line at the Stokesville church this morning. Rumor had it that the boys from Fooftown were waylaid by the opening of a posh new wine bar cum spa near their Charlottesville headquarters. Team leader Marteen Quinn declined to comment, saying only, "I am here now, that is all that should matter to my legions of fans".

 

A rolling parade through the George Washington national forest deposited the ponies at the base of the North River trail for the first timed section. Slimy rocks, mudbogs , multiple creek crossings, and stoopid elevation gain proved no obstacle to these titans of sport, as they cruised over Buck mountain to the hordes of tifosi and sandwiches awaiting them at the finish of the sector.

 

Drew S rocketed off the line with his trademark paranoid aggression, spazing away from the other gc contenders, who had an unspoken agreement to let him twist in the wind, before moving in for the kill. Race leader Fawley soon gapped the lead group, containing Tim, Justin and Drew. He was not to be seen until minutes before the line. Drew and Tim, meanwhile worked feverishly to shut down the gap, to no avail. Podium contender Jimmy Mac, recklessly putting out massive wattage, destroyed his brake rotors in a vain effort to contain his explosive forward momentum. As the lead group approached the bottom of downhill, they caught sight of Fawley, flying through the nettles. Tim Dougherty, in a post race interview said, "I glimpsed him ducking through the trees, like a hairless albino Sasquatch, but I just couldn't catch him".

 

The second timed section was a drag race down the famed Narrowback Ridge, from north end to Secret South. The grouppo stayed compacto as a neutral rollout down the dusty fire road, until the race went live. Elbows were thrown and insults hurled as the top ponies vied for the hole shot. Drew S, Fawley and Justin prevailed, and hit the single first, forcing a separation. Jimmy Mac, with a strong late stage attack reeled in the three leaders entering the Secret South section of trail. He flew by Fawley, and effortlessly passed Drew, before bombing down the sketchy downhill and rocketing down the road for the stage win. Both Drew and Kyle Lawrence flatted on the stage, losing precious minutes to Fawley and Jimmy, who now sit atop the GC. With these vicious reverse attacks, the podium currently stands: Fawley, Jimmy Mac eight minutes back, and Drew S rounding it out. Tim D, craftily waiting in the wings, less than two minutes down. He will need to pull some big moves out on the epic climb up Reddish Knob tomorrow to plant the Cannondale flag on the podium.

Sidenotes:

 

Women's podium contender Churtle le Turtle exited the tour today, leaving the way open for newcomers Misty and Whitney to claim the final podium spot. The Sues' tour experience and mental toughness should ultimately prove too much for these young riders to overcome.

 

When questioned about his GC freefall, former podium contender Kyle Lawrence dejectedly replied "Just call me Tom Petty…"

 

Official TourdBurg Recap by Father Delaney