This was a very exciting weekend for Skylands and Team Somerset and it went beautifully with the help of many of our club members. The Giro del Cielo has in the past been held as solely a women’s stage race but this year we opened it up to Cat 4/5 men which turned out to be a well received idea. We had 101 people pre-registered for the weekend in varying event combinations. Saturday was our most challenging day with 2 stages, the time trial at Sunrise Mountain and the Crit at the ballpark. The concern I had was that we had to be completely packed up and out of the Skyhawks parking lot by 3pm. We had moved the Crit start time up to accommodate this request, but this meant wrapping up the time trial and setting up the Crit in record time. Well, apparently this was no big deal for we had an amazing crew which broke down and set up by 9:40am. It was incredible.
The times for the TT were just as impressive with the 1st place Cat 4/5 Men at 15:48, the Women’s 30+ at 16:49, the Cat 3 women at 17:15 and the Cat 4 women at 16:54. We had a total of 66 people race up the mountain with the first racer heading out at 8am. It was an early yet gorgeous morning. And the best part of it was the excitement among the racers. Even with the visiting Bear at the top, we had fun. I am not sure how Lois and Kevin felt about it, but they remained calm.
The Crit was just as exciting with 22 women racing in the Cat 4 race. There were 3 groups which formed during the 30 lap race. Up front were the top 4 winners in a break. Alejandra Madrinan, Chistine Kavanagh, Lenore Pipes and Julie Carson powered around the course, taking turns winning primes (Alejandra won most of them) for merchandise and points. I believe me when I say we had a lot of primes. Apparently there was some chatting on the back stretch as to who needed the Lube or Socks and then they teamed up. The Cat 3 women went off with 10 women, all of whom were strong and determined. The women 30+ were up next and a few of the Cat 3 racers joined in as well. This group included Betty Tyrell and Krista Swope along with Tracey Lea, Jackie Paull and Marie Derosa. Barbara Shweky joined in after finishing her own Cat 3 race. Unfortunately Barbara crashed early in the race and had to head off to the hospital for stitches to her eye brow. She is fine and was able to drive home. Betty and Jackie Paull duked it out during the race but in the end Jackie pulled through for the finish with Krista right behind her. Then the 32 Cat 4/5 men lined up for their turn at the course. It was fast and furious for them and with only a few laps to go one of the leaders, Joe Sieracki went down. The reason is unclear but a blown tire is our theory. He is fine as well. In the end there was a small break away of 2 who crossed the finish line with Douglas Kauffman winning and Eric Salzer coming in second.
The next morning proved to be as beautiful and fun as the last. Everyone seemed to enjoy the course. “The hills were manageable” someone mentioned “yet hard enough to apply strategy and technique on each lap”. Each category had excitement but for Skylands Cycling, our moment was in the Men’s Cat 4/5 race. John Jackson, Gene Victori, Michael Adsit and Michael DeGeorge all joined the Giro for the last stage. AND they all wore their new kits! They looked great! At this point in the day it was HOT but there was a breeze so that helped. At least I thought so. It was probably different for those racing. The pack went off with our guys huddled in the back half. But then Gene and Keith Licata (from Team Bulldog) made a move… and then there was the final sprint and Gene won! I was getting calls from all the volunteers, who were still marshalling the course, “did Gene win? What happened?”. We were all so excited. Keith Licata came in second place which was great to see as well. John Jackson came in strong in 21st place and Michael DeGeorge finished his first big race moments behind the main pack. Michael Adsit showed great determination during this race. Kudos to all of them! It was nice to see the Skylands colors out there.
For me this race was a foreign entity. I had never been able to attend or volunteer for any of the past Giro’s. Bob Cary was the one who handled a great deal of the work in the past. Brooke Wilson, from Team Somerset, and I were determined to put this together with as few errors as possible. And so we did but not without help from an amazing group of people. The Skylands Cycling board spent many weeks scouting and discussing road courses and once one was decided on, Dan Mitchell took the bull by the horns and was able to get all the necessary towns to approve the use of the roads. This is not an easy task. It takes time and effort. Well Done Dan! Bob Perlee once again put together a great site for racers to go to for information on the race. This made Brookes and my life much easier since very few questions came our way. Kevin Kielty, who has attended the Giro in the past, was the one I looked to for set-up. He knew what needed to be done and was able and willing to delegate and direct when I couldn’t. We were lucky enough to have Lois Cary on hand as well. As an official she knew it all, calm and collected as always. Thank you Lois for helping out. The man who worked his fingers to the bone during each and every race was Kevin Keane. He handled all the scoring and the video finishes. It was amazing. He was extremely efficient and determined for all 3 stages. His spreadsheet is daunting but without it I don’t know what we would have done. Catherine Babin was kind enough to come out and snap some, what I anticipate to be, great shots of all the races. Gary Worth, Gerry Remsen, Buz Tomasino, Kelley Barrick, Velo Barrick, Brian Gristick, Larry Henderson, Dan Mitchell, Barry Nazarian, Earl Perretti, Heather Labance all came out to volunteer for any duty I threw at them. It was amazing, we had 2 marshal’s at every corner. We had follow cars and lead cars for each group, when 2 were out at a time. Gary’s daughter came out and was willing to help Brooke with anything and everything. It was adorable, as was she. And Team Somerset provided almost as many volunteers throughout the weekend which made everything go smoothly. So my hat goes off to all of you for helping this year’s Giro del Cielo go off without a hitch. Nicely done!! I hope you all had as much fun as Brooke and I did.
If you have minute, go check out the blogs from some of the teams and racers, so far they all have posted some very positive feedback. Many of the racers spoke to Brooke and I after the race and congratulated all of us on a job well done!
