Memorial Day weekend heralds in the iconic Killington Stage Race steeped in history from its initial iteration and now gaining stature anew since its reinception onto the racing calendar 6 years ago. Guys come from all over the USA & Canada to test their legs on the 3 stages - Saturday's circuit race contested on a 17 mile loop (5X for the Pro-1-2 field, 4X for the 3s and 3X for the masters), Sunday's "Queen Stage" consisting of a single loop (84 miles for the 1-2s and 64 miules for everyone else) that culminates with the 4 mile trek up to the Killington base lodge with its 3 or 4 loooong sections of 12% grades on Bear Mountain Road and the final kilometer up & up the wide main access road where one can stare at the finish banner the whole way - ugh. The race concludes with the 11 mile time trial along route 4 that can be hard or easy (easier) depending on which way the wind is blowing.
Downeast Racing will enter 3 in the Pro-1-2 field (Dan Vaillancourt, Matt Moon, Fred Thomas), 2 in the Cat 3 field (Eliot Pitney, Joe Lynch) and one in the 50+ field (Hank Pfeifle). It's never prudent to reveal race goals early, but we enter with high optimism and we'll let all know how things pan out. Meanwhile, the cars are packed (see one example above) as stage racing takes much planning and a ton of logistics to organize - food, housing, equipment, travel and clothing to cover all weather and racing situations. The guys at Gorham Bike & Ski have gotten our pretty blue Giant Advanced 1s ready to roll, we've got our Moses Dyer Coffee packed and set for perking and, lastly, we've stocked up on Hammer product to sustain us & recover us for racing. Time to strap on our Giro helmets and shoes and go stage racing - can't beat it for weekend fun.
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