On the weekend of March 16, Team Winded brought an all-asthmatic squad to the 13th annual San Dimas Stage Race and came out satisfied.
Joseph, Thomas, Scotty, and Josh were joined by Yohan Patry, a very strong French Canadian rider and friend of Joseph. The race began with a 3.8 mile uphill time trial on Glendora Mountain road. Yohan took 13th, Scotty 19th, Josh 26th, Joseph 27th, and Thomas 41st out of over 60 riders. For a team that has spent most of the season racing crits, our climbing legs were happily received. Yohan sat about 1:30 off 1st place, but the road race was a minefield of opportunity for general classification transformations.
The 49 mile road race turned nightmarish with a torrential downpour and cold temperatures. The combination of the 15-16 and 17-18 categories created a 90 rider field. The massive field met with the slick course, and carnage ensued. Half of the 17-18s finished, and one third of the 15-16s finished. Among the unfortunate were Thomas Keating and Scott Ford, both overcome by mechanicals. Faced with a 10% time cut, finishing the race off the back wasn’t so easy.
Josh, Joseph, and Yohan managed to stay out of trouble and make it to the last seven mile lap with the 25 rider peloton. At this point the race splintered even further. Josh was dropped on the major climb, but Joseph and Yohan formed the winning move. Marcus Smith from Specialized slipped off the front to win solo, but Joseph Lupien took second in the field sprint, giving Team Winded its first podium in a major regional race. Furthermore, Yohan moved up to 9th on GC, and Josh moved up to 21st. All who finished that road race will look back on it with a scarred, satisfied face.
Sunday’s criterium turned out to be anticlimactic, after the two preceding and GC-defining stages. Josh raced at the front and won two primes while Joseph and Yohan stayed sheltered in the pack. In the final sprint, Joseph took 4th, Josh 18th, and Yohan 20th.
The final GC:
Yohan Patry 9th, +1:26
Joseph Lupien 13, +2:22
Josh Pratt-Ferguson 20th, +5:45
Three asthmatic riders finished in the top 20 at the San Dimas Stage Race. We are satisfied.
