Starting off the season with a bang! Max and I raced the 34th Valley of Sun Stage Race (VoS) from February 13–15 in Phoenix, Arizona. This was our first junior stage race, so we were super stoked, even though we had little idea what to expect. What made VoS even more rewarding was that it capped off the off-season of endless kilometers on the trainer during an unusually harsh New York City winter.
Max raced the men’s 13–14 field with an 8km time trial, 23km road race, and a 30-minute crit. He had 19 people in his field. He was really happy to reunite with his good friends who traveled from all over the country. It really shows how popular VoS is.
I raced the men’s 15–16 field with a 16km time trial, a 74km road race, and a 40-minute crit. I had 61 riders in my field, which is by far the largest junior field I’ve competed in (except perhaps some of my races in Europe). This is largely because VoS is part of the USA Juniors Cup, which includes other major junior stage races.
Overall, Max finished the stage race 4th out of 19 and I finished 16 out of 61, and we’re both super happy with these results since we were the “unders” in our age categories. You can find all race results here, including the sub-results for each stage.
Time Trial
First up was the TT, south of Phoenix, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The course was pancake-flat with mountains on the horizon and was shaped like an “L.” The only noteworthy variable on this course was the wind. I had a tailwind, then a crosswind, and then a headwind. Max had an out-and-back course that went from tailwind to headwind.
Another thing I had to contend with was a power meter malfunction that started during my opener workout the prior day. That meant I couldn’t use power in the TT, so I couldn’t rely on it to pace myself. This wasn’t really an issue because the course was so simple. I essentially rode full gas the entire time and finished 20th out of 61. Max also had a really fulfilling TT, finishing 4th out of 19.
Road Race
The race we were most excited about was the road race. Max raced one lap and I raced three laps of a 26km flat course with a steady 5-minute climb at the finish. I raced from the front the entire time, hoping to get into any potential breakaways. I was out of contention for the GC win, so I decided to treat this as an individual race and therefore took a lot of risks.
I found myself in a bunch of short, small breakaways and even solo on the last half-lap. I had to throw down a lot of hard digs to put myself in a winning position on the final hill, which left me with nothing left to sprint with, and I came in 19th.
Max’s race was super easy until it turned into an all-out sprint with 3km to go. He finished 4th out of 19 from a shattered breakaway.
Criterium
Lastly was the crit in downtown Phoenix. The vibe was totally different from the quiet and scenic TT and road courses, which gave VoS a nice variety. The course was tricky: eight corners, with turns varying in width.
Max was up first, and his field rode full gas the entire time. He launched his sprint a little too early and finished 6th out of 19 in a field sprint.
Like Max’s race, mine was hard the entire time. I stayed in the top 10 for most of the race, joining the attacks I found promising, and was even at the front a few times. In hindsight, I probably should have conserved more energy and relied on others to chase. I was a bit too far back in the field leading up to the finish, so I sprinted for 16th place.
Our first junior stage race definitely didn’t disappoint! Being able to race this many juniors for three days was super enriching. Max and I were most proud of our consistency across all days. We’ll definitely miss Phoenix as we fly to Rock Hill, South Carolina, for the Star Track Cycling Training Camp.
