Joe Martin Stage Race – Stage 3

Report by George Mills-Keeling (Ribble Weldtite on the road) for the final stage in the Joe Martin Stage Race won by Norfolk’s Zac Herrod with Dan Fleeman second overall

Joe Martin Stage Race – Stage 3

Stage 3 of the Virtual Joe Martin Stage Race was in Richmond Virginia. More specifically, it was held on a virtual 2015 UCI world’s course where Peter Sagan won his first world championship jersey.

The course was one of two halves, one being totally flat city streets, and the other being Belgium style cobbled climbs. There were three notable climbs, Libby Hill, 23rd Street North and Governor Street. This is a course for people who are punchy all rounders, such as Sagan.

This being the last stage and no doubt the hardest, I think there were some heavy legs at the start of the stage. We rolled out in the normal fashion, sprinting full gas for the first 30 seconds then settling in at a uncomfortable sub threshold power for the next 10 minutes. Going around the first laps, it was very normal, 101 of us all pushing upwards of 5-6w/kg.

The descent down to the water front meant there was a chance to ‘super tuck’, this being when you stop pedalling and don’t slow down on Zwift. Coming into the bottom of the three climbs around the hairpin, then up Libby Hill. I lead the climb on the first lap at 500+ watts. Over the top, there is a section of false flat this is where it really digs in. At this point it was already reduced to a group of 35, which was remarkable.

On the second lap, the second group of the road caught us back, which is really impressive. As some people might know, when a gap opens on zwift it’s very hard to close it back. This meant our group was now around 45 in size.

This cycle continued until we reached the last lap, now a group of 25 riders, a massive reduction from where we started. I thought if I can get over the top of Libby Hill okay, I will be fine. Fortunately, I got over the top Libby Hill okay, then it was onto 23rd Street, this being essentially a 30 second sprint up a cobbled wall. This one was also good for me, towards the front with a few riders getting distanced.

Now it was onto the finish, up Governor Street, a climb of one minute with a false flat of 800 meters to the line to the finish. The sprint opened up, a sprint of two minutes or so. My team mate Zac won the sprint which was an awesome ride, and along with this we secured the KOM jersey also with Zac. I rolled in 16th, job done.

All said and done, I finished 19th on GC after a disappointing time trial on stage 1. My team mates Zac and ‘The Twig’ finished in the top 10! Special thanks to E-Stellas for the opportunity to ride, Eric Hill and everyone at Project Echelon for organising this event.

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Stage 3
1. Zac Herrod E-Stellas)E-Stellas
2. Caleb Carl FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
3. Alex Fraser-Maraun Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
4. Pat Riddell Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
5. Tyler Williams L39ION)L39ION
6. Ben Thomas Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
7. Jordan Cheyne Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycl ELV WX
8. Christopher McGlinchey Vitus Pro CyclinVitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother
9. The Twig E-stellas)E-Stellas
10. Cory Williams L39ION)L39ION
11. Bruce Bird Hamilton United)[DRAFT]
12. Wouter Zwart Landis-Trek)Landis-Trek
13. Dan Fleeman Saris + The Pros Closet)Saris + The Pros Closet
14. EDER FRAYRE L39ION)L39ION
15. Ryan Larson Saris + The Pros Closet)Saris + The Pros Closet
16. George Mills-Keeling E-Stallas)E-Stellas
17. Johan Norén Swedish Zwifters)SZ
18. Matt Usborne Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
19. Warren Muir Hamilton United)[DRAFT]
20. Tucker Wetmore Support Clean Sport)SCSGutt
21. Daniel Fraser-Maraun Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
22. Conor White Hamilton United)Hamilton United
23. Jake Saunders Vision)Vision
24. Joe Sutton Vitus Pro Cycling)Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother
25. Josh Gray Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
26. Alex TenElshof FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
27. Matt Gardiner Saris + The Pros Closet)Saris + The Pros Closet
28. Will Cooper CS Velo)
29. Holden Comeau Saris + The Pros Closet)Saris + The Pros Closet
30. Gavin Dempster Saris + The Pro’s CSaris + The Pros Closet
31. Daniel Yankus FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
32. Matt Brandt Saris + The PrSaris + The Pros Closet
33. Dan Gardner E-Stellas)E-Stellas
34. Ben Millar Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
35. Lucas Bourgoyne Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cy
36. Sean Richardson Tag Cycling)
37. Tobias Olsson Swedish Zwifters)SZ
38. Carsten Ivany FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
39. Maximilien Moreau
40. Axel Froner TaG Cycling)
41. Jason Pedersen Subaru Santa Monica)
42. Oscar Hutchings Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
43. Zach Nehr Project Echelon)PER
44. Daniel Pettinger Vision)Vision
45. Nate Altom Otterhaus/K&F Construction)Otterhaus
46. Eric Hill Project Echelon)PER
47. Baili Guidi Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
48. Adam Carr Skyline)Team Skyline
49. Taylor Warren CS Velo)
50. Ethan Pauly TaG Cycling)
51. Sean Gardner CS Velo)CS Velo Racing
52. Nick Glavac FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
53. Chris Beck Saris + The Pros Closet)Saris + The Pros Closet
54. Thomas Rennier Subaru Santa Monica)
55. Brett Wakefield Vision)Vision
56. Alex Driscoll Otterhaus K&F ConstructioOtterhaus
57. Dan Netzer Vision)Vision
58. Will Bjergfelt Swift Carbon Pro CyclingSwift Carbon Pro Cycling
59. Tony Gumbel FINESSE)FINESSE ECT
60. Ed Veal Hamilton United)Hamilton United
61. Patrick Collins CS Velo)CS Velo Racing
62. Thomas Fuller Subaru Santa Monica)
63. Chris Frederick SCSGutt)
64. Kevin Bouchard-Hall SCSGutt)Team X
65. Drake Deuel CS Velo)CS Velo Racing
66. Mat Stephens E-Stellas)E-Stellas
67. David Amado Vision)Vision
68. Sage Deluce Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
69. J. McQuerry Team Skyline)Team Skyline
70. Matt Wikstrom Subaru Santa Monica)
71. Declan Kelly Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
72. Lance Haidet L39ION)L39ION
73. Brian McCulloch Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cy
74. Sean Burger CS Velo)
75. Bill Longwell Otterhaus/K&F ConstructioOtterhaus
76. Tom Terblanche Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
77. Greg Capelle Otterhaus/K&F ConstructionOtterhaus
78. George Ganoung Otterhaus/K&F ConstructiOtterhaus
79. Austin Venhuizen Subaru Santa Monica)?? Dropouts
80. Josh Croxton Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
81. Charlie Revell Tor2K|Kalas)TOR 2000 | Kalas
82. Kurt Druffel Team Skyline)Team Skyline
83. Payne Griffin SCSGutt)RedShift
84. Ulises Castillo Elevate-Webiplex Pro CyELV WX

Overall
1 Jordan Cheyne Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycl ELV WX
2 Dan Fleeman Saris TPC
3 EDER FRAYRE L39ION)L39ION
4 Bruce Bird Hamilton United)[DRAFT]
5 Ryan Larson USAC#: 528454)
6 Alex Fraser-Maraun Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
7 Tyler Williams L39ION)L39ION
8 Matt Usborne Red Truck)Red Truck Racing
9 Wouter Zwart Landis-Trek)Landis-Trek
10 Zac Herrod E-Stellas)E-Stellas

KoM
1 Zac Herrod E-Stellas
2 Ben Millar Tor2KIKalas
3 Eder Frayre L39ION
4 Christopher McGlinchey Vitus Pro Cycling
5 Tyler Williams L39ION
6 Ryan Larson Saris + The Pros Closet
7 Ben Thomas Tor2KIKalas
8 Wouter Zwart Landis-Trek
9 Jordan Cheyne Elevate-Webiplex Pro Cycling
10 Holden Comeau Saris + The Pros Closet
11 Alex Fraser-Maraun Red Truck
12 Cory Williams L39ION
13 Dan Fleeman Saris + The Pros Closet
14 George Mills-Keeling E-Stellas