Stage 4 of the 34th Annual Joe Martin Stage Race.

An L-shaped criterium with a nice little hill in it.  Way cool.

That was the fourth and final stage of the 34th annual Joe Martin Stage Race in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  We went into the race in 4th place Team GC, 3rd place individual GC, with one second place podium already under our belts.

With two laps done, I think the ice that M.C. had prepared in dainty pairs of pantyhose for our jersey pockets had already melted.  It was pretty warm in Fayetteville on May 8th!

With three laps to go I downed a mild tangerine E-load gel.  With two laps to go, Emily Kachorek of Primal-Map My Ride attacked off the front.  She wasn't a danger to the GC so nobody brought her back.  With one left to go, my teammate Véronique Labonté cranked up the speed and led the pack for our finish.  Véro is so good at riding in the perfect place, and picking up and holding a great pace. I was up there following her, ready to torque my S-Works Amira up the hill to the finish line. 

That's what I did, almost catching up the Kachorek.  Her attack had been perfectly placed, and she won the race.  I crossed the line second. Modest Vzesniauskaite of Colavita wasn't far behind. 

That's a second 2nd place podium in the Joe Martin Stage Race for Juvéderm-Specialized-Mazda, a third place in individual GC, and the team ranked 3rd in the team general classification, behind Colavita and Tibco.  Great work girls, way to show the colours.  We're back home now, resting, a bit, before the next set of races to come. 

Photo: © Tom Ewart

Thanks to all of the race organizers and volunteers, our host housing families, the team staff, and our generous sponsors!