Joe Martin Stage Race Stage 3

Stage 3 of the Joe Martin Stage race was 92 miles. We rode 12 miles out to a loop of 23 miles. We did the 23 mile loop 3 times and rode the 13 miles back to Fayetteville for the finish. After we turned on to the loop there was about 2 miles of rolling uphill to the feed zone, then about 2 more miles of false flat after the feedzone. The loop was rolling with some downhill after the top of the false flat. I stayed hydrated and did not have any cramps today thanks to my Ion Competition drink mix. Each time up the feedzone climb I tried my best to stay with the group. The last time up the false flat with about 1 mile to go I was very anaerobic and came off the back of the
group. I tried to draft the caravan for that last mile and try to regain contact but over the top of the false flat the field was probably riding at about 60 kilometers per hour, so chasing back on once cracked was a near impossible task. I rode in to the finish as hard as I could and a Mountain Khakis rider caught me and towed me to the finish. Today I made the time cut. Tomorrow is a 90' technical crit with 12 turns. My Ion- United Healthcare teammate Spencer Gaddy made it over the climbs easily to finish in the main group today.