Today was the epic stage of the Tour of Utah. It was a 55-mile road race finishing with a 9-mile climb up the south side of the Mount Nebo scenic loop. The course originally was supposed to come up the north side, out of Payson, but the loop is still closed due to the snowpack this year.

The updated course heads east from Nephi to the town of Moroni on mostly flat roads after a gradual climb out of Nephi. In Moroni, we do a turnaround loop and head back the other way. Then about 5 miles before returning to Nephi, we make a right and head up the Nebo Loop. The race started with a couple of breakaway attempts but came back together quickly. Then a renowned time-trialer took a solo attack and got up the road. Most people weren’t too concerned, but it took a while before we brought him back. Then, as the road started to rise a little before the turn off to the “real” climb, things got frisky and the group started to break apart. I managed to stay in the lead group, trying to conserve as much as I could. But by the time we hit the climb I was toast. I dropped off early and rode at my own pace. I still ended up top ten for the day but didn’t make up any places on GC. But thank goodness for Merle…he lent me his 27-tooth cogset which I was in probably 90% of the time.

After crossing the line I immediately found some water, ate some food, and then headed back down the climb. I stopped to see the women go by, then rode at a brisk pace back to the Nephi so I could get the car so Heather could avoid the windy ride out of the canyon. This picture was taken while I was waiting in the parking area at the bottom of the descent. I still felt bad about not bringing both of our 27-tooth cogsets so Heather could have one, but she wasn’t too upset about it. I guess it’s because of her background as a masher. When I met her average cadence in TTs was like 75 RPM!