Aetna-Expo Successfully Take on the Killington Stage Race!
Killington Stage Race Report
By David Hildebrand
The end of May marks the coming of warming weather, sun, and the first stage race in New England. The race takes place over 3 days/3 stages and traverses the mountain area around Killington ski resort in Vermont. Over the last 4-5 years this race has grown into the capstone event of the spring season with teams traveling from all over the country to race.
The three stages include:
A Circuit Race (88.5km) completes 3 loops along U.S. 4, 100a & 100 passing by the Long Trail Brewery and President Calvin Coolidge historical site and provides the most excitement with all three Leaders Jersey’s available (Sprint, King of the Mountain and General Classification)
A Road Race (100km) that tackles the biggest hills in the region and finishes at the top of Killington Mountain Ski Lodge. After 67km or rolling terrain and challenging hills Racers turn onto U.S. 4 and climb for 33km straight finishing up the punishing Killington Access Rd. This stage also solidifies the final points competitions for the Leaders in the Sprint and King of the Mountain competitions.
A Time Trial (17.6km) beginning at Long Trail Brewery heading uphill the entire course.
The team headed up to the race with lots of excitement given the opportunity to do our first stage race together and everyone being on good form. Ben would represent the team in the Pro 1-2 field, while Gary, Todd and David would race the competitive Masters field. Misfortune struck on the morning of day one with Gary falling ill with a stomach bug throughout the previous night. Nonetheless, he came out to support the team on day one and contribute significantly to the team's overall success.
Stage one wrapped up with great results putting Todd and David both on the Podium sweeping the Leader’s Jerseys for the day; Todd in the King of the Mountain and David in the Sprinters Competition as well as finishing 3rd on the stage. With Gary unable to start the remaining stages, Todd and David continued through the next two stages and successfully retained the Sprinter Leader’s Jersey and a top spot for Todd who finsihed 10th overall on general classification!
Overall this race was very satisfying for our team. We set goals way back in January of being in good form for this race and we were able to do that. More importantly we had a lot of fun in the process!
The Killington Stage Race is an amazing venue with challenging competition and an overall great place to bring your family. We look forward to building on our team's success throughout the rest of the race season.
