Gila--Day 2 Mogollon Road Race

Today was the first day to sort out who are the big guns, and who are the pretenders. The race started off with Jones having a mechanical after the third turn of the neutral start. Some of us waited back for him to make sure he got fixed, and he was able to get back to the group before we were de-neutralized. Things were a bit more laid back that last year, with no one trying to go off the front until the first intermediate sprint. Colavita missed that sprint entirely, but in preparation for the second one, I went to the front with Cole on my wheel to bring back some guys who had went up the road. I got Cole into position, but didn't have enough for a proper leadout. Cole went for the sprint, but crossed the line in second, which unfortunately got him nothing (first is $50 and -10 sec from your overall time).
Things were pretty uneventful until 2 guys went off the front just before the feed zone, and aparantly drilled it. By the turn for the final climb (6 miles to go), they had about 4 minutes on the group. Because of a lot of scetchy riding in the group (one instance resulting in a guy crashing), I found myself stuck pretty far back in the group coming up to the climb. Being so far back, I knew I was in danger of losing contact with the fast guys in front, so I kicked up the speed as the group started to shatter on the first part of the final climb. Coming into the second (and more difficult) section, I was probably in about 30th place, and was still a little nervous. However, my legs were doing great, and I kept a steady pace. I slowly picked off guys one by one, and was getting close to the front by the 1 mile to go marker. That last mile seemed more like 2, but I kept pace and caught (and dropped) a few more riders, and came within a few seconds of catching two more at the finish. All this time, Hamilton was a hundred yards or so up the road, and I watched as he also picked off riders in front of him. Hamilton finished the stage in fifth place, and I finished in 10th. The rest of the team was not too far back (including some guys who claim they can't climb), so overall it was a successful day for Colavita. If tomorrow is anything like last year's stage, it will be a decisive stage, and we will have to work together well to defend our GC placings.
After today's stage, I moved into 5th overall, Hamilton moved into 9th, Jones is in 12th, Cole is in 15th, and Iles is sitting in 17th. All of us are within 1 min 40 sec of each other, so if one of us has a breakout day, they could potentially move up many spots in the overall. Not a bad situation to be in.