October 4, 2010 (Tobago) – The riders pre-rode the course just prior to the start of Stage 4 and arrived at the line with concerns. The day’s circuit was 15 laps initially ascending a short steep section on Mt. Marie to the main highway, and then through Lambeau to the harbour of Scarborough to complete the lap. Hazards on the course included a broken section of pavement with loose gravel and several large potholes and craters (if you can’t see the bottom of a pot-hole, it’s classed as a crater here). Andre Tremblay approached the team car with a ruptured sidewall upon arrival to the start.

My last experience with this course was racing in 2003 when the riders organized to stop the stage due to safety concerns. With this year’s edition, the commissaire Julie Benham indicated that as a gentleman’s agreement the rider’s should race cautiously and take the stage with care. Our team approached the other teams and it was agreed that safety would not be compromised. The ‘neutral’ racing agreement lasted about 0.12 seconds once the gun went and attacks from Rapha led to a super aggressive pace for the first few laps.

In these initial laps the final race selection was made. Andre, Evan, and Joe from our squad would be factors in the finish. Brad followed closely in a chase group with John. Jannes was unfortunately having intestinal issues and was not able to hold a sustained pace.

It was pandemonium on the main highway in the feed zone for this stage. All the locals supporting Caribbean squads insisted on running with each bottle to hand them off. For me handing off four bottles on every other lap, it’s chaos having nine people running around/by me, and usually one person running into me. Add this to the ‘normal’ traffic surrounding the race that has to be cleaned up prior to the pack’s approach.

Just prior to one feed a car tore across the other lane of traffic, ran off the road, and was flipped onto its side after rolling down an embankment. I saw the driver slowly crawling out of the passenger’s side with a dazed look. I then heard everyone yelling, “Ah wee boy fall asleep! He fall asleep!” A police officer stopped to look at the wreck and said, “You fall asleep?” The driver said something and then the officer drove away. Unreal. We’re definitely not in Canada.

On the day Andre, Joe, and Evan finished in the main field in 7th, 10th, and 15th respectively. Brad rolled in hard to take the pack sprint for 27th.

Stage 4 results click here.

Notable Events:

– one of our transplant riders Joe Lewis literally mangled his finger while trying to wipe his tires. He asked me if he should go to the hospital for treatment. After memories of the Tobago hospital danced in my head, I said it was probably better for him to wrap it with a roti shell and then just put some masking tape on top. 😉

Stage 5 – Tour of Tobago Road Race – 120km
I’ve tried many times to capture the essence of the atmosphere of this final stage, THE actual tour of the island of Tobago, a complete lap. I usually use the word epic, throw some hard numbers about climbing grade, temperature, altitude, number of snakes seen, but really, I honestly do it no justice. If you are reading this and you are the least bit curious, please come out to the island to experience it yourself so that we can really spread the word. For this update we’re going with some Canadian rider personal experiences:

Brad Clifford – He approached me after the finish and said, “my knees are worn to dust”. Mr. Clifford rode the course in a 23-tooth cassette! Right now I know anyone who has raced this last stage is shaking their head. Brad had two flats in the initial 20km of the stage and was eventually passed on the wheel that he would ultimately finish this stage with (five major climbs, one of which at 27% sustained). If you see the guy on a ride, ask him about the experience, and then shake his hand. I tip my hat to you. Brad finished 39th on the stage and 33rd overall.

Jannes Wessels – I saw a complete transformation from stage 4. Jannes found his groove after the first hour and looked punishing rather than punished. I can say that with conviction after seeing a ton of strained faces along the way feeding on the scooter through the entire strung out field, front-to-back. I asked Jannes if he needed water on Charlotteville, he looked at me and casually said, “No…I think I’ll be okay”, while he casually ticked away his 27 cog and hunted down more cracked riders. He later said it was the most amazing course he had ever ridden while racing OR training. Jannes finished 17th on the stage.

Evan Mundy – He fought after absolutely every climb to retain contact with the main field. The heat and the pressure wore on each ascent and he drifted slowly back only to power back into his spot in the main field on the descents and short flats between climbs. Later Evan said this stage was the hardest race he had ever ridden – he finished 13th on the stage and also 13th overall.

Andre Tremblay – I travelled up the field midway into the last stage and saw Andre covered in blood once again (recall the incident on stage 3). He later indicated that he crashed in the same descent he had crashed on in 2009. The thought process was described as, “Oh I remember there’s a tricky turn in this descent…better be cautious…uh oh…too late”. Despite what he told me he was thinking while climbing Speyside, his heart didn’t actually explode. Andre powered along to maintain contact with the main field, covering the many attacks in the final kilometres of the stage and finished 10th and 7th overall in GC. ANDRE WON THE YOUNG RIDER’S JERSEY FOR THE COMPETITION AS WELL.

Chris Atkins – Wow what can I say about the stage and race. I definitely got my fill of adrenaline railing the corners on the rental car through the preview of the last stage (the rear wheels didn’t fall off, unlike my last experience here). Today’s final stage, I scraped almost every descent with the undercarriage of the scooter leaning the bike over. I also almost lost the rear end of the scooter when I hit a snake on a descent (no joke). It was unbelievable when the race caravan encountered a transport truck trying to haul industrial machinery through a hairpin. The payload was almost dumped off the side of a cliff and the race was halted to a stop until reverse was found on the rig. Thrills around absolutely every corner. This trip didn’t disappoint.

Stage 5 results click here.
Final GC here.

I would like to thank the generous support of our sponsors TourDeQuebec.com and Waltersforensic.com.

Please keep the race in mind for the 2011 season. Talk to any of the rider’s on this trip during your training rides and spread the word. The Tour of Tobago organizer Jeff Charles fights hard to keep the competition high. Please support the event and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Chris Atkins