Stage 6 was touted as the queen stage with Tussey Ridge being part of it. When I raced TSE 2 years ago and got lost for over 30 minutes and I wanted to make sure I didn’t take a wrong turn again!
I can’t really remember how it went down and the details are probably pretty boring! I do remember getting really angry in the beginning at the endless rock gardens. I kept trying to get through them and they kept making my tires come to a halt… or I’d bounce off the rocks running too much tire pressure. It was a tricky trade-off because the rocks are sharp. Too much pressure and you bounce off, too little and you slit a sidewall as I had discovered for Stage 1. I was glad to put that behind me. I normally keep my cool, but I was actually yelling in frustration out loud at them.
Things got better later in the race. Tussey Ridge although hot, was really fun. I was able to flow on the trail ok and was happy that I rode it smoothly after my poor technical riding in the beginning! Things came around for me and I was making ground! I came 5th for the day, but I was not ready for the stage to end!
Watch more video of 2013 Trans-Sylvania Epic Stage Race on cyclingdirt.org
Queen stage did not disappoint. My legs were feeling better at the end of the race than they did in the beginning, so that was a plus.
I was looking forward to the last day- Stage 7…and of course, the infamous Stage 8 (party!!!)
