As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from amazon.com

Roxo Racing Checks in From the Tour of the Gila 2022

[ad_1]

If you fancy yourself as a grimpeur, a climber in cycling, this bicycle race has your name written all over it. The Tour of the Gila, or Gila for short, is named after the Gila wilderness of New Mexico, including a National Forest of the same name. The forest is large, almost 2.7 million acres. Several mountains of the area reach heights over 3,000 meters. The town of Silver City, race central, sits at 1,800 meters. The air is thin, and the climbs are thick, so to speak.

 

Stage 1:
roxo gila22
What’s the saying? Teamwork makes the dream work

roxo gila22
Scientist Sanna grinding up the Mogollon, the Stage 1, 10km long, steep uphill finale

roxo gila22
Michelle and Jaime on the Mogollon

roxo gila
Post stage 1, criterium specialist Michelle telling her husband “I’ve been tricked. Even the crit is hilly!”

 

arundel bike t-wrench banner

Gila has hosted a UCI stage race for years, one of the few in the United States. Many champions have climbed to victory here. The 2022 edition was no different, with overall GC winner Lauren De Crescenzo, of Cinch Rise Elite, who’s been tough to beat lately. Lauren won Unbound Gravel and Mid South in the past year, monuments on gravel. Lauren topped the GC podium over riders from the powerful UCI teams EF/Tibco, Instafund, and DNA Racing. The field included PatoBike from Mexico and Desjardins Ford from Canada and was rounded out by U.S. based teams. For our Roxo Racing athletes, this was their maiden voyage to Gila, a race they’ve heard about via cycling folklore.

 

Stage 2:

roxo gila22
Intrepid DS Chann McRae, always ready to join the race caravan

roxo gila22
Soigneur Ann, who’s a former champion cyclist, loosening up some legs before the start

roxo gila22
Not long after they said “go”, the road went up and up

roxo gila22
Jaime was in for a long day of chasing, having punctured

roxo gila22
The Gila National Forest Pinion trees were a welcome break from the sun

roxo gila22
The crit specialist Michelle with the Santa Rita copper mine for a backdrop

 

Stage 3:

roxo gila22
Sanna before the ITT start

roxo gila22
David our team mechanic, who’s day job is managing an Austin, TX bike shop, The Meteor

roxo gila22
Alex the photog was being funny, no doubt. TT warmup

roxo gila22
Jaime is on the limit but happy the sage is only 17 miles long

roxo gila22
Our staff and riders, with more staff than riders

roxo gila22
30 years ago, this business tycoon was a team mechanic. Now he’s one of our sponsors

 

To contest a stage race of five days with 5,000 meters of climbing, a bike racing team needs more than athletes. The athletes need assistance in the form of food and bottles, for starters. Our team places importance on a soigneur and a mechanic as well. Our DS is a former WorldTour professional. We also place importance on telling our story, which requires imagery. The imagery you see in our stories comes from the camera of our imbedded guy, Alex.  Not all U.S. based women’s teams have a soigneur, nor an Alex. Follow our five days of racing through Alex’s camera lens.

 

Stage 4:

roxo gila22
Warming up for an afternoon criterium

roxo gila22
With the criterium start imminent, call ups are underway

roxo gila22
From the gun, it’s nose down and very fast

roxo gila
Michelle is about to get caught behind one of several crashes

roxo gila22
Sanna looks composed but the power files later show a very hard race

roxo gila22
The Roxos limit the time loss, hoping to make it another day

 

Postscript: Team rosters at Gila vary from four to six riders. Due to sickness and Covid policy, Roxo lost two riders prior to Gila, which meant we started with four. Our four are all-arounders and they suffered with the altitude and relentless climbing. No podium visits for Roxo. Three of four however, Michelle, Sanna, and Jaime finished Gila on their first try.  These women are gifted athletes. They earned their ticket to the top category of racing and now compete with the best. Yet we have work to do. For us, this is the only way forward.

 

Stage 5:

roxo gila22
Our happy riders made it to the last stage but aren’t done yet

roxo gila22
The Finnish Scientist, Sanna, takes in the art of Mimbres locals on her warmup

roxo gila22
Last minute texts before showtime

roxo gila22
Our Fort Worth, TX buddy Emily, who’s a WorldTour pro on EF

roxo gila22
After the first big climbs, the Roxos chased

roxo gila22
Once a group formed and organized, they came back to the front

roxo gila22
Sanna made it back, too

roxo gila22
Michelle is very happy, as she just finished Tour of the Gila

 

Through the lens of our talented photog, Alex Roszko, we want to share our story.
See more ROXO Racing at:
https://www.roxoracing.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roxoracing
https://www.instagram.com/roxoracing/
• Photos courtesy of Alex Roszko: https://www.instagram.com/roszko/?hl=en
Alex Roszko on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roszkophoto/
• This article courtesy of ArundelBike.com – proud sponsor of ROXO Racing.

 


Like PEZ? Why not subscribe to our weekly newsletter to receive updates and reminders on what’s cool in road cycling?



[ad_2]

We will be happy to hear your thoughts

Leave a reply

Cycling Bike Store
Logo
Compare items
  • Total (0)
Compare
0