Atlanta, Ga. – Three members of MetLife Cycling, Chris Coutu, Vinnie Scalia, and Tim Mitchell, made the trek down to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Tour of Atlanta. The race, a highlight of the Southeastern US racing scene saw many strong squads including FlyV Australia, Champion Porsche, MyoGenesis, and Crunk, fielding full eight-man criterium specialist squads. The race consisted of seven stages over four days during the Memorial Day weekend and saw thousands of spectators over the holiday weekend.

Day one included a 1.2 mile prologue time trial and a 60-minute criterium in the evening. The MetLifers put in some HARD efforts in the TT, digging deep for what amounted to a 2-minute max effort. Things were dampened a bit by a quickly passing torrential rain storm which hampered our riders in the one 180-degree turn in the course which was critical for a good result. Nonetheless, the team put Tim Mitchell into eighth place (only 4 seconds from 1^st), with Coutu and Scalia only a few seconds further behind. The evening criterium, run on the same course as the earlier TT saw a fast start and then a slight lull in the pace where a large group rolled off the front, unfortunately, repeated efforts to bridge to the break were thwarted by FlyV Australia, who were well represented in the breakaway. Vinnie, Chris and Tim continually attacked, nearly closing the gap to the break, but there was simply not enough time in the short 60-minute race-lesson learned on who the strong riders were and what tactics would dominate the rest of the races.

Day 2 consisted of two 60 minute one-mile criterium courses. MetLife was attentive and active at the front, determined not to be caught off guard again. Chris was unfortunately victimized by an early crash, but was able to rejoin the race and made his impact felt moving to the front. Vinnie was aggressive and eager to get into promising breaks and was in several that looked good but were brought back. Tim was also covering moves, looking for the right mix that might stay away. With two riders dangling off the front of the field, it was clear that the strong teams were going to bring it back for a gallop to the line at the last moment. With the major teams swarming the front, positioning their sprinters in the last lap, the MetLifers fought for position. Vinnie looked to be in great shape sitting in the top ten, but got boxed in at the last moment, while Tim was luckily able to hop-scotch behind a few of the hard charging teams and managed to sneak in for a 15^th place, with Vinnie close behind in 18^th. The evening race was marred by heavy rain which made the race a bit like trying to run in circles on ice while wearing sneakers, a very tenuous and nervous affair to say the least. The safest place to be was at the front, so that is where the MetLifers planted themselves for the entire race. No serious break attempts were going up the road, and it was apparent this would be another field sprint. With our three boys at the front, things were looking good as there hadn’t been as much aggressive riding given the wet conditions. But riders threw all caution to the wind with two laps to go and a lot of fresh legs in the field. Vinnie again positioned himself well, making sure not to get blocked and hung in for an 11^th place result, with Tim just behind in 13^th and Chris making a hard charge in the last lap coming from mid-pack to 25^th.

Day 3 was a similar format with two 60 minute races run clockwise then counter-clockwise on a fast undulating 1.5 mile circuit. The plan for both races was to save the legs in anticipation of another sprint finish. There were a few promising moves in both races that day and the boys had to cover the ones that had enough firepower to possibly succeed. The MetLifers were definitely major players on day 3 and were in every move that looked good with Vinnie taking a solo flyer with 3 laps to go in the second race of the day, but the strong headwind allowed the field to claw its way back and set up another bunch sprint. Determined to stick it to the pro teams, Chris came flying up the side of the field that was strung out single file behind the Fly V Australia pro team. On Chris’s wheel were Tim and Vinnie, set ready to bounce in third wheel. The boys poured it on full-gas and Chris and Tim pulled up past a good portion of the Fly V and Champion Porsche lead-out trains and dropped Vinnie off before the final corner and run-in to the finish. Aggressive riding from the other lead-out trains sandwiched Vinnie against the curb and a very promising chance for victory and some seamless teamwork came up just short.

The final day capped of the event with a 90-mile road race through the hilly terrain North of the city. After the five mile neutral beginning of the race, the green flag dropped. Tim immediately attacked and took two other riders with him. The pro teams viewed this as somewhat of a suicide move that was hopeless at best. But the gap continued to grow through the first 90 minutes of the race and the FlyV Australia team realized the threat and began to pick up the pace. Chris and Vinnie played the “team card” beautifully sitting on the front of the race and covering moves, trying to nurture the gap Tim was forging. After 20 miles of repeated, vicious attacks, a chase group of 9 riders broke clear of the main field. Tim, having dropped both of his break away companions soldiered on, but the nine-rider chase group caught him with 30 miles to go. Digging deep, Tim planted himself in the hard-charging now 10-man group and was in good shape for the next 20 miles. But being off the front of the race in the wind for 80 miles had taken its toll, and with 5 FlyV Australia riders in the group, the attacks commenced, one after the next, until Tim and 2 other riders could no longer keep pace. With 7 riders now pulling away, Tim hunkered down, trying to beat the remainder of the field in to the finish. Exhausted, Tim crossed the line a few minutes ahead of the rest of the field for a hard-fought 8^th place and 2^nd place in the “King of the Mountains” competition.

While the MetLifers didn’t stand on the top step of the podium, they put in some great efforts, were aggressive and active, and gained valuable experience against a stacked field and learned the dynamics of a racing style dominated by pure sprinters’ teams.