First race of the season for the THF Racing team. The roster was Stefano Barberi, Brian Alferman and Pete Lopinto for the 3 day stage race in and around the Phoenix area.

Stage 1 time trial for 22k on an out-and-back flat course in Buckeye under some unusual cold and rainy weather. Stefano had only been on his Orbea Ordu TT bike once but still managed 8th place in what was his first race of the year. He finish only 33 seconds off the winner and was excited to get the season under way with a top ten result. Without TT bikes Pete and Brian used the TT to wake up their legs and finished in 77th and 88th.

Stage 2 road race in Casa Grande, 5.5 laps for a total of 90 miles After an hour of racing a break got off with 14 guys and quickly shot up to over 2 minutes. The THF boys weren’t on their toes and missed the moved. Fortunately the teams worried about the overall classification worked on the front and brought the break back with less then a lap to go. With about 10 miles a break of 2 rolled off and the Jittery Joe’s team began the chase. The gap didn’t come down quick enough so Brian and Pete threw their efforts in to help after Stefano gave the word he had good legs and wanted a shot at the finish. Brian and Pete worked hard and the break came back with about 2 miles to go. Stefano went for it with the last mile on the hill and got off the front with another rider and blew the field to bits. The attack came just a tad too early as he was passed in the last 200 meters and came in 6th place.

Stage 3 criterium in downtown Phoenix for 70 minutes. The race started off fast and pretty much stayed that way the whole day. Stefano, Pete and Brian kept their eye on the important moves with Stefano giving his all the second half to get a break going. Nothing would stick and a crazy field sprint was on tap. Pete battled away with the Rock Racing train and did his best to hold his ground among all the madness in the last 2 laps. He came into the last corner a few spots too far back but still  managed a 9th place finish on the stage.

Overall the team was happy with their first race of the season with top 10 finishes in each stage and Stefano at 9th place overall. Brian gained more experience during this weekend than he ever had before and looks forward to keeping the ball rolling.