News from the Tour of Korea

Racing for Jelly Belly presented by Kenda, Canadian Will Routley was third in the second stage of the Tour of Korea. Routley’s teammate, Mike Friedman was second. The Tour of Korea is a nine stage stage race, that started on April 23rd. The second stage was a 121 kilometer race from Sunchang to Gunsan. Routley also capture the King of the Mountains jersey on the second stage.

Routley took a few minutes to answer some questions about the stage race:

Tell us about stage 2 – how did it play out?
After the bad luck on stage 1 (I had an untimely mechanical while in the final breakaway, and lost a few minutes) stage 2 was time for me to channel that frustration into a good ride. It was ultra-aggressive, as racing in Asia typically is. I got into a breakaway and won the King of the Mountains sprint, so am now wearing the KOM jersey. That break was caught, then close to the end of the stage I broke away with teammate Mike Friedman, and four other guys, and we finished 2nd and 3rd (3rd for me) frustrating to miss the win, but a KOM jersey and a podium on the stage were good consolation after a frustrating stage 1.
What is it like racing in Korea?
Racing in Korea is an experience. The food and hotels so far are quite decent, so that is very nice, and the people are really interested and supportive of the race. As for the racing, super aggressive, and really tough, the racing over here is way harder than people back home are aware of.
How do you like Korea?
So far I like it a lot – Asia is way different from home, or from Europe. It is really interesting to see the investment here in Korea being put into modern alternative projects, lots of wind power, and today we rode along a massive tidal hydro electric project.
How was stage 3?
Just finished stage 3 today, another extremely aggressive stage, 225 kilometer long with mostly head wind so a really long day. I scored a few more KOM points and held onto the jersey for another day. we had many good attempts at a stage win, but in the end it was a field sprint. I was off the front solo from 25 kilometers to go until 7 kilometers to go, tough effort, and it was a field sprint in the end. We are tired!
What are your goals for this stage race? Team goals?
I have come into this race with the form to win it overall, score the yellow jersey. That is still a possibility, but with the bad luck on stage 1 it will be tough. I still want to win a stage though. As for the team, we want to win a stage yet, and we are certainly going to try and win the overall as well. We still have two other guys well positioned to do so. And finally the KOM jersey wasn’t a major goal, but it is a very prestigious jersey, so if the opportunity is there, we’ll go for that as well. So lots of goals for this race. still seven days to go, so a lot can happen.
What is your team role for this race?
My role is to score results, help the other two “co leaders” score results, and in general just be a nice guy.
Where will we see you next?
Next up: Tour of California, the biggest race in North America. We fly home from Korea, rest for a week, then straight to California, so lots of sleep will be in order that week.