"Mastering" the Tour of the Gila

Always seeking new experiences on a racing bike, Ossie Assem decided to enter one of the U.S.'s hardest and most respected stage races - the Tour of the Gila.

From London, UK, Ossie rides for Finchley Racing Team and is an experienced rider, regularly taking part in criteriums, road races and Gran Fondo’s in the UK and abroad. This includes bucket list rides - like the Tour of Flanders and the Etape du Tour, to name a few. Ossie flew 5,000 miles across the Atlantic to Silver City with team mate Dermot Kealey.

The Tour of the Gila is a cycling stage race for both men and women located in New Mexico.The "Gila" began in 1987. The men's Gila was added to the UCI America Tour in 2012. A UCI classification 2.2 stage race, it allows UCI ProTeams to enter and in 2015, the women's Gila was added to the Women's UCI International Tour.

Stage 2 - Inner Loop Race

The Masters B race is 4 stages (UCI is 5 stages with stage 1 being the one to Mogollon), starting 1 day later, so officially the starting stage is Stage 2.

The weather in the United Kingdom is on a par with New Hampshire or New York, so British rider's don't really get a chance to ride at high altitude inhotter weather and especially not in deserts! For the most part, they have to travel into Europe to the Alps, Dolomites or Pyrenees to experience the heat and bigger climbs!

Starting and finishing at Fort Bayard this was Stage 1 (officially Stage 2) for the Masters B race was 74 miles (120km) and included 5,725 feet of climbing.

Despite the altitude and heat Ossie came 7th!

Stage 3 - Time Trial

Without a TT bike and Aero helmet it was all about limiting losses on the road bike. Try getting all that kit on a plane!

Stage 4 - Criterium

Used to riding criteriums in the East End after a hard days work, working for Reuters in the City of London - Ossie hung in for a bunch finish, finishing in the top 20 and 16th overall on GC.

Stage 5 - Gila Monster Road Race

This stage has a reputation for being very tough and a real decider in the overall classification in all categories. The Masters men's B race was 68 miles (110km) with around 5,725 feet of climbing.

Ossie worked hard to stay with the leading group on the first 2 big climbs of High Spot and the Continental Divide.

On the final big climb of Meadow Creek at 7,413 feet high, Ossie hung on and got 26th place.