Jack Burke earned the best young rider jersey on the opening stage of the Joe Martin Stage Race. The Canadian stopped the clock at 9:31, 14-seconds off the race-winning time set by Adam de Vos (Rally Cycling). Slotting into eighth place, Burke earned Aevolo Cycling its first top ten in its maiden season opener.

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“I’m happy with the result,” said Burke. “It’s nothing exceptional. My fitness can get a lot better than what it is now. It’s a good place to start, but knowing I can get a lot more out of myself is mostly what makes me happy.”

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The Devil’s Den prologue in Fayetteville, Arkansas is an usual race against the clock in that it is largely contested on road bikes. Burke opted to ride his HIA Velo Founder for the three mile effort.

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“I used the Shimano tri spoke on the front,” noted Burke. “It was a little bit heavier than using two 35s, but it’s a little more aero.

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“You climb for seven minutes, and then it’s downhill for a minute and then a minute and a half of a false flat uphill,” Burke added. “I spoke to [team manager] Mike [Creed], and when I chose the tri spoke, we decided I’d take it a little bit easier on the descent. I’d save a bit in the tank so that I could go harder on the last kilometer and a half.”

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Burke heads into Friday’s road stage with a 10-second gap over Stephen Basset (SPC) in the U23 classification. Aevolo hopes to defend the jersey over the remaining three stages.

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“We do want to hang onto the young rider jersey, but our ambitions extend beyond that,” Burke said. “We want to move up in the GC overall. We want to finish up higher than eighth place. And we want to see if our sprinters can get a result on either of the two road stages or even the criterium.”