12th/72 Masters 35+
Final GC Standing: 13th/83 starters
http://www.longsjo.com/
I spoke too soon! The rain finally reared its ugly head. I left Boston for Fitchburg under sunny skies. It was overcast when I arrived, then it rained while I was warming up, then it stopped when we were staging, then it rained at the start, then it stopped. What a pain! Today was not the day for rain since the criterium is a fast-paced race around a couple of city blocks which is dangerous enough in dry conditions. But when you add wet pavement to manhole covers and painted crosswalks as we make the turns in a pack around 20mph, you’re asking for trouble and there was plenty of it. There were at least 3 incidents involving 7 riders in the early stages of the race. 2 of the crashes were far enough ahead of me where I could get slowed up and avoid them. I basically concentrated on keeping my bike upright, watching what was going on ahead of me, and staying within the draft. The course was unique in that it had your typical 2 square turns like you find in a city, but then it had a sweeping, rotary type turn to bring us back around and an s-turn in the middle. This would have been a lot more fun had it been dry. We completed 19 laps on this .9 mile circuit. I rode the race in the front 1/3 to mid-pack plotting out how to approach the final turn to set up for the sprint. The key I felt was to be able to carry momentum into the last 2 turns and be towards the front. I am finally finding myself strategizing and playing it smart to be successful in road racing, rather than just riding it out. I knew I had to get towards the front and on the outside of turn 2 on the final lap. I tried the inside line during the race and found you practically came to a stop because it was so crowded and such a tight turn. I used my NASCAR knowledge and decided momentum was more important than the shortest line through the turn. So I was semi-aggressive and rode hard on the final lap, positioned myself on the outside, and exited turn 3 in good position to sprint. The guys out front were fast so I didn’t gain many positions and missed 11th by a tire.
Getting into position on the final lap, I'm in white #725 behind the green guy.
I was very pleased with the result given the conditions and the competition and it was a satisfactory finish to an awesome 4 days of racing. It really makes me wonder what I could have done differently in the TT which forced me to play catch-up all week. Nonetheless, I think a top-15 is where I belong. Given the field consisted of predominantly Cat. 1-3's and even a former Russian Olympian, this mountain biker will take it! I have to thank Babs and the boys for letting me live the dream of a cyclist: sleep, eat, race, recover, and repeat. Thanks to my mom for letting me stay in comfort in the Boston apartment. of course my coach Beau who got me to this point. Big thanks to Pete Orne at Aegis for hooking me up with the Trident. Apparently my legs weren’t good enough for it! And thanks to the crew at Kennebec Bike and Ski because all I’ve had to do is add lube to the chain and air to the tires of the Victory. It just keeps on ticking. Next up is payback to Babs as the whole family heads to MN for the rest of the week. Then it’s MMBA #3 in Camden.
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