Gran Prix of Gloucester #1 & 2 Report 10/13-14

Elite Masters 35+
Day 1 18/97
Day 2 80/96 (Flatted)

There is no glorifying this weekend. I leave the first 2 rounds of the New England Cyclocross Series with bittersweet memories. These 2 events have been aptly coined “The New England World’s” given the extremely talented pool of competitors. I leave my opinions out of it, and simply present the facts, in black and white.
I headed south from the Hill early Saturday morning as Friday night was the Parents’ Weekend Auction here at school. I arrived in Gloucester, MA around 9am with ample time to pick-up my number, kit-up, take a few practice laps, and warm-up on the trainer. It was a marvelous fall morning consisting of warm sunshine and chilly air. The usual dilemma arose regarding what to wear for the race since I needed leg warmers and a thermal long sleeve jersey for warm-up. The temps were predicted to be not quite 60 by race time. So, it was shortsleeve skinsuit all the way!

Let me take a moment to explain the lineup procedure for the series’ races. Since there are a buttload of racers in almost every category, and the races last only 30-60 minutes, a proper start is integral to your success. For my group, which consists of racers age 35-54 category 1,2,3, they call up the top-15 racers from the previous race (top-10 from last year’s series), then by order of registration. Within this call up, there may be some 45+ racers who are scored separately and receive their own top-5 call up. Thus, there’s a potential for there really to be only 10 35+ call ups (out of 97+ mind you). So, there’s a race within a race to register as soon after it opens online as possible. I was in Vermont racing when it opened, so I actually had Babs register for me at the stroke of noon when it opened! She got me registered in the top 30, so that meant I was on the line in the 40’s on race day.
The race: The start was uneventful. It took me a little while to get the engines firing on full cylinders. We had about 200 yards of standard road pavement before we were condensed into 4-wide or so and onto a grassy field with turns. I don’t think I gained or lost any places. Once things were spread out, I lost some spots, but gained more. I tried to follow Big Al’s strategy of doing whatever it took to bridge any gap of the group ahead, then hang on for dear life. The problem is the top-20 guys are very fast! I tried to find a comfortable pace, but it was clear from the gun, this race was all about 100% redline effort and if you couldn’t hold on, enjoy the view from the rear. Fellow mtb and road racer Mark Gunsalus came by soon after some of the Westwood Velo legends did, and I set my goal to stay with him. I knew we were top-20, but not sure exactly where. We had a couple of Stevens Cross guys within our group so there was some entertainment. Mark did the lion’s share of the work leading us around the course which was best described as wide open with very little technical elements where I could gain some ground save for a sand pit where many ran, but was easily rideable. There was a steady breeze, so any wheel you could ride behind, the more energy you conserved. We worked pretty well together. I took a pull up the finishing straight with 2 to go and it looked like we had a chance to catch the group ahead of us which definitely had a top-15 result. But I was maxed out, I could not go any harder. Positions stayed the same, Mark finished first in our group and 1 of the Stevens guys came around me for the sprint which I had none. The worst part is, we were battling for 16, 17, and 18th spot. So, despite the fact that a top-20 finish in this field of studs is fantastic, it meant nothing in terms of the series, no call up the next day = another top-40 start!
I stayed in Cambridge overnight after spending the rest of Saturday visiting my mom at her rehab hospital, her last day. My legs felt pretty good despite the effort the previous day. I took a cold bath Saturday night and spun the junk out pretty well. Sunday saw identical weather conditions, course layout, pre-race ritual, and start position. My dad made the journey up from the Cape which was awesome. Having someone else around helps keep my mind off the lofty task at hand. Fortunately, the start went very well. I lined up on the outside right this time since the previous day’s line didn’t give me much advantage. As we tore up the paved hill, I could hear some commotion to my left as some riders went down so I was lucky not to be involved and was in excellent position hitting the grass in the top-20. I found myself in a small group with Todd Rowell, a Stevens guy again, and Big Al leading us around. It’s funny how the usual suspects find each other. It’s also funny when there is more than 1 Todd in the group, seems like I have more fans! Towards the end of a long straight, I was getting itchy to move up and Rowell must have felt the same as he pulled out just ahead of me and I grabbed his wheel. As he went by the front of the group, Al jumped in behind him, forcing me to alter my line. And that was that. I was out of the groove and my rear wheel impacted a jagged chunk of pavement resulting in a pinch flat. This unfortunate occurrence also marked an end to my quest for a top-15 finish and thus my participation in the remainder of the series. I limped around about ¼ of the course riding the flat to the pit. I passed my dad and he told me I was 44th (dang, I was top-20!). I then took WAY to much time changing the wheel. It was excruciatingly frustrating trying to loosen the brakes. I soon realized, the entire field had passed, so my sense of urgency faded. Of course I thought about bagging it right there and take a DNF. But, my dad was here, the weather was perfect, and it’s fun to ride a bike, so I finally changed the wheel and rolled on. My goal was simple, don’t finish last! It’s humbling riding around alone at the back, but I didn’t care. I was lucky enough to pass a few guys, but wasn’t fortunate enough to not get lapped by the leader just before going into my final lap. After the race, I noticed my rear brake was rubbing the spare wheel, insult to injury! I had to work twice as hard to pedal at speed than normal. No wonder I got lapped.

All photos courtesy of this guy: Paul Weiss

Despite the disappointment, I enjoyed having my dad out there cheering and spurring me on to finish. Although the course did not suit me well, I was competitive in the toughest field.
Now, rather than spend a couple of weekends away from home chasing the series, I’m hoping to spend some time with the family and participate in a few random races to wrap up the year like the Porky Gulch Stage Race and a few individual CX events in MA. Until then, it’s bottoms up!