Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race Report

Pro 1/2/3
DNF

The race season began with a pop and a hiss for me. I picked up right where I left off last season where I flatted in my last 2 races (1 being a stage race) of the year.


The whole family accompanied me to Marblehead, MA as we were heading back to ME after a weekend in Boston. The race began under a glorious blue sky. But I can't seem to get away from the cold! The temp was hovering in the mid-30's and there was a brisk ocean breeze. My goal for the event was to ride in the pack and maximize the opportunity to ride OUTSIDE and get a great workout in. The pace was steady, but tolerable. We were to do 17 laps of a 2+ mile rolling loop. All was going according to plan when halfway around the loop 4 laps in I heard the pop and hiss of my rear tire deflating. As this is a very informal, unofficial start to the MA road season, there was no support vehicle so I was stranded and had to walk the mile back to the start plus another 1/2 mile to the parking area. I was less than thrilled.

Photo courtesy of Redberry Photo

But, the blame lies solely with me. I was using my PowerTap rear wheel and had since replaced my hockey rim tape with the stretchy plastic kind. It had worked fine for weeks. But, I put a race tire on for the weekend. I rode a couple hours on Saturday fine, but discovered a flat Sunday morning. I didn't think too much about it as I rode through some serious car crash debris in Boston. I checked the inside of the tire and it was clean. So, I put a new tube in and away I raced.

When I got back to the parking area, I discovered the source of the puncture was from the rim strip slipping, exposing the rim spoke hole. And guess what caused Saturday's flat?!
Today, legit rim tape is on and I'm back in business, but that much further behind without the training.
Here's a quick recap of the event courtesy of Velonews:
Report