Gary wrote a race report for Sterling last weekend. It was rainy, cold and tough. Here you go! -ag

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One of the central Massachusetts Spring Classics, this race has historically not gone well for me; in fact, I’ve never actually finished the race. Two seasons ago as a Cat5 I drove out with Tall Erik Peterson, and former ex-messenger co-worker Colin Green. While warming-up the three of us missed the start, tried to chase the neutralized field, made a wrong turn, and missed out. Colin got a flat, so Erik and I rolled up to the finish line, explained the situation, received DNS’s, and rode our own 3 laps. Last season as a Cat4 I raced up and did the Cat3/4 race in support of all the Cat3s. Cambridge Bicycle / Igleheart Frames showed up with something like 16 riders for this race, and continually attacked and counter-attacked until we had someone in a breakaway. About half of us dropped out halfway through the race, but Matt Spaits got into the winning breakaway and Jackson Weber took the field sprint…mission accomplished.

This year I was once again riding for Mr. Spaits, as he targeted the early season hill races for himself. The Cambridge Bicycle / Igleheart Frames Cat3 squad showed up with four riders – myself, Spaits, Jordan Winkler (for who this was his first race of the season), and new-comer David Montes. One the way out the rain was pissing down and it was fairly windy. In the car we received a mass text from R. Michael McKittrick saying that due to some skateboarding (you think you’re Billy Campbell now?!) he was toasted for today and not coming. This presented a problem as RMM can always be counted on to open up an end-of-the-race spring, so plans had to be changed.

When we arrived at the Sterling middle school (front side of the Verge Baystate Cyclocross race course) the rain had let up a bit and we took care of unloaded, signing up, kitting up, etc. We saw the cat4s come back to the school and that Stephen Pierce was pretty banged up, and were warned against riding anywhere near the painted (heated rubber) white lines along rt-12 during the race. Apparently some shit went down during Cat4 race, but since I can’t give a firsthand account, I won’t weigh in on that here. The four of us warmed up on the wet roads and lined up for the start. Having looked at the road-results.com race predictor, and from Turtle Pond I knew which guys had to be marked and made it my plan to do that. The race started neutral with not much happening. Not much continued to happen through the first lap of eight. During the 2nd lap (first ‘race time’ up the hill) some attacks happened but nothing really came of it. I’m sure later in the 2nd lap there was some attacking going on but I can’t quite remember it. On the next lap things heated up: attacks happened before, during, and after the climb, where I saw Spaits join 3 other riders off the front: CCB sandbagger Wilchoski, an Onion River Racer I didn’t know, and the younger guy from Sunapee cycles who was with me during the Turtle Pond break and someone I knew to mark. I figured this was a good break for Spaits to be in, and once it was established and I was upfront attempting to block or control the pace or whathaveyou, Peter Sullivan bridged Corey Lowe up to the front and sent him after the break. I let this go because I wasn’t in a position to match Corey, and because I assumed having an extra man in the break would help, especially if Svelte was helping to block. Corey dangled out there and was joined by Leo D of Threshold and a few others. Again, I assumed Spaits could hold his own if this 8-man breakaway coalesced.

Leo D, Corey, and co eventually fell back into the peloton, and I reckoned the break was gone for good. I was right about that, however during the 4th lap I saw Spaits on the false flat after the climb, and thought shit: Spaits must be spent (the breakaway had about a minute on us now and Spaits said that Wilchoski was just riding everyone off his wheel), and I hadn’t seen Jordan or David since we lined up on the start. Paces were pushed, attacks were matched and countered, hills were climbed, and we were knocking out a pretty solid 30mph+ pace along Rt-12. My biggest issue wasn’t so much the climb, though I didn’t fair too well on that, but the false flat along Rt-12 right before the climb. I just thought ‘fuck, I’m in the pack, in the little ring already, putting out 350Watts, where the fuck am I going to go come the climb?’

On the final lap things stayed together over the climb and the following false flat, but on the descent Leo D just opened it up, as he seems to really like descending. Two other riders joined him but I sat near the front thinking this was sure to come back, as most downhill attacks do. By the time we made the turn onto Rt-12 they had a good gap and I kept feeling like an idiot for not going with them. I then made it a point to match every attack and get in on every other team’s train. On the Rt-12 uphill we ended up catching Leo and his group, and everyone opened it up right on the climb. I held my own, lost a place, gained a place, with about 10meters to go saw Horst-Benidorm power house Gary Aspens and took one extra dig to get in front of him. I took 14th over all, 12th in the field sprint. In the end I’m pleased with my performance but there’s definitely room for improvement. I was bummed that Spaits didn’t stick in the winning break but I hold nothing against him for fading back since I probably would have ended up fading much sooner. In terms of numbers, my average normalized wattage was 289W over 2hours8minutes, with 16minutes41seconds of that time being spent in the ‘zone 7 anaerobic’, so new highs have been set.

Up next: Lake Sunapee.

Last weekend CB put a pretty big field out in the fours. Stephen Pierce wrote a race report and here it is. -ag

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Blue Hills Classic: Short, fast, and hilly. Going into this race, which consisted of three laps around a 7-mile course, we were sure that there were very slim chances of a break succeeding. We were correct. An early break made by Matt Aumiller, Nick from Back Bay, and Matt Miller from Threshold – the three teams with major representation in the race – had as good a chance as any of getting away, but was reeled in after about a mile. So it would come down to the field sprint: An uphill finish consisting of a three-tiered climb. First: short & easy. Second: longer & consistent. Third: fast as all hell. Each of which with a plateau or false flat in between it & the next climb.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I registered for this race when I was still down in Florida, prolonging my cyclocross season & making estimations in regard to the progress of my first ever road season. So, optimistically, I signed up for the Cat 4 race. Thankfully, the upgrade came fast, and my planning was on point. This put me in good company: Eight of us had registered for the race. Still, this paled in comparison to the fifteen or so that Threshold had brought out.

From the start the plan was to have someone in every attack & to ride toward the front at all times. If it came down to an uphill sprint finish, it was on me. Of course, that’s what it came down to. Aumiller killed it in an incredible lead-up, Josh & William provided incredible cover, but I dropped the ball on the sprint. I had marked Back Bay’s Greg Whitney, but failed to make the jump when he started the sprint. Too early, I thought. Surely, he’d run out of steam. You see, he started the sprint from about midway through the first plateau. My plan & what I had been training for was to gut myself starting just before the second plateau. When it became evident that he was going to gap us & a more dire effort was needed, I dug deep & started my sprint a quarter of the way through the second, more treacherous climb. Admittedly, I ran out of steam & what could’ve been a 2nd-or-3rd effort turned into a mediocre 9th.

On the other side of the coin, though: This weekend, my fourth & fifth road races, I felt like the strategy was starting to click. Things were starting to make sense. Tactics & teamwork were beginning to take root. My goal may have been a team podium – or even a personal podium – but, generally speaking, my goal for the year is to learn something about bicycle racing from every last race that I enter, be it from triumph or failure.

I’m confident that, with teammates this dedicated & savvy, this season will be more about the former, less about the latter.

The Cat4/5 Squad

Gary Bavolar wrote up a race report for Turtle Pond. Enjoy! -ag

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Les Classiques du Printemps: Turtle Pond

Much like the start of the road race season in Europe, the start of the road season in New England has its ‘spring classics’. Openers start with many combined races: the 4/5 field of Marblehead and the pro/1/2/3s of Ninigret. Arguably, the season starts with the traditional early April races of Battenkill and Myles Standish. The classics, past and present, then continue with Turtle Pond, Quabbin, Monson, Sturbridge, Palmer, Sterling, and Sunapee before the next phase of the year: the late May and June Criterium season. This year, the Cambridge Bicycle / Igleheart Frames cat-3 squad hoped to repeat the grand performance at Turtle Pond 2010 that was seen at Turtle Pond 2009.

At 5:00AM Saturday morning my alarm went off. Luckily I packed everything I needed the night before, including the touched-up Easton hill climbing tubular wheels. At 5:45AM I left my place and got gas in Allston as the sun was just starting to rise over the city. I blasted over to Somerville to collect breakaway contender Matt Spaits, sprinter RMM, and west coast new comer David Montes. We loaded up my car and set off in a northerly direction towards Loudon, New Hampshire. It felt like a true spring morning, cool and damp, surrounded by the smells of fresh cut grass and a light dusting of pollen over everything unused through the night. By the time we got to Loudon the sun was out and it looked like it would be a nice day. The four of us unloaded, signed in, and got changed. We decided against taking a full lap, but instead to do the first major climb, turn around at the top, and scope out the finishing stretch. We discussed a plan that favored Spaits for a breakaway and RMM for a pack sprint, with David and I providing protection and assistance. Before the race started we discussed who needed to be watched as per our experience and what the road-results.com race predictor said. Admittedly I took what the race predictor thought with a grain of salt. There were definitely a few people and a few teams that needed to be watched but no one who couldn’t be handled.

As we line up at the start I find myself next to New England ex-pat, magazine writer and team founder Jeremy Dunn. I was decided that even though we didn’t see him on the pre-reg list that he was an ‘x-factor’ and someone to watch. I volunteered to mark him in the hopes that I could redeem myself for a so far sub-par season by sticking with the Rapha hardman. The race started and so we went up the first climb, neutral. As soon as we reach the top *beep beep beep*, the lead car horn sounds and the race is off. The initial descent is fast and winding, with RMM going off the front with a variety of different people, trying to stir the pot. This continues through, onto the backside of the course, with RMM trying to bait others and see what shakes down. I work my way up towards the front where RMM tells me it’s now my turn to be the Cambridge rider making the moves. I see a group of 3 go off, followed by a group of 4, I react and put in a big effort. After a few pedal strokes I glance behind me and see a gap. Turning it up some more I look at my computer and confirm that I am, in fact, putting in a large effort. After being in no-man’s land for a hot minute I bridge up, sit up, and look behind me to see people. Thinking to myself ‘oh shit, I dragged the peloton with me’ I prepare to take a breather and go off again. But then…I notice the peloton isn’t right behind me, and like a plea outside an industrial factory for unionization, a few in the break are demanding a coalescence of workers to keep it going. I reckon this break isn’t sticking so whatever, but after a few minutes I realize all the major players are here: Leo of Threshold, Corey of Svelte, and someone from Cambridge (myself), and that our teams are willing to block so this break may have a chance. The breakaway ends up being a coalition of 12 people with only two teams being represented by more than one rider.

Not much happens during the subsequent miles, pressure is applied, pacelining occurs, etc. At one point, 4 guys decide to go off the front on a descent, foolishly. They’re caught, nothing happens. Each time through we ask for time checks, at one point we hear 4-minutes. Unsure as to whether or not this is true we continue the same pace. It has been decided that it’s not worth it to play the cat and mouse game until the latter half of the last lap – no point in all of us working this hard just to get caught at the end, that’s NOT what we’ve worked for.

With about 2-miles to go, Leo starts revving up his diesel engine. I reckon that the best idea for me is to just duck in behind him and hope to get towed in to the finish, maybe try to take him at the line if I can. With about 750-meters to go Leo pulls off. I figure I have no other option but to go, so I open up a sprint and get swarmed within 200-meters of the finished. Turns out Leo pulled off so that he could have another kick at the finish. Corey had Matt Simpson lead him out, something I expected to happen but couldn’t position myself behind them. Ex-Cat-4 sprinter Gary Birkhamshaw took the win, however I didn’t recognize him or the new kit, but do remember him opening it up real well last year in some Cat-4 crits.

I finished up 8th overall, pleased that the break and I held out, displeased at my poor sprint performance. Turns out we finished 5-minutes up on the field, just in time to spectate their sprint finish. Some confusion took place with the 2-man break of the Masters 45+ category coming through the Cat-3 field, and 2 cars parking near the finish. RMM was near the front, sitting around 2nd or 3rd wheel with 50-meters to go, but noticeably let up and coasted across the finish line, good thing too as a fate such as Sylvain Chavanel’s (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chavanel-out-with-skull-fracture-after-liege-crash) would not have been good.

Overall a good performance put in by the team. Sadly, the next day Quabbin did not go nearly as well for me.

This was a busy weekend for CB racers. On Saturday at the Turtle Pond Circuit Race, Gorgeous Gary Bavolar got in a break and finished 8th. The next day, Gary, Matt Spaits, David Montes and I went out to suffer around Quabbin Reservoir while Matt Aumiller, Roy Mayer and Leah Pappas-Barnes went down to New York and did MTB racing at the Single-Speed-a-Palooza race. Aumiller wrote another report- looks like a ton of fun! Enjoy -ag

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Single-Speed-a-Palooza Race Report: 4/25/10

When I got a single-speed mountain bike this winter by trading an old cx bike on craigslist, I immediately started looking around for races I could do. The people at Darkhorse Cycles in the Hudson River Valley region put on this race last year, and the 2nd annual SSAP had filled its 300 registration spots by late-Feb. This was going to be an EVENT.

I drove to the event with a car full of good people: Rob from CB, and Bob and David from Geekhouse. We made plans to meet up with Finn & Leah from IF along with friends Ben and Joel. I’m sure they will have a nice report with spiffy photos courtesy of Finn up on their blog soon: http://ifbikesblog.blogspot.com/

We met them at the hotel around 9pm on Saturday. The IF crew arrived on Saturday afternoon and had pre-ridden the course. They reported it as being super-fast hard-packed single-track with one significant climb and one forced-run set of stairs. One lap was 12.2 miles. The race was 2 laps for all categories…a long mtb race.

We met up and walked to the bar next to the classy drive-in motel. The record stopped when we walked in; the place was filled with clean-cut West Point cadets and various locals. It took a while to get served. We dubbed one of them “Ice Man” and he looked like he was sizing us up for a fight. Later that night, some Jose Cuervo promo girls in sequined dresses showed up and started giving out free shots and sweet bandanas. Sweet!

Upon waking up in the morning, it’s pissing rain. The weather went from sunny 70’s to 40’s and heavy rain. While loading up the car at 6:30am in the rain, the local hotel call-girl/prostitute decided to walk into our room unannounced, smoking a cigarette, to ask us if we were new in town. Sweet!

The race was really hard, and the ride time was lengthened by the crap weather. They lined up the sport category from NJ and points South. They gave them a 4 minute head start and then they called up our race. I lined up front row with the sport category from NY and points North. We were sent up a slow climb on a fire road to break things up, and then a sharp left into a “prologue” double-track section. I got the hole-shot…so I’m 2 for 2 this year in mtb races.

The race was so muddy and cold that the best way I can describe it is like racing Palmer from this past fall. Do it 3x in a row and you get the idea. There was peanut-butter mud, greasy oily mud, hidden roots under mud, off-camber muddy turns. Pretty much mud everywhere. The white kits looked great. The course itself was awesome. Mostly single-track without many fire-road sections. It made for a hard and slow race.

I spent most of the race trying to pass slow riders from the NJ race. I focused on keeping my speed consistent, stomping up the short climbs, and being a little conservative on the downhills. Overall, I finished 13 out of 86 starters…just outside the prizes and shwag. Here’s the full results: http://www.darkhorsecycles.com/race-rumblings/82-singlespeed-2010.html

Finally, 3 general observations about the sport category…I’m sure this doesn’t happen in the expert races.
1: Little value is placed on getting the hole-shot. Doesn’t it make sense to get to the single-track first?
2. When sport mtb’ers are forced off their bikes, they just walk and huff and push their machines. I passed lots of people by running when I’m not riding.
3. No matted how slow a muddy/techy section is…sport riders will ride it…however slow it is. Is it embarrassing to get off the bike? If I can run it faster, I will. I’m not sure why this cx ethos doesn’t transfer over.

Enjoy the pictures…no need for captions.