Race Reports for 28 June - 1 July

Cox Charities Cycling Classic
Rhode Island
Who raced: Bill

Rome Stage Race
Georgia
Who raced: Sean

Boloco Heartbreak Hill GP
Massachusetts
Who raced: Bill

Grand Prix of Reston
Virginia
Who raced: Ken

Exeter Criterium
New Hampshire
Who raced: Bill

Bill's Race Report from the Cox Charities Cycling Classic (NRC)
Date: 28 Jun
Starters: 109
Place: 45th
Course: 50 mile, 8 turn crit with one short, steep climb and a long fast finishing straight.
Weather: Slight Headwind on the back stretch
The Race: The race stayed fast throughout the first 40 minutes as the big teams tried to send guys up the road. Colavita, Rite Aid, Bissell, Type 1, Toyota United, Raleigh-Kenda, DLP and a handful of others beat themselves up at the front eventually bringing back all the early moves. The pace softened a little for about 10 minutes at about an hour until Toyota United decided to bring it all back together. My legs felt good throughout. I was never really in distress and was able to move around in the field well. I was able to hang with the accelerations and the long chase and finished with the bunch (although at the tail end as I had no interest in being in the middle of a crazy sprint with 9 days of racing coming up.) As it turned out, there was a crash in the middle of the field sprint that didn't affect me.

Bill's Race Report from the Boloco Heartbreak Hill GP
Date: 29 Jun
Starters: 94
Place: 53rd (just over half of the field finished
Course: 20 laps of a 2.5 mile circuit
The Race: Almost the same cast of characters as the Cox Classic minus Toyota United. The opening hour saw fast laps throughout and I was able to cover several moves, three in quick turn with the final one sticking. We got away with a chase group of 6 including me, 2 from Rite Aid, 2 from Team Type 1, and a Raleigh Kenda guy. We worked together for about 4 laps and were joined by a few more pros that came across just as it started to rain. The well represented teams started tag-teaming the rest of the break and I had to cover multiple attacks from Type 1 and Rite Aid. Finally I cracked and the break split into two groups. Then the skies opened up and it absolutely poured with a few laps to go and I hung on to finish (shortened by a few laps,) actually behind the main group as I was cooked. Overall, I'm moving up in my legs' ability to cover moves and recover. The lessons learned included feeling good being active at the front at this level, and that my cornering skills in the rain need some work.

Bill's Race Report from the Exeter Seacoast Criterium
Date: 1 Jul
Course: Very open 1 mile circuit
Starters: 108
Place: Unknown, with the main group but not top 20, less than half of the field finished.
Weather: Heavy rain that delayed the women's start but had stopped by the time we started. Wet roads with a few painted crosswalks and manhole covers.
The Race: With a wet course and a big field, I wanted to stay at the front and found a good line pretty early. I went with literally a half-dozen moves over the course of the first 45 minutes that looked promising, were great speed work, got lots of "TV time" for the AFCT jersey, but eventually amounted to nothing. With about 10 laps to go, I saw that Time Pro Cycling was gearing up for a field sprint and that Rite Aid wanted to defend the New England Race Week Leader's jersey. I saw the leaders jersey about 20 guys back from the front and although I wanted to be further forward (and had the time and the legs to move up) I sat on his wheel for a lap or two and this ended up costing me. With three laps to go, it took a pretty good effort to move up to about 10th wheel and this should have been good enough to be ready for the sprint but just as I got there, I ended up on somebody's wheel who took a bad line and got squeezed to the curb. I lost 15 places and never moved forward again. The moral of the story is race your race plan and don't give up too much to follow somebody you "think" should be there at the end. All in all, good legs, better wet weather bike handling (and decreased tire pressure,) and strong compliments from race organizers. Tomorrow, Fitchburg.