Stage 1 - Warren Store Time Trial
After leaving Charlottesville Wednesday we got up to the bustling metropolis of Warren, Vermont to check out the 5.7 mile Time Trial course Thursday afternoon. It’s a beautiful area and as the sun was going down the course preview was absolutely gorgeous. Course looked good with a tough steep climb 750m from the finish. It was going to be hard.
Mom was flying in to Burlington Friday morning so Dad dropped my off at Marcos’s house in downtown Warren to fend for myself prior to the TT. I survived. Soon enough I was off and heading up the 2.7 mile climb to start. I felt good and thought I was pacing myself well. At the top I went to hit the gas for the slight downhill/flat to the finish and just wasn’t going much of anywhere. I didn’t feel I went too hard early, I just didn’t have the legs. The steep climb with 750m to go sapped any strength I had left for the final 500m slight uphill to the finish. I’m not sure I’ve hurt that bad in a while and it felt like it lasted forever. I finished and stopped pedaling but the downhill beyond the finish took me a ways down the road until I finally regained composure and stopped near an old barn underneath a nice tree.
I knew it wasn’t great but I assessed the damage, worse than expected. Somewhere in the 14:40 range, last year 13:40ish won the Cat 2 division. Nothing like being a minute down after day 1, I thought.
I took those negative feelings all the way back to the start line but before heading back to the house I stopped to see if results were up. They weren’t but the Pro/1 results were and my demeanor change quickly, it was slow this year. Headwind at the top made the difference. I didn’t even notice it during the race.
I got back to the house and went down to the wonderful river flowing behind the house and put my legs in. Not too cold and a perfect place to detox. Results were posted and I was 2nd by 0.15. I was happy with that but also knew Dad was going to give me a hard time for not wearing shoe covers. Carlo would be upset with my lack of aero. Still a good day, and in great position.
I took those negative feelings all the way back to the start line but before heading back to the house I stopped to see if results were up. They weren’t but the Pro/1 results were and my demeanor change quickly, it was slow this year. Headwind at the top made the difference. I didn’t even notice it during the race.
I got back to the house and went down to the wonderful river flowing behind the house and put my legs in. Not too cold and a perfect place to detox. Results were posted and I was 2nd by 0.15. I was happy with that but also knew Dad was going to give me a hard time for not wearing shoe covers. Carlo would be upset with my lack of aero. Still a good day, and in great position.
Then it got better, the Pro/1 results moved around before being finalized and then ours did too, ends up I was 18 seconds better than the next fastest guy. Yellow jersey here I come. It makes me nervous for the Circuit race tomorrow but I’m staying relaxed. Should be a great day!
Keep those pedals spinning,
BSlow
Keep those pedals spinning,
BSlow
Stage 2 - The Bridges Circuit Race
With yellow on my back the circuit race had me a little nervous. While breaks shouldn’t have been a big problem with the course filled with wind and flats it was still an area of concern. I had to be careful who to follow, when to chase, and when to relax since I didn't have a team to control the race. The first lap was uneventful and then on the second lap we went up the only big hill on the course and a couple important people rolled off the front at the crest gaining 5 seconds or so. I thought for sure they would roll right back into the peleton on the long descent and they had already been working too hard in my opinion.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen and boom they were gone. Those guys made the break already up the road dangerous all of a sudden. Eventually the break cause me and a couple other guys to pull hard, like really hard, for 30 minutes until we brought the break back into the main group with a lap and a half to go. Phew, danger averted, I have never had a larger sigh of relief in racing. The remaining race played out simply and besides almost getting crashed into as I coasted in to the finish nothing exciting happened. The race left me overly frustrate, as my parents can attest. I was incredibly worried I spent way too much energy in the race where the name of the game is all about conserving energy. Right after the race was over I went into super recovery mode and got ready for the road race the next day. I learned a lot about the difficulty of wearing yellow and a hard lesson about putting a little bit of effort forth early so you don’t have to put forth a huge effort late. Fortunately I was still in Yellow and Evan Lang from VCU was able to collect enough points for the Green Jersey. All in all it was an okay day.
Stage 3 - Champion Systems Mad River Road Race
After the Circuit Race I was even more nervous about breaks happening in the road race. That being said I was told by multiple people that the race would play out simply since the course was 95 miles with 2 big climbs and rolling hills throughout. Sadly, it didn’t play out simply. About 5 miles into the start of racing a big group rolled up the road. I knew there were two important guys up the road but most of the top 10 was still with me and there was an early sprint point so I thought many of the guys up the road were just looking for the sprint points and the peloton had the firepower to bring them back. Again I was in the wrong and that same break had 2:00 on us over the first climb only 30 miles in. I rode the first climb all out to see if they were close but didn’t get within sight of them. At that point I tucked back into the field and just prayed that the break didn’t get too far away.
The race continued until finally with about 25 miles to go people started getting antsy and attacked off the front. Eventually we got a long view down the road and I still couldn’t see the break, they were long gone. Shortly thereafter me and one other racer managed to roll off the front with 22 miles to go and the field gave no chase. We rode quickly and smoothly for about 2 miles until we turned left onto a big highway with a brutal headwind. We suffered through 10 miles of open fields and serious wind before the turn back onto Baby Gap, the small climb before App Gap the major mountain top finish. At the feed zone I received the only time gap of the day from my dad, 4:30 minutes down with 10k to go. Good gosh. My compatriot and I kept driving until the bottom of App Gap. I hit the gas hard and ripped through the bottom of the climb until with 600m to go I hit the steep rise (15% average) to the top. Shockingly the climb got really hard. Marcos gave me extra encouragement to make it to the line but the yellow jersey was definitely lost. I gained back a minute on the winner in the final 10k and 2:30 back on the rest of the group. The day left me 3:40 back on the leader and 1:57 back on 2nd and 3rd. I was in 6th and worried about not receiving my cat 1 upgrade but I was less upset than after the circuit race. My thought was that It was what it was and sometimes that is bike racing. It wasn't worth the effort to be upset. I was also way more pleasant to be with as my parents can again attest.
Stage 4 - Dealer.com Downtown Burlington Criterium
After the disappointing road race and with the pressure to get a full 20 upgrade points (maximum available at a stage race) I hatched a plan to gain some time back. My plan was simple enough, because the crit was a 1K circuit with 6 corners (very technical), I would just get in the break and lap the field. I texted my buddy Evan Lang (VCU) who was in the Green Sprinters jersey about my plan because I thought he’d be game. Got nothing back. Tried again this time telling him I wasn’t kidding and then I got a response and the plan was hatched. Of course rarely in bike racing does the plan work out according to plan. There were also time bonus primes (mid race “races” that award the top 3 to cross the line on the next lap) that I wanted to snag early on to move up in the overall standings. I got the first two primes and with 20 laps to go Evan and I attempted to execute the plan with the help of the big team in the race, Grinta. They didn’t get on our wheel and attempt one failed. Turns out they weren't going to be able to help us as they were tired from a long week of helping their main man win. Fortunately they were nice enough to say that they wouldn't chase our break down since they were concerned about making the race civil to protect their yellow jersey wearer.
A couple laps after our attack a single guy went up the road. With 13 laps to go I hit the group again going into corner 1 with Evan on my wheel. His killer bike skills allowed him to not miss a beat or let a gap open and we bridged up to the solo breaker within a lap. From there the time gap kept going up and I knew we were gone. We kept on it until with about 5 laps to go we stopped getting time gaps except from one course marshal in corner 4. 24s, 22s, 20s, crap, the gap is coming down fast, 17s, I hit the gas hard, 7s, what the heck? Then I looked up and saw the back of the field. The course marshal was telling us how close we were to the field, not vice versa. We caught the field with about 500m to go and I snuck up the inside to take the win and the 15s time bonus at the finish. Phew, what a day, and what a finish to the stage race! It was a great way to finish the weekend and cap off my Cat 1 upgrade. Evan rode an incredible race and it was a great time getting to know him better this weekend. I definitely couldn’t have finished as well without him. I knew I moved up a bit in GC but was surprised that I sat in 2nd after the Crit. Made for a good weekend.
It was a wild up and down ride at Green Mountain but in the end it all worked out and I received my Cat 1 upgrade on the road home Tuesday morning. Next up I’ll get the opportunity to race the Bucks County Classic outside of Philadelphia. It is a UCI race with many UCI Continental teams and some elite amateur teams. It should be an eye opener, that's for sure.
Keep those pedals spinning,
Bryan
It was a wild up and down ride at Green Mountain but in the end it all worked out and I received my Cat 1 upgrade on the road home Tuesday morning. Next up I’ll get the opportunity to race the Bucks County Classic outside of Philadelphia. It is a UCI race with many UCI Continental teams and some elite amateur teams. It should be an eye opener, that's for sure.
Keep those pedals spinning,
Bryan