See the guy in the picture way in the background with his head bowed? He's in a world of hurt. See the guy in the blue uniform and the red helmet at the front? That's Eliot Pitney and he's the one rocking that guy's world. It seems Eliot has been doing that to a ton of riders this year, and we at Downeast Racing would like to congratulate our teammate for his upgrade from a Category 3 rider to a Category 2 (Cat 2) rider. Being a Cat 2 is serious business as it implies strength, talent and dedication. It means approaching the pointy section of the pyramid of the pool of racers. We at Downeast Racing saw it coming way back in January when we saw his power numbers from trainer rides. We also saw the guy riding in the February cold and wind with no complaining, just dedication. We even saw a smile during those rides and that was confirmation that good things literally were just down the road.
Eliot got the good times rolling with a spectacular Cat 3 win at the Tour of the Battenkill. All his abilities were on display there - power through muddy roads, sensing when to drop the decisive hammer and head down solo time trialing speed over the last few miles. Good times continued with a General Classification (GC) 5th place at the Killington Stage Race that included a TT stage win. Good on ya, Eliot, but he was not content to stop there.
Next up was the Purgatory Road Race in Sutton, MA, a brute strength course contested in 89 degree heat. And as one can see above, Eliot pipped his break-away companion by half a bike length to win the event. So, there you have it. A Cat 3 rider needs 30 points to upgrade to a 2. Winning at Battenkill = 10 points. Fifth place on GC in a major stage race = 12 points. The win at Purgatory - another 10. 10+12+10 = 32 ... plenty of points for the upgrade.
Oh, and guess what. Eliot proved his Cat 2 upgrade worthiness in his first Pro-1-2 race, the Hunter Green Summer Classic in Tannersville, NY. Yeah - he won the thing. So congrats from his teammates to Eliot. And stay hungry, bud.
Men Cat 1/2 Senior
| Pl | First Name | Last Name | Team | Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eliot | Pitney | 4:41:28 | |||||
| 2 | Johan | Gibcus | 4:41:49 | |||||
| 3 | Sammy | Moseley | ||||||
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