Sometimes you get back from a race and think, "Wow, that was a pretty good effort". Such was the case yesterday after the Balloon Festival Crit when, after checking Strava, you see that you were running lap after lap at 27 to 28 miles per hour.That's fast, no? Crazy what guys do for fun. A bunch of us from Downeast Racing signed up for the festivities with most DER'ers doing both the 35+ race and the Pro-1-2-3 race. The 35+ went first and the Downeast Racing team managed the race well. Repeated attacks by various team members (along with attacks by other teams) eventually succeeded in getting Eliot Pitney and Joe Lynch into a 6 man break. Then Troy Barry and Matt Moon worked the front to keep the trailling group from capturing the break - never an easy task. Once the break was safely established, Ta Herrera saw an opportunity to escape solo to try and gobble up 7th spot. A couple of guys bridged to him but the remainder of the peleton was again kept under control by Troy & Matt. Now it was time to see if our breakmeisters could muster a victory. Unfortunately ... no ... as Ron Bourgoin of Momentum Barracuda unleashed a strong, strong sprint that carried the day (he does that allot). But we did gobble up 3rd, 5th and 7th and the race as a whole showed a strong team presence and awareness.
Our friend Andrew Pryhuber (Bowdoin) on way to 7th in the 4's
The Pro-1-2-3 race poved a difference story as fresh legs (and Tim Mitchell's solo effort off the front)ruled the day. It is very difficult to summon both the physical and mental enegry for two races held within 2 hours of each other. Which makes you think that guys like Michael Phelps who can win 8 gold medals in a few days is, indeed, an extraordinary athlete.
Kudos to the Lewiston Balloon Festival organizers for conducting a perfectly organized event on a fast and fair downtown course. Results can be found here:
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