Jeff Yinglig at work on the front
Crit racing is a dicey endeavor and kudos to all those who toe the line. Speed, tight quarters and late race desperation is never a mix for the faint of heart. Downeast Racing's Joe Lynch, Ta Herrera and Jeff Yingling entered the 6:00pm start master's field for 45 minutes of racing around a rectangular course on the streets of downtown Exeter, NH. Corner #1 just after the start and near the bandstand is wide open but slighly off camber, and corner #2 has a wide street funneling into a narrow street. After exiting the last corner the riders take a serpentine route past the quaint downtown buildings. As is always the case with a major crit, the field goes single file from the gun making positioning at the front of the strung out field critical.
Things happen quickly in a crit and a delayed reaction can cost one much energy. That's what happened when Maine's very own Momentum strongmen Eric Follen and Eric Weinrich jumped the field early and established a quick gap. Did they go too early making a catch probable? Or are they strong enough to hold off the field? Well, Eric & Eric weren't sticking around to give the pack an easy answer and when the realization came that these guys DID have the ability to stay away, the hard chase from the field began.
Joe Lynch and the chase
Jeff and Joe tag teamed to bring the duo back and reduced the gap to 15 seconds. Then with a few laps to go the field began to believe that maybe the gap could be closed. That brought new life to the legs of many and the pace ramped up ...... and so did theeeee ... crashes. Four in the last two laps. Our heros made it to the bell lap where Joe and Ta nearly nailed the grandstand as they swerved to avoid guys hitting the deck in front of them. Speed lost - race over. Jeff continued on until a stack of bodies in corner 2 made passage .... ummmm .... difficult, especially since Jeff too was soon sliding over the pavement on his back. Body ok. Bike ok. New skinsuit a little tattered.
Ta & Jeff in front of the bandstand under more placid conditions
Eric & Eric managed to stay away until the end for a nice, hard earned 1-2 finish. Congrats to them. Jeff, Ta and Joe earned some field primes (never easy) and got some excellent prep work for this weekend's Fitchburg series of crit races - Friday-Saturday-Sunday. We'll let all know how that goes as the weekend unfolds.
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