This was the first year that I have missed racing at the Clam Festival in a very long time. It is one of my favorite races of the year, is only 6 miles from home, and this year my entire team was racing the event - so not attending the race was a big deal. Fortunately, I was missing the race for a good reason - my son was invited to a couple of colleges in the Boston area to meet with coaches, which is even more exciting than racing!
Once we were in Boston and had our weekend schedule, I realized that I could sneak out long enough to race at the Wells Avenue Criterium, which was only about 14 miles from where we were staying. On top of that, I was able to convince my wife to come watch - she has been watching me race for the past 15-20 years, so she doesn't ride along as often as she did in the early days.
As I lined up in the A (Pro - 123) race, I saw a good team presence and some strong riders. BRI (Boston Racing Independent), CCB, Grinta Racing, Zip Car, and 545 Velo just to name a few. I also noticed that Skip Foley (Time Bikes) was also there, and he would be the person to watch.
About 500 meters into the race, a rider from Grinta Racing and another rider in a black kit attacked - quickly gaining a good gap. I went to the front to minimize the gap and drove the pace for almost two laps before dropping back into the group because no one else was pulling through. I felt comfortable enough that 2 guys wouldn't be able to stay away for 40 laps.
For the first half of the race, several people tried bridging to the break, and I made sure to mark all moves without initiating any myself. I had to conserve energy because I was riding without teammates. Even though the break built about a 50 second lead, the Grinta rider cracked at lap 20 and quickly came back to the group. My confidence in catching the remaining rider increased, and I shifted to the "mark all moves that Skip is in" went into place.
The remaining rider was caught within a few laps, and then the attacks started. The group was single file, and the stronger riders would turn up the heat on the rise on the back side of the course. I basically stayed close to Skip, and covered all moves that he made - I knew that giving him a few bike lengths could spell a missed opportunity for a win. I continued this tactic until the last lap, where I made sure to stay in the top 3 spots coming into the sprint. As we rounded the last turn (about 350 meters out), Skip launched a big sprint down the right side of the course. I jumped immediately after him and pulled even with him and one other rider that was on his wheel, but I started to lose power a bit in the last 50 meters and ended up in 5th. Skip won the race.
I felt good about the race and was happy to end up with a top 5 to bring results back to the team, since I wasn't able to support them during their race on the same day. I will be back in Yarmouth next year!
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
Once we were in Boston and had our weekend schedule, I realized that I could sneak out long enough to race at the Wells Avenue Criterium, which was only about 14 miles from where we were staying. On top of that, I was able to convince my wife to come watch - she has been watching me race for the past 15-20 years, so she doesn't ride along as often as she did in the early days.
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| After the Race |
As I lined up in the A (Pro - 123) race, I saw a good team presence and some strong riders. BRI (Boston Racing Independent), CCB, Grinta Racing, Zip Car, and 545 Velo just to name a few. I also noticed that Skip Foley (Time Bikes) was also there, and he would be the person to watch.
About 500 meters into the race, a rider from Grinta Racing and another rider in a black kit attacked - quickly gaining a good gap. I went to the front to minimize the gap and drove the pace for almost two laps before dropping back into the group because no one else was pulling through. I felt comfortable enough that 2 guys wouldn't be able to stay away for 40 laps.
For the first half of the race, several people tried bridging to the break, and I made sure to mark all moves without initiating any myself. I had to conserve energy because I was riding without teammates. Even though the break built about a 50 second lead, the Grinta rider cracked at lap 20 and quickly came back to the group. My confidence in catching the remaining rider increased, and I shifted to the "mark all moves that Skip is in" went into place.
The remaining rider was caught within a few laps, and then the attacks started. The group was single file, and the stronger riders would turn up the heat on the rise on the back side of the course. I basically stayed close to Skip, and covered all moves that he made - I knew that giving him a few bike lengths could spell a missed opportunity for a win. I continued this tactic until the last lap, where I made sure to stay in the top 3 spots coming into the sprint. As we rounded the last turn (about 350 meters out), Skip launched a big sprint down the right side of the course. I jumped immediately after him and pulled even with him and one other rider that was on his wheel, but I started to lose power a bit in the last 50 meters and ended up in 5th. Skip won the race.
I felt good about the race and was happy to end up with a top 5 to bring results back to the team, since I wasn't able to support them during their race on the same day. I will be back in Yarmouth next year!
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
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