Downeast Racing's Fred Thomas at 2014 Tour of the Catskills

Downeast Racing's Fred Thomas raced at the 2014 Tour of the Catskills last weekend. The Pro 1 2 race features a 10-mile out and back individual time trial, a 60-mile circuit race and a 109-mile road race that includes 8,000 feet of climbing and the famous Devil's Kitchen climb.  "The time trial and the circuit race were fine, but the road race was much harder than last year", Fred said. "The climbs were long and steep in some places, and the pace was fast. There were a lot of strong riders." 

Fred finished in 6th place in individual time trial on the first day. Downeast Racing's Dan Vallaincourt originated strategy for the second day circuit race: sit in and conserve. Fred avoided the temptation to chase breaks. The field was deep and strong and the one break that managed to advance up the road was ruthlessly caught with in five miles of the finish. "I felt very fresh at the end of that race." Fred said.

Conserving for day three was the right strategy. "The field hit all the climbs hard." Fred polished off numerous Hammer Gel Sustained Energy drinks and scored a new personal record for how much Hammer Gel Gu bottles can be consumed on a single ride. He snatched neutral water at each feed and persuaded another team's support staff to hand over a bottle. "Paying attention to nutrition made all the difference. I had no cramps. Some guys were dry at mile seventy." Fred said. The Devil's Kitchen climb slowed Fred down, as it always does, but he made it up without doing the "paper boy" or blowing up and losing big chunks of time. "The compact allowed me to get up the steep sections at a steady pace and gain time on a lot of riders." Fred said. The last five miles of the race into Tannersville had Fred riding with a handful of riders and finishing strong. "There were so many opportunities to get dropped or not to finish during this race that to make it within four minutes of the leaders is an accomplishment for me." Fred finished 11th in the general classification (2013: 9th). Fred plans on returning to the Tour of the Catskills next year.