2nd week of the Crit Series

Week 2 of the Gorham Bike & Ski hosted Scarborough Crit series brought a few new faces and some nasty weather.  An unfortunate accident in the B race delayed the start of the A race, and as the group huddled to stay warm the sky  turned gray and the clouds began to open up.  Organizer Dave Palese kicked off the race with a bang and held a prime on the first lap.  Nothing like going from ice cold to flat out racing in a matter of meters.  With 4 members of Downeast Racing (Travis Kroot, Matt Moon, Dan Vaillancourt and Eliot Pitney) flying the blue colors, the team fired attack after attack until a move stuck. With the team represented in the first promising looking break, by Kroot and Vaillancourt, the race settled down and the gap grew.  Pitney was eager to join his DER teammates so he bridged across and the men in blue numbered 3 strong out of the 6 man break.  Dan drove the break hard into the driving wind and rain setting up Travis for the mid race points sprint.  The gap to the main field continued to grow with only Eric Follen able to bridge to the leading group of 6.  With Momentum now having 2 members in the break (Follen & Caron) Downeast Racing went on the attack again, sending riders up the road forcing the other to chase.  With 3 or 4 laps to go Eliot and Eric Follen of Momentum opened a slight gap on their breakaway companions.  Sharing the work load the 2 leaders pressed their advantage and with 1 lap to go they were comfortably ahead of the 5 remaining breakaway riders, and only a few hundred meters from lapping the main field.  On the bell lap Follen forced the pace on the back stretch trying to generate some separation, but Eliot clung to his wheel, forcing Eric to lead out the final 750 meters and placing himself in a fantastic position headed into the final sprint.  DER filled two of the top 3 steps of the podium with Eliot standing on the top step with Travis outpacing the remaining breakaway riders finishing third.  Dan sacrificed his individual results to ensure success of the break and Matt Moon separated himself  from the main field to finish 8th. It was another great showing of force and teamwork by the boys in blue.

-Eliot 

Active Weekend

 

 

There will be no sitting around this weekend for the boys in blue. Troy Barry will be in New York state visiting his folks, taking a test for work and squeezing in a race while there. Fred Thomas (reigning national 45+ TT champ) will be testing his TT legs at the Biddeford TT put on by the Maine State Time Trial Series (a great resourse and benefit for us in Maine). Eliot Pitney, Ta Herrera, Joe Lynch and I (Hank Pfeifle) will be at the Myles Standish race in Plymouth, MA and the rest of the guys will be at the Scarborough Crit (another great resource for us and put on by the good folks at Gorham Bike & Ski). Hope to see you on the suddenly sunny and warm roads.

Scarborough Crit #1: The Team, Together

April means a lot of things here in Maine. But for us cyclists it is the very real start of the racing season both locally and around the Northeast. The 7-week series happens every Sunday in Scarborough starting in April. Some racers use it as a good preparation for the season to come, others use the B race to learn racing or get to Category 4, and for some it makes up a bulk of the racing focus for the early season.

For some of us with winter injuries, this will be used as a really nice fitness test, and fitness building, to prepare for racing now and races later in the season. I'm 2 weeks into being back outside and came into the race unsure of where the legs/body were.

There was a good showing for the first week of the year: I don't know the number of starters, but it's much more than the 21 finishers - a bit of wind and some splits in the field led to a bunch of dropped riders. The team had 6 men in the field, which was nice considering all the guys who were at Battenkill that day or the day before. 20 Laps of the ~1.3mi loop, makes for about a 1 hour race. As the race slowly ramped up, we kept watch of the front. Ta Herrera was the man of the day, being our strongest sprinter so far this season. However, the field wasn't happy cruising as a big pack. Nate Smith made a move off the front, which was followed by Eliot and 2 others. The leaders got a substantial gap, so I kept watch of the pack - keeping the pace warm but not hot - when a strong rider jumped across. I realized despite being on the front I was the closest Downeast Racing guy and attacked up to him. Once we were close to the break, with only slight field response, I helped close the final gap. Now we had 2 men of 6, OA had 2 as well. Within a couple laps, Matt Moon followed a bridge by Andy Haskell. We now had 3 of 7 (the guy who bridged with me had overcooked it), and up to 40 seconds on the field. Now we had the chance to get Matt to pick off primes while Eliot and I conserved for the last few laps.

A shot of the breakaway coming into a Prime. Eliot on the front and Travis (me) ensuring the Prime for DER.

Good thing we did, as with 5 or so laps remaining the strongman Eric Follen attacked. Once again, I was in position to close the move and the two of us quickly gained on the field. After 5mins+ of suffering trying to keep up front, Eliot somehow made the bridge after winning Battenkill yesterday! I was happy to have him. I was fading, but alive, and having a teammate is always a huge security come trying to win the darn thing. 2 laps to go and Eliot launches a huge attack. Eric can't respond to the acceleration, going full out into TT mode. I'm impressed that Eric managed to catch Eliot with ~600m to go with excellent timing on the only slight uphill in the race, so that when (not if) I countered he had a chance of getting second place over Eliot. When I jumped, I got a gap on Eric and shortly thereafter the band snapped and I solo'd in to the win. Eric held strong for second. Eliot completely set up my win and I think he's happy with the 3rd place after his showing at Battenkill the day before. Matt was second in the sprint from the break, and rounded out us having 3 in the top 5!

We landed a good bit of cash and prizes in the primes, making sure to spread the spoils amongst our breakaway companions. I don't think Matt went home with any of the nutrition he won in the primes!

For this first race as a team, I think we did a great job together and stayed alert and aware throughout the day. Definitely a promising start to being a cohesive group and having a successful first year together.

Results and race series info here: http://gorhambike.com/about/2014-scarborough-crit-series-pg928.htm#results

Images of Battenkill

 

Here's a view of the cat 2 field - the blue guys are Matt and Fred

 

Hank on Meeting House Road

 

Joe passing a struggling competitor. It was that kind of day.

 

Eliot beginning is winning strategy - gather the leaders, drop the leaders

 

Matt mixing things up in the middle

The draw of the Battenkill Dirt

There is something special about April racing in Cambridge, NY.  The Tour of the Battenkill is the first major race on the East Coast calendar, and the one race that fuels hour upon hour of winter training.  Battenkill is the U.S. version of the Ronde van Vlaanderen with enough climbing and  dirt roads to test any rider.  Nearly 120 Cat 3 riders took to the start, eagerly waiting to tackle the challenging course softened overnight by a quarter inch of rain. In typical fashion, the early miles were a battle for position with everyone desperate to ride towards the front on each of the climbs and dirt sectors.  It seemed that people were keen to push the pace on the climbs and dirt sectors, whittling the lead group down to 20 or 30 riders, only to ease off in the flats long enough for the chasers to catch back on and swell the ranks of the peloton.  Somewhere around 30 miles into the race, the referee pulled up alongside the group and yelled, "1:15 to the break".  After Joe Bean Road, a couple guys snuck off the front and grew a sizable lead.  The lack of organization in the group allowed the break too much breathing room and for a moment I thought that all the hours of winter training were going to be wasted noodling along the rural roads of New York while the winning move went up the road.  However, a few brave souls struck out from the peloton in an attempt to chase down the leaders, and they quickly built a 15-20" gap.  It was now or never.  I broke free of the peloton and bridged across and immediately went to work.  With 4 strong riders we were able to inch away from the peloton and eat into the advantage to the leaders.  Up and over Herrington Hill, with a quick look back to check the gap, and then right back to urging on my breakaway companions, even though we shed one rider on the climb.  The next time check we got was 40" to the break.  A few more miles and we were on Meetinghouse Road, where the wind swung around to a much needed tailwind, and where we had a clear view of the break.  They were within 30" and the field was 90" behind us.  I knew that we only had a few miles of flat paved roads before the finishing climb, Stage Road, so I urged the group on one last time and we cut down the last 30" by the base of the finishing climb.  The leading duo was 25 yards ahead of us for most of the Stage Road climb, finally making the bridge as the gradient leveled out.  As we exited the last dirt sector of the day the newly formed group of 5 took inventory of the situation, took on some fluid or one last gel.  Not me, I saw an opportunity and I took full advantage of the situation.  With 200 yards of climbing remaining, at a mere 1-2%, I lashed out with every last bit of energy remaining, crested the hill and put my chin on the bars trying to eek out every last mph on the decent.  I had the gap and with 3.5 miles remaining I was fully committed.  I looked over my shoulder a few times on the run into town, checking to see if the group of 4 behind me would organize a chase, but it never materialized.  I was able to round the last bend onto main street, sit up and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  The first race of the season for Downeast Racing, in it's inaugural year, and I was able to deliver.  It was a great feeling.

Big thanks to teammate Joe Lynch, for looking after me in the early going and shepherding me to the front of the group, Gorham Bike & Ski for superb last second wheel service and to Doug Welling and the Sustainable Athlete for laying out the plan in January that built me up for this epic event.
I'm looking forward to the next Downeast Racing event, but for tonight I'm going to sit back with my 5 year old and share well earned cup of Battenkill Creamery Chocolate Milk.
-Eliot

Ta Herrera Joins Downeast Racing

 

 

Ta Herrera, leading the pack above to the line at last year's Jamestown Classic, is the newest addition to the Downeast Racing cycling team. Ta can hold his own in all racing formats and locales as evidenced by his two 2^nd place stage finishes at last year’s weeklong Tour of Bangkok, a win at a crit in Hong Kong, the overall win at the Scarborough Crit Series and a win at the season ending Jamestown Classic race. Teammates find him to be a great compliment to the crit and circuit race squads – he loves to mix it up in tight confines.  You’ll see Ta at Sunday’s Scarborough Crit (opening race of series) and at Miles Standish the following week. 

Next Up - Battenkill

 

All winter long the Tour of the Battenkill looms on the horizon much like Mount Hood, Mount Shasta and Mount Washington loom over their respective locations. Ever present, these monuments beckon devotes to their entrancing embrace with the promise of beauty and excitement. Though visually enthralling, people familiar with these environs know that proper preparation is keen should one wish to fully enjoy the challenges that await. And so we at Downeast Racing and many others around New England, the USA and Canada have toiled for hours inside on the trainer and outside under less than ideal conditions through the winter in preparations for this weekend's race. Nothing is ever a given at Battenkill what with multiple dirt road sections, variable road surface conditions, large fields, funky weather - but, hey, the unpredictability of the race is the draw for the 3000+ entrants divided among the many racing fields. Five of us Downeast Racers will travel to Cambridge, NY to give it a go. We'll be sure to let you know how it went.