Blue Hills

[swawersik]

I'm still buzzing from this race, so I'm going to write up a super-immediate report for the Cat 4 race...

We had four guys in the race - me, Jeremy, Carl, and Jacob. A solid team if I've ever seen one. As I'd made this race the focus of my spring, the plan was to try to set me up for a long sprint. It didn't work out that way, but we still made a mark on the race.

The pace on the first lap was quite tame. All 4 MRC's moved up towards the front, though I managed to get myself boxed in on Washington Street and get sucked towards the back. So by the downhill, I was stuck in sketchyville, dodging potholes. I told myself I wasn't going to let that happen again. I moved back towards the front on the uphill, aided by the fact that we had the whole road open for most of the climb. There was some confusion about whether this was true for every lap, but I and others heard the refs say it, and I didn't hear any honking from the follow car when other guys made big moves up on the left side of the line, so I did it as well. By the top of the hill I was back with the rest of MRC & gruppo compatto.

Lap 2 saw a few halfhearted attacks. Carl did some work on the front controlling these, but nothing looked like it would stick. I did a better job holding position on the downhill (still not perfect), so was closer to the front on the hill. Things were tame again, until Mike Mc-something (Jeremy knows him) from Bike Barn drilled it on the steep part of the climb. This led to a group of 8-10 unhooking slightly from the pack. Both Jeremy and I dug in and latched on to the back of this, followed in short order by the rest of the pack. It hurt. Mike went again going over the top and got pulled back, but Eric Wemhoff from NEBC and a guy from BU managed to peel off right afterwards. They got 150m on the pack pretty quickly, as everyone seemed to be a bit gassed from the hill. I watched long enough to see that they were working together reasonably well, thought briefly about the fact that I'd planned to sit in for the sprint, said "F-it, change of plans," an went to bridge.

I dug good and deep to get a gap, then kept going to get across. I kept telling myself that the harder I went, the sooner I could be sucking sweet, sweet wheel teat. When I did hook up, I made sure the first few pulls I took were short in an effort to recover. Shortly afterwards, a guy from BHCC also joined us, and we were four.

We worked well together for the next half hour, everyone taking solids turns. We could have rotated a bit more efficiently, but two of the guys clearly weren't familiar with the concept, and I didn't have the oxygen to explain it. We struggled a bit on the steep part of the hill, with me and BHCC gapping the other two, so we sat up briefly at the top and regrouped. The whole time, I tried to stay fully committed and not look back. The few times I did, I couldn't see the pack. This was looking good...

I was worried about Washington Ave, as the sightlines are long and the pack would be hunting us down. I could hear the moto sirens as an indicator of how close they were, so I gunned it on my pull. This may have been a slight error, as Eric and the BU guy seemed to get gapped again, and when the BHCC guy came through, I had trouble holding his wheel.

So we eventually got caught at the bottom of the downhill, with BHCC still 50-75m off the front. I was sliding back into the pack when Jeremy rolls up next to me. "You got anything left?" he asks. "It's all you," I answered, "I'll work for you." To which Jeremy replies, "If you got anything left, now's the time to use it."

Point taken, so I went back to the front and started drilling it. I told myself I'd keep the pace high until I reel in the BHCC guy, then I'm done. To BHCC's credit, this took 2-3 minutes, and things were a bit blurry by the time I got him. I peeled off the front at the bottom of the second step, and was psyched to see Jacob roll through as I came off, keeping the pace high.

I slid back into the pack, but found my legs a little and briefly had illusions of hanging on for a top 20-ish sprint. I was close enough to see Carl come up the left side and take over for Jacob at the front, keeping Jeremy in good position. But when we hit the steep part of the hill, I knew I was done. Figuring I'd earned my keep for the day, I shut it down.

I'll let Jeremy tell his story of what happened at the front. Let's just say the Blue Hills Classic pays out pretty well.

Fantastic team racing today. I didn't get the top 5 result I'd been gunning for, but I could care less, as I couldn't be more proud of the team effort today.

[rusto]

Great job, Stefan: both on your race and for leaving me on the edge of my seat!

[jraguin]

From what I heard about the 4s race, it was a great team effort. Let me say that it was very cool seeing you guys pass by on my warm-up and seeing Stefan in the break and all the rest of you near the front of the field.

Very long report, so bear with me. Hopefully you find it entertaining. A lot of the race blurs together so I will do my best to recap. Len, Rich, Rich: please correct me on what I got wrong.

I was in the Masters 40+ with Len, Rich B, and Rich M. My first Masters Cat 1-4 race so I knew it was going to be hard and I was mentally prepared for the pain. I learned from Chris P at Battenkill that it is better to stay in the front part of the race so I also told myself to work hard to ensure I am near the front throughout the race.

First lap was pretty easy. Middle of the second lap 2 guys go off the front. No one chases. Then we are coming around to the hill again and I hear a guy say “not sure when we are going to start racing”. I kid with him that he can go to the front if he wants. He passes on that, but right on cue some guys start drilling it. We are going up the hill fast and I can already see that some of the bigger guys in the field are struggling. We crest the top at a high clip and then the pace slows down. 3 CCB guys are blocking the front while a group of guys (including Jerry D) is creating a gap. I am 3rd row and I start yelling that CCB is blocking. No one moves. Finally myself and another guy find some daylight near the yellow line so we go hard to bridge the gap. Some other guys go with us and we catch up right around the turn onto 138 and practically go past the breakaway group. I look around and we pulled the whole field (including the CCB guys) back up. Then I see Jerry D and one CCB guy (Paul Richard?) drill it again, but I decide that since it is Jerry I will let them go. No one else goes (obviously not the CCB guys). So Jerry and Paul are off (remember there are another 2 up the road).

End of the third lap and first half of the 4th lap was the toughest (or was it the 4th time up the hill?). Once again, the guys drill it on the hill. Super hard. Guys are going backwards. Len, Rich B, and I are doing all we can to hold on. For me, I felt like I kept choosing the wrong wheel. I would be on a guy, then look in front of him and he let a gap develop. So then I would have to drill it around him. We crest the hill and a gap has developed and 10 guys are out in front. Len is giving it all he has to close it with another guy on his wheel, but the guy gives up, so it is just Len and I. I yell to Len to jump on my wheel and start giving it all I have. Len and I are just about toast at that point. Finally, close to the turn onto 138 some guys go by (including Rich B who yells some encouragement) and Len and I jump on their wheel and we finally make it to the breakaway. Mercifully everyone is a bit tired so the pace slackens which allows me (and Len) to recover. I think the pace went down because we caught Jerry and Paul (sorry Jerry).

The rest of the 4th lap was uneventful, and the 5th lap was the same. 5th time up the hill was funny. I go to the front and am second row with 3 CCB guys and 2 Wheelworks guys across the road. I keep thinking all the way up the hill “They are going to drill it, be ready, be ready, be ready.” We go up and over the hill and nothing happens. I start laughing with the guy next to me because both of us were thinking the same thing.

Last lap, we are on Canton Ave and I am close to the yellow line staying left per our strategy. I hear a lot of shouting and then 4 guys FROM THE 3s FIELD pass us on the left. None of us really know what to do, but no one yells that we are neutralized so we keep going. I come around onto Unquity Road and the pace starts to pick up (Jerry is on the front drilling it). I feel really good and am 4th wheel. Some guy moves next to me, then muscles in for the wheel I am on. I move back to 5th but I think his quick release catches a spoke in my front wheel. I hear a ping but am still fine and upright and so is he. I look down and notice my front wheel has a bit of a wobble. No time to worry about that, we are just over 1 mile from the finish.

I am loving my position. I know Jerry is probably spent and just trying to make the pace hard, so I am waiting for a good wheel to come by to follow. A guy goes by my on my left and I am just about to jump on it, when I see he is part of THE 3s FIELD. I hesitate, figuring I should not be drafting off people in another field. In that split second, I see 2 Masters guys jump on his wheel. This starts happening all over: Masters guys going with 3s guys on them, and 3s guys going with Masters guys on them. What a mess. I decide I have to be legit so I finally jump on the wheel of a Master and pushing toward the finish. My legs are pretty well shot but I am giving it all I have. Some 3s guy is going backward at what seems like half our speed. He is swerving, getting bumped by guys going by him, and looking back. I brush by him and at the same time I hear him go down. (I really hope it wasn’t me that was the final straw.) Lots of bad sounds behind me and I just try to stay focused. I am pulling guys back but it is hard to focus when I am not sure who I should be trying to outsprint or who I should not. I also just couldn’t get out of saddle to sprint with all the chaos going on. I have no idea where I finished, but I think I finished pretty well. If I was to guess, I would say top 25, maybe better. (Update: I got 16th.)

In summary, really enjoyed the race overall and racing with the Masters (besides the mess with the 3s and that crash). Masters racing is different. Lots of attacks and tactics. Definitely fun. And it was great having teammates. Rich B, Len, and I did work together in various ways, although it wasn’t some specific pre-mediated strategy. (Oh, on my wheel, it is definitely in trouble. It was rubbing the brake up that last hill).

[rusto]

I know Cat 3 racer Ian Schon was in that crash, got an ambulance ride but is ok. Heard there was some yelling from the Masters as they over took you... did you hear it?

MRC guy visible on the right in this short clip by Colin: clicky

[carlshimer]

Wow - what a fun race in the 4s. I had a tough time planning for this race. My "talents" don't include sprinting so I was unlikely to be competive at a sprint finish. My plan was to support the team or go on a break.

The first lap or so was very tame with none of the big teams putting in any of the work. At one point I was on the front after the turn onto blue hills ave. I didn't want to do much work at that point but wanted to keep a good position. No one was willing to work so I ended up at front longer than I intended.

On lap one or two I had a front row seat to Jeremy's almost crash. From my perspective he was at a 30 degree angle leaning on the guy to the right. However, no one panicked and Jeremy recovered (I'll let him tell the full story). A little bit later Jeremy asked me if I was going to go on a break but I chickened out at that point. A bit later Stefan was off the front and our roles were set.

Honestly, the rest of the race was a bit ho-hum (until the end). We attempted some blocking up front but that didn't work so well with three guys. I didn't have the best lines after the third lap and ended up near the rear. However, after the turn on the final climb I was able to get over to the left. One of the nice things about riding with a bigger guy like Jeremy is that he is really easy to pick out. I could see him right up near the front. I scooted up to the front at about the 700M position (or so) and pulled in next to Jeremy and Jacob. Jacob was tiring so I got on the front (after some exited encouragement from Jeremy), drilled it for as long as I could, and then expired off to the right side and limped in for the finish. Nice to put in a team effort.

I thought the cat 4 field at this race was a bit weak. Definately much more sketchy riding than Battenkill or Quabbin. And who would expect that the guys in the break wouldn't know how to ride a paceline??

[swawersik]

And who would expect that the guys in the break wouldn't know how to ride a paceline??

They knew how to ride a paceline, just not how to rotate it efficiently. Clearly, you take for granted that every club has someone with Smudger's "gentle" teaching style to impart these wisdoms

[JeremyC]

Sorry to hear about the chaos in the 3s and Masters. I feel there always seems to be a glitch when the fields start so close together. I’ll be interested to see the results if they can figure them out.
Anyway, the 4s was a great race. Stefan’s report was spot on but I’ll add some thoughts as well as details on the end of the race.
My first thought – I really enjoyed the team tactics in the 4s last year and was bummed thinking coming into this year thinking they wouldn’t exist anymore after most of the guys upgraded. Thank fully I was dead wrong. MRC had 4 guys in the race today and all 4 raced an almost perfect team race. Coming in my strategy was to mix it up a little in a breakaway and if that didn’t pan out I was going to take a flier at the end to free up Stefan for a sprint. But all of that changed when Stefan was well positioned at the end of the 2nd lap and jumped in a promising breakaway. Frankly I was thrilled. It is really fun to ride at the front with absolutely no responsibility except to react to other people. During this lap and a half Jacob and I patrolled the front and got a mostly free ride, other than following a few of the bigger moves. Jacob has a really good racing instinct which allowed him to stay 3-5th wheel without ever being on the front. Carl came up as well, and both raced by the book with a teammate in the break.
Fast forward to 3 miles to go, and it looked like we were going to catch the break. As you already read, Stefan and I had a classic exchange which resulted in the already fried Stefan going back to the front and pulling back the solo rider. And let me say this was not a slow pace, the whole field was strung out. When we caught the guy he finally pulled off. Now Jacob was on the front and while I felt slightly bad for doing it, I yelled at him to drill it (knowing full well he would be totally sacrificing what could be a very solid top 5 result, in fact he looked a lot more comfortable than I felt). During this massive effort, Carl pops by and I politely ask him to pull through and jump on Jacob’s wheel (OK I may have “ordered” him to do that). Anyway he does, Jacob hits the bottom of the hill and at some point pulls off and Carl is drilling the bottom of the hill. Still no one is swarming, MRC has nullified all possible attacks. During all of this I am about 5th wheel, ceding some spots intentionally because I didn’t want to be on the front when Carl pulled off, it was too early. I am not second guessing it, but this may have cost me the win, because some rider I didn’t recognize started his sprint very early and there weren’t too many people around to follow. At this point it’s pretty chaotic, I come around a big guy going backwards and start my sprint about 500 meters out to desperately cross the gap. Someone on my left tried to jump on my wheel and apparently mis-timed it, I felt contact on my wheel and heard the nasty sound of carbon on pavement. I felt a little bad but it was a panic move on his part. Anyway, no time to think about it, I’m sprinting from way out trying to catch what is now a lone rider. I’m slowly gaining but the pain is increasing exponentially. Happily I look back and there is only 1 guy even remotely close to challenging me for 2nd, but close enough to make me sprint all the way to the line and hold him off. I heard a spectator screaming at me to push it, I think it was Chris P. Unfortunately I never really challenged the winner, he was probably 20 meters ahead. I’m very happy with 2nd but would have liked to win after the team sacrificed themselves. Regardless, MRC put on a road racing clinic and I am very appreciative of the guys efforts, as all were on good form. Thanks and please show up to the next club meeting so I can spend my $125 in winnings on beer.

[argus]

Awesome racing & race reports. Congratulations and the season is just getting started.

[pace21]

Welcome to the Dean Phillips show! That's what the Cat 3 race felt like. Apparently I wasn't the only guy with the intel on Dean "yes I'm a professional triathlete and I'm a solid bike handler / racer but USA Cycling is making me work through all the categories one by one” Phillips. Everyone was marking him. Oh yeah our race also had Jeremy’s old nemesis Tim “Blacky” Ahearn (he’s an unattached rider who wears and all-black kit) – is it creepy if I googled him last night? Turns out he was 3rd overall at Mt. Washington last year, losing to Ned Overend and Tinker Juarez with a 57 minute time. Uh oh. And some other dude named Eric who I don’t know but everyone kept mentioning him during the race. Oh well, here we go!

The first lap was a roll out, but at the top of the climb Dean and Tim had a dig, I went with them, as did Colin R and a dude from threshold. We actually had a 10-15 second gap, but Dean of all people shut it down by not pulling through. Hmm. For the next 4 laps I spent as much time as I could near the front marking moves by Dean, Tim, some CCB guy, and the Threshold guy. Actually got in about 4-5 breaks that each never got more than 15 seconds or so.

Fast forward to the bell lap climb. Everyone and their brother knew what was going to happen. Tim attacked at the bottom, got a 10-15 second lead, then we started drilling it about a quarter of the way up. Near the top, probably within sight of the “Y” in the road, the moment came. Dean drilled it -- and I have no idea how an almost 200 pound guy could accelerate that quickly (except later I saw his power file on Strava – wow). In seconds he had 20 then 30 meters. Several of us responded, Colin, Mike Wissell, Threshold guy, Lipinski, CCB guy, a GLV guy, and lonely old me. One by one they all started popping, and then there was GLV and me. And then we passed Blacky – game on! I buried myself but I just couldn’t hold the GLV wheel, and as I was about to sit up (game off!) none other than Blacky comes by me – game on! Totally on the rivet chasing Blacky from just past the finish line up to Houghton’s Pond. Unfortunately I was consistently 10 feet behind him and I just couldn’t. close. it. down. Eventually we caught the lead group of 5ish approaching the stop sign, but I had done WAY more work than I should have (10 feet! And I know better!!!) I took about a nanosecond of rest on the back of the break, but go figure they had no interest in waiting for me to recover, so I was quickly back standing and hammering just to close down the new 10 foot gap I let open. Closed that one down and as I was bouncing off the rev-limiter I had a great idea to let the retreating rider from the paceline pull in front of me rather than me pulling through. Pro wheelsucking, right? Not so much, since all I did was let another 10 foot gap open and you can guess what happened next. It turns out that me, 30 miles per hour, and wind are not good friends. It’s over. Time to sit up and wait to get swept up and probably spit out the back of the peloton.

The peloton catches me just after the turn on to 138, I knife my way back in the field with my HR at 180+, and just about tag on to the back. I figure if I can at least hitch a ride the last 5 miles will be over that much quicker. Surprisingly (at least to me) I started to recover after the pothole section and down the hill – well now, maybe it’s not over? I work my way up the field basically in the gutter on the big downhill, take the right turn way too fast to be safe, but back on the gas and working my way through the field. At the base of the climb there was a lot to process… I’m in about 30th wheel, up the road I see the break (how can they be that close?) and then a whole gaggle of riders, aka the 40+ field. This is not going to be pretty. In a perfect world with the whole road closed, the officials should have neutralized the 40+ field and let us pass on the left but that didn’t happen, instead it was just a cluster**** of riders, some moving up and some moving back, some attacking and some imploding. I just got on wheels and went into the pain cave. When it was all said and done, I narrowly missed an ugly sounding crash, passed John R and Len, and then “unpassed” John R and Len finishing a second or two back of them. I also finished a second or two in front of Colin who had his GoPro on so maybe there will be footage of all that fun near the end…

In the end Dean stayed away with 3 others (he won, Blacky second) and I grabbed 6th in the field “sprint” for 10th overall. All in all I was completely satisfied with the result. The worst part was after talking to Dean and Tim after the race (nice guys!) they said they basically sat up after turning right onto 138, so basically about 20-30 seconds after I was detached. Ugh.

[PJ McQuade]

Nice reports and GREAT performance by the entire Cat 4 team. Jeremy's days in the 4s appear to be numbered. Everyone's hitting their stride just in time to rep MRC nice at Sterling. John, sounds like you're dialed in right now. I'm excited to race together soon - hopefully next weekend. Sounds like the cat 3 finale was a mess, I hope Chris stayed upright.

[PJ McQuade]

Nice Chris!! I didn't get your report right away. Hold onto this fitness, you're killing it.

[JeremyC]

QOTD

the harder I went, the sooner I could be sucking sweet, sweet wheel teat.

[Jacob]

Great race, great result! I had a good chuckle as I watched Stefan ride away: “there goes the plan” I said to Jeremy. The break had a pretty hefty gap for a 28 mile cat 4 race, it seemed like they might make it. I really enjoy going to the front of the pack and spinning 105RPM in a low gear, following the chasers, and generally being obnoxious. When the break finally did get caught, we pressed Stefan back into service almost immediately to pick up the final guy off the front. “Well Stefan, we caught you, but we didn’t catch that guy you were riding with. Can you do it for us?” That was awesome. I rode his wheel and yelled encouragement at him. Once Stefan took down his prey I paced the field for a couple hundred meters and then put the hammer down once I could confirm that Jeremy was in a good spot. I was not quite spent when I saw Carl’s yellow helmet in my left peripheral. I cranked it pretty hard to catch onto Carl’s wheel. After he finished his pull I did one more short burst and finished blowing myself up. Bye-bye peleton!

Great job Jeremy! Great job team!

[Jacob]

QOTD

the harder I went, the sooner I could be sucking sweet, sweet wheel teat.

He really does have a way with words, doesn't he?

[Smudger]

Feel so bad for not being their for this epic day of racing.

Jeremy, remember "ordering" you to time your lead out for me at Wayne Elliot last year. Glad you are doing it this year. Great result. Diane needs your license for an upgrade.

Sounds like everyone else in the 4s were laying it down like Sky in the Giro today.

Chris, outstanding result. Right up there with the big boys. Sounds like Dean rides pretty smart not wanting to pull everyone round and sat up until he had a break that would ensure he would win.

[Tfrost]

Wow. All these races seemed to have had a lot going on. Congrats to Jeremy, chris, and all others who partook.(Kinda lost track after all these reports)
Im liking this team tactic vibe thats going on, can't wait to get involved in some cat 4 races to join in the fun. My race just feels like a stroll in the park compared to this blue hills smack down. Maybe you guys just have a way with words, or perhaps I just dont have enough experience with throat punching but nonetheless good work from all you guys.

[rusto]

Here's a shot of the finish, Jeremy on his way to 2nd.

[BTurner]

fantastic read and epic results. nice.

[onegeardoug]

Great reports. Sounds like I missed all of the fun in the 4 race. Nice job Jeremy. Guess you'll be in the 3's soon.

[jraguin]

@Russ: Yes, I heard the masters guys yelling when the 4 breakaway guys from the 3s passed. To be honest, I had no problem with either group yelling. The breakaway 3s guys were yelling to get space so they weren't on the other side of the yellow line (it was open to traffic and cars were coming the other way). The Masters guys were yelling at the Masters guys at the front not to draft / chase the 3s breakaway. So both were legit.

The MRC guy on the right in that crash video is Rich B. He told me he had to go in the dirt for a bit but came through unscathed although definitely slowed down. I will let him tell his story here.

Official results are in: Len got 10th, I got 16th, Rich B got 19th, and Rich M got 41st. A very nice result, with 3 guys inside the top 20!!

[ahamilton]

Good reports from good races with great results. As I drove past a couple of weeks ago I had misgivings about not regging and when I got home that night both fields I could have regged for were already full, so I missed out on all the fun.

[Len_E]

Sorry for the delay in posting, I had to hustle to the airport to catch a flight to Nevada where I sit today, suffering through my meetings while trying to stop my legs from cramping. But still buzzing about yesterday's race.
John's account of the Masters race was spot-on. I can only add that if John and Rich B weren't there on the 3rd and 4th laps when the suffering was really setting in, I would have been spit out the back for the duration. I think it was the beginning of the 3rd lap where Rich moved from mid-pack to lead it onto Rt 138 and push the pace such that we got strung out all the way down the road. John was nosing around the front of the pack so I pushed hard to join him in case something happened. As if on queue, as soon as we turned onto the road with the climb (bad with directions) the attacks began and didn't stop for 1.5 laps. It was a brutal series and after the climb ending lap 3 I was bleeding from my eyes. John, myself and a few guys are bearly able to pull back an attacking group and I'm so far over the top that I'm sure I will have to shut it down. All of a sudden John comes up and says jump on my wheel which I laugh at but somehow my legs ignore me and follow. Then Rich appears on my right as we fly down 138 and onto the pothole road. With teammates like these you can't stop pushing it. By the end of the 4th lap things calm down, the pack split has occurred and there are probably 35 or so riders left to challenge for 3rd place. I'm feeling good with a mile to go, on the yellow line and in the top 15 heading toward the climb when the 3s come by on my left completely boxing me in and leaving no room for the full road sprint up the right I had planned on. I'm sandwiched between Masters and 3s as we start the climb and people start to panic. I look to me right and there is John, calm and cool, finding narrow bits of daylight in which to move up. I find his wheel and he leads us through the masters pack and all of a sudden there are cat 3s popping all around us, going backwards. I lose John in the crowd and hear the tell-tale sound of carbon vs. road and then the sound of bodies colliding with pavement. I don't look back but catch a glimpse of Tom Francis up the road as he gets out of his saddle to start his sprint. I make a beeline toward Francis and a bunch of Masters on his wheel. There are 3s all over the place as I look for daylight and a Masters jersey. I then see a friendly jersey (Chris) pounding away and try to match his excertion as we head up the last pitch. I have no prayer of catching Francis but manage to catch a few masters. Happy with 10th place but it would not have happened but for John and Rich pulling me through the pain cave on 3 and 4.

[JerryD]

First lap was pretty easy. Middle of the second lap 2 guys go off the front. No one chases. Then we are coming around to the hill again and I hear a guy say “not sure when we are going to start racing”. I kid with him that he can go to the front if he wants. He passes on that, but right on cue some guys start drilling it. We are going up the hill fast and I can already see that some of the bigger guys in the field are struggling. We crest the top at a high clip and then the pace slows down. 3 CCB guys are blocking the front while a group of guys (including Jerry D) is creating a gap. I am 3rd row and I start yelling that CCB is blocking. No one moves. Finally myself and another guy find some daylight near the yellow line so we go hard to bridge the gap. Some other guys go with us and we catch up right around the turn onto 138 and practically go past the breakaway group. I look around and we pulled the whole field (including the CCB guys) back up. Then I see Jerry D and one CCB guy (Paul Richard?) drill it again, but I decide that since it is Jerry I will let them go. No one else goes (obviously not the CCB guys). So Jerry and Paul are off (remember there are another 2 up the road).

Figured since I read all your reports (congrats to your cat 4 guys, nice work, nice results) and John mentioned this part I would clarify . Early in the 2nd lap, I joined a CCB guy (not sure who) and then Paul Richard joined us for a 3 man break off the front which lasted a little more than 2 laps. We more or less worked well together and Paul Richard is obviously quite strong but the other CCB guy skipped all turns on the flats and uphills, just didn't have the power; needed to replace him with someone stronger. Not sure that would have enabled us to stay away from a Tom Francis-powered chase but it sure was fun trying. Was kind of fun to have the SRAM wheel car pull in behind us, though the wheel car coming up to us was likely a signal to you guys back in the peloton that it was time to chase

After it all came back together midway through lap 4 and on to ~beginning of lap 5, Nash dangled himself out front and then Ronnie Jacobs (I ride with him occasionally, strong rider) joined him and off they went, never to be seen again with an assist from an excellent tempo block by CCB and Wheelworks.

The cat3/masters cluster/mayhem which ensued on the finish climb was unfortunate (and I was a victim of it) maybe could have been avoided but I guess that's what you get when 2 fields come together right at the point when it's go time.

[Bruce]

Hey guys, great racing and nice to hear about the team dynamics. It used to be that when anyone upgraded to 3 At mr.c they either raced masters or went to another club.

Good job Rich Mazzola!

Is Rich B = Rich Barnwell? I guess he's back. Good dude.

[jraguin]

@Bruce:
Rich B is Richard Batten. He is a great guy and new member. It was really great racing with he, Len, and I supporting each other.

Oh, I forgot to tell everyone: I am joining the MetLife team. Just kidding. With all these guys to train and race with, who needs another club! Seriously!