Nice MRC Contingent at Myles Standish
I had the privilege of lining up in the Cat 3 race with 2 very prestigious riders, the current Prez and the former Prez, Smudger and MC Pace. OK fine John Smith and Chris Pare if you must know their boring real names. For some unknown reason they were both willing to work for me (must be some political glad handing or something). Since they had both been kicking my a$$ lately I developed a more tactical strategy which basically was they we're breakaway/attack guys and I was sit in and sprint guy. There were a lot of attacks, MC Pace covered A LOT of them, Smudger was also very active covering breaks, and I even went with a few, mostly when I had momentum at the front and I new the guys were recovering. None of them succeeded (typical Cat 3) which was fine by me. We came into the last 2 mile run in where there was a slight tailwind and the pace decreased which was unfortunate. Bunching occurred, feeling fresh I maneuvered my way to Chris in the pack for a lead out (hey he insisted). We were stuck in the middle a bit and we were sitting behind a GLV guy and a Cycleloft guy throwing elbows. It got a bit uncomfortable because the skirmish persisted and was getting a little dangerous, not to mention we were starting to get to the point were we need to be AT THE FRONT. I got a little impatient, and decided to back out and head to the right side. I was riding up the gutter giving people verbal encouragement to "GTF out of my way" and I happen to see Chris on the front drilling it. Seems I should have waited it out. We took the left down the finishing hill and I was 20th wheel on the right, out of contention for the win but at least had some clear road ahead. Drilled it all out for the finish for 45 seconds and passed a lot of people for 8th overall (but 1st in my age group 43-44 years young), a couple more places could have been had if I had all-out sprinted but no need to risk life/limb for less than a podium. Chris dropped a few spots after stringing it out, and Smudger was also close behind. AND we didn't crash in the 2nd sketchiest finish in New England bike racing. Found out after the same GLV rider won the race. Ugh...
Good times was had, and some great MRC results you will be hearing about.
Myles Standish
-
Bradford
- Domestique
- Posts: 224
- Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 7:33 pm
- Location: Jamaica Plain/Westborough MA
Re: Myles Standish
After reading last year's race reports, I was pretty apprehensive about MS, but decided to reg up for both the 4A and 4B race.
We had a strong squad for the morning's 4A race with Mike and Kevin on the line, with a surprise appearance from Nolan. I didn't end up getting a chance to preview the course - which would have ramifications later - however the conditions were exceptional - as Jeremy pointed out, probably the best pavement in New England.
4A
GLV started on the front (as they do) and immediately pushed the pace. The first lap was pretty hectic, with the pace high, and people jockeying for position. The first portion of the lap has many turns, nothing significant, but enough that you're required to take a line. There was lots of shoulder bumping as people adjusted lines, and I actually locked up with a guy and nearly went down.
On the second lap, I flatted. Some of you may have seen, I wrecked a wheel on Friday - so this was really the ramifications of a 10:30 pm wheel change the night before, and not doing any warm up on it prior to test it out. I was hoping for the best - but unfortunately it didn't work out. In any case, I received a quick wheel change from the SRAM car - probably less than a minute, and was determined to chase back on. Because of all the turns, I couldn't see the field. When I came to a fork in the road, I shouted at the marshal, left or right? - he told me right. It wasn't until I was about a mile down the road where it reached an entrance gate, that it became painfully apparent I should have gone left. This was very frustrating - but sort of crystallized some of our discussion from last week's team meeting on the importance of competent marshals. In any case, for me, the 4A ended in a DNF for me - not a great start.
4B
A lined up with a slightly smaller field for the 4B - probably 40 or so. Kevin was back in the mix for round two as well. The race was relatively uneventful. I sat in the middle and the back of the pack for most of the race. Kevin put in a tremendous amount of time on the front controlling the pace. Each lap, there were a number of people who decided to attack into the (strong) headwind through the winding sections prior to the lake. These went nowhere, but did manage to elevate tension in the peleton. Predictably, the pace ramped up considerably down the back side as people swarmed to the front for the infamous downhill, off-camber, left-hand turn into the finishing sprint.
On the final lap, I took another look for the GLV train, and managed to get on a wheel as we made our way to the front. The rest of the GLV guys missed the ride, so I was 2nd wheel behind 'Gerry' (who won the 4A) and was drilling it in to the final corner. Two guys came up on the outside, and passed us, so I jumped on their wheels.
We had now flown through the final turn on the front and were railing it downhill into the finish. I ended up directly beside the other two guys who were lined up and I had to decide to either let up, tuck in to draft for a bit more before launching an all out sprint, or just try to kick and hold to the finish. I decided to stay outside, and hammer on my own - I pulled away from the other two guys and opened up a bit of a gap before finishing first across the line - Unofficial time said I had about one second on 2nd place. Kevin, who burnt a few matches of his own, was not far behind, finishing with a top 10 for MRC.
The day improved considerably after a rough start with several strong performances by the MRC team. It was great to see our 5s (Fintan, Winslow, Tyler) working together to control their race. Megan Woodacre put forward another solid effort in the women's field, while our 3's, planned and executed race tactics to keep it interesting in both of their races. Getting the win in the afternoon was icing on the cake.
We had a strong squad for the morning's 4A race with Mike and Kevin on the line, with a surprise appearance from Nolan. I didn't end up getting a chance to preview the course - which would have ramifications later - however the conditions were exceptional - as Jeremy pointed out, probably the best pavement in New England.
4A
GLV started on the front (as they do) and immediately pushed the pace. The first lap was pretty hectic, with the pace high, and people jockeying for position. The first portion of the lap has many turns, nothing significant, but enough that you're required to take a line. There was lots of shoulder bumping as people adjusted lines, and I actually locked up with a guy and nearly went down.
On the second lap, I flatted. Some of you may have seen, I wrecked a wheel on Friday - so this was really the ramifications of a 10:30 pm wheel change the night before, and not doing any warm up on it prior to test it out. I was hoping for the best - but unfortunately it didn't work out. In any case, I received a quick wheel change from the SRAM car - probably less than a minute, and was determined to chase back on. Because of all the turns, I couldn't see the field. When I came to a fork in the road, I shouted at the marshal, left or right? - he told me right. It wasn't until I was about a mile down the road where it reached an entrance gate, that it became painfully apparent I should have gone left. This was very frustrating - but sort of crystallized some of our discussion from last week's team meeting on the importance of competent marshals. In any case, for me, the 4A ended in a DNF for me - not a great start.
4B
A lined up with a slightly smaller field for the 4B - probably 40 or so. Kevin was back in the mix for round two as well. The race was relatively uneventful. I sat in the middle and the back of the pack for most of the race. Kevin put in a tremendous amount of time on the front controlling the pace. Each lap, there were a number of people who decided to attack into the (strong) headwind through the winding sections prior to the lake. These went nowhere, but did manage to elevate tension in the peleton. Predictably, the pace ramped up considerably down the back side as people swarmed to the front for the infamous downhill, off-camber, left-hand turn into the finishing sprint.
On the final lap, I took another look for the GLV train, and managed to get on a wheel as we made our way to the front. The rest of the GLV guys missed the ride, so I was 2nd wheel behind 'Gerry' (who won the 4A) and was drilling it in to the final corner. Two guys came up on the outside, and passed us, so I jumped on their wheels.
We had now flown through the final turn on the front and were railing it downhill into the finish. I ended up directly beside the other two guys who were lined up and I had to decide to either let up, tuck in to draft for a bit more before launching an all out sprint, or just try to kick and hold to the finish. I decided to stay outside, and hammer on my own - I pulled away from the other two guys and opened up a bit of a gap before finishing first across the line - Unofficial time said I had about one second on 2nd place. Kevin, who burnt a few matches of his own, was not far behind, finishing with a top 10 for MRC.
The day improved considerably after a rough start with several strong performances by the MRC team. It was great to see our 5s (Fintan, Winslow, Tyler) working together to control their race. Megan Woodacre put forward another solid effort in the women's field, while our 3's, planned and executed race tactics to keep it interesting in both of their races. Getting the win in the afternoon was icing on the cake.
Re: Myles Standish
Wow, really nice job everyone who raced. I had things going on, but honestly I feared the course and decided that between family issues and the course, I backed out of going. You are all making me regret it.
@Brad: I thought this was a crit so you would get a free lap on a mechanical? Maybe they count it as a circuit race.
@Brad: I thought this was a crit so you would get a free lap on a mechanical? Maybe they count it as a circuit race.
-
Bradford
- Domestique
- Posts: 224
- Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 7:33 pm
- Location: Jamaica Plain/Westborough MA
Re: Myles Standish
Yes, unfortunately no free lap. I did get a very quick wheel change though.
Re: Myles Standish
@Brad: Nice!
@Kevin: Very nice. The fact that Brad's report had him sitting in not doing any extra work until the finale points out the value of your hard work staying at the front.
@Kevin: Very nice. The fact that Brad's report had him sitting in not doing any extra work until the finale points out the value of your hard work staying at the front.
Re: Myles Standish
With a 5 mile lap it's neither a crit nor a circuit race but classified as a road race. And as usual any sketchiness was caused by the people not the course.
It's like a bumper sticker: "Courses don't cause sketchiness, people cause sketchiness"
Including the junior rider who posted up for SECOND place in the sprint, drifted off his line, started a chain reaction and caused some guy to panic who then went off the road into onlookers and cartwheeled into the woods. He was fine (I think).
It's like a bumper sticker: "Courses don't cause sketchiness, people cause sketchiness"
Including the junior rider who posted up for SECOND place in the sprint, drifted off his line, started a chain reaction and caused some guy to panic who then went off the road into onlookers and cartwheeled into the woods. He was fine (I think).
-
PJ McQuade
- Chasseur
- Posts: 769
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 10:44 pm
- Location: Millbury
Re: Myles Standish
Great weekend of results for MRC. Brad, two wins in one season? That's huge.
To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first.
-Shakespeare
-Shakespeare
Re: Myles Standish
Jeremy captured most of the Cat 3 race details. Only addition for me was that I intentionally managed to get in the middle of the Green Line train on the back straight and was sitting where I thought I could mess things up for them then someone (no names to protect the innocent) attacked on the right going into the corner at the top of the descent I got caught out and taking the inside line on the sweeping downhill left onto the finish straight got pinched and back wheel kicked up in the air as I went over the junction of the new and old pavement and lost a lot of momentum. Didn't sprint as I had the 45+ back to back.
45+ Not racing much in this category due to the kids I only scouted a couple of names that I expected to be in the mix (Paul Curley and Tom Francis both had good sized teams with them) I expected Francis to go for a breakaway so was watching him closely from the start. Three guys rolled off the front early with little reaction from the group. It wasn't until the 2nd lap that I realized they were still off the front. Curley's team did some pretty lame work to start pulling it back we got to within 20 sec at the start of the last lap and I was confident we would catch the but they gave up and they managed to stay away with a wheel works guy getting the win which explains why my strategy of watching Tom Francis failed. Made sure I went a little wider on the sweeping left this time and got into the group sprint finishing 6th for 9th place. Happy with that. A couple more MRC'ers in the race and getting to know who to watch and we could have done some damage .
Regarding the sketchiness of the races. Cat 3 was pretty smooth with the exception of the elbowing stuff at the end. The 45+ was somewhat surprizingly poor. Too many guys that think they know what they are doing.
45+ Not racing much in this category due to the kids I only scouted a couple of names that I expected to be in the mix (Paul Curley and Tom Francis both had good sized teams with them) I expected Francis to go for a breakaway so was watching him closely from the start. Three guys rolled off the front early with little reaction from the group. It wasn't until the 2nd lap that I realized they were still off the front. Curley's team did some pretty lame work to start pulling it back we got to within 20 sec at the start of the last lap and I was confident we would catch the but they gave up and they managed to stay away with a wheel works guy getting the win which explains why my strategy of watching Tom Francis failed. Made sure I went a little wider on the sweeping left this time and got into the group sprint finishing 6th for 9th place. Happy with that. A couple more MRC'ers in the race and getting to know who to watch and we could have done some damage .
Regarding the sketchiness of the races. Cat 3 was pretty smooth with the exception of the elbowing stuff at the end. The 45+ was somewhat surprizingly poor. Too many guys that think they know what they are doing.
Re: Myles Standish
Pretty sure Francis had just raced 35+ too so that may explain his lack of aggression. I've made that same mistake before at Norwell 2 years ago.
I still stand by the general tactic of attacking from fairly far out to line it out, assuming you are riding for a teammate on that day. It was bunching and getting very unsafe (IMO) so I thought the time was NOW to line it out. The problem is it seems that the only real leadout tactic that you can do for a teammate (at least in a cat 3 field where you don't have huge #'s) is to line it out to make bunching and swarming less likely. If the designated sprinter is safely tucked in the line in 4th to 8th wheel it doesn't really matter that there are other jerseys between the two of you since as soon as you pull off you will be close enough that other guys will HAVE to go for it as it is the only option left (and that's what they did on Sunday). Anyways, that was the goal but I executed poorly. I had to attack to get to the front (moving up 8-10 spaces on the hill) and since I had a head of steam I kept it going over the top of the hill. The unfortunate thing was when I punched it, JC was 20 wheels back and I was 10 wheels back. Therein lies the problem. Things would have been much different if we did the same exact play but I started from 4th wheel and he started from 8th wheel. So it all comes back to -- protect your position at all cost! We all should have been further up. During the majority of the race you do it to stay safe and not get caught out in a crash or field split. But at the end of the race, protecting your position directly relates to the finishing order. That's where we slipped up this time.
BTW, that's why I love these races with tactical elements as a opposed to climby road races where it's all W/kg. And you learn something every time.
What's really annoying is I mounted my bar cam but never turned it on. It would be really cool to see the replay now.
I still stand by the general tactic of attacking from fairly far out to line it out, assuming you are riding for a teammate on that day. It was bunching and getting very unsafe (IMO) so I thought the time was NOW to line it out. The problem is it seems that the only real leadout tactic that you can do for a teammate (at least in a cat 3 field where you don't have huge #'s) is to line it out to make bunching and swarming less likely. If the designated sprinter is safely tucked in the line in 4th to 8th wheel it doesn't really matter that there are other jerseys between the two of you since as soon as you pull off you will be close enough that other guys will HAVE to go for it as it is the only option left (and that's what they did on Sunday). Anyways, that was the goal but I executed poorly. I had to attack to get to the front (moving up 8-10 spaces on the hill) and since I had a head of steam I kept it going over the top of the hill. The unfortunate thing was when I punched it, JC was 20 wheels back and I was 10 wheels back. Therein lies the problem. Things would have been much different if we did the same exact play but I started from 4th wheel and he started from 8th wheel. So it all comes back to -- protect your position at all cost! We all should have been further up. During the majority of the race you do it to stay safe and not get caught out in a crash or field split. But at the end of the race, protecting your position directly relates to the finishing order. That's where we slipped up this time.
BTW, that's why I love these races with tactical elements as a opposed to climby road races where it's all W/kg. And you learn something every time.
What's really annoying is I mounted my bar cam but never turned it on. It would be really cool to see the replay now.