Great video Jacob!
This was a targeted race for our 2/3s and Jeremy put together a nice team to support a result in a field of 100 registered riders: Myself, Pare, Jeremy, Jacob, and Len all lined up for 45 minutes of racing in the north end.
At this point in the year, we had a good idea of who the riders to watch were, and we wanted to keep the field together for a bunch sprint finish, with myself as the protected rider.
I started the race with a particularly poor clip in, on full display for all our teammates who came out to support! I was able to punch back up on the climb after turn one and settle into 20th position. For the next 40 minutes, it seemed like I would go from 5th wheel to 40th wheel, back and forth, up and down. Chris Pare was inside the top 10 all race, holding the field together when necessary, and making sure nothing got away. Jeremy, Jacob, and Len were also in the mix responding to the continual surges in and out of corners.
This was a fast race - In fact, it may have been the fastest crit of the year for me, averaging 28.7 mph. It was also pretty chaotic. Everyone knew the importance of railing the corners, and as a result, we would swarm in turn 1, 3, and 4. Elbows were out, wheels were rubbing, and collisions were happening throughout the race. It never seemed to really settle down like is often the case. Fortunately, all of our guys stayed upright, although there were a number of close calls.
On the last lap, I ended up getting tangled up in turn 1. While I managed to avoid crashing, I hit the brakes and lost a lot of ground in the surging peloton. As we came around the back stretch, I was probably 30th wheel and tried my best to shout at Pare and let him know it was off, and that he needed to focus on getting himself across the line. Apparently, he was also shouting to me, to let me know he had emptied the tank and I should take it from there. In any case, I wasn't in a position to respond. As we came into the final two turns, collective caution was thrown to the wind, with massive surges and kamikaze lines through the corners.
You can see Pare and I together on second last lap, and then the issues in corner 1 in the final lap here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Lt-8Y72T4
Chris came through in the sprint for 14th as MRC's top finisher, and I was four wheels back at 18th. The rest of our boys all finished in the bunch - a testament to everyone's training and preparation.
I had full support from all of our guys, which was really amazing - they did a tremendous job making sure I was able to conserve my energy and keep it fresh for the finish - Unfortunately, I wasn't able to deliver in this one.
Many of the typical adages apply here - 'that's racing' and 'if you're not moving up, you're moving back' - but this experience was very valuable. I need to be more assertive at holding a position up front - even if the plan is for me to sit in and sprint - it needs to be from further up. Chris was masterful at this, never slipping outside of those top wheels. I found myself sliding back, and then burning matches down the side to move up. It also exposed me to a lot more of the calamity and less ideal lines through the turns (I did better at this the next day in Hartford, holding my own up front for the duration of the race).
Despite a bit of a disappointing result, it was very special to race in downtown Boston - I love this city. Last year, having recently come off my 4th ACL surgery and in the midst of an intense rehab program, I watched you guys race Mayor's Cup and it inspired me to try and land a spot in the field for 2015. At the time it seemed like a long shot, but now it really caps and solidifies what has been a wonderful year of racing and riding with friends.
I want to personally thank Len, Jacob, Chris and Jeremy for stepping up and doing this race with me - I know you all had other options and it means a lot to have you throw your support behind me for a team result.
I also want to thank all of the guys (and their families) for making the trek into Boston to watch the action. It was nice to know we had friends cheering in the corners and through the line.