Race Report(s): Concord Crit and Witches Cup
How much time did I spend on I-89 and I-93 last week? A lot.
After my show at Beverly, and with many of the New Hampshire racers also attending Concord, people were more wary of me, keeping me at (but not off) the front for a large chunk of the race. I was (mostly) fine with this, as it allowed me to control the pace to what I felt was sustainable (and let me go mostly uncontested for the primes), but some points it just got old.
Like when I started riding in my granny gear or started weaving to try and get someone to pull through (they didn't).
Ultimately it came down to a crash filled final 300 meters for the sprint, and getting caught out through the last corner cost me valuable positioning for the final push, leaving me chasing for third.
A couple of days later, I suited up for my first official category 3/4 combined filed at the Salem Witches Cup, and my first race in which I had teammates to work with.
We discussed race strategy beforehand, and not knowing how we would fare in the final sprint, we decided to go for the money and attack the primes.
I assumed my position at the front of the pack (as usual) and kept pulling back attempts at breaks while waiting for the sprint laps.
When the time came, my teammate would come up and join me towards the head of the bunch and do as teammates do for the sprint.
The team ended up taking home $75 worth of primes ($25 each for the three of us in the 3/4 race), which is still more than we would've gotten for a race win.
After getting swallowed up on the last prime (which I didn't go for but came too late to reposition well), I fought through for a 14th place finish in the bunch, taking home the 4th Cat 4 spot.
Taking a couple of weeks off from serious racing now while the summer wraps up. Expect to see me at the Green Mountain Stage Race over Labor Day Weekend, and potentially at the Fall River Criterium the weekend before.
After spending a night in Ashland, NH last weekend, on Saturday I hopped down a few exits for the 37th Concord Criterium. Looking at the radar, we were expecting the skies to open up and for the course to be a swamp starting at any minute during the run-up, as there was a massive storm rolling through central New England that day.
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| Artists rendering of Concord Crit Chicane after ~10 minutes of rain. |
Luckily, the rain held off until after the Men's Cat 4 race, which made things pretty easy in terms of bike handling on this technical course.
After my show at Beverly, and with many of the New Hampshire racers also attending Concord, people were more wary of me, keeping me at (but not off) the front for a large chunk of the race. I was (mostly) fine with this, as it allowed me to control the pace to what I felt was sustainable (and let me go mostly uncontested for the primes), but some points it just got old.
Like when I started riding in my granny gear or started weaving to try and get someone to pull through (they didn't).
Ultimately it came down to a crash filled final 300 meters for the sprint, and getting caught out through the last corner cost me valuable positioning for the final push, leaving me chasing for third.
A couple of days later, I suited up for my first official category 3/4 combined filed at the Salem Witches Cup, and my first race in which I had teammates to work with.
We discussed race strategy beforehand, and not knowing how we would fare in the final sprint, we decided to go for the money and attack the primes.
I assumed my position at the front of the pack (as usual) and kept pulling back attempts at breaks while waiting for the sprint laps.
When the time came, my teammate would come up and join me towards the head of the bunch and do as teammates do for the sprint.
The team ended up taking home $75 worth of primes ($25 each for the three of us in the 3/4 race), which is still more than we would've gotten for a race win.
After getting swallowed up on the last prime (which I didn't go for but came too late to reposition well), I fought through for a 14th place finish in the bunch, taking home the 4th Cat 4 spot.
Taking a couple of weeks off from serious racing now while the summer wraps up. Expect to see me at the Green Mountain Stage Race over Labor Day Weekend, and potentially at the Fall River Criterium the weekend before.
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