15th Annual Sterling Road Race May 9, 2009
Posted by wenzel in Chatter.trackback
…Well I think that I have done 13 of 15-years for this race and every year is a new experience. 2009 was the most ‘fun’ so far. Gary, Spike and I lined up at 8:30 this morning for the M35+ race. I am not sure of the total number, but I think that we had 70+ racers. The plan for the day was to cover any moves, as CVC, CCB, BikeBarn, Keltic Construction and OAA all had large teams. If nothing stayed away, we were set up Gary for the sprint. Well, we had least had a plan….
We started on time and rolled out for our ‘neutral’ jaunt through greater Sterling. We ride up the hill, through the S/F line to the shouts and cheers of the throngs of onlookers and head into loop. Kyle Wolfe puts in an attack just after the overpass a mere few meters into the non-neutral start. His move was covered by Henk (CVC) and BikeBarn guy. CCB crossed the gap with me in tow and last but not least the OAguy came up to us. Again, less than a mile into the race. Holy Crap, the right mix of strength and teams. Our gap quickly grew to 1:15. Here is how the rest of the race went:
Lap One: We’re away and slamming it…pull, rest, rest, rest, rest,rest and pull again.
Lap two: Gap is growing and we are slamming it…pull, rest, rest, rest, rest,rest and pull again.
Lap Three: Gap is growing, but we lose Henk…. now it’s, pull, rest, rest, rest,rest and pull again.
You get the point. Now the fun really begins, going into one-lap to go. The five of us hav built a 3+ minute lead, SRAM car is right behind us. The CCB, OA, and Bike Barn guy have been strong all day. Prior to hitting the hill the penultimate time, I had been missing pulls in an effort to soften the oxes. Just after the the final lap bell, the BikeBarn guy puts in an attack which gaps me going into part two of the finish hill. Holy Crap, this hurts, but I dig as deep as possible and grab the tail-end and we are off to the races. The last lap was sort of mellow with no one throwing in any additional attacks. Rt12 was a little difficult, as there was a slight head wind and the CCB and OA guy were killing it. We head into town for the finish and I am last wheel , as I pulled the little hill on Rt12. We come into the 180-degree turn at the bottom, I hear Gary on the side of the road….screaming works of encouragement. The sprint is on….I stand…I double-quad cramp…..I sit….I look over my shoulder, only to see Butch’s face in the SRAM car…I look up the road and watch the sprint I should have been in unfold before my eyes.
So, our Break went wire-to-wire. Wow! This is a first for me. I may have done it in crits, but never a wire-to-wire road race. I have never hurt this much, but then again, it never felt so good.
The order of finish: Keltic, CCB, BikeBarn, OA and me. Thanks to Gary and Spike patrolling the pack. Look for their back stories later.
23.9mph avg / 159 bpm avg I tired now, so I am signing off. Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday.
And why, might you ask, was I standing on the side of the road screaming encouragement? No it wasn’t that I pulled the ripcord at the begining of lap 3 because the break already had 2 minutes on us. Nope, it was time for the fourth flat of the very young season. Just to change things up, I flatted the front this time. And of course, since the break was well ahead, that’s where Butch and the spares were.
In any event, Zane made the right move to get into that break. CVC worked hard to establish the gap (which went to 1 min in very short order), only to see Henk coming back our way just as I exited the race.
I did end up doing the double for the day, but obviously not withthe full mileage. Feeling a bit robbed. I headed back for registration and signed up for the 3/4’s. As always, SRAM support kicks ass and Butch had my back with a loaner from 404, so I got to race on that instead of my Ambrosio.
There’s not much to say about the 3/4 race other than I picked the wrong moves and missed the right one. 10 guys or so got off on RT 12 half way through. I was too far back and since there were like 20 (very slight exageration) Cambridge Bike guys in the race, once the real move went, they and a couple of other teams ensured the gap grew fast and it was game over. I turned it into a training race and got some intervals in, but finally ended up rolling in all cramped up at the back end of the field. Good thing too, since that way I missed the crash in the sprint for like, 60th place…
Oh, I almost forgot. Spike was entirely selfless and stopped and offered his front wheel when I was on the side of the road. Since I knew the break was up the road, I could swing another race and he’d come up from RI in the early AM I yelled at him to keep on going. Thanks Spike! Sorry you slowed up for me, since you probably wouldv’e regained the group if you hadn’t!
Nice job Arlen! And…great support from the team (Gary and Spike). Gary might want to start riding MTB tires.
I know you want more but last in the break is still better than first in the following field!
As air9r says…a step up over Battenkill. Nice work.