Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race - Race Report '07
As posted on the team website 1st week of July
For those of us who race there are those races that we look forward to all year. Preparing, training, battling the cold, bitter temperatures, the boredom of sitting inside on our trainers, the early AM and PM weight workouts we do all this because yes we like to ride but also those races define our whole year, it's that first big "A" race.
Fitchburg was that for me and while I do have other "A" races that I have planned this was the big one.
Stage racing for those who have never had the "joy" of experiencing one can be simply defined as addictive torture. The first day or two your bodies seem to cope with the stress and while we all have those training rides where we push ourselves and intensity is high it is very often not race pace for 4 or more days. Day 3 your body is complaining. Day 4 it stopped complaining and is now trying to convince your brain that it needs to be somewhere else and trying to coax it with sleeping in, breakfast in bed, hot long showers a day relaxing, mud slides, pina colada's heated pools, yada yada yada.
Day one (Bars End): 6.55 mile time trial.
The course this year definitely favored climbers, with an average grade of 3% for almost 4.5 miles, I managed to pass 2 women and almost overtake a third by the time I crossed the line.
Notables:
I managed to squeeze in ahead of an IBC girl by only .6 seconds for a solid 12th place finish (so remember, never stop pedaling until you cross that line).
Day two (Movin on up): 3.1 mile circuit course with a climb, false flat then another climb to the finish line.
This course can be deceptive. The top side of the course is relatively flat but when the peloton makes its sweep onto John Fitch Highway it descends at about a 2% grade all the way back to the finish. Because your on your brakes hard leading into the corner up the climb there is no chance you will be carrying to much momentum with you when you start. Unless you get a good line or are at the front any chance of contending for sprint points or a stage win are pretty much out of the bag.
Notables:
A near crash had me take off about an 1/8th of an inch of plastic off my cleats. An attack laid in by me after about 3 laps got caught, I was out for about 30 seconds before they caught me again (BAH).
Day 3 (I'll get you my Pretty!!): 11.6 mile road course.
Starting point was at Mount Wachusett down mile hill road then on to route 140, to route 31 then up Princeton Hill onto Mile Hill road again. The final lap is up mount Wachusett itself, 8% grade for about 2 KM (Where is Fish when you need him )
Notables:
2nd lap with about 1.7KM to go from KOM/QOM I was on the front and middle (three lines going). Looking left then right I stung. I laid in an acceleration so hard and so fast I rocketed off the front and immediately put about 15-20 seconds on me and the peloton before they were able to stop the carnage. When I glanced back the three lines had strung into one and the chase was on. I buried myself pushing past my lactate threshold. Another glance back and I saw an IBC rider bridging to me but the peloton was still on the defensive. Another minute passed, she had caught me and passed me, I tried to catch her wheel and managed to hang on, barely. She took 1st and I took second on the QOM. I wanted this break to work!! Tucking up onto my bars I descended as fast as I could touching near 60MPH, passing the IBC rider trying to encourage her work. It was to no avail, she got swallowed and I did too shortly after I turned onto Rt 140 again. Now that the women saw what I was capable off no one would come around me and so with that move I was on notice. They knew I had a ferocious kick and I wanted to get away. I paid the piper for that move as they hung me out to dry on the front. That more or less did me in as I was not able to recover for the final climb and lost ground on the leaders. Moving from 12th back to 19th. Still it was an epic day and worth making some of the other women suffer a little!
Day 4 (Turn and Burn): .8 mile 3 corner criterium. Slight rise to the start finish line, then a downhill run to the 2nd corner a short section with lots of lumpy patchwork then turning back onto main street to the start finish.
This is a place where technical riders and sprinters can do well. It is also a place where you will go down if you do not pay attention. can be a very fast course.
Notables:
I managed to get a perfect lead out from a Velo Bella Woman at the second bell. While she overcooked the turn back onto main street it set me up to follow the green jersey's wheel. At about 100 meters to go the green jersey attacked I followed then jumped out of her slipstream and managed to take first on the sprint. The next bell I got stuck on front did a hard pull, a CRCA rider came around me, I caught her wheel then countered her move again, that lap was a photo finish and the judges had to replay the footage to see who took it, in the end I was 2nd but it moved me up from 6th in the points competition to 2nd. The women were awfully twitchy in this race, 3 crashes one of which I only barely avoided and 3 near crashes. Ivy Luhrs hit her brakes trying to avoid the crash in front of her, this caused me to plow my front skewer into her derailleur, my back wheel came up and it was a near endo for me before I was able to shift my weight back to get the wheel back down. The other 2 times were when I cross wheeled with someone because they either hit their brakes or swerved into me through the corners. One of those cross wheels happened on the final lap and caused me to slip from near front of the pack to the back, taking 28th. Overall I took 19th out of starting group of 61 women, Managed to get 2nd in the points competition and made a lot people pay for their lack of attention on day 3. Great fun and good memories!!
Special thanks to Tom Luther (Applauds) who along with others form NorEast Cycling worked the feed zone for fellow NorEast'ers.
To our sponsors thank you! SmuttyNose (who made one girl smile when we were suffering through the climbs on day 3), Timberland, la Festa, Papa Wheelies, Exter Cycles, Portsmouth Brewery and the other great sponsors that make it possible for me and others to race under the NorEast banner!! Maybe next year I'll be able to break through to a top 3 GC finish!!
So there you have it ladies and gents, my race report