Team CycleFitness showed up to the Capital Classic knowing that the 40/ 50+ combined field was going to be tough-going with heavy
individual hitters plus teams. We (Monte Frank(e), Mike Andrews, and
me ... Funky John) were ready to 'flex our muscles' and do the best we
could in both fields. The funny thing is ... we didn't 'talk' about race
strategies until the race started. I like it that way. A well-tuned
team doesn't need to talk.
It was a 3 lap race of just over 21 miles per lap. The attacks went
from the gun (after a long neutral start) on the first lap, but
nothing stuck. It was good to see that one of us was not afraid
to go up the road with a 'good' attack. On the flats, Mike flatted. While Mike was getting a change, Monte went to the front, and he and Carl controlled the front to give Mike a chance. I went to the back to help him out. Kyle gave Mike a quick change, and Mike was able to get back on.
We didn't see Carl much after that. Carl doesn't like groups.
On the second lap, I decided to 'recover' and slip to the back of the group to get a feel of the size of the group. The group was easily half the size from the start. There were a few hitters in the back, a few more hitters in the front, and a lot of 'hungry eyes' in the middle. Going up the 'major climb' on the back side of the course the second time, the front hitters 'hit the gas' hard. After the descent into the climb, Team CycleFitness was too far back from the front, and we missed the break of 6 riders. Ugh! We made an attempt to chase, but it was too late. Double Ugh!! Lots of followers, but no real chasers. Triple Ugh!!! Lesson learned boys, always have a least one teammate up in front before every major climb.
There must have been only 20 - 22 riders at this point with lots of Keltic riders. Mike Andrews made a major attack out of our group and he was the lone ranger between the break and our chase group. David Taylor attacked out of the group to help Mike! Yea!! The lads worked together to try to bridge up to the breakaway, and Monte and I had fun working the front of the field. The race stayed that way going into the third lap. Team Keltic, at this point, was doing most (if not all) of the chasing(since they didn't have a rider in the break). On the rollers before the major climb, Mike and David were brought back. Quadruple Ugh!!!!
Now, I was ready to attack on the major climb to see if I can create a
'new race'. Once the climb started, I upped the tempo just enough to
see who will go with me. As it turned out, I dropped a few more
riders, but I had LOTS of followers, and no one willing to push it over the top. Major Ugh! Time to rest for the finishing climb. Team Keltic did some more chasing, but it was very painful to watch. Nothing about the chase looked pretty. Sorry TK.
Monte was still in the picture and we chilled for a while, but Mike ran out of gas from his efforts with David. Monte tested the field a couple times, but nothing was getting away at this point.
With about 2km to go the Keltic train started forming. Rather than get on board that train, Monte yelled at me to grab his wheel ... Yes! We're going for the win in the 50+ (the break didn't have a 50+ racer). I'm feeling the need. We're Carquest, and Nascar is faster than MetroNorth. Monte did a good job getting me in place from 1 km to go to 500m to go, but Kevin Mosher saw what was happening and moved up to the front from the outside. A bunch of guys were looking for Monte's wheel. Sorry guys - that wheel's mine. Monte was drilling it at the front from 500+m. I lost his wheel for a second, but got it back with 300m to go and he took me up to the line. Monte carried so much momentum in the finishing sprint, I had to shift into a big ring (why was I in the little ring?) to catch his draft ... He won the field sprint (finished 7th overall in the 40+), and I won the 50+ race. Big YES! Mike finished just a few minutes behind our group, but he finished with pride ... rounding off our team efforts, which was nice to see.
Well done CycleFitness! Great teamwork!
Thanks for reading.
-Funky John
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