124.1 miles and 5:32:07 of racing. And it all came down to 0.55 seconds.
Except for the physiological freaks that sometimes destroy us mortals in races, very few of us are such complete riders that we can time trial, sprint, and climb and still have juice left at the end of a 90+ mile race–clearly, I am no exception. But when you have the Threshold Cat 4′s surrounding you, those gaps get filled in a major way…what a team.
Shake and I put the CTSR on our race calendars as soon as it was announced on the interwebs (via the Googles) in early winter. I was excited by a race that seemed tailored to my abilities (time trials and war-of-attrition road stages) as well as my weaknesses (crits, technical courses and sprints).
I pegged the ITT and road race as my seasonal goals, and focused all of my training on it. This was before Shake had vision-saving surgery on his left eye, and was his first race back in the pack. Having gone through that ordeal, arriving at the hotel with him on Friday night was a victory in and of itself. Two months racing without Shake is like drinking non-alcoholic beer…it seems normal but there’s a critical ingredient missing.
Matt D was in fine form after racking up points all season. Vic had a strong showing at Quabbin, and was looking to be on good form as well (and holy crap was he on-form!). The always ballsy Tucker was doing his first Cat 4 race. 91 mile RR? Whatever! His first 5 race was Battenkill so, why not?
Matt D, The Vic, Shake, Tucker and I (Bake) all rolled into town Friday night, after spending a few hours cruising around West Hartford. For those of you that haven’t been there, I would suggest that you put on team kit and roll down Rt. 44 on your nicest road bike. You’ll fit right in…bring a lot of cash. Don’t be afraid to flaunt it.
We were impressed with the hotel, given the price…until we were woken up at 2:00 am by drunken revelers trying to get into our room, which is where they thought the “pahty” was. For the record, Shake and I were in separate beds. And there was no party. Apparently room 218 is easily confused with room 318 when you are sloshed on Bud Light Lime. Despite the interruption, we had a good night’s sleep.
Up early, breakfast in the hotel, and Shake and I won the race to the parking lot…first riders to arrive, per my typical neurotic tendencies (this was AFTER my teammates talked me into leaving 30 minutes later than I had planned).
Not much to say about the ITT: Despite being an (I)-TT, thanks go out to Leo for suggesting the budget wheel cover and Mover for lending me his SICK front 404. 404′s are supposed to save 90s over a 40 k race…8.1 miles and you can do the math. The race would have been a different story without them. Shake finished an incredible 13 place, Matt D in at 18th (commando style with no aero-gear and those big green gloves), Vic in at 23rd and Tucker at 47 (second time on aero bars). I came in second by 0.55s to Brian Q. Matt D wasn’t feeling well, but brushed it off as allergies.
Now, I won’t say I told you so, but I did say in an email to the team re: the CTSR, and I quote “We’ll need to watch out for this guy (Brian Q)…he beat me early this season at the CBTT and finished well at Quabbin. He is a smart rider too…” Curt’s response was, “I would not be surprised if he is in the top 5 after day one” Right-o Cuc (and me 
). Lunch (breakfast, actually) at Kellie’s Place in town, and we were back for the circuit race.
Despite one teammate’s conclusion that the circuit race was, “brutally hard”, it was, on the contrary, not hard. At all. But, it was fast. Slight uphill through the finish, fast downhill, right turn onto a 1-2 minute little hill, fast downhill, 115 degree turn, a few little rollers, kicker up into town, hard right turn, 500 meters to the finish. Repeat (7 more times). Matt D was on hand for the first few laps and guided me through the course; showing me the good lines and helping me maintain position through the turns. Greenline Velo rode an aggressive (although sometimes confusing) race, attacking off the front early and often. In the end, it came down to a bunch sprint. I finished next to Brain Q with Shane there to help. GC maintained, same time for all. Tucker strolled in 10 minutes later.
Threshold was dealt a crushing blow when we realized that Big Bird had dropped out of the race. Turns out that allergies and the flu have similar early symptoms, but dramatically different consequences. Sick as a dog, BB went home. Luckily, Big Birds can’t get swine flu…but they can get the bird flu. I am not going to lie…losing Matt D was a crushing blow to the team and we were totally bummed to see him go. Luckily, Shake, The Vic and Tucker were all there.
Dinner at Bachi’s with Cort and the team, we watched Eliot and Aaron each consume more calories than the rest of the team combined (all week). At one point, Eliot tried to convince me that if I let him eat my entire right arm, it would grow back overnight. I realized this was a lie, but not before he coated my arm with Tabasco sauce. Then he won the pizza eating contest. By a landslide. In ONE BITE.
The next morning, I was feeling unsettled. In general, Cat 4′s have no business riding a 91 mile road race. It was both preposterous and PRO at the same time. We had no idea what would happen. Suffice to say, it was exciting. And nerve racking. Call ups for the first 3 on GC (Brain Q, me and Ben), and the ceremonial rollout. 7 miles later, a Cape Cod cyclist rolls off the front. No one even blinks. We’re going 15 mph and no one else will pull through. A sophomore from UVM joins him. 3 miles later and they are out of sight. No one will pull through. I panic, and am about to start chasing when my team boss, Shake, rolls up and takes over. “Get off the front Cory! There is no way these guys are sticking for 91 miles!” I know he is right, but me no likey! Shake drills it, and we pull them back before mile 10, and keeping things together for the next 15 with help from Brian Q and the 3rd man on GC, Ben.
In the next 40 miles, Threshold uncorked its secret weapon: THE VIC, who will now be know as, AMTRAK, ’cause the kid is DIESEL!! Attacks came repeatedly. Vic either chased them all down, or was in them. For 40 miles. It was unbelievable. We kept seeing him on the front, working with Brain Q, Ben and a few others to take things back, but dude was WORKING. HARD. Shake and I kept saying, “We have to him off the front, or he is going to completely pop”. We said that for 10 miles. Then 20. Then 30. But he didn’t. EVER. POP!
At mile 65, two riders (Michael W) and an unknown monster jumped off the front and…pooof. Gone. Completely out of site. We turn corners, expecting to see them on the long swatches of rollers ahead. Nothing. At one point, we think we might be off course. 65 became 70. People were telling us we were 3 minutes back. 4 minutes back. Back comes Amtrak…to the front. Ben (#3 on GC), Brian (#1), me, Jesse P (CB) along with a slew of others interested in a stage win went to work. Pacelineing at 28-38 mph. I remember pulling through and shifting up to a bigger gear…but there weren’t any more! Thank God for Mover’s 404′s. I am totally sold on deep section wheels (thanks bud!).
After a significant effort, the pair was caught at mile 85. 20+ miles off the front with a massive chase effort to bring it back. PRO attack. PRO reeling in. Kudos to Michael for an unreal effort…we like your style…but dang I was glad to see that pace car!
The last 10k had a meandering, beautifully paved climb that went pretty quickly. No hard efforts, just steady. At one point, I saw Ben (#3 on GC, only ~5 s back) talking with Jesse P on the front. I got nervous and got ready to jump, nearly missing a turn in the road (spazz). Turns out I am a moron and can’t read bib numbers from 10 riders back. It was Gary. And it wasn’t Ben. But I was ready!
Aaron had advised us to attack on the last little kicker just before the 1k to go line. I put in an effort, started to feel crampy, and just maintained, hoping that Brian had gotten stuck behind a dump truck. Nope. Right on my wheel, hanging tight. We kicked it over the last bit, went screaming downhill. I saw Brian was boxed in on the right by someone from CB and put in a dig, desperately trying to claw back time on GC. Ended up 5th on the day. Brain was 10th, but so close behind that it didn’t change GC. How close?
I’m not sure. Less than 0.55s. At an average speed of 22.44 mph for the weekend of racing, that equals 19 feet. It was less than that. A good TT, and massive support during the RR, and Threshold takes its first GC podium of the year. Thanks guys.
We thought we’d make it back to Boston without dinner, but after 91 miles our stomachs thought otherwise. Dinner was had at one of the 27 Panera Breads that we saw on the way in. However, we were lucky enough to eat in the one that had a special 5 year old boy that immediately fell in love with Amtrak. He was really excited about his toy clock, screaming obscenities and other undiscernible noises during the conversation and in general making me want to leave immediately. And get an emergency vasectomy. And take birth control pills. His mom was really helpful, and watched sheepishly. Luckily, we pointed out a table of teenage girls to him as we were leaving, hoping to distract him. I believe he hitched a ride to Boston on Amtrak’s roof rack…great weekend.
2 Responses to “Connecticut Stage (CTSR) Race Recap Cat 4 Men”
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Amtrak on the attack. Just like all those airdyne workouts in the weight room. Nice job!
Great job. Stage racing as a unified team is an amazing experience. Well done, and congrats.