The good news – I did not get dropped, which is what happened last year in the early stages of the 2nd lap. I actually felt pretty confident on the hills. I was passing people who were clearly stronger than me on the flats and not getting dropped from the leaders pushing the pace on the climbs. Every Threshold rider was in the mix at the end, too. We were strong.
The bad news – My race was neutralized for the 2nd year in a row due to a field having to pass us. It wouldn’t be that bad if it was a true neutralization, which is bringing us to a decent roll. No, we pretty much came to a complete stop (last year we did come to a complete stop). It was pretty bogus. I am almost ready to take back every nice thing I’ve ever said about this race. Dropped riders catch back up, the willingness to attack leaves the body, and the fire of racing is almost no longer there when something like this happens.
The ugly news – The final 1k of the race is a downhill into a traffic rotary, go halfway around the rotary, then turn off and go up the entrance road to Sunapee Ski Resort. It’s a pretty interesting finish that I am pretty sure you don’t see anywhere else in bike racing in New England. So as we (the CAT 4′s) are coming downhill, about 50 meters before the rotary a riders chain drops or has some sort of mechanical which causes him to lose balance and go down. There is a massive amount of swerving in the field to the left and the right to avoid the downed rider and just as fast as we it split, the field came back together. When the field came back together it is rumored that two riders locked handlebars (or touched tires?) and subsequently went down right as we were entering the traffic circle. That was the beginning of the end. Rider after rider fell or swerved off the road trying to avoid “the worst crash in the 27 year history of the race” themselves. I myself ended up getting forced into a curb and went down onto a grassy section at about 30mph. I lucked out. Others didn’t: http://www.wmur.com/news/23645547/detail.html
4 Responses to “Lake Sunapee Bike Race 2010 – CAT 4”
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That’s a bummer. Sunapee was one of the first road races I did and I used to think quite highly of it. Last year we were neutralized for the 45+ to come through. At Sterling we were neutralized for the 45+ to come through. Last weekend you were neutralized for the 45+ to come through. Hey race promoters, guess what? The 45+ race faster than the 4 field so quit starting them behind us!
Glad no Threshold riders were seriously injured. See you guys at Killington for a (fingers crossed) drama free weekend.
I was in the 45+ race that passed you. A great many riders were stopped, peeing at the side of the road.
The promoter announced to us at the line that yes, he knew we might catch you, and that you were caught last year, and if it happened this year, he would change the start order. Apparently the 4′s were faster in the past, or the Masters were slower. So they do think about this, but weren’t sure what to do.
I am glad I decided to ride the Masters instead of the 4′s. Hey, where is the threshold cam of the crash?
I still can’t believe this guy managed to convince 5 others to take a leak on the road, in front of the officials. Stopped right in front of me, making me put a foot down while we were still slowly rolling. It’s a 2 hour race and they can’t hold it?
CAT 4 pros. You guys are cool.