Battenkill Cat3 - 4-19-08
Battenkill Cat3 – Saturday April 19, 2008
Peter Shapiro: 8th
John Brousard: 10th
From:Peter Shapiro
Everybody probably knows the course by now and what the race is all about, so I wont spend time describing all the dirt sections, hills and boulders and ruts that strewned the course. John and I did the Cat3 race, and we stayed at the front of the pack the entire time. We tried to conserve our energy for the final uphill section, which is where the race often shatters. We didnt put in any strong attacks, which is kind of a dissapointment now because the winner won solo by a few hundred yards What made this race especially challenging was not only the course, but also the sketchy riders in it. I took a few hits from riders who swerved after losing traction on the dirt sections. One managed to hit me in the calf with his knee after unclipping. I got a cramp and dropped my chain from that, but got a push from behind from some nice guy. thanks.
There were about thirty of us left for the finishing sprint. John was right there. Nobody wanted to work to chase down the one guy up the road, which was frustrating. I tried attacking up a little rise but couldnt even get the smallest of gaps. With a few kilometers to go, a westwood velo rider decided to swerve into my spokes with his derraileur (sp?). I finished the race with wobbly wheel rubbing against the break pad. I wish I could have helped John in the sprit, but I wasnt well positioned.
So, it was a fun race, and I feel blessed not to have flatted or taken a spill at any point.
From:John Broussard
This was the first race of the year that I had set goals of to specifically train for. I worked my butt off from January through April, and was hopeing for a good result. Last year as a cat 3 I had some mechanical issue’s, along with bonking and being not as strong as most others. It was a miserable day.
My father, Peter Bradshaw, and myself all drove out Friday, and got a great pasta dinner, and a good night sleep only 20 minutes south of the start. In the morning we got going early, around 8:30, and had a good breakfast. We got to the start area, registered, and set up the bike. I got in a good 45-50 minute warm up, including some openers because there is a tough section just 10 miles in that routinely shakes up the field. I got a good spot at the front of the field while lining up, and felt very nervous. My HR was 110-120 just at the line, when it is normally 70-80. The race had a 1 kilometer neutral section, then the race opens up. I fought to stay in the top-20 up to the first dirt section. It was a slight uphill, with some nasty pothole’s, and rocks. I fought hard and was able to be top 15 moving onto the road. One guy went off the front, only because no one was working hard. I lead the pack through salem, with a Hr of 140, not really even working but happy to be up front. Going into the 1 mile asphalt hill 9 miles in i managed to stay top ten. There is a decent downhill to recover, but you need to stay up front for the ½ mile dirt climb that tops out at 18%. I managed to be top-15 at the top, though I had to go around two guys who took each other out directly in front of me. On this climb the sand was all dug in and nasty, you had to stay seated, or spin the tires and come to a stop.
After this it was a long downhill, some dirt then asphalt. The pack was all strung out in a big line. At this point I saw my one teammate peter Shapiro, and I was glad to see he made the split. The front group was down to 60-70 people, still fairly large. We got on to a main road heading towards Cambridge. From there it was mostly uneventful, a few attacks but nothing stuck. About thirty miles in was the next real dirt hill, I was positioned well again and was top 10 over both hills that come one after the other. Then came the first spot I was put into difficulty. A mile or so after those dirt climbs came a nasty dirt climb that the sand was particularly loose. I was slipping, and my legs felt tired. I managed to hang on, and the pack was down to only 40 or so. The road then was rolling for a while, and one or two guys managed to slip off the front. We could mostly see them, and nobody really chased. We went through the village of Greenwhich, with many cheering spectator’s. Shortly after we cam to a dirt section that was at first flat, then went uphill. Peter Shapiro started hammering on the front, and I was fortunate to be fourth wheel. At this point there was a crash in the group, evidently behind me as two CCNS teammates went down. Peter’s effort strung out the group, and got us down to 20 people. The dirt turned to asphalt, and continued uphill for another mile. A minute or so from the top I went to the front and tried to go away. I had a small gap over the group, with 1 westwood rider still away. However right over the top was a long downhill, and we all stayed together down towards the finish. It is mostly rolling into Salem, and westwood was doing some blocking, and there rider stayed away beating the field by ten seconds or so. I gave it my all in the sprint and came in tenth, with peter just ahead in 8th.
It was a tough race, and I was happy to come away with a
half decent result___