The NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men’s Road Racing Team returns in 2009 with seven Category 2 racers: Roy Van Cleef (Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (New York, NY), Landen Wark-Acebo (Waltham, MA), Jim Thomas (Chatham, MA), Alex Dossin* (Durango, CO), and David Chiu (Brookline, MA) and one Category 3 racer: Brian Campbell (Waltham, MA).
* denotes U25 riders.
For more information about the NEBC Elite Men’s Team, read our mission statement.
The men’s elite teams just had their first team race of the year in Sterling, MA. The weather was unseasonably warm once again as well as super windy, hydration and patience were once again very important. Brian Campbell came in tops of the Cat 3s with a 4th in the field sprint, and the Cat 2s are still finding their legs after extended periods of travel and injury more detailed race reports coming soon!
Just as the season is getting started, we’ve had a slight change in our roster. John Broussard has been contemplating the idea of a military career since high school; he has heeded the advice of those close to him to go to college first and give the private sector a shot. After all of this, the Marines continued to be something that John wanted to pursue, since the end of April, John has been somewhere in North Carolina at basic training, and we wish him the best of luck in his new career path. John has raced with us since the his early Category 5 days, quickly earning the nick name “crash” over the first winter when we were doing indoor workouts in the attic of the Cycle Loft constantly falling off of Anthony’s parabolic rollers. John has always been an valuable player in the NEBC team, always the team minded and one of our most promising talents finishing last year’s GMSR Criterium in third place out of a 5 man breakaway we all wish John the best of luck and eagerly await his return!
Todd Rowell is also stepping down from the Elite Team this year, with his work commitment increasing since the early Spring, Todd felt he simply did not have the time to continue to train and race at such a high level; Todd still plans on jumping into a few masters races later in the season when he gets a chance to get out and train a bit more. Todd was the team’s staple all-rounder, he would be there at the tops of the climbs as well as in the front group for the crits, and a fantastic tactician with tons of racing experience to bestow upon the rest of us. As I’ve said many times before, Todd has been an integral part of the elite team since it’s inception helping us build the team up from it’s grassroots origins whne he was the sole Category 2 racer to what it is today; Todd, like John, will always have a place on the team.
With these departures, we also have a new member to the team: Jim Thomas, a Category 2 racer from Chattam, MA. Originally from Fitchburg, MA Jim is an incredibly strong field sprinter and crit rider, already scoring a 2nd place in the P/1/2/3 field at the Rick Newhouse Memorial Criterium in Charlestown, RI. Jim has just returned from the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, NM where he was on a 98 mile two man break away that was caught within 3k of the line, he recovered from this grueling effort and came back with a 7th place in the Criterium on the last day of the three day stage race.
In case you missed the announcement, NEBC Sponsor Charles Coaching and Nutrition Services (CCNS) has stepped up to sponsor our New England staple training series: the Charlie Baker Time Trial. CCNS has generously offered the second fastest mid-season individual man and woman and the fastest overall individual man and woman complementary wind tunnel sessions at their private wind tunnel in Middletown, CT: the CCNS Performance Center Wind Tunnel
After the shuffle, the 2009 NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men’s Team now consists of: Roy Van Cleef (Cat 2 – Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Jim Thomas (Cat 2 – Chatham, MA), Landen Wark-Acebo (Cat 2 – Waltham, MA), Alex Dossin* (Cat 3 – Durango, CO), and Brian Campbell (Cat 3 – Waltham, MA); * denotes U25 riders.
As always, we are hugely thankful to all the NEBC club members and our sponsors for making this possible: Jeff and Anthony at the Cycle Loft, Dave and Althea at Devonshire Dental, Bank of America Mortgage, Breakstone, White & Gluck, P.C., Attorneys at Law, CCNS, Core Structural Therapy, Lester’s Roadside BBQ, Natural Wellness Clinic, Performance Lifestyles, and Workwell Massage Therapy. And to our equipment providers: Specialized, SRAM, and Tifosi Optics. Until next time, stay healthy, see you at the races, and thanks for reading.
Well here we are, the eve of the official New England season opener: the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race in Marblehead, MA. We have a great crew this year racing in the P/1/2/3 field at Marblehead: John Broussard, Brian Campbell, Jay Robbins, Peter Shapiro, Jim Thomas, Roy Van Cleef, and Landen Wark-Acebo; everyone has been working hard all winter with a few indoor events, training races, collegiate races, and a few USCF races out West to test out the legs.
Roy once again finished on the top spot at final event in the Cycle Ops Indoor Time Trial Series at the Multisport Expo in the Zesiger Center at MIT in Cambridge, MA; In a thrilling virtual race Roy and the runner up were continuously leap frogging each other on the 6.03mi course until the very end when Roy was able to surge ahead and win by just 2 seconds! Several of the guys on the elite team made an appearance throughout the two day expo to demonstrate the eMotion Rollers by Inside Ride at the Cycle Loft booth, including Landen who rocked a monster 5hr session on Sunday!
As we roll into the 2009 racing season, I can’t help but think back to the early days of the elite team, when Todd Rowell was the lone Cat 2 on the team; since then we’ve grown our program to be fielding no less than six riders in the Cat 2 field this year: Peter Chiu, Todd Rowell, Peter Shapiro, Roy Van Cleef, Landen Wark-Acebo, and new comer Jim Thomas. Most of whom have been with NEBC since their Cat 4 and Cat 5 days! We also have some tremendous talent in the Cat 3s coming through in the legs of Alex Dossin, John Broussard, and Brian Campbell. But the talent doesn’t stop there, there are plenty of Cat 3s in the club that are just as strong and have just as much potential; we have 21 Category 3 racers this year! Not to mention all the up and coming racers-to-be attending the NEBC Spring Racing Clinic, needless to say I am incredibly excited for this 2009 season!
Not only do we have some phenomenal talent on the team; we have some tremendous support. The Cycle Loft has us on our third year on Specialized bicycles and SRAM components. The team issue Specialized Tarmac PRO SL framesets are some of the most incredible race machines on the market today, very much a pure-bred racing machine! Landen comments:
In my two seasons of racing I have raced on the following: Trek 2100 (aluminum with carbon seat stay), Trek Madone 5.9 (Trek’s top of the line Madone), and the Cannondale Six13 (Alumnium with carbon inserts on the top and down tube). After being on the Specialized Tarmac for the past three weeks I am not disappointed to say the least. The frame is extremely responsive, it corners great, and for sprinting this is the best bike I have been on! I am very much looking forward to racing on the Tarmac SL for the rest of the 2009 season.
It’s amazing to see how the down tube, chain stays, and bottom bracket area have gotten bigger in the 2009 Tarmac SL giving the bike the feeling of direct power transfer from the pedals to the rear wheel with no lag what so ever, yet remaining comfortable on long rides and races with it’s svelte seat stays and signature arched top tube. The Tarmac PRO SL also features a tapered head tube providing a super stiff base that will not get sloppy on you in an all-out sprint. Take this frame, and pair it with SRAM’s newly redesigned 2009 Rival groupset, and you have a formula for a barely race legal 15lbs bike entirely build with affordable off-the-shelf components! For this year, the Rival groupset has gotten plenty of trickle-down improvements from the top-of-the-line SRAM Red groupset from last year. So much so that the 2009 Rival groupset resembles the 2008 Red Groupset more than the 2008 Force Groupset. The brake lever blades are longer and easier to reach from the drops, the shifter paddle is larger and flared out a tad for better ergonomics, and the reach of the system is adjustable to fit all hand sizes. That combined with multiple hidden cable routing options, all black components (brakes, cranks, derailleurs), and carbon fiber molded brake levers it is also one of the best looking groupsets available! Now, if you can get down to 15lbs w/ a Tarmac PRO SL and SRAM Rival, imagine what Specialized’s top of the line S-Works Tarmac SL2 with SRAM’s top of the line Red groupset weighs in at… contact Jeff or Anthony at the Cycle Loft to get yours.
Also new this year, Tifosi Optics have joined up to provide the team with its excellent (and very much affordably priced) sunglasses. The team will be racing this year in all weather conditions in the Tifosi Tyrant sunglasses thanks to its three interchangeable lenses (with polarized options available too). These glasses are light weight, stay put without crushing your head, have adjustable nose bridges, and most importantly of all protect our eyes with some fantastic optical clarity. The Cycle Loft has plenty of Tifosi styles available in a variety of colors.
Being that the first race of the season around the corner, it seems fitting to announce the races that the Category 2 racers will be focusing on this year:
- May 9, 2009 – Sterling Road Race – Sterling, MA
- May 16, 2009 – Lake Sunapee Road Race – Newbury, NH
- May 30-31, 2009 – Connecticut Stage Race – Colebrook, CT
- June 17-21, 2009 – Giro di Jersey – Princeton, NJ
- June 27, 2009 – Downtown Boston Criterium – Boston, MA
- July 2-5, 2009 – the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race – Fitchburg, MA
- July 18-19, 2009 – the International Tour de Toona – Altoona, PA
- July 25, 2009 – Tour of the Hilltowns – Windsor, MA
- July 26, 2009 – Norwell Circuit Race – Norwell, MA
- August 2, 2009 – Central New Hampshire Road Race – Bow, NH
- August 4, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Mocksville – Mocksville, NC
- August 5, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Concord – Concord, NC
- August 6, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Salisbury – Salisbury, NC
- August 7, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Slatesville – Slatesville, NC
- August 8, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Harrisburg – Harrisburg, NC
- August 9, 2009 – Crossroads Classic, Downtown Hanes Park – Hanes Park, NC
- August 22, 2009 – G.S. Mengoni Criterium – New York, NY
- September 4-7, 2009 – Green Mountain Stage Race – Waitsfield, VT
- September 20, 2009 – Portsmouth Criterium – Portsmouth, NH
- (Official Schedule subject to change)
With all this racing going on, proper recovery is just as important a part of a racer’s routine as training is. Longtime sponsor and NEBC member Guy Bedau of Harvard Therapeutic Massage and Workwell Massage & Consulting out of Harvard, MA is a fantastic resource that is available to NEBC Members. Guy has been in and around the cycling industry since his teen years working in Bike Shops in and around the Boston Area and has even raced a bit. There is no question in my mind his understanding of the sport and the proper massage techniques to help get you through a tough stage race or training block. In fact, the past few years, we have even brought Guy up to Vermont with us to utilize his services in the Team Condo at the Green Mountain Stage Race!
Well, here we are, tomorrow is the the beginning of the season; everyone’s hard work this Winter and Spring will surely pay off as racing gets going, for many team members, it has already started to pay off!
In case you forgot, the 2009 NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men’s Team Consists of: Todd Rowell (Cat 2 – Arlington, MA), Roy Van Cleef (Cat 2 – Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Landen Wark-Acebo (Cat 2 – Waltham, MA), John Broussard (Cat 3 – Wilmington, MA), Alex Dossin* (Cat 3 – Durango, CO), and Brian Campbell (Cat 3 – Waltham, MA); * denotes U25 riders.
As always, we are hugely thankful to all the NEBC club members and our sponsors for making this possible: Jeff and Anthony at the Cycle Loft, Dave and Althea at Devonshire Dental, Bank of America Mortgage, Breakstone, White & Gluck, P.C., Attorneys at Law, CCNS, Core Structural Therapy, Lester’s Roadside BBQ, Natural Wellness Clinic, Performance Lifestyles, and Workwell Massage Therapy. Until next time, stay healthy, see you at the races, and thanks for reading.
Just because racing hasn’t started in New England doesn’t mean the team hasn’t been racing; the team already has some podium spots in the bag for 2009!
Alex Dossin did his first race of the year back in Mid-February, a Stage Race in Phoenix, Arizona called: Valley of the Sun. Alex reflects,
just coming off of base, this is my first intensity of the year…happy to be doing it in the warm weather. Unlucky for those, like me, from colder destinations, the AZ racers have been doing intensity for a while, as races like this are important for them.
The experience was pretty good way to shock the system back into race mode, so good that Alex just completed the Tucson Bicycle Classic Stage Race this past weekend finishing 9th overall! Alex threw down a 4th place on the very first day in the Individual Time Trial approaching it with a good game plan and sticking with it
The key to this course is to go fast on the first half, but not blow yourself up having fun going too fast. The last half requires a lot of strength and focus. Some of the steep pitches I realized I could go faster by standing up rather then staying in the aero bars and I stood to sprint going into the finish as well. My preperation and tactics seemed to workout.
Alex’s Top 10 finish in the GC is especially good considering:
the race leader who informed me that he has been racing every day of the weekend for the last 2 MONTHS...he’s from California
»Read the complete Race Report
Peter Chiu has also been tearing up the early season races, after re-aquainting himself with the racing scene in a Crit on Saturday where he finished a little further back than he had wanted, but it was simply fuel for the fire as he came back and hit it hard for a thrilling 2nd place finish at the Rutgers Livingston Campus Circuit Race. Peter’s race was a great example of how a team plan can change as the race unfolds, he reflects:
After a few late attacks, I found a group of my teammates. I looked over to Tony Hall (Luzzo’s/Columbia) and asked him twice if he was good. He had finished 3rd in the criterium the day before (from a late move) and 6th in the morning’s timetrial, so he was obviously in good shape. Beyond that, he has a lot of pop. When he didn’t respond, I figured that was a bad sign, so I slotted in behind Alex Bremer (Empire/Columbia) in 7th or 8th wheel as the final corner came. The field was already strung out single file as Nick Frey (Legacy Energy/Princeton) started the lead out for Nick Bennette (MetLife/Princeton) dropping him off with 200m to go. This was textbook and provides another learning point. As I understand it, the lead out is supposed to be so fast that nobody can move up reasonably without starting the sprint early. I yelled for Bremer to go, and he cracked open his sprint early to move me up a few places. After that, I just had to drop it into the biggest gear I had and spin my legs as fast as I could to fly by everyone else in this DOWNHILL sprint. I’m 140lbs. Gravity wasn’t exactly working in my favor. Coming around 4 or 5 people, I let out my war yelp and nabbed 2nd place! My first big result, and it was in a field with an inordinate number of Cat. 1s!
»Read the complete Race Report
The New England based crew hasn’t been resting on their laurels either, several NEBC racers participated in the Boston Triathlon Indoor Time Trial at Landry’s in Boston. Katherine Snell had an early start and held off all the later fields and snagged 2nd place in the Master’s Women category! Roy Van Cleef had one of the earliest starts of the day and benefitted from a strong “tail wind” putting his name on the leader board and setting the pace for people to chase for the rest of the day. As the day wore on the winds shifted to an intense “head wind” and Roy’s time held, withstanding an onslaught from the entire MetLife Team and area Triathlete powerhouses! The event at Landry’s was very well run and fun, the course was the last 10k of the Boston Marathon, essentially from Heartbreak Hill to the finish, but in Reverse, so it was mostly uphill and extra tough as the last steepest kick came at the very end.
One indoor time trial left in the Cycle Ops Indoor Time Trial Series! The final event is:
- Team Psycho Indoor Time Trial – Feb 1, 2009 at Fast:Splits in Newton, MA
- Boston Triathlon Team Indoor Time Trial – Mar 1, 2009 at Landry’s in Boston, MA
- Multisport Expo Indoor Time Trial – Mar 21-22, 2009 at Zesiger Center, MIT in Cambridge, MA
While you’re at the expo, be sure to swing by the Cycle Loft booth and check out the Elite Team Riders demonstrating the Inside Ride eMotion Rollers (and give them a shot yourself)! At last year’s event Elite Team Racer and La Ruta de los Conquistadores finisher Greg Brown hopped on the rollers for the first time EVER and proceeded to ride for nearly 3 hours without crashing, even doing a few out of the saddle sprints; talk about a shallow learning curve!
With the Indoor Time Trials drawing to an end, it’s time to look ahead to racing outside; the Category 3 Elite Men are looking to target the following races in 2009 (Category 2 calendar to come):
- May 9, 2009 – Sterling Road Race – Sterling, MA
- May 16, 2009 – Lake Sunapee Road Race – Newbury, NH
- June 6, 2009 – Lake Auburn Road Race – Auburn, ME
- June 7, 2009 – Great Falls Criterium – Auburn, ME
- June 27, 2009 – Downtown Boston Criterium – Boston, MA
- July 2-5, 2009 – Fitchburg Longsjo Classic Stage Race – Fitchburg, MA
- July 25, 2009 – Tour of the Hilltowns – Windsor, MA
- July 26, 2009 – Norwell Circuit Race – Norwell, MA
- August 2, 2009 – Central New Hampshire Road Race – Bow, NH
- August 9, 2009 – Tokeneke Road Race – Barkhamsted, CT
As the weather trends towards spring, we have started to receive our equipment for 2009! This year, we’re very excited to be continuing on our third year with Specialized and SRAM. The team will be racing on Specialized Tarmac PRO SL framesets, powered by SRAM drivetrains, and rolling on Zipp wheels! Specialized will also be protecting our heads with the Decibel helmet. The Tarmac PRO SL Framesets features a super stiffer tapered steerer tube and a new for 2009 redesigned rear triangle that came directly from the feedback of Tom Boonen, Paolo Bettini, and the other members of Team Quickstep. SRAM has also redesigned their equipment for 2009, the Rival groupset got a lot of trickle-down improvements from the top level RED group, including carbon levers, re-shaped shifting paddle, and adjustable reach. Contact Jeff Palter at the Cycle Loft to get one!
Bob Cahill, long time NEBC Member and Sponsor from Bank of America Residential Mortgage Services wants everyone to know, that even in this current financial climate, he can still help you out, especially if you are a first time buyer! Rates as low as 3.875% on a 30yr fixed with 3% down and NO PMI; $8000 Federal Tax Credit (does not have to be paid back); Conventional rates in the high 4% range; FHA financing with 3.5% down and rates ~5.00%; VA loans to 100% with no PMI and rates ~5.00%; Jumbo rates ~5.75% on a 30 yr with no pts; Super conforming rate on a 30 yr at ~5.00% with no pts (loans to $523,750 in metro Boston area). You should feel free to call or email him any time!
Well that’s it from me for now, everyone has been training hard and it’s starting to show, only ONE more week until the first training race of the year, a full weekend of the New England Training Race Staples: Charge Pond and Wells Ave!
In case you forgot, the 2009 NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men’s Team Consists of: Todd Rowell (Cat 2 – Arlington, MA), Roy Van Cleef (Cat 2 – Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Landen Wark-Acebo (Cat 2 – Waltham, MA), John Broussard (Cat 3 – Wilmington, MA), Alex Dossin* (Cat 3 – Durango, CO), and Brian Campbell (Cat 3 – Waltham, MA); * denotes U25 riders.
As always, we are hugely thankful to all the NEBC club members and our sponsors for making this possible: Jeff and Anthony at the Cycle Loft, Dave and Althea at Devonshire Dental, Bank of America Mortgage, Breakstone, White & Gluck, P.C., Attorneys at Law, CCNS, Core Structural Therapy, Lester’s Roadside BBQ, Natural Wellness Clinic, Performance Lifestyles, and Workwell Massage Therapy. Until next time, stay warm and thanks for reading.
Whether or not the weather has improved since the last time I wrote is up in the air, but that hasn't slowed us down; while professional teams kick it in the warm weather in Southern California, we prefer to stay local… we had our first team meeting and team building exercise this past Friday at F1 Boston (Braintree, MA), nothing says team bonding like slamming your team mates into a wall at speeds in excess of 40mph! The team was able to get the track to themselves for what was essentially a 15 lap scratch race on a twist-turny 0.23 mile track that had a nice hairpin-180 that dumped into a tunnel. Clearly racing is very different when you don't have to worry so much about your aerobic capacity as the Cat 3s finished ahead of the Cat 2s! It was such an awesome time and it didn't take much to coax John Broussard, Todd Rowell, and Brian Campbell into another race, where John Broussard emerged victorious nearly lapping the others in a test of endurance in a 35 lap scratch race.
On Sunday we saw Roy Van Cleef and Todd Rowell laying down the big watts at the first event in the Cycle Ops Indoor Time Trial Series, the Team Psycho Indoor Time Trial at Fast:Splits in Newton, MA. Roy survived our friendly heckles to finish the 15k in 22:41 (unofficial, 3rd in his heat), and Mr. Legs-and-Lungs Todd Rowell crushed the 15k in 22:45 (unofficial, 1st in his heat) despite his Computrainer coming unplugged in towards the end and throwing his time off by a bit while the race staff plugged him back in… I hope they don't penalize him for receiving outside help… We also saw a few other NEBC-ers there: Katherine Snell and Erik Vandendries, as well as many of the non-NEBC CBTT regulars. Roy described the event
like a covert triathlete meeting with secret handshakes and all. I don't know what it was like for the other heats later in the day for Todd but mine was packed (because the elites were the heat before us). You could hardly get through the place and that was a fun time.
Official results aren't up yet, but the guys did well compared to last year's times, last year Roy and Todd would have been 6th and 7th respectively in the overall behind 2008 Olympic triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker!
One indoor time trial down, 2 to go in the Cycle Ops Indoor Time Trial Series:
- Team Psycho Indoor Time Trial - Feb 1, 2009 at Fast:Splits in Newton, MA
- Boston Triathlon Team Indoor Time Trial - Mar 1, 2009 @ Landry's in Boston, MA
- Multisport Expo Indoor Time Trial - Mar 21-22, 2009 @ Zesiger Center, MIT in Cambridge, MA
Also, some of the guys will be attending the Harpoon Indoor Time Trial:
- Harpoon Indoor Time Trial - Feb 8, 2009 @ Harpoon Brewery in Boston, MA
We hope to see you guys out there, registration is still open for these events.
Just so you know, Peter Shapiro (whom I introduced last time) isn't the only medical school student on the team; Peter Chiu also joins Shaprio on Manhattan this year (at a different school). Peter got his Category 2 upgrade after a thrilling win at the Norwell Circuit where he was hand delivered to 200 meters from the line by the excellent teamwork of Barry Greenberg and Scott Brooks in a superb lead out, truly a fantastic way to a to cap off his time in the 3s and everything NEBC strives to accomplish. Barry also played an important role in Peter Shapiro's 2nd place finish at the Myles Standish Road Race in Plymouth, MA. Peter reflects on this past season:
As a late addition to the Cat. 2's, I was hoping to face most of the 2's off peak. While that may have been the case, it didn't make a difference. Every rider in the P/1/2 fields was ready and willing to throw down the mad hurt. That's the best part of racing bikes, though. Each rider is exploring the limits of his own fragile humanity by testing his physiology and his spirit. When the road tips upwards and everyone is hunched over licking his front tire, hands wrapped in a death grip around the handlebars, the body is undergoing a magnificent series of changes to respond to the requirements of the mind that underline the wondrous nature of life and sport. The orchestration of musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, digestive and nervous function instills within me an appreciation for good health. From this understanding, it is not difficult to see that the act of doing something so grandly trivial as race a bike is part of the beauty of this sport.
In looking forward to the 2009 season, Peter adds:
The other inspiring aspect of racing bicycles is the team aspect, and I am looking to help the team bring home a big result. If that means digging deep to bring a teammate to the front near the end of a race or helping to bridge up to a break, I'm ready for it. I'm excited to see what this group can do.
Just as Shapiro isn't our only team member in medical school, Peter and Peter aren't our only racers who are actively in school, Alex Dossin is currently in Durango, Colorado attending Fort Lewis studying Business Administration. Alex's connection with NEBC goes deep as he has raced with us since the Cat 5s and he also worked at the Cycle Loft during the summer of 2007, Alex was kind enough to write an introduction of his own:
My name is Alex Dossin and here's a little about myself. I am 20, will turn 21 in July this year, and I currently go to school in Durango, CO at Fort Lewis College where I'm a Junior. I race bikes for the school and (of course) study… Business Administration is my major. My hometown is Chelmsford, MA and I'll be spending my summer there… I got into cycling after being a runner throughout high school, but after bad injury turned to cycling as x-training. It didn't last long as x-training as I decided to switch to cycling and have enjoyed every part of it.
This past year was an interesting one for me. It started off grrreat with a great weekend of racing in Albuquerque, NM for the first collegiate race of the season. Time trialing in a jersey and bibs in 80 degree weather in March was certainly new… the next day was cold and windy, back to the usual. The rest of the collegiate season went great with some top 5 finishes and did lots of traveling throughout Colorado. The last week in March I went to a stage race (Tucson Bicycle Classic) with a few buddies from the team. This was an eventful weekend with lessons learned. Along with some roof rack experiences… my buddies learned that racing a week after a "mild form of mono" never goes well… and when going from 30 degree weather to 90 degree weather, you should hydrate well, he got heat stroke. I finished the race well with a top 10 and unscathed, unlike my comrades. Another race I did while out west was the Tour of the Gila in Silver City, NM in the last week of April. This is a hot race with lots of climbing and wind over 5 days. The first 3 days went well while being in the top 25, until the last lap of an hour long crit. Here's another lesson… when being 30th wheel with a half lap to go, don't risk everyone's life by going for a risky move. This guy takes out the whole field going downhill, including myself, ending my bid at finishing the stage race, as I did a nice front flip at 30+ mph. A week later I came down with Pancreatitis… not good for a season full of goals. After some hospital and surgery time I was couch ridden for "6 weeks". I learned why 6 weeks was recommended after trying to race after 3.5. Regardless, the weekend was fun as I went to race with David Chiu and Roy Van Cleef in CT, raced the first day and decided it best to not race the 2nd after not feeling good the 1st. My season finished up in Durango with a few Cyclocross races for some fun. The rest of my time has been spent doing some mountain biking on the fabulous trails of Durango and spending some time on the mountain roads and hiking.
I'm starting my training for next year extremely motivated and rearing to go. I'm spending it riding lots when there's no snow on the road and skate skiing ( I highly recommend this) when the snow is too much. I'm also hitting the gym for some strength training. My first race of the season looks to be February 15-17(?) in Phoenix, Arizona at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race to get myself some speed for those races in the months to come. Look for race reports! I'll be back in town in May, hopefully in time for Sterling Road Race. I'm looking forward to a fun summer racing with NEBC, and if you're looking a training or carpool partner in the Chelmsford area, hit me up!
So, while we're introducing people, little known fact about one of our sponsors: Joe Ackerman of CORE Structural Therapy was/is also a Category 1 Road Racer! He's recently started riding again, and hopes to return to the competitive circuit this season, Joe writes:
It has been a true pleasure to be one of the many sponsors of NEBC. For me it is a way of giving back to a sport that has offered so much to myself. My name is Joe Ackerman, owner of CORE Structural Therapy located on Cambridge St in Burlington, just about a mile up from the Cycle Loft. In my practice I specialize in Structural Integration or what some refer to as Rolfing, based on the founder of this style of bodywork Dr. Ida P. Rolf. Simply put Structural Integration is 10 session system wide process of deep bodywork and movement education designed to improve the Structural and Functional abilities of the human body in its relationship to the gravitational field. This work can have a dramatic impact on anyone looking to improve structural alignment, posture, balance, eliminate chronic pain/discomfort, Increase flexibility and or raise the bar in their chose n sport. In addition to the 10 session series, I work with clients resolving local issues of acute/chronic nature, general health maintenance, and sports performance oriented goals.
I work with clients from many different backgrounds, hobbies and sports. But for me most rewarding is working with cyclist's in helping them make the structural shifts that are necessary to either become more aerodynamic, sit more solid on the saddle, bounce back from a nagging knee injury or IT Band problem or open up the breathing capacity so they can remain more easily at the front while pushing their body over a climb. It was these same reasons as a rider that I sough out this style of bodywork. For those who I have not yet met, briefly after a long career of competing nationally and internationally in Alpine ski racing I was introduced to cycling, which I immediately fell in love with. I spent the next several years focusing on mtb racing, eventually moving up to the Semi-Pro category. After a few injuries and on the recommendation of my coach I began to compete on the road in order to give my body a break from the trails and fell in love w/a whole different side of the sport. I've been racing on the road as a cat 1 cyclist for about the past 14yr's (although taking a break in the past two season's while I've adjusted to fatherhood with two great boys Owen 5; Cameron 16 mo).
This has been an exciting year for my business, with a move to a new office, I also had the opportunity to work with world class runners from Kenya, Ethiopia and Romania, and recently begun providing sports performance bodywork for the Boston Blazers (Men's Prof. Indoor Lacrosse Team –TDF Bank North), in addition, I am looking forward to providing sports performance bodywork with the elite runners at this years Boston Marathon.
I look forward to the opportunity to work with members from NEBC this coming season, I know with my experience from the trails and roads, along with my training in structural bodywork that I will be able to help free you of your physical limitations so you can move more, play more, breather more (deeply) and… LIVE MORE!
NEBC Members receive 15% discount. Please also understand that I am here as a resource so should you have any questions that I may be able to answer please do not hesitate given me a call or send an email.
Well that's it from me for now, I didn't really think that this was going to be so long… everyone has been training hard and it's only six more weeks until the first training race of the year! The team is actively putting together a schedule of races they're looking to target, and I'll be sure to include that next time.
In case you forgot, the 2009 NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men's Team Consists of: Todd Rowell (Cat 2 - Arlington, MA), Roy Van Cleef (Cat 2 - Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (Cat 2 - New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (Cat 2 - New York, NY), Landen Wark-Acebo (Cat 2 - Waltham, MA), John Broussard (Cat 3 - Wilmington, MA), Alex Dossin* (Cat 3 - Durango, CO), and Brian Campbell (Cat 3 - Waltham, MA); * denotes U25 riders.
As always, we are hugely thankful to all the NEBC club members and our sponsors for making this possible: Jeff and Anthony at the Cycle Loft, Dave and Althea at Devonshire Dental, Bank of America Mortgage, Breakstone, White & Gluck, P.C., Attorneys at Law, CCNS, Core Structural Therapy, Lester's Roadside BBQ, Natural Wellness Clinic, Performance Lifestyles, and Workwell Massage Therapy. Until next time, stay warm and thanks for reading.
Well, winter is certainly here in full effect, a lot of us have been logging plenty of time on the rollers, and with a forecasted -20deg wind chill on Thursday, I don’t really see heading outside all that much any time soon! Of course with some advice from Anthony at the Cycle Loft, this may change (more on that later). There has been a late breaking team addition since my last email, Peter Shaprio will ride with the Men’s Elite Team in 2009 as he juggles his Medical School Internship with Training. Many of you already know Peter Shapiro from when he was a Cat 5 and Cat 4 in NEB, Peter took a short hiatus from the club when he moved down to Rhode Island, but returned again in 2008 he started the year with us as a Cat 3 and upgraded to Cat 2 by the end of the Spring! Peter’s progress as a rider and racer has been really phenomenal to watch and participate in, from his first GMSR where he could smoke every up the hills, but some how be off the back by the time he hit the bottom of the descent to his inspiring break away one of his last Cat 3 races in Sterling.
Speaking of new riders, in my last email I mentioned Landen Wark-Acebo, who is new to the club all together so I figure I’d include a little more about him. After playing soccer from the age of 5 through 22, that included 4 years at the collegiate level and 1 year at the semi-professional level with the Vermont Voltage, Landen made the move over to endurance sports. In early 2004 he sustained a serious quadricep tear in a soccer game that ended his career. He got into cycling as a way to rehab the injury, and after his first Cat 5 race in the Carolinas he was hooked. In his first year of cycling he only attended local group rides and raced about 3-4 times. In 2007 he decided to give racing more of a focus and in the last two seasons he has gone from a Cat 5 to being on the verge of getting his Cat 1 upgrade.
Landen’s specialties lie in Circuit and Criterium Racing. In the upcoming season he is looking forward to racing his first season in New England where he grew up, in addition to a number of national events. Along with the focus of the men’s elite team goals for the season Landen will also be targeting a few NRC events, as well as the Crossroads Classic Criterium Series in the Carolinas (August), followed by the Elite Criterium Championships in Downers Grove the following weekend. His main goals for the season are to help his teamates whenever possible to gain the points they need to upgrade as well as meet their goals, while also getting his upgrade so he can toe the start line in the Pro/Am at Fitchburg and in Downers.
The 2009 Team Schedule has yet to be finalized, but in our eagerness to jump start the 2009 season we have decided to do the Cycle-Ops Indoor Time Trial Series which consists of three indoor time trials:
- Team Psycho Indoor Time Trial – Feb 1, 2009 at Fast:Splits in Newton, MA
- Boston Triathlon Team Indoor Time Trial – Mar 1, 2009 at Landry’s in Boston, MA
- Multisport Expo Indoor Time Trial – Mar 21-22, 2009 at Zesiger Center, MIT in Cambridge, MA
We encourage everyone to come out and check it out, certainly a good way to mix up the indoor training this year! Also the Cycle-Loft will have a booth at the Multisport Expo in March, so double the reason to check it out!
And speaking of the Cycle Loft, Anthony over at the Cycle Loft recently wrote an article for Singletracks Magazine on his thoughts on Winter Clothing, included below, that could really make these cold winter rides more comfortable. Also in the current issue of SingleTracks, our very own Greg Brown has a fantastic article about his epic race at La Ruta de los Conquistadores. So if you’re not already a member of NEMBA or get SingleTracks Magazine, you’re missing out! Not to mention Mountain Bike Hall of Famer and NEBC-er extrodinaire Philip Keyes is also the Executive Editor of the Magazine!
The 2009 NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Elite Men’s Road Team Consists of: Todd Rowell (Cat 2 – Arlington, MA), Roy Van Cleef (Cat 2 – Weston, MA), Peter Chiu* (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Peter Shaprio (Cat 2 – New York, NY), Landen Wark-Acebo (Cat 2 – Waltham, MA), John Broussard (Cat 3 – Wilmington, MA), Alex Dossin* (Cat 3 – Durango, CO), and Brian Campbell (Cat 3 – Waltham, MA); * denotes U25 riders.
As always, we are hugely thankful to all the NEBC club members and our sponsors for making this possible: Jeff and Anthony at the Cycle Loft, Dave and Althea at Devonshire Dental, Bank of America Mortgage, Breakstone, White & Gluck, P.C., Attorneys at Law, CCNS, Core Structural Therapy, Lester’s Roadside BBQ, Natural Wellness Clinic, Performance Lifestyles, and Workwell Massage Therapy. Until next time, stay warm and thanks for reading.
——- A Winter Clothing Intervention ——-
by Anthony Laskaris for SingleTracks Magazine
Does anyone remember the 15-second “fried-egg” T.V. message produced by the Partnership for a Drug Free America in 1987? The now famous low-budget commercial opens to a dramatic guitar chord and a tightly focused camera shot of a pat of sizzling butter. As the camera begins to pull slowly back, a voice-over says “o.k. …last time…this is drugs.” While the camera continues its slow pull back, a raw egg is dropped onto the sizzling butter and the narration continues: “This is your brain on drugs.” Finally, the camera pans back a few more inches to show the egg frying noisily on an iron skillet. After a slight pause to let the message sink in, the narrator ironically intones: “any questions?”
This time of year, I feel a similar exasperation when I think about how few Boston area cyclists have discovered winter riding shorts. To get what I mean, imagine a slightly different TV commercial: start with a tight focus on a large iron skillet, just like in the drug commercial. As the camera pulls back slightly, show the skillet half-buried in a massive block of ice (with fog coming off it like in a b-movie graveyard scene) and have a narrator’s voice intone “o.k.…last time…this is cold.” The camera would pan back a few more inches just as a couple of raw eggs are broken onto the skillet, freezing instantly. “These are your testicles on cold.” Pull back a touch more as the flash-frozen eggs break into shards and pause for effect; “any questions?”
If you pedal your bike into the late Fall, and/or get outdoors before Easter, and have yet to discover winter riding shorts, you, like most New Englanders, still don’t get it. Kudos, of course, to your sturdy constitutions and Yankee grit, but why are you freezing your jimmies off? (sorry ladies, watch for the italics from now on).
By now you understand the concept of layering, and that cotton can be a “killer” in cold climates, so I won’t bore you with a rehashing of these subjects. But how many of you use the same type of shorts all year long? Do you use the same type of shoes in all seasons? Just like your summer shoes, your summer shorts are designed to keep you cool in warm weather. Sure, you can wear booties over your summer shoes, or use duct tape to cover their vents, but do you really want to put neoprene and packing tape on your junk?
“What about tights,” you say? “I can’t stand ‘em any more” is my response. Sure, they work just fine…until you have to get on and off your saddle a few times and they hang up all over the place. Plus, who need the extra waist band or shoulder straps? And do you get them with or without a shammy? O.K., I confess I do occasionally use tights, but only the thin, un-padded ones, only when it gets below the mid-20s, and only over winter shorts.
Perhaps the difficulty in getting people to commit to winter riding shorts lies in their vaguely oxymoronic description. Winter and shorts just don’t work in the same sentence. Maybe if we called them “cool weather shorts” or “shorts to wear with legwarmers” people might consider owning them. Better still, we could call them “shorts for September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and most of April.” Last time I checked, the average mid-morning temperature during these months is less than 50 degrees in the Boston area. For those of you who only ride during the four and a half pleasant months, who winter in Florida, or who only ride during the very warmest part of the day (with the rest of the unemployed crowd), it’s been nice talking to ya’. Everyone else, read on.
Winter riding shorts are an adaptation of the popular “Roubaix” style tights that many people already own. Instead of thin lycra-spandex material cut into panels and stitched into a garment, Roubaix tights use a “flocked” material that is indistinguishable from standard lycra on the outside, but is all nubbly and warm on the inside. In thickness, it is perhaps three times that of standard lycra, which is to say still quite thin. The secret is in the Roubaix material’s ability to trap a thin layer of warm air next to the skin (sound familiar?). Turn a few of your winter garments inside out and check out the material. Chances are your tights, jerseys, arm warmers, leg warmers, some of your hats, and even a few of your jackets have fabric like this in them.
What’s wrong with Roubaix tights, you may well ask again. Or the layering concept you glossed over earlier? Nothing, I would reply. Heavier tights have their place, but since I’ve discovered winter shorts, their place has been relegated to low-intensity rides below 20 degrees. Make winter tights part of your layering system if you need to, but if it’s cold enough to want a little extra warmth for your knees, why wouldn’t you want a little more for your sensitive bits? All I’m saying is that if you consider your shorts to be just another base layer, why not make them a cool-weather base layer?
When it’s not quite tights weather, wear your knee and leg warmers by all means, but wear them with winter shorts, not summer ones. We all know how important it is to keep our core temperature stable, and most people do a good job with base layers, jerseys and vests on their upper bodies. But below the waist, most folks think only about keeping their knees warm. I don’t know about you, but I consider the old twig and berries to be at least as important as anything else, so I want more than just an extra layer of lycra down there when those gusty nor’easters blow.
Winter shorts only come in the bib version, which is fine, as all the standard-shorts wearing riders stopped reading a couple of paragraphs back. Assos probably invented them, like most other great winter clothing (I didn’t research this), but folks like Pearlizumi and Descente may just popularize them (now that you all know about them). They cost about the same as a good pair of summer bib shorts and will actually get at least as much use, I promise. When the daytime high temperatures barely break out of the 50’s or will not warm up above the lower 60’s during your ride, winter shorts are perfect. Strip off your knee warmers if it does warm up, and you’re still good to go with Roubaix fabric below the waist. I doubt if many people would find them too warm until the entire day stayed above 60 degrees, so check your training log to see how many rides you did below this temperature.
Maybe you’ll pick up a couple of pair. Happy trails.
Hunter & Windham, NY – After all the excitement of the Green Mountain Stage Race, Peter Bradshaw decided that he wasn’t ready to hang up the road season just yet! Peter effectively went straight from Vermont to Upstate New York, for the Tour of the Catskills and reports back:
Saturday, Stage 1.
Saturday started with a small field of 20 or so P/1/2 men. Target Training was well represented with 5 riders in the field. Other notable riders were Roger Aspholm from Westwood Velo and Dan Cassidy and Amos Brumble from CCB. The action started from the gun as Amos attacked out of the neutral start. Target Training responded and the first break of the day was established. We rolled mostly downhill on a major road for a few miles and then right onto a small side road. I was totally unprepared for what was next.. we hit a steep wall of a climb. I was practically at the limit for the whole thing. We crested onto a false flat only to come to the next climb, followed by another, and another and another. We were climbing and climbing with each steeper pitch prefaced with an attack by different Target Training riders. It was absolutely brutal. Good news, we did end up catching the break somewhere near the top and all rolled the downhill together. Bad news, our field got to do another lap of that climb and it had started pouring rain. Once again an attack went on the highway leading into the climb. Target Training made the move with Amos again and this time they were joined by Roger Aspholm. I new this was bad news but figured I’d stay with Cassidy and hopefully bridge to the lead after the climb. Once again we hit the climb and the attacks were unrelenting. Amos was dropped from the lead group and then dropped from our group. As we neared the top there were only 3 of us remaining. One Target, Cassidy and myself. I was really feeling the climb on the last steep grade and fell off the small group, but once over the crest I got a second wind and was able to chase back on. Cassidy and I traded pulls as we headed towards the final climb of the day with the Target rider sitting on. I knew I was going to be in trouble when we hit that last climb but pushed hard so that we weren’t joined by any other riders. We reached the last climb and Dan and the Target rider rode away. I settled into a gear and did what I could over the hill. It was a long fast blast to the finish from there. I stayed away from other riders, but could not close the gap back to Cassidy and Target, for a 5th place finish. Easily the hardest race I’ve done all year.
Sunday, Stage 2.
Legs aching, I was now prepared for another day of absolutely epic climbing. This time the weather was beautiful with blue just taking over the sky. Again, the first attacks of the day were right out of neutral. Roger Aspholm, the stage leader, was pretty much single-handedly keeping the break in check. We hit the first wall and I had a mechanical meltdown. I could not get my bike to shift into the small ring, so I stood and wrenched my bike over the first grade. I was still unable to get the chain to shift on the lull before the next pitch so I unclipped and whacked my heel against the derailleur and it shifted! Back in the game, I had lost about 20 seconds and was pretty winded from my efforts but I attempted to get back to the group. I picked up Gabe from Target and a rider from Princeton in the chase but was unable to get back on. We cleared the hill and had a problem… we were directed by a marshal to continue straight on the course when we should have been directed left to complete an inner loop and repeat the major climb. We ended up getting along the course before some of the marshals had made it to their posts so we rode about 50 minutes at top speed into nowhere. We turned around and rode, defeated, back to the start finish. Definitely a disappointing finish to an otherwise epic weekend of racing.
I was given a calculated time for Sunday’s ride and ended up 7th overall on GC. The race suffered from some marshaling problems, as we were not the only ones who had problems over the weekend. Was it “Worth the Trip”? If a course that shreds the field into pulp and laughs at the other hill climb races in the area is something you’re into, its definitely worth it. I know I’ll be looking forward to it next year.
Burlington, VT – The final day of racing was a challenging 6 corner criterium through downtown Burlington, Vermont. The course is tight with a small hill that slowly wears riders down lap after lap, the race includes the famous brick-paved pedestrian-only Church Street, flanked on both sides by restaurants with sidewalk seating.
Just 86 riders started the crit of the original 93 in the Category 3 field; John Broussard, Scott Brooks, Justin Howe, and Mark Theeman lined up near the front for what would be a hotly contested hole shot. Broussard spent much of the early laps going for Sprint points and the GC Sprints, picking up a 3 second GC Time Bonus; energy well spent. After a few laps of recovery the field watched four riders launch off the front, but the field seemed to hesitate as none of the GC contenders seemed too worried about the riders off the front posing a real threat to the top of the classification.
Broussard took advantage of the opportunity and bridged the gap with another rider to make the break 6 riders strong and really start to put time into the field gaining an advantage of nearly 40 seconds with help from the remaining NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental riders still in the field. With one to go Chris Hamlin (Bliss Racing) attacked the break of 6 through the start-finish line and no one responded, Broussard moved his way up to 2nd wheel on the twisty back side of the course, before taking the lead on the downhill coming into the final corner. John was able to hold off all but one of his remaining break away companions for 2nd in the sprint and 3rd overall! The entire team was able to finish in the front half of remaining field Brooks was 18th, Theeman was 29th, and Howe was 33rd. With the results from the Crit, Broussard moved up to 22nd in GC, and 5th in the Sprint classification.
The NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental Cat 2 team had a simple goal: get Peter Bradshaw through the entire race. If Peter could finish with the front group in the crit then he’d be assured of a good GC, and so Roy Van Cleef would do whatever he could to keep Peter safe and toward the front.
And that’s how it played out: lap after lap of Roy leading Peter, reconnecting when they got separated. There was a tense moment when a crash held up a chunk of the field, including Peter, but free laps were taken and everyone got back into the peloton. The rest of the race was fast and exciting but safe enough, and Roy and Peter both saw the finish line and the same time as the field, finishing 39th and 48th out of 95 finishers respectively. Due to large numbers of riders being shelled or gapped off, Peter’s GC climbed to 26th, and Roy’s to 91st.
Photos courtesy of Geoff Martin
Warren, VT – The Queen’s stage of the 2008 Green Mountain Stage Race was a modified version of the previous Mad River road race course, because of heavy rains that forced the changes for the Circuit Race the 2008 Champion System Mad River Road Race course was re-routed to traverse the slightly less intense Brandon Gap instead of Middlebury Gap and run 75 miles to the finish atop App Gap. With two mountainous passes, this day was likely to be the greatest determinant of overall GC.
From the start of racing Scott Brooks formed a break with four other riders and they managed to work well together staying away for the first hour of the race soaking up all of sprint points before being caught. John Broussard, Mark Theeman, Justin Howe, and Scott all rode well and made it over Brandon Gap with the pack and played conservatively until Baby Gap. Mark Theeman continued his unlucky streak and suffered another flat tire (his second in just as many days) popping him out the back, while John and Scott rode strong in the top 20 before being popped 2.5k from the summit. Final results were Scott 42nd, John 43, Justin 66th and Mark 70th. This moves Brooks and Broussard into 33rd and 34th respectively on GC!
The biggest goal for the Cat 2s today was survival: get over the top of Brandon Gap with the front group if possible, and then conserve for the hard final climb where the big time gaps would happen. All the team members are pretty good climbers and had hopes of making that front group, but Peter Bradshaw in particular was looking to get back the 30 seconds he lost on the previous day.
After the 3 mile downhill neutral the field set out for the sprint line 12 miles away, downhill through Granville Gulf. The pace was fast down into the Gulf, assisted by a strong tailwind, but the field was generally more relaxed than the previous day; there were a few flats and a couple of crashes caused by bad cracks in the pavement. One of the crashes sent a rider down right in front of Todd Rowell, sending him over his bars and into a ditch; his subsequent chase was fruitless and he eventually abandoned the race, muddy and sore but unbloodied.
Back in the field, things were going well for Peter and Roy Van Cleef, and both made the front group over the climb, although Roy missed his bottle in the high-speed feed zone. Roy was dealt a second blow when he flatted at the bottom of the Brandon descent; although he never reconnected with the field he rode to the finish well within the time cut.
In the end, Peter was the man of the day, finishing just two minutes down from the leader in 30th, which launches him up to 33rd overall. Roy finished 108th on the day, and is now 114th on GC. Tomorrow they face the technical, high-speed downtown Burlington criterium.
Lastly, a shout-out to Clara Kelly, who placed 5th on the day in the Women’s P/1/2/3 field, and is now in 6th on GC. Awesome for anyone, especially someone who started the year as a Cat 4! Clara is also a graduate of the 2008 NEBC Spring Racing Clinic.
Photos courtesy of Geoff Martin
Hinesburg, VT – The first stage of the 2008 Green Mountain Stage Race was a new course: 5 miles from the parking area out to a 30 mile loop that climbs Baby Gap in reverse, then descends for a flat finish; all the fields did two laps for 65 total miles, with two KOM climbs, one intermediate sprint, and the finishing sprint.
The Cat 3s had a pretty quiet day with a scattering of unfortunate luck. Scott Brooks tried to lead out Mark Theeman for the KOM, but Theeman’s front wheel was a bit squishy making it difficult to hold Brooks’ wheel. The plan then switched to trying to lead out the team’s highest placed GC rider, John Broussard, for the intermediate sprint for a GC time bonus; unfortunately a crowded field and relatively flat run in to the sprint created enough congestion to prevent the setup. On the second lap the team’s Australian contingent, Greg Brown, was forced to drop out due to several fractured ribs from crashing at a Mountain Bike Race the week before, the force of climbing at race pace proved to painful. Part way through the second lap Theeman dropped back to take a neutral wheel and Justin Howe dropped back to pace Mark back, the two would come in just a few minutes off the back of the main field. Brooks and Broussard rolled in with the front half of the main field to hold their position in GC.
With a relatively flat stage profile, this stage could have been a nice and easy sprint prelude to Sunday’s queen stage that ends atop App Gap like the Cat 3s; instead, the Men’s P/1/2 field put the pedal to metal for an aggressive contest that averaged over 27mph and saw 37 of the 130 riders finish off the back due to the speed or the numerous crashes.
Roy Van Cleef convinced Peter Bradshaw and Todd Rowell that going for KOM points would be reasonable as there were only two KOM sprints Saturday and only one Sunday. This would let the team be somewhat aggressive while not putting us on the hook for repeated hard lead outs.
As the race started, Roy quickly moved to the front and began mixing things up; Peter rode up to join him as the race neared the KOM. Peter actually soloed away 2km before the KOM and was only caught in the final 250m; call him the Prince of the Mountain. Roy tried to go with the group that passed Peter but his earlier efforts were too much and he was popped off the back of the field over the top of the climb and would ultimately finish over 20min down, but still within the time cut.
Peter and Todd survived the remaining lap and a half to the finish but weren’t able to do much in the sprint; Peter was able to move up to 46th and Todd sat in for 83rd, both same time as the field, 3 seconds behind the winner. Many riders lost time on the stage, moving Todd up to a middle of the pack 64th on G.C.; Peter and many other riders were penalized for yellow line violations near the finish, demoting him to 83rd and earning him a wag of the finger. Roy dropped to 120th but as usual is raring to go on tomorrow’s hilly stage.
Photo courtesy of Geoff Martin
Warren, VT – Instead of the usual mass-start up hill time trial, the 2008 edition of the Green Mountain Stage Race introduced a new prologue time trial course that reshuffled the deck to be more in favor of all-around riders rather than benefiting just the fastest climbers. Along with this new time trail course, the race this year is not using the usual omnium format; the General Classification will be determined by a cumulative time format, like the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic Stage Race earlier this year in July. The individual time trial had the riders starting at 30 second intervals and the first 2 km climbed about 500 meters (about an 8% grade) before rolling along the ridge at high speeds (30mph+ average), Then a quick drop and a final wall of a climb.
John Broussard was the top NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental rider in the Cat 3 race, finishing just 34 seconds off the leader, in perfect position going into the second day. Scott Brooks was next at 42 seconds back, with Mark Theeman, Justin Howe, and Greg Brown rounding out the Cat 3s.
In a tough Pro/1/2 field, Peter Bradshaw brought NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire Dental’s highest placing at +1’20”, next was Roy Van Cleef just 5 seconds off Bradshaw’s pace, and Todd Rowell was another 2 seconds behind Roy.
The team is positioned very well going in to the second day circuit race, which is also a new course this year due to heavy rain fall which has left many of the roads on the circuit race unsafe.
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