I cannot even believe I signed up for this year's New Britain Criterium
(or preferably, the New Brit Crit). Last year, I distinctly remember racing
the 1-mile course comprised of a couple zigs, some zags, and only one true
corner with ECV's Colin Murphy and Michael Tonkinson. The 2005 edition of
the cat 4 race was largely uneventful and basically consisted of the field
slowly parading around en masse, only picking up for a couple of
primes. The slow pace and lack of dynamics had Tonky and I thoroughly disgusted
with state of cat 4 racing and we came to the conclusion that we were through
with racing crits (though we probably raced crits the very next weekend).
The other side of the story, however, was that Colin threw down his sprint
and took the 'W,' bringing in a ton of cold hard cash. The three of us still
joke about the juxtaposition of post-race attitudes during the car ride
back to Boston.
In any case and because it is a bike race within 200 miles of Boston, I signed
up for another go at it this year. I figured I'd head down to my parents' place
in Connecticut, get some riding in on the hilly rural roads of Western Connecticut
and then begrudgingly join the parade of spandex clad dudes in New Britain on
Sunday. The weather turned out to be amazing and I could not bring myself to
stop riding on Saturday. I ended up touring around for 3.5 hours up and down
all sorts of hills in Litchfield, Cornwall, Falls Village, and Lakeville. And
the only way to top off a ride like that is with a big burger and a couple of
beers so check and check. "Whatever, tomorrow's a race, but it's a crit
and moreover, the New Brit Crit...I hate that race!" I told myself.
On Sunday, I woke up, watched Calsati make a killer run for it in the tour, played
with the dog, and then headed out for the inevitable. It's funny how this race
was hanging like a dark cloud over my weekend...like it was some chore that I
had to do! I had some issues getting there but arrived with 30 minutes to spare
before the cat 4 race. Crit specialist, Sven Lohse, was slated to be there but
due to my time constraints, I needed to get kitted up and on the trainer with
a quickness. I set up and saw Ariel Herrmann hanging tough right in thick of
the Pro/1/2/3 field which included some guy named Mark McCormack. Ariel was looking
good out there and it'll only be a little bit before he's out there mashing it
up with those guys all the time.
I finally met up with Sven on the line and we were off. The weather was still
premium and we were on our way to ticking off 20 laps. Sven immediately moved
to the front of the race. He has a great knack for positioning and can get to
the front and hold position all day long. I tend to get wrapped in the convection
oven dynamic in which I shoot to the front on the side, get digested into the
field and then shunted back. Repeat. The dynamic of the race seemed to be shaping
well, with breaks going off the front and getting chased down right quick in
true cat 4 fashion. I think a lot of people were inspired by the breaks of the
Pro/1/2/3 race and were launching their attacks in accordance. So, my main grudge
with last year's race was that there was no action and now we are seeing action,
but remember that 3.5 hour ride? Yes, well I am now feeling quite flat and content
to sit in and parade around. All the while Sven sits in waiting at the front.
This positioning kept him out of harm's way and it was a good thing as about
midway through the race I heard the absolutely blood-curdling sound of metal
on pavement followed by a tire exploding and a man shrieking. About 6 guys or
so went down about two bike lengths behind me. I felt as though I had just dodged
a bullet.
The primes injected some more energy into the field. $30 will make racers go
absolutely bananas and make some pretty bad decisions. The field was particularly
cagey on this lap with racers taking inside lines that just shouldn't be taken
and there was reportedly some dodgy attack at the front of the field that nearly
put Sven and a friend of mine down. Fortunately things stayed upright and the
race proceeded.
Four guys got away with 5 to go. I simply figured that these guys would get tired
and be reeled in by the eager field with 2 or 3 to go, but that just wasn't happening.
I still wasn't concerned. This was a cat 4 race and 99 out of 100 breaks get
caught. I was in lousy position at this point anyway and needed to put 100% focus
on moving across to the outside lines and up in the field for the final sprint.
I was able to get out and up with one to go and despite some noble efforts up
front, that break was still away. I was still trying to get farther up in the
pack at this point and when the gutter alley opened on the back of the course
I jumped in it and gave it some gas. I really couldn't believe that I was getting
such a good shot to the front on the final lap but there was no time to ask questions.
As I got to the last corner I took the outside line which brought me around the
traffic on the inside line, giving a clear shot to the chase group. Things just
started clicking here as I was able to carry the momentum and get around the
guys that were doing some heavy pulling and now consequently blowing up. I switched
sides of the road and went for an all out grunt match with four riders that were
bearing down on the finish line. I was able to best three of them taking second
in the field sprint and sixth overall after the four breakaways. Sven came in
just after in just outside of top twenty.
With one of best finishes, my perceptions of the New Brit Crit were immediately
changed. So fickle. I also realized how nasty Sven is at positioning. He demonstrated
this at the Fitchburg crit and reinforced it here. He's got some speedwork planned
for the next couple of weeks that make him an undeniable force.