Rick’s Report

I've been thinking about this race all winter, in fact I was even

thinking about it running on a broken treadmill in Iraq last fall.

Things really couldn't have gone any better at the start of the race.

Etsu, Niko, Adam, and I were right at the front from the start.  I knew

going in that being at the front on the first 2 hard climbs was the

first real battle of the race.  In the flat paved part before the climbs

we were still at the front, and once I was about 3 wheels from the front

Adam went to the front and kept the pace high enough that 3rd place was

where I started the first paved climb.  I was able to go right to the

front and ride the climb at a comfortable pace, so when the mayhem

started on the following dirt climb, I was still fresh and able to stay

in the top 10 going over that one. All the AARF riders were near me, so

I didn't have to worry about anyone doing anything crazy near me. Once

we got over that climb I was in a group of about 20 guys including Adam,

and several guys from NYVC, Adler, and Sids along with some people I

didn't know.

At this point I didn't really think it was worth committing to break so

early, because last year I was in a chase group that caught the leaders

by the town of Cambridge, and I assumed that would happen again. I

pulled through enough to do my share, and Adam did as well, basically

working just enough so the chasers behind would have to work to catch

us.  Once we got to Cambridge and I couldn't see anyone catching us, I

knew we'd be able to stay away once the climbing resumed.  From then on

the break started to get smaller as people began to fade.  We worked

pretty well together, but once we hit a hill, we all sort of rode our

own little time trials up the hills, looked around to see who was still

there. On the last dirt climb I first started to quit worrying about

getting dropped and started to think about winning the race.  There was

one guy off the front, and another rider I don't know went to the front

of our group and set a hard steady tempo.  He strung the group out, but

I was second wheel and I knew if things stayed steady I'd be fine, then

he attacked, and I tried to go with him, but at that point I was

reasonably sure that invisible people were stabbing me in my legs with a

thousand daggers.  I blew up on the hill and assumed people were about

to come around me, but it turned out that no one else could follow

either, and I had a little gap.  I was spent, and most of the group

caught me, but the group was now down to about 13.  Once back on the

flat, I attacked with another guy about 5 miles from the finish, I knew

this effort would probably be a do or die proposition, but I wanted to

get away since I knew waiting for a sprint would be giving the race

away.  We didn't stay off the front for very long at all, but I was glad

I at least tried to win.  With 1k to go I tried again, and at the train

tracks with 200 meters to go I couldn't see anything but the finish

line.  Slowly people started passing me, and I was sure that the entire

break beat me, which is why I was thinking I got 13th at the time.  As

it turned out a few guys got dropped when I attacked, so I can at least

say I beat someone in the sprint!

I have to admit at the time I was a little disappointed with how things

ended up, but once I came to my senses and regained feeling in my legs I

realized that the race couldn't have gone much better for me.  There

were definitely stronger guys in that break than me, but I was able to

stay with them at every crucial part of the race, and that alone gave me

a lot of confidence for the races to come.  Knowing that all of my

teammates in the race placed well in the first hard race of the season

also made the day great.  We'll just keep getting better!

Adam’s Report

The first thing to note is that it was 10 degrees hotter in Salem, NY than it was back here.  At 4:04 pm as I was changing my clothes, my truck registered the outside temp as 84 degrees. We were at the start line early and all the pro teams that were going off just ahead of use were huddled

 in the few shady areas around the start. The pros went off and razorfish took control of the front of the start line. I began wheelsucking immediately and waddled into a third row starting position. NY Velocity was there is full force, and Adler had a good presence too.

 We were off and the pace was civil. Everyone knew that the race would come down to the first dirt climb at mile 9 and no one wanted to waste a single kilajoule. With the yellow line rule in effect, and the narrow country roads, it looked a lot like belgium racing: there is no moving up the

 pack. I was happy for our aggressive start line tactics and sat comfortably in 5th wheel all the way to the approach of the day's first test.

 Patrick mentioned in our pre-race conversations that his power file indicated that there were actually 2 semi-long, hard efforts prior to the first dirt climb. He was right, and the first climb was no joke. It's probably 2, maybe 3 harlem hills long and bit steeper. I could hear guys breathing heavy almost immediately. Over that climb and a second, we hit the dirt. I was 3rd wheel and had clear sailing ahead. 

The road was unlike last year. It was super dusty. Like a very fine amber powder that permeated everything. You could not stand up. Just no traction to be had in the fine dust. Bodies were

 everywhere. I could hear Niko cursing behind me. Someone had fallen in front of him and he had to dismount and begin running. I didn't see it, but a guy next to me just tipped over like a sleeping

 cow. He didn't even unclip. He just rode until he stopped and then tipped over into the gutter.

 I was over the top in the top 6 riders and we started riding pretty hard to solidify the break. We rode hard for a while and more guys joined the fledgling break. Once things were established we

 probably had 20 riders in the group. 10 were taking turns pulling, including me, Rick, Kyle Peppo (Adler), and Matt Richards (NY Velocity). As Rick put it, there were too many free-riders sitting on the break and the only reason we pulled was so the other NY guys wouldn't get mad at us.

 Kyle and Matt rode really strong in the break. They never seemed to skip a pull and were usually at the front setting tempo. I almost got popped during one of Peppo's tempo sessions over a big

 roller. I had to dig deep to stay with them. The group thinned to about 15 riders after about an hour. We approached a two stage dirt climb at about the 1h40min mark. We had been riding the break for about an hour and twenty minutes. Matt and Kyle set the tempo again and I came nhitched. I just couldn't hold it any more. Cramps were in full swing in my calves and my thighs. The heat and the effort level was insane. Me, Danny Iano, and Kansas Waugh got peeled on that climb. I looked up to see Rick right behind Matt Richards. He was digging deep and staying with them.

 We kept the group close for a while, but we had another hour to ride and the cramps weren't getting any better.  But, they weren't getting worse either. A couple of neutral water bottles along the way and a couple of electrolite pills from Kansas and I was able to ride. At that point, the best you can do is push 200 watts to the finish. And that's pretty much what we did.

 Danny Iano was really strong. He kept dropping back to get me and would pace me back to Kansas. Funny thing was, Danny actually took off with the Pro/1 field by mistake at the start of the race and rode the first 20 miles with them! The race official noticed and actually told him

 to drop back. I think he had the goods to make it with the front group and maybe win our field, if he hadn't done that.

 We basically did what we set out to do, which was to make sure a Razorfish rider was in the break (we got 2) and to make sure we got a result (we got 1 top 10). Rick raced a really great race. He really suffered against much younger (and lighter. bastards all.) riders, and matched them move for move. I was jazzed to make the break and stayed in it as long as I could. 19th is my best finish there yet and maybe next year I'll contest the finish. (If everyone else wears a weight vest.) ;)