Tour of the Hilltowns 2004
I'm working on trying to get in shape for some good late August and September results. On Saturday, Keith and I raced the Tour of the Hilltowns 3-4 field in the Berkshires. For our race, it was one big 56 or so mile loop around western MA in the countryside between Northhampton and Pittsfield. Main features on the course are a 5-mile climbing section about 15 or 20 miles in and a set of state-highway-grade climbs coming back into the finish area.
I had done a few good weeks of training in late July but had a cold last week. I was hoping to test myself and see where I am race-wise.
Our race started with everyone lolling along, waiting for the climbing area to make the selection. I got bored and wondered whether it would be possible to flout the conventional wisdom and get a few guys going earlier. My better results have come when I'm aggressive, and attacking would also give me a better feel for how I'm doing these days.
I took a hard pull along the flats to see what the reaction would be. There seemed to be some interest, though some of it was probably the bigger MA teams marking anything during that part of the race.
I attacked for real a minute later going up a state highway grinder and took two off the front with me - a Quad and a Boston Road Club. We picked it up over the crest and I traded some good pulls with the Quad. The BRC guy was marking us. I thought the Quad guy might be Dan Greenfield, who rode away from the 3's for a win at Whitcomb Hill in May. That wasn't to be, but this guy had good speed and we got a good gap and were quickly out of sight of the moseying field. The BRC guy dropped back.
We pushed it very hard down a series of twisting descents. I felt like we were getting a good gap. I started hoping this guy was a good climber like Greenfield so we could motivate each other up the climbing section. Even if we were blown at the top, at worst we'd be caught by the strongest group coming up the hill. But it turned out this guy was not Greenfield -- who is now Cat. 2 -- and went with the attack to get to the climb early. The only problem with that plan is that we weren't exactly fresh when we got to the 5-mile uphill. I dropped him as soon as the road pitched up and went up at a decent pace, though my legs felt somewhat stuffed already - I haven't been racing much and felt it.
I was probably about 3 miles along the 5 mile climb when the first guys caught me. I let about 10 go by me and caught onto the pace. The only problem there was that the last seven of them let the first 3 get a gap. I didn't see it go because as the grade eased and speed picked up, Greg of Conrad's got tangled with another Quad guy and the two went down in front of me. I got around bikes and bodies and closed up to the group ahead that I thought were the leaders.
As we got over the climb and went into some descents and rollers, I resolved to sit at the back for a while (it was about 20 together). The motos started giving us gap times, so I found out there was another lead group. This 20 guys was very disorganized and letting some BRC's -- who had a rider up the road -- disrupt any organization at the front. Alex Gulla was the only other NY'er there. Through the feed zone he got frustrated and rode off alone. No one tried to keep him close. With a headwind hitting nearly the whole second half of the course, I figured that if the lead guys were strong, Gulla would dangle for the whole race and eventually pop. Wrong. He caught the other guys, they dropped one on the final climb and Gulla beat the other two in the sprint at the flat finish. Good move!
I was with the next group that dwindled to 14 by the last climb. My legs were not good, but I attacked near the top to see if I could get away from some of them before turning into the sprint. Nothing doing. The group was on me by the turn and I was blown for the short sprint to the end. Ended with 18th.
John
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