Friday night I was driving on quiet upstate NY back roads on the way to my teammate’s farmhouse. I had Fleet Foxes cranked up on the stereo, and as I drove I caught the occasional glimpse of the pink and gold sunset that promised good weather for the next day’s race. Even though the music and the sunset were pretty calming; I still was nervously hoping for a repeat win in the masters race.

 

The next morning we found out that the course had been altered due to construction. The laps were shortened to about 13 miles and a few small climbs were eliminated. An extra lap was added so we would be doing the main climb an additional time. While I was warming up, I rode over to my father’s grave for a quiet moment of reflection. Cambridge being where he spent the last 10 years of his life had given me tremendous motivation in this race last year.

 

With only 27 riders taking the start, I knew that the race would be hard since there wouldn’t be much of a field to hide in. Sure enough attacks began immediately and would ensue for the entire race. The first move to get some distance went shortly after the first time over the climb. Greg Olsen (Adler) escaped with another guy and they dangled about 20 seconds ahead for several miles. The other rider was dropped at some point and Greg continued to hover for the remainder of the 2^nd lap. My teammate Eddie Espitia bridged up to Greg with Ken Harris (Adler) and Fernando Ferreira (Target Training) on the beginning of the 3^rd lap. I attacked on a roller just outside of town and Dan Staffo (Handlebars Cycling Co.) and another rider went with me. We caught the break near the top of the climb with a group of about fifteen about 20 seconds back. Once we were down in the valley in order to ensure that the break would stick Eddie Espitia started to take some strong pulls. Of course Ken Harris was taking his usual crazy pulls (in spite of injuries sustained in last week’s club race crash).

 

The final time up the climb Dan Staffo and I tried to get away, but at the bottom of the descent Greg and Fernando had latched back on. As the four of us approached town, Dan tried an attack but it came back together. I don’t know where my brain was but I went through the last 2 corners like an old man using a walker and finished 4^th. Dan took the outright win and the 30+ win. Greg took the 40+ and I ended up 2^nd 40+ after Fernando was DQ’d for a centerline violation. My teammate David Taylor attacked what was left of the field the last time up the climb and caught Ken Harris in the valley and ended up 5^th (4^th 40+). Congrats to Dan! If I wasn’t going to win I’m glad it was him. He rode aggressively and deserved the win.

 

Overall the race was a lot of fun. It was extremely tactical due to the small field that was on the verge of detonating at any point. I would say that the revised course was a little easier since the mid-lap main climb was the only real challenge. I’ll definitely continue to come back to this great race. Thanks also to Dieter for continuing to promote this race. We need more guys like him doing this so we can continue to nurture our addiction to bike racing.