I started still a bit nervous about the climbing after being dropped on the climbs at Syracuse after some mtb crashes. But the climbs turned out to be no problem.
This is really the perfect example of how a race should be run. Parking, bathrooms, officials with megaphones, excellent and challenging course with a sensibly placed feed zone and, best of all, the spread of food after the race. Even the dropped are happy at Housatonic.
Nothing really happened on the first lap. I think there were a few attacks but nothing threatening. It was surprising to see so many dropped chains not only in a 3 race but also this far into the season. It sucks to lose out that way. The second time up the climb was noticeably harder, and a split of maybe 15 formed just at the top. I was hoping there might be some drivers in the group, but instead we just took a nap and everyone caught back on right after the feed zone.
Speaking of feed zone, my gal in the FZ was surprised that so many people were giving bad feeds, and other feeders with surplus water refused to give it even to the laggers out of contention. I guess there were a few spills and many dropped bottles. Practice, people! And practice generosity!
The rest of the second lap was uneventful. There were a few attempts to get something going, but in this race, and as fast as we were going, it didn’t make sense to waste any energy. I made one silly attempt to slowly roll off the front unnoticed. Later there was one guy away, the winner, who will soon be a 2, I hope and believe. He’s a young kid who also won the Balloon Fest on a 40 mile mostly solo effort.
The race really starts at the bottom of the finishing climb, and I was in good position, with everyone going hard and no one with a serious separation. I settled in behind Rufus, last year’s 4 winner, hoping he would know when to go and I could follow in his sizable draft. But he was having an off day and I had to go around. Unfortunately, there were now 8 ahead of me with a good gap. Instead of killing myself to catch up, which I absolutely should have tried and probably could have done, I continued at my own pace and gradually pulled away from the rest behind me.
It looked good out there alone in no man’s land, until the road leveled and the wind became a factor. I noticed a group approaching from behind, so tucked and went into TT mode thinking the finish was about 300 meters, which is when I saw the 1k to go sign. At this point catching the group ahead was not possible, and staying ahead of the chasers looked unlikely also. I was pretty close to the bottom of the deep digging when Chris Shaw and Van Cleef(?) passed me. I had just enough left to hold off a third and fourth chaser just behind for an 11th place finish.
Who doesn’t hate to be 1 place out of the money and top ten? Nevertheless, things are feeling good with Fitchburg coming up. In my lackadaisical goal setting for this year Housatonic was going to be an A race, and Fitchburg was to be skipped. Now Fitchburg is looking like the real A race of the first half.