Boloco Heartbreak Hill Grand Prix — Cat. 3

Synopsis: 2nd place, thanks to a strong team effort

This race was a new race on the New England circuit, and part of New England Race Week, which culminates in the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. The course was a short (~2.6 mile) circuit, which featured the renowned (thanks to the Boston Marathon) Heartbreak Hill, and a fast, downhill finish in Newton Center.

QuadCycles entered 5 people in the 10-lap category 3 race: Glenn Ferreira, Jeremy Jo, Matthew Miller, Eric Silva, and myself. There were over 70 starters, with many fast riders eying a good result before Fitchburg started on Thursday. However, in our pre-race discussions, we liked our chances, as the finish suited our strengths, and we had a well-practiced lead-out train.

The first few laps were pretty intense, especially going up Heartbreak Hill. There were several attacks up the hill, on the descent, and up the slight rise after the start-finish. However, it became pretty clear that an attack up the hill would have to be quite substantial to stick, as the downhill required a sustained effort to maintain speed, and the pack had no problem swallowing those who took flyers before we reached the start-finish.

I had set a goal before the race to not make any foolish attacks, or work too hard to bridge to any breaks—I'm prone to get excited since I'm coming into form—because I didn't think they would stick, and I'd have my best shot in a bunch sprint. I didn't meet this goal—at two points, I was off the front for no real reason—but I did well to not try to bridge up to the myriad attacks.

The middle laps were a little more subdued on the hill, and I was able to ride in the first 10-15 riders the whole time. The pace was high on the downhill, but I was able to always be on a wheel.

Cutting to the last time up the hill, the pace was high, but not unmanageable. I was sitting in the middle of the pack, on the right-hand side, when Glenn and Jeremy passed me; I knew it was time to get in finishing position. I hopped on their wheel, Glenn towed us up the side of the field, and we were able to move up to 10th wheel when we took the final turn onto Beacon St.

A small gap opened, but Glenn shifted into his 53×11 and closed it. About 600m from the finish, Jeremy came around Glenn, and towed me up to 4th or 5th wheel. I hopped off Jeremy's wheel, up to third. The field (apparently) was pretty strung out, but I was concerned about the field swarming us, so I sat third for just a little bit, and then jumped 300m from the line. I spun out my 53×12 at 130rpm, and had about a bike length lead for all but the last 50 meters or so. Paul Curly, Master-extraordinaire, came around me, but I was able to hold off Eric Edlund from MIT for 3rd.

The clear lesson from the race is that teamwork pays off. No other team was organized in the last 5 minutes the way QuadCycles was. We had an effective three-rider train up the side of the pack to the front. It was so good, in fact, that I was worried another team would see what was up, catch my wheel, and steal the show.

When we got to the front, no other team had people working together for a result. I wouldn't have been in the right position and well-rested without Glenn and Jeremy setting me up. Our result today was truly a team effort, that one of us alone couldn't have achieved.

Results on VelocityResults.net

Rick Newhouse Memorial Criterium — Cat. 4

QuadCycles’ First Win of 2008

by John Buchheit and John Naegle

Under sunny skies on the coast of Rhode Island, the Category 4 men made another impressive showing at the Rick Newhouse Memorial Ninigret Criterium. Nessim Mazrahi took the win and John Naegle placed fourth. John Buchheit finished with the pack. Here’s the way it unfolded:

The race was a timed race. It was advertised as 55 minutes, but ended up being closer to 45 minutes. It began at noon. The course was a dead-flat 7 corner course built on an old airstrip with a right-to-left cross wind on the finishing stretch. The wind direction meant a headwind coming into the last corner of the race. We arrived at 10:30 am and had a quick team meeting. Everyone was relaxed. We decided that because the course was windy and open (the pack can almost always see any breakaway), the race would be decided by a field sprint. As John N felt good, Nessim felt tired from training and John B had yet to race this season, we decided to lead John N out for the field sprint. We decided Nessim would take the first leg of the lead-out and John B the second. John B wanted to see what he had for a sprint and told his ‘mates he’d compete for an early prime. Nessim offered a lead out.

After a good thirty-five minute warm-up and some stretching, we met on the course and discussed the details of the lead-outs (where each lead-out should begin and end, which side of the track would be best for sprinting and which way the lead-out riders would pull off). We felt confident at the line.

After a few laps, a rider from the Blue Hill Cycling Club attacked and with the help of a teammate stayed out for three or four laps. His one teammate in the race moved to the front of the pack to block and chase down anyone trying to bridge to his teammate. The attacker never got far enough out to make the pack uncomfortable. In fact, the pack seemed to understand that this tactic was making two riders put forth a lot of effort with little chance of success. The single attacker, on a windy course and in full view of the pack, was not going to stay away for 30 minutes and his teammate was working hard reeling people in (when his teammate would probably have been better off if he had been joined by some other riders). The breakaway failed as the rider seemed to just wear out.

The first prime was the called and Nessim checked in with John B. They agreed to try and take it. Nessim provided a strong lead-out and soon he, John B. and another rider on John’s wheel were in front of the pack. However, John B was having trouble holding Nessim’s wheel and Nessim opened up a gap. John B., realizing he did not have much in the tank, directed Nessim to try to take the prime. John thought that even if he could come around Nessim, his efforts would only bring the rider behind him in for the win. The rider on John B’s wheel did come around him and looked like he might take it, but Nessim accelerated before the line and beat him. After this event, John B told Nessim and John N that the order of the lead out should be changed so that Nessim gave the final lead out. It was clear that today Nessim would provide the stronger lead out.

Soon thereafter a couple of riders attacked to create a three man breakaway. After a few laps, a fourth rider bridged and for a while they looked strong, building up perhaps a fifteen second lead on the field. The Quad riders remained in the shelter of the pack, riding conservatively. The break’s advantage decreased to around 6 seconds, but it was getting close to the finish and John N. and Nessim agreed that the break posed a threat, enough so that Nessim went ahead to either break up the rhythm of the group, or, in the alternative, allow the break to pull him to the finish. Nessim quickly bridged and when it became his turn to pull, he just soft pedaled. One of the riders in the break told him that if he was going to be part of the break, he had to work, at which point Nessim delivered the bad news: he was not there to help. This seemed to demoralize the break and it soon fell apart.

Before we knew there were two laps to go. John N. and Nessim were in good position, in the front third of the pack. John B. was not, but began moving up to see if he might be able to start the lead out as planned. Approximately five hundred meters before the finish, before the second to last corner, John B. pulled up alongside Nessim and John N., put did not have the energy to contribute. Nessim accelerated through this corner, slipping between two riders, and opened up a gap on the field. John N. lost Nessim’s wheel when Nessim made the move. Nessim continued to open up this gap coming around the second corner and was able to hold it all the way to the finish. John N. took the inside line sheltered from the wind by two riders to his right sprinted for fourth. John B. was in decent position, but after making his way to the front in the final lap, had nothing for the sprint, and was passed by many riders coming down the final stretch (I felt like I was going backwards).

Another great result for the team!

Results on BikeReg.com

The New York Times covers rapid growth in domestic cyclo-cross racing

You know something is popular when the New York Times finally gets a hold of it.

Photo courtesy of the New York Times

The article documents the significant growth of cyclo-cross over the past few years:

“We’re seeing a cyclocross phenomenon of sorts in this country,” said Stuart Thorne, a former professional cyclocross rider from Wenham, Mass., who now runs the online publication CyclocrossWorld.com. “A race in Oregon last month drew nearly 1,000 cyclocross racers, which was one of the biggest showings ever.”

About 40,000 cyclists registered to race in a cyclocross event last year, according to USA Cycling, a Colorado Springs organization that sanctions competitions. That’s up from 17,000 registered racers in 2004.

Christian Eager delivers another cyclo-cross win

Up against a strong field, Christian Eager won the 3/4 race on day one in Plymouth last week and finished on the podium on day two.

Photo by David Goligorsky

Cycle-Smart Cyclo-Cross

Here are some photos of the 17th Annual Cycle-Smart International Cyclo-cross (UCI C2) held today in Northampton, MA. This event was the first UCI sanctioned cyclo-cross race held in the United States. There was a large turnout, a great course, and a lot of spectators.

Here are some photos of the cat. 2/3 race by David Goligorsky.

Christian Eager, photo by David Goligorsky

Eric Silva, photo by David Goligorsky

Christian Eager, photo by David Goligorsky

Below are more photos from the cat. 4 race by Christian Eager.

Ken Han, photo by Christian Eager

David Goligorsky, photo by Christian Eager

Eric Martin on his Merlin cyclo-cross bike, photo by Christian Eager

Mansfield Hollow Cyclo-cross

Mansfield Hollow Cyclo-cross is a low key event (on the schedule it's up against Granogue in DE, a Verge MAC and UCI C1 event). That's too bad, because it has a fantastic course with a little bit of everything.

Ian Sutton warming up

Bill Maidment over the barriers

Ian Sutton on the run up

Ken Han over the barriers

Eric Silva on the downhill

Photos by Steve Yau.

Gran Prix of Gloucester

The two-day Gran Prix of Gloucester was huge as expected. QuadCycles had the one of the biggest showings there. Check out the photo evidence by David Goligorsky.

Photos by David Goligorsky

Amesbury Cyclo-cross

The Amesbury cyclo-cross was bumpy but fun. Check out these photos by Jason DeVarenes.

Bedford Springs Cyclo-cross a success

The Bedford Springs Cyclo-cross--put on by the QuadCycles team--was a success, attracting a large field of beginners to professionals, including numerous national champions. Results have been posted. Thanks to everyone that volunteered and especially Ted Packard for organizing the whole thing.

Photo by Kenneth Han

Photo by John Naegle

See more photos taken by John Naegle and Kenneth Han.

QuadCycles scores a win at the Cyclonauts Criterium in Stafford, CT

by Eric Silva

Through a well executed team strategy, QuadCycles scored another win at the Cyclonauts Criterium on Memorial Day. In the race was John Buchheit, Michael McKittrick, Ken Han, and me.

Photo by Tom Hoogendyk

The Plan

The Cyclonauts Criterium takes place partially on a large oval track that typically hosts auto racing. This section includes the finish line and about 600 m of the short 800 m course. There are no buildings, trees, etc. to block the view of the track. If you can't get out of sight, you can't get out of mind. It is very wide, flat, and fast. Because of these features of the course, we believed a field sprint to be likely.

I was the designated sprinter. Michael, Ken, and John were to cover breakaways and attack the group to wear down other teams. I was to ride efficiently, not attack at all, and conserve energy for the sprint. I was to stay out of breakaways unless they looked very dangerous.

During warm up laps, John was designated as the leadout man. We took a couple of laps and determined a landmark from which to start the leadout, approximately 600 m from the finish line.

How It Unfolded

I got the hole shot into the first corner, and led through the second corner and then the third. Other riders finally came around and eventually the pace picked up. One particular team seemed to be pushing the pace quite a bit, but not attacking. They were consuming a lot of energy taking long, fast pulls while the QuadCycles riders (and other smart teams) were conserving energy in the draft. They were keeping the pace at around 30 mph for long stretches during the first half of the race. This was not a very good technique for them, for it only wore them out while other teams were able to sit in.

Hats off to Michael McKittrick for attacking so hard and so frequently. In the second half of the race, Michael attacked a number of times, forcing the other teams to chase him down. This allowed the John and me to sit in their draft as they worked hard to bring Michael back.

The Finale

With just over two laps (1600 m) to go, Dan Oulette of Gamache Cyclery placed a bet. He went solo, hard and fast. His attack was very good. He accelerated from 10-15 positions back so as he passed the lead rider in the group, he was already traveling much faster. He quickly created a large gap. Because the finish was minutes away, people were reluctant to chase.

The bell rang for the last lap and John Buchheit and Michael McKittrick were in exactly the right places: near the very front. When I came up on John's wheel, I let him know and told him to hit it as hard as he could. This was just as we passed the agreed upon landmark to start the lead out. John took a pull as hard as he could and accelerated me up to speed. We overtook the soloist with about 200 m to go. John pulled off with 150 m to the finish line, but we were still slightly behind the Essex County Velo and Cyclonauts lead out. I overtook them and crossed the line in 1st place with places 2nd through 4th less than a bike length behind.

Great teamwork everybody.