123 field. JP Flatted early. Rest of the guys finished with the pack. I didn't see the finish so not sure how it shook out for all involved.

3 race- I instigated the break which was good. We got a healthy gap with 2 to go after Harlem hill. I was pretty gassed and hung on the back of the break until we got caught near the line. New finish today after Cat paw hill which was good but I got boxed in and couldn't move up. By the time I was able to get around people it was too late. 

Upside to all this is I am motivated to race more/better this summer after I take a week off. Also, cyclocross. 

We all showed and lined up together. Andy, Mattie, JP, Dale, and me. I had a feeling that, due to the parity of team participation in this team invite event, it would be a sprinters race. Unless some big split happened or an elite and well represented group got up the road, the field would hunt everything down. Every team had a dog in the fight.

As I looked around at the start, I noticed that many of the riders around me appeared nervous. They weren't their jovial self. Maybe it was early. Maybe they were scared. Whatever it was, it seemed odd and ominous. After a blazing start, I quickly realized that I had no legs. Too much racing this week had caught up with me. Bummer, I was super psyched about this race. I watched as JP flatted out 5 minutes into the first lap. My eyes moved up to the front of the peloton where Dale was consistently in the top 15 wheels cruising along. I need to learn how to do that. Dale was able to escape with a couple of other racers on the 3rd lap and nearly bridge to a dangling group before all was swallowed up again.

Mattie and Andy mixed it up in the middle of our gigantic and strung out field. We averaged 27.6mph for the 7 lap race which made it hard and tedious to move up. I now understand what Marc means when he says that this loop is more crit like than anything else.

Once I was certain that it would stay together, I planned to save whatever I had in my legs for moving up and attacking off the front in the last 3 laps. A Foundation crash with 3 to go set me back, but we still had 2 to go. I tried to move up on Cat's Paw but 2 6Cycle guys crashed into each other and put an end to that endeavor. As we were riding down the west side with 2 to go we overtook the cat 4 field while riding at a giant truck parked on the course and all hell broke loose. The pace motos and riders were confused, the guys on the front attacked (as usual) and strung it out, and when the smoke cleared, I found myself gapped with about 10 other riders including Andy. Whatever I had left in my legs, I used to get back on and it wasn't easy. It was a huge 5 minute effort that involved working together, dragging dead weight, and jumping around guys blowing up all while in the red. A bunch of guys got dropped. We lost Andy on that one. I think only 3 or 4 of us made it back on.

For those of you unfamiliar with racing in Central Park, this sort of thing ALWAYS happens. Especially as the park fills up and invariably in the last few laps. Count on it. Be ready for it. Don't ride into the hot dog guy. Be alert.

As we came through on the last lap, it was all I could do to sit in. We were fucking flying. I saw that Dale had drifted back a bit and was sitting top 50ish with Mattie. As we hit Cat's Paw, guys dropped anchor and I just tried to keep pedaling until the finish. I cruised in for 9000th place. I think we all finished far outside the money and points.

I'm impressed with Dale's riding and am looking forward to future races with him. Mattie rode solid and was there when it counted except just a skoash too far back. Andy and I fought to stay in it and got the worst of it.

It was another day for the sprinters. Despite the disappointment in my contribution this morning, I'm honored to have been out there representing the club. It's a great race and a wonderful loop. I hope that next time I get the chance, I'll be able to contribute more. I'm pretty sure that I will. Mengoni GP anyone?

It was a beautiful morning. We got coffee and baked goods and sat in a park afterwards.

Go team.

What Vlad was discussing was interesting.  I didn't see so much parity.  I figured that the breakaway guys, Mike Margarite (who just crushed the NY State TT champs) and John Loehner would be hot to breakaway and that they'd get someones like Bill Elliston and John Durso, Jermaine Burrowes, maybe Ed Beamon for company.  Didn't look like much of that happened at all.  Foundation was built for sprinting, and I was surprised that Rafael Meran was left of the squad.  But maybe they closed gaps well.  Jordan was built for sprinting, too, but they only had two guys who qualified as chasers.  And Mengoni's best shot was Tony Hall or JC Polanco getting in a move.  

But none of that happened.  Maybe I was thinking of another race.

I saw something weird too. It looked like Tony Hall was working for Adam Alexander. Adam was in the back riding with me and Dan Chabanov and Tony drifted back and hovered around him. At one point Adam moved up unexpectedly on the right side and Tony and Dan looked at each other like "what is he doing", bitched a bit, and then went after him.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were more of these arrangements coloring this race.

 

Interesting about Hall.