Race Report: Concord Criterium
This past Saturday saw Steve Colangeli, Scott Harding, Art Roberts, and myself do battle with all the heavy-hitters at the 28th running of a northern New England classic, the Concord Crit. This years edition featured a new, ‘backwards’ direction course brought about by the recent construction of a roundabout at the exit of the former downhill. This reverse direction possibly made for even more intense racing as the new downhill section is now comprised of a very fast 180 degree sweeper which empties into a equally fast and technical left/right series of turns before a flat 250 meter long drag race to the start/finish line.
The racing and temperatures (mid-80′s, finally) in the Master 35 field were hot from the officials start whistle. After laying down the fastest(!) lap time of the day in the first 1/3 of the race -taking the punch out of many sets of legs- the breaks started going off. Art Roberts made what looked to be the smart move of the day getting in the right break with two others who had strong teammates blocking back in the pack. Unfortunately, this break didn’t stick and with five laps to go, was absorbed by the fast moving field which was preparing for a field sprint ‘royale’. With the fast downhill left/right turns ensuring a single-file line before the final sprint, I had it in my mind to position well beforehand on the backside of the course. This worked to pretty good effect as I had slotted into approximately 8th wheel prior to entering the finish straight.
The finale featured what we crit racers all love about this genre of racing: an all fanned out across the road, spun out in 53×12, 36.5 mph, Mano a Mano throw-down; dying, and then finding a little more before dying again as you cross the line type of sprint. To my chagrin, I got out-kicked by a couple guys in the last 100m or so to end up just outside the top 10 in 11th place.
Motivation to do it again next weekend, right!?
Congratulations are in order for Jean and Andrew M.’s very nice 3rd and 4th place finishes in the Cat. 4 race. Well done, guys!!