We never thought the winter would end, but it did, and just in time for another great installment of the Tour of the Battenkill. The sun was shining and the dirt was smooth and fast for this year's race. Here is the rundown of how the team did:
Thierry Blanchet: 30th place in the Masters 50+ field.
Michael Mascarenhas: 36th in the Masters 50+ field.
Bryna Blanchard: 14th in the Women's Cat. 3/4 field.
Steve Romero: 28th in the 5H 45+ field.
Mark Graber: 25th in the Gran Fondo on Sunday
Zack Vogel: 32nd in the Cat. 2 field
OK, now for the interpretive results, excuses and tales of woe section of the race report:
Bryna crashed, then flatted early in the race, leading to many solo miles on a very windy day. Despite this she was essentially unscathed and came in 14th. Quite a phenomemal comeback Bryna!
Thierry, Mike and I all had quite similar race tales. The steep climbs that broke things up for the packs broke us up too. Juniper Swamp and Joe Bean Rd, coming much later in the race with this year's new loop, gave the better climbers an opportunity to thin the pack.
Steve Romero, without realizing it, broke a spoke and rode for a while wondering why he was suddenly going backwards relative to the field. When he finally figured it out and replaced his Pringle potato chip with something more round he felt a lot better, but it clearly cost him a big chunk of time.
I didn't have a chance to talk to Mark Graber about his race yet, but the results don't usually lie. He was in the top ten in the 50-59 age group, top 10% of the field overall, and only a few places behind local fast guy Mark Sumner, so it couldn't have been too bad!
And, to conclude with my favorite part of the day:
The team support was great. Todd Shapiro and Mark Graber were there with honorary guest NAVer Tim Eck handing out bottles at Feed zone 1. We had spouses in NAV jerseys and kids with cowbells giving handups at Feed Zone 2 (conveniently located at the Battenkill Creamery ice cream shop). Finally, when I got gapped off the back of the field after Juniper Swamp, and thought my race was over, I saw Todd and Tim parked alongside the road cheering me on. That was exactly the inspiration I needed to put my head down and drill it until I caught back onto the pack. Thanks everyone for being a part of this great weekend of racing.
Zack