Race Report – Battenkill Professional Invitational

Battenkill 2×100 km loops.
We had two guys that we were ready to support for the race with 4 guys on CCB to help out.
Pre-race plan was to ride conservatively but stay in contention. Everyone was there to help Dylan and Cameron get the best result possible. If anyone had a problem they were to make a max effort to get back into contention, this could prove valuable even if was just handing up a wheel to someone else etc.

Dylan, Yahor and Amos of CCB at Battenkill

As a team we had a good race putting our most capable riders in a position to do something towards the end of the race. Help included giving bottles,pushes,encouragement and whatever else was possible.  Feeding and all bike prep was handled by Arnie.

Contrary to some of that online blogger BS that you may have read the amateur teams did not come to spectate,but you have to realize that the longest race we have done was the week before at 80 miles.  Most regional teams have only done a few races, look for them to produce better results when the middle of the season come relative to what the pro’s results are.   This happens every year and 2010 will be no different.  It’s amazing what some people write without ever having lined up for one of these events, but I digress.

My own race was anti-climatic.  I was doing better then last week at the amateur event,  I stayed with the pack on harder parts of the course but did get popped off at the top of the first hill on meeting house.  I continued going hard and latched onto the back a small group, skipped a few pulls and started to work.  My first two or three pulls I could barely get by the guy but then we turned onto a small rise and the group just broke down and lost whatever rhythm I established.  They said I was pulling ‘too hard,’ but when I looked around I see 5 “pros,” well, then, we can go harder.  Contrast this with last week when I was with 5 “amatures”  and we chased for miles and caught on only to get dropped on the next hard section of the course.  In the end the result wasn’t really different but how I felt about the race was.  I went home frustrated to not have gone to my own limits and knowing full well I had more in me and could have helped make more happen.  Next week!