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First off, don’t forget the MM Racing Cyclocross Season Kickoff Party at Belmont Wheelworks 7-10pm this Thursday October 1st. Food from the Diesel Café/Bloc 11, beer from Mercury Brewing and Watch City Brewing, vegan cupcakes, Belgian waffles, and a huge raffle with items from CyclocrossWorld, Mavic, Seven Cycles, Wheelworks, Pedros, Michelin, Mad Alchemy, TRP Brakes, signed pro jerseys (Jeremy Powers, Jesse Anthony, Tim Johnson, Georgia Gould and Chris Horner!!!) as well as great donations from local restaurants and businesses. If you can’t make it to the event, you can buy raffle tickets until 11PM Wednesday here. We hope to see you there! This past weekend’s races in Vermont were round 1 and 2 of the Verge New England Cyclocross Series. Saturday’s race start time was two hours later than usual to allow riders to make the drive up to the Green Mountains. It meant that I got to sleep a little later and had a short ride in the morning before driving up to the race. The only downside is trying to figure out an eating schedule that is different than most other race days. We spent the night in Vermont (thanks Josee and Peter!) and raced again Sunday, wrapping up the first full weekend of New England racing.
The drive up to Vermont was about 3 hours and it was a postcard perfect day. There was not a cloud in the sky and the leaves on the trees were reds and yellows with views of the Green Mountains all along the route. The course itself is one of the hardest New England courses because it is hilly, very grassy, with no pavement and there is little opportunity to recover from hard efforts. I was feeling a little under the weather that morning with tired legs and knew it would be a tough day when several unexpected riders arrived on race day. From the start, there were four of us in a lead group setting the pace. After I bobbled on a technical turn, one rider took off from the group leaving three of us to chase her. I was feeling fairly flat and was just able to hold a steady pace and not make many accelerations and the other two riders seemed to either be feeling the same or were content to stay together for a sprint finish. I ended up 4th for the day, hoping for a better race Sunday. The forecast was calling for rain…. After a good night’s sleep with the company of two Jack Russell’s and some fresh Vermont fresh air, I was feeling much better on Sunday morning. It had also been raining light showers all night. A muddy course is always a fun course! The course was a bit different for Sunday and included a very long straight away at the start that just seemed to climb and climb before making some switchback turns. There was not real mud, but the corners were all slick and tacky mud and grass. Warming up I felt better than the day before, but still a little less than stellar. I hoped that the other riders were either tired from the day before or less confident on the slick corners. The long uphill start was fast and several riders were making moves to stay in the lead position. I was content to sit in second place for a bit and see how we all felt, but after the first few corners, I found myself moving into the lead and really pushing the pace. I glanced back to see that I had a gap of about 10 seconds and then really decided to give it my best and push through all the technical, slippery section to stay on the front. As the race went on, I was able to get a larger gap to the riders behind me and take the win for the day! Next up: The Great Brewers Gran Prix of Gloucester - this weekend at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, MA Thanks for reading and see you on Thursday! MM Racing 2009 Calendar of Events: 10/1 MM Racing Cyclocross Season Kickoff Party@ Belmont Wheelworks 10/3 + 10/4 NACT Great Brewers GP Gloucester, MA
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Photo by Pedal Power Photography
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