Top Ten finish Bear Mountain Spring Classic

Bear Mountain Spring Classic Race Report:

In New York City everyone is obsessed with the “Bear Mountain Spring Classic” and peak accordingly.   While no mountain peaks, or bears (luckily) were present there was an abundance of ferocious bike racers intent on sinking their teeth into the rolling hills surrounding the race course.  Personally I was one of them as I anticipated and savored the promise of a brutal race.  My strengths (comparatively) are on inclined roadways, the harder the course the better my chance.  Bear was hard but ultimately not hard enough.

The first two laps were ridden as if the entire field was on a Sunday stroll (although I’m not quoting those who were dropped on these laps).  The race course and weather were magnificent.  It’s not often I take time to enjoy the scenery amidst a bike race but this occasion merited it.  On Tiorati the splattering course side creeks trickled down as we grinded up.  On Lake Welch Drive the roadway split between two bodies of water offering a refreshing breeze.  The rolling hills leading to the finish exposed the sun who’s still a stranger this time of year.

Sergio Atocha (Gotham) leads William Doyle Capitman and Eric Robertson (Kissena)

A few slices of action were offered on the first two laps.  From the gun a lone rider went on a suicide mission that lasted most of the lap.  Nobody panicked (except one of the Metro guys who seemed stressed out) and was brought back without much fuss.  Up the second roller I narrowly avoided a pile up which took out at least ten guys.  On the second lap Dan Chabanov and another rider pushed it a little more on Tioroti and dangled off the front for a few miles.

A small crisis emerged as five guys organized and put a gap on the field.  They quickly disappeared but still we knew they wouldn’t get far with forty miles remaining.  The threat however increased significantly as we were neutralized for a moment as the pro field steamrolled by.  First the break blew by us and disappeared over yonder.  Next the main field came by and then immediately hit the brakes to a slow cat 4 style crawl.  I felt helpless as I imagined the break wallowing in the free time.

As promised I ramped up the throttle the third time up the big climb.  Chabanov stepped up and we rotated through several times.  Behind us the field began to thin.  I could see a long line of riders with evil faces.  Feeling the need to eliminate as many stragglers as possible I solicited help from my peers at the front.  Frustrated by the unwillingness to help drive the pace I stabbed the pedals harder a few times before backing off slightly at the summit.

As they say the damage had been done.  Maybe a fifth of the field remained.  Among those remaining some appeared haggard while others appeared calm and collected.  Personally I felt great and while I wasn’t destroying the field I was doing my part to loosen it up.  Still my chances didn’t appear great.  The brutal pain stricken competition ending grind continued to be elusive.  Once over the climb each lap we kept the pace high but not hard.  Those who managed to hang on (or chase back) could enjoy a breather and recover for the more challenging parts of the course.

Up the road Gregoire Faber (NCVC) was still pedaling away by himself.  The rest of his group had been caught and dropped third time up Tiorati.  Faber held tough but by the end of the third lap he was in our sights.

On the fourth lap I started hard right out of the hairpin corner at the bottom of the descent.  I should have waited and timed a harder attack further up the climb.  I worked again with Dan to set the tempo.  Three quarters of the way up Dan took over the pace making and I settled into a hard rythm.  The field dropped several more riders but the core of our group stayed solid.  Faber was reeled in near the top of the climb and seemed to comfortably join our group.  Impressive performance.

Feed zone at the beginning of the 4th lap

Race Support Crew

Thanks to Dylan Bemberg for the pro handout

Descending through the rollers on the last lap

The break is caught lap 4.  Impressive effort nonetheless

Dan making “The fuckers hurt”

The rest the last lap was a cruise to the much anticipated sprint.   Dan attacked on the first of the long false flat climbs.  While the pace/pain increased it wasn’t powerful enough to dent the field.

Metro attacking on the flats

Final Sprint

Coming to the line I was not in a bad spot.  I tetered on the edge of the double yellow line but held my ground inside the top ten.  Almost as soon as the line was in sight the sprint exploded.  I quickly spun out my puny 50×12 and found myself making little progress through the field.  Andrew Walsh flashed past me all the way to the front to take the win.  I crossed the line in 8th.

Overall I told myself to be happy with the result.  Inside i wished i could (and feel like I should) have done more to break up the final group.   My road racing strategy however is as fickle as my legs in a 20 rider sprint.   On the bright side my performance  continues to improve and the tactics are almost making sense.  With a little improvement in both areas as well as some sprint training (which i’ve stupidly never done), I’ll start winning these things.

Andrew Walsh gets dropped, fights his way back, and wins the sprint!

Bad gear choice, skinny legs, lack of confidence doesn’t win Sprints

It was close