Races #2 and #3 of the Tobacco Valley Cyclocross Race Series were held this past weekend and the Expo Wheelmen had six ‘cross riders racing in three different categories.  With our riders on or near the front of these races – including FOUR making the podium over the two days – our sponsors got some great exposure on a beautiful weekend.

At the Saturday race in Monson, MA, EXPO contested the Cat 4 and Masters 35+ races.  Lance Jones won the Cat 4 race, with David Dubos rounding out the podium with a 3rd place finish.  Joe Tindal finished strongly in the top 10 with his 10th place finish.  The Masters 35+ field is always especially tough.  Cliff Kenyon and Dave Hildebrand raced the 35s with Cliff making it into the top 10 with his 7th place finish.  Dave was knocking on the door with his 12th place.

EXPO contested the same races on Sunday in Palmer, MA, and added the Masters 45+ race to the menu.  Continuing his impressive weekend, Lance got on the podium again in the Cat 4 race with his 3rd place finish.  Joe got another ’cross race under his belt, coming in 23rd.  Seeking to do even better the second day running (and jumping and riding), Cliff got onto the podium in the 35+ race with his 3rd place finish.  Dave was also mixing it up with the 35s, coming in 16th place.  Finally, Jon Tarbox, showing the young’uns/young guns that age is just another barrier to jump over, came in the top 5 in the Masters 45+ race, finishing 5th.

But ‘cross racing is at least as much about the relationships as the results.  Not only is it great to be out in the beautiful fall weather with your friends and teammates (though this weekend felt more like the middle of July than the last weekend of August), but it can be a family affair as well.  Maybe he knew he was going to be on the podium two days in a row, or maybe it was just a lucky coincidence, but Lance brought his family out to the races – and his son Zander was right out there racing with dad both days!

All in all a great weekend showcasing what the EXPO Wheelmen are all about.

News report filed by Jon T

Cool temps, steady rain and the first cyclocross race of the season.  Do I need to say more?  I guess so.  Blunt Park in Springfield Ma. has been the first cross race of the season for the past few years.  The Cyclonauts do a nice job putting together a fun and challenging course in a tight area.

Joe T. and Lance were up first in the cat. 4 race.  Who knew the wet pavement would be SO slippery?  Not Lance until he went down while jamming his brakes hard to make the 180 degree turn in to a single track.  Joe made it through unscathed and Lance picked himself up and quickly got going again after falling to about 30th position.  By the end of the race Joe had finished somewhere around 20th and Lanced pulled himself back up to 9th.

Joe T

My race, the 45+ men, was next.  Everybody cleared the start and made it  through the first trail section.  The second section of pavement took out two guys in front of me, on a straight no less.  I rode in 5th spot for all but the last 2 laps when the two guys who had been riding my wheel got around me in a tricky running section and got a gap.  I managed to close the gap, but couldn’t come around them and finished 7th.

Jon T

Cliff and Dave were up next in the 35+ race, which is typically a very hotly contested race, yesterday being no exception.  I missed most of the race as I was giving my bike a quick wash and lube.  When I got to the race, Cliff and Dave were trading spots for 3rd and 4th, each with a healthy drool going on.  Good stuff in a cross race! I didn’t notice the blood on Cliff’s knee until a friend pointed it out.  Apparently Cliff didn’t get the memo re: slippery pavement, or he chose to ignore it.  Either way, he apparently did a full on belly slide at the end of the starting pavement.  In the last lap Dave took advantage of some lapped riders to put some time into Cliff.  Dave rolled in 3rd with Cliff in 4th.

Cliff and Dave

For me, this is the cycling season that makes me happiest.  There is such a sense of community and comradery.  If you’ve never raced one, you should.  It’s a blast and could even make you a better rider.

EXPO/Superior Energy got on the podium this past Sunday at the Blount Fine Foods Criterium in Fall River, MA.  Teammates Chris and Aki lined up for the Cat 3 race that went off at 1pm.  Unlike the previous two years of stifling heat, the conditions were just about perfect.  The racing was still hot though, with a number of well-known Cat 3/Masters racers in the field.  After a race full of attacks, counterattacks, and break attempts – and rare back-to-back-to-back primes (3 prime laps in a row!) – the field was still together at the bell lap.  Aki provided his wealth of technical and strategic savvy, and Chris – hungry for a chance at the field sprint – saved his matches for a big fire at the end.

The final corner is a LONG way from the finish, and into a headwind, but Chris thought he was in a good position, even being 10 or so guys back.  Waiting as long as he could, and seeing guys at the front beginning to launch, he pulled out on the left side and sprinted for the line.  One guy was clear off the front, but as the line came up, Chris heard a guy coming around him.  Digging deeper, he and the other guy threw their bikes at the line.  The officials said it was too close to call and had to review the video.

Chris got nipped out of 2nd by inches – a true photo finish.  But still good enough to get our jersey on the podium and some exposure for our sponsors!

For Chris’ perspective on the race along with additional details and photos, click here.  For Aki’s view (he always seem to see and notice more), click here.

The New England road cycling season basically spans from April through October, and geographically is literally scattered across the entire map of the northeast.  With that in mind, there are only a few road races that actually take place in our home state of Connecticut over that seven month span of each year, and the Tokeneke Road Race is held near the end of the season.  Looping around the Barkhamsted reservoir, this course is not only challenging, but is also very beautiful and fast.  This is a hilly race with over 4000 feet of elevation ascent in the 44 miles (for Category 4 racers).  Relative to other races, this is a short race and an extremely fast course, which has riders eagerly vying for position to earn upgrade points just before the end of the season.  This year the Expo Wheelmen proudly displayed our sponsors on our jerseys at a race that was practically in our own backyard.

Team Expo lined up five Cat 4s together (Dave J, Dennis D, Joe T, Mike M, and Tom H) in the deep field of almost 100 riders at the race on August 8th, 2010.  Even though they started together, it didn’t take long before each of them were separated and off racing on their own.  The hills and tough competition, combined with varying degrees of fatigue and differing levels of fitness made for five very different Expo experiences.

Dave J’s mental fitness was clearly in excess of his physical fitness as he toed the starting line on Sunday morning.   A couple of days of riding immediately prior to the Tokeneke event clearly sapped his energy and he reluctantly retired at the start of the second lap.  He ended up driving away armed with a big lesson learned, and determined not to repeat the same mistakes.

Dennis D has perhaps raced one too many races over the last few weeks as he suffered and suffered pushing the pace over the first lap.  He changed tactics on the 2nd lap though and managed to hitch his wagon at the back of the lead group and pretty much let them pull him to the last hill, leaving him in 27th place and a minute forty off of first.  For more details on Dennis D’s trials and tribulations, read here.

Tom H tested his mettle in his first ever Cat 4 race.  The field challenged him in ways he hadn’t experienced previously with the Cat 5s.  The pace was much faster on the descents, forcing Tom to hold his brakes with a white knuckle grip.  The field attacked the hills harder as well, but Tom managed to stay close enough to the field such that he could close the gap with a group of chasers on the few occasions he was dropped.  Even the officials seemed more challenging – one official barked some harsh words (though done clearly as a demonstration of “tough love”) to motivate his group of chasers to close the gap.  Fortunately, Tom responded to all of the challenges, and ultimately bombed the final decent placing himself in the upper half of the field prior to the start of the final climb (reaching his race goal).  He climbed his way to 33rd for a good finishing result.

Mike M started the day still smarting from a flat tire and subsequent DNF two weeks ago at the Tour of the Hilltowns, so his goals for the day were more focused on finishing – ride a strong pace and finish with a pack.  While Mike lost contact with the lead group on the day’s first large climb, he got into a groove with two different groups throughout the course’s two laps.  Due in part to the “share the pain” approach Mike and his chase groups employed, he ended up finishing strong and feeling that it was a fun race and a good course.

Joe T had registered for the Tokeneke Road Race with even more modest goals than Mike – taking a big step in his physical recovery and finishing his first road race of 2010.  Well to make a long story short (the long story can be found here), Joe finished the very well organized race feeling as though it was the perfect day for him and inspired him to already look forward to racing it again next year.

Submitted by Cliff K

As Saturday morning arrived and with the forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s there was little debate as to what to do, time to race the mountain bike!  It’s been several months (May 23^rd to be exact) since the last time I threw a leg over the mountain bike in competition.  I arrived at the venue around 10:30 for an 11:20 start and proceeded to see a few friendly faces upon registering for the event.  I did my usual prerace preparation which consists of asking a few people who actually pre-rode the course what to expect.  Since I was actually early to a race, by my standards at least, I set out to find Jon Tarbox who was also racing the Cat 1 race and see if he had any additional information I could use.  He was just heading out for a preride and warm up but let me know that I could ride the beginning of the course and come back the dirt road.  With 20 minutes until the start of my race I set out to see the first part of the course.  To my surprise the first mile or so was tight singletrack with loads of corners and a decent amount of rocky terrain.  Once seeing this I started to get excited as I knew that the race would reward more than just fitness which is generally a good thing for me!

Based upon my limited preride I decided that if possible I wanted to get the holeshot and try to lead for the first part of the race until the course opened up on a dirt road after a mile or two.  My plan was executed perfectly and I was able to get a reasonable gap on the first section of singletrack.  From there I backed off as I knew it was going to be a long tough race.  I was passed by 2 guys about half way through the first lap on the one section that had a sustained climb.  I was already at this point working on how to save energy as the race was on the longer side, 24 miles for how demanding the course was.  The back third of the course had lots of flow with many corners and a few tough rock gardens.  It was on this section I was able to pass back for second and get close to the first place guy.  As we were just approaching the finish line I saw the leader pull over and start to fix a rear flat, perfect, guess I’m going to lead the first lap!  Around halfway through the next lap I was passed again on the longer sustained climb section and was not able to recover the gap on the back section.  In the end I finished second a few minutes from the win but also five minutes up on 3^rd place.

All in all it was a great event and I will sure to be back next year but this time I’ll be slightly more prepared and looking for a win!