The old saying, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” seemed as if it were backwards on Saturday as Dennis D, Jon T, Mark S, and Jason C lined up for the second week of the Trooper Brinkerhoff Spring Series B Race.  The A Race saw Dave H and Cliff K lining up as well.

The weather was worse than the previous week with temperatures about 15 degrees lower and winds seemingly 15 mph higher.  With these conditions there were more than just 65 hungry and fit riders Team EXPO had to contend with.  After a very short warm up we hit the course for the neutral roll out.  As soon as the flag dropped we were given a vivid reminder that this was going to be a cold, windy, hard, and fast race.  The pace rose immediately with riders trying to get away early.

Unbelievably (especially for a cat 4 race) a solo rider was able to get away and stay away for the remainder of the race (Chapeau! to Rod Millott from CRCA/Foundation) despite the best efforts of the main group to pull him back.

Mark, Jon and I were able to stay near the front of the group for the first few laps with Jon sticking his nose in the wind on multiple occasions; getting into a solid break and chasing down a couple also.  Dennis was no where to be found during this time.  The weather conditions forced you to concentrate so much on your positioning within the group that it was nearly impossible to look back and check on Dennis’s situation.  As the race proceeded Mark faded from the front and Dennis appeared looking a little rattled (read his latest blog for an up close and personal explanation) but comfortably moving his way into the relative safety of the group.

There were multiple break attempts and bridging efforts but none of them were successful and as the final laps approached and passed it was clear this was going to turn into a bunch sprint for second place.

As we neared the finish, the pace quickened again with Jon, Dennis and Jason sitting near the front waiting to pounce.  As we approached the 1KM to go sign a rider jumped off the front and Dennis quickly accelerated to grab his wheel.  Jon was in perfect position to allow them to get away and simultaneously increase the pace just enough so that the main group did not respond.

At the final left hand turn Dennis had a pretty good gap on the main group.  Jason was about 10 riders deep as the group plowed into the roaring head wind and riders immediately started blowing up left and right.  Jason was able to wheel-surf until about the 100 meter mark and then he buried his head and uncorked all he had left in his legs in a mad dash for what looked like 4th place.  As it turned out, Jason had more in his legs than he thought as he pipped Dennis at the line for third.  Overall it was a great race for Team EXPO with Jason taking third, Dennis fourth, and Jon; riding aggressively all day and still managing a top 15 final result!

Plainville Crit, Cat 4/5

Running late, I made it to the line just as the whistle was blown. Usually I don’t have a plan when I race, but Saturday was a bit different. I hoped to ride a little bit more conservatively and allow others to share the work. I took a couple of flyers to see who to look for and managed to get into a large break that lasted until the end of the race. On the last lap of the race, teammate Mark gave me a monster lead out into the last corner where I was sitting third wheel. I let it hang and took the WIN!

(Editor’s note: A most understated win report – Congratulations Lance!)

Bethel CDP Gold Race, Cat 4

Again racing semi-conservative, I felt great and my legs were strong. I held good position throughout the race and was racing smart. Then came the last lap. Maybe I should have paid attention to the lap cards, since I had no clue that it was the last lap. There I was saving my legs, wondering why everyone around me was sprinting so hard for a prime(?!)

Lesson of the day…watch lap cards. Finished OTB.

Bethel CDP Gold Race, Cat ¾

Representing Team EXPO: TJ, Paul Q, Chris A. and me. The plan for this race was to keep the field together and help Jeff Murray’s team keep the yellow jersey. No breaks got away and they kept their jersey. I finished 16th, while Chris came in 20th and Paul finished strong as well. (Click here for pics & finishline video)

Bethel CDP Gold Race Pro 1-2-3

Chris, Aki, and Paul started this race. Chris looked very strong throughout, holding his position well to the finish with the main group. Paul road well and also completed the race with the main field.

Great weekend with good friends and teammates!

The Expo racing season is just weeks old, yet the boys have already kicked it into high gear.  So much so that we’re having a hard time keeping up with all of the news!  Below you’ll find two news reports filed from last weekend’s races.  Be on the look out for even more results from this weekend’s races soon (rumor has it that there might even  be a podium or two to read about!).

Plainville Crit (03/19/2011)

After spending some time riding in beautiful sunny California,  Cliff and David decided to line up for their first race of the year at the Plainville Spring Series and they were joined by Todd who was able to get a head start by participating in the first race of the series a few weeks back.

It’s hard to believe that we start racing the first week of march here in CT. Things would align and enough snow melted to have clear roads to race on. We only wish it were a bit warmer; it’s always tough to get motivated when the temps are in the high 30′s or low 40′s.

Expo’s plan was to get a good warmup and see what the legs would do! There were around 40 people lined up to do the 1/2/3 race and ready to brave the cold temps and very strong wind.

David would test his legs first by going hard from the start. At first the group let him go, then a couple of guys, Ed Angeli from Target Training and Guido Wollmann bridged across. After a few more laps with the group 4 more riders bridged across an formed a strong break-away group! This group, though not in it’s entirety, would stay away from the entire race – though Dave would eventually feel the effects of the initial efforts and fall back to the pack.

Once there, it opened the door up for Todd and Cliff to animate the race a bit. They would trade time up at or near the front working to keep the pace high and trying and close the gap to the break; it would come close but it was not to be. The pack finished with a strong sprint and Cliff, Todd and Dave all finished near the front. All in all it was a good day to get out and test the legs. The Expo guys showed good early season form and had some fun racing and preparing for the upcoming season!  Let’s hope for warmer weather soon!

Trooper Brinkerhoff Memorial Spring Series B Race (March 19th, 2011)

The calendar read March 19th — close to spring, but Mother Nature reminded team Expo that it was still winter as Jon T, Jason C, Steve Y, Keith G, and Dennis D all lined up to compete at the Trooper Brinkerhoff Memorial Spring Series race.  With winter like temperatures and gale force winds buffeting riders as they screamed over roads ravaged by the winter of 2010-11, the Expo boys had enough to contend with, yet they also had to take on a fairly aggressive and very competitive field in both the A race (where Keith raced) as well as the B race (where the rest of the guys lined up).  Despite having to handle such big challenges, Expo ended the day with some pretty good results — a 10th place for Dennis D (read his observations here) and top 20 finishes for both Jason and Steve.  Perhaps more importantly though, all of the riders ended the day with their first road race of the season now under their belts which in turn increased their excitement and anticipation for more road races in the coming weeks.

Early season riding in Connecticut can be quite an adventure.  On an early season ride, Drew Chieda (Expo), Ben Carbonetti, and I (J.C.Sanders – Expo) embarked on a training ride from UConn (we are all members of the UConn Cycling Club).  We headed down towards Mansfield hollow and part way in came across a large yellow gate locked and closed preventing cars from continuing down the road.  We scoffed at such a deterrent and hopped the gate and passed bikes over.  Continuing down the road about a mile we were confronted with the quagmire you see in the pictures.  Note that the wooden posts are approximately 3 feet high and completely disappear.  The record snowfall and subsequent melt flooded one of our favorite roads.  Drew momentarily considered going for it, but soon thought better of it considering it was all of 38 degrees outside.  Perhaps we should have brought a boat instead of a bike. -J.C.

After spending some time riding in beautiful sunny California, Todd, Cliff and David decided to line up for their first race if the year at the Plainville Spring Series, Todd was able to get a head start by participating in the first race of the series a few weeks back.

It’s hard to believe that we start racing the first week of march here in CT. Things would align and enough snow melted to have clear roads to race on. We only wish it were a bit warmer; it’s always tough to get motivated when the temps are in the high 30′s or low 40′s.

The plan was to get a good warmup and see what the legs would do! There were around 40 people lined up to do the 1/2/3 race and ready to brave the cold temps and very strong wind.

David would test his legs first by going hard from the start. At first the group let him go, then a couple of guys, Ed Angeli from Target Training and Guido Wollmann bridged across. After a few more laps with the group 4 more riders bridged across an formed a strong break-away group! This group, though not in it’s entirety, would stay away from the entire race – though Dave would eventually feel the effects of the initial efforts and fall back to the pack.

Once there, it opened the door up for Todd and Cliff to animate the race a bit. They would trade time up at or near the front working to keep the pace high and trying and close the gap to the break; it would come close but it was not to be. The pack finished with a strong sprint and Cliff, Todd and Dave all finished near the front. All in all it was a good day to get out and test the legs. The Expo guys showed good early season form and had some fun racing and preparing for the upcoming season!  Let’s hope for warmer weather soon! -Dennis