<By Jon Tarbox>

I’m typing this from the back seat of Todd’s car as we return home after competing in the Masters World Championship for Cyclocross.  This is it.  Cross season’s over.  Really?  Now what?  For the past year this was my target, and now that it’s over what happens?  It’s been a long season this year.  We started in August and raced almost every weekend up to now.  Even planning for this all along, It’s been a challenge to keep motivated.  We managed though andTodd Bowden, Vickie Monahan and myself made the journey to Louisville, KY.

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The deep snow and falling branches from the blizzard on October 30th snuffed out the first ever Silk City Cyclocross event, but the Expo Wheelmen came together and put on a make-up event called “Salvage Cross”.  We really wanted to hold an event this year so local racers could experience the fantastic course that the Manchester Community College venue has to offer.

While the propane heater was blasting, on the chilly morning of December 10th, we finished setting up the course and opened racer registration inside the big white tent.  Well over 100 racers came out to try to score some points and try out this challenging course.  Many spectators were scattered around the course, some were heckling in cyclocross fashion, and some even setup their own barbecue lunch.  The highlights of the course include the gnarly off camber mounds of dirt with switchback turns, long grassy straight-aways, the fast turns that carve through the loose dirt in the woods, and the run-up and ride down on “no-brakes” hill.  Needless to say, there is something for everyone.

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In some races, the pace seems easy - you roll along knowing that you are going to factor into the results and cause pain to others. In other races, you know from the gun that the pace is way over your head and you’re going to get dropped.  It’s not a question of “if” but “when.”  Then there are races where the pace hurts, but your brain knows it’s a pace you are capable of.  And by sheer grit, determination, and motivation, you hang on – and sometimes your legs come around and you finish with the group.

The Purgatory Road Race in Sutton, MA, was one of the latter for me. A 5 lap, 11 mile rolling loop, with a stiff stair-step climb at the end, contested on wet roads in a very un-June like 58 degrees. The motivation for me to hang on past the first lap (which was strung out for way too long) was stoked by the fact that the other 4 guys I drove up with (Dave, Keith, Jay, and Cliff) showed no sign of cracking, and I didn’t want to be “that guy that got popped” on the drive home. So I hung in there, even though the pack had been severely whittled down. Dave came back on the 2nd lap and asked how I felt (not good).  He indicated he didn’t feel good since he spent the first lap trying to create a break (thanks for that), and he wanted to get back up there and help the team.

Well, the legs did come around (although a break of 4 had already gone) and I started to really enjoy the course. It might be the best road race in New England – the downhill had sweeping turns, the rolling parts were twisty, there were lake views, and the climb – though tough, was not HC.

Highly recommended; with the right motivation.

New for 2011 on the New England road cycling calendar was the Bennington Stage Race. It was promoted as a race through the ‘shires of Vermont, in search of the legendary dragons. This stage race had three stages, with lots of money and USAC upgrade points up for grabs.

Exposition Wheelmen had six riders at the event in three different categories. Dave H raced in the Masters category which had a stacked field of former pros. Mike P raced in the Category 3 which appeared to be a very intense field of guys working towards going pro. The Category 4 race was very tough since some up-and-coming riders were destroying the competition, but Dennis D, Mark S, Jon T, and Joe T fought back against the fire breathing mountain snakes just as the folklore would suggest.

Stage 1 – Time Trial

The first stage was a hilly and technical individual time trial course, which was 11 miles long and included just over 700 feet of climbing. In the race handbook it was stated many times that if you do not brake on the technical downhill corners, “You will crash.” There was a passing shower in the morning which elevated the level of anxiety among us since the already tough course was now a little bit trickier with wet pavement. Luckily, the course was very safe and fast, so the warnings about crashing turned out to be a myth, and in the end the Expo racers all finished with respectable times inside the top 20. It ended up being a great start to the event. Dave said. “The TT was the best course I’ve ever raced a TT in and heard that from many others.”

Stage 2 – Criterium

The second stage on the first day raced around a large block in the quaint downtown of Bennington and was a classic four corner criterium with a small hill on the back straight. The streets flanked by small shops and restaurants were lined by spectators much of the day. It is a perfect location for a downtown race and the weather cleared up to be a fantastic day.

The Cat 4 crit lined up on the street and went off like a dragon from its lair – full speed from the word go. Dennis, Mark, Jon, and Joe were all at or near the front of the field pushing the pace. In fact, our Expo riders pushed the pace so hard at the front of the race many riders cracked creating a large split in the field. At one point, nearly half off the riders got pulled from the course since they were in danger of being lapped. Joe and Mark both won a hotspot field sprint, and Joe charged hard in the sprint to finish 6th with Mark right on his wheel, while Jon and Dennis were happily still with the main field to maintain their overall general classification standing.

The Masters Crit started off at full speed with Dave attacking off the front in the first lap. Dave must have inspired former US pro Peter Vollers who sped off the front of the group like a beast after the second lap. Dave attacked in full chase mode trying to reel in Vollers and they put over a half a lap gap on the field. Dave said, “The Crit was exciting- I saw the opportunity to be the aggressor on the first lap and took it – it was super challenging but great to hear my teammates encouraging me throughout every lap of the race – it made all the difference. Also, I had new personal best for numbers.” Dave set the cruise control and made a huge solo effort to hold off the field for the rest of the race and took second place. It was an amazing race to watch!

Mike raced the Cat 3 crit and raced in the top 10 most of the race. He went off the front with one lap to go, but got reeled in by the pack and ended up finishing 14th. This was Mike’s first fast criterium and he is ready for more.

Stage 3 – Road Race

After the frost melted off the car windshields on the second morning, we drove to the start of stage three in the beautiful town of Manchester, VT. We started out bright and early, arrived at the large park to sign in, and were greeted by a sky of beaming sunshine. We knew the 62 mile day in the big hills was going to be tough. I counted nine climbs on the course profile, and five of which were large categorized climbs.

In the Cat 4 road race, the day started out with a sprint competition on the road at the 11 mile mark where Joe bridged up the road to a solo breakaway rider, and won the points and the prize for the sprint competition. Once the riders hit the big climbs, Joe slid back in the field, but Jon, Dennis, and Mark worked hard to stay close to the race leaders over the “king of the mountains” competitions, where they kept their eyes peeled for the lurking dragons. Mark thought this stage had tougher climbs than Battenkill. Jon ended up 9th, while Dennis grabbed 11th. Mark and Joe finished in the middle of the field.

Dave raced hard and stayed with the veteran pro racers until he found himself riding with a chase group to the finish where he found himself racing for 11th place for the stage. Dave ended the day strong, but felt the effects from such hard efforts on the previous day.

Mike worked hard to stay with the Cat 3 racers, but ended up learning the importance of food intake during such a long road race. Mike ran out of energy since he bonked towards the end of the stage, but he still rode it out to the finish.

Overall Results

The overall general classification results for the Expo Wheelmen were great. Jon had complete focus through all three stages in the Cat 4s and went home with 5th place. Dennis’s training, consistency, and determination paid off since it kept his overall time near that of the leaders and he grabbed 11th place. Mark proved to be learning how to race very quickly, since he did an amazing job and earned 13th place overall. Joe T did better than he had anticipated and placed 20th overall and took 2nd place in the Cat 4 sprint competition. Dave placed 10th overall and also took second place for the Masters sprint competition. Mike finished his first Cat 3 stage race with a vengeance and proved to be a very competitive racer.

Summary

Everyone put forth gallant efforts to slay the beasts and had a fantastic time doing so. The courses were on fantastic roads for racing and had lots of marshals and volunteers who did a great job, and the event was very well put together and very well organized. This is a highly recommend “to do” race. Dave said, “This is now my all time favorite race to replace Fitchburg and will be on my calendar next year for sure. Great support staff and promoter and volunteers. Watching teammates race together was a ton of fun.”

Mark mentioned how these towns in Vermont are great places to visit which makes it possible to come race for the weekend and bring the family and make a weekend out of it, like Dennis did… Thanks to Dennis’s family for the cheering squad!

We hope this promoter will repeat this event next year so we can bring more Expo teammates out to find the key to the secret door to the majestic mountains to unlock the treasures of the dwarven kingdom in 2012!