When my brother, Pat, and I began cycling last July we knew little outside of our locat Crit scene and the Tour de France. As we trained through the fall and did some road races we began hearing tales of an epic race three hours to the north called Tour of the Battenkill. Modeled after the European Classics this 64 mile race includes 22% dirt climbs, 9 sections of dirt roads totaling 19 miles, and one of the more competitive fields in the Northeast. A climbing heavy course with steep grades... we were hooked on the idea! We immediately knew we wanted in on this race and signed up the minute the registration opened up at 7:30 pm on 12/19. Our daily battle-cry during this record snowfall winter became, "Battenkill is coming." A three hour ride in 15 degree weather... "Battenkill is coming." Two hours with power intervals on the trainer... "Battenkill is coming." It certainly helped to add some vigor to the cold and dark winter months.
As the early season races began and we had some relative success, we decided to upgrade and race the Cat 4 field at Battenkill. Our early season Crits had gone well, complete with both breakaway and sprint victories, and we entered Battenkill excited and fresh. A couple of easy 90 minute spins in the days leading up to the race, and a home cooked meal of pasta and meatballs compliments of our Aunt and Uncle the night before left us feeking rested and ready for the race.
We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning that left Battenkill's dirt roads hard packed and clear of soft mud spots. On the drive into Cambridge we were able to ride the last 20 miles of the course and scout out feeding zone 2 (which became hugely important to me), Meeting House Road, and Stage Road. Pat and I originally planned to sit in until Stage Rd and make our attack on the steep early steps of the climb and hope to hold the gap to the finish. Our hope was that Pat's quick acceleration uphill followed by a big pull by me would be enough to create a gap that we could hold down the backside of the hill and for the flat 4 mile run into town.
The Cat 4 Blue field was slated to start at 10:30 am, and sure enough we were rolling through the neutral first kilometer at that time. We had spent the previous two nights checking results of the other guys in our race and had an idea of who the major teams and riders to watch would be. The first major concern was getting near the front of the field as we entered the Covered Bridge at the 5 mile mark. I was able to work my way up to the middle of the field near Pat through the bridge, which ended up being great positioning. The pace was moderate heading into the first major climb at 12 miles. On each of the climbs we were sure to place ourselves somewhere in the first five wheels and maintain a comfortable tempo while saving our matches for the late climbs. We crested Perry Hill and Juniper Swamp comfortably and found ourselves to be climbing with the top of the field on each hill.
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| Cresting Juniper Swamp Hill at the front |
Temperatures reached near 70 degrees during the race, so hydration was key. We had two of our teammates, Jeff and Paul, come along and volunteer to ride to the feed zones to give us water and nutrition. We met them at the first zone, 17 miles in, feeling comfortable and well hydrated having drank two bottles by that point. Unfortunately, I missed one of my two bottles at the feed zone and had to ride on and wait until mile 44 for the next feed zone. The next 20 miles were fairly predictable with a few small attacks going off the front and our entire field working really well together to pin it back (Thanks Dylan G, Tufts Rider, Andrew S, and a Vermont rider). Pat and I took some big pulls on the front to pin back one break that got a minute on us. Pat had one pull through the dirt section 30 miles in where I could have sworn he rode like a 160 lb classics specialist despite his 125 lb climbers frame! Pat and I crested Joe Bean Road with a 10 second gap on field and Ben from TBS Racing Team with us, but decided it was to early to try to make a winning break happen and came back together into a lead selection of 15-20 riders. I was patiently and anxiously waiting for Stage Rd and going on the attack with Pat, but Carney and Cassidy Rd and its dirt climb was to play a major role in our race plan.
Carney and Cassidy Rd was a new dirt section, and one we had not scouted race morning. We knew it was around 2 miles long and had a steep 3 step climb on it. As we approached the climb, Pat and I worked out way towards the front few wheels and sat in comfortable. Suddenly, a rider from NYVelocity, could no longer pedal and swerved to his right without looking. In the process, he took out Pat's front wheel but kept riding. I heard some yelling and bikes hit the ground and had a feeling Pat was involved, as I no longer saw him in the group. A few other riders had fallen on top of him and the impact had jarred his handlebars sideways. I immediately went to the front to slow the pace in hopes he would rejoin the lead group. 30 seconds, 45 seconds, One minute on the front and still no Pat. I drifted back off the lead group about 100 meters and slowed hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but did not see him. It was at this point that I decided I would have to ride on without him and try to win the race solo. Not only was I extremely disapointed to lose a strong teammate, but I was also very upset because every mile of training this winter was spent with my brother building to the next 20 miles.
Part 2 to follow shortly!
-JJ
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