FLCC> Wilmington-Whiteface RR

[Brian Lawney]

This is definitely a race that you shouldn't miss next year!  I hope it
grows, because it was a really well done event, despite its small size for
its first run.  Given its quality, the course, etc. I think this will be a
premiere event in future years.

Anyway, because I know you all love reading race reports...

The Ithaca contingent was represented by four riders this past Saturday. 
Myself, Jake, and Steve left Friday night to camp near the ADK loj, in the
shadows of high peaks.  Cameron would meet us the following day, driving
up from Albany.

The race started at 12:30, which allowed us to get a huge breakfast at the
Lake Placid Brewing Company (highly recommended), followed by some gawking
at insanely priced bikes at High Peaks Cyclery.  I don't recall if there
was a bike for less than $6k...

The Pro/1/2/3 rolled off with 25 riders, including one marked man-
Fiordifrutta rider Cory Burns.  Right from the start, it was pretty
obvious who everyone was watching.  Try as he might, no one was going to
let him get more than 3 bike lengths on the field.  This opened the door
for some early breaks...ones we missed, intentionally or not.

The course started with a rolling 6 mile ride out to the main 14 mile
loop.  The loop had some gentle hills that most people would big-ring,
followed by some fun rolling sections, and finishing with a decent climb
as you completed the lap.  Not a difficult course, but with the right kind
of riders, it could definitely hurt a lot.

As I said, some early attacks got away, which would eventually be caught. 
Unfortunately, one of these attacks caught Steve relieving himself while
off the bike.  Lesson learned- either pee off the bike, or hold it until
the race is over.  Well, as you can imagine, Steve had quite a bit of work
ahead of him.  We tried to get to the front to slow the field, but to no
avail.  It was a 50 mile TT for Steve, and the Cookies/Cornell team was
down to 3.  Ironically, the rider who instigated said attack would
eventually be dropped and ended up riding with Steve later on...

In any case, a two-man break eventually got out of sight on lap 2 (of 4). 
I think it was composed of Dieter Drake (who some of the masters riders
may know) and an Army rider, Steve Pingree.  Unfortunately, no one seemed
interested in moving the peloton, and they got upwards of a two minute
gap.  Seeing the race getting too lazy, Jake, Cameron, and myself moved to
the front and accelerated the field.  None of us made any definitive
attacks, but we tried to keep the pace honest and bring the gap down. 
Every now and then someone would take a dig and try to fly off, but we
stayed together for the most part.  Only the hill through the lap's
start/finish would cause any selection.

As we came to the start of the final lap, we pulled in Dieter, but we
still had our ECCC friend up the road.  Luckily, we weren't the only ones
interested in him, and the gap closed pretty quickly, thanks to some
decent pacelining.  As we turned off the loop towards the Whiteface Toll
Road, we were all together, with maybe 15 riders remaining.  6-7 miles to
go...

Attacks would come and go quite frequently on this stretch as riders
figured they could get a gap before heading into the final climb.  Some of
the "smarter" riders decided to save their energy until it was needed. 
Ultimately, no one was willing to let the attacks get any room, so the
field accelerated and decelerated constantly.  Cory Burns was particularly
active in trying to get up the road.

As we made the final turn, I don't think any of us was certain that we
were on the final stretch.  Despite my many times in Lake Placid, I had
never ventured up the Whiteface road, so I had no idea what it looked
like.  I imagined something like App Gap in VT, with many steep sections
littered among switchbacks.  I couldn't have imagined it more incorrectly.
 As you turn onto the road from Wilmington, the road stretches out
straight before you at a rather moderate grade, not too much steeper than
Ringwood.  I even asked, "Is this the final climb, or the lead-in?"...the
lack of reply meant that it probably was, or people thought I was being
sarcastic.

Riders stretched out all over the road, and the contenders found the front
of the field.  As we approached the 1k mark (final climb confirmed!) there
was one Canadian rider with a small gap, followed by two other riders,
Pingree and Nick Bruno (hereby SP & NB).  Cameron, Jake, and myself were
all there, just behind their wheels.  We filed into the line.  Somewhere
after the 1k mark we lost Jake off the back and I came around Cameron to
pull behind SP.  I think Cameron wanted his triple so he could spin 150rpm
up the final stretch!

I could see a sign ahead, but not the finish.  I couldn't tell what it
was...I hoped it said 200m...nope- it was 500m...damn.  I'm sure Cameron
was right behind me, but I was too concerned with what was in front...the
next 300m went by rather quickly as I planned out the final meters, not
even knowing what they looked like.  As we came to the 200m mark and
rounded the turn, I could see the finish and I began to think about where
I thought I could engage my 'sprint' from.  (Our Canadian leader was well
clear and would end up with the win.)  SP pulled to the right and I pulled
left- we were riding 3 abreast into the final 150m.  I made the first jump
with probably 100m to go, but I suspect it was too early as SP countered
and closed in the final meters.  A last effort bike throw was all I had,
but it wasn't enough...3rd place.  Cameron wasn't more than a couple
seconds in arrears to claim 5th.  Jake ended up in 10th, and Steve came in
25 minutes later, just in time to disrupt the podium ceremony.  I applaud
Steve for his resolve to stay in the race and not DNF after the unlucky
timing of his bladder.

Everyone looks to be in good form with Fitchburg coming up, so let's hope
the results keep coming.  With Cameron/Jake/Steve in the cat3's and
Don/Matt/myself in the cat2's, the Ithaca cycling conglomerate will be
well represented and hopefully bring back some solid finishes.

Yours in long race reports,
Brian