Last week, racing on this same course, I got frustrated with the team tactics of Good Guys. Once one of their riders got into a breakaway, the rest of the team would block the chase, trying to prevent anyone from bridging. I felt like I couldn’t race my bike the way I wanted to or push myself. This time, at the Lucarelli & Castaldi Branchbrook Road Race in Newark, NJ, I was determined to make the break rather than fight for scraps in the field sprint.
Chasing the Breakaway
I positioned myself in the top 20 rather than the top 10 so that I could react more quickly to attacks coming from the back of the field. Around 20 minutes into the race, Bennett and his dad attacked, with three other riders following. The five of them opened up a steady 10-second gap. Not trusting the field to catch the group, I attacked to try to bridge across.
As the breakaway noticed riders chasing, they picked up the pace, turning my planned 30-second chase into a one-minute effort. I didn’t have that extra 30 seconds in me, and I began to fade. Constantin, Cormac, and Wellinton – arguably some of the strongest riders in the race – flew by me, and I couldn’t get on their wheels. They managed to join the break, bringing it to eight riders.
Solo with 10 km to Go
I was frustrated, but not ready to give up on my race. With 10 km to go, I attacked and got away solo. I stayed off the front and built up enough of a gap that I was out of sight of the field. However, I couldn’t hold off the charging leadout trains and got caught with just 200 meters to go. I finished 44th out of 68.
My Star Track teammates Justin and Viv were also in my field, finishing 19th and 20th. Coach David also raced in the masters field, finishing 16th out of 53.
I was a bit salty at the end, but after giving it some thought, I decided I was better off trying something new rather than settling for the field sprint.
The details of my ride are on Strava, and you can watch my GoPro recording of the race on YouTube.
