Dialing in the Dynamic Duo at Raritan Classic (Day 1 of 3 of Somerville)

Thank you to all of the great sponsors we have (Brandon's whip)

Heading into the first of 3 days of Somerville I was hungry for some racing, both physically and mentally. I have spent the last week in a stuffy hotel with Brandon and both of us have been getting in some great riding in and around Bethlehem PA. It was time to flex our legs again as the two of us would be the only two members from astellas racing. With the lack luster results of Bikejam (Kelly’s Cup) still fresh on our minds (and the source of many inside jokes), we were going to come out swinging.

The pre race meeting was simple one. We would have only two riders in the race and because of our lack of numbers, as well as the number of large teams here at the race. We were going to play things very conservatively. We would be on defense from the beginning and we will not be the aggressors in the race. We will learn from our mistakes from Kelly’s cup and be with in striking distance of any splits at all times during the race.

The race started off fast and I was able to quickly and safely get towards the front and find Brandon. The only other professional team here besides us would end up being the Stan’s Notubes squad. Who brought a fully stacked team with close to 7 riders. As the race started to pick up momentum, so did many of the attacks that were going on around us. Brandon and I kept our cool and watched as no split were getting any gap on the field. The course was very fast and very smooth. Any chance of a break staying away is going to take the right mix of people and patience for the right moment to take your chance in the wind.

When the race started to string out, the laps started to go down very fast. Brandon and I made sure we were within ear shot of one another. Any time there was any dangerous looking move going up the road, one of us was there. Most of the time Notubes was attacking and counter attacking off of each other, but as the only “full” pro team there, they were marked by the pack and given very little wiggle room.

As we reached the final 10 laps of the race it was obvious things were going to come down to a sprint finish. Notubes put their full team on the front and started to take countrol of the race. If this was UHC the field would be strung out and much safer, but Notubes spend much of the race being heavy aggressors and it was easy to see that they were lacking the leg power to keep things strung out. Instead, the pack was an angry swarm of riders bubbled up just behind Notubes. With 7 laps to go I was able to get with Brandon and the two of us were riding with eachother. I found myself riding with my elbows out and leaning on  riders in and out of every other turn. The race was surprisingly easy up to that point and I could tell by the number of riders getting into the mix that they thought so too. I would then get separated from Brandon with about 4 laps to and was fighting to get back onto his wheel.

With 1 lap to go I saw Brandon was sitting 1^st wheel behind the quickly deteriorating Notubes lead out. At this point I was sitting about 10 from the front (we were 5 wide). Disaster struck in corner 2 as Notubes went into the corner 4 wide, pinching Brandon on the outside and causing a massive wreck. Luckily Brandon was able to get around the wall of riders, as was I. Brandon will end up finishing 7^th place, and I would end up finishing 15^th.

Although we were disappointed in the fact that we got separated and left in the chaos after a late race crash, we both know that each of us are riding strong, smart and confident.  Tomorrow we will be racing again with just the two of us. We will roll the dice again and see if we can get a result for team. The result was there today, but bike racing is a sport where luck plays a heavy roll. Brandon was where he needed to be. today, it just was not in the cards.