Last weekend was marked by great weather, more results for the team, an impeccable atmosphere and the best community of volunteers and supporters we could imagine. We’ll start this week by getting some results, then hand this blog over to newbie runner Bianca, for her take on the weekend! Photos this week by Aaron Vliet, Maxwell Yun and Bianca Champenois.
A total of 18 runners (including 3 beginner road runners!) traveled to Western Mass for our “home” race co-hosted with UMass: the Pioneer Valley Showdown. The courses were both similar to those used in the past (2016 and 2018 Eastern), modified slightly to avoid a gravel section during the road race, but still with punishing hills for the road race, crits and cross-country. -watch. Many thanks to all team members, riders from other teams and friends, who stepped up to lead, drive pace cars or simply join in the fun this weekend as registered riders at USAC. The weekend would not have been possible without the enthusiasm of the community.
Saturday started with dominant results in ITT, including a 1-2-3-4 for William, Felix, Nick and Derek in men’s B/C, 1-2 for Jon and Aaron in men’s C/D and a victory for Hannah. in female A/B.
New road racers Chen, Bianca and Maxwell all braved the toughest road race course of the season so far, finishing strong in the mix and looking forward to competing in more races in the future!
Aaron, Jon and Devin finished in the top 20 in their C/D field of 83 (!!!) people and Vinh and Andrew hung on to come within a minute of each other. Josh improved his ranking by one place from last week for a victory this time in the B/C peloton after an attack from William at the start of the race followed by solid control of the pace of the peloton by the rest of the team (thanks to Derek, Félix, Nick and Seamus!).
In true ECCC fashion, there was also a bit of chaos with Hannah having a mechanical issue early in her race and Mason setting a 5 minute power PR while being left out of the USAC 123 men’s A/B combined peloton (driven by a station wagon). away from Coach Robbie).
The critical course on Sunday was spicy (19% slope on each lap…) and the races were all difficult. The hero of the day was Coach Robbie, who was track marshal for the men’s and women’s introductory races. Unfortunately he came last for both races, better luck next time 😉 (THANK YOU ROBBIE).
For the men’s B/C race, to quote Derek’s Strava: “William went thermonuclear with 1 to go and let me be a lazy sprinter.” Maybe it was rude to take the victory away from him with the bicycle throw. We take MIT 1/2 but.”
Hannah also picked up a win in the Women’s A/B category and Bianca finished 2nd in the Women’s Intro category.
Vinh and Andrew practiced drafting and teamwork during the men’s introductory race, improving on their placings from last week and also welcoming Maxwell to the crew. Aaron moved to the men’s C/D race where he raced with Jon and Devin.
Ok, enough about the results. I’ll hand it over to Bianca to find out what it’s really like to be a pilot for the first time!
A little background about me: I usually spend my weekends playing ultimate frisbee, but I injured my shoulder so I’m out for the season. Hannah convinced me to cycle instead (with the secret goal of getting more points for the omnium?), and it doesn’t require a functioning shoulder labrum, so… here I am! I was halfway to the departure meeting point at 5am when my head started to feel a little cold and I realized that I had forgotten my helmet… Luckily, it was my only misstep of the weekend (I think). We arrived at the parking lot and I counted how many minutes it would be before the members of the men’s cycling team introduced themselves to me. The answer is too much. Nick asked me why my cleats (from the free balcony bin) didn’t have insoles, but he doesn’t understand that every gram counts when you’re trying to win. I was jealous of Hannah who wore a dress so she could easily put on and take off cycling shorts. I treated the TT as a warm-up (and an opportunity to make sure I knew how to use my controllers) and laughed when I misinterpreted the “200m” sign as “ZOOM.” After the race, Hannah and I posed for a photo with the TT helmets. I couldn’t decide if I felt more like a member of Daft Punk or Darth Vader. Either way, headsets make a great support for a mirror selfie.
The road race was the event I was most excited about. Unfortunately, I had a problem with my derailleur on the first climb and I had to abandon the group I was in (too bad for having the lightest derailleur in the world lol). I hiked the rest of the 25 miles alone through the beautiful woods which turned out to be very peaceful and pleasant. The flag flying at the foot of the steepest hill gave me an incredible dance show that lifted my spirits. The final sandy descent made me wish I had thicker tires and disc brakes (I finally understand the appeal of disc brakes), but I finished the road race feeling really strong and I I was able to catch up with most of the people in the group I had. been abandoned during the first kilometers. After the race I returned to Moores Pond, the lake along the route, for a refreshing swim! From there, I watched the A/B races go by. I was entertained by one of the UVM runners who spent the entire race shouting and gesticulating, and I later learned that this was the animated flag that was waving earlier (it is logical). I don’t think Mason liked his company very much. I was hoping to cheer Hannah on, but was sad to see her pass by in the race van, her quick link succumbing to her new chain waxing regime (or something like that?)
I returned to the finish line to watch the end of the A/B races before going to set up a four square court with my friend Bryce (who did the road race on a gravel bike lol). Nick and Maxwell joined us for a few laps. Nick’s agility was affected by his cleats and his determination to play with his bike in one hand. Maxwell impressed us with sophisticated foot service around the world. Some UVM runners also joined in the fun. I finished the day with a nice cycling tan.
Hannah left me alone with the boys for dinner. We ordered all the items on the menu that had the highest number of calories: the key is to get the sauces. The boys spent most of dinner recapping the race in language I didn’t understand. FTP this, pull that, break, sue, watts, attack… too many words to follow. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, right? I taught BeReal to Nick (MIT cycling is old). We debated the most efficient way to drink water and collectively downed a slice of key lime pie in 10 seconds. I went home with my new roommates for the night: Matthew and Felix. Fortunately, neither of them snored.
Finally came the Sunday criterion! The course was right next to the beautiful Turners Falls. I did the intro clinic and the intro race. The introductory clinic made me grateful for all the experience I gained riding my bike among horrible drivers in cities. The course didn’t have any difficult turns, which reduced my fears, and the main challenge was a hill that I really enjoyed (turns out I like hills). The descent had a 25 mph speed limit sign and a flashing speedometer, which made each lap more exciting as I tried to reach top speed. The only thing I had to eat before the race was a pop tart (ew, never again) and a banana, but we made it! I will come better prepared next time.
I got back to Cambridge in time for the Boston Midnight Marathon, which I did on my tried and tested single speed (no more derailleurs to deal with!). My friends and I were planning to bike 13 miles and turn around halfway. We took a wrong turn and ended up in Framingham. Luckily, the commuter train arrived and we headed home. This concluded an incredible weekend. To everyone reading this: if you’re not sure about running a race, DO IT!!! I had so much fun, learned so much, and met so many great people. ROLLER TECHNOLOGY