Wells Ave. Training Race
From the front lines! By our Lead-Out Man and Head-Coach Bart Lipinski
Road Racing is FINALLY back in NEW ENGLAND!!!!
We had members of PROthirteen, Corner Cycle and A.P.Junior Development out in full force for the first two Wells Ave Crit Training Series.
Wells Ave has a tradition dating back to 1981. This series helps new racers get started in racing and helps experienced acres hone their fitness for the upcoming race season. It is held as a criterium on a flat, smooth 0.8-mile circuit with a long, wide finishing straight offering a safe and fast sprint finish!
For the first time in a long time--it was great to wake up in the morning on race day with those now unfamiliar butterflies in the stomach.
The first race for many in the last year and a half. Unfortunately, the forecast called for rain.....a lot of rain. I always get a little nervous during the first few races of the season. In New England, most go straight from the trainer to road races. Athletes are strong but tend to lack the bike handling and group skills. The plan for this day was to get some race pace in the legs and stay upright.
Thankfully, the race went off without a hitch. Over 28 mph average (despite a lot of metal manhole covers and drains on the course) and everyone was respectful of each other.
Week 2 (5/9) was dry! The Secret Squirrel mountain bike race the day before attracted a lot of teams to double up with Wells Ave. Teams from as far away as New York and Pennsylvania showed up for the 60-minute crit.
With more teams, comes more team tactics.
A small group got off the front in the first 10 laps or so. Same as last week, I was here to get some race pace and test things out. I was able to split from the main group and for 3 laps just about caught the break. I just about made it before the group was able to catch back on to me. Unfortunately, when I was caught, the group sat up for a bit and the break wasn't made until the end.
One more test for the day was to string out the group for the last 2 laps to see if I can make it to the finish and win the field sprint. Was able to make it about halfway down the finishing straight before getting swallowed up.
But this is what training series are for. Tune up the racing skills and fitness and to try all the things you wouldn't necessarily try in a real race. In the end, I was very happy, and it just felt awesome to race my bike again!!!!
