Fitchburg 2010 Day 1

7/2/10 Fitchburg State College Circuit Race
This is the third year Rivers and I are racing the Fitchburg Longsjo classic, so by now we know the courses pretty well. Usually this 4 day stage race begins with the TT, but due the the holiday falling on Sunday, to avoid impacting holiday traffic with the road race, they moved the stages around to start with the circuit (a 3 mile, 5 corner loop with a 2-part 350-400m or so climb), followed by the road race (11 mile loop with a long climb through the feed zone and another, K/QOM climb, and a big, fast descent), the TT (about 6 mi) and then the crit (fast, 3 corner downtown loop).
Both of us made it through the circuit safe. In Rivers' Cat 3 9-lap race, after a few crashes and losing some others, the 90 or so starters got down to a finishing pack of 60 or so, and Rivers finished 52nd in the pack, with everyone getting the same time. Top 3 got time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, so the order of finish is the GC going into today's road race.
My race started with 90 or so as well, and we did 11 laps. I am guest riding for the LadiesFirst Racing team (with Anna Barensfield, Andrea Smith and Ann D'Ambruoso - yes, the A team). We are riding in supprt of Anna. There were sprint points available about every other lap or so, starting with 10 to go. That little climb is a killer, and its even harder to start it in the back of the pack where you have to scrub off so much speed on the hard right turn into it that the leaders are already halfway up before you even get started, and then you have to work twice as hard to get your speed back up. That first sprint lap the points contenders hit it pretty hard and when we came up the hill and through the finish and I heard 9 more to go and I was gasping for air, I thought for a brief second I wasn't going to make it. But I had a job to do, which was to look out for Anna and be there at the end so I settled in to stick wheels. As the race went on I started to feel better, and even found myself at the front a few times. I was happy to be doing a better job than usual to hold my position in the pack and move around at will. I think I was able to be a good wheel for Anna and my other teammates a couple of times. The pack was pretty shredded by the time we came down to the last couple of laps - we started lapping people. The finish group was about 40 of us, and all 4 of us were still there. That last time up my legs were screaming. The first 3 got a few seconds gaps (7, 5 and 3 I think) and the rest of us finished with the same time. I finished 34th, Anna was 21st and Ann was right behind me. Andrea got a skewer in her front wheel just before coming in to the last turn and she amazingly was able to keep it upright, and since she had the mishap in the last 3k, she got the same time as the main group too. So going in to today's road race, with the time bonuses we are all 17 seconds down from the leader on GC.
It's going to be hot today, and the back side of the road course loop does not have much shade. It will be interesting to see how riding in that black kit goes.
Both of us are doing 6 laps. Rivers starts at 9, I start at 12:45.