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Jiminy Peak 2002Well, the first important weekend of the '02 season has come and gone and here is how it came and went: Saturday, Jiminy Peak RR, High 60's Sunny, big
field, strong teams. A full Kissena Sports Squad lined up for J-Peak, Billy, Alex W., Mark, Ben, Matt, Nat, Eneas, Me against the other main teams, Wheelworks and Mengoni. The plan as always was straight forward, be aggro, don't get left out of any breaks and ride smart. Jiminy is usually won with the first lap attack, and this year people tried to make history repeat itself. For one reason or another, nothing stuck. Nat and Matt Svateck from Wheelworks got away and it looked good, but a chase from Mengoni ended that the penultimate time up the climb. At this point a group of 20 separated itself and Nat and I were there for KS (Kissena Sports), this group was too big for its britches however and all came together on the descent. I was feeling really strong and had been going up the climb comfortably all day so I knew if I was in the right spot, things could go well. Over the crest of the false flat the field was all together, when Svateck of Wheelworks noodled up the side of the road and rolled away. It was the most unimpressive attack, that surely he would be swallowed up on the decent before the final climb, thought I. I was concerned with position going into the final chicane which is at the bottom of the final 1 1/2 mile climb so I fought hard to stay in front, busting in between Wilson and Charlie of Mengoni and came through the final chicane right behind Wilson. Wilson towed the field up the first few hundred meters then pulled off leaving me in the wind. Not the ideal spot. All the while Svateck was just dangling right there a few seconds up the road. I slipped back a few spots to find some wheels and hide from the wind for the final pitch to the finish. This is where the chaos happens. Alex had attacked and gotten a few seconds and people were trying to get on him, I'm sitting about 10 riders back and 2 Wheelworks riders come up my left and one comes up my right, when they meet in front of me, they bump and hit the deck! ALL THREE OF THEM! I rolled into one and had to unclip as the field swooshes away! The look on Hamblen's (wheelworks strongman) face was priceless, he, as I could not believe that while at the front of affairs, three guys from the same team could manage to wipe each other out! I hate bike racing...... In the final kilometer of the race, Svateck held on for the repeat victory and Nat smoked pro Oscar Pineda for 2nd to salvage our day! Sunday, ECW CRIT Philly Pa. Woke up and went for a spin to see how the legs felt after yesterday race. They felt good and Shari was game for a road trip so we headed down the 'pike for a crit in Philly. 56 laps of a 1km course can really make you dizzy. 100 riders took the gun and from the get go it was fast and attacks were constant. 20 laps in a group of 8 established itself and were working well enough to stay away. One guy from Fuji had jumped away and lapped the field. His team proceeded to drive the field to make sure the rest of the break wouldn't lap. In the final 10 laps the fight for position was hard with crit guys Erdyli of Ideal Tile, Snow of Fuji, and a few PA. strongmen wanting the final $$ spots. I was pissed I had missed the break, and that several of my bridge attempts failed so I fought like mad to stay up in the front for the sprint. Got boxed a chopped a bit and ended up somewhere 10-14th I'd say in the sprint, since there were 7 up the road, that got me exactly nada, so we went and found cheese steaks! (hey, when in Rome....) Next week, Bear Mtn.! Thanks for reading. Keith |
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