A New England Masters Cycling Team

Sturbridge - Aspholm didn't seem to attack per se from my perspective, just sort of rolled off the front an kept going. Any attempts to bridge up or pull him back were very effectively covered by 1 or 2 of his teammates that sucked every wheel that went up the road. I think the slowdown was at the end of the 4th lap and was REALLY ANNOYING! I had worked up to the front figuring I'd filter back on the climb and all of a sudden, everyone was looking at everybody else and just sitting there. I finally pulled and got the colavita rider animated (with the ever present Westwood rider on his wheel). I jumped onto his wheel just after the turn onto 148 but it wouldn't go anywhere. That was about the last we saw of Roger.
Matt was an animal on Saturday doing huge work on and off the front. Almost too much! I'd jumped up to a big break with 2 to go (or was it last lap?) and it hurt. Then Matt takes a flyer on the hill and my legs just started to fill up. The only things that saved me were a slowdown on 148 and a sweet leadout form Zane. I was next to Zane when things went down and practically had his wheels bounce off of mine on the way by.

Palmer - Wished I could have been in the Masters race, but time constraints had me in the cat 4. I looked at the results and we were actually faster than you guys! Must be the wind... Nothing to say other than I'm pretty sure I am no-name in 30th - too much effort early in the race and jockeying in the final lap (and Sat.) and blew up on the sprint (after just keeping off the pavement AGAIN!).
 

My $.02. I felt good some of the laps at Sturbridge and not great on others. We had somebody, or got somebody into every split. Except Roger's solo split of course. And as Mark Stotz of Gearworks can attest to, getting up to Roger and staying with him are two different things. Gary's very good riding should not go unnoticed. He bridged solo to a good group that looked to be riding away and then in the sprint avoided the carnage and grabbed 7th. AND got his 6 ft 4 in. Viking warrior body over that hill very lap! And we're happy to have Arlen in one piece after the crash. Although with the loss of skin and the puncture wound in his hand that one piece is a bit smaller.

Palmer was Palmer. I countered the first break - a solo Westwood rider - and started a break towards the end of lap 1 and we slowly went from 4 to 6 to 9, to a dozen or more riders. When we were 9 or so I thought that could work. And Arlen coming up with 2 other guys was great. We had numbers in the break. When Jonny B. arrived everyone kind of looked at each other. He went again on his own. As the pack absorbed us on the downhill into lovely Warren, he was solo. It didn't last. Ed went with the next significant break. It was 4 then 6 riders strong. We could see they were working pretty well. But they never got that lucky break when the pack sits up for moment or two and the time gap swells. They got the neutral car behind them and they were away for most of the 2nd lap but with the chase always at least partially on and with only one big gun (that's you Ed!) up there it wasn't going to work. When Ed was away there was the usual crash on the narrow back road. Every year, roughly the same stretch of road. Boom. Crash. I was behind it and was stopped but didn't go down. Jonny B. did a sweet cyclocross dismount/run on the shoulder to get around. I got back on easily enough. The last lap from the finish hill all the way to the big downhill was pretty fast. After my work in the break and covering moves when Ed was up the road I was tired. I held on and went around several riders who were getting shelled out the back. Matt and I were tail gunning until we each did one more good turn on the front to see if we could spur on a chase to bring back Roger, John M. and Jonny. At that point they were still only about 30 seconds up the road. But it wasn't to be. Got caught behind one more crash going into the sprint and that was enough - I turned off the power and Mark Stotz and I rolled in together 30 or 40 seconds behind the hard charging field. The boys came on the radio and I thought I heard "we got 5th" but apparently 5th and another word sound similar through a Motorola ear-bud.

Wade