A New England Masters Cycling Team

Monson Race went pretty well for us. Matt got in the first break which went immediately after the short neutral section. Their max lead was about a minute. Too bad the roads in the first 10 miles of that race are wide open and have long lines of sight. Jonny Bold in his return to racing bridged and that caused alarm bells and the chase picked up. Before that the chase was moderate with 3 or 4 huge accelerations caused by Bold, Ruiz and Swinand. I think we used the radios well during this period. Telling Matt what was what with him telling us what was going on up there. I felt fine but did not move up enough before the big climb. I made up a lot of ground on the first steep section but that only put me in the top 30 at best. This of course is where the field split. I didn't have the gas to close the gap even though I tried like hell and was yelling at others to get their asses in gear. I get very frustrated in chase groups when work isn't done and the field is right there in front of us. A couple of guys in our "group" did make the bridge but Arlen Paul and I did not. I knew once we hit the last roller and the course turned downward for good we would be toast. And we were. Our group of 7 worked well and I felt very good. I was pissed that I couldn't be up in the front group. Back to the race: A solo Union rider went shortly after Matt's group was caught and Swinand bridge to him solo a few miles before the climb. I guess they stayed away. Ed did great to get 5th. And Matt rode strong to make the front group - he was smart and started the climb near the front. I attacked our group and brought Pauly and John Interlandi to the line. Paul nipped me, we both dropped Big John. - Wade