GC: 25th Josh Dillon
Stage 2: 15th-Eric
Stage 4: 18th-Eric
Team BikeReg.com / Cannondale arrived at the Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic with a strong team consisting of Steve, Josh, Thom, Nick, Alister, Josh L., Justin, and Eric. We got a taste for just how strong the field was in the opening time trial. Our best finishers were Josh D. and Alister who finished 46th and 48th respectively.
We met together prior to the second stage and got our prerace instructions from guest director Jay Gump, founder of team sponsor Incline Training. We resolved to race aggressively, and while we didn’t make the winning break, we did maintain a presence at the front, and were represented in several threatening moves. Coming into the final few laps, it looked as if the break would be brought back. Several teams moved to the front to lend a hand, but it was too little too late. Eric finished seventh in the sprint for fifteenth on the day.
In the next stage, we met again and resolved to race aggressively. We were at the front from kilometer 0, and made sure to have a rider in nearly every break throughout the stage. In the final lap, the main group thinned out to about thirty, with Josh the only rider to make the final selection. We were proud to have raced well throughout the stage, and left every ounce of energy on the 110 mile course.
In the final stage, a criterium in downtown Fitchburg, we decided to key off the two teams battling for control of the overall standings. We expected Kelly Benefits to attempt a leadout for their rider currently sitting in second place by just a few seconds. Coming into the final few laps, Kelly launched an attack and bridged a number of riders up to the remnants of the days break. Josh valiantly attempted to bridge, and nearly made it, but his companions were not quite strong enough to close the final few meters. I finished fourth in the final sprint for eighteenth on the stage.
While we weren’t able to claim the success we aspired to. We were pleased with our aggressive racing and we gained a good deal of fitness going into the second half of the season.
