2nd Place --Eric Shildge

Six riders from BikeReg.com / Cannondale lined up at the Jiminy Peak Road Race on Saturday, May 2nd. We knew that because of our recent success, we would have a target on our back as the team to beat.  With that in mind, we decided to be aggressive and attentive from the very beginning of the race. 

Josh, Nick, Justin, and Steve covered dangerous attacks for the first few laps.  Late in the second lap, Matt moved to the front to animate the race.  I joined him, and together with a number of other strong riders, we attempted to force a break off the front.  While we were unsuccessful, we suspected that a similar move could be successful in the next lap.

Lo and behold, the third lap came and I bridged to a lone rider off the front on one of the climbs on the same stretch that we had attacked on last lap.  I was soon joined by seven other riders from the strong teams in the race.  The break quickly gained a large margin on the field, and we were off. 

For the next 75km, the break worked well with one another.  Leery of my odds as only one out of nine, I tried to keep my pulls short, and save my energy for the finish; hoping that one of my teammates would be able to bridge up with a couple of other riders.  With about 4km left in the race, the attacks started to come.  Liking my chances in the sprint, I tried to cover as many of the attacks as I could, without wasting too much energy. 

Coming over the last climb before the finishing ascent of Brodie Mountain Rd.  Former BikeReg.com / Cannondale rider, Jamey Driscoll attacked and gained a small advantage over the rest of us.  A few of us made attempts to bridge the gap, but the other riders would tag along and refuse to help in the chase.  It seemed as though many had resigned to race for second place. 

Coming up the finishing climb, we had closed slightly on Jamey, but it was clear that he had won the day.  I waited until that last 300 meters to launch my sprint and beat out Daniel Zmolik (Empire Cycling) to take second place.  While I was disappointed to not take home the win, I couldn't have asked to be beaten by a better rider.  The team showed a lot of strength today, and I expect much success in the jam-packed month of May and beyond.