Date: March 1, 2025
Field Size: 43
LGBRC Racers (finishing position):
– Dan Scannell (20th)
– Salvatore Talarico (7th)
– Vu Nguyen (18th)
– Brian Paden (11th)
Reporter: Brian Paden
Course: 4 laps on a flat 11-mile circuit with very poor road conditions (Strava segment). An oil slick from a spill made one of the corners sketchy.
Recap
Two factors played into our pre-race plan. First, the LGBRC riders in this race aren’t flatlanders (except maybe Dan), so we expected to be at some disadvantage. Second, with a rather large field, a finishing sprint on the narrow, pothole-riddled road would almost certainly lead to a crash. Our plan was for Dan and me to keep the pace high throughout the race in hopes of thinning the field so Vu and Salvatore could safely make a move near the end.
We executed as planned in the first two laps. Dan and I made hard surges to prevent breakaway attempts from other teams, contributing to an average race pace exceeding 24 mph. Towards the end of the second lap, I needed to recover, so I sat in for a while. Around this time, a rider made a solo breakaway, holding a 15-second gap for quite some time before Bjorn from the CycleSport team bridged. I knew that together, they would get away if no one started a committed chase. I got back to the front and began pulling again, urging others to contribute. Several riders joined in, and Dan was up there too, working to close the gap. This effort also helped thin the field. We got very close at one point, but ultimately failed to reel them in, and I had to retreat into the pack to recover.
While I was sitting in, another move went up the road. This time, the remaining CycleSport riders moved to the front and bridged together. Their effort was well-timed and strongly executed. The peloton, apparently fatigued, made no attempt to follow.
By the time the CycleSport riders got away, we were well into the last lap. The pace picked up shortly thereafter as riders jockeyed for position. As expected, there was a major pileup with about one mile to go. Fortunately, all LGBRC riders were unscathed and among the 15 or so riders who were not involved in or stopped by the crash.
In the last half-mile, “Diesel Dan” towed Salvatore to the front with a heroic pull, putting him in a good position for the sprint. Salvatore and non-LGBRC ally Dmitry Anoshin led the chase group, finishing 6th and 7th. I was limping along and made no effort to sprint, getting passed by a few riders at the end to take 11th. Vu and Dan finished 18th and 20th, respectively.