OVC hit the road this weekend and headed up to Columbia, Md. for the Carl Dolan Memorial Spring Classic. 9 racers -- Sean, Brian F., Dean P., Mark, Roscoe, Alex, Sonny, Frankie, and Ted -- braved unseasonably chilly temps to participate in 5 separate events.
Sean and Brian lined up first with the Cat 5s. In the last half lap, Sean bravely took a solo flyer for the win. He dragged another rider along for about minute, but got swallowed up with 500m to go and finished with the pack. Brian was a few more riders back and happy to get through the race given his limited training time.
Dean and Ted were next up in the 45+/55+ event. In the final sprint, Dean found himself at the front and could almost taste the victory. Unfortunately, his legs would not cooperate. But, he had enough for a solid 6th place. Ted grabbed 14th in the 55+ after spending all his reserves in a breakaway attempt in the closing laps. Post-race, Dean and Ted were two tired puppies.
In the 35+, OVC fielded a 5 man squad of Frankie, Alex, Sonny (ending a 2 year racing hiatus), Roscoe, and Dean. Frankie was well-positioned early and found himself in what would eventually become the winning break. Unfortunately, Frankie had gone into the red to bridge up and lost contact after a lap or so. With a lap to go, despite the break being out of sight, two large teams got organized and turned on the gas. Dean and Roscoe jumped on this train and rode it to 11th and 14th, respectively. Frankie, Alex, and Sonny followed in the strung out field.
After the 35+, Frankie, along with Ted, jumped into the 3/4 field immediately. The pair rode solidly, finished safely, and got in some great additional training miles.
Finally, Mark and Roscoe lined up for the day’s closing race, the Elite 1/2/3. The 76-rider field was scheduled to do about 37-38 miles of racing -- 50% longer than any other field. The early attacks were thick and furious and Mark tried his best to get into one that stuck. Despite the efforts, the field stayed together and Mark grabbed 18th in the field sprint. Roscoe was pleased to finish mid-pack in his second race of the day. The 37.5 mile race was finished in 1 hr 25 min for an average speed of about 26.6 mph.
Great racing, OVC! It was a pleasure having such a big turnout and having friends and family out to cheer us on.