Poolesville Road Race 2016
This Saturday, seven OVC riders travelled across the bridge for the season’s most anticipated race: the Poolesville Road Race. The classic 10 mile course features rolling terrain, a short punchy climb, numerous turns and chicanes, and, of course, 1.3 miles of gravel. Although weather conditions were dry on race day, a week’s worth of rain left the gravel soggy and lined with puddles. Needless to say, road spray was a big factor, leaving racers and their machines covered with sticky, gray mud.
Fresh off a win last week at BLP, Dean was the first on-course for OVC, competing in the 45+. The 53 mile race started fast, and even after the pace settled later, ended up being the fastest of the day for OVC at 23.7 mph. This didn’t bother Dean because in a field sprint, he captured 3rd! Great work!
Next up was Roscoe and Mark in the 64 mile Cat 3 event. The plan was for Roscoe to cover early breaks and save Mark, coming off a podium at BLP also, for a later counter-attack. After a solo half a lap failed to draw out any other riders, Roscoe joined up with another rider at the start of the 3rd lap. Thanks to the work of Mark and the other rider’s teammates, the pair got out of sight and built a 35-45 second gap. As the 4th lap started, an NCVC rider joined up, contributing some firepower and more teammates to block. Just when it looked like this break had a chance, a touch of wheels after a turn sent Roscoe to the tarmac. With OVC out of the lead, Mark immediately went to work and closed down the break. Mark tried his best to get another break going, but things came down to a field sprint. Because the finish line was tough to spot, Mark lead out the field a little early. But, he hung in there for 7th, OVC’s second top ten of the day.
The Cat 4 race was on course at the same time with Caleb, Sonny, Alex, and Frankie joining the 60 rider field. There weren’t any serious breakaway threats and all four OVC riders stayed with the main field until the final surge in the last miles strung out the field. In the sprint, Frankie was well-positioned and nabbed 4th overall! Alex, Caleb, and Sonny rolled in at 24th, 25th, and 26th -- a solid finish considering that about 16 riders didn’t even make it to the finish line due to the tough course and at least one big pileup.
In short, OVC entered 7 riders in three races and came away with 3 top-10s. All of the afternoon racers retired to Adam’s Ribs in Kent Island for beers, burgers, and the Derby. Once again, Poolesville lived up to its reputation as a MABRA classic and OVC was in the thick of it all day.
Photos: https://roscoe-megan.smugmug.com/Sports/OVC-2016/
http://www.lesleyolson.com/Sports/2016-Road-Races