Men’s Category 3 Fitchburg Massachusetts
Erik Koep
Sometime late last fall I selected the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic as my priority
race of the year. The rational was simple: Fitchburg was known to be a challenging
race that had a reputation for outstanding organization. Sprinters/Leaders
jerseys, competition on GC (rather than the often ridiculous omnium scoring),
the opportunity to watch some of the best pros, and the chance to ride and
act like a real euro-pro for a weekend was sufficient for me to justify the
cost and vacation time it would require.
Traditionally, time gaps at Fitchburg have been
created on the TT and the Wachusett Mountain
Road Race, but the circuit race and the criterium
are technical enough to eliminate less-efficient
riders. Most importantly, the race was well balanced.
The time-trial is a difficult rolling affair,
but not so long that a strong rider could open
an insurmountable lead. Similarly, while the
climb to the mountaintop finish at Wachusett
was steep enough to shatter the field, it was
not so pronounced that a pure climber could dominate
the weekend off of one good ride. Since I fancy
myself to be good at everything (but really great
at nothing) I signed up for Fitchburg with dreams
of cracking the top 25.
Although I am relatively new to cycling, my
athletic career really began when I took up rowing
during college. Sure, rowing helped me to develop
my aerobic capacity and leg strength, but more
importantly, it helped me learn to be mentally
tough.
Stage 1: Best Western Individual Time Trial
The course: A rolling out and back 7.1-mile
individual time trial that will favor a rider
with a compact position and an abundance of power.
When I pre-rode the course almost a month ahead
of time, two things stood out in my mind. First,
the TT started uphill. It was not really a climb
in as much as a persistent uphill grade for the
first mile and a half. Secondly, the final climb
to the finish was steep enough to extract serious
time from anyone who cracked on the way up.
It was hot Thursday when the three of us (Robbie
Kollar and Erick Pierce included) warmed up for
the TT. I was more than a bit jumpy as my nerves
frayed just thinking about what was to come.
I suppose the downside of being highly selective
with your races is the pressure and nervousness
that inevitably comes with basing your season
on only a few efforts. I like to think I respond
well to adversity, but no matter how many times
you’ve done it before, you can never really
be sure until the moment arrives.
5-4-3-2-1….and my moment was up. I pushed
hard through the first 1.5 miles, constantly
reminding myself to crest aggressively and stay
positive even though my speed was slow. I was
encouraged that I was able to hold 18mph over
the steepest sections (something I had not been
able to do in practice) and therefore avoid having
to get out of the saddle.
I firmly believe that one of the hardest things
to do is to stay confident during a race. Our
minds and bodies are more in tune with each other
than we often realize, and while our minds can
sometimes drive our bodies to extraordinary heights,
all too often, it seems it is our bodies that
dictate to us. It’s easy to convince yourself
you can succeed at home on the couch, but being
able to convince yourself of that at 30 miles
an hour while sweat is coming out your eyeballs,
you’re getting tunnel vision and you feel
nauseous is an entirely different story. Our
brains simply act different when the body is
under duress, and the seemingly logical strategy
you had previously decided upon now appears ludicrous.
For me, the mental toughness necessary to override
my body’s objections is entirely a function
of preparation. A former coach used to remind
me that the will to win wasn’t nearly as
important as the will to prepare to win. Winners
pay the price and if you’re willing to
train like a champion, at race time you simply
have to quiet your mind enough to allow your
body to do what it already knows how to do.
The 2nd and 3rd quarters of the race were fast
as the course leveled out and I was able to hold
well over 30mph for the vast majority of it.
My speed increased further in the last quarter
as I rocketed down the hill that I had struggled
up at the start. Fortunately I had just enough
energy to big-ring the finish climb and power
to the line. Before I had even finished throwing
up, the officials announced my time to be the
fastest on the day so far. The time held up,
and by days end, I was on the podium pulling
on my very own bright orange bulls-eye.
Afterward, another racer commented that he’d
give anything to be in my shoes. I thought about
it for a moment, and then asked him never to
say that again. I had set this single time trial
as my priority race for the entire year. I had
planned for it, prepared for it, and subsequently
came out and crushed it. I would like to say
that I was excited and happy to have accomplished
such a great goal, but instead, I was mostly
just relieved to have lived up to my own expectations.
Perhaps the same internal pressures that drive
me to succeed keep me from fully enjoying the
results.
My time: 15:06 Average speed 28.2 mph
2nd @ 0:18
3rd @ 0:21
4th @ 0:21
Stage 2: Aubuchon Circuit Race
The course: a 3.1-mile circuit with one steep
2-tiered climb.
To be fair, I had not seriously contemplated
winning the time trial. I was hoping for a solid
ride and a top 10 finish, but the orange leader’s
jersey I was now wearing changes things. The
leaders jersey is heavy with expectations and
cold with the glare of 150 other riders looking
to exploit a single moment of weakness. The fields
in New England tend to be larger, better organized
and much more aggressive than what we typically
face in the South, so holding the jersey for
even one more day would be a major accomplishment
for our team. Erick and Robbie were excited and
reassured me not to worry, as they would control
the field. The game plan was for me to sit in
and try to conserve as much energy as possible
for the wicked road race on Saturday.
For me the circuit race was much more nervous
than difficult. Simply staying clean and out
of the wrecks was the priority as Robbie and
Pierce closed down nearly every break. A couple
of crashes shook things up, but the field was
so aggressive that I often stayed out of trouble
by jumping onto attacks. My guys worked their
tails off for me to ensure no one got away while
I was able to conserve as much as possible. The
three of us finished safely within the field
for a “Same Time” and a hold on the
leader’s jersey.
The only bad news of the day came when the fifth-place
contender on GC won the stage. Stan “the
Stanimal” Jurga picked up the 10 second
time bonus for the stage win and joined a growing
bunch of contenders at just 20 seconds back.
A strong time-trialist who can sprint? This was
clearly someone to keep and eye on. I would have
to try to drop him on the Wachusett climb before
the finish because I seriously doubted I could
match that type of wicked sprint.
The course: 6 laps around an 11-mile loop with
2 climbs of significance. The first, a 0.6 mile
wall averaging 15% grade, followed shortly by
a slightly longer 2-mile climb averaging a 9%
grade. On the final lap, the race heads into
Wachusett Mountain State Park for a climb to
the summit that covers 650 feet of climbing in
just under a mile. All tolled the Road Race covered
more than 1000 feet of climbing per lap; enough
to dent the legs of even the strongest climbers
well before the assault on the summit.
Our goal today was to limit time losses, and
fight like mad to stay in the top 5 on GC. At
170lbs, I didn’t foresee myself being able
to climb with some of the wisps that had shown
an innate ability to fly up hills in the circuit
race. Hopefully I had already put enough time
on the little guys to hold my position.
The race opened up with a quick rollout and
a flurry of attacks. Since we didn’t have
the firepower to real back every break, we made
the conscious decision to try to save our legs
to real a break back late in the day. The plan
almost backfired. By the second lap, the Green
jersey was up the road with a couple of riders
low on the overall. Initially the plan worked
well, as the breakaway fought it out over the
sprint points while allowing the GC contenders
to avoid the sudden accelerations and roll along
at a steady pace. However, as the day wore on,
it looked more and more likely that the break
might actually stay away. On the climbs I was
able to drift back a little to avoid running
into the red zone, though the climbs were certainly
taking a toll on my legs. Why did I have to eat
that bowl of ice cream in April?
By the 3rd lap, Erick Pierce went to the front
to take up the pace-making duties to try to limit
the time-gap to the break. Every time over the
climbs, EP would get dropped, only to keep fighting
and bridge his way back to the leaders. He was
able to pick his way past the shelled riders
on a fast descent and time trial hard to hook
back up with the rapidly shrinking field. Without
a word he would ride straight past us to the
front and drill the pace all the way around to
the next climb. What an impressive ride! Although
the highest placed rider in the breakaway was
more than a minute down, with a 2:45 lead holding
on the last lap, the situation began to grow
dire. Only on the last lap did the other GC contenders
finally send some teammates to the front to help
Erick bring things back. True to form, Erick
led to the start of the last climb, using his
last bit of energy before popping and having
to ride the rest of the way home alone.
We were in danger of letting things slip as
the breakaway still had 2 minutes nearing the
final loop climb before entering Wachusett State
park. Patrick Sheehan of Peachtree bikes contributed
to his fellow Georgians by keeping the pace high
into the bottom of the climb. A good climber
himself, the pace had been so hard all day that
after a tremendous effort, he could only slip
back as we passed the ranger station and started
the final climb to the Summit. Thanks Patrick!
As the race kicked up for the last time, the
field shattered and I was without teammates,
alone with the leaders. The attacks started early
as the GC contenders saw their opportunity for
the overall win. I was able to ride on or near
the front and limit the damage until the lead
group, now down to 7 or 8 guys, arrived at the
steepest section of the course; a nasty little
incline nearing 17% but still more than 600 meters
to the finish.
While pre-riding the course with a good friend
of mine a few weeks ago, I had commented that
the steep section might be a good place for
an attack, to which he responded: “Erik,
if you’re going to go there, you gonna’ need
to have the f***ing gas,” because it
was still so far from the finish.
Tired of riding on the defensive, I summoned
all my energy and attacked with everything I
had. Only one rider was able to counter as we
passed the last remnants of the breakaway. The
lone rider who followed my move sprinted around
for an amazing win, while I was able to finish
second (and hit a new max heart rate!). Somehow
I had managed to not only hold on, but to actually
consolidate my lead to more than 30 seconds.
The view from atop Wachusett Mountain was stunning.
I donned a fresh orange leaders jersey and waited
for my teammates.
If it were a softball game, the downtown criterium
on Sunday would have been called on account of
the mercy rule. Except for the brief moment of
sheer terror when I got bumped out and had to
hop a median, the criterium had all the excitement
of a firing squad. With a substantial lead and
the two best crit riders in the field at my disposal,
the other GC contenders didn’t stand much
of a chance. Pierce and Robbie rotated on the
front hunting down every break and reveling in
the utter devastation they were causing to the
field behind them. After three difficult days
of racing, these two seemed to delight in inflicting
a little pain of their own. Rather than simply
keeping me safe, they were determined to put
a very large Aaron’s stamp on the race.
Congratulations boys! We just do what we do.
Although I was the one standing on the podium,
this result was far from an individual achievement.
Without the unwavering and truly selfless support
of my teammates I would not have succeeded.
Cycling has always been a team sport, but this
year the Aaron’s team had redefined the
term. All year long we have won over competitors
and spectators alike with astonishing displays
of teamwork. This win is another prime example
of the heights we can achieve when everyone
gives their all for the benefit of the team.
From the ground up, this has been a fantastic
organization and I would like to take a moment
to acknowledge the fantastic support we receive
from our sponsors: Aaron’s Corporate
Furnishings, Outback Bikes, and Bianchi. Thank
you.
