Colorado Premier Training || Teddy King Fitchburg Diary

CPT Athlete Edward "Teddy" King (Bissell) Reports in From Fitchburg

Race Report - Wachusett Mountain Road Race

7-5-08

The Wachusett Mountain Road Race is the queen stage of the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. The format was changed a bit with the road race following the time trial, rather than previous years where the road race comes two stages after the time trial. Therefore, there are a lot of racers still closely staggered in overall results. This leads to a road race with more of a toss up, rather than just two or three people competitively fighting it out.

With three Bissell riders in the top 10 going into the stage two road race, we had great options throughout the race. Colavita had a similar set up with three in the top 15, making for a heated head-to-head duel between the two squads. After allowing two riders to take up to a four minute lead over the peloton, Bissell and Colavita each posted a handful of riders on the front to pull back the duo. A flurry of attacks in the final two laps by HealthNet, Team Type 1, and Rite Aid never gained more than a handful of seconds, thereby leading to a fierce showdown up the Wachusett Mountain ski resort. The entire access road climb is about two miles long with the initial and final parts containing the steepest pitches. Quickly the peloton was splintered with smashing work coming from Garrett, Richard, Graham, and Scott leading into the climb. About ten riders were competitively fighting for the win, especially in the final 500 meters (mind you, this is the steepest section of the course). Slightly outnumbered by Type 1 and Colavita, each with two riders making the final selection, Ted King was able to out sprint Anthony Colby for 3rd on the stage, thereby taking over 3rd overall, just 7 seconds from the lead.

Two stages remain; a 75 mile circuit race and a 50 mile criterium. It will be tough to move up in general classification as these stages favor field sprints, but Bissell has a team dedicated to the cause. It was unanimously decided after the race that this was undoubtedly a full team effort. Everyone on the Bissell team should be extremely proud of how they rode today.

Ted King