All Fields GMSR Stage 3 - Scott Brooks 9-2-07
The prologue was good, the circuit race fair, but the NEBC crew
excelled during the road race today. The highest placed rider was in the men’s cat 3, where Gary Douville just missed out on the win, but took second. With just over 600 meters to go, and the field whittled down to five, Gary attacked taking just one other rider with him. Over the final 500 meters, the race was reminiscent of Contador/Rasmussen at the Tour this year. The finish propelled him into second in the overall GC. Everything comes down to the crit tomorrow.
Simply referring to the battle as an attack doesn’t do the course justice. Competitors traveled 64.29 miles, climbing a total of 4,376 feet over two gaps. Middlebury Gap was about 4 kilometers long and felt nearly uphill. The final climb was 15 miles long, maxing out at 21% grade on the last 500 meters. This is one of the steepest paved roads in New England. To attack other riders after traveling this distance over these roads is simply unbelievable.
In the women’s 3/4 race, Sam Dery continued her consistent streak of top finishes placing 14th, moving her into 11th overall.
Mark Theeman, Colby Ricker, Keith Reynolds, Geoff Martin had strong days, facing stiff challengers in the respective 4 races. Brian Anderson’s 10th place finish today moved him into 11th place in the GC.
The impressive results of the day belong to Chris Hong (31st), Peter Bradshaw (82nd) and Roy van Cleef (45th) completed 104 miles in the Pro/1/2 field. If the aforementioned course that the majority of racers did today, the P/1/2 field added another gap pass, plus 35 miles.
Congratulations to everyone who raced today!!! May the yellow jersey reside on the shoulders of NEBC tomorrow!!!