Keith Berger Memorial Criterium, East Hartford, Pro 1-3, 35 miles

I decided to do the Pro 1-3 race in East Hartford. My training has been going well and the schedule of races made it easier for me to do the Pro 1-3 rather than the masters or the Cat 3 race. We started 72 riders and it was pretty quick. We averaged 27.5 mph for the 35 miles. The course is a dead flat 4 corner rectangle with 2 long and 2 short sides with the finish about 200 meters from the last corner. There was a decent cross wind on the long sides that made it difficult to draft when it got strung out. A couple times I was at my limit for a couple laps, but then it would slow down & I’d recover. There were numerous breaks, but it was all together the last 5 laps. I had managed to stay in the top 20-30 the last 5 laps and was around 15th with 1.5 laps to go. At that point I should of worked a bit more to get to the top 5, but I was trying to stay out of the wind and hold on to my last bit of strength. On the back stretch on the last lap it was still kind of bunched up. I made a good move between the 3rd & last corner to move, but came out of the last corner too far back. I managed to pass a couple guys in the sprint and ended up 15th. They paid the top 10 so I was out of the money. I’m pleased with my form though and it was fun to ride in a bigger field with the younger guys. Enjoy what apears to be summer coming on. -Dave