Rachel and I did the Purgatory RR yesterday in Sutton, MA. It was hot, but no wind. We both had (3) 11 mile laps, so a short, fast, painful race. Some hills and a decent ½ mile, 6-9% climb near the end. Rachel finished 15th, midpack with about 30 women. My field was maxed out at 75 (not good for cat 5 crazies). We stayed together for most of the 1st lap and after the big climb, one guy pulled ahead. I watched how the pack was reacting and they did not seem to want to pull him in. There is another short steep hill at the beginning of the lap and I decided to ride a hard tempo up it, but not a big effort. I looked back and I had a gap, so I kept going. I caught up to the guy and we worked together to try to increase the gap. We could see the pack behind us on straights, maybe 10-15 secs back. I did not want to go out this early, but the opportunity was there. By the start of the 3rd lap, I was starting to fade and Peter, the other guy, was still fairly strong, but needed me to stay away. I figured if I could make it to the final climb with 10-15 secs, then I may survive so I pretty much buried myself on flats and uphills, and would have short recoveries on the DHs. We hit the final climb, I told Peter to take off. I looked back about ½ way up and could see the chase group behind me. Peter was a hundred meters ahead. I made it to the top without getting caught and had a slight DH pitch then slight uphill pitch to the line. He got 1st with me 10 secs back and the chasers were another 10 secs back. Good, hard race! No crashes!
-Andy
Nerac Earth Cycling 