A big first today at the Branchbrook Road Race. This was my first Cat 1/2/3. When I checked the registration list for this race, I was deeply intimidated. I was lining up at the startline beside New York City’s best, those whom I look up to in awe.
The start-whistle blew and an attack immediately had me sprinting. As the race progressed, I put my best effort to try to catch some draft as we were constantly nearing speeds of 60 km/h on a fairly flat course. Lap by lap, the pace of the race rapidly increased. The Good Guys Racing team hammered it on the front as we neared the finish. Until this point, I was riding mid-pack. Because of the intense nature of the field and the technical course, I would be risking my safety and a chance to finish amongst the top riders if I continued riding the back of the field. With three laps to go, I was fully committed to moving up. I took calculated risks and tried to take as many opportunities as possible to move up in position while still saving energy. I entered the final lap at roughly 30th wheel. Not where I planned on being. I wasn’t used to the tightly packed peloton and the sheer speed of the lead outs riding the front which made it insurmountable for me to properly position myself, given the poor positioning I was in throughout the race.
Unfortunately, the field was struck with two crashes on the final lap. The first crash occurred about 200 meters into the lap. From memory, two riders made contact while trying to move up. The second crash happened as we approached the final turn of the race. The meandering backstretch of the course kept the field on their toes as we were turning left and right. The peloton tightened up on the inside line of the course and riders bumped each other and crashed. I tried my hardest to catch the front group of about 20 but fell into a group with 4 other riders. I launched my sprint with 150 meters to go and managed to get first among the group of riders that I was with. I was content with my 23rd-place finish out of the 65 riders who crossed the line. We averaged a speed of 46.2 km/h over 43.3 km as per my Strava activity, making this the fastest race I’ve ever done! You can also find the GoPro footage of my race here.
Also getting to catch up with friends after a grueling off-season made this event even better than it already was! It was really nice to see my Star Track Cycling teammates Logan and Viv who both competed in the earlier race and managed to get top 20 finishes. I was super grateful to have them and Max cheering me – I could still hear them even through all the adrenaline that was in my body. It was also a pleasure to race with my friends Anton, Daniel & Julian, Devin, Justin, and Noah with the list going on and on. Thanks to Coach Alan, Anton, Max Jacob from Dave Jordan Racing, and Ryan for giving me great advice which helped me for today’s race. Another race in the books – super excited to race the Gotham Cyclists Crit in Phillipsburg, NJ tomorrow.
