The 2010 Fidelity Gran Prix of Beverly was hot... and fast! Still, I wanted to be out there rather than on the sidelines - even though I really enjoyed photographing the action. As I watched, and photographed, my Minuteman Road Club team mates race in the Mens 4/5 heat, it was evident from the expressions on their and everyone else's faces that it was an extremely high intensity race.
On the second lap, just at the 3rd turn, there was a crash, sending the pack into neutral behind the pace car. Word that one of the riders down had broken his hip actually beat the pace car back to where I was standing at the final corner. A broken hip - kind of makes my shoulder separation look like a mosquito bite.
Throughout the race, MRC's Chris Pare maintained a good position in the top 10 on the outside with John Smith holding a spot on the inside a few places back.
Nearly halfway through, frequent riding buddy, Jerry De Zutter of 545 Velo came around the corner with a significant lead and no one giving chase. I'm pretty sure he tookthe a prime lap before being reabsorbed up by the pack and then finishing 14th.
Later on, there was another solo breakaway by Gerald Harris who later took 9th. Meanwhile, the heat and pace were taking their toll, producing a fair amount of attrition at the back as people began to fall off the pace and get pulled by the officials as they came around the start/finish.
A sprint finish found Kenneth Thoman (Comprehensive) in 1st, Edward Uhring (unattached) 2nd and Colin Reuter (Back Bay Bicycles) in 3rd. MRC's Chris gave John the best lead out one could ask for, allowing him to finish 7th. Chris himself came in 24th.
I took pains to get nice, sharp photos of my team mates racing... once their heat was over, the pressure was off and so I got a little looser with my coverage of the Women's and Pro/1/2 races, not really paying attention to the race per se, but spent the time noodling around with some slow-sync and motion blur.
There are a A LOT more photos from the race in this web gallery.
On the second lap, just at the 3rd turn, there was a crash, sending the pack into neutral behind the pace car. Word that one of the riders down had broken his hip actually beat the pace car back to where I was standing at the final corner. A broken hip - kind of makes my shoulder separation look like a mosquito bite.
Throughout the race, MRC's Chris Pare maintained a good position in the top 10 on the outside with John Smith holding a spot on the inside a few places back.
Nearly halfway through, frequent riding buddy, Jerry De Zutter of 545 Velo came around the corner with a significant lead and no one giving chase. I'm pretty sure he took
Later on, there was another solo breakaway by Gerald Harris who later took 9th. Meanwhile, the heat and pace were taking their toll, producing a fair amount of attrition at the back as people began to fall off the pace and get pulled by the officials as they came around the start/finish.
A sprint finish found Kenneth Thoman (Comprehensive) in 1st, Edward Uhring (unattached) 2nd and Colin Reuter (Back Bay Bicycles) in 3rd. MRC's Chris gave John the best lead out one could ask for, allowing him to finish 7th. Chris himself came in 24th.
I took pains to get nice, sharp photos of my team mates racing... once their heat was over, the pressure was off and so I got a little looser with my coverage of the Women's and Pro/1/2 races, not really paying attention to the race per se, but spent the time noodling around with some slow-sync and motion blur.
There are a A LOT more photos from the race in this web gallery.
