The Final Moment - 2013 Sterling Classic

Minuteman Road Club team mate Todd Prekaski produced this terrific shot he took from the other side of the Sterling Classic race course of me staying just ahead of Aaron Hovel (left) and Jerry Babcock (right) for the finish.

Note who is in the drops and who is not.

19th Annual Sterling Classic Cat 5 Men 35+ - May 11, 2013

What can I say? It was a dreamlike and amazing day for me on Sunday. Especially when compared to last week's disappointing performance at the Blue Hills Classic (finished 19th of 43, off the back of the 18 man finishing break on the final climb).

Too pooped to pop at Blue Hills.

Got a really good night's rest Friday (unlike last week's sleepover party debacle). Arrive on site and after checking in did 10 min spin on the trainer before lining up.

Line up: With Jeremy's words "stay off the front" echoing in my mind (and knowing he would have his eye on me from the lead car), I looked down at my computer and saw my HR was below 100 BPM. Astounding: usually it goes WAY above that in the moments before a race.

Leadout to course: This part is a good add-on to the warm up and helps dispel lingering pre-race jitters. I think I reminded Marc C that we didn't HAVE to ride as fast as the lead car (Jeremy driving, lead foot  ;) )

Lap 1: That first time up Meetinghouse and beyond always jolts one fully awake even if you take it nice and slow. That home team placement at the front makes it imperative to do SOMETHING to get someone else doing the work ASAP. So, I punched it on the first descent down Heywood then eased up on the incline - this worked perfectly as the anxious field partially swarmed around me and I found a wheel to follow for a while.

First time up Meetinghouse - Pete Banach photo (more of his photos here)