Yale University Bulldog Cycling

University of Vermont, Green Mountain Race Report

“Bikes”…..“Check”

“Race Kit”…..“Check”

“Sandwiches”…..“Check”

“Car Keys”…………. “They’re in the trunk”

Well, it was time to take the bikes of the rack and retrieve the keys. Business as usual with ‘Captain Mike’ Michael Grome, John ‘Hill Climber’ Wen and Oscar ‘the Injured’ Benjamin.

Our destination was Burlington, Vermont, and what lay ahead of us was a Saturday race route filled with dirt roads and a 20% gradient hill finish; and a technical Sunday criterium.  Thankfully, there were rumors that the course had been ‘modified’ and we suspected it was to our advantage. Thus, it was with slightly less trepidation that we pulled into our Travelodge late Friday evening ready for tomorrow’s race.

Saturday. First up the road race.

Arrival time at the local school parking lot was 9:30 am. We started warming up on the trainers and no preparation was spared………except when John realized he forgot to pump his tires just before race staging. John was up for his first race of the season in the men’s C category. As a hill climber, it was with a heavy heart that the race organizers informed John the final hill finish was cancelled because of snow at the top. Oscar was delighted with this news. John weaved his way through the peloton on the climbs to finish in a respectable time of 1:27:31 over a 30 miles course. This placed him 21^st in a field of 39 riders. Oscar was racing in the men’s D category over a 20 mile route. He took the race steady after a slight Achilles tendon injury mid-week. The turns were smooth and fast but unfortunately the hills were slow. Despite being dropped on the big hills Oscar finished in 1:00:34 placing him 20^th in a field of 52. He even earned 2 points for the team. Captain Mike Michael was next to take the stage in the men’s B category racing for an epic 51 miles. Placed 7^th.