Saturday, June 19th found the Rostello team racing and officiating the Team Nature’s Path circuit race. Karen Hanson and Sharon Leary donned their USA cycling blue official’s shirts for a day of racing at a wonderful new venue just north of Richmond near King’s Dominion. Based on the feedback from the cyclist this is a must do race, smooth pavement, 9 corners and a hill, everything you want in a bike race.
The highlight of the day was Hugh Brown’s effort in the men’s CAT 4 race. Hugh is still a junior and required to race junior gearing, but what makes this win so spectacular was Hugh’s head’s up racing.
Early in the race there was a lone cyclist off the front, almost from the starters whistle. The peleton was content to let him go probably figuring a lone cyclist could not stay way especially considering how hot it was and the fact he didn’t have a teammate to keep the peleton check. As the race progressed you could see the lone cyclist fading and the whole time Hugh was sitting about 4th wheel.
Hugh stayed exactly where he needed to be… near the front but not on the front… every lap there he was in the perfect position. About 2/3 of the way through the 30 mile race, Hugh crashed on the hill on the back side of the course. He reported to the official’s tent and waited until the main field came around again and was inserted back in the main field. From a spectator’s stand point, Hugh's adrenilin must have still been surging because he attacked bridged the gap to the leader pulling two other’s with him. The 4 off the front worked together for the last few laps staying away from the main field. Hugh over cooked the last turn just a little, recovered and still managed to win by almost a bike length. Well done Hugh.
Sunday found a good portion of the team in Chesapeake competing in PLT #1. The weather man was predicting record setting temperatures of near 100 on Sunday. So Team Rostello rolled out the “Rostello Command Post” aka Sharon’s travel trailer. Mark North, Brian, Bill, Mark Pye, Sharon, Steve, and Pam all trekked southeast for the time trial. This is a familiar course that all of us had raced at least once before; the biggest difference was the heat and the starters’ ramp. Sharon definitely had an issue with the ramp rolling too far right and off the road for a second. Mark Pye’s one minute man went into the ditch in front of him and then popped up and almost took Mark Pye out as Mark rolled down the starter’s ramp. A couple of close calls but everyone stayed upright on their bikes. Pam and Sharon both finally broke the hour mark and finished 3rd in their categories, Women’s CAT 4 and 40+ respectively. Well done ladies.
The highlight of the race was the AC in the “team bus” this allowed everyone to come in, sit a minute or two, grab a cold beverage while we waited for results. I won’t tell you how long we waited nor what the cold beverage was we drunk, but I will tell you we were the last ones to leave the staging area and head back towards Richmond.
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