Aetna-Expo Racing Team - Battenkill & Michael Schott (Marblehead)
Race Report by Todd Bowden
Battenkill Classic and Michael Schott Memorial CR - Race Report04.05.2014 & 04.06.2014If hard races are fun, then doubling up on hard races can only be more fun! And so I started the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race (aka Marblehead) less than 24 hours after my legs super-nova’d with only a few miles left in the toughest Battenkill I’ve done yet.
This was the first time we raced as the complete Aetna-Expo Wheelman squad, and a few of us had raced the day before. Dave’s stomach quit on him early at Battenkill, but he ignored it (until his gut fought back late in the race) and he still finished strong. Ed podiumed at Plainville in the 1-2. Ben has a new born for crying out loud!
Once the race started, Gary (probably feeling the pressure of having not raced the day before!) made a smart move early in the race and rolled away in the first serious break with the heavy hitters. They worked hard and stayed away for more than half of the 19 laps. Unfortunately the host team missed the break and did a Tour de France worthy team time trial chase to drag us all back to the break.Sensing an imminent split, Dave informed me that his stomach was threatening him again, so I rolled across a slight gap that blossomed into 5 laps of trading pulls with 6 other dudes.I spent the first 3 laps hoping we would be caught soon, the next 2 hoping we would stay away. My aching legs only managed 6th, but it was the first result in the teams bank, and I am truly satisfied.
As a Team, we read both breaks correctly and defended well.That’s a great start to a great year.
Todd – Team Aetna-Expo Wheelmen
