The Burlington 6 corner crit....!
53 starters
1 Tobi Schultze 0:35:09
2 Troy Kimball 0:00:05
7 John Funk 0:00:05
10 Claude Samson 0:00:05
17 Joe Straub 0:00:05
23 Lee Mestres 0:00:05
37 Paul Carbonara 0:00:05
43 Tony Settel 0:00:05
46 John Tomlinson pulled at 11
47 Michael Joseph pulled at 11
48 Kevin Haley pulled at 11
Ok, this is always the stage that gets me. I have yet to be able to finish this last leg of the event and this year was no different. This is the event where the pure crit racers can shine, all those long suffering fast-twitch guys who have been slogging it out over the climbs, finally get their day.
I had a great dinner the night before and as usual lots of sleep. headed out very early for the 50 mile drive North to Burlington. This is such a beautiful city in the fall, perched here upon the shores of Lake Champlain. I hear the winters are a bit brutal though.
A warm up on the trainer starting 90 minutes before the event and then into the starting pen with number attached, gel packs in pocket and a serious sense of foreboding.
This circuit is very technical with 6 corners, two of them being off-camber and one is on some rather hairy brick surface that I had earlier watch bring down another racer as he swept across it at full tilt. The killer in all this is the long climb on the main section to the finish line. You crash into this after a fast and hairy downhill and sharp left hander. The sudden and harsh climb wears you down and after half a dozen of these I was starting to really feel it.
The leaders were pulled out of the crowd of us and given front place billing before the start. The start was, as ever, like letting a bunch of cats out of a bag. I fought on fine for the first few laps but after lap three I could no longer hold onto the pace.
After a few more laps, I found I was unable to breathe well and was unable to raise my HR (same thing that happened in '05) to a useful level. A few laps more and I was pulled as the front of the field was closing on me from behind.
The winner, Tobi Schulze, pulled off a remarkable coup. He went off the front about half way through and simply could not be pulled back in. On a course like this a solo breakaway is possible but requires enormous strength as the chasing field is frenzied and very fast. He did it anyway and came from nowhere to upset the Kimball/Funk/Samson triumvirate with a five second lead on the field across the line. Well done Tobi!!!
The results below are the overall GC standings when all the dust had settled. Regardless of Tobi's great victory, his prior days of racing had not been to his advantage and he did not make the top three.
The points lead is telling with Funk and Straub making the same points though in different races.
My own showing is a little light, mostly because I lost over ninety points for not finishing the Crit. Had I been able to stay in the field I would have made about 200 points overall putting me in the top 35 or so.
My goal for this year was simple, finish top 50 for my category at Green Mountain. This I managed but only by the slimmest of margins.
Next Year in Vermont.......
Final GC Standings:Points
1 Claude Samson 359
2 Troy Kimball 340
3 John Funk 335
4 Joe Straub 335
37 Paul Carbonara 189
40 Tony Settel 182
42 Lee Mestres 180
48 Kevin Haley 111
49 Michael Joseph 106
50 John Tomlinson 88
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