GMSR 2019: A Wet, Poetic End to the Road Season
It feels like so long ago now, but it’s only been a month. I’ve barely ridden my bike since then, taking a well-deserved break after 8 months of almost non-stop training. Like many others, the end of my Road racing season culminates with the Green Mountain Stage Race in Vermont.
GMSR is a test of everything you’ve learned in your road season. Consequently, it also tests everything you haven’t learned. It’s the kind of race where you leave thinking “OK. A, B, and C went well. I know I have to work on X, Y, and Z.” “Lessons learned the hard way” is low key the theme for my bike racing career, and I get a full serving of that at GMSR every year.
Before I received my GMSR report card though, I went in with goals and expectations. My goal was GC. My expectations were to post a solid Time Trial, save everything on Stage 2 without losing time, go all out on Stage 3, and then defend my GC position in the Criterium on Stage 4.
Here’s more or less how that went down..
Stage 1: Warren Time Trial (5.7mi)
There’s not much to write about time trials BUT last year, I dropped my chain on this TT. It was bad. Like, stop-get-off-and-fix-with-hands bad. It happened on the dip in the last kilometer. Shifted into my little ring on the uphill and boom, disaster and panic. I was determined not to make this mistake again this year and I tried my best not to let this mess with my head. I instead focused on getting in a solid warm up. Fetty, our coach, gave us a solid TT warm up protocol and I went on the road with our new teammate Russell Karn to get it done. I felt great after the warm up, except for the fact that we were a little far away and Russ had to book it to the start to not miss his time. (Sorry Russ!)
I did not drop my chain. I also didn’t win, but that was expected. I paced well and put in a solid effort. I was 20-something in GC, which was fine for me because I know GC standings get turned around on Stage 3. Russell Karn, Corey Williams, Colin Keaveney and our friend (and recent addition) Mitchell Napolitano also finished their TTs without any issues, and we went home to call it a day and recover.
Stage 2: Circuit Race (74mi)
Stage 2 is a long day, but it’s actually a lot of fun. The course isn’t selective but the race is so long that it has a very euro feel to it. Or maybe that was the Quebecois speaking French in the peloton. Anyway, I was to sit in on Stage 2, while Russell went for the Green Sprint jersey and Corey aimed for the Stage win. We all had our duties to do, and Russell started off well with 3rd in the first sprint. Before we finished the first lap though, the day’s breakaway had gotten away. They were only a couple of guys, and we had so much race left that no one was concerned about it. Unfortunately this messed up our Green jersey plans, but we figured whoever was in it was out of contention for GC. I later learned my friend Luis Saavedra from Bicycle Habitat Racing was in that breakaway –which was an impressive effort BTW– and he confirmed that yes, he knew he was going to pay for it on Stage 3.
I raced the rest of the day in the hot tub, comfortable in the peloton draft. I was mostly concerned about how much I had to pee, and debated it over and over in my head for more than an hour. Ultimately peeing off the bike at the back of the field (which is legal, and a whole lot better than peeing inside your bibs in the middle of the peloton – you know who you are, smh) isn’t something I’ve ever practiced or even tried, and now wasn’t the time to do it. In the last few Ks, William Hafferty from 545 took a flyer that the front of the field seemed too busy discussing to chase down and stuck it for the win, while Corey mixed it in the field sprint for 5th. Russell had continued chasing the Green jersey; he and I rolled it in with the field. Colin Keaveney had a very different day in the Cat 2 field but survived, while Mitchell got 3rd in the 4/5s. Back to the Airbnb it was, to take turn on the Normatec boots that our partner MotivNY so generously lent us, and to eat everything in sight ahead of Stage 3.
A big thanks to our partner Motiv NY for our recovery materials, which Russell loved taking advantage of.
Stage 3: Road Race (64.7mi)
This was it, GC day. I was 25th on GC, about 45 seconds back from the leader. My luck at climbing races this year wasn’t great: a bad crash at Quabbin and a flat at Hilltowns. I kind of made up for it with 5th at Capital Regions, but this was going to be the real test. It was a bigger field with more hitters, bigger climbs, and more at stake with GC.
Corey Williams in the calm before the storm
I sat in at the back until the sprint line at 21mi in, which Russell went for. After that, Middlebury Gap started at 23mi. My goal was to finish a full big bottle of sis before we got there, and then move up to start Middlebury with the front group. Two guys tried to get away after the sprint and got a bit of a gap before the climb. Russell shut it down, while I looked for the GC leader, Billy Hafferty. Russ finished the job and I was on the Billy’s wheel up Middlebury, as Corey took us up the first part of the climb. I focused on holding Billy’s wheel and watching out for Zach Weimer (who beat me at this race last year, and at Cap Regions in July). I crested Middlebury with the top 5 guys on GC and then we sent it on the downhill, as one does. I hit 57.9mph, which was super fun. A group had gotten away before the top of Middlebury and unfortunately, I didn't know it. Eventually, Corey and Russ joined my group with a few other guys. We were a decent group going into the second KOM on Notch Rd. It's short but steep and we hit it hard, right into a gravel descent. I was praying not to flat there, and thankfully didn’t. Eventually, we got to Baby Gap and the group had thinned out quite a bit. However, we were also picking up a bunch of guys who had been shelled from the break at Middlebury. We picked up quite a few before App Gap, and I started the climb second wheel in a group of 10-15. We went up at a good clip and the group reduced very quickly. I stayed with the top guys on GC and a few others. At that point, it was clear it was gonna be a battle of climbers, and about halfway up someone turned up the heat and I followed. We dropped a few more guys, and distanced the GC leader and Zach (which I was thrilled about, even though they ended up not too far behind). Last kilometer was absolutely insane. I didn't have enough in me to win out of that group, unfortunately. I ended up 8th on the stage.
This put me in 11th in GC, and I was happy with that result. It was a hard day, and I was very happy to thank Russ and Corey when they finished for helping me out. I raced about as smart of a race as I could have. I fed properly, followed the right wheels, and only expended energy when absolutely necessary. I could have ended my road season right here, but I had one more day left. As we were recovering afterwards, I checked the forecast for the next day: rain all day. “Wow, this sucks,” I thought, but it was a problem to be worried about tomorrow.
Stage 4: Criterium (in the pouring rain)
We woke up, and it was raining. I was really hoping the forecast would get better but no. It’d been raining all night and downtown Burlington is a combination of red brick roads and fully painted pedestrian crossings. Not the kind of road surface that gives you confidence. Or at least, not in my case.
This is where the unapologetic and unforgiving nature of GMSR set in for me, and I knew it. I hadn’t ridden in the rain all year, preferring to hop on the smart trainer instead. Dealing with the logistics of training in the rain was something I decided I didn’t have time for in the mornings, and something I didn’t want to do anyway. Now here I was, sitting in our rental van a few hours before a race that would decide the biggest result I’d get this year. If I defended my spot and survived, I knew I’d finish with a top 10 in GC. But that was a big IF for my situation.
It didn’t help that I had just seen Mitchell slide out in a corner in his race, although he was fine and finished the race. It also didn’t help that the rain was actually getting worse. It was an hour before race start and I was about to call it quits. That’s when Austin King called me. Austin loves racing in the rain, which I think is bizarre. He’s also a great teammate and friend. I passed the phone to Russell and once Russell decided he was in, there was no way I could let either of them down. If it wasn’t for that conversation, I would have bailed from racing.
20 other guys in our field bailed on Stage 4, and it probably wasn’t a dumb decision. We had a crash in the neutral lap, and then another a few more laps in. Guys were sliding out all over the pace and I was losing contact with the front group fast. It dawned on me that I hadn’t warmed up, and I soon realized it was not my day. I mean, I already knew it wasn’t my day but now it had manifested itself. The painted pedestrian crossings, the red bricks, and the manhole covers in corners all chipped away at the lack of confidence I had in this wet environment. I got pulled, placed somewhere in the teens on GC. My equipment and I lived to race another day though, so I’ll be back for this.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, I race road for To Be Determined and work in technology in NYC.
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