After the races in California I was back in "the 'ville" for about a
week before I headed up to our director's house near Worcester,
Mass., right before the Fitchburg-Longsjo stage race. This race is
important because it is another opportunity to earn points towards a
automatic world's selection, but has a certain significance in the
team's heart because it is located only 30 min away from "team
head-quarters."
The team arrived ready, because on the stage one-time trial our
riders placed 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th respectively (myself
finishing in second). The plan for the following day's circuit race
was to keep it together and maintain our multiple-threat status on
G.C. I rode on the front all day just setting a steady tempo that
negated any serious attacks. Coming into the last half lap I was
trying to sort out a lead out for the team, but our sprinter was
caught next to a crash and I ended up leading out the third place
finisher in the time trial, giving him a 10 second time bonus. At
the time I was really pissed off that I had done so much work,
seemingly by myself, only to lose the stage, but what was soon to
come made my efforts all the more valuable.
The next day's road race stage is a difficult circuit with a
following finishing climb. We still had first and second in G.C.,
although at this point 3rd place was nipping on my heels after he
got a time bonus in the previous stage. The plan for the race was
simple: get a couple of guys up the road and put pressure on other
people to do that chasing. Zach Taylor (current race leader) and
myself were to sit in the pack and save our energy for a potential
showdown in the finale of the race if it came down to it, while the
rest of the guys were to try and get away. First Spencer Beamer
makes a perfect attack only 10 km into the race getting away solo.
After we go over the initial climb I exchanged a couple of attacks
with teammate Brad Armstrong who then got away. Now we had two guys
up the road in a group that has no major GC contenders in it and
we're SET! All I have to do is not let anybody go anywhere, which
was pretty easy as the gap grew to over four minuets at one point.
The race was ours. Our two riders in the break got 2nd and 3rd
respectively on the stage and I got second in the "field" giving me
5th on the stage. Now the G.C. had Hot Tubes 1st-4th.
Going into the last day's crit we had the overall and second place
assured, but to keep 3rd and 4th we had to steal the time bonuses
away from other contenders. So on the soggy Sunday morning with
nothing more to lose we went on the aggressive. We wanted our guys
up the road to take the time bonuses, as long as they didn't have
overall contenders with them. The 15-mile crit was characterized by
slippery crashes and blue colored attacks. I made several moves
which were nullified by a rider in the top 10 on G.C., but teammate
Zach Taylor got away wining the stage in front of Spencer Beamer who
won the field sprint for second both taking away the valuable time
bonuses. The finishing result: 1st place - Brad Armstrong (Hot
Tubes) 2nd place - Spencer Beamer (Hot Tubes) 3rd place - Zach
Taylor (Hot Tubes) 4th place - Zach Bolian (Hot Tubes)
It was any team's dream come true. We always used our tactical
advantages and it saw us not only winning the race, but dominating
it, and everyone on the team gaining good morale and points for
world's selection.
Some people say that it isn't fair that we have a team this strong,
with so many guys, but the fact of the matter is it is entirely
fair. Anyone can start a team and build it into what we have. This
team didn't just appear out of nowhere. We didn't just end
up first trough fourth; everyone was fit and dedicated to the
team winning. Everyone's willingness to give away their own
chances for the greater good of the team is what makes us a winning
team; which is proven by the team's history of winning with new guys
every year for the past decade. When you ride for your own chances
you are one guy versus six and the odds are very much against you,
but if you start a team, that rides like a team then the odds go
away. Anyway, this race is always a joy to be at, but to finish with
such a result was fantastic and a true testament to our team's
strength and unity.
Thanks for reading! Take care.
-Zach Bolian