Mullica Road Race

Today I raced in the Cat 3 only field at the Ronde Van Mullica in NJ. Usually this race finishes in a downhill sprint. This year, the direction was not only reversed, but it was on a different course. If you look at the course below, you can see the long drag (at least 3 miles) to the slightly up hill finish. We raced 50 miles; 5 x 10 mile loops.

Usually in races this long, I'm not too worried about early breaks getting up the road. Guess what happened today? 7 riders break just after the 1st lap. They eventually shed 2 riders, but 5 stayed away for the rest of the race. I tried a few times to help bring it back, but with no team mates and no one pulling through after my turn, I give up and wait for the sprint. I get seriously boxed in the middle of the pack with 200m to go. I break, slide out to the left and re-start my sprint. I pass a crap load of racers and end up 4th in the pack for 9th overall (and they paid 10 deep).

Ignore the 'square' by the start finish line; that's where I warmed up and cooled down.