Bennette (2nd from left) with the remaining field on the final finishing circuits. Photo ©: Scott Schaffrick
Souderton, PA – Under blue skies and a comfortable Sunday breeze, riders from across the world lined up for the Univest Doylestown Criterium, a day after the weekend’s true highlight – the 100 mile, UCI-ranked road race in neighboring Souderton.
Though the furious pace and stacked field were reminiscent of the previous day’s event, the weather could not have been in greater contrast. Throughout the day Saturday, riders were blasted with gale-force winds and driving rains, remnants of Hurricane Hanna that recently assaulted the Carolinas.
Two Metlife riders – Thom “Hollywood” Coupe and Nick “The Lion” Bennette – joined up with another Boston team, IF Racing, to go tire-to-tire with some of the biggest names in domestic pro cycling. Included on Saturday’s start list were Will Fricshkorn, Tom Danielson, and several other Garmin-Chipotle superstars, the Tecos-Trek team out of Mexico, a solid Kelly-Benefits squad, and numerous knowns and unknowns from several European outfits eager to earn respect on the UCI stage.
Despite the abysmal conditions at the start, the MetLife boys were psyched to get going at the storied event. Pre-race intel pointed towards a full-throttle start, winding & turn-laden course, and two looming KOMs at ~30 and 55 miles in.
Pre-race intel proved to be right. Despite the deluge, the peloton roared out of Souderton, averaging well over 30mph for the first half hour. The pace eventually relented following several pile-ups and the general realization that if one was dropped from the surging mass (due, for instance, to a fall), it would require a tremendous expedition into the pain cave to return to the field.
Having been informed at the start by IF racing director extraordinaire John Bruno that the day’s goal was to soak up as much of the continual TV coverage as possible, Bennette negotiated his way to the front of the field early and took advantage of a lull in the pace to position himself for the first hot-spot sprint, 5 miles into the 60 mile large loop, and came across the line in third. Likely realizing what loomed ahead, the lion quickly withdrew to the relative comfort of the pack.
As the field sped toward the first of two KOMs, many were blissfully unaware of the series of steep rollers preceding the official “climb.” Most notably, a hard right-hander over a wooden bridge (doubling on this occasion as an ice-skating rink) forced the majority of the field to lock up their brakes and file in line to cross. Unfortunately, a short but brutal +10% grade awaited on the other side. With the KOM less than a mile ahead, riders clawed their way over this “warm-up” slope in a discontinuous string of pain and struggled to reform a cohesive field.
Just as small groups began to coalesce, the “field” arrived at the lower slopes of what could arguably be defined as a breech of the Geneva Convention: a half-mile ascent with grades approaching 20% that left many bewildered as to how paving was preformed in the first place. As riders strained out of their saddles and throttled their machines – ghost-shifting for a missing 29t – the field fractured, eventually re-forming the official “lead”, “peloton”, and “chase” groups for the day. While Bennette was able to drag his gargantuan carcass into the main field, the remainder of the IF crew was not so lucky and convened in the chasing mob.
With the lead group of 20+ riders well-represented by most of the more powerful teams, little incentive existed for the peloton to actively pursue its return. Nonetheless, the gap hovered at around one minute – increasing in its stead were the now howling wind and driving rain. The previously jagged-course profile abated going into the second KOM, allowing some degree of recovery. Unlike the previous categorized ascent, this climb proved somewhat more manageable. An eleven-man lead group entered the first of 11 3.2 mile finishing circuits first, followed by a handful of chasers at :30 and the peloton an additional two-minutes back. Upon the arrival of the latter, officials informed the beleaguered main field that they would not be given the chance to catch the leading group and would instead have 2 laps to duke it out for the remaining glory.
While the day’s winning move – an attack by Garmin’s Lucas Euser followed by CykelCity’s Frederik Ericsson – lit up the front of the race, separate fireworks ignited in the main field following the “2-to-go” announcement. Halfway through the penultimate lap, Fiordifruitta’s Toby Marzot launched a move in a bid for the still-up-for-grabs “best young rider” award. Bennette, eager to escape the increasingly sketchy mass, launched from the field and quickly bridged up to Marzot, quite content to apex the corners several mph faster by his lonesome. The duo drew out a handful of others, though once the bridge was made it became apparent that no one was either willing or able to contribute to the pace. Next on the attack was Rite Aid Pro Cycling’s recent Olympian Bobby Lea, who despite gaining an impressive gap, was quickly reeled in as the main field entered its final lap. Jake Keough (Kelly Benefits) took the field sprint and the bunch finally took shelter from the relentless tempest.
An exciting finale saw Garmin’s Euser attack his breakaway companion in the final lap and solo to a soggy and hard-fought victory. Additional reports may be found on Cyclingnews and VeloNews.