NEW YORK, NY – As the sun slowly peered above the rooftops of mid-town Manhattan, bike racers from across the mid-Atlantic descended on the city’s iconic Central Park. Though cyclists often dominate the 6+ mile loop circulating the park’s periphery, as it is one of the few sizable green spaces in the Big Apple, this Saturday’s affair was special – the Annual running of the Mengoni Grand Prix and one of the only occasions for which open racing is permitted inside the park, lifeblood for many New Yorkers seeking reprieve from the metropolis’ unending concrete.

As racers rubbed their eyes and awaited vesicular distribution of their recent espressos, the caliber of talent was apparent.  Teams from Empire, WS United, CRCA, MetLife as well as riders from Colavita, TIME, etc… all were shooting for a stake in the prize money and prestige. The first of seven laps gave little solace to those not yet fully awake – attacks from Mengoni, Empire, and others on the fast, yet rolling circuit were quickly pulled back by an aggressive field. With no break gaining more than a handful of seconds, it became rapidly apparent that the finish was likely to be a bunch affair, though MetLife boys Chris Coutu and Thom Coupe were particularly active in latching onto the more dangerous moves.

As the race entered its final lap, riders looking to secure a solid placing swarmed the front. With the peloton rolling shoulder-to-shoulder across the pavement, MetLife captain Brad Sheehan looked to pull himself and sprinter Nick Bennette into position. The tasked proved difficult – given both the size of the remaining field and willingness of riders to engage in sketchy maneuvers to secure/improve their own positions – yet Sheehan was able to corral teammates Graham Garber, Peter Bell, and Bennette to the head of the beast at the base of Harlem Hill – the lap’s rough halfway mark and only discernible elevation gain. The foursome used the incline to string the field and secure their placing, yet good legs and a little over-eagerness from Garber at the front led to shouts of “we have a long way to go!” and “ease up” from Sheehan and Bennette.

The stretching field, acknowledging the pace-work being done at its head, rapidly latched onto the Blue Train, and Garber and Bell kept the pace high leading into the last two kilometers.  Seeing the remaining distance, Garber let two Empire riders – attempting to set up their own sprinter – briefly cover the front. As echos of crashes towards the back of the field rang from behind, Garber turned himself inside out to bring Sheehan, the ultimate lead-out man, as near to the line as possible.  With Garber fading, Sheehan took over with roughly a kilometer to cover, Bennette still stealthily tucked onto his wheel. With a few hundred meters to go, Adam Meyerson (Time) and Anthony Lowe (WS United) attacked hard on the inside of the final bend, forcing Bennette to launch his own effort. As the duo escaped ahead of the field, Bennette searched for new crevices in the the pain cave – looking at least to have the final rung of the podium secured – until the final 50 meters, where the length of the effort and draft provided to those on his wheel left him to settle for 11th. Numerous shenanigans marred the finale, however, with would-be winner Lowe disqualified due to entering the adjacent jogging lane.  Overall, an excellent deployment of the Blue Train, which lacked only an additional engine or a few less meters to arrive in the station right on time.