Five members of the MetLife cycling team headed down to the good ‘ol southeast this past weekend for a brief stint at the week long criterium series known as Speedweek, the biggest and fastest races of the season thus far.  Team members Brad Sheehan, Chris Coutu, Alain Ferry, Aaron Molloy and Ryan Fleming braved the trip and set out at a god awful time of 4:30 a.m. Friday morning to catch a 6:30 a.m. flight out of Logan airport.  With the help of some strategic packing, they all made it safely on board and landed in Hot’lanta (Atlanta, GA) around 10:00 a.m.  With plenty of time to spare, the team picked up their transportation for the weekend and started the journey towards Spartanburg, SC.

Steadman Hawkins Cycling Classic, Spartanburg, SC (Race 5 of 7 in Speedweek Series)

Now, let me set the mood here.

- 140 Professional and Elite Amateur Racers, including domestic and international riders

- 70 km on a 1 km, 4 Corner Course, Rectangle Shape

- 8 p.m. (thats right 8 @ night!) Start (racing in the dark is interesting)

- $11,000 purse, not including the primes (which probably added another $3,000)

- 5,000 spectators screaming at you

Let’s just say when they start the race with a first lap $250 prime, you know it’s going to be fast.  The pace was blazing fast from the gun and considering the lack of light, down right dangerous as well.  The field was pretty much strung out the entire race.  Numerous crashes caused mayhem as people took unnecessary risks, but with all that money on the line, this was to be expected.  With a total of five major crashe, it felt more like a NASCAR race than a bike race.  The team did an exceptional job of staying in the front third of the peloton and even briefly gracing the front.  With average speeds around 29 mph, nothing ever got more than five seconds off the front.  With six laps to go, a huge pile-up sent Sheehan over the bars, and caused the rest of the team members to come to a complete stop to avoid doing the same.  The peloton, split into three groups, and with no free laps remaining, the MetLife boys had to chase just to finish.  The team’s top finisher was Alain in 59th.  A valiant showing was done by all, considering this was all our first crit of the season, and a tough one at that.  Happy to still be alive with nothing broken and no road rash, the team drove to Columbia, SC, to stay with Brad’s mom.

Dilworth Criterium, Charlotte, NC (Race 6 of 7 in Speedweek Series)

Saturday morning greeted the team with a new day and a fresh start.  As the MetLife boys rolled into Charlotte, motivation was high.  With an NRC crit being held not too far away in Alabama, the team was unsure as to which teams would show up where.  To our surprise, probably 95% of the field from the previous night showed up to Charlotte.  There would be no presents given out today and the racing was sure to be just as hard and fast as the previous night.  The Dilworth Crit is held on an exhilarating course around Latta Park.  There is an uphill start/finish, followed by a sweeping downhill into a VERY technical corner, followed by a full on drag race back uphill to the finish.  Overall the course is a little over 1 km.  With this race starting in the afternoon, the heat would play more of an issue.

The prime heavy race again started exceptionally fast, as every team tried to position themselves into the technical downhill corner.  Because the course dictated a full on uphill sprint followed by a fast downhill, we all quickly realized this was a recipe for attrition.  Thinking that a break might have a chance on this course, Brad found himself off the front early, trying to either initiate a break, or pick up a prime.  The breaks were short lived though, as the $100 primes motivated the field to keep attacking every lap.  Finding himself near the front on a prime lap, Ryan attacked from the bottom of the hill, only to get beaten to line by a TIME PRO CYCLING and Colombian National Team rider.  Realizing there was a gap, he attempted to keep it rolling for another lap with the TIME guy, only to be caught a lap later.  The effort needed to get off the front was huge, let alone the effort to stay out there.  While trying to recover from these anaerobic efforts, Brad and Ryan stayed in the field, deep in the pain cave and not seeing much light.  With about two-thirds of the race completed, the pace got even faster, as if this was even possible, snapping the ever so thin elastic band holding the remnants of the peloton together.   As the field came back together, it was evident that the damage had been done, and less than half of the 120 starters were left.  Hanging tough though in the field was Ryan, the team’s last chance at glory.  With three laps to go, Ryan was sitting in the perfect position behind the TOSHIBA lead train.  A huge surge in the field on the downhill, however, ruined his chances and sent him back 20 wheels.  Unable to move back up, he finished courageously in 28th in what was probably the most challenging race of the entire series.

Sandy Springs Cycling Challenge, Sandy Springs, GA (Race 7 of 7 in Speedweek Series)

On Sunday, the team made the the three hour drive back towards Atlanta to the rapidly growing suburb called Sandy Springs for the final race of the event.  The race was held in a trendy area near restaurants and shopping.  With tons of food vendors and a carnival-like atmosphere, spectators were everywhere.  The midafternoon start allowed for little more than warming up by the time we arrived though.  The large 120+ rider field again set warp speeds over the technical course as $13,000 were up for grabs.  The course was probably the best of the three, with a downhill chicane and sweeping fast uphill finish.  The pace again refused to let up at any point during the race and attrition in the field was soon evident.  The MetLife boys rode their butts off to stay near the front but the heat, traveling and difficulty of the weekend had taken its toll.  Ryan was left to fend for himself in the finale and finished a satisfied 43rd against a tough field of pro-am riders. 

Overall the weekend was a success.  The team got in some very high caliber national crit racing and enjoyed summer weather (avoiding the cold soaking rain in New England).  The experience and fitness gained from the trip will help the team’s chances at many of the big criteriums coming up a little later this season, including the Tour of Somerville and Cox Charites Crit.