If there’s one thing for certain in bike racing it’s that the weather for the Tour of Somerville three day “race-cation” will always be sunny. This year proved the point. MetLife headed down the coast via whichever route avoided the impending NYC Memorial Day weekend traffic to congregate at the Summerfield Suites of Bridgewater, NJ.

The first challenge was the 83-mile Hills of Somerset County Road Race which navigates an amorphous course and engenders the best of a bike racer for if you fall off the pace, you may never see your car again. Getting dropped here means either risking damage to your bike, tossed into a dump truck while you sit in a stinky, herky-jerky sagwagon with dozens of other sulky bike racers, or attempting to negogiate the seemingly infinite labyrinth of roads criss-crossing the Garden State by yourself without the help of course marshals who’ve already left their stations.

With an almost full squad of nine, MetLife was fairly confident heading into the rolling enclosure event. Aaron, Brad, Corey, and Chris helped pull the field along for the first half, twisting and turning through the New Jersey countryside and watching for early-race suicide attacks. Despite the team’s ubiquitous presence, a small group rolled away early on followed by a viscious downhill attack by Valeriy Kobzarenko of pro team Team Type 1 35-miles in, much to the surprise of his two teammates waiting in the wings. The pace quickened when the field smacked into the first significant climb of the day as climbers and sprinters alike threw collective caution to the wind and just gave it everything they had. Cresting the top, however, it was clear things would stay together.

A few miles later, some of the bigger names in the race looked a little antsy. Chris Jones (Team Type 1) and Dan Vaillancourt (Toshiba-Santo), two of the country’s best climbers, began to ramp things up and soon a small break looked like it was set to head out. With them was Thom, certainly capable of giving the pros a run for their money. The field realized the danger, however, and quickly shut the threat down. As soon they were reeled back in, Toby Walch (Kenda/Raleigh) shot up the left side and Charlie latched on. The field, a little tentative perhaps given that several major climbs still lurked in the distance, sat up except for Andrew Walters (IF Racing) who bridged across and off the trio pedaled.

Working well together, the group kept pushing the pace, battling a pesky cross/headwind most of the way. Up the second climb, longer and steeper than the first, Walters fell off the pace while Walch and Charlie began to realize the gap to the field. A few miles later and the duo began picking off stragglers from the early breakaway. Confidence was shaken though when Glen Chadwick (Team Type 1), Jake Hollenbach (CCB), and Dan Vaillancourt (Toshiba/Santo) caught up with and then dropped Charlie’s group, which was hesitant to try to keep pace with such strong riders.

Another 10 miles ticked by and a group of about 15 caught Charlie’s move on the third climb. With them was a resilient Thom who looked stronger and fresher than his teammate. While many of the early attackers melted away there was no information regarding how many people were still up the road. With this in mind, the chase group rode the last 10 miles as if the riders were chasing gold. Attacks were constant and Charlie and Thom did what they could to help bring back moves while also attempting to escape the group.

The approach into Somerville proved even more confusing than the rest of the senseless route and the group’s frustration was palpable. Charlie tried desperately one last time to get away but was nullified a kilometer before the finish. Finally, on a slight uphill preceeding a sharp right turn to the finish line, Chris Jones burst up the road with Amos Brumble (CCB) on his wheel. Chains leapt to the smallest cogs and hands reached for handlebar drops. When the dust cleared Thom had a great result finishing ninth while Charlie sped in a second or so back in 15th. Ryan, who had jumped the main field on the tricky section before coming back into town had an excellent ride and finished 19th.

The entire team rode very well and save for Aaron’s flat tire, everyone finished this difficult race. Next stop: the Bound Brook Criterium.