August 2009 Archives

On Sunday August 9^th several members of the New England and New Jersey team headed to East Hartland, CT to participate in the Tokeneke Road Race which is part of the New England Road Race Championship. The course is a challenging 22 mile loop with substantial climbing.  The culminates in a two mile 7% climb. The KOM / QOM was held on the first lap causing repeated attacks off the front from the start. 

Kristen Gohr (Cat 1) in an amazing show of climbing strength won the top honour in the women's field (see race report below).  Brian Roberts (Cat 3) hammered home the 10^th slot in the Men's 3 field.  Great job Kristen and Brian we are very proud of you!!! 

Chris Hillier (Cat2), Jason Moriarty (Cat 3), Justin Henderson (Cat 4) and Chris Rago (aka Ragu) making his Colavita NE team debut had solid finishes on this challenging course. 

A special thanks goes out to the feed zone team.  Josie, Lauren and Shannon who  waited in the rain for several hours during the race keeping the team hydrated and fueled up.  We could not have done it without your help and support.  Thank you ladies!!!

Race Report: Provided by Kristen Gohr (Cat 1)

It was a large field of 40 to start.  The course starts off with several miles of easy rollers with a significant down hill.  The field stayed together through the fast descent but was quickly separated into a smaller group of 10 after the first steep climb.  The lead pack drove a hard pace breaking free from the rest of the field several times.  The main group would eventually be brought back at the base of the 2 ½  mile climb.  On the final lap seven riders broke away on the last climb, but the blistering pace forced the final separation in the race.  Clara Kelly, Beth Miller and I fought it out on the final approach to the finish line.  I was happy to finally cross the line first!! 

On August 1^st four members of the team raced the Mt Equinox Hill Climb.  The non-sanctioned race is a favorite among hill climbers for it's challenging  12% grade totaling 3,248 ft in just 5.2 miles.  The racers could not ask for better weather with a cool sunny morning and calm winds.  Team members who raced were: Kristen Gohr (Cat 1), Chris Hillier (Cat 2),  Jason Moriarty (Cat 3) and Todd Jakubek (Cat 3). 

The team had spectacular results all finishing well under the top notch cut off time of 50 min. 

• Chris Hillier (Cat 1) placed 9^th overall and 1^st in 20-29 men's class (With a name like Hillier you have to be a good climber). 
• Kristen Gohr (Cat 1) had a strong performance placing 3^rd in the women's field and 16^th overall. 
• Jason Moriarty (Cat 3) who just came of a serious injury placed 6^th in the Men's 30-39 field. 
• Todd Jakubek (Cat 3) placed 4^th in the Men's 30 - 39 field.

Next the team will be traveling to Mt Washington to slug it out up the slopes of the rock pile.