Beanpot, April 9-10, 2005


Stellar riding typified Yale riding during the tanline-regenerating 
2005 Beanpot weekend.  The three-race weekend kicked off with the TTT, 
a 7.5 curving and rolling loop that finished along a steep climb.  D-
team Jorge, Connor, and Chris Ritacco were the first Yalies out on the 
course, and after their race, laughingly warned the rest of the team 
about a kamikaze-marshal who leapt in front of them on a left-hand 
turn.  Next, A-squad Eric, Adam, Steve-O, and Curtis busted their 
moves.  Although they were mere seconds out of the points in a tight A-
field, their teamwork was evident: all four finished together.  B-train 
Jon, Bryan, Doug, and Tebbe had a superb race and scored major points 
with their fifth place finish in the deep B field, ahead of red-IVY 
competitors Harvard, and Cornell.  WA studs Michele and Catherine put 
in another great TTT and finished fourth in a very close field (Kim 
admits to gapping Rachel and herself on the initial descent).  Yale 
took 8th overall in the TTT team total out of 20 colleges.


The road race, a scenic 14.6 mi loop with an "almost there...just 
kidding" hill at mile 3 and additional ups throughout, ended on an 
extra hill loop parallel to the final TTT climb.  D-men Jorge, Connor, 
Chris, and Nathan Blake all supplied chipper reports for their two-lap 
race: Connor finished in the top half (44) of the 99-man field, while 
Chris and Nathan, despite being off the pack, also crossed the line.  D-
star Jorge rode the entire race in the front pack before an unfortunate 
flat ended his race.  C-man Peter-dot-Chiu also put in a strong effort 
during his three-lap race, and finished in a solid 41st place.  B-Woman 
Rachel eschewed a crash during the first descent of her two-lap race, 
and the soundtrack from this near-disaster ("lots of swearing and bikes 
hitting pavement") provided the adrenaline for her successful attack on 
a Harvard rider going up the final uphill into her 26th place finish.  
Similarly strong rides occurred during the second wave of road races.  
MA-duo Eric and Adam were off first for their 5-lap race.  Adam rode 
with a small front pack that chased down constant attacks, and after 
shelling riders on the final uphill sprint, finished in a high 9th 
place out of the 62 starters.  The highlights of his race: narrowly 
avoiding a bad crash involving a Dartmouth rider on lap 3 and UVM urine 
on lap 4 when one of their riders pulled a number one in the middle of 
the pack.  Eric, meanwhile, persevered for most of the race before 
pulling out.  B-squad Steve-O, Doug, Bryan, Jon, Frank Meyer, Mike 
Richter, and Zach also put in strong performances during their 4-lap 
race.  Most of our B-team rode with the front pack the entire time and 
had solid finishes: Steve grabbed 13th place in the uphill finish; Doug 
was fourth going into the climb before his legs gave out (still, he 
took 22 overall); Zach (29) and Tebbe (37) were close behind.  Jon got 
caught behind a sketchy crash on the first lap and spent most of the 
race chasing, while Mike, Big Frank, and Bryan rode together behind the 
pack.  Mike bemusedly recalled his attempt to work with a Cornell rider 
who instead stopped, picked up his water bottle, and DNFed.  Midrace 
Frank got a flat, but generously pulled Mike back up to Hains before 
pulling out.  Hains and Mike then worked together for the last 10 miles 
(Hains "rocketed through the town and danced up the hills on his 12-27, 
happily finishing the race and logging in over 80 miles for the day 
over 160 bpm"), while a fellow rider who sucked their wheels the entire 
time tried to pass them on the final uphill.  Both of them dusted him.  
The Women's A trio also put in notable performances over their 4-lap 
race.  Michele and Catherine were both in front groups; Michele 
unfortunately got caught in a crash AFTER her 9th place sprint finish.  
Catherine was also in the points in 18th place.  Ten miles from the 
finish, Kim suffered a muscle spasm in her lower back.  She almost 
pulled out, but instead rode very very slowly until the excruciating 
pain abated and successfully finished the race beside a UNH rider with 
whom she'd been working.


After a gourmet dinner at the Diamond house, half the squad went home 
while the rest prepped for Sunday's (in)famous crit.


The technical six-corner, 0.6-mi Tufts crit featured a cobbled false-
flat straightaway finish, fast left downhill, 90-degree corners, mini-
wall, and lots of hay bales.  Pete and Dave Kappa started off the 
racing in the Men's C race.  Unfortunately, both were swallowed up in 
the start, but kept working their way up until they were pulled.  Both 
were obviously the strongest ones in their own chase groups; strangely 
they don't appear in the final results, but were in the 20s position-
wise.  Rachel was next in the WB crit, and had another solid race.  She 
had a bad start yet consistently passed women on the hill and false 
flat before being pulled and placed in 16th.  Afterward she found a 
hill at the edge of Tufts and rewarded herself with some warm-down 
repeats.  Then the B-squad (Steve-O, Doug, and Zach) had their fun.  
Early in their 25-lap race Steve went with what turned into an 
exhilarating 4-man break that LAPPED the field a few laps before the 
finish.  During the bell lap a sketchy military-esque man crashed out a 
few riders, including our very own Steve-O, on a back corner.  
Tragically, the crash bent Steve's back wheel, but as evidence of the 
field's respect, Steve was GIVEN a bike by a fellow out-of-contention 
rider and cruised through the finish line, well behind the pack but 
still in fourth place overall because of his earlier fantastic racing.  
He also picked up one first-place and two second-place prims during the 
thrilling break.  Doug seemed fated for an early whistle, however, his 
superstrength kept him from being pulled.  Indeed, even though he 
started at the back of the pack, he quickly moved up along the hill and 
was soon ensconced in the main pack chasing Steve-O's break.  His group 
dropped riders throughout the race, and in the final sprint, Doug moved 
up a few more places and finished in a solid 23rd place.  Superwomen 
Catherine and Michele then sped around the course during the 25-lap 
Women's A race.  Michele was gapped off the main pack for the first few 
laps of the race, and although she soon caught up, raced conservatively 
around the corners and consequently yo-yoed off the back.  By the time 
she was pulled though, she'd moved up to a respectable 14th place.  
Catherine also had a strong race.  She rode smoothly in the small front 
pack and worked well with the other riders.  Going into every corner 
and hill she held a perfect line, and at the end sprinted for a high 
9th place finish, and also picked up third-place sprint points in the 
fifth prim.  Eric capped off the day in his abbreviated MA race: he had 
trouble clipping in, and despite his powerful riding, was pulled a few 
laps later.  Overall, the weekend's racing revealed Yale riders' 
determination and hard work.  Anticipate more great results from our 
developing TTT teams and strong road racers.


Overheard at Eric's house: "My entire race strategy [for the Tufts 
crit] consists of trying to keep the rubber side down."