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ALDEN WINS BEAR MOUNTAIN, TOKENEKE, CRCA POWER POINTS RACES!!!
9/12/2009
With the new finish at Bear Mountain this year – atop the Lake Welch climb and not down the fast downhill straightaway leading to the Lake Welch parking lot – Mark Alden of the Blue Ribbon Cycling Team knew his chances of finally winning the epic local road race had increased dramatically…
On a beautifully sunny early-September day, the first lap was formal, a fairly mellow tempo. In the second half of the first lap, a break went with 4 riders, but it was still very early in the race and the break didn’t seem to get too big of a gap. Near the end of the first lap, Mark tested the waters and attacked hard over the Kanawauke Circle. Troy Kimball (Westwood Cycle) and Max Lippolis (Target Training) went with him and they pacelined hard and fast but were still pulled back, deemed a dangerous move by the large peloton...
The second time up Tiorati, teammate David Taylor attacked hard on the steepest part of the climb. The field started to unravel and about 15 riders popped off the front. With most of the heavy hitters present, it seemed like this split might stick. Westwood had the numbers with Troy, Rob Lattanzi, and Todd Cassan all present. Blue Ribbon had Alden and Taylor.
Unfortunately, most of the group was along for the ride with only a few willing to put in the effort needed to stay away. Lattanzi put in an impressively fast pull that lasted for almost the entire length of Seven Lakes Drive. However, it wasn’t enough and it all came back together. The third time up Tiorati, Taylor attacked again, and this time the field blew up for good. 10 guys were able to get off the front, and Westwood attacked the move, forcing the Blue Ribbon duo to chase…
As the finished approached, it looked like the group would hit the climb together. Kurt Gustafsson had other ideas however and put in the gutsiest move of the race. He attacked just after Kanawauke circle while the rest watched each other. He was smartly playing off of the team infighting. Fortunately, Lattanzi went to the front and drilled it going into the base of the climb, keeping Kurt within striking distance.
Going up the climb, the group was fanned out across the road with Kurt a few second ahead. Mark, in fear of not wanting Max or Troy to use their fast field sprinting abilities, jumped early on the climb. And jump early he did, passing everyone and opening a huge gap. He was able to back off a little at the line, his teammate David Taylor driving it home for 3rd to boot!!! 1st and 3rd at the region’s biggest hilly road race, you can’t ask for more than that!!!
Tokeneke has long been one of Mark Alden’s favorite races, but it’s one New England road race he hasn’t been able to win. Well, this year that all changed! Tokeneke is arguably one of the most beautiful courses out there, hilly laps with a hilltop finish! Mark and a bunch of other riders pushed a break during the second lap but were caught within a lap…
There was quite a bit of attacking for the remainder of the lap, but Mark focused on following and recovering. Going into the finishing climb, only 20-25 guys were left. About halfway up, a few guys stepped up the pace and the group was reduced to about 12. Mark hopped on his teammate David Taylor’s wheel as the finish line approached, and they both jumped hard. Mark sprinted ahead, earning a large gap, and was able to sit up at the line, throwing a few fist pumps – HUGE WIN! Blue Ribbon continues it’s huge success in these road races with their lethal 1-2 combination of David Taylor and Mark Alden…
Every year, the CRCA puts on a Power Points Race in Central Park, where you contest a series of sprints. At the end, the points are tallied and formulates a GC… Mark was on a very good day… He is a top climber, but with changes to his training, he’s been able to become more of an all-arounder, better at attacking, better at powering breaks, better at sprinting. And today it showed! The 1st sprint was up Harlem Hill, and Mark was on the Foundation train, then jumped very early. He got a huge gap and no one could close it down. Way to win the first sprint, Mark!
It was almost déjà vu the second time around, but Foundation’s top rider Libsan Quintero was able to nip him at the top. Then a big split formed with Mark’s teammates in it. This gave him time to recover a bit… In hindsight, this was key as had he still been near the front, he may have blown up. It came back together, and then a group of six pounded away… Blue Ribbon reacted, chasing back the move in fine fashion, catching the break at the bottom of the hill! Inspired by the teamwork, Mark won the sprint by a wide margin. Mark was thinking he could maybe win the whole thing, taking 2nd at the next sprint...
To boot, he ended up making a break with 4 others, taking the next two sprints! Mark had ridden harder than ever, and his legs locked up during the final sprint up Cat’s Paw, but he still had enough points to take home the overall!!! Congrats, Alden! HUGE win! Three of the biggest races of the year, and three victories! Way to be on top form when it counts, Mark...
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