The Binghamton Circuit Race was my first race of the season. The Tioga Velo Club puts on a great low key race at Kirkwood Industrial Park in Binghamton. Easy to get to the race and the course is nice for a circuit race. Kudos to Jeff Poulin and the rest of the Organizers of the race.

I was down for two races, first the Cat 4 mens race and then the combo Cat 1/2/3 and Master men race. I switched out the from the Cat 3/4/5 race since it was not going off until 1:45 so I did not want to wait that long.

The Cat 4 race went first at 10am in cold drizzly conditions. It actually stopped raining, but the roads were still wet. I did not bring any warm gear other than a set of arm warmers, but they seemed to be enough. The goal for my race was to stay near the front. No accordion effect to ruin my race was the thinking, especially with the little hill just before the finish.

Once the race started I jumped to the front and stuck myself behind another rider with Hammer Nutrition shorts. he lead the pack around at a decent enough speed to warm up. The excitement of the first race of the year made the adrenalin rush and I was feeling good. About 3/4ths of the way around, just before the little hill that leads to the start finish line there is a small rise. For some reason I thought a first lap attack would be a good option and I launched myself to the bottom of the hill. A gap opened up and I didn’t know what to do Then someone chased and caught me. By the time I was at the top of the hill the pack caught me. The attack made me redline and the hill climb put me over the redline, so I was struggling just to stay wit the pack. I caught back on, but was not comfortable for the rest of the race. I could not settle in and get a good rhythm going and was struggling to stay with everyone. Eventually after a a few times around I was spit out of the back of the pack. I kept chasing to maintain a good spot, but eventually decided to bag it and be ready for the next race. Teammaates Andy Ross and Jason Dellilo were in the race and did well. Andy Ross stuck in to finish seventh and Jason Dellilo was in the pack looking for a good finish but was stopped by a broken chain. Jason is lookign very strong, so watch out for him in future races.

The next race was not much of an improvement for me. I started the Cat 1/2/3 and masters men 35+ race with hopes of hanging in as long as possible. The pace was decent and I stuck myself in the middle of the pack. No problem for the first lap, However Andy Ross of MaxPowerCycling launches a first lap attack almost like the one I did in the previous race. Steve Sloan of MaxPower is a Cat 3 and in College. Strong kid. He had problems during the race with his shifting. As I was drifting off the back of the pack I see Steve next to me wigglig his shifter around . The next moment he jumps like a bullet right back to the pack.

Steve dropped out of the Cat 1/2/3 race, but was able to place third in the Cat 3/4/5 race right after. Good work there Steve.

After about 9 laps of the 18 I decided to bag it, but “Turbo” (Brad Crosby) and Eric Schepis both of Velosportivo would not let me quit. They encouraged me to finish out the distance anyway. Its good training they said. I’m a glutton for punishment, and I would have felt bad for not getting more miles in after driving one hour down and one hour back, so I got back on the bike and finished the race.

(Matt Panzarella goes for 5th place in the Cat 5 Race)

Matt Panzarella and Bran Blake did well in the Cat 5 race with Matt placing fifth and Brian just behind but out of the placings. Good work for both.

Overall it was a good race for the team. Cycling is much more fun as a team sprt especially when you have a bad race, you can enjoy your teammates good results.

Next up I may go to Hollenbeck and try the hills out for size.

Sunday April 29th will be my first race of the season. I couldn’t go to the Rochester Giros, the MaxPower Racign Training series was frozen out by bad weather and I also missed out on Bloomfield last week.

I am anxious to get out to a race this year and show off the new kit. The race promises to have a large turnout from MaxPowerCycling team guys so it should be fun. The Binghamton course is a gradual loop with no tight turns and each lap is about 1.5 or so miles in length. I signed up for the Cat 4 race at 10am and the Cat 345 race at 1:45 although I am tempted to switch my second race to the Masters 35+ race at 12:30. Too much waiting around makes my legs stiff as a board and results in a quick in and out for me.

The course has a couple of small hills that can bit after a few laps. the main hill which I would guess is about 55 to 6% just before the start/finish seems to be the one that everyone focuses on, but the real tough one is the gradual almost 3% climb after that. Everyone tends to ease up on that smaller hill after not being dropped on the steeper hill just a few yards ahead.

The pack stays together for most of the race with folks dropping off the back throughout. The pack eventually whittles down to a group of strong guys and it most likely will end in a sprint up the steeper hill.

My goal will be to stay near the front for as long as possible. If there are any moves I will go with them, but the goal is to stay fresh in the main pack. The hill is tough enough to get through and if I am able to keep away from the accordion effect that happens in the middle or back of the pack then I should be OK.

The problem I have in all races is the start. I can’t get going as fast as everyone and them am stuck in the back or middle of the pack trying to move up. Last year I was floating near the back of the pack. I tried to move up, but did not have the strength or the guts to get to the front. Eventually the elastic snapped and I bagged it after falling behind on the second gradual climb. I was actually losing ground on the downhill at one point because the accordion effect brought out a quick acceleration for which I was not ready.

If I can clip in and get going fast enough and stay near the front for a few laps I will be a happy man and may end up with a good result. If I am near the back then I have to work hard to get to the front or it will be curtains for me. Anyway, hope to see some velochimp.com readers at the race or have fun where you are racing this weekend.