Nutmeg Crit 4/5 Under 30

I’m just getting over a cold/flu, so I decided to sandbag a bit and jump in the Cat 4/5 under 30 field. The Nutmeg crit course is the least technical crit ever, with no 90-degree corners and a sweeping finish in a park in New Britain, CT. The field was stacked with Mystic Velo members, so I decided a break probably wouldn’t work today.

There was a series of primes throughout the 20-lap race and I figured going for the early ones would give me a good feel for the final sprint without wearing me out much. I took 2nd in the first prime and 1st in the second. Being in 4th or 5th position coming out of the last turn was about right for drafting and then pulling around people before the line—most people underestimated the length of the finishing straight. One NHCC guy who was strong and had been in the CT Stage Race jumped out on a break with about 7 or 8 laps to go. He dangled out there and I tried to organize the peloton into a paceline to reel him in. Unfortunately the 4/5 field wasn’t terribly experienced and someone always sprinted on the front instead of riding smoothly through… Nevertheless, we eventually pulled him back with about 2 to go.

I was a little farther back than I wanted to be for the final sprint, but still came around some people for 5th (missed 4th by 2 hundredths of a second). Had fun and picked up more than enough cash to cover the race entry. Getting psyched for a more technical crit tomorrow morning in New London, CT.

Nicely done, Jeff. Good strategy to get a feel of the field in the early primes and to scout out the pack/course. Bummer on just missing 4th. Well done on the 5-spot, however. Good luck tomorrow.