Princeton Stevens Jersey Devil 3/27-28/2010

First you say "SHUT UP, BODY!"


Thanks Jens Voigt.





When you begin to taste blood, you just say, "shut up body!"


And that's what we did this weekend!  I could say that "mechanical failure" was also a theme of the weekend, but it didn't seem to hamper anyone, Garrett and Rob especially.  After Joe's bike was parted out for derailleur cables, Villanova Cycling rode to victory- its first ever in the B class.


Mercer County Park ITT


No real pictures from this event because well, crap, it's an ITT.  After arriving from sweet lodging at my grandparents' soon to be solar powered house in Hamilton, NJ, we rode early and chilly at the 4.2 mile ITT circuit on the 2 lane park driveway.


Not much else to report here.  We all did pretty well, especially Garrett and I finishing within .3 of a second of each other.  You know what they (I) say, "train together, finish together"


ITT Results
Justin - 5th - 11:15.71 - 12 pts
Rob - 9th - 10:58.44 - 12 pts
James - 11th - 11:02.72 - 7 pts
Garrett - 12th - 11:03.09 - 5 pts
Joe - 13th - 12:14.33 - 0 pts
Will - 13th - 14:36.42 - 0 pts 


Cadawalader Park Criterium

Woah, Trenton.  A criterium through a bombed out park?  This road was looking pretty sketchy.  A nice little setup on a 1 way driveway gave us numerous views of the course from which to partake the eventual carnage.  The C, D and Intro races went off well for Villanova.  Justin notched a career best seventh in the criterium, leading the race around for numerous "sponsorship laps" demonstrating the beautiful new Villanova Jerseys provided by Canari.  Robby and Joe rocked out in the D race, Robby notching a first place in a mid race prime sprint.  Go Robby!  In his second week in the intro class, Will Kavanagh gained valuable race experience and killer insights from the best coaches of the ECCC.

The B race was an interesting undertaking.  As we navigated across the potholes and cobblestones of the central Jersey course (I half expected to see a U Turn), mechanical failures beset 2/3rds of the team.  Garrett broke a rear derailleur cable halfway through the race, and after taking a few free laps, returned for a spectacular finish.  Rob was beset by the eternal problem of Mavic wheels... a dry freehub.  I heard the characteristic whine from 50 yards away and knew instantly that his freehub certainly needed a little loving.  We bumped and banged along to a monster last lap collision that sent me flying to the outside- no damage, no fall, except to my sprint speed.  Garrett came back into the race with only 2 speeds and sprinted to an impressive 5th place finish.



Criterium Results
Garrett - 5th - 23 + 5 pts (1st in Sprint 4)
Justin - 7th - 6 + 3 pts (2nd in Sprint 1)
James - 13th - 3 + 3 pts (2nd in Sprint 4)
Robby - 13th - 0 + 5 pts (1st in Sprint 2)
Joe - 16th - 0 pts
Will - 19th - 0 pts
Rob - 20th (with 3 full stops!!!) - 0 pts 


Skillman Circuit Race

Sunday began equally early for the first of the "mountain stages" of the ECCC.  The race ambled through scenic (and wealthy) Montgomery, NJ, starting at Johnson and Johnson's facility there.  It wandered up a big hill on Grandview Road, across to Dutchtown Zion Road, and back down on the Great Road.  I use words like "ambled" and "wandered" to describe this race's slow pace, plodding up the hill, and then breaking the sound barrier on a sweet, long descent.

After getting a great dinner from my grandmother and mother (thanks!), VUCC was ready to shock the ECCC.  Racing profoundly early, Robby and Joe tested out the course in the unseasonable cold.  Justin came next in the C class, doing prodigious work for the C class, and coming in to a solid 12th place finish, cementing his role as a contender in the C class.


And now, for this public service message- always do bike maintenance.  Specifically, CHANGE YOUR CABLES when necessary.  Thanks to Wheel Life Cycles of Belle Mead, Rob was able to make the beginning of the B race; however, severing ones front derailleur cable at the beginning of a B race is not likely to make for easy climbing.  Many thanks to Wheel Life and Knapp's in Lawrenceville this weekend for providing Villanova's neutral support.


The B race was a quiet affair, 6 laps long, 5 of which were pure jockeying for position.  The big hill started to hurt a little more each lap, providing a preview of the mountains to come at Army, Dartmouth, Yale and the like.  The race became interesting as we headed around the final corner- Garrett and Rob were set up for a sprint and I was shuffled a little bit back from an earlier pull on the backstretch.  I saw my opening as we rounded the final curve- the road widened dramatically.  I put the acceleration in at exactly the right time considering my rearward drift, and surged from 20th to 5th.  In ideal position, Garrett began to "whomp whomp" along, edging out a Naval academy rider by a hair.  VICTORY FOR VILLANOVA CYCLING!

And with some creative cropping by Will K, we have this masterpiece:

Nice work!  My pain face is clearly more awesome though.


See all the pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/kavy11/PrincetonRaces#  Major HT to Will Kav.


We'll see you all next Saturday for the Bucknell Road Race; good Catholics that we are, we'll be taking Sunday off to celebrate Easter.


Circuit Results
Garrett - 1st by 0.5 inches (the FinishLynx picture is AMAZING) - 48
pts
James - 5th - 28 pts
Joe - 10th - 0 pts
Will - 11th - 0 pts
Justin - 12th - 1 pt
Rob - 13th - 3 pts
Robby - DNF - 0 pts