PEERLESS INS ROAD RACE May 21,1995 Masters 45

The classic Optical Ave. Criterium has now been join by an excellent 52 mile road race. The early course took the field mostly downhill or flat with a few half mile rollers thrown in for good measure. Working hard at the front of the pack covering attacks Barry controlled the pace through the first half of the race. At the base of a short, stiff climb Mike Duck dropped his chain and lost valuable time. Barry, riding strong, waited for Mike to recover and set a fast chase to regain the pack. "Luckily the course went flat just after the hill and we were able to catch the pack easily" said a tired Barry after the race. As the field cruised through Alstead at the far end of the course the angle of the road turned upward. The climbing went for approximately 4 miles and got steep for the last mile and a half. Henry Wilmer, NEMRT's strongman, took the opportunity to take a flier and steadily pulled away. Over the top of the climb Henry met with some very challenging rollers, this provided the opportunity for the pack to close the gap. Once caught Henry took over as "the enforcer of the pace" and did not allowing anyone to escape. The race settled down again until the final challenge up Bingham Hill. Bingham Hill is in the course at 44 mile mark of the race and is a mile and half of leg burning torture. Derek was first to the top with Artie LaBlanc, Sunapee and old friend Jimmy Fraser, Zephyr in tow. The field shattered again, but with 7 miles of flats and downhill to the finish the lead pack would regroup for a wild finishing sequence. This being a first time course the riders were unfamiliar with the finishing part of the course and mis-read the closing miles of the race. The always aggressive Peter Bates seemed to be the only rider to notice the MAPLE AVE. (start/finish of the race) sign and launched what would prove to be the race winning move of the race. Henry Wilmer countered the attack and set a very fast pace to chase Peter but was unable to close the gap. Just before the last corner Derek realized the finish line was closer than he or anyone thought. Without hesitation Derek gapped the field and sped towards the line. Only Optical Ave. Crit. winner Earl Page was able to generate enough speed to catch Derek by the finish line in a classic field sprint. Henry and Mike finished strongly in the pack and a tired "Bullet" soloed in off the back.