Bound Brook Criterium - 5/27/07
Bound Brook, NJ. - The Bound Brook Criterium was moved to a new course for 2007. Set in much prettier surroundings with nicely groomed lawns and giant shade trees towering above perfect pavement, the change was definitely welcome. The course also featured a new chicane-style set of turns, a right then quick left maneuver that would play a major role in the race. Bound Brook is typically a pre-Somerville warm-up, a painful 40 miles where some of the bigger pro teams show up to test their engines. This year, Sierra Nevada/Kodak, Aerospace Engineering, and a certain 2007 World Cyclocross Championships runner-up, Jonathan Page, were among the big guns. From the get go, the race was very fast and moving up took strategy and skill. The back side with its long drag to a left-hand turn was simply too fast to move around people and the front side’s many turns left little room to advance. The best thing to do was to ride the inside line and hope that whoever was next to you wouldn’t cut you off. Nick, Ryan, Brad, Chris and Peter worked well staying near the front. A couple of early breakaways were quickly shut down by the Sierra Nevada train and the race stayed together most of the time. 36mph down the back stretch was simply too much for many riders and each lap the peloton grew smaller. Graham, who started well in the back, was consistently moving up each lap, looking at ease in the field both through corners and on the high-speed drag races of the straight-aways. Every other lap he’d douse himself with ice water which seemed to improve his strength. From behind, it looked like he’d be the surprise of the day, sneaking up into the front of the race in the final laps. Unfortunately, Graham’s tube blew in the final turn out of the chicane, sending him directly into the pavement and taking out a good deal of riders in the process. His crash resulted in a dislocated left arm which had to be reset back at the local hospital. Nick Bennette was the highest-placed Legal Cyclist of the race, finishing in a very respectable 14th. |
