Somerset County, NJ. – The Legal Sea Foods Cycling Team brought a full squad down to the Somerville racing weekend.  Saturday’s 81-mile tour through downtown strip malls, rolling countryside, painful climbs, and Main Street New Jersey suburbia was a welcome respite from what would be the next two fast days of crit racing at Bound Brook and Somerville itself. 

Legal’s Peter Bell answered the call when an early breakaway decided to scurry up the road.  The group contained seven or so riders, big enough to let escape, especially as temperatures approached 100 degrees.  The noise of the motorcade closing major roads soon gave way to the concentrated silence of whirring wheels and aerobic breathing.  About 20 miles into the race, two New York-based teams planted themselves on the front of the pack to try to catch the escapees.  20 miles later, most of them would pay for their efforts when the first major climb reared its ugly head around a right-hand bend.  Charlie opened up the throttle to see if he could thin out the field while gauging how some of the other stronger climbers were feeling. 

Between the first and second climbs, the shattered remnants of the breakaway floated back to the field piece-by-piece with the rest of Legal’s team still awaiting the next climb.  Up the second hill, McCarthy again led the way with Nick, Ryan, Chris, Graham, Noah, Aaron, and Brad right behind.  At the crest of the hill, the race began, or so it seemed.  A few miles down the road, the race was forced to come to a complete stop due to a train crossing ala Paris Roubaix 2006.  As the gates were lifted, so too was the speed, and soon what remained of the field simply melted away.  With five kilometers to go, Nick, Ryan, and Brad had just enough to stay in contact but not enough to go with a two-man attack that struck at just the right time and ended up taking the win.  The Legal boys crossed the line in the field.