Race: The 40th Annual Fitchburg-Longsjo Classic (Road Stage Race)
**************The Second Oldest Bicycle Race In The Country*************************
Location: Fitchburg, MA
Written By: Justin Thompson

      After getting home and away from the nasty, smoggy air of Cincinnati for a couple of days it was time to unload and reload my bags for the trip up to Fitchburg, MA where I would be competing in the first true stage race of my cycling career. Tara Keefer, a fellow Team TREK teammate was my ride to Fitchburg and she had here sights set on winning the Cat 4 Women's race. As we drove up into New England I was still kind of tired from Junior Road Nationals and wasn't very confident in myself because this was the first 18 and under Junior race I had ever done and some of those 18 year olds are very fast, up until now all the road events I had done had been broken down into 15-16 and 17-18.
      Friday, July 2 was Stage 1, the Best Western Royal Plaza Time Trial. There are about 35 junior racers, I recognize names such as Ian Stuart who is one of the fastest junior road racers in the country. It was a 12.9 mile loop with rolling hills and one fast downhill. My time of 30:31 put me in 9th place. I was about 1 min and 30 sec behind first place and only 30 sec from 3rd. I knew I was still in the hunt and tried to keep an open mind because we still had 3 days of racing to go. Tara Keefer displayed her mountain biking fitness by placing 2nd in the time trial, only 6 sec behind 1st.
      Saturday, July 3 was Stage 2, the Aubuchon/Glidden Circuit Race. Junior Men did 8 3.1 mile laps. The course was rolling except for a stair stepping climb that was like a sprint each lap. I conserved energy by just sitting in the pack and actually moved up one spot overall after the 3rd place guy crashed out. I finished with the pack and we all got same time so I didn't lose any time and I am now in 8th place overall. Tara Keefer continued to be a force in the Women's 4 race by becoming the Smart Fuel sprint leader and also winning the stage. Tara got a 10 sec bonus for winning but was still 1 sec behind overall because the girl that was in 1st came in 2nd in the circuit race and got a 5 sec bonus.
      Sunday, July 4 was Stage 3, the Unitil/FG&E Road Race at Wachusett Mountain. When I woke up early before my race on Sunday morning I knew something was going to happen today because if something big didn't happen in the road race I wasn't going to move up at all and wouldn't have anything exciting to tell anyone back home. I told myself that I would make something happen today. Junior Men were doing 4 11.4 mile laps. At the end of the last lap we would make a left turn into Wachusett Mountain State Park, climb 5k to the summit where the finish line would be. For the start of the race it was pouring down rain and cool. Right from the gun Peter Lawler, a 18 year old NECSA racer and I descended down a wicked hill and decided to breakaway. I knew he was a very strong rider and knew we had a chance at staying away the whole race because he about 10 teammates blocking for him. Ian Stuart the race leader was forced to pull the whole pack and try to catch the two of us which he was unable to do. At one point we were 1:30 up on the pack and at another point they were only 30 sec back and could see us. At the end of the last lap before we turned into the Wachusett climb we were about 1:30 up on the pack. As we got into the climb my breakaway partner faded and I ended up beating him by 2:02. The second place finisher was the race leader and he was 1:24 off of me. I raced the race of my life and the question would be did I make up enough time on the leader to steal the leader's jersey. Unfortunately I was 4 sec off 1st place. Although I would have loved to take the jersey off of that boy I was very pleased with myself because I gave it everything I had and come up just shy. I had 2nd place locked up easily and went into the last stage open minded. Tara Keefer also put in an awesome effort by coming in 3rd place and pretty much securing her 2nd place overall. If Tara had some teammates like the race leader I'm confident she could have taken the leaders jersey. She had to work her ass off to battle the team tactics in the race and came up a little short at the finish. Her awesome effort and good performance shouldn't be overlooked but Tara is the kind of person that always strives to be better.
      Monday, July 5 was the 4th and final stage, the UMass Memorial HealthAlliance Criterium. Going into the crit I wanted to hold onto my 2nd place overall and if the circumstance presented itself try to make up the 4 sec separating the leader and I which would be highly unlikely and almost impossible. Just as I had planned I finished with the pack and held onto my 2nd overall. I was also recognized as the top 15-16 racer and received many congratz from all the junior parents which supported me as the underdog throughout the racing. It was an honor to be able to do as well as I did in a race that is known as part of New England's racing heritage. Back to the Women's 4 race, Tara Keefer was in much the same position I was in. She had 2nd place locked up and knew 1st was going to be almost impossible. Much of her tactics were the same as mine. On the last lap of the race Tara showed everyone how tough and determined of a woman she is. Tara was involved in a crash, she hit her head pretty hard and banged up her wrist and leg. Knowing that she couldn't lose too much time she hopped back on the bike and finished the last lap and held onto 2nd overall.
      Justin Thompson raced on a stock TREK 2200 road bike which performed flawlessly. The light and stiff aluminum frame climbed with the best of them and Rolf Vector wheels proved to hold up well on the rough roads of MA. I am looking forward to getting back on the mountain bike and will be doing the Fairhill MTB race this Sunday.