Virginia Tech Road Race – Photos
Dylan Glatt takes the win in the Men’s D RR
[Dylan Glatt] Men’s D’s and Women’s C’s began frustratingly slow – seriously, no more than 17mph for the first 3 miles. As the course entered the first few hills, VT began attacking. Dylan and a Duke rider reacted quickly, spreading the field by 50m or more with 4 or 5 other rides. Feeling strong, well positioned, and knowing the cat 3 climb was approaching, Dylan then pulled off hard the front to separate from the pack. Duke held on to his wheel, but he expected this. The two worked together through the next few miles, separating themselves until the pack was out of site. Leading up the first big pitch of the 3.6 mi climb, Dylan (unintentionally) started to pull away from the Duke rider. Once the Duke rider fell off, and feeling strong enough to continue solo, Dylan thought, “hey, what the hell? Just try to catch the car.” Dylan finished maybe 2-3 minutes ahead of 2nd place, and proceeded to take a second lap around the course in reverse – it was, as he later joked, a long way to drive for only 16 miles of bike racing!
[Graham Hawkes] Canceled the climb for no reason. Cold as balls. Finished 7th. (B race)
[Evan] – B race started out a little faster than I was prepared for. had a tough time hanging on and got dropped on the 2nd lap climb. Then my cable snapped. Womp womp.
Virginia Tech Criterium – Photos
Suzanna Dupee and Ericka Malow lead the Women’s B criterium.
[Women's B Race]
After an unfortunate USA Cycling license snafu preventing Suzanna Dupee from competing in the road race on Saturday, she was ready to drop the hammer on the snowy Women’s B criterium on Sunday. The Women’s B and C fields lined up to the falling of white flurries amidst the freezing cold weather. There would be 4 primes for the B’s and 3 for the C’s. Suzanna and Ericka both had a phenomenal start off the line, quickly assuming a strategic position. Suzanna took the lead for the first few laps of the race, setting a grueling pace that resulted in a 4 person break with Navy, VT, and Duke. After launching several attacks and placing in all primes, the race came down to a sprint. Suzanna was tragically nabbed at the line by Duke, but placed a respectable 4th in a strong group of Women’s B riders. Not bad for a girl who sucks at criteriums!
[Men's D Race]
A few too many the night before put Dylan Glatt a bit farther back than desirable on this punchy up-and-down crit. After 2 laps of settling in, Dylan realized there was a good opportunity to cut a fast, downhill corner tight; he did just that and picked off 8 riders in about 200m. Now in 3rd and following the same Duke rider from the RR the day before, the two spoke briefly and were off, pulling away from the pack – they never looked back. Each pulled lap for lap, and their lead grew on the pack with each round. Dylan was fortunate to pick up both primes along the way. Dylan led coming into the final lap – not an optimal position – but a bit of good luck fell into place: they were lapping riders, so Dylan sat on the wheel of a lonely rider to save energy for the sprint he knew would come. Just before rounding the final corner, the Duke rider jumped, taking the inside and accelerating quickly up the hill towards the finish line. Dylan responded immediately, jumping on his wheel and exploding up the hill to Duke’s inside. 200m later, Dylan squeaked out the sprint.
