Everyone talks about the Reston Grand Prix as being one of the hardest races in the MABRA series. It doesn't receive the hype of Wilmington or Clarendon, nor is the course design as technical. It seems to be one of those races that just makes. you. slowly. painfully. suffer.
For those of you who were unable to make the course it is an 8 turn crit somewhere within the 1k to 1mile distance. The first 5 turns of the course take you around a primarily downhill stretch where maneuvering the peloton is striaght forward. The kick in the _____ comes during turns 6, 7, 8 and back to turn 1. This stretch consists of slow and painful uphill. The P 1,2,3 field progresses anywhere from 25-28mph through this section while the other fields come in
For those of you who were unable to make the course it is an 8 turn crit somewhere within the 1k to 1mile distance. The first 5 turns of the course take you around a primarily downhill stretch where maneuvering the peloton is striaght forward. The kick in the _____ comes during turns 6, 7, 8 and back to turn 1. This stretch consists of slow and painful uphill. The P 1,2,3 field progresses anywhere from 25-28mph through this section while the other fields come in
somewhere slightly slower. Any time you go uphill at that speed for prolonged periods of time and you are NOT (even though you believe to your inner-most soul you could have made the tour given a separate set of life circumstances) Eddy Merkcx, Jens Voigt or Fabian Cancellara... you are going to hurt.
The day saw a flurry of attacks, crashes (3/4 men), hot temperatures, rain, and simply awesome racing. The MABRA is a stupid hard conference to race in but never fails to disappoint. Each venue has been well-run and the competition is always stand-up. Reston Grand Prix fell in the exact same category.
The men & women in the MABRA are just fun to race against. While they may leave you red lined around a 190 HR pushing 800 watts... post-race, they are some of the best guys/gals to have a beer & laugh with.
In other news... the bird above tried to steal a cyclist's manly quiche at Baked & Wired Friday morning. The bird has been reported missing and no one has seen it since the encounter. If you have any news as to the birds where-a-bouts please contact someone... anyone. Never try to take a cyclists pastry, cupcake or quiche from Baked & Wired.
We have posted some of the photos from some of the local photographers who were at the race:
The day saw a flurry of attacks, crashes (3/4 men), hot temperatures, rain, and simply awesome racing. The MABRA is a stupid hard conference to race in but never fails to disappoint. Each venue has been well-run and the competition is always stand-up. Reston Grand Prix fell in the exact same category.
The men & women in the MABRA are just fun to race against. While they may leave you red lined around a 190 HR pushing 800 watts... post-race, they are some of the best guys/gals to have a beer & laugh with.
In other news... the bird above tried to steal a cyclist's manly quiche at Baked & Wired Friday morning. The bird has been reported missing and no one has seen it since the encounter. If you have any news as to the birds where-a-bouts please contact someone... anyone. Never try to take a cyclists pastry, cupcake or quiche from Baked & Wired.
We have posted some of the photos from some of the local photographers who were at the race:
Race | Photographer1. Brook Edinger 2. Brook Edinger 3. Igda Warner 4. Aziz Elhallou 5. Kent Le 6. Grayson Rosenfeld 7. Dom Boonen 8. Dom Boonen 9. Dom Boonen 10. Dom Boonen | Date1. June 23, 2013 2. June 23, 2013 3. June 23, 2013 4. June 23, 2013 5. June 23, 2013 6. June 23, 2013 7. June 23, 2013 8. June 23, 2013 9. June 23, 2013 10. June 23, 2013 |
As always ... if you have any pictures shoot us a link and we'll throw them up for you!