Yarmouth Clam Festival

This was the 29th annual bike race at the Yarmouth Clam Festival (although the Clam Festival started 44 years ago based on the banner above). By my rough calculation, that means the first race was held in 1981. A lot has changed in bike racing since then. The sound at the start of a race is dominated by the clunk of cleats locking into pedals instead of the sound of riders muttering and cursing as they reach down to tighten toe straps. Entry fees have tripled but prize lists haven't. The USCF is now USA Cycling. Bikes are made of crabon fiber, not many are made of steel anymore. And pre-registration is more often done by computer now than by envelope. Fortunately, in this crazy world where constant change is the one thing you can rely on, the Yarmouth Clam Festival Bike Race has hardly changed at all. It is still a barn burner of a race and it's still supported by the locals like no other race around.

This year's event started on a somber note with a memorial lap for a member of the local cycling community, Carrie Girod. She was killed by a motor vehicle while cycling on vacation in Seattle just a week before the race. She had been a member of the Portland Velo Club, the host club of the race, and a friend of many of those in attendance. I don't know more details of the accident beyond that, but it should serve as reminder of the dangers cyclists encounter each time we ride on the roads with the big steel boxes. Soap box time: If I were king, I would make it illegal to send or read text messages while driving. It's probably to late to keep people from talking on the phone while driving, that's just too ingrained in people now to stop, but maybe it isn't too late to put an end to the unnecessary and extremely selfish act of typing while driving. And I would also make it illegal to where headphones/earbuds while cycling. That is just dumb too. Anyway, back to the race -

After one complete 3.6-mile memorial lap around Yarmouth, the racing began for both the men's and the women's fields. The men's field (Pro 1,2,3) was nearly full at close to 100 riders while the women's field was considerably smaller at about 25. But the race promoter still pays the women's prize list 10 deep and $750, just like the men's race. Last year's men's winner,Justin Spinelli was not present to defend, but Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) returned to try to make it back to back wins.

Once the racing was underway, there were primes every lap for both races thanks to the incredible support that the local residents and businesses have for this race. The crowds were 3 and 4 people deep through the center of town on both sides of the road and plenty of those people donated for primes. There was never less than $40 on a lap for each race and typically well over $100.

Dick Ring, "The Voice of New England Bike Racing" , was in the crowd but it didn't take much coaxing to get him to grab a microphone and join me on the stage. He hasn't lost a step even though he doesn't see as much of the racers as he did before his "retirement" from race announcing a few years ago. It was a great privilege for me to once again trade stories and banter with the master as the race progressed. The unfortunate thing is that I barely got to pay attention to the race while I was trying to keep up with him.

I remember that every lap was won by a solo break or a small group off the front but that the attacks didn't seem to last very long until Peter Bradshaw (Embrocation Cycling) took off in the men's race around half way through the ten lap race and Rebecca Wellons did the same in the women's race. Peter got some company soon after but Rebecca did not. She went on to bag the primes for several laps earning a couple hundred extra dollars and then soloed in for the win a minute ahead of the rest of the field. Her victory salute included a letter C for Carrie with her right hand. Maybe she could teach young Mr. Cavendish a thing or two about appropriate and respectful victory salutes. Anna McLoon (Alturum Cycling) was second and Danielle Ruane (Sunapee) was third more than half a minute in front of the rest of the field which sprinted down the finishing strait to claim the rest of the prize money.

In the men's race, Bradshaw, who was the world champion bike messenger a few years ago, got some company when Damien Colfer, Ryan Fleming (Met Life), Morgan MacLeod (Bowdoin College), and Dan Vallaincourt (Colavita) pulled up alongside. They rode together as temporary team mates and established a solid but not insurmountable lead by working well together. Vallaincourt was on the front more often than not when they came through the start/finish area and was awarded most of the primes.

Bradshaw was the only one with much support behind in the field so blocking was not as much of a factor as it might have been. Instead, it was the power of the only full professional in the break, Vallaincourt, that drove the train and kept the break away. On the final lap, Bradshaw attacked the group and dropped most of them. But Vallaincourt caught back on and passed Bradshaw just before the finish line to take first prize by half a bike length (see picture below). Colfer crossed just seconds later followed by Fleming. The field charged down the final hill at well over 40 mph after already swarming MacLeod (who would finish 27th). Adam Myerson (Mountain Khakis) would taked the field sprint for 6th. Of note, Luke Keough (CLNoonan), winner of the previous day's race at Claremont (see previous post) would wind up his sprint on junior gears (45x12) and finish 9th. The downhill sprint and restricted gears put him at a big disadvantage, but he still pulled off a result in the money. Just wait until next year when the training wheels come off.

After the race, the top three women showed up promptly for the podium which is a big deal in Yarmouth because there actually are spectators who care there, but Bradshaw and Colfer apparently decided to take a warm down lap after the men's race and missed the whole thing. Vallaincourt is a pro on and off the bike and knew where to be and when to be there. For a short time the officials considered DQ'ing Bradshaw and Colfer for their transgression. Based on the picture of Bradshaw with a wad of cash at the Embrocation Cycling blog, I guess they didn't follow through on the threat. It sure does suck to be the announcer at a big race and have to plead over the PA for the podium to show up, but I wouldn't want to see them DQed after a great race either.

In addition to the prize list and primes, the winners also received an original painting from Joe Cousins, a local artist and one of the coordinators of the Clam Festival art show. Rebecca is going to need a bigger home if she wins another one. I am not sure, but I think it was Dan's first win at Yarmouth despite being from just down the road in Saco.

Here's a picture with Kristen Fortini (aka Mills), me, Dick Ring, and Joe Cousins at the finish line:

Thanks to Rose for snapping the pictures. After the race and some fried clams, Rose and I did a little sea kayaking nearby and had a great trip. I can't wait to go back next year for the racing and more fried clams.

You can find more pictures of the event at http://pa.photoshelter.com/gallery/Yarmouth-Clam-Festival-Pro-Cycling-Race-2009/G0000O0eaDw2jDNM/?_bqO=25&ppg=25&_bqH=eJxL9w02d0x0d3dKcQz29I0qzSj1KrPMNMjIiDewMjG1MjK1snKP93SxdTcAAn.D1ESXcqMsFz9ftQCQqJq7Z7y7o4.Pa1AkNkUACo4a9Q--

Claremont and Yarmouth

July 19th: Claremont Criterium
The Claremont NH Criterium was a wild ride once again. With a short and somewhat technical course in the downtown business district of Claremont, it is always a barn burner and frequent primes only add to the challenge and excitement. Adding to the wildness, in the four years that I have done the announcing there, it seems like there has been a threat of a thunderstorm each time. This one was no different.

The racing started in the mid afternoon with races for the kids. Two through six year olds and then seven to nine year olds did 150 meter sprints to the start/finish line. I didn't catch the name of the winner of the 2-6 heat (bad journalist, but I was busy announcing). The winner of the 7-9 year olds' heat was Grace Vollers, the daughter of former pro bike racer and UMass standout, Peter Vollers. Grace wouldn't admit to having had any coaching from her dad and was non-committal about her future in the sport in a post-race interview. But, judging by the way she blew past the rest of the kids, there is a future for her in bike racing if she catches the bug.

The Juniors 10-14 were up next and had a strong field of riders. There is a big difference between 10 and 14 year olds in both strength and experience level, so the cub juniors races usually split apart. This one held together a little longer than usual, but eventually, 14 year old Peter Goguen won in a two man break. All of the 15-18 year old juniors elected to race in their categories so no Junior 15-18 race was held.

The Masters 35-plus started with dark threatening skies to the north. Weather radar indicated it might stay there as the race began. After a few laps Mike Barton (Boston Scientific) and Paul Richard (CCB) had a gap approaching 20 seconds. But then all hell broke loose as a very scary cyclone blew through the course. The race was immediately shut down while winds of at least 50 mph knocked down branches and blew sand into everyone's eyes. This was as close to a tornado as I ever want to see. In about 30 seconds it was over. Once the debris was picked up from the course, the riders were given a warm up lap to check the course and the race was re-started. Only a few laps later, the thunder and lightening and rain finally came to the area and the race was halted again. The riders took cover and waited it out. Eventually, the field was called back to the line and given 10 wet laps to finish the race. Barton and Richard were once again given their 20 second lead, then the pack was let go to chase. At the end of the ten laps, the finish between the two breakaways was too close to call and they were both awarded 1st place while the promoter split the prize money for the first two places equally among them.


The Cat 3/4 men's race saw a break of 6 get a solid advantage over the field in the latter part of the wet race. They built up almost a half lap lead but coming into the final turn before the flat finishing strait of about 200 meters, Christian Eager, sitting in third position in the break, let centrifugal force over come traction and slid into the hay bales on the outside of the slightly off-camber 90 degree corner. The rider immediately behind, with no where else to go, launched over him and tumbled. Eager (Quad Cycles) quickly gathered himself up, ran a few yards down the road toward the finish line and,using his cyclocross skills, jumped smoothly back onto his bike. However, the chain had come off the rings in the crash and was all twisted up making pedaling impossible. Instead, he stretched out across the bike superman style with feet over the back wheel and chest on the bars. I leave it to you to figure out what was left to rest on the saddle, but he looked comfortable enough crossing the line in 6th, just ahead of the field to claim the last of the prize money.

The Pro123 had no weather issues as conditions improved and the course dried off. During the race, Alder Martz (Hot Tubes) had three flat tires on the same back wheel and eventually abandoned. Since he didn't bring spare wheels to the pit, the tube had to be replaced each time and quickly pumped up to race pressure. Given the short course (less than 1 minute per lap), multiple free laps were allowed when needed. Race sponsor and volunteer John Lambert actually manged to change the tube and pump it back up and get Alder back in the race in three laps the first time, very impressive pit work. The second time the officials told Alder he had to chase. The third time he abandoned. His team manager, Toby Schultz didn't seem to have much sympathy saying "It's his responsibility to put spare wheels in the car". He probably won't forget again for a long time. Ironically, Alder won a prime for a new Kenda tire during the race and neglected to pick it up afterwords. At the finish Ryan Fleming (Metlife) took the win in a two man sprint with Mike Barton.

The Women's (all categories) race started with a field of about 15riders. However, it didn't take long before Eve McNeil (Sunapee S&W)) and Elle Anderson (Onion River Sports) decided to work a little harder than the rest of the field and established a winning breakaway. Because several of the races had been shortened to make up for the earlier wind and lightening delays, the announcer (me) had lots of primes left to give away and nearly everyone in the field, even lapped riders, got something, from socks and free ice cream to tires and cash. Five place primes for fields of lapped riders weren't uncommon. In the end, Eve McNeil took the sprint for first with Elle Anderson second.


July 20th: Yarmouth Clam Festival
The Yarmouth Clam Festival race (this year the 28th annual) is one of the rocks of the New England Racing calender because it is one of the best supported races around. The sponsorship is strong and on top of that, it seems like almost every local business and bike racing fan wants to donate a prime. We actually had to turn down a couple of primes because we ran out of laps to assign them to. In other words, there were primes every lap for both the men's and women's fields and they often went three places deep.

Being relatively short races (36 and 22 miles respectively) didn't help much with the prime scheduling, but it sure kept the action fast and furious. And that's exactly what the thousands of fans in attendance wanted to see. They were treated to a sprint every few minutes with as much as $100 on the line for the winner. Recent high school graduate Luke Fortini (Coast to Coast/KAM) took the first prime of the day with one lap complete. A sprint for the cash ensued every lap until Justin Spinelli (Kelly Benefit Strategies) took off at the half-way point of the race. He started reeling in the primes solo while the pack let him build a 20 second lead. He got a huge ovation from the crowd each time he came through town as did the field and then even more of an ovation was heard for those struggling off the back.

Justin built on his lead and got it up to 40 seconds on the field while Morgan McLeod (Mechanical Services/PVC) got himself into purgatory halfway between Spinelli and the rest of the field. He was eventually reeled in, but Spinelli just kept rolling lap after lap. It was not hard to believe that Spinelli might be the strongest individual in the field but it was surprising that he was stronger than the combined might of the all the others. As he time trialed away from them, he won almost $300 in primes and got to hone his time trialing skills for his upcoming trip to compete in France for a couple of weeks. With two laps to go the field made some progress cutting down Spinelli's advantage. This gave Ward Solar (NERAC) the idea that Spinelli might be tiring out there alone so he decided to take a flier off the front and try to catch him solo. Coming into the last lap Spinelli got the bell 20 seconds ahead of the field with Solar about half way between. Amazingly, that's how it stayed for the finish except Spinelli's time gap was allowed to grow as the field apparently decided to position themselves for the sprint for the remaining 8 places in the prize list instead of chasing the leaders.

The Women's race saw primes, usually two or three places deep, on every lap. The race stayed together until shortly before hearing the bell for the final lap when Rebecca Wellons (NEBC) and her teammate Sally Annis (NEBC) established a gap of a few seconds on the rest. They came down the hill into the finish a few minutes later with the the narrowest of gaps on the rest of the field and had to sprint full out to stay ahead of Maryanne Stover (Portland Velo). Rebecca took the sprint and Sally must have been able to sense Maryanne charging up behind as they finished 2nd and third right behind Rebecca.

In a nice touch of local color, race promoter Dave Brink awarded both the men's and women's race winners paintings by a local Maine artist. Those will last a lot longer than the prize money.

It is surprising that fewer than 100 riders competed in these two events combined. This is one of the best races in New England and should attract full fields. If not for the racing, then for the clam festival. Where else can you race for primes every lap, get a painting if you win, and then fill yourself with fried clams all afternoon? This race is worth the ride no matter what gas costs next year.