Max Lippolis: Showing how to race a stage race at Fitchburg

Fitchburg is one of the great stage races of the Northeast.  It has been around the longest -- 51 straight years.  The course is unforgiving: first day is a 3 mile circut with a finishing hill that peaks around 8%.  The second day is a road race with a fair amount of climbing that ends in a 4 mile climb up Watchusett Mountain that peaks over 15% at the top. The next day is a challenging time trial and the final day is a classic 3 corner criterium with a 180 degree turn.

Max went into the race with no teammates -- sometimes even racers don't race.  (I know I am at home sick on July 4th weekend but was not going to do Fitchburg). 

So how did Max handle this?
He won the circuit race.  So he is in the leader's jersey.
Then he wins the road race by 30 seconds.  Maintains the leader's jersey with no teammates.
He eases back and gets 9th in the time trial -- locking in 3rd place in the GC.  Oh, he doesn't have a time trial bike...
And finally, he gets 3rd in the criterium, holding on to 3rd place.

That's a season of results in 4 days.
Congratulations Max.
ps -- Max won the Nutmeg Games 40+ race in June.  He's pretty darn fast.

The good the bad and the sore. 3 races in 3 weeks.

Only once before have I attempted the triple.  In the sport of triathlon it take a long time to recover from each event, so the triple is not something the should be done regularly.

Race # 1  Rev3 Half-Ironman Middlebury CT

This was a solid race (except the swim)  The bike was tough but I rode conservative with the hopes of having a strong run and all went to plan.  This was the race I was hoping to have in St. Croix.  A solid season opener, and a good starting point for some strong races the rest of the season.  It is great when a big race comes to your neck of the woods, we are lucky to have such a well-run and high-profile event in our backyard. I came in 13^th amongst the strongest pro field I have ever raced against.

Race # 2  Eagleman Half-Ironman, Cambridge, Maryland

Never having done two ½ IM races back to back I was not sure how I would hold up.  A week of easy training to rid my legs of soreness was a good idea.  The Eagleman bike course is super-flat (26+mph average) but very exposed to the elements.  No shade at all on the bike or the run!  The temps in the mid-to-upper 90’s started to take their toll on the field.  I was not feeling great on the run, but the first 4 people I passed were either walking or lying down!  I had a solid bike and run to come in 6^th only a few minutes off the former ½ Ironman world champ.

Race #3 Xterra Eastern Champs Richmond Virgina.

So I was much less sore after the Eagleman race and kept with the plan of a few ez sessions to get me through the week.  The Richmond Xterra is my favorite race of all time. In the past 8 years I have been the top American finisher 5 times.  The city, the people, and the course  all make it very special weekend.  Things went from really good to really bad really quick when I got flat tire half way through the bike.  I ended the day with a DNF, but it was great to see so many old friends and the flat did not take away from the great weekend.  I can’t wait to get back next year.

Eneas takes 2nd at Keith Berger Memorial Crit.

Some times the hardest thing about racing is simply getting to the race. Between stacked schedules, injuries, and life's many unexpected turns, for most of us showing up to the start line in reasonable shape is an accomplishment in itself.
This weekends 40mile crit. in East Hartford is a great example of how to always give your self a chance for success.
Falling asleep while driving to the race, and feeling the effects of a long week, I finally made it out to a crit. this year in what happened to be some seriously hot conditions and a field of speedy guys. On most days this would have been a recovery day, but getting to race close to home does not happen all that often and this event was one not to be missed regardless of weather or fitness.
Managing my efforts so as to not melt in the hot conditions, a three man break was up the road with 10miles left of the slightly less than 1 mile course. Sensing that the field was not going to bring back this strong trio, I figured I'd take a chance and went for a solo bridge. It wasn't long before I found myself in no mans land chasing and being chased. After 7miles of full throttle time trialing I finally caught the break and then went for a last ditch effort to win by attacking out of the 2nd to last corner. It was a solid move, but not quite enough as I was caught on the line and relegated to 2nd place.
I left the day happy to have raced and proud of the efforts I had made. So the next time that you feel like skipping an event because life is throwing you a curve ball, give yourself a chance to succeed and toe the start line as you never know what may happen.

KIC IT tri pics

Xterra Richmond

A few of us went down to Richmond for the Xterra East Championship race.

David Booth is well on his way to the US Championship in Ogden, UT. In the Northeast Region David leads his age group with qualifying points.

Dom was looking strong, unfortunately a flat tire knocked him out of the race.

Feeling under the weather, Suzie wasn't able to race. It was great seeing her in transition. This year Suzie has won both Xterra West and South Championships. Suzie we miss you.

A great swimmer and great guy, the other Budden, Chris was with us.

Me...still recovering from ankle surgery I thought why not? I'll do the sport race. I was a little nervous about the swim, this would be my first non-wetsuit swim.

Here I'm heading out on the bike....smiling.

I suffered in the heat, nearly 100 degrees and I broke my wrist on the bike. But I finished.

I love Xterra and I can't wait til the next.