Race Report: Gran Prix of Beverly

Here is Brendan’s report from Gran Prix of Beverly:

Wednesday night racing in downtown Beverly , MA. The Gran Prix of Beverly is a twisted 1km arrowhead-shaped romp around some tight corners and the common. During the first few laps, we adapted to the flow- which was fast. Nerves cleared after some minor crashes and sketchy lines.

The 40 minutes scheduled for the race averaged to be about 20 laps. The first 7-8 laps were very fast, giving rise to a long, snake-like pack. I spent most of this time on the very tail end holding on. It was a little dangerous to be back there- letting a gap open just a little bit would cause me to lose the slipstream and be dropped. That happened to me this year in the cold rain from an <b>insane</b> headwind on a motor speedway in the Cyclonauts Criterium- it’s not a fun spot, rain or shine.

Held on and with about 12 to go, the pack finally started to bunch up as the pace settled down. From then on, I started making moves up, and I did that mostly by taking all the winding corners the best I could. The corners would almost shoot me out to take places each time around. Being relatively fresh from not hammering early on helped too.

Taking a quick inside corner before a sprint to the line got me the last prime of the day. Unfortunately, that prime came with 6 laps to go, and now I was caught pulling up front after a sprint- not ideal. I tried to keep my own pace easy, but soon an ECV rider attacked with 2 or 3 to go. I saw him go, knew I had to join him, but legs said no. Another rider went with him so there were two in a break. Spooked, I chased harder, pulling the group closer, but blowing through my last reserves. And so came my downfall- nowhere close to contesting a win, but going home with a handful of Hammer Nutrition. So it goes winning a battle but not the war.