The Tour of Somerville was an awesome team weekend in Somerville, NJ, and it is now gone as quickly as it came upon us. The team arrived in New Jersey on Saturday morning to race the Tour of Somerset County Road Race. My parents and I made the drive to Somerville, NJ on Sunday morning for the 2PM 40 mile Pro,1,2 Bound Brook Criterium. The following day, on Monday, we raced the Tour of Somerville Cat 2 Crit. Here are the races as I saw them. . .

Bound Brook Criterium; 5/27/07, Bound Brook, NJ
Taking the line at the start of the Bound Brook Crit was Jon Bruno, John Hanson, Greg Montello, Steve Weller, Dave Berryman, Luke Krisch, Stan Jurga, Brian Hayes, and myself Adam Branfman. We lined up against 175 or so other Pro's, Cat 1's and Cat 2's for the 40 mile suburban New Jersey criterium. The race was fast from the gun, and the game plan was to conserve energy and to try to set me up with a leadout at the end for a field sprint, assuming I was feeling good and taking care of my own positioning in the closing laps. The race got going and stayed very fast, care of Caico Pro Cycling from Costa Rica among other teams. Caico was continuously sending riders off the front, trying to keep the pace high and to try to form the right combination of breakaway companions. Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada Pro Cycling also kept a very strong presence at the front of the race marking breaks and keeping the pace high. FAST/IF powered by Lionette's made a strong presence at the front as well when the opportunity to move up arose, and John Hanson and John Bruno in particular did a great deal of work at the beginning of the race to keep the peloton together by marking breaks and pulling back dangerous moves. I kept myself very safe, moving no more than 15-20 back from the front. This allowed me to pedal and accelerate through the turns as opposed to the back of the race where a certain accordian effect occurs as folks break through the turns and are then forced to sprint out of them to hang on to the peloton. With 2 laps to go I missed one important acceleration and found myself 30 or so back but soon recovered. Coming into 2/3 of a lap to go I made a strong move to reposition and moved up to 10 or so from the front where the race was strung out in single file at 35 mph. By three turns to go and about 1 km I found myself in great position 5-6 riders from the front and on the wheel of two guys who had latched onto the Kodak Pro Cycling leadout train. Rounding this turn with two more turns after it, two guys in front of me and effectively at the front of the race locked handlebars and went down very hard, taking out 10-12 guys including myself. I was forced into a 12 inch high stone curb and onto the ground very hard. Luckily I was not injured, only dissapointed that I was in such good position and then crashed out of the race. I was only marked by a few small scrapes, two jammed fingers, and a stalk of a flower bush stuck in my left shifter. I suppose this just was not our day. Bad luck took away our chances of a good finish, but such is bike racing. Greg Montello was near the crash but not involved, and after he saw me lying on the ground, he sacrificed his finish to come and make sure I was ok. It was a display of true teamwork and looking out for one another. John Hanson then came and found us on a recon mission and swapped wheels with my flat front tire that blew out in the crash, so that I could ride up to the finish to greet my parents who were visibly worried that I had not finished and had heard that I went down in a crash. The Bound Brook Criterium was a genuine display of "team" at its best. I was incredibly cared for by my teammates who set me up for what would have been a perfect finish in a very fast Pro/elite race. After our final placing was disrupted by bad luck, my teammates used the same amount of energy put into tactics and smart racing toward making sure I was ok after going down. All in all we had a very positive race. Communication, both verbal, and non verbal, was very strong, and we learned a great deal about how to race as a cohesive unit. It is too bad that it turned out to not be our day, but part of why we race bikes is to experience the unexpected and to deal with both lucky and unlucky situations as they present themselves. BIke racing is exciting and dangerous at times, all adding to the fun and excitement of such a fast paced and exhilarating sport.

Tour of Somerville; Cat 2 race, 5/28/07, Somerville, NJ
Jon Bruno, Dave Berryman, Luke Krisch, Brian Hayes, Steve Weller, Greg Montello, Stan Jurga, and myself Adam Branfman lined up at the front for the start of the Cat 2 Tour Of Somerville 20 mile crit. The 8 of us were among 145 eager starters. We executed our team game plan nearly perfectly. We decided that we would try to control the front of the race right from the get go. FAST/IF powered by Lionette's made a very strong presence at the front of the race with everyone taking their turn chasing breaks down and pulling back what needed to be brought back. I was kept very safe for 3/4 of the race by our team director Jon Bruno who took me exactly where I needed to be at all times. Jon Bruno is an amazing bike racer. His experience, constant awareness, and tactical brilliance is a true asset to this team. One cannot help but feel absolutely confident in Jon Bruno's team directing and leadership on and off our bicycles. He kept me clear out of danger and in a very strong position until his job was done, and he floated to the middle of the peloton and let the rest of the team take over at that point. Luke, Steve, Stan, Greg, and Dave emerged at the front of the race with confidence and with two laps to go, we were all on the front driving the pace and keeping the race together and under control. Brian Hayes was caught up in an unfortunate high speed crash about 2/3 of the way through the race when an unexpected bump in the road caused him to lock handlebars with a neighbor. Brian raced a very strong race up until going down. With one lap to go the race was led by a sea of IF green jerseys until a bit of chaos ensued on the back strightaway. I kept my position and going into the final turn I was 5th wheel from the front. Targetraining made a powerful leadout on the right side of the road onto which I planted myself. About 100 meters from the line, someone sprinted into my bike and put his front wheel directly into my front wheel skewer throwing me off a bit. I stayed upright in what was a very sketchy sprint and finished in a strong 9th place. The team had another very positive race, and one could easily observe and feel confidence emanating from the 8 of us. FAST/IF powered by Lionette's had a great weekend at the Tour of Somerville racing series. We continued to learn a great deal about racing and about how to race as a cohesive unit. We applied our learning to Monday's race where we raced as a strong and powerful unified team. We continue to learn from each other about our individual strengths, weaknesses, and racing tendencies. We are successfully using our individual strengths to create a strong team identity and racing personality. Not to mention, we had a blast, ate very good food, and drank lots and lots of coffee.

In other news, IF bikes are by far the best bikes in the world. I received my custom IF team issue bike this past Friday and I was instantly amazed at first by its stunning looks, and then of course by its incredible ride quality. This bike is screaming fast. I was issued the IF Crown Jewel SEC (Special Edition Carbon) road frame. The tubing is a mix of Reynolds, Columbus, and Dedacciai steel; it is complemented by a Reynolds carbon monostay and Reynolds Ouzo Pro carbon fork. FSA provides us with OS-115 stems, carbon seatposts, and aluminum handlebars. We plant our rear ends on TI railed WTB 25th anniversary saddles. The drivetrain is a complete Dura Ace gruppo care of our friends at Shimano, including the 7801 Scandium rimmed tubeless compatible wheels. The rest of the bike wears new PD-6610 Ultegra pedals, Cateye composite bottle cages, Hutchinson Fusion 2 tires, and an Independent Fabrications custom team issue Cateye wireless Strada coded computer. This bike is truly the nicest riding bike I have every pedaled. It corners on a rail, accelerates super quick, and is as stiff as a bike could ever be. Not to mention it is a superlight 18 lb steel bike!. It is an honor and a sincere privelage to have the opportunity to ride and race on this bike, and to race for FAST/IF powered by Lionette's.






One last thing. Michael Pruitt, the president of Axley Sport Optics out of Seattle, WA has been generous enough to give our team, FAST/IF powered by Lionette's, partial sponsorship for the 2007 racing season. Axley Sport Optics are by far the best combination of frames and lenses I have ever worn. I am blown away by the reactive lenses that change from absolute clear on a dark day to crimson brown when the sun is bright. Michael Pruitt is an awesome dude who deserves a huge thanks for making this possible. Check out Axley USA and buy his products. They are ridiculously awesome. www.axleyusa.com


Thanks for reading; and as usual thanks to all of our sponsors for making this team possible. We would be nothing without the incredible support we are given by all of our product and financial sponsors. There will be more to come after this coming weekend. We are headed up to Auburn, ME for the Lake Auburn Road Race on Saturday and the Great Falls Crit on Sunday. Stay tuned. Also, check out our team photo page with fully updated racing photos from the season and this past weekend at www.flickr.com/photos/ifracing. Check back soon.

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's

Patrick Jones teamed up with a bunch of fast guys from Atlanta to take 2nd in the Open Team division.

Harvey Minton rode 13 laps to a 2nd place finish in the solo division. My full race report is here.

FAST/IF powered by Lionette's had nearly a full team line up for the Sterling Classic Road Race on May 12. Tommy Gosselin was missed tremendously as he was slated to work the whole day in Maine. The race would be 11 laps of a 7 mile circuit for a total of 80 hot and fast miles. The team lined up against the forces of Legal Sea Foods, Kenda/Raleigh, Coast to Coast, CCB/Volkswagen, Justin Spinelli (a lone rider from Kelly Benefits Pro Cycling Team), Dan Vallaincourt (a lone rider from Colavita/Cooking Light Pro Cycling Team), and the full Nerac Pro Cycling squad; in addition to other elite amateur riders.

72 guys left the start line and after the 2 mile neutral section, the racing was on, very fast and aggressive. FAST/IF powered by Lionette's came out swinging and raced a very aggressive first half of the race, working to get into the breaks and go off the front with small groups. I managed to place myself in the first main break of the day with the likes of Spinelli and Chris Jones, easily two of the strongest all around racers in the field and in New England. Spinelli and Jones, however away as a pair for 9 of the 11 laps and I shortly drifted back to the pack because I could not hold the pace.

At around lap 4 or so, I again went off the front with one rider from Kenda/Raleigh and a Coast to Coast rider in an attempt to bridge up to Spinelli and Jones, but again I could not hold the pace and drifted back. John Hanson and Jon Bruno put in a furious chase on a long flat section of windy road before the climb to reel in the other two attempted brigders. The next few laps were primarily controlled by FAST/IF powered by Lionette's at the front as we began to paceline with Kenda/Raleigh and a few Legal Sea Foods riders to bring back the break. The short, steep, 300 or so meter climb seemed to steadily wear the peloton down each and every time we crested because the group was getting more and more strung out each time over the hill. With one lap to go, Nerac Pro Cycling attacked with three riders, one of which lay dormant the whole race waiting for this opportunity to explode the peloton. Aidan Charles, Alec Donahue, and Adam Myerson attacked the group right after the climb and took one other rider with them. Once y caught the break of two, the 6 escapees drove the pace to the finish line where Nerac went 1-2-3. I managed good positioning leading into the final power climb up the hill to the finish and ended with a 14th place, and 8th place in the field sprint.

Sterling was another hotly contested race and FAST/IF powered by Lionette's was there nearly every time to mix it up and to take some risks by going off the front and testing individual fitness along the way. The race was another learning experience for the young team with so many different and new situations that we found ourselves in. We can surely take the positives out of this race and use them toward what will hopefully be a successful coming weekend at the Lake Sunapee Road Race on Saturday and the North Stonington Classic Road Race on Sunday.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with the team as we make our way through the long and hard elite cycling season. It is a tough road with many obstacles along the entire way. We are aiming to achieve little goals in pursuit of a breakout season in a few short weeks, and so long as we make steady progress along the way, the results will come. Please check back next week for more team and race coverage.

Thanks.

Adam Branfman
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's
Newton, MA

Here is what I remember of the beating that I took -

Seems that once you cross south of the Mason Dixon line the interpretation of course conditions changes dramatically. Race organization hailed the fast flowing smooth single track (in the Northeast it means just that) but once on the other side of the line this means some nice sections of singletrack punctuated with lengths of rock gardens (both on the descents and climbs), wet muddy root ridden sections and loose rocky climbs!

Set up for the conditions I thought would be at hand and set out on the preride with a rigid fork and 2.0 tires. Within 1 km of the preride start I already had the first of 3 flats for that loop and knew it was going to be a long Marathon the next day. Not only was the old man going head to head with competitors of all ages, I was (perhaps stupidly) doing it on a single speed.

By the end of the first lap of the race I was praying for it all to end and hoped to slip into some kind of trance so that the hurt would go away. I ground out the laps but just to add insult to injury had yet another flat only 1 km from the finish. In what had to be one of the sloppiest repairs ever, the clock wound down before I could make the line for a seventh lap (phew) and I saw two of my competitors glide past while I was on the side of the trail.
Ended the race in 20th overall, worn out but spirits raised by the cold beer waiting for me as I crossed the finish line.

Chris Wurster

Sturbridge Road Race report; 4/28/07

This race was pretty uneventful, and the Fast/IF powered by Lionette's squad did a great job of controlling as much of the race as possible. Jon Bruno, Brian Hayes, Dave Berryman, Steve Weller, Greg Montello, Luke Krisch, Stan Jurga, John Hanson, and myself Adam Branfman took the start line for the 65 miles road race. We nearly had a full squad. The race was fairly mellow to get going and stayed together for the majority of the race, with small breaks going up the road, but nothing too promising staying away. Everyone did their share of the work, and with a full team, it was evenly dispersed throughout with everyone chasing down attacks and getting into breaks. Dave Berryman had an unfortunate flat tire on the second lap of the day. Brian Hayes placed himself in one of the more substantial breaks of the day, which for some time seemed like it had some promise of sticking. We once again prepared ourselves for a mass sprint finish, what seems like a recurring pattern for every race thus far this season. We had decided that I would place myself toward the front, and coming around the final right hand turn with 1 mile or so to go I was in great position. The final drag to the finish line was slightly downhill, and I think we nearly approached 50 mph as we accelerated to top speed in the sprint. I was on a Legal Sea Foods leadout train who towed me to about 300 meters to go, when I jumped to try to catch the surge from overtaking me. In retrospect, I went a bit too early because I opened up a gap immediately yet was eaten up at the line by the top 5 riders. It was a fine group of sprinters, and a very predictable collection of finishers. Overall we were pleased with a 6th place finish in a field of 92 starters. For me, another learning experience as I am figuring out my strengths and weaknesses in the sprint. For the team, a very well controlled and dictated race. Steve and Brian finished 18th and 19th respectively, Greg in 53rd, John Hanson 66th, Jon Bruno 68th, and Luke 73rd. The full the results are found here at http://www.bikereg.com/Results/2007/04/28-Sturbridge-Road-Race.asp.

A highlight on the day was the presentation of the first new team bike. Steve raced on the first production version of the IF 953 Crown Jewel, equipped with a Shimano Dura Ace drivetrain and wheels, FSA bar and stem, WTB saddle, and Hutchinson tires. An absolutely gorgeous bike, that we will all be so privelaged to race on this season. Thanks to our sponsors to making this possible.

Palmer Road Race report; 4/29/07

Dave Berryman, John Hanson, Steve Weller, Brian Hayes, Tom Gosselin, Greg Montello, Luke Krisch, Jon Bruno, and myself Adam Branfman, took the start line for the 80 mile road race on 4 laps of a 20 mile circuit. Berryman formed the first and most substantial break of the day as soon as the neutral roll out ended out of the school parking lot in Warren, MA. The break was 9 riders strong and stayed away for the first 40 miles of the race. Dave's aggressive move from the start allowed the remaining 8 of us to sit in the 110 rider peloton and relax before the racing got hard and fast later on. When the break was in sight with about 40 miles remaining, a series of attacks began and the race was on as it seemed everyone wanted to be in the counterattack move. This aggressive racing continued for the next 20 miles or so, before a small break of 5 slipped away at after teh feed zone at the start of the bell lap. Unfortunately the FAST/IF powered by Lionette's boys missed this move as it rolled off the front of the race and we were soon forced to dictate the chase. We made a valiant effort to chase teh break, a little too late, however. The break was destined to stay away on this day as the team was quite fatigued and had a bit of difficulty organizing at the front of the race to bring back the break. A field sprint ensued for 6th place, and I planted myself on Mike Cody's wheel to prepare for the final acceleration. Coming around the final right hand turn with 2k to go, the race was strung out and I sat 6-7 wheels from the front. The sprint began on a false flat/slight uphill about 200 meters from the finish and I crossed the line 4th in the field sprint for an overall 10th. The team finished strong on a grueling final drag to the line. The team had mixed feelings after the race, yet we learned a few lessons about being aware and observant at the front of the race. The team is determined to learn from our mistakes, and we look forward to building on our early season success as a new dominant force in the New England elite racing circuit. Fitness is coming on strong and we are aiming for success at the Jiminy Peak Road Race on Saturday 5/5 in Hancock, MA.

Thanks for reading as usual. Stay tuned for more.

Race photos are located at www.flickr.com/photos/ifracing

Adam Branfman
Newton, MA
FAST/IF powered by Lionette's