Schildge 5th at Battenkill Roubaix, April 19th

Today, Fiordifrutta lined up with a strong team of ten riders; Steve, Toby, Roz, Lipka, Josh, Jamey, Hayden, Cory, Whitey, and I. Before the race we met together to discuss our tactics for the day. It was decided that the team would race aggressively at the beginning so as to not miss the early breakaway. My job was to stay attentive, so as to not miss any major splits in the field, but to keep my nose out of the wind so I would be fresh if it came down to a sprint finish.

We certainly did race aggressively at the beginning of the race, and as a result, about one hour into the race, a breakaway was established containing 4 riders, including Josh D. After this, the team kept a careful watch on the front, and made sure that nothing else got away. On the key dirt sections, we made sure to move up and not miss the selection.

As the race continued, the heat (85 degrees and sunny!) and loose, rocky dirt sections began to take their toll on the field. By the final dirt section, the field was hauling, and we were rapidly closing in on the break. With a little help from Hayden in the way of a welcome push, I made it over the most taxing section with the front group. By this point there were about 15 people left in the field, with the four in the breakaway still up the road. Toby, Jamey, and I were the only riders left from Fiordifrutta. Liking our odds in the small group, I told Jamey and Toby to drive the pace in order to pick up some riders that had snuck off the front during the selection and sweep up the remnants of the breakaway.

We were able to catch all but two riders. Mark Walters (Team Race) and Bruno Langlois (VW) had escaped during the selection, and managed to stay away until the finish. In the final 7 mile circuit, riders were launching attacks off the front. Toby and Jamey worked hard to pull them back, and I covered a few in case they stayed away. While it may have been smarter to play it cool in the back of the group, my youthful exuberance got the best of me. Coming into the downhill finish a rider attacked early and I got onto his wheel. I knew that this was it. I jumped a little early, and wasn't able to hold off two of the riders behind me. I got third in the field sprint and had to settle for fifth on the day.

Josh Dillon picks up his first win of the year and you can see the finish line salute here. Eric Schildge also pulled off a couple of podiums in March with some great photos.

Dillon Wins Turtle Pond Circuit Race, April 13

Referencing the immortal prose of the great 21st century poet...oops, I did it again. "It" being Turtle Pond, "again" being win, and "oops" meaning i had every intention of giving some of the younger guys on the team a shot at sealing the deal (i'll take a minute to point out that "some of the younger guys" means anybody else on the team as they are all younger than me these days).

So please allow myself to defend, uh, myself. There I was, racing my bike from the gun, covering moves with Whitey and Driscoll. It was great. We had it all under wraps. No problem. Roz, Riff, Tobs, and Weller were sitting in the flanks, staying protected, conserving energy, waiting to unleash fury when the time called.

About 5 miles into the 69 mile affair, I covered a move at the top of the backside climb. I remember thinking, "pretty good spot to attack...if i was attacking for real, that would be a good place, but way too early in the race to mean anything". Oops. So I roll through with it a couple of times anticipating it would come back together as ones and twos made their way across. But it didn't come back together. The train left the station for a 65 mile breakaway...ugh. It was a long day, being the second race of the year. For a while it was a 9 person break, by 10 to go it was a 5 person break, and at around 5 to go it was a 1 person break.

It turns out that the aforementioned top of the backside climb is, in fact, a good place to attack for the win (as it was in 07 as well). The boys did a great job at the finish by taking 2nd, 4th, and 9th out of the field.

Schildge 2nd at Strasburg Road Race, March 15

It was the first day of my spring break, so my girlfriend and I packed up the car, and we headed out to Pennsylvania to do a road race in Amish Country. I had raced here in 2006 on a frigid and blustery day, but this time the sun was shining and it was a pleasant 60 degrees. The course was a 5.5 mile, rolling circuit on beautiful country roads. I was excited to fly the Fiordifrutta Colors for the first time this season, and I couldn't help but notice the admiring glances directed towards my new Cannondale Super Six.

The racing started fast, and I hung back for a lap trying to get a feel for where the break would go. It was clear that some of these guys from the Mid-Atlantic States had months of quality riding in their legs. I was just hoping that a winter spent riding the trainer in New Hampshire would measure up. There were the usually early moves, but it wasn't until the beginning of the second lap that anyone established a workable gap. With three guys up the road, I moved into position on the bottom of the first hill, I followed an attack, and then countered it as we neared the steeper section at the top. I powered over the top of the climb and soloed to the break.

We were joined by a few others, but over the course of the next lap, as we hammered to establish our advantage over the field, the break was whittled down to four riders. Of the four of us, only three were working, and it was quite clear that the fourth was suffering just to hold on. As tempting as it was to drop him, we knew we needed his presence in the move as his team was the largest and strongest back in the field.

For the next 9 laps the three of us worked well together. With one lap to go, another rider attacked the break and the rider who was hanging on was quickly dropped. The three of us worked together to make sure he wouldn't come back, and as we reached the final bend, with 200 meters to go, I jumped, thinking I would be able to hold them off. One rider, former Rite Aid pro, Ryan Dewald, came around me and got me at the line. It was a great race, and the result provided me with some extra motivation to working on my sprint!

Schildge 5th at St. Patrick's Day Tour, Branchbrook Park, March 22

On the Saturday before Easter, I woke up bright and early to attend the St. Patrick's Day Tour in Newark, NJ. The Branchbrook Park Training Races are a mainstay of any New Jersey rider's early season racing. It was dark and cold when we started and the field was its usual mix of seasoned pros and squirrely amateurs.

I tried to animate the race from the gun, and was pretty successful. I instigated or bridged to most of the breaks. My goal was to be as tired as possible by the finish, and I think I was successful. Coming into the finish, it was all together, but I was a little too far back to contest the win. I saw the eventual winner, Wilson Vasquez (Mengoni), move up the right side, but was forced to respond on the opposite side of the peloton. Caught in the wind, and behind some slower riders, I was content to settle with fifth place. It was another great day of training, and I even managed to break even on my race entry.

Fiordifrutta dominated the traditional New England season opener, by taking the win in Marblehead, MA. New team addition Eric Schildge wrote the following report and you should also check out a great article on Velonews.com with pictures.

Schildge Wins Marblehead Season Opener, March 30th

Fiordifrutta arrived at the start line of the Michael Schott Memorial Circuit Race (Marblehead), with a strong team of eight riders. Representing the team was Josh Dillon, Josh Lipka, Matt White, Toby Marzot, Jamey Driscoll, Chris Rozdilsky, Will Riffelmacher, and me. After a quick pre-race meeting, we headed over to the start. The temperature and winds made for a frigid start, and we were all bundled up tight; with the exception of Lipka who was after a suntan in shorts and a jersey.

As expected, the racing started fast. Will was active near the front in the beginning of the race, keeping an eye on the action and making sure things stayed under control for the first half of the race. Towards the middle of the race, Toby, Josh Lipka and I moved to the front and tried our hands at a break. Toby was the first, getting into a number of small moves and staying alert when each one was caught. After a flurry of attacks, Josh and I went for broke with one gigantic attack. I attacked, but the ferocious pace of Lipka's acceleration as he came around was too much for me. He continued to power away as I fell back into the field, humbled before his awesome display of power.

Meanwhile, Lipka had established a lead of 30-40 seconds, which he maintained for the next third of the race. It took an all-out effort from every team in the race to bring him back. As the other teams struggled to reel him in, Jamey, Toby, and Chris were busy patrolling the front and marking moves from the field. When he was finally reeled in it became clear that the race was headed for a field sprint, and it was time for me to make my contribution. I was decided that Dillon would shepherd me through the last five laps, staying near the front and keeping me out of the wind. I couldn't have asked for a better wheel to follow, we weaved through the field and in the final lap, lo and behold, Josh Lipka returned to the front to give an epic pull. As other teams struggled to make their way to the front, I sat comfortably tucked in behind the Josh's with Matt sweeping any cherry-pickers off my wheel.

After the final corner, there was a flurry of attacks, as the McCormack's launched up the left side, and CCB led out their train to the right. Caught in the middle, about ten riders back, I came around Josh D., took advantage of a quick acceleration from Matt, and weaved through a small hole on the right. I opened up the sprint down the gutter and took it at the line. A great way to start the season for Fiordifrutta!