Eric Tremble attacked out of the second to last turn and held off the sprinters’ charge to take victory at the John Chiselko Category II Race at the vaunted Tour of Somerville.

Eric’s report is below.

“The Tour of Somerville really is a spectacle. It is the longest running race in America, having started in 1940. They call it “The Kentucky Derby of Cycling” and the name is fitting. The crowds are massive (for cycling), and the mood is festive with barbecues, picnics and music playing at every corner. Needless to say, I was psyched to be racing, even though my Cat 2 status relegated me to the early afternoon race instead of the big boys race. Having no teammates in the cat 2 race, I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I knew I had to do something.

The course is a long thin rectangle and measures 1.25 miles per lap. It starts with two wide sweeping turns right after the start finish line, then there is a long flat backstretch, a tight left hander followed by a sweeping left into a long drag down main street to the finish. My race was only 20 miles, 15 laps, so I tried to stay near the front from the gun. The race was fast, but not overly fast, and I was pretty sure the teams with multiple riders (Independent Fabrications, MetLife, and TargeTraining) would pull back any break, so I tried to relax and see as little wind as possible. Every few laps they would announce a prime, and I’d try to position myself to go for it, but the big sprinters kept jumping on the long finishing straight. I never had a chance. One thing I did notice in those early laps was that the field really got bunched up on turn 3 despite the fact that the turn itself wasn’t that tight. A single rider could probably make it at full speed and open a nice gap…

At the bell lap with one to go, an Independent Fabrications guy was off the front and I was about 20 wheels deep. Down the back stretch we closed the gap, and I sensed that the field was about to sit up, so I just went for it. I saw an opening on the left, and I got around everyone and off the front just before turn 3 which I took at full speed and opened the gap a little more. I passed the IF guy before the last turn and all I had left was the 800m or so down the finishing straight. I didn’t dare look back until the finish line was within reach. It seemed to take forever, but I finally got close enough to look, and I still had the gap. A few more pedal strokes and I was able to celebrate in style with the first victory of the year for Kenda/Raleigh Cycling.”