The Tour of the Hilltowns is a mid summer classic road race in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. The race this year was a 62 mile circuit race featuring short steep climbs, long gradual climbs and long and fast descents. I joined Dan Vallaincourt, Joe Lynch, Matt Moon and Troy Barry of the Downeast Racing team for the event. Some seventy riders started the Pro12 race. Conditions were warm and dry with temperatures in the high 70s. The main feature of the race was the climb on Charlemont Road. This section of the course was steep and pretty long. The field charged up the climb with very little warm up. It was tough and the field shrunk a bit. The more gradual climb that followed featured many accelerations but no one got away. The descent on West Hawley Road has not changed: there are frost heaves and cracks and visibility is poor because of shadows. Speeds touch fifty miles an hour here. The field hit the Charlemont Road climb hard the second time around and this is where the field shrank to about twenty riders with two riders off the front. These two built their lead to about 20 seconds and were occasionally in view. The field closed this gap in the final kilometers, but the two riders stayed away with lead elements of the field finishing soon after in a down hill field sprint (with me at the rear of the field in 19th position). I was pleased with my efforts during the race and my A-D Superleicht Carbon ran very well throughout. The revised Tour of the Hilltowns is shorter than the earlier 98 mile version, but it is much faster and just as tough. I will not be surprised if they make the race longer next year or find an uphill finish for it somewhere
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| A-D Superleicht Carbon Limited |
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