Philly Phlyer Recap

This weekend, the club headed down to the Philly Phlyer. The race is a staple of the ECCC road schedule and a perennial favorite among Lehigh Cycling due to its proximity to Bethlehem and its great venues. Saturday featured a team time trial, which we did not participate in, as well as a circuit race on a 6.2 mile course. Men's A, B, and C completed 5, 4, and 3 laps, respectively, and Women's C completed 2 laps.

First out on the course was Brandon O. in his first Men's C race. The Division 1 and 2 C groups were combined, which led to a large field of 75. Brandon finished in 32nd out of all C riders, and 7th in Division 2, picking up some important individual points. Kiki was next up for the team in Women's C. Unfortunately, she crashed out but was alright and in good spirits.

Brandon leading the B field up the climb into lap 4.

Brandon K. and Eric began their race in the B field in the early afternoon, with the temperatures rising quickly. The race got out to a quick start with an 2 rider attack in the first mile of the race. Eric got on the front of the peloton and led the pack all the way down the Schuylkill River into the turnaround climb to keep the time gap small for the breakaway. The RIT and RPI breakaway never gained more than 45 seconds on the field, but stayed away until lap 3. Eventually, the two riders were reeled in thanks to a tremendous effort from Brandon leading the pack for most of the 3rd lap and the first 2 miles of lap 4. In a field sprint finish, Brandon took 9th and Eric 11th.

Marten rode very well in the A circuit race, coming in 19th place and adding to the team's points total.  From the outstanding individual results from all four guys, the men's team picked up 14th place in the circuit race, beating 7 of the 8 Ivies with Brown being the exception, and a number of other much larger teams with 10-15 riders.

Marten at the start of the 2nd lap in A.

The criterium on Sunday was located in North Philadelphia on Temple's campus.  The course was a standard 4 turn crit, 0.9 miles in length and fairly flat.  Being in an urban setting, the roads were covered in potholes, hastily repaved sections, and manhole covers, which made concentration even more crucial to success and getting through each turn in good position.  Unlike Saturday, there was a heavy fog over the city up until the last few races of the day.

Perry added to his racing experience in the ECCC, competing in the Men's Intro race.  Brandon and Eric racked up more points for the team with 10th and 14th place finishes, which was enough to put the team in 18th for the men's crit, again beating out several strong teams.  Lehigh and our team's new kits got plenty of love and recognition by the race commentators during a 3 lap solo breakaway by Eric towards the beginning of the B race.  In a wild A race, Marten finished in 27th.  Overall, it was a great effort by all 6 team members who made it out this weekend to Philly.  Next up is the Jersey Devil!

Eric in a solo break.