NCC showed up big in their first home race of the season, securing 7 podium finishes on a scorcher of a day in Holyoke. Big thank you to Justin Eichenlaub and all of the volunteers who made this event happen.
NCC Trailblasters and JAM Fund/NCC riders represented the club in six of the junior fields. In the Boys 7-8 category, Trailblasters Finn Dumont and Tristan Dumont secured first and second place! In the Boys 9-12 race, Anders Krause got on the podium with his 3rd place finish, and Miles Abrams finished 14th, both riding for the Trailblasters. On the Girls 9-12 side, the Trailblaster trio of Alta Breismeister, Lilah Engebretson, and Ruby Gillotti-White raced to strong finishes in 4th, 6th, and 7th, respectively. Gunther Breismeister took the win in the Boys 13-14 race, representing the JAM Fund, while Trailblaster Rowan Harrison rounded off the podium with a 3rd place finish. For the Girls 13-14 race, Trailblasters Madison Johnson (4th) and Stella Beek (7th) placed well against some tough competition from the Capital Bicycle junior team. And in the Boys 15-18 race, Jack Quinlan of the JAM Fund took a podium spot in 3rd, with teammate Gunther (whose racing age is 13 and real age is even younger!) placing 11th and Trailblasters Acer Verson (18th) and Magnus Harrison also putting in good efforts in a large and competitive field.
Photo Courtesy of Melissa Warwick
Two JAM Fund athletes competed in the Men’s 1/2/3 race: Mark Hewitt placed 10th and Jeremy Bloyd-Peshkin finished 13th.
On the women’s side, Talia Loiter finished 12th for JAM in her first 1/2/3 race! And Tanya Boulanova (JAM) placed 6th in the Women’s 4/5 (Novice) field, with NCC teammate Melissa Warwick just behind in 7th.
The final NCC podium finish of the day came from Ben Jankowski, who placed 2nd in the Men’s 3/4 race! Teammate Sam Veggeberg was unable to finish. Andy Scott placed 30th.
In the master’s categories, the 50+ duo of Chris Evans and Henry Van den Broek finished seconds apart in 15th and 16th, with Daryl Beck in 19th. 60+ racer David Goodwin placed 6th this week, edging out Joe Lellman (9th) by 8 seconds.
The biggest NCC contingent of the day was in the Men’s 4/5 (Novice) race, where several new racers had brave performances! It’s always wonderful to see new people trying out the sport. Returner Tyler McGinnis paced the 4/5 group with a 14th place finish. Enrique Negron—known for his performances in the Zoom Crit series—showed up on the ‘cross course for the first time and earned a 21st place finish! Fellow cyclocross newcomer (and winner of the 2023 NCC Time Trial/Hill Club Series!) Andy MacDonald finished in 43rd. Tim Pitkin (61st), Jonathan O’Keeffe (68th—but this may be an incorrect result?), and Trailblaster Dad Jason Johnson (69th) rounded out the NCC squad.
Full results are available at crossresults.com.
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NCC member Jeff Fowler captured photos at the event.
