The 2017 New England Road Cycling League Champions
The 2017 New England Road Cycling League Championship race was held in picturesque Franconia Notch, New Hampshire. Notoriously known as the “Hell of the North”, this race offered Gould riders a 23-mile tour of the White Mountains as well as an intimate tour of their own personal hurt-lockers.
Less than three miles into the race, riders were faced with a wall of pavement rising over 600 feet in less than a mile and half. Racers thoroughly torched their legs on this climb and continued along a saw blade of intense downhills and abrupt, hurtful climbs, with gnarly dirt road sections to add to the intensity. This race tested every racers’ ability to manage their physical and mental stamina, each hoping to have enough energy remaining for the final mile-long climb to the finish.
We arrived early to allow for careful course inspection, thorough preparation of bikes, and plenty of opportunity to warm-up for the start. Race-prep paid off, as many Gould racers had their best results of the season.
Girls’ Results
All five C-girls finished in the top ten; including Lindsey Lucas ’18 and Taylor Mull ’20 who crossed the line elbow to elbow, tied for first place. Mia Shifrin ’19 was close behind finishing 5th, Elise Leary-Forey ’18 in 8th and Kat Dade ’19 in 9th. All of the Gould A-girls finished in the top ten as well, lead by Lilo Bean ’19 who finished 4th. Olivia Erwich ’18 was just over a minute behind finishing 6th. Steph Nichols ’18 and Adalia Flores ’18 rounded out the top ten at 9th and 10th.
Lindsey Lucas and Mia Shifrin work together to distance the girls field of racers.
Boys’ Results
Donnie Seib ’17 and Sam McMillan ’17 finished their last prep school road race right with the lead pack. Donnie paced himself perfectly throughout the race and was just nipped at the line in the final sprint. Donnie earned 6th place overall in A-boys, just 2 seconds out of first. Sam finished in 8th place, just 7-seconds off the winning time. Keenan Miller ’18 crossed the line first for Gould in the B-boys race, earning an 8th place finish. Keisuke Yoshida ’19, Ben Alford ’18 and Jasper Lagoyda ’17 finished 18th, 19th, and 23rd respectively.
Sam McMillan in the middle of the pack
The race constituted the league finals and the points earned counted double. Going into the race in third place, Gould delivered a stellar performance, earned the win and topped the season points tally. In a sport known to most for individual glory, a team of two dozen Gould cyclists raced well collectively and earned the New England Cycling League 2017 Championship title.
Head coach Jay Riley had this to say about the team:
“We train and race on challenging terrain in bad weather, and the schools we beat are much bigger than we are. The kids that score most of the points for us come from all different athletic backgrounds. To race a road bike is to brew a complicated stew of vocabulary, equipment, monotony, precision, frenzy, beauty, and pain. On its best days, the reward is endorphins and maybe a deeper understanding about yourself. That insight is not always kind and comforting. This is a hard sport. Our kids are strong, gutsy, and resilient.”
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