Local Racing Is Back! The Pickle Juice Pro Cycling Team held their 2021 Criterium on June 23, 2021.
Blue Mountain Velo had a strong contingency of racers & it was a blast to share some team time!
Women’s CAT 4/5
Megan Barto – 7th Place
Rebekah Yost – 18th Place
Men’s CAT 5
Tim Hahn – DNF
Men’s Master’s 45+ (CAT 1-4)
Eric Moon – 28th Place
Men’s CAT 4
Jon Curtis – 7th Place
We also had Loren Barisch & Clint Clauss there for logistics, media and moral support!
We loved having our new Giordana Custom uniforms for this race. The matching tech tees (as see on Loren, Megan & Clint in this photo), got many comments throughout the day.
We also found out that Ridge Supply has socks that match our kits perfectly (Because who doesn’t need copious numbers of socks?). We also want to thank our other sponsors, York County Trail Towns, Barisch Chiropractic, Lehman Volvo, Salon Edjii & Preferred Development Services.
Women’s 4/5
Rebekah’s Race Recap:
With this being my first race, I truly had no idea what to expect, but was just excited to be out there competing. The neutral lap was incredibly insightful as I learned to handle the bike in a pack. However, on the second turn of the first lap I was hit from behind and crashed. No major damage to me or the bike was sustained, but all the adrenaline caught up to me in that moment. I overheated and my heart rate spiked. After several attempts of trying to catch on to any group and just hang in, it became very apparent that I was toast, and that was it. Needless to say, I was disappointed with the outcome of the day, but I walked away with a huge wealth of knowledge and am really eager to get back out there and apply the lessons I learned.
Megan’s Race Recap:
With the spring time temperatures topping 90 degrees, Pickle Juice’s Criterium felt like a summertime race. I lined up along side 30+ riders from strong teams. Unfortunately, on lap 4, a multi-bike crash caused another racer to run into my front wheel. It was rideable, but definitely needs to head to Pedal Pushers Bike Shop for some TLC. After circumventing the crash, I didn’t manage to reconnect to the lead group as they were in front of the crash. I did, however hold off the rest of the field for a 7th place finish. I was excited to have Rebekah out there who pinned on her first number ever. I look forward to many more start lines together.
Men’s Master’s 45+
Eric’s Race Recap
Sunday’s Pickle Juice Race brought me the opportunity to rub elbows with about 60 angry old men, a.k.a. Masters Racers.
An early breakaway that contained the right ingredients got away and stayed away. I thought the peloton would bring it back, but I was wrong about that and I missed out on a chance at the podium.
Another race, another lesson learned.
All in all, it was a fun day out in the sun and much thanks to the Pickle Juice girls for putting the race on, and thanks to all the racers who came out to support the scene.
Men’s CAT 4
JC’s Race Recap
I raced in the Men’s 4 race. It was on fire from the start. I would up using the neutral lap to pick up a bunch of positions because I started towards the back. During the next 5 or 6 laps I was just chasing down breaks. After a lot of hard work and effort, I finally got into the main group. I then sat in for a few laps. The pace ended up being too fast for everyone to work together and the group got strung out. It wasn’t until the last handful of laps that it came down to and I positioned myself for the final lap. Coming up the hill the last time there was a wreck in front of me. I kept down the hammer all the way to the line and took 7th out of 60+ registered
