Ronde Van Mullica Road Race || Mullica, NJ || April 1, 2012
Villanova Cycling’s Back in New Jersey: Ronde Van Mullica Road Race
Cam, Jeff, and Brian headed over to southern New Jersey for an early morning road race on April fool’s day Sunday morning. Villanova was not the only collegiate team racing; a rider from the University of Delaware in Cat5 joined Jeff and Brian. Cam had the company of the Villanova NROTC commander, Stephen Marchioro, in his Cat4 race. As a USA Cycling sponsored event, the Ronde Van Mullica Road Race attracted a wide range of riders. Men in their 20s to those in their 40s donned spandex to win money and merchandise prizes on this chilling Sunday morning. Commitment yes but I would refer to it as passion. Let’s not forget about the women, they also got out of their beds early this morning for their women’s 123/4 race. The unfortunate part is that the only crash of the day occurred in their race.
The Cat4 race had a field of 50+ riders, all were chasing for the $300 prize since none were able to win the recent Mega Millions jackpot. The course was a 10 mile loop in peaceful Mullica Township, New Jersey. The Cat4 race was 40 miles long. Cam situated himself at the front of the pack shortly after the start of his race. His attempt at a breakaway with a fellow University of Pennsylvania rider during the first lap was unfortunately unsuccessful as they were caught during one of the long straight-aways. A breakway that occurred during the second lap, however, did stick but no one with Cam in the peloton was willing to chase them down.
The Cat5 race was largely like the Cat4 race, with a lasting solo breakway in the middle of the second lap. Jeff and Brian were able to keep up with the peloton throughout the first lap; however, a malfunctioning chain from a fellow racer caused Brian to veer off slightly off the road. Jeff remained vigilant and stuck it out with the peloton, trading leads with the older men and at one point made a failed attempt to chase down the breakway during the third and final lap.
Video: Jeff and Peloso in RVM RR
Check the Villanova Cycling blog in the coming days for final results!
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