Guarnier has trials in time trial
ASHBURNHAM - If the frustration on Megan Guarnier's face didn't tell the story, the grease under her fingernails certainly helped explain things.
Guarnier, who finished third at last year's Fitchburg Longsjo Classic, was about 4 miles into yesterday's 6.55-mile time trial when the unthinkable happened.
The chain on her bike fell off.
A quick thinker - she graduated with honors from Middlebury College last May with a degree in neuroscience - she tried to get the chain back on by shifting gears. When that didn't work, she jumped off and fixed it the old-fashioned way.
"I was fighting it, fighting it, fighting it . . . trying to bring it back onto the chain rings," Guarnier said. "Finally, I had to get off."
It only took her a few seconds to pull the chain back on, but her time off the bike and the momentum she lost cost her more than a minute in a stage usually decided by seconds.
Still, her time of 20 minutes 51.81 seconds was 25th in a field of 66 professional women, but well back of leader Kristin McGrath of Colavita, who crossed the line in 18:57.71. Four members of the Cheerwine Cycling team - Catherine Cheatley (19:02.12), Stacy Marple (19:08.33), Laura Van Gilder (19:24.01), and Robin Farina (19:24.97) - rounded out the top five.
Guarnier was hoping to be part of that group - certainly a top-10 finish was within her reach - but she blames her misfortune on inexperience (she's just 23) and a new bike she was riding for the first time.
"I was coming into a hill, I was in my big gear, and I switched it down," Guarnier said. "I guess I did it a little too hard."
Likewise, a late thunderstorm likely slowed defending men's champion Jake Rytlewski. His time of 17:52.17 was well off the pace set by stage winner Jonathan Chodroff of CRCA/Empire (16:02.91), who edged Graham Howard of Bissell (16:03.42) for the top spot. Luis Amaran of Colavita/Sutter Home (16:11.93), Justin Spinelli of KBS/Medifast (16:15.01), and Andrew Talansky of
The Classic continues today with the Wachusett Mountain road race. The men's pro field will ride 104 miles starting at 12:30 p.m., while the women will ride 69 miles beginning at 12:42.
A native of Queensbury, near Lake George, N.Y., Guarnier enrolled at Middlebury five years ago and intended to swim for the Panthers, but chronic shoulder injuries ended her college career before it started. A friend suggested she try triathlons - "You don't have to swim much," the friend told her - but she fell in love with the cycling part.
So she joined the Middlebury Cycling Club and enjoyed immediate success. She recently toured Europe with the United States national team.
"Cycling in Europe is like football in America," said Guarnier, who participated in the prestigious Tour of Flanders in Belgium, in addition to races in Italy, France, and the Netherlands.
The Longsjo is a homecoming of sorts for Guarnier, who hasn't been on the East Coast for more than seven months. Splitting a Motel 6 room with a former teammate probably isn't what Guarnier had in mind when she decided to postpone a career in clinical research. After cycling, she plans to pursue a PhD.
"I was going to give myself a year to do this, which is sort of unrealistic," Guarnier said. "I haven't had any stellar results, but we'll see how the rest of the year goes.
"We'll see how [today] goes." 