Brownie at Battenkill

MV’s Mike Brown, known by most as simply “Brownie” (pictured here winning the 40+ at Copperas Cove in January 2010), had targeted the Tour of Battenkill in New York all Winter and into the early season Texas races; going so far as to lose 10 el bees to drop down to his high school weight.

Brownie aptly chronicled the obstacles racers face at Battenkill in a series of TxBRA posts, but in short, the 40+ field tackled a 100km course that featured 8 dirt/gravel road sections with several hills (like the two pictured above, the top picture showing a climb being crested by the Pro 1 field), including some at 17-19%.

Brownie gave a brief race summary on TxBRA and will provide greater detail on his experience in The Racing Post. But you’re not on TxBRA and you’re not reading The Racing Post. Instead, you want to know now, how did he do? And I’ve got the answer – damn hell well! Out of 125 starters, Brownie finished 20th, which is a very nice result for such a challenging course, but that placing hardly describes the impact and impression Brownie left on his fellow competitors.

Battling legs that were threatening severe cramping and knowing that the final dirt road section included a nasty climb, Brownie attacked with 20 miles to go on the approach to dirt sector 8 of 8 in pursuit of a 5 man lead group. Although he didn’t catch the break, Brownie did manage to hold off the main field for 16 miles. Then, after sitting in to recover for 2 miles, Brownie launched again and stayed off until he was swallowed by the field with 50 yards to go. All in all, an excellent display of aggressive McKinney Velo racing!