TG Race Report - Diamond Hill

The 2019 race season is underway. For racers here on the east coast, most winters seem to crawl by, and this one was no exception. The last couple weeks of March feel like months as anticipation builds to ride and race bikes again. Diamond Hill is known to have some of the best early season riding available before most other zones in New England.
The start to a great weekend is securing a good pit spot. These are not always easy to come by, and I knew this race was going to be heavily attended. I got a text from Eric Soucy on my way to Diamond Hill Saturday morning "I got a nice flat spot spot by the registration tents - it'll be perfect." It was. The rest of the team filtered in shortly after this picture was taken for a day of practice and questioning suspension settings.
Diamond Hill is a better venue than most for spectating. It's a relatively small hill, easy for people to hike alongside stages allowing them to see most of the action. Even for families with hyperactive little dudes, there is a small pump track close by to where we setup our pit area. Travis had at least 300 laps on Saturday. Give him a couple years and he will be participating.
There was no consistency in any of the terrain throughout the weekend. Friday was way different than Saturday, and Saturday was nothing like race day. With steady rain overnight, racers arrived to a slick and sloppy Diamond Hill. It was all about how much you were willing to risk and how hard you were willing to push on race day.
This year the Eastern States Cup is using a fly by timing system for all classes of racers. It is no longer necessary to "chip in" or "chip out" of stages to record a time. It also allows the race organizers to send the riders out on race day from the registration booths, similar to how they do it at large events like the EWS. No more massive lines at the beginning of stages and much easier to organize.
For this weekends race, Pro's were sent out first. They rode the stages in order 1-6.
30-39's and 40-49's started on stages 5 and 6 then crossed the street to complete 1-4. Jonathan Emery elected to run flats for the first two stages of his day, 5 and 6. Switching between flats / clips and still feeling comfortable and confident while racing is no easy task. Emery is no rookie.
DJ about to chip in for the day. Flex'n on em.

Coleman hammering through the bottom part of stage 5 carrying speed. On his way to his first ever ESC podium. Throughout the day he was the only racer saying "I feel fast today" He was not kidding.
Clocking an impressive 11:55, Coleman's time was good enough for the second step in the 30-39's. Kevin Green (12:11) hanging onto a podium finish, reliving his 2016 result for 5th place. A strong showing for TGMTB.
Posting this picture for a couple reasons. 1 - I'm massively impressed with the talent and competition in the 40-49's. 2 - I know it'll piss Bump and Soucy off.
It's a rare occasion to see Eric and Shad off the podium, this weekends result will light a raging fire under both of these guys for the rest of the season. I can't wait to see more drama unfold at Glen Park in a couple weeks.
Throwing down with the top dogs, Team Granite's Pro Matt Sebas clocked a VERY respectable 11:16 putting him just outside the top 10. The race was won by 19 year old Max Beaupre. Keep an eye on this kid in the future, would be cool so see a young east coast gunner land a factory ride!

Massive thanks to Team Granite sponsor Red Brick Clothing for enabling us to be the best looking team out there this weekend. These pictures are not filtered - the jerseys are really that bright...THANK YOU!