The undulating roads of Sutton, MA make for an unpredictable race. The uncertainty makes the whole idea of releasing a race preview a dubious proposition, at best. We feel pretty confident that no field will finish with a field sprint. Lackey Rd. will split each field ­­ the question is simply when the race­winning move will be made. The Sutton Police and the residents along the course have all been very helpful in making this race a possibility. The loss of Sterling Road Race this year highlights the importance for community support. Please make every effort to show your gratitude to the residents and police on race day. Predictions may be loosely or directly adapted from the Race Predictor at road­results.com. They’re just for fun. Offended we left you out? Come prove us wrong on Sunday! Women’s Pro/1/2/3 With last year’s winner not returning to Purgatory, the Elite Women’s race seems wide­open. The Cat 3 women will be scored separately in this race, and Stefanie Sydlik (pedalpowertraining.com) is our pick, with a GC win at Killington Stage Race among her stellar results so far this season. Her teammates Julie Tracy and Lauren LeClaire have also had some great results this season and will provide excellent support. Elizabeth Mcdonough (ARC­EN­CIEL RACING TEAM) will be looking to improve on her 4th place from last year. The Race Predictor has her finishing 3rd, and with no results in the past 6 weeks, it’s hard to guess how her form will be. Kerrin Strevell and Meredith Uhl (Farm Team Elite Women's Cycling) are both predicted for a strong result, as well. Meredith won the Cat 3 race at Purgatory last year, and we’ve heard that she’s targeting Purgatory again this year. Now a Massachusetts resident, Meredith is our pick for Massachusetts State Road Race Champion. Emma White (Hot Tubes Junior Development Team), hailing from New York, is our pick, however, to win the race outright. Emma’s recent wins at the Wilmington Circuit Race and Road Race tell us that she’s hitting peak form at the right time for a top result at Purgatory. Men’s Pro/1/2 The Men’s Elite field sure makes Green Line Velo glad we’re not racing. Defending Massachusetts State Road Race Champion Tim Mitchell (CCB) will be returning with a very strong CCB squad. CCB might send new acquisition Chad Young up the road early to put pressure on the other teams. Among those other teams is ENGVT­UnTapped, CT Cycling Advancement Program, Dealer.com Cycling Team, as well as Grinta Cycling Team p/b Erba Cycles. Current members of the Grinta squad swept the Cat 3 podium last year at Purgatory, so it’ll be interesting to see how they step up to the Elite level. Dean Phillips (Fit Werx) rides like his own team of mere mortals. A week after winning in Marblehead, Dean towed the entire peloton in pursuit of the breakaway at Myles Standish and still had enough in the tank to finish 7th. We’re not sure what’s left of Dean’s early season form, but others should be nervous if Dean escapes in an early breakaway. ENGVT­UnTapped captain Peter Bell, professed lover of cheese and crits, said that this race is a big target for his team. The lumpy parcours might not suit Peter’s strengths, so it’ll be interesting to see who the team supports on Sunday. Overall, we think CCB is too strong for everyone else to handle. The Race Predictor ranks 4 CCB riders in the top 9, and we agree. We expect to see pink and blue on the top step of the podium on Sunday afternoon. Men’s Cat 3 Fresh off his podium placing at the Harvard Firefighters Association Ken Harrod Memorial Road Race last weekend, Thomson Riley (Lagunitas Racing) is in the Race Predictor’s hot seat. No pressure, buddy. If Thomson falters, a strong B2C2/Boloco will try to control things. We’d also keep an eye on Eliot Pitney (Downeast Racing) whose win at Battenkill and strong performance at Killington signal that a race like Purgatory might just be in his wheelhouse. Master’s 35+ In bicycle racing, hell hath no fury like someone who narrowly missed out on a win the previous weekend. We fully expect that Matt Mitchell and Miles Billings, teammates at 545 Velo will be sore about missing the top step of the podium in Harvard last weekend despite finishing second and third. We expect strong team efforts from both 545 Velo and Horst Engineering Cycling Team. Our bet would be that Matt Mitchell will emerge victorious. Masters 45+ Like the Master’s 35+ field, the 45+ field will have a solid representation from our friends at 545 Velo. They will have to overcome the pessimism of the Race Predictor if they want to snag a result. Joseph Rano (Spin Arts Cycling Team) has only finished 1st or 2nd in his 2014 races. If we were betting money on this race, we’d bet on the prolific winner. We also expect Hunter Ziesing and Steven Warren (Hammer Nutrition/Charity of Choice) to challenge for the win, as well. Men’s Cat 4 Patrick Luckow (Community Bicycle Racing) showed up at the weekly Green Line Velo ride this week just to show off how fast he is right now. He finished second in the road race at Killington Stage Race, so we get it ­ he’s fast uphill. Can Patrick keep up with Thom Barry (Northampton Cycling Club), who just won Ken Harrod Memorial Road Race last week? Shayne Gaffney (Comprehensive Racing/Salem Cycle) will give Patrick and Thom a challenge, but we think Thom Barry will be victorious after the final trip up Lackey Road. Men’s Cat 4 35+ This field appears to be a wide­open battle among many potential victors. Road Results tips Tom Fagan (ATA Cycle) for the win. This is a solid prediction given Tom’s recent podium on the road race stage of Killington Stage Race and 4th on GC in the Men 4/5 (33+) field. Mike Hyman finished 5th in that same category after getting a top­10 in every stage at Killington. Juan Lopera (545 Velo) is also one to watch out for with solid results both at Lake Sunapee and in Harvard last weekend. So intense is the competition that we will abstain from predicting a winner of this race. Women’s Cat 4 Road Results is tipping Rachel Chambers (Nerac Earth) for the win on Sunday, but this prediction is based on older results. We prefer fresh results to tell us how someone is going. We think that the Women’s 4 race will come down to a duel between Kristen Beard (Riverside Racing) and Regina Legge, with Regina emerging victorious. Regina won the women’s race at Blue Hills and finished second in the Cat 3/4 race in Harvard this past Saturday. Kristen has had some very respectable results this season and will be supported by several teammates. Men’s Cat 5 With 10 racers with no results whatsoever on Road Results, the completely­full Men’s Cat 5 field is a mystery. The wide range of fitness among this introductory category means that the field detonates like no other on the first trip up Lackey Road. Riders who want to do well should not expect an easy first lap. The Race Predictor says that Ryan Pesch (MV CXC) will emerge victorious. However, this prediction is based on stale results. Roberto Ludovico (Northampton Cycling Club) finished on the podium at the Harvard Firefighters Association Ken Harrod Memorial Road Race just last week, so we know he’s on good form. He’s our pick to win the Cat 5 race.