Eric Schildge (Fiordifrutta) edged out CCB International's Colin Jaskiewicz and Daniel Estevez (CRCA/Sakonnet Technology U25) in a photo finish at the Michael Schott Memorial Race in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
The Marblehead race, held on a rolling 2.2-mile circuit on a rocky neck jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the longest running one-day races in New England, and a traditional season opener for the New England road scene.
This year's edition was held under cloudless blue skies but started a bit chilly: some of the early morning categories started in temperatures of about 30 degrees, with wind chills in the 20s.
In the 37-mile men's category 1-3 race, an attentive field reeled in several early breakaway attempts and the majority of the field entered the final lap together, with Schildge narrowly edging Jaskiewicz.
In a notable Masters 35 race held earlier in the day, Team Fuji's Tobi Schultze got off the front in the last lap with teammate Frank McCormack, a multi-time national champion. Schultze beat his famous teammate in the sprint and the pack was led in several seconds later by a third Team Fuji teammate, Frank McCormack's brother Mark, the recently retired former USPRO road champion.