Wente Crit Reports

Rob skipped the RR Saturday and used the saved energy for 2 races on Sunday. He first lined up for the 35+ 1/2/3 race then did the P/1/2 race a couple hours later. Following are his reports from both races:

Wente Crit, 22 April 2007
Field: 35+ 1/2/3
Placing: 5th of 86
Teammates: Paul Debacker & Bob Parker

This sweeping course is more fun than the normal 4-corner crit. Winds are usually high but don't have much affect, except on the front straight where it blasts a rider in the face and sends them groveling for shelter in the pack. Breaks don't often stay away here, but that doesn't stop people from trying.

At the gun I clipped in fastest and found myself at the head of the pack. I led most of the 1st lap till the blasting headwind, at which point the air brake effect put me back in the pack. Soon after, I followed a breakaway with a promising combo of Granshaw (Morgan Stanley), Hernandez (Safeway), Nolan (AMD), and one other. It took maybe a quarter lap of hard pedaling to bridge. We went around for a couple laps and got pulled back, for which I was thankful because my legs were killing me and I wanted more warmup in the pack. Each time I pulled through was agony, especially in the headwind.

I recovered a bit in the pack and started feeling normal. I took off in chase once or twice more as big splits were occurring frequently. Paul and Bob made frequent visits to the front to help as well. They definitely made a difference in keeping things together for our team. With about ten minutes to go I remember one really big group off the front (20+ guys) and not much chasing going on. I still wanted to be in the finale so I went to the front and made one pretty big effort to close the gap. After that, I tried to recuperate and surf the pack in preparation for the pending pack sprint.

It really heated up on the last lap, I did a pretty good job with positioning. I actually tried to hang back a little thinking that the guys up front would jump too early on the long headwind straight and I'd try to sprint around them as they faded. That's pretty much what happened except I couldn't get around the 4 guys in front of me. First place was definitely out of reach with my positioning strategy but I was close to 2nd, shoulda jumped a fraction earlier. Note to self: remember that for the next race, which leads me to...

Wente Crit, P/1/2
Placing: 16th of 81
Teammates: Matt Beebe (AKA BB)

This time BB led out from the gun while I tried to find the sweet spot in the pack. After a lap, he was relieved from pace setting and did the same. This was BB's 2nd crit in the P/1/2's so the strategy for him was to get some experience in the new category, get some race intensity, and make some efforts if he felt up to it. He did a great job while looking comfortable and smooth. He made one really big chasing effort at about 40 minutes into our 60 minute race. This was during the hardest lap in the race, which had me on the rivet for sure.

During the race lots of breakaways with horsepower and mix of teams went off but didn't get very far before being chased down. I was convinced another sprint would happen so I didn't bother wasting energy getting in breaks. Seemed like the safe bet considering our small numbers with a team of 2. So, I just sat in and went around in circles.

The last couple laps were dicey and fast. Pretty fun though, I enjoy that stuff. Last lap, I was in good position through the S/F and through the back side. A couple teams were in full lead out mode with guys pulling off after doing their job. Into the right hander after the back straight, one rider pulled off and went for the outside curb through the primo racing line, which is where I happened to be heading at much greater speed. Being pushed into the curb, I had no options. Reacting fast, I went wide and I hopped the curb onto the sidewalk, avoided a hay bail, did a full sprint for about 100 feet on the sidewalk, looked over for a gap in traffic, then hopped back onto the road to rejoin the peleton before the sidewalk ran out. That cost me about 20 spots, putting me 30-40th on the road into the last sweepers and right hander. I pulled around guys, made up some spots, rode the headwind straight through the left gutter in a lot of traffic, then started sprinting in spurts while avoiding more burned off leadout guys and other traffic. All that got me 16th, which I was actually sort proud of considering a quarter lap earlier I was offroad flying toward a hay bail. That's racing though. Good times. Seriously though, I should've been on the inside line through that right hander. It was a tight squeeze through that corner every lap and I should've planned better. Easy to say but tough to execute while riding the wave. Next time...

Thanks for reading,
Rob

Wente RR Race Report

The Webcor/Alto Velo Men's Elite team tackled another one of NorCal's classic races , the Wente Vineyards Road Race in Livermore, CA. Ted Huang's accounting of the events is below.

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Wente Vineyards Road Race
21 April 2007
Placing: 5th of 72
Team: Jono Coulter, Dominic Giampaolo, Greg Drake (13th), Matt Beebe, Tore Nauta


We had a good sized local field. The first lap went by inauspiciously with the riders-to-watch sitting tight but some small attacks going up the road. A group of three eventually got away but after a lap, it was brought back of its own accord. During this period, I drifted to the back, and got a bit too comfortable there. I moved up just before the climb on lap 2 (or I think it was lap 2) and stretched the legs a bit trying to hang on. On the backside of the course, Roman Kilun (HealthNet), along with Michael Hutchinson, and Salvatorre of Cal Giant rolled off and became the break of the day. Beginning of lap 3, Tore, in his first race as a cat. 2, got a bit frisky on Greenville Road and launched a few nicely timed attacks. Having just stopped to take a nature break, I felt rejuvenated and followed Tore's lead. We had a group of five or so before the right turn off of Greenvill Rd, with a microscopic gap going into the right turn onto Altamont Pass Rd. But with no one willing to work, we were all together once more. I tried one more dig realizing the climb was coming up, and didn't get anywhere.

This made the lap 3 climb highly uncomfortable for me, but I managed to make it in the front group as more attacks ensued. However, thing quickly calmed down on the backside as we rolled along, hearing the gap to the break going up and up. Finally we heard 4:30. I decided to initiate a small attack on the last descent before the right turn onto Greenville to push the pace up. It helped ever so slightly. Then Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics). took a nice dig on the big hump (old finish line), and strung things out nicely. I pulled through, but we were quickly brought back and were all together going into lap 4 climb.

I braced myself, and sure enough, the Wolhberg train left the station. I was a few too many wheels back and almost missed it. I dug pretty deep to bridge a small gap just before the feed zone and caught on the back. I was only able to pull through once we crossed the freeway and the pace let up slightly. We then had a group of 5 or 6 consisting of Eric, Cal Giant (James), BMC rider, Davis Bike Club rider (Paul), and one other. Since there was at least one Cal Giant and if not another a Davis rider up the road, we were mostly powered by just a few of us. However, with some additional strong pulls by Eric every time the road tilted up (he needs a watt meter), we could see the gap coming down as we began our last lap.

We finally caught the break just before the right turn onto Greenville. Roman had taken a flier before we arrived and Salvatore (Cal Giant) took one last dig to close the gap. Eric countered going over the hump and myself along with James were able to get on his wheel. Then Hutchinson surprised us once more by rolling off. If my memory serves me correctly Roman snuck off too and for a moment Roman and Michael were together. I took a dig to go after them and was able to catch a fading Michael, but was still too far from Roman. Once everyone reached me, of course, everyone looked to Eric to chase (which didn't happen), and the cat'n mouse games began. While we surveyed one another, Roman's gap quickly grew (he was riding strongly). Turning right onto Altamont Pass Rd, Roman probably had 20 seconds. More cat'n mouse games ensued and it quickly became apparent that we were in a race for 2nd. Our entire group of six rolled into the final climb together.

At this point, James rode very smart, by setting an uncomfortable pace that he could sustain, which discouraged attacks from the rest of us. In a matter of moments, as the road kicked up, it was just Eric, Paul, James, and me looking at one another. Now this is where I made some glaring mistakes. Since we were in a tail/crosswind situation, I should have either attacked on the steepest pitch (favors a guy like me) and tried to grovel until the finish, provided I obtained a gap, or more conservatively, I should have been more patient and confident, and waited for someone else to flinch just after the flat section about 300 meters from the finish. Instead, I did neither and jumped just at the top of the feed zone (neither here nor there), not really knowing where the finish was (despite going around lap after lap- but when you're cross-eyed and nearsighted, it's tough to see little lines that only go across one lane). So there I was flailing away, giving significant draft to everyone behind. I promptly sat up, tail between my legs, and resigned myself to fifth.

All in all, despite my fitness being a big question mark and except for that pesky last kilometer, it was fun. But that's bike racing.

Santa Cruz Crit Report

Santa Cruz Crit - Pro/1/2
Scheduled for 45 laps, ~50 miles
Field: 100+
Webcor AV Riders: Jono Coulter, Matt Beebe, Dominic Giampaolo, and myself
Place: OTB, down one lap

The wind that decimated the field Sat at Sea Otter was back in full force for the Santa Cruz Crit on Sun. This time, it was right in our face as we climb up the hill to the start/finish line. Several of the pro teams that raced the Sea Otter Circuit Race showed up for Sunday's crit KodakGallery, after being left out of the Tour de Georgia, took their frustrations out on the rest of the field in Santa Cruz on Sun.

Right from the gun, the pace was fast and furious. Dominic and I made our way to the front third of the pack as attacks were going off the front. About five laps into the race, a group of four, containing most of the big teams (I think it was CalGiant, Kodak, PriorityHealth, and BMC), had gotten off the front. I saw Dominic make a move to bridge up to them so I made my way to the front of the pack to do a little blocking. Unfortunately Dominic didn't quite make it up to the break, so I attacked to try to cover the move. Attacking from the front of the pack isn't the easiest thing to do, but I still opened up a gap. Over the next lap, I almost caught the break, coming within about 10 meters, but just couldn't get to them. I think they caught sight of me trying to bridge and picked up the pace a bit.

I got caught by the main group at the top of the hill on the next lap right before the 180 degree turn. After the turn, I started to accelerate to integrate myself back into the pack when all of a
sudden, BAM, I hit the large pothole in the middle of the descent and my back tire blows out. So there I am, thinking, "Great, I take the whole day, drive all the way down to Santa Cruz, with my fiancée watching, only to flat on the 7th lap. And of course, the one time I didn't bring any extra wheels! Fantastic!" So I decided to run back up to the pit anyways, hoping to beg and plead with someone for a wheel. On the way up, I see Beebe, who had pulled out just before, and he graciously gives me his wheel. The good thing about the flat was that I got to rest for a few minutes while the pack came around again.

After jumping back in the race, I tried to stay mid-pack to in order to avoid congestion in the turns. Dominic was hanging in there too, riding well and staying well within the main group. By this time, the break of four had swelled to about thirteen and they were gaining time. 30 seconds by mid race, then a minute with about 10 laps remaining. We could easily hear the announcer throughout much of the course giving updates on the break's status. At one point the break split again, with four going off the front and the other nine scattered in between. At about 5 laps to go, those four leaders, containing two Kodakgallery riders, lapped the field. At this point, they weren't content with just two in the top four spots, they wanted all of the remaining break back in the pack so the rest of their team could sprint for the other top ten spots. So the whole Kodakgallery team got to the front and drilled it. I saw them fly by me and the rest of the pack on the hill in full team-time-trial mode. Ouch! I was barely hanging on at this point, and this increase in speed was just too much. I drifted off the back of the now smallish pack and finished the last three laps on my own.

I'm not sure how the top places ended up. I was quite spent after the race and limped back to the car, but happy to have stuck in there as long as I did. 45 sprints up that hill in under 2 hours is a pretty good workout!

Tailwinds,
Peter

Sea Otter Circuit (NRC) Race Report

The Go Green Gumby Warriors were out in force this weekend to tackle the Sea Otter NRC Circuit Race and the Santa Cruz Crit. With several continental pro teams in town for the weekend, it turned out to be a real suffer fest. Here's how it went…

Sea Otter Pro/1/2 NRC Circuit Race
Laguna Seca Raceway – scheduled for 31 laps, ~70 miles
Field: 100++
Webcor AV Riders: Jono Coulter, Rob MacNeill, Matt Beebe, Dominic
Giampaolo, James Badia and myself
Place: DNF

Ah, the spectacle that is Sea Otter. I briefly remember saying to myself last year as I was leaving Sea Otter after the Elite 3 RR something to the effect: "Man, Sea Otter is such a circus! Why did I come here!?!? Is it really worth the $45 entry fee to deal with all the people, parking and traffic issues, clash of two worlds (roadies vs. BMX and downhill racers), mud, and plain old chaos?!?!? I'm never coming back here!!!" Well, apparently I forgot about all that when I signed up for the NRC Circuit Race a few weeks ago. The draw of racing on the perfectly smooth and pothole free pavement of the Laguna Seca raceway was too much. This is one of the few local NRC races where the Cat 2's are included with the Pro's and Cat 1's. There were several pro teams in attendance, BMC, Priority Health, Jelly Belly, Successful Living, and Kodak Gallery, so it was bound to be a real suffer fest.

Matt and I left Menlo Park at 9am under partly cloudy skies on Sat to head to the race. By the time we got to Seaside we were engulfed in a torrential downpour. We came to a crawl while driving on highway 1, trying not to hydroplane on the standing water covering the highway. (Later I find out this was about the time when the women's NRC race was canceled midway through due to the cold and rain: http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/12062.0.html ). As we pulled into the Laguna Seca raceway we were shuffled towards the grassy/muddy parking lots a LONG ways from registration. Luckily we called Rob and Dominic and found out that we could get through the blockade to the VIP parking for the NRC racers. YES!!!

After registering, we then found out that our race was postponed from 1 to 2pm. By 2pm the rain had let up slightly and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. After riding a few warm up laps and getting soaking wet, we made our way over to the start line. After everyone got lined up, they announced that they are delaying the race start AGAIN to 2:30pm so that they can clean some of the mud and debris off the race course. I quickly road back to the car to get my rain vest and then meet up with the rest of the team huddled in James' van.

Finally we line up again at the start line. The rain had stopped, but the wind had picked up and it was getting quite cold. I was shivering uncontrollably and almost couldn't keep the bike going straight as I rolled up to the start line. But once the race started I warmed up quickly, ditching the rain jacket after just two laps. Right off the bat, guys were attacking. The beginning part of the climb was not bad as there was a tail wind, but the steeper section at the top was quite hard. The wind had picked up and was coming from our left as we crested the top of the hill. I've never been in a race like this where the pack was guttered along the side of the road on a steep climb. Crazy!!! The corkscrew descent was interesting as well. The crosswind would try to pick up the bike and move me right as I tried to negotiate the high speed turns… on the wet roads none-the-less.

Ted had warned us before the race, that while the climb was tough, the real hard part comes along the flat sections when crosswinds split the field. Basically, there is no time to recover before the climb begins again. Well, that's exactly what happened. I was climbing okay with the group, but when they started attacking and drilling it on the flat, crosswind sections, the pack basically blew up. Dominic, James and I made it about 10 laps with the main group before all three of us got gapped off on the same lap. Rob, Jono and Matt came off the back a little while before that. Obviously USADA didn't see Rob's lackluster performance as he got the "Pro" experience of being subjected to doping control through random selection after getting dropped, pretty funny. What started off as a field of well over 100 was now less than half that. Only 42 were listed in the final results.

In the end, it was a brutal race, but all of us survived the experience. Luckily, none of us were involved in any crashes! Many thanks to James' wife, Adina, for braving the weather to feed us during the race!!!

-Peter

Copperopolis Race Report

(Photo Courtesey of Jan Snyder 2007)

Copperopolis Road Race, Milton, Ca
Pro/1/2, 105 Miles (5 Laps)
Date: 7 April 2007
Weather: 50F/70F Start/Finish, Slightly Overcast with a 10mph WNW Wind
Field: 66
AV Team: Jono Coulter, Peter Dinolfo (18th), Dominic Giampaolo, Rob MacNeill (22nd) , Matt Morenzoni, Greg Drake (8th)

The 27th Annual Copperopolis Road Race, advertised as the Paris-Roubaix of California didn't disappoint. Your Gumby Warriors were aptly prepared for anything that would be thrown our way: chunks of asphalt, water bottles at 40mph, or even a Pro Tour star showing up at the start line. Well maybe I overstated our preparedness with the last one but you get my point - This race is hard but we went in knowing full well what was in store for us when we signed our lives away on the USAC waiver.

As we slowly gathered ourselves near the start line and kicked around our strategy for the day someone mentioned that Levi Leipheimer had shown up again. After some "no ways" and "I don't think he's in the country" we rolled off the line and sure enough, in his stealth all-black Nike kit replete with white shoes was the man himself - back again after crushing the field last year by more time than it takes to brew a vat of coffee.

The field was much larger than last year and was pretty stacked with talent, from the aforementioned euro-stud to top North American cyclocrosser Barry Wicks (with a couple of his Kona teammates thrown in for good measure). This was in addition to some of the usual suspects on the NorCal road race scene. Cal Giant, RHVilla/BPG, Davis Bike Club (who were apparently bringing their A-game as they were all sporting race radios) were all very well represented.

The race started off with an attack by one of the Kona boys as the rest of the field rolled briskly on the mangled roads trying to get warm in the cool foothills air. The main climb which begins around mile 5 or 6 caused the field to string out a bit. By this time the Kona guy was back in the fold and a Cal Giant rider pushed up the road a bit.

Jono was active at the front covering several moves that dangled off the front on the climb. Then, near the top of the climb a few riders tried to bridge to the Berry boy but were brought back in short order by Levi, who effortlessly noodled his pedals as the pack panted heavily behind him.

As we approached the top of the course after passing the reservoir, Dominic attacked to try a bridging move to the Cal Giant rider but the winds had shifted and made it impossible for him to get up the road.

We then hit the backside of the course which is a combination of rolling hills, fast twisty descents, and boneshakingly bad asphalt. We were still gruppo compatto which made for a semi-hair raising experience, as the more bikes around you flying down a bad road at 40+ mph, the more rocks, pebbles, and water bottles that you have to duck and dodge.

On the main climb of lap 2 the lead break of the day went up the road. It contained Levi, Kevin Klein (Klein Real Estate), Barry Wicks, Jamiel Danesh (Sierra Nevada), and Andy Jaques-Maynes (Cal Giant). Being only 25 miles into a 105 mile race this was a rough ticket and only those with the proper intestinal fortitude or complete lack of sound judgement need apply. I along with the other Webcor / AV boys passed on this opportunity.

Things settled in for the next couple laps with the usual surge, lull, rinse, repeat as the course took its toll on the peloton. The field had whittled down considerably to less than 20 guys by the end of lap 3. Matt, Peter, Rob, Dominic and Jono had experienced varying levels of suffering in their own personal pain caves and ended up losing pace with the group.

With a man up the road and superior numbers in the field Cal Giant was active in covering every move, sending two men on many occasions: one to cover and the other right behind him to let a gap form. They were tactically excellent today.

BPG, who didn't have a man in the break was intent on getting up the road and Jesse Mendonca was leading the charge, only to be brought back over and over again. I covered several of these but in the end you have to play the numbers and try to get the ones that look promising.

Lap 4 saw Jesse Moore (Cal Giant), Jesse Mendonca, and Adam Switters finally get away on the backside of the course. I wanted to be in this move because of the horsepower but thought for sure it would be chased down in short order. With everyone looking at each other they slipped away. After several miles of riding in the seemingly indifferent group, I attacked and brought a CVC and Cal Giant rider with me to bridge to the break. After rolling through for several miles the field suddenly woke up and chased us down.

By this time Barry Wicks and Jamiel Danesh had been popped from the lead group and absorbed by the main pack. Heading into lap 5 I knew I would have to make another move to try and shake things up.

After getting a feed we hit the climb and I attacked the group, getting away clean, this time with 2 riders, Erik Easterling (CVC) and David Bryant (Sierra Nevada Club Team). We agreed that we needed each other and that we'd all work to catch the second group on the road in the hopes of then having the horsepower to catch everyone - sans Levi.

As we rolled around the top end of the course we finally saw the group about a minute and a half ahead which looked to contain 4 guys, meaning the lead group had come apart. This gave us hope as the race for 2nd place was still in play.

Apparently, Levi had attacked on the final climb and popped Kevin Klein and Andy Jaques Maynes with Kevin continuing alone and Andy being absorbed by the chasing group containing his teammate, Jesse Moore.

They ended up seeing us as well and dropped the hammer and it see-sawed for the next several miles in a classic chase. In my group, Easterling began to suffer and came off before the main descent. As we came to the downhill section I turned to David and told him to get on my wheel and whatever he did, "do not touch your brakes!"

We flew towards the finish finally closing the gap to about 45 seconds but it was too little too late as the 1k to go sign appeared. We rolled in for 7th and 8th.

Needless to say, Levi took the win. Kevin Klein was nipped by the chasers from behind right at the finish after being out there all day long.

All in all it was a great day of racing. The weather was beautiful as was the locale, with green hills, blossoming trees and happy cows dotting the course.

Now to the awards presentation. Peter Dinolfo and Rob MacNeill get the over-achiever award as they were either serving out a self-imposed sentence or were just enjoying the pavement a little too much but regardless, they rode the entire race after being popped in lap ~2 - meaning they suffered out there for 3 additional laps afterward, getting full race-training benefit. These miles are like money in the bank. You can't buy that kind of training - you've got to earn it. Nice work boys.

Lastly, kudos to our bright and beautiful contingent of feeders who selflessly gave up their Saturday to sit on the side of the road outside Milton, CA to hand up bottles to the Gumby Warriors (sorry, I can't get enough of that nickname).

Next up on the calendar: Sea Otter Classic

-Greg Drake

Race Reports: Ronde van Brisbeen Day 1 and 2

Saturday Circuit Race

Field: 120
Team: Bruce Wilford, Rob MacNeil (11th), Dominic Giampalo, Tore Nauta, Greg Gomez, Erik Berggren, Aaron Patterson, Bill Dunham

Category: 2/3 with each field picked separately

Placing: 3rd of 62 Cat 2's
Course: The same course as previous years with a steady climb and fast descent, the climb had a head wind that helped neutralize the climbers with the non climbers

At our pre-race meeting the plan was for the Cat 2 and Cat 3 teams to work together but also we decided on riding for two people, myself and Tore. The plan was to go for the win in both categories, with the teams (Cat 2 and 3 riding together to help achieve both goals (not ride for their respective category leaders). This was my first time racing the RvB circuit course, and based on peoples explanation of the course I told the team I wasn't sure what I would be capable of given the elevation changes. Bruce called perfectly by saying that if I was there half way through the race than I would be the "go to" guy at the end of the race. During the race I felt suprisingly strong, the effots up the hill weren't that bad and I was able to recover enough on the down hill section. From the start Dominc was on the front keeping the race lively. About half way into the race Dominic had just finished a hard session at the front and as soon as he came off the front a DBC rider attacked. I was sitting about 10th wheel, looked around and saw no green around me so I decided to counter. It took me a whole lap by myself to bridge up to the DBC rider. We rode together, trading pulls, for about another lap and half when the field caught us. For the rest of the race I did a pretty good job maintaining position near the front. Bruce took a bunch of hard turns at the front as well keeping the race strung out toward the end. As the lap cards started winding down, I focused more on maintaining my position toward the front, even if it meant spending a little time in the wind. With about 3 to go Bruce came along side and gave me a tow up a few spots. Dominic and Bruce both did an awesome job keeping it fast at the end of the race. Coming into the final hill I was sitting 2nd wheel behind the DBC rider when a Lombardi rider came on the inside of us. I started to jump on his wheel but the DBC rider was very aggressive and swerved in front of me to grab the Lombardi wheel. I hit the brakes to avoid hitting either the DBC rider or the curb, I got back on the cranks and wound it up (again) retaining my 3rd spot for 3rd place. Rob was racing with a cold and did his best to cover attacks and contribute to the pacemaking. He spent some time at the front during the race which was surprising considering how sick he was.

Takeaways from the race, I could have been more agressive and bumped the DBC rider to maintain my position on the Lombardi wheel, but that would have been risky. In all it was a great race for me. Dominic and Bruce were both crazy strong with all their efforts at the front. I do think we could try someday to form a leadout train just to see what happens. Tore finished 2nd in the 3's field. All of the Cat 2's and 3's met up after the race and a good discussion was had.

Sunday Crit

Field: 120
Team: Bruce Wilford, Tore Nauta, Greg Gomez, Erik Berggren, Bill Dunham, Greg Davis, (Greg Drake was the cheerleader for the day)

Category: 2/3 with each field picked separately

Placing: 6th of 20 total finishers
Course: Tight parking lot crit, a 180 halfway through, windy!

We had less people in the field on the 2nd day of RvB. The results of our pre-race meeting were to race again for both Tore and James as they were both positioned well in their respective GC categories. The wind completely shredded the field down to only 20 finishers, with many of those dropping out in the first 15 minutes. After about 20 minutes into the race I was the only Green rider left in the field. I went in to self preservation mode for the rest of the race as I didn't see a break's success being likely. The wind really left nowhere to hide in this race and it was wearing me down with each ticking lap. Finally the lap card came up with 20 to go. At abotu 16 to go I attempted to go for a prime but shut it down on the second to last straight away letting the BPG rider snag the honors. We rode tempo for about half a lap until the pack caught us. I sat in for the remainder of the laps with my legs absolutely screaming and wanting to give up. On multiple occasions my head dropped and luckily each time I read my big "LOVE PAIN" sticker I conveniently placed on my top tube, which gave me a subtle reminder to stick it out one more lap. Inside of 3 laps to go I was having more and more trouble maintaining position in the field and stared moving backwards. At 2 to go I found myself at the back of the 20 rider group with hardly anything left in the tank. Going into the Bell lap I took an outside line and moved up to about 5th wheel. I remained their for the last lap and when everyone started sprinting I did as well, I more or less maintained my position for a 6th place.

This was definitely a character building race for me, and at least twice as hard as the race the day before. Not having teamates throughout the race really made me burn all my matches leaving nothing for the end.

In the end I placed 3rd in the overall omnium for the weekend.

Thanks for reading.

James

Wards Ferry Race Report

It was another split weekend for the men's Elite team with Cat 2/3 fields offered at the Ronde Van Brisbeen and P/1/2 offered at Wards Ferry. Here's Greg Drake's report from Wards Ferry Road Race
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Wards Ferry Road Race,Sonora, CA
50F/70F Start/Finish, Calm Clear Skies
62(ish) Miles (5 Laps)
30+ in Field
AV Team(Placing): Jono Coulter (15th), Peter Dinolfo(20th), Matt
Morenzoni (11th), Greg Drake (9th)

The Webcor / AV Elite Racing Team was battling fellow lycra-laden bike racers on two fronts on this last day of March. Our Cat 2 danger-men joined forces with the Cat 3 squad to contest the Ronde Van Brisbeen. With that race set for a late afternoon start, Jono, Peter D., Matt M. and I were covering the early move, waking at 4:00 am to drive 2.5 hours due east to get to Sonora for our 8:00 am launch.

Since the Ronde didn't have a race for the NorCal Cat 1 contingent, some of the big hitters also made the trek eastward. AV alums Brian Buchholz and Jessie/Andy Mendonca lined up for the BPG/RH Villa squad, plus other notables such as fellow ex-Cal Aggie Jesse Moore (Cal Giant), Andres Gil (Delta Velo) and Kevin Klein.

In our pre-race meeting we discussed our current form and race objectives. With this being the first race for Matt, coming off a
chronic injury, the first race for me, coming off my third annual retirement, the first race for Peter after a week long business trip and the first race for Jono after fighting off his "Welcome to California, here's a flu for you" we decided that this was going to be a training session.

Needless to say we weren't really in that "Warrior" zone in the strict sense of the word. Maybe you could say we were a kinder, gentler version, and maybe a bit less muscular, and definitely with less hair. You get the point.

The bottom line was that if any team member was feeling spunky once in the race proper then we'd consolidate our efforts, but otherwise it was about getting in some good race miles with no pressure - stay upright, stay safe, have fun and get lactic!

The race course is tucked about a mile off Highway 108 in the beautiful rolling foothills, with fair to good pavement which is largely canopied by trees. The climbs were pretty short by NorCal standards (~1k) and varied from 5-8%. An important feature of this course are the fairly narrow and twisty and otherwise fast roads. It requires a fair amount of concentration and needless to say, positioning at the front of the pack.

The race started out with a 2 mile neutral promenade from the race parking lot. There were no attacks at the start but RH/Villa did have a man on front setting a little pace.

I stretched my legs on the first little kicker and ended up with a small gap. Akira Wong from Organic Athlete followed me and we took off. All of a sudden Brian Bonecrusher Buchholz bridged up out of nowhere spilling watts all over the tarmac. Akira and I jumped on the train but we were pulled back in fairly short order by the Lombardi and Delta Velo Squads. There continued to be a fair amount of the normal jostling around with moves coming and going.

About three quarters of the way through the first lap a rider launched a move on one of the small climbs. After covering the move I was swarmed a bit as we crested the hill and guys immediately slowed down and reached for their bottles. Buchholz smelled the lactic acid leaching from everyone's quads and it must be like a smelling salt for him because he launched a perfectly timed, perfectly savage attack that only Kevin Klein covered. I broke free from the jam at the front and joined the chase with a few other riders but they were committed and moving up the road.

That was the race for first and second. Gone.

>From there it was just pure attrition in the main group. The break never had more than a minute as several of us, namely Jesse Moore, kept up the pace - because you never know.

The main pack dwindled down to eight guys by the last lap when Moore finally got away, taking Mendonca and Gil. With a half-lap to go the rest of us were see-sawing off the back of their wheels but just couldn't hold on.

Buckholz beat Klein in the final uphill sprint for the win, while Gil just nudged Mendonca for 3rd and 4th respectively followed by Moore in 5th, all three about 45 seconds of the winning time.

The 3 guys left attacked and left me for dead at 200m to go. Ouch. We were another minute back or so.

As for the rest of the AV boys Peter had a rough patch near the end of lap one after covering a move and fell off the pace, and Jono and Matt hung in there for a couple more laps further. We all got a healthy dose of the burn-juice.

It ended up being a great race day, with perfect weather, no crashes, mechanicals or injuries and we won a t-shirt which was donated to Jono to possibly sell on E-Bay to fund his travels:)

Next week is the NorCal Roubaix, Copperopolis.

-Greg Drake