Rand and Chris raced Henleyville RR up near Chico on Saturday. Rand finished 2nd, barely missing the win to cap off a great season for him. Below is Rand's report.
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Henleyville RR
Nowhere, Northern California
9/20/08
Weather: Cool, clear, windy
Teammates: Chris Crawford
Placing: 2nd of 15
This is the flattest RR I have ever done. McLane/Merco RR is a mountain stage compared to Henleyville. The course is basically an 18-mile 4-corner crit. I loved it.
We did 4 laps for roughly 72 miles, combined with the cat 3's since both fields were small.
The first lap consisted of a single Chico Corsa rider solo off the front, with our very own Chris Crawford setting the pace on the field to keep the guy in sight. It was fun to have that chico guy up there slaying himself, while Chris calmly dragged the field around at the same exact speed with no perceived exertion.
The second lap had a few flurries of attacks, some of which I instigated, but nothing was sticking. The P/1/2's were all watching each other, and the 3's were happy following their wheels. This led to boring racing.
Starting the 3rd lap, Eric Riggs (Lombardi, last year's winner) attacked. He got a reasonable gap solo, so a few of us P/1/2's waited patiently. I then attacked as hard as I could and bridged up to Eric, bringing one or two guys with me.
Long story short, after a few miles we had a break of 5, all P/1/2's, composed of myself, Eric Riggs, Mike Cordova (Chico Corsa), Kevin King (Wells Fargo), and a UC Berkeley guy who is really strong but I dont recall his name. Chris Turner (Above Category) bridged up solo a bit
later.
I really wanted the break to stick, so I drove the pace hard. A couple of the other guys worked really well with me, but Riggs more or less sat on the back and skipped pulls. He seemed to be hurting, and was actually bleeding from the face from time to time. Literally.
The 36-mile breakaway succeeded and we stayed away. Coming into the finish, I felt confident in my sprint and thought I had the win. Overconfidence sucks. I got beat at the line by Riggs. He has a good sprint and I knew it, but I thought he was hurting during the race. Apparently he was faking it.
So, I botched a really good shot at a win. That seems to be my signature move this year. Got 2nd place. Chris Turner was 3rd (this guy went on to solo to victory in the Chico crit the next day... great riding by him).
Anyway, this will be my last report of the season. Thanks to everyone in the entire Alto-Velo organization and all of our sponsors for supporting the P/1/2 team this year. Without your support, I would not have been able to race successfully this year. Congratulations to all the AV racers in every category... the club seems to have had a very prolific season overall. Finally, good luck to all of you crazy people racing 'cross, track, Mt. Tam hillclimb, etc.
Thanks again,
Rand
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Race Report: SF Twilight Criterium Men's Pro 1/2
The team did another big nighttime criterium on September 13th. This was part of a national criterium series which is hotly contested by some of the best crit riders in the country. This edition of the series was in our own backyard: San Francisco and the title sponsor was our very own Webcor Builders!
James tried to end his season early but we talked him into one more race before winter hybernation. It was a good thing we did because chaos and bad luck toward the finish left James as our closer. He sprinted in for a respectable 20th place. Below is his report.
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Race: 1st ever SF Twilight Criterium
James tried to end his season early but we talked him into one more race before winter hybernation. It was a good thing we did because chaos and bad luck toward the finish left James as our closer. He sprinted in for a respectable 20th place. Below is his report.
Results can be found here
Some action shots from the race:
James leading through the bottom corner
Rand at speed
Ryan attacking
Rob on the front
Some action shots from the race:
James leading through the bottom corner
Rand at speed
Ryan attacking
Rob on the front
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Race: 1st ever SF Twilight Criterium
Category: Men's Pro 1/2
Teammates: Rob (47th), Rand (60th), Jono, Ryan, Neil
Placing: 20th of 100+
This race was AWESOME in so many ways. The promoter, Project Sport, did a stellar job hyping up this race and making it a premier event. The promoter has plans to make a Triple crown series for 2009 with San Rafael, San Francisco, and Sacramento being the venues. The course was a rectangle with the S/F line at the highest point on the course in the middle of one of the long straightaways. This race started at 8pm so it was dark and chilly at the start line. There were generator spot lights on the corners and at the finish. Transitioning from dark to bright multiple times per lap made visibility somewhat of a challenge, especially when your lenses start to fog up.
Having started my season on Feb. 2nd this year I was burned out after the Giro. Then I tried the points race at Master's track Nationals, and the 100 degree heat took even more out of me. So, 6 days before the SF twilight race I phoned Director Bruce and let him know I was not planning to race due to fatigue and burnout. Bruce told me to wait a few days and see how I felt and we would revisit it then. Well, by Wednesday I was feeling better and told Bruce I was going to race. I am glad I decided to race because the SF race was huge fun.
Now, on to the race. Thanks to Webcor and Andy Ball being the title sponsor of the event, the entire team was able to line up near the front of the pack. This proved valuable as the race exploded from the gun. With the high speed and lots of guys trying to figure out the 40mph right hander at the bottom of the course, there were lots of small gaps opening up throughout the pack and it was difficult to maintain position. Lots of attacks started to go early, with the Webcor team trying their best to practice patience. After about 10 minutes a small group got a decent gap. Bruce radioed to Rob and I that we needed to close it. I immediately went to the front and tried my best to bring it back. After spending an entire lap at the front I was done and ready to drop out of the race. I drifted back toward the back of the pack and was hurting really bad. After a few laps I started feeling better and working my way back up through the pack when I got caught behind a crash out of turn 3. I ran into the guy in front of me and came to a stop. A big group rolled around to the S/F for the free lap where they threw us back in the race.
Ryan, Rob, and Rand were all near the front for a good portion of the race. Rob put in some monster efforts chasing down attacks. Throughout the race small attacks were going off but would all eventually come back. Rand did his best to bridge up to some of these attacks, but again most of them ended up coming back. Ryan proved his worthiness throughout the entire race, he maintained position well and did some great turns on the front.
I put in a 2nd effort dangling off the front later in the race when I was trying to bridge up to a small breakaway. I wasn't able to bridge due to lack of fitness and again went straight to the back feeling like I was ready to drop out of the race. I pedaled a few laps near the back of the group and started feeling better again so I started moving up. That is when I heard a huge tire blowout and soon realized it was my rear tire. This happened on the bottom of the course so I rolled around on the tubular tire to the SRAM neutral support where I got a new wheel. I was put back in the race with about 20 min. to go. The pace was still high.
Inside 20 min. to go I don't remember much other than I was ready to be finished with this race. I do recall Rob and Ryan both putting some big efforts on the front to bring back breakaways. Inside 5 to go I was behind Rand when he got tangled up with some riders briefly where no one went down. He then had a loud noise coming from his bike. Not knowing what it was exactly he radioed to the team that something was wrong with his bike and he wouldn't be contesting the finish. At that time Bruce came on the radio telling me it was my time to go for the finish. I wasn't feeling very good at that point but I started moving up as best I could.
At the bell lap I was somewhere around 30th place and Ryan was just in front of me. We both moved up on the back side of the course and came out of the last turn in about 15th place when we started our sprint. Ryan went up the outside and was accelerating quickly when another rider ran him wide and he hit the fence launching him and his bike into the air. I hit the brakes and moved right to avoid the flying objects. Then I continued to sprint passing a few people and rolled in for 20th place. I rolled around to where Ryan had crashed and found him lying on the ground. He looked pretty bad but he was talking. His face was very bloody. The medics checked him out and the team showed up soon after to give him support. In the end Ryan walked away with only scrapes and bruises.
It turned out Rand's front wheel was hitting his fork, in addition his rear wheel came half way out of the rear dropout.
I was happy with 20th considering my current fitness level. Now, if only this race were in June, I would be writing a different report.
Thanks to the team--both those who raced and those who didn't but showed up anyway to give us 6 guys the support.
It has been a breakthrough season for the P1/2 team. I can't wait for 2009.
Some photos of the race can be found at www.webcorelitecycling.blogspot.com
Thanks for reading,
James
Chico Downtown Crit Race Report
Race: Chico Downtown Crit
Date: 21 Sep 2008
Category: Pro 1/2/3
Duration: 60 minutes
Result: 10th on 40-50 riders
Teammates: Billy Crane (Cat 2 debut!), Chris Crawford, Jan Diemont, Rand Miller, Bob Parker.
A few of us in the team headed up to Chico for some late season racing. Rand and Chris did the Henleyville RR the day prior and Billy and I headed up just for the crit. Billy recently upgraded from Cat 3 to 2 and wanted to get a race in the higher category before the off season. I was there because I like crits and I'm not burned out yet :) When we got there Jan had showed up as well and Bob Parker had entered our last race of the day after doing the 35+ 123 race a bit earlier.
This race was in downtown Chico, consisting of 6-corners (5 lefts, 1 right) in a loop that was taking us on the order of 90 seconds to lap. So, the corners came in fairly rapid succession, which made for a somewhat technical course. Pavement was the usual downtown stuff with transitions, bumps, and potholes here and there, but not too bad overall. A few of the corners had curbs that tapered down to street level, making it possible to really cut the corners if need be. I did that on several occasions!
Rand was jonzin to get his freak on so I wanted to help set him up for some strong attacks. So, I mostly covered attacks with less threatening guys and helped chase a move or two that we had missed. Chris helped keep things in check throughout the race and was riding well. Billy was a bit shocked by the speed in the first half of the race and eventually pulled out. It's hard to describe to the new guys how hard or different the races are than 3's crits. The P12 races are usually crazy-fast for 10-20 minutes before they sort of settle into a slightly more sustainable pace. Usually if one can hang on for that first fast interval, they can go the distance. Getting used to the pace is the biggest challenge for recent upgrades. Riding efficiently instead of on brute force is probably the biggest key to success that really only comes with experience. It sounded like Billy almost made it over the hump, so he shouldn't be upset; he'll get the hang of it and we expect him to be tearing up the RR's in '09. From what I recall, Jan was pack surfing and waiting for the sprint finish. Bob was staying in good position near the front and riding well throughout the race.
So, our team was active for the entire race and was represented in most of the moves but the speed of the pack wasn't letting breakaways get much distance at all. We were still trying to get some separation late into the race. Rand and I were up near the front attacking within 10 laps to go. Chris was up there helping with the pace as well. After one of my efforts, I drifted toward the back while recovering (Bob helped me eventually get back in and toward the front--thanks!) and I noticed Rand was gone. This was with about 5 laps to go. It turned out that Rand got a flat with 6 to go and free laps ended at 8, bummer! Anyhow, it was looking like it would be a pack finish so I tried to suck it up and prepare for a sprint. My efforts from earlier had taken a bit off my top end at this point but I did what I could. I think with 2 to go I was at the back then the pack slowed and I was able to move up to about 3rd wheel, which was good. As the pace increased in the final 2 laps, I was suffering pretty badly but tried to hang in there. On the last lap, a couple riders surged, including Mike Sayers of BMC (his last race as a Pro?), and I wasn't able to latch on. Somewhere in the chaos, one rider, Chris Turner, had gotten off the front late in the race and was able to stay off for the win, very impressive. So Sayers finished 2nd and JD Bergman (BPG) finished 3rd just in front of a charging pack. I actually had a good sprint after losing position and came around several guys for 10th place (in the money--woo hoo!). Jan sprinted in a few spots ahead of me, though I'm not exactly sure where.
It was a fun race, I'd definitely recommend it and I'd do it again, even with the long drive.
Even with some bad luck losing Rand in the closing laps, we put 2 guys in the top-10, not bad. Our guys rode well, some of whom finished off the season with Chico Crit (myself included). We've had a great year in the Elite Team--our best yet--and I'm already looking forward to 2009.
Thanks for reading,
Rob MacNeill
Date: 21 Sep 2008
Category: Pro 1/2/3
Duration: 60 minutes
Result: 10th on 40-50 riders
Teammates: Billy Crane (Cat 2 debut!), Chris Crawford, Jan Diemont, Rand Miller, Bob Parker.
A few of us in the team headed up to Chico for some late season racing. Rand and Chris did the Henleyville RR the day prior and Billy and I headed up just for the crit. Billy recently upgraded from Cat 3 to 2 and wanted to get a race in the higher category before the off season. I was there because I like crits and I'm not burned out yet :) When we got there Jan had showed up as well and Bob Parker had entered our last race of the day after doing the 35+ 123 race a bit earlier.
This race was in downtown Chico, consisting of 6-corners (5 lefts, 1 right) in a loop that was taking us on the order of 90 seconds to lap. So, the corners came in fairly rapid succession, which made for a somewhat technical course. Pavement was the usual downtown stuff with transitions, bumps, and potholes here and there, but not too bad overall. A few of the corners had curbs that tapered down to street level, making it possible to really cut the corners if need be. I did that on several occasions!
Rand was jonzin to get his freak on so I wanted to help set him up for some strong attacks. So, I mostly covered attacks with less threatening guys and helped chase a move or two that we had missed. Chris helped keep things in check throughout the race and was riding well. Billy was a bit shocked by the speed in the first half of the race and eventually pulled out. It's hard to describe to the new guys how hard or different the races are than 3's crits. The P12 races are usually crazy-fast for 10-20 minutes before they sort of settle into a slightly more sustainable pace. Usually if one can hang on for that first fast interval, they can go the distance. Getting used to the pace is the biggest challenge for recent upgrades. Riding efficiently instead of on brute force is probably the biggest key to success that really only comes with experience. It sounded like Billy almost made it over the hump, so he shouldn't be upset; he'll get the hang of it and we expect him to be tearing up the RR's in '09. From what I recall, Jan was pack surfing and waiting for the sprint finish. Bob was staying in good position near the front and riding well throughout the race.
So, our team was active for the entire race and was represented in most of the moves but the speed of the pack wasn't letting breakaways get much distance at all. We were still trying to get some separation late into the race. Rand and I were up near the front attacking within 10 laps to go. Chris was up there helping with the pace as well. After one of my efforts, I drifted toward the back while recovering (Bob helped me eventually get back in and toward the front--thanks!) and I noticed Rand was gone. This was with about 5 laps to go. It turned out that Rand got a flat with 6 to go and free laps ended at 8, bummer! Anyhow, it was looking like it would be a pack finish so I tried to suck it up and prepare for a sprint. My efforts from earlier had taken a bit off my top end at this point but I did what I could. I think with 2 to go I was at the back then the pack slowed and I was able to move up to about 3rd wheel, which was good. As the pace increased in the final 2 laps, I was suffering pretty badly but tried to hang in there. On the last lap, a couple riders surged, including Mike Sayers of BMC (his last race as a Pro?), and I wasn't able to latch on. Somewhere in the chaos, one rider, Chris Turner, had gotten off the front late in the race and was able to stay off for the win, very impressive. So Sayers finished 2nd and JD Bergman (BPG) finished 3rd just in front of a charging pack. I actually had a good sprint after losing position and came around several guys for 10th place (in the money--woo hoo!). Jan sprinted in a few spots ahead of me, though I'm not exactly sure where.
It was a fun race, I'd definitely recommend it and I'd do it again, even with the long drive.
Even with some bad luck losing Rand in the closing laps, we put 2 guys in the top-10, not bad. Our guys rode well, some of whom finished off the season with Chico Crit (myself included). We've had a great year in the Elite Team--our best yet--and I'm already looking forward to 2009.
Thanks for reading,
Rob MacNeill
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Another Win! P/1/2 Folsom ITT Race Report
Rand scored his first win of the season after being oh-so-close on many occasions. Congratulations to Rand on a great ride. Below is his report from the Folsom TT.
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Folsom South Canal ITT
Folsom, CA
9/12/2008
Weather: windy, hot
Place: 1st of ~15
In order to get my legs primed for the crazy SF Twilight crit on Saturday, I snuck out of work on Friday to go race the first stage of the Folsom Omnium, a 10-mile out and back ITT along a canal in Folsom.
This is definitely my new favorite ITT course...not hard to do, since ITT courses are pretty much always flat and straight, but still worth noting. The course was run on a bike path at the bottom of an irrigation canal, so the majority of the path is below ground level. This lends a "wind tunnel" quality to the course and led to a stiff headwind on the way out. Finally, the course is punctuated by three steep, short climbs (probably about 30 feet high, 15% grade or something), which required a quick burst of power to get up and some serious willpower to accelerate over the top. They felt like speedbumps on the way out, and like the Galibier on the way home.
My start time was around 4pm, so I knew it was going to be really hot. I wanted to make sure I stayed hydrated and cool so I brought a huge bag of ice, and stuffed it into my skinsuit as I warmed up. This enabled me to perform a very good leg warmup without overheating my body (this is a trick Garmin-Chipotle has been doing this year), and kept my core temperature way down all the way until the start.
I started the TT pretty quickly, and pushed to the limit early on. I tried to keep the cadence high over the climbs, and it allowed me to quickly ramp back up to speed over the crests. I caught my 30-second man right at the turnaround after fighting the headwind, then stuck it in an overly large gear and used the tailwind to keep the speed high. On the way back, it was all I could do to keep from stalling at the tops of the climbs. I definitely wish I had a little more in the tank for accelerating down the back of the hills on the way back, because I definitely lost some time there. Anyway, a brutal push through the flat last 1k got me to the line in 21:15, at an average speed of 28.23mph.
That was enough to give me the victory, and the next few placings were something like 10-15 seconds back.
Finally, I got the ever-elusive win, and although its not nearly as sexy as a mass-start win, I'll take what I can get!
Thanks for reading,
Rand
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Folsom South Canal ITT
Folsom, CA
9/12/2008
Weather: windy, hot
Place: 1st of ~15
In order to get my legs primed for the crazy SF Twilight crit on Saturday, I snuck out of work on Friday to go race the first stage of the Folsom Omnium, a 10-mile out and back ITT along a canal in Folsom.
This is definitely my new favorite ITT course...not hard to do, since ITT courses are pretty much always flat and straight, but still worth noting. The course was run on a bike path at the bottom of an irrigation canal, so the majority of the path is below ground level. This lends a "wind tunnel" quality to the course and led to a stiff headwind on the way out. Finally, the course is punctuated by three steep, short climbs (probably about 30 feet high, 15% grade or something), which required a quick burst of power to get up and some serious willpower to accelerate over the top. They felt like speedbumps on the way out, and like the Galibier on the way home.
My start time was around 4pm, so I knew it was going to be really hot. I wanted to make sure I stayed hydrated and cool so I brought a huge bag of ice, and stuffed it into my skinsuit as I warmed up. This enabled me to perform a very good leg warmup without overheating my body (this is a trick Garmin-Chipotle has been doing this year), and kept my core temperature way down all the way until the start.
I started the TT pretty quickly, and pushed to the limit early on. I tried to keep the cadence high over the climbs, and it allowed me to quickly ramp back up to speed over the crests. I caught my 30-second man right at the turnaround after fighting the headwind, then stuck it in an overly large gear and used the tailwind to keep the speed high. On the way back, it was all I could do to keep from stalling at the tops of the climbs. I definitely wish I had a little more in the tank for accelerating down the back of the hills on the way back, because I definitely lost some time there. Anyway, a brutal push through the flat last 1k got me to the line in 21:15, at an average speed of 28.23mph.
That was enough to give me the victory, and the next few placings were something like 10-15 seconds back.
Finally, I got the ever-elusive win, and although its not nearly as sexy as a mass-start win, I'll take what I can get!
Thanks for reading,
Rand
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Race Report: Benicia Crit P1/2
A big contingent of the W/AV Elite Team was at Benicia Crit this past weekend. We rode well as a team with a lot of the guys in the mix getting in breakaways. Fabrice did his standard go off the front for the last 10 laps but got caught with the finish in sight. It was heartbreaking for him, but he still finished 5th, a nice result. Below is his report.
Full results
Normally Fabrice would post the report but he was rushing out for the Tour of Mexico so I'm filing this report on his behalf. Wish him luck down there!
-Rob
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Race: Benicia Crit
Date: 9/7/08
Category: Pro 1/2
Distance: 60 minutes
Result: 5th on 70 riders
Teammates: Jono Coulter, Chris Crawford, Jan Diemont, Bo Hebenstreit, Rob MacNeill, Rand Miller, Ryan Prsha (10th), Graham Simpson
Benicia is a 4-corner criterium, a long rectangle approximately of 1.5 miles. It's flat from the start to turn 1, slightly uphill to turn 2, two big-ring rollers on the backside to turn 3, downhill with a slight rise into turn 4, and then slightly down hill to flat through the finish. There was a headwind on the finishing straight and a tailwind on the roller section.
The start was done with an a aggressive move from the Webcor guys. Rand and Rob were on the front in an escape of 5 guys during 5 laps. Then Rand, always in the move, attacked again with Ryan, they were 10 guys with a 10 seconds gap but after some laps the pack caught them. At this moment I moved from the pack with a Rock Racing rider. After two laps at high speed, we were 6 on the front with a little gap, but some laps after a counter attack from the pack caught us. As the harmony of the group was not good I decided to attack with about 20 minutes left in the race. I managed to increase the gap and during 10 laps I kept my advantage. With 3 laps before the end I was caught by a CalGiant racer. In the 3 last laps our advantage was only between 5 and 10 seconds. During the last lap, the CalGiant sat on and left me to do the work. In the last straight, he launched the sprint and I was not able to beat him. And to top it off, I was caught by the beginning of the pack at the line and I finished 5th. Very disappointed!!!!
Still, it was a good race for the team. Ryan finished from the pack with a nice 10th place after a dodgy finish with big crash at the start of the last lap.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
Full results
Normally Fabrice would post the report but he was rushing out for the Tour of Mexico so I'm filing this report on his behalf. Wish him luck down there!
-Rob
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Race: Benicia Crit
Date: 9/7/08
Category: Pro 1/2
Distance: 60 minutes
Result: 5th on 70 riders
Teammates: Jono Coulter, Chris Crawford, Jan Diemont, Bo Hebenstreit, Rob MacNeill, Rand Miller, Ryan Prsha (10th), Graham Simpson
Benicia is a 4-corner criterium, a long rectangle approximately of 1.5 miles. It's flat from the start to turn 1, slightly uphill to turn 2, two big-ring rollers on the backside to turn 3, downhill with a slight rise into turn 4, and then slightly down hill to flat through the finish. There was a headwind on the finishing straight and a tailwind on the roller section.
The start was done with an a aggressive move from the Webcor guys. Rand and Rob were on the front in an escape of 5 guys during 5 laps. Then Rand, always in the move, attacked again with Ryan, they were 10 guys with a 10 seconds gap but after some laps the pack caught them. At this moment I moved from the pack with a Rock Racing rider. After two laps at high speed, we were 6 on the front with a little gap, but some laps after a counter attack from the pack caught us. As the harmony of the group was not good I decided to attack with about 20 minutes left in the race. I managed to increase the gap and during 10 laps I kept my advantage. With 3 laps before the end I was caught by a CalGiant racer. In the 3 last laps our advantage was only between 5 and 10 seconds. During the last lap, the CalGiant sat on and left me to do the work. In the last straight, he launched the sprint and I was not able to beat him. And to top it off, I was caught by the beginning of the pack at the line and I finished 5th. Very disappointed!!!!
Still, it was a good race for the team. Ryan finished from the pack with a nice 10th place after a dodgy finish with big crash at the start of the last lap.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
Monday, September 8, 2008
Giro di San Francisco Race Report
Giro di San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
9/1/2008
Weather: Sunny, warm, windy
Teammates: Fabrice Dubost, James Badia, Rob MacNeill, Jono Coulter,
Neil Harrington, Brad Goodson, Jan Diemont, Graham Simpson, Aroussen
Laflamme, Ryan Prsha
Finish: 10th of ~150
Downtown criteriums are cool...but downtown big-city criteriums are even better. Especially when you live a 10-minute bike ride from the course!
Much like every other street in San Francisco, the roads used for the Giro contain numerous pavement seams, potholes, and railroad tracks, making for some technical racing. Add the brutal winds that picked up in the afternoon, the small hill on the backside, and the strong 150 man field, and you have the makings of a very hard race.
The team plan for the race: stay up front, be represented in moves, and try and get Fabrice and I into the top 10, if possible. I started on the front row, so as to avoid being caught up behind crashes and caught out of breakaways on the technical circuit.
The race started very fast (and stayed that way, naturally), and Fabrice, Rob, Jono, James and I took turns at the front getting in moves. Everyone on the squad rode strong, and I saw most of them up at the front at one time or another.
There were a few promising moves that contained both Fabrice and I, but it was too early in the race and they came back, in spite of having all major teams represented. Finally, near the last 1/4 of the race, Fabrice made it into a strong move of 6, but 3 of them were CalGiant riders who attacked and counterattacked the break and eventually ripped it apart.
Somewhere along the way, whether it was attacking out of that original break or counterattacking right as they were caught, Eric Wohlberg and Andy Jacques-Maynes escaped off the front and they were not to be caught. The rest of the break ultimately came back to the field in the closing laps. Fabrice rode super-strong and I was bummed that he couldn't stay away.
I held position as best as possible, and attempted to finish well in the bunch sprint for 3rd. Andy J-M won the race, Wohlberg finished 2nd, and Holloway won the pack sprint. I came through in 10th place...not quite the finish the team was hoping for, but not terrible. Got a T-shirt, which is worth a lot to us poor graduate students! Fabrice rolled through in 12th or 13th.
Overall, I was happy with how the whole team rode, and we came pretty close to achieving our goals.
Thanks for reading,
Rand
San Francisco, CA
9/1/2008
Weather: Sunny, warm, windy
Teammates: Fabrice Dubost, James Badia, Rob MacNeill, Jono Coulter,
Neil Harrington, Brad Goodson, Jan Diemont, Graham Simpson, Aroussen
Laflamme, Ryan Prsha
Finish: 10th of ~150
Downtown criteriums are cool...but downtown big-city criteriums are even better. Especially when you live a 10-minute bike ride from the course!
Much like every other street in San Francisco, the roads used for the Giro contain numerous pavement seams, potholes, and railroad tracks, making for some technical racing. Add the brutal winds that picked up in the afternoon, the small hill on the backside, and the strong 150 man field, and you have the makings of a very hard race.
The team plan for the race: stay up front, be represented in moves, and try and get Fabrice and I into the top 10, if possible. I started on the front row, so as to avoid being caught up behind crashes and caught out of breakaways on the technical circuit.
The race started very fast (and stayed that way, naturally), and Fabrice, Rob, Jono, James and I took turns at the front getting in moves. Everyone on the squad rode strong, and I saw most of them up at the front at one time or another.
There were a few promising moves that contained both Fabrice and I, but it was too early in the race and they came back, in spite of having all major teams represented. Finally, near the last 1/4 of the race, Fabrice made it into a strong move of 6, but 3 of them were CalGiant riders who attacked and counterattacked the break and eventually ripped it apart.
Somewhere along the way, whether it was attacking out of that original break or counterattacking right as they were caught, Eric Wohlberg and Andy Jacques-Maynes escaped off the front and they were not to be caught. The rest of the break ultimately came back to the field in the closing laps. Fabrice rode super-strong and I was bummed that he couldn't stay away.
I held position as best as possible, and attempted to finish well in the bunch sprint for 3rd. Andy J-M won the race, Wohlberg finished 2nd, and Holloway won the pack sprint. I came through in 10th place...not quite the finish the team was hoping for, but not terrible. Got a T-shirt, which is worth a lot to us poor graduate students! Fabrice rolled through in 12th or 13th.
Overall, I was happy with how the whole team rode, and we came pretty close to achieving our goals.
Thanks for reading,
Rand
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Dunnigan Hills RR Report
Fabrice scored another top-10 at what sounded like a really tough, windy edition of Dunnigan Hills Road Race. Below is his report.
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Dunnigan Hills Road Race
Dunningan, CA
8/31/2008
Weather: Sunny, windy
Teammates: James Badia, Jono Coulter, Jeff Williams, Dominic Giampaolo, Bo Hebenstreit, Neil Harrington,
Finish: 6th of ~70
The race encompasses two big 42 mile loops, without any climbs (there are a few small rollers), just long straight roads. The only one difficulty was the wind because there was no wind shelter.
The start was done again at 8h00am, on the part of the circuit where everyone were getting hit by the wind from the right. The best thing to do in that case is to have a good placement in the pack. But the speed was very high from the start due to an early attack from two professionals, Eric Wohlberg and D. Holloway. But we caught them a few miles later. In order to be on the front of the pack, I managed to pass some guys but briefly had to cross the middle of the road (slightly illegal since the centerline rule was in effect). An official told me to go to the back of the pack. It was a very bad moment to do so because of the speed was high. But I had no choice, so I dropped back. At that moment, Eric Wolhberg attacked with a Calgiant guy (Jesse Moore), and they increased a big gap. Then nobody wanted to take the pursuit, so the gap increased and increased again. Just before the end of the first lap, there were two big crashes due to potholes in the road... but fortunately without Webcor guys.
The second lap was same as the first one, no team wanted to catch the escape... The race was therefore won by the two guys (the Calgiant guy respected Eric's strong work and Eric Wolhberg won). In the pack, there were some attacks for the third place. I managed to be in one of them and finished in a group of three for sixth place.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
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Dunnigan Hills Road Race
Dunningan, CA
8/31/2008
Weather: Sunny, windy
Teammates: James Badia, Jono Coulter, Jeff Williams, Dominic Giampaolo, Bo Hebenstreit, Neil Harrington,
Finish: 6th of ~70
The race encompasses two big 42 mile loops, without any climbs (there are a few small rollers), just long straight roads. The only one difficulty was the wind because there was no wind shelter.
The start was done again at 8h00am, on the part of the circuit where everyone were getting hit by the wind from the right. The best thing to do in that case is to have a good placement in the pack. But the speed was very high from the start due to an early attack from two professionals, Eric Wohlberg and D. Holloway. But we caught them a few miles later. In order to be on the front of the pack, I managed to pass some guys but briefly had to cross the middle of the road (slightly illegal since the centerline rule was in effect). An official told me to go to the back of the pack. It was a very bad moment to do so because of the speed was high. But I had no choice, so I dropped back. At that moment, Eric Wolhberg attacked with a Calgiant guy (Jesse Moore), and they increased a big gap. Then nobody wanted to take the pursuit, so the gap increased and increased again. Just before the end of the first lap, there were two big crashes due to potholes in the road... but fortunately without Webcor guys.
The second lap was same as the first one, no team wanted to catch the escape... The race was therefore won by the two guys (the Calgiant guy respected Eric's strong work and Eric Wolhberg won). In the pack, there were some attacks for the third place. I managed to be in one of them and finished in a group of three for sixth place.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
Challenge RR Report
Here's a quick one from Bo, demonstrating that if one hangs in there, success is possible!
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Challenge Road Race
Challenge, CA
8/30/2008
Weather: Sunny, HOT!
Teammates: None
Finish: 8th of 12
The race was shortened to 66 miles from 99 at the start line. I got shelled off at mile 15 with one other dude. The other dude quit. Two riders got DQed for taking a wrong road. One other rider quit after I was dropped.
So if the two riders did not quit and two riders did not get lost I would have been 12th of 12, not a good race for me.
After I got dropped I rode at a nice easy pace and enjoyed the scenery.
At least I got some BAT points in the end.
Thanks for reading, Bo
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Challenge Road Race
Challenge, CA
8/30/2008
Weather: Sunny, HOT!
Teammates: None
Finish: 8th of 12
The race was shortened to 66 miles from 99 at the start line. I got shelled off at mile 15 with one other dude. The other dude quit. Two riders got DQed for taking a wrong road. One other rider quit after I was dropped.
So if the two riders did not quit and two riders did not get lost I would have been 12th of 12, not a good race for me.
After I got dropped I rode at a nice easy pace and enjoyed the scenery.
At least I got some BAT points in the end.
Thanks for reading, Bo
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