Benicia Criterium
Benicia, CA
June 27, 2009
Weather: Hell. Absolute hell.
Teammates: Justin Fraga, Fabrice Dubost, Rob MacNeill, Jeff Williams, Bo Hebenstreit
Placing: 9th of ~90
Full Results
"It shouldn't be too hot there, since the course is right near the bay."
Yep. That's actually what I said to Fraga as we cruised over to the Benicia Criterium this Saturday, and it is safe to say that I am no weatherman. I'm an idiot.
A healthy contingent of professionals, combined with the >100 degree heat and a technical course, made Benicia one of the more difficult races this year. The figure-eight course meandered through downtown Benicia, with a small hill and a narrow, choppy corner through a drainage ditch at the bottom of the course. I think the ditch was there not only to cause crashes, but also to collect the blood of those who crashed.
Our race was 60 minutes--a short criterium by P/1/2 standards, but its brevity was a blessing this Saturday.
As the race started, Justin and I were kickin' it at the front. Naturally, an attack went early, containing Gerlach, Reaney, Zwizanski, Kilun and Murphy. It looked serious, but it was Justin's turn to cover (I keep track on an Excel spreadsheet).
"Want to get that?" I asked Justin casually.
"Eh, OK." was his response. Sometimes we just grunt instead of using words.
He went with the attack. About a half-lap later, the group had grown to 11 guys, including most of the major players in the race, and it was about 15 seconds up the road. We needed better representation, and it looked to be the move that might stick, so I bridged to it. Never mind the fact that we were only about 6 minutes into the event.
The break was quite disorganized, which always seems to happen when breaks are larger than 5 guys, but the field was complacent. We quickly got a 45 second gap. I knew the winning attack would come from this group of 12, and told Justin to rest his legs...he was stronger than I was and I hoped to help him get a result. About 45 minutes into the race, I finished taking a pull on the front and the Pros in the move decided it was time to go. Ugh. Why RIGHT then?
What had been a small incline on the front straightaway only laps before now loomed like the Alpe d'Huez. I tried to latch onto the rear of the break as John Murphy and Chad Gerlach drove it, and put myself as far into the pressure-cooker of pain as I could. A couple gaps opened in front of me and I was toast. As I incinerated in grand style, I prayed that Justin would fare better, prayed that I would remain conscious, and tried to recover for the remainder of that lap.
The lap during which you have been dropped from the winning break is quite embarrassing--spectators no longer cheer for you, except to patronize you with "Come on, you can do it..." and "Good try." No, quite frankly, I cannot do it...isn't that painfully obvious?
Anyway, after an eternity, I was caught by a chase group containing Floyd Landis, Steve Reaney, Mike Sayers, and our very own Fabrice. I died about six times attempting to hold onto the back of this group. I was nearly dropped every lap. We eventually caught Justin's group, which was the second group on the road (Gerlach, Zwizanski, Murphy, Kilun and one other guy had lapped the remainder of the field). From my perspective, Justin looked happy as a clam, and I despised him for it.
5 laps to go. Normally, in crit-language, that means "FREAK THE #$%^ out." However, on Saturday, the 5-to-go lap card read, "Just drop out, you sissy." Screw you, Lap Card.
In the final lap, Fabrice kindly attempted to lead Justin out. Meanwhile, I sat a few riders behind Reaney, deliriously imagining ponies and fireworks and Smurfs. I was dizzy. Sayers, Reaney and Co. jumped to the inside heading through the final turn, and I followed, not because I cared about the finish anymore, but because Papa Smurf told me to.
I finished 4th in our group behind Reaney, Sayers and Andres Gil, slotting me into 9th overall. Justin finished 12th behind Floyd Landis and Kevin Klein.
I would like to thank Rob, Jeff and Bo for helping out in the pack, and generally being awesome. Special thanks to Fabrice for helping Justin and I in the second group. Finally, thanks to Steve Jones (and maybe others) for working the radios.
Letter Grades:
Finish: B- (only because I finished ahead of Justin. Otherwise D+)
Tactics: F (F is for Fabrice-hates-you-when-you-get-dropped)
Style: Inches of salt covering my chamois. How stylish do you think?
Overall: Seriously, Pro Badminton looks like more fun than this.
Thanks for reading,
Rand
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Fabrice (and Lance) Race Nevada City
Representing Webcor/Alto Velo, Fabrice and Dominic lined up against a VERY competitive field, including Lance Armstrong, who flew in for the day just to do the Nevada City Classic. After just finishing up Tour de Nez, Fabrice did an amazing job of animating the race and staying with an elite group of riders. In the end, he scored an impressive top-10 result against a who's-who of pro cycling.
Full Results
Nevada City Classic, Pro 1/2
1h30
June 21, 2009
Field: 130
Place: 9th
Teammates: Dominic Giampaolo
As I was in Reno for the Tour de Nez, I had just few hours of driving to go to Nevada City. But the longest thing was not to drive but to find a spot to park our car. Because for that one Sunday, Nevada City had become the center of the cycling world. And that was because the "best friends", Levi Leiphemer, Chris Horner and Lance Armstrong were pre-reg'd for that crazy race. Before arriving, I thought it was a bit crazy for those guys to come in for that race just a few weeks before their biggest goal of the season, but not them. They were really here with thousand and thousand of spectators! I think that I never saw so many people all around a course, nearly 2 rows of spectators all around the 2 mile circuit. That was insane!
After three days of racing I didn't know if my legs were able to face that circuit during 1 and a half hours, because there is no flat it's just up and down all the time. But I had to try.
I started in good position during the neutralized lap, so that gave me more chance to stay in contact with the big guys of day. In the first lap, the race was fully underway when one Bissell guy attacked from the start and made a lap solo, then Andrew Tallensky from Amore-Vitta took the spot in the front of the race. He was joined a few miles later by Levi, who stayed on the front alone after the climb. The next lap an attack from Justin England from Cal-Gaint put 5 guys, including LA, in counter attack. Along the false flat before the descent I closed the gap between the field and that group alone, so we were 6 in that group just less than 10 seconds behind Levi. At the bottom of the climb Lance saw that there was a gap with the field so he accelerated and just Ben-Jacques Maynes (Bissell) was able to follow him. I hadn't recovered from my last attack, so I worked to keep a good pace and to stay in good position in the field.
Lance, Levi, and BJM were able to work together and the gap between them and the field was just increasing lap after lap. I managed to stay in the group behind them all the time, and tried a couple times to create a counter attack but without success. Then with 20 minutes to go, the roaring crowds signaled that the three escapers were lapping us. With 6 laps to go Lance attacked BJM, and managed to create a big gap in only one climb. I stayed in the group with BJM, Levi, and a couple of pro guys, (Gerlach from Amore Vita, Zwanski from Kelly-benefits, Paul Mach from Bissell...). Lance won the race with 20 seconds advantage on BJM and Levi. From the "pack" I contested the sprint for the 4th place, and ended up 9th overall and was first amateur.
After the finish, we rode a lap of honor that was completely crazy; everyone was in the middle of the road and were screaming and congratulating us for the show, a thing I've never felt before.
What a great day.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
Full Results
Nevada City Classic, Pro 1/2
1h30
June 21, 2009
Field: 130
Place: 9th
Teammates: Dominic Giampaolo
As I was in Reno for the Tour de Nez, I had just few hours of driving to go to Nevada City. But the longest thing was not to drive but to find a spot to park our car. Because for that one Sunday, Nevada City had become the center of the cycling world. And that was because the "best friends", Levi Leiphemer, Chris Horner and Lance Armstrong were pre-reg'd for that crazy race. Before arriving, I thought it was a bit crazy for those guys to come in for that race just a few weeks before their biggest goal of the season, but not them. They were really here with thousand and thousand of spectators! I think that I never saw so many people all around a course, nearly 2 rows of spectators all around the 2 mile circuit. That was insane!
After three days of racing I didn't know if my legs were able to face that circuit during 1 and a half hours, because there is no flat it's just up and down all the time. But I had to try.
I started in good position during the neutralized lap, so that gave me more chance to stay in contact with the big guys of day. In the first lap, the race was fully underway when one Bissell guy attacked from the start and made a lap solo, then Andrew Tallensky from Amore-Vitta took the spot in the front of the race. He was joined a few miles later by Levi, who stayed on the front alone after the climb. The next lap an attack from Justin England from Cal-Gaint put 5 guys, including LA, in counter attack. Along the false flat before the descent I closed the gap between the field and that group alone, so we were 6 in that group just less than 10 seconds behind Levi. At the bottom of the climb Lance saw that there was a gap with the field so he accelerated and just Ben-Jacques Maynes (Bissell) was able to follow him. I hadn't recovered from my last attack, so I worked to keep a good pace and to stay in good position in the field.
Lance, Levi, and BJM were able to work together and the gap between them and the field was just increasing lap after lap. I managed to stay in the group behind them all the time, and tried a couple times to create a counter attack but without success. Then with 20 minutes to go, the roaring crowds signaled that the three escapers were lapping us. With 6 laps to go Lance attacked BJM, and managed to create a big gap in only one climb. I stayed in the group with BJM, Levi, and a couple of pro guys, (Gerlach from Amore Vita, Zwanski from Kelly-benefits, Paul Mach from Bissell...). Lance won the race with 20 seconds advantage on BJM and Levi. From the "pack" I contested the sprint for the 4th place, and ended up 9th overall and was first amateur.
After the finish, we rode a lap of honor that was completely crazy; everyone was in the middle of the road and were screaming and congratulating us for the show, a thing I've never felt before.
What a great day.
Thanks for reading,
Fabrice
Fabrice's Reports from Tour de Nez
Last weekend Fabrice and Rand were in Reno participating in the Tour de Nez Omnium. Up until last year, this was an NRC race. This year it dropped off the NRC calendar but it's still a big, hotly contested race composed of 2 criteriums and one circuit race for an overall omnium. Below are Fabrice's reports from each stage.
Tour de Nez, Downtown Truckee Criterium, Pro 1/2
4th of ~60
June 18th, 2009
Teammate: Rand Miller
The 60 minute crit is on a a 0.6 mile course with 4 turns and one U-turn before the finish line. Before the start I didn't know what to expect after 5 hours of driving and a race at altitude. After a few laps, Chad Gerlach from Amore Vitta, who's form is unbearable the last couple of weeks, attacked and took one guy with him. Nobody from the pack moved, so I attacked, I took with me Steve Reaney from CalGiant, and we tried to catch those guys. But during 20 minutes we managed to not come closer than 10 seconds! In the last 20 minutes we had understood that the only thing we were able to do is to race for third place. So we worked together as strong as we could to stay away from the pack. Steve won our 2-up sprint for 3rd, leaving me with 4th place. Chad Gerlach took the win.
Tour de Nez, Downtown Reno Criterium, Pro 1/2
18th of ~60
June 19th, 2009
Teammate: Rand
The second criterium is in downtown Reno, 0.8 miles with 7 or 8 turns and a power hill climb. Normally I prefer that kind of circuit compared to Truckee, which is totally flat. So I started the race with a lot of hope for success. I started the race in good position and tried a silly attack on the first lap to see how the legs have recovered. I was caught the lap after and I tried to stay in good position despite the number of turns. After 15 minutes a crash happened just before me. I stopped just in time to not fall but someone behind me hit my rear wheel. After that incident, mechanical issues limited shifting between only a few gears. As the crash happened on a tricky road, 10 guys took an advantage on the field (with all the big guys, of course!). I tried with Rand to close the gap but without success; the gap was still increasing. With 20 minutes to go my mechanical problems got worse and the rear wheel locked up, so I stopped and walked to the SRAM pit to get a new wheel. After the wheel change, I tried to stay focused and I managed to stay on the front of that second group and I finished in 18th position. Gerlach won again.
Tour de Nez, Northstar Circuit Race, Pro 1/2
~13th of ~60
June 18th, 2009
Teammate: Rand Miller
The Tour de Nez finished with a 2 mile circuit race near Truckee at the Northstar ski area. After two victories, Chad Gerlach started that last stage with a good advantage on the other contenders for the overall omnium. For me, who was 9th in the omnium, I was thinking to catch an escape in that hilly race. But after few laps, I figured that will be difficult, I don't know if it was the altitude or something else but as soon as I wanted to attack or to follow an attack I was over-breathing despite feeling very easy in the main field. So I managed to stay in the field and to catch a good position in the final sprint for the spots still remaining. Because on the front of the race there were two strong guys (Jesse Moore from CalGiant and Graham Howard from Bissel). They managed to stay away from the field nearly from beginning to end, being caught only by another CalGiant, Justin England, in the last 10 minutes of the race. Jesse Moore won the race, and I managed to take the 13th place. I finished 10th overall in the omnium standings. Gerlach held on to win the overall.
That was a nice weekend in Reno.
Full results can be found here.
Fabrice
Tour de Nez, Downtown Truckee Criterium, Pro 1/2
4th of ~60
June 18th, 2009
Teammate: Rand Miller
The 60 minute crit is on a a 0.6 mile course with 4 turns and one U-turn before the finish line. Before the start I didn't know what to expect after 5 hours of driving and a race at altitude. After a few laps, Chad Gerlach from Amore Vitta, who's form is unbearable the last couple of weeks, attacked and took one guy with him. Nobody from the pack moved, so I attacked, I took with me Steve Reaney from CalGiant, and we tried to catch those guys. But during 20 minutes we managed to not come closer than 10 seconds! In the last 20 minutes we had understood that the only thing we were able to do is to race for third place. So we worked together as strong as we could to stay away from the pack. Steve won our 2-up sprint for 3rd, leaving me with 4th place. Chad Gerlach took the win.
Tour de Nez, Downtown Reno Criterium, Pro 1/2
18th of ~60
June 19th, 2009
Teammate: Rand
The second criterium is in downtown Reno, 0.8 miles with 7 or 8 turns and a power hill climb. Normally I prefer that kind of circuit compared to Truckee, which is totally flat. So I started the race with a lot of hope for success. I started the race in good position and tried a silly attack on the first lap to see how the legs have recovered. I was caught the lap after and I tried to stay in good position despite the number of turns. After 15 minutes a crash happened just before me. I stopped just in time to not fall but someone behind me hit my rear wheel. After that incident, mechanical issues limited shifting between only a few gears. As the crash happened on a tricky road, 10 guys took an advantage on the field (with all the big guys, of course!). I tried with Rand to close the gap but without success; the gap was still increasing. With 20 minutes to go my mechanical problems got worse and the rear wheel locked up, so I stopped and walked to the SRAM pit to get a new wheel. After the wheel change, I tried to stay focused and I managed to stay on the front of that second group and I finished in 18th position. Gerlach won again.
Tour de Nez, Northstar Circuit Race, Pro 1/2
~13th of ~60
June 18th, 2009
Teammate: Rand Miller
The Tour de Nez finished with a 2 mile circuit race near Truckee at the Northstar ski area. After two victories, Chad Gerlach started that last stage with a good advantage on the other contenders for the overall omnium. For me, who was 9th in the omnium, I was thinking to catch an escape in that hilly race. But after few laps, I figured that will be difficult, I don't know if it was the altitude or something else but as soon as I wanted to attack or to follow an attack I was over-breathing despite feeling very easy in the main field. So I managed to stay in the field and to catch a good position in the final sprint for the spots still remaining. Because on the front of the race there were two strong guys (Jesse Moore from CalGiant and Graham Howard from Bissel). They managed to stay away from the field nearly from beginning to end, being caught only by another CalGiant, Justin England, in the last 10 minutes of the race. Jesse Moore won the race, and I managed to take the 13th place. I finished 10th overall in the omnium standings. Gerlach held on to win the overall.
That was a nice weekend in Reno.
Full results can be found here.
Fabrice
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Ryan Scores the W at Tour of America's Dairyland
Ryan Parnes just scored a big stage win out at the Tour of Americas Dairyland Race in Wisconsin. This result is huge! Big congratulations to Ryan. With the win and consistently high placings in the previous stages, Ryan is sitting 6th overall in the omnium halfway through the 10-stage race.Check out Ryan's blog for the full report on his win. It sounds like it was a tough day in the saddle and Ryan rode a great race.
He also got a nice headline from cyclingnews (full results).
(Photo courtesy Jess Raphael)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Adventures of Parnes
Our rider Ryan Parnes is off road tripping for a couple of months and is hitting up some big races around the country along the way. He recently competed at the Nature Valley Grand Prix and is off to the Tour of Americas Dairyland next. You can keep up with Ryan's exploits on his blog.
Here's his tentative schedule:
Tulsa Tough (Oklahoma)
Nature Valley GP (Minnesota)
Tour of America's Dairyland (Wisconsin)
Superweek (Illinois, Wisconsin)
Boise Twilight (Idaho)
Cascade (Bend, OR)
Nationals (Bend, OR)
Some of the other guys from the team will likely meet him in Boise and Bend. After Nationals, Ryan is planning to return to NorCal to finish out the season locally with the rest of the team.
Here's his tentative schedule:
Tulsa Tough (Oklahoma)
Nature Valley GP (Minnesota)
Tour of America's Dairyland (Wisconsin)
Superweek (Illinois, Wisconsin)
Boise Twilight (Idaho)
Cascade (Bend, OR)
Nationals (Bend, OR)
Some of the other guys from the team will likely meet him in Boise and Bend. After Nationals, Ryan is planning to return to NorCal to finish out the season locally with the rest of the team.
W/AV Pescadero RR Report, P12
I'm posting this report for Fabrice while he and Rand are off racing the Tour de Nez up around Reno for the next several days. Last weekend the W/AV Men's Elite Team fielded a strong team to contest the P12 event. It would've been an even bigger team but Rand and Justin were admirably dedicated to their signage volunteering job and didn't get back to the start in time after franticaly putting up sign all around the course the morning of the race. Anyhow, the guys rode strong as usual and Fabrice ended up with a top-10. Below is his report.
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Race: Pescadero RR Pro1/2
Course: 103 miles, 3.7 laps
Result: 7th of 60
Team Mates: Peter Cazalet, Jeff Williams, and BP Buchholz
(Photo Courtesy of Ryan Gibson)
Last year, this was my first race in California in a Webcor/AV jersey (finished 14th), and it's with great pleasure to enter the race again this year.
The weather was not as usual in California, it was nearly the same as Normandy weather for June--a little drizzle and wet roads.
Our objective before the race was to be in the first break and to protect myself for the "finale". From the start, BP covered all the attacks in order to be in that first escape but nothing came together. Before the real climb a very interesting move appeared: BP and I were there, as were 2 Cal Giants (Jesse Moore and Steve Reaney), 2 Z-Teams, Dan Martin (Safeway) and 6 other guys. But Z-team's strange tactics began. Nate English (another Z-Team) closed the gap on the main climb of the circuit with the whole field on his wheel!
Then during the next half lap nobody was able to create an escape because English covered all of them. On Stage Road, three guys succeeded to attack without a Z-Team reaction: Steve Reaney, Dan Martin and Chris Turner (Above Category). The Z-Team was not in the break so I thought they will work to bring it back but that was not the case, they just tried to attack without success. So the escape took a large advantage (about 6 minutes).
In the second lap, Jeff and Peter took a couple of pulls in hopes to get some work going to close down the gap, but no one else was interested. I tried to create a counter attack on Haskins but without success, we were 30 guys in the main group with 5 minutes behind the escape. I don't know why, but in the last lap the entire Cal Giant team were on the front and worked together to close the gap and we arrived at the bottom of Haskins for the finish 1 minute down on the 3 guys off the front.
English rode the last climb like a rocket and finished 4th (With some good team tactics he should have won easily!). For myself I tried to launch my sprint from too far so I was passed by two guys at 100 hundred meters before the line, I finished 7th. Last year 14th, this year 7th, next year should be a good one if the progression continues!
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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Race: Pescadero RR Pro1/2
Course: 103 miles, 3.7 laps
Result: 7th of 60
Team Mates: Peter Cazalet, Jeff Williams, and BP Buchholz
(Photo Courtesy of Ryan Gibson)
Last year, this was my first race in California in a Webcor/AV jersey (finished 14th), and it's with great pleasure to enter the race again this year.
The weather was not as usual in California, it was nearly the same as Normandy weather for June--a little drizzle and wet roads.
Our objective before the race was to be in the first break and to protect myself for the "finale". From the start, BP covered all the attacks in order to be in that first escape but nothing came together. Before the real climb a very interesting move appeared: BP and I were there, as were 2 Cal Giants (Jesse Moore and Steve Reaney), 2 Z-Teams, Dan Martin (Safeway) and 6 other guys. But Z-team's strange tactics began. Nate English (another Z-Team) closed the gap on the main climb of the circuit with the whole field on his wheel!
Then during the next half lap nobody was able to create an escape because English covered all of them. On Stage Road, three guys succeeded to attack without a Z-Team reaction: Steve Reaney, Dan Martin and Chris Turner (Above Category). The Z-Team was not in the break so I thought they will work to bring it back but that was not the case, they just tried to attack without success. So the escape took a large advantage (about 6 minutes).
In the second lap, Jeff and Peter took a couple of pulls in hopes to get some work going to close down the gap, but no one else was interested. I tried to create a counter attack on Haskins but without success, we were 30 guys in the main group with 5 minutes behind the escape. I don't know why, but in the last lap the entire Cal Giant team were on the front and worked together to close the gap and we arrived at the bottom of Haskins for the finish 1 minute down on the 3 guys off the front.
English rode the last climb like a rocket and finished 4th (With some good team tactics he should have won easily!). For myself I tried to launch my sprint from too far so I was passed by two guys at 100 hundred meters before the line, I finished 7th. Last year 14th, this year 7th, next year should be a good one if the progression continues!
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Race Reports: Dash4Cash and 2-Wheel Crits
Locally, the Webcor/Alto Velo Men's team had a great weekend of crit racing this past Saturday and Sunday. Rand scored two big results for the team with a 3rd place at the Dash 4 Cash and a WIN at the Two-Wheel Crit. Justin also got a nice top-5 in the first one, while Neil got a top-10 in the second. Good team racing all weekend long! Below are Rand's reports from both crits.
Farther afield, our rider Ryan Parnes is participating in the Nature Valley Grand Prix after the W/AV team help secure him a expenses paid composite team rider spot through his win at the Wente Omnium. He scored an excellent 16th place in the opening time trial against a 150 rider strong field with a lot of fast pros. In fact, Ryan was in 2nd place in the amateur GC after the first stage. He had some bad luck in the stage 2 crit, dropping down a bit in the standings, but he's focused on doing well for the upcoming stages.
NVGP Stage 1 Report in cyclingnews
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2009 ICCC Dash for Cash
Pleasanton, CA
Weather: Windy and warm
Teammates: Justin Fraga, James Badia, Brian Buchholz, Rob MacNeill, Neil Harrington, Graham Simpson
Place: 3rd of ~120
Full Results
This is a pretty wide-open, normal crit course with some technical dodging of road dividers on the backside due to the heavy crosswinds. I typically enjoy racing crits in the wind because, well, it hurts more, and guttering races is a lot of fun.
Justin and I rolled over the hill to Pleasanton, both feeling somewhat apathetic about racing. We decided that was probably for the best...why waste energy being amped up BEFORE the race? However, after a bit more caffeine and some Masters race heckling, we felt a bit more lively.
I felt terrible at the start of this race. Legs were dead, no snap. So I kept attacking and covering attacks, praying that they would come around.
The team had excellent coverage in all the major breakaways of the day. Good riding by everyone involved. I think I saw every teammate at the front at one time or another.
Frankly, my memory of this race is not great. I have no idea when or how it happened, but somehow Justin and I ended up in a completely disorganized break of about 12 riders with maybe...10 laps to go. Steve Reaney, Dean LaBerge, Larry Nolan and Joel Robertson were in the break with us. Few people were rotating smoothly, so we basically took turns attacking and countering.
Here is where it gets ugly.
With 3 laps to go, I was off the front of the break with Joel Robertson. Quite a nice setup, actually, because he is one of the fastest guys out there in terms of long-term speed but is not the best of sprinters.
Well, Reaney bridged up to us with one other rider as I was finishing my pull, and I drifted back to slot in behind them. Meanwhile, Joel sped up and Reaney looked to me to pull him back.
This is where bike racing is actually decided...these split second decisions at the critical turning points of the race. I could either dig deep, burn a match, and also bring Reaney up to Joel...or I could play poker, let the gap open, and bet that Steve would eventually close the gap.
Turns out neither one happened. Joel turned up the heat, while Reaney and I sat there staring at each other. The remnants of the break caught up to us, and Joel pulled out to about a 15 second lead with 1 lap to go.
Poor communication and a disorganized break meant that, with 1/2 a lap to go, Joel STILL had a 15 second gap. I swear he is half-mule, or half-ox or half-Jens Voigt. Anyway, I attacked with absolutely everything I had into the final cross/headwind stretch, getting a small gap. I distinctly remember looking ahead to see Joel giving the victory salute, then looking back to see Dean LaBerge sprinting up behind me. I pulled out the ugliest, most pathetic "sprint" I could muster at that point, heaved my bike in the general direction of the finish line, only to get beat by a flying LaBerge, dropping me down to 3rd place. Fraga rolled through just behind in 5th. Buchholz won the field sprint for 12th.
Not a bad result, and hats off to Joel for being a man and laying it on the line. Thanks to the team for the hard work, sorry we couldn't pull of the win.
Again, I will be grading myself on relevant aspects of the race:
Style: C- (I literally caught my chamois on my seat when I attempted a bike throw)
Tactics: F
Being a Sissy: A+
Overall: Get a new hobby
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Two Wheel Crit 2009
Rohnert Park, CA
Weather: Hurricane-force wind, sunny
Teammates: Peter Cazalet, Neil Harrington, Brian Peterson, Tom Fahey
Place: 1st of ~50
This course looked ridiculous on the map. It looked sort of like a cheap knockoff of Land Park without all the cool chicanes. WRONG. In fact, it was an undulating, exposed, meandering course that, when combined with the wind made for some interesting racing. I'd highly recommend going next year.
Anyway, Neil made an early break, which came back in a lap or two. I countered a few times, and finally about 20 minutes into the 75 minute race, I got off the front with Joel Robertson (the big elk from Sierra Pacific), Joe Ianarelli from Clif Bar, and a guy from Lombardi. Clif and Lombardi had the big teams in the race, so we were able to get a decent gap pretty quickly. Then, poor Mr. Lombardi guy got dropped, after having helped us get out to about 45 seconds ahead of the field. Bummer.
The three of us were fully committed to the move, which totally sucked, to be completely honest. We had almost an hour to go in ripping head/crosswinds, with a lot of strong riders having missed the break, and an unhappy Lombardi team organizing a chase. A betting man would probably have put money on the break coming back. But then again, we did have Jens Robertson with us...
Anyway, we got the gap to 55 seconds about 30 minutes into the race, at which point the pack made a serious effort to close us down. The gap plummeted to 25 seconds.
Joel and I looked at one another, and without uttering a word, communicated the following:
"Lets get the $%&* outta here"
With a lot of help from the Clif Bar rider, we pushed as hard as we could. In one lap, the gap grew to 1:15.
Heading into 1 lap to go, we had a 1:00 gap on a group of chasers, and 1:30 on the field. Haunted by the demons of yesterday's botched finish, I attacked on the windiest part of the course, with 1/2 a lap to go. I did not want to sprint against Ianarelli, as I know he has a good finishing kick.
I managed to stay away solo for the win. Joel rolled across in 2nd, Joe was 3rd. Neil came in at 7th after making it into the chasing group...great ride by him.
I definitely want to thank my teammates for helping to shut down the field. Great job by Peter, Brian, Neil and Tom. Seriously, can't say how awesome it is to have such solid teammates.
Rand
Farther afield, our rider Ryan Parnes is participating in the Nature Valley Grand Prix after the W/AV team help secure him a expenses paid composite team rider spot through his win at the Wente Omnium. He scored an excellent 16th place in the opening time trial against a 150 rider strong field with a lot of fast pros. In fact, Ryan was in 2nd place in the amateur GC after the first stage. He had some bad luck in the stage 2 crit, dropping down a bit in the standings, but he's focused on doing well for the upcoming stages.
NVGP Stage 1 Report in cyclingnews
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2009 ICCC Dash for Cash
Pleasanton, CA
Weather: Windy and warm
Teammates: Justin Fraga, James Badia, Brian Buchholz, Rob MacNeill, Neil Harrington, Graham Simpson
Place: 3rd of ~120
Full Results
This is a pretty wide-open, normal crit course with some technical dodging of road dividers on the backside due to the heavy crosswinds. I typically enjoy racing crits in the wind because, well, it hurts more, and guttering races is a lot of fun.
Justin and I rolled over the hill to Pleasanton, both feeling somewhat apathetic about racing. We decided that was probably for the best...why waste energy being amped up BEFORE the race? However, after a bit more caffeine and some Masters race heckling, we felt a bit more lively.
I felt terrible at the start of this race. Legs were dead, no snap. So I kept attacking and covering attacks, praying that they would come around.
The team had excellent coverage in all the major breakaways of the day. Good riding by everyone involved. I think I saw every teammate at the front at one time or another.
Frankly, my memory of this race is not great. I have no idea when or how it happened, but somehow Justin and I ended up in a completely disorganized break of about 12 riders with maybe...10 laps to go. Steve Reaney, Dean LaBerge, Larry Nolan and Joel Robertson were in the break with us. Few people were rotating smoothly, so we basically took turns attacking and countering.
Here is where it gets ugly.
With 3 laps to go, I was off the front of the break with Joel Robertson. Quite a nice setup, actually, because he is one of the fastest guys out there in terms of long-term speed but is not the best of sprinters.
Well, Reaney bridged up to us with one other rider as I was finishing my pull, and I drifted back to slot in behind them. Meanwhile, Joel sped up and Reaney looked to me to pull him back.
This is where bike racing is actually decided...these split second decisions at the critical turning points of the race. I could either dig deep, burn a match, and also bring Reaney up to Joel...or I could play poker, let the gap open, and bet that Steve would eventually close the gap.
Turns out neither one happened. Joel turned up the heat, while Reaney and I sat there staring at each other. The remnants of the break caught up to us, and Joel pulled out to about a 15 second lead with 1 lap to go.
Poor communication and a disorganized break meant that, with 1/2 a lap to go, Joel STILL had a 15 second gap. I swear he is half-mule, or half-ox or half-Jens Voigt. Anyway, I attacked with absolutely everything I had into the final cross/headwind stretch, getting a small gap. I distinctly remember looking ahead to see Joel giving the victory salute, then looking back to see Dean LaBerge sprinting up behind me. I pulled out the ugliest, most pathetic "sprint" I could muster at that point, heaved my bike in the general direction of the finish line, only to get beat by a flying LaBerge, dropping me down to 3rd place. Fraga rolled through just behind in 5th. Buchholz won the field sprint for 12th.
Not a bad result, and hats off to Joel for being a man and laying it on the line. Thanks to the team for the hard work, sorry we couldn't pull of the win.
Again, I will be grading myself on relevant aspects of the race:
Style: C- (I literally caught my chamois on my seat when I attempted a bike throw)
Tactics: F
Being a Sissy: A+
Overall: Get a new hobby
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Two Wheel Crit 2009
Rohnert Park, CA
Weather: Hurricane-force wind, sunny
Teammates: Peter Cazalet, Neil Harrington, Brian Peterson, Tom Fahey
Place: 1st of ~50
This course looked ridiculous on the map. It looked sort of like a cheap knockoff of Land Park without all the cool chicanes. WRONG. In fact, it was an undulating, exposed, meandering course that, when combined with the wind made for some interesting racing. I'd highly recommend going next year.
Anyway, Neil made an early break, which came back in a lap or two. I countered a few times, and finally about 20 minutes into the 75 minute race, I got off the front with Joel Robertson (the big elk from Sierra Pacific), Joe Ianarelli from Clif Bar, and a guy from Lombardi. Clif and Lombardi had the big teams in the race, so we were able to get a decent gap pretty quickly. Then, poor Mr. Lombardi guy got dropped, after having helped us get out to about 45 seconds ahead of the field. Bummer.
The three of us were fully committed to the move, which totally sucked, to be completely honest. We had almost an hour to go in ripping head/crosswinds, with a lot of strong riders having missed the break, and an unhappy Lombardi team organizing a chase. A betting man would probably have put money on the break coming back. But then again, we did have Jens Robertson with us...
Anyway, we got the gap to 55 seconds about 30 minutes into the race, at which point the pack made a serious effort to close us down. The gap plummeted to 25 seconds.
Joel and I looked at one another, and without uttering a word, communicated the following:
"Lets get the $%&* outta here"
With a lot of help from the Clif Bar rider, we pushed as hard as we could. In one lap, the gap grew to 1:15.
Heading into 1 lap to go, we had a 1:00 gap on a group of chasers, and 1:30 on the field. Haunted by the demons of yesterday's botched finish, I attacked on the windiest part of the course, with 1/2 a lap to go. I did not want to sprint against Ianarelli, as I know he has a good finishing kick.
I managed to stay away solo for the win. Joel rolled across in 2nd, Joe was 3rd. Neil came in at 7th after making it into the chasing group...great ride by him.
I definitely want to thank my teammates for helping to shut down the field. Great job by Peter, Brian, Neil and Tom. Seriously, can't say how awesome it is to have such solid teammates.
Rand
Monday, June 8, 2009
Tulsa Tough Reports
Rand Miller, Justin Fraga and Ryan Parnes went out to Tulsa, OK recently to represent the Green Team at the weekend long NRC crit series. Below are Ryan's summary reports for each of the three races they entered.
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Tulsa Tough NRC (Blue Dome, Brady District and Riverfront Criteriums)
Teammates: Rand & Justin.
Hi All,
Sorry for the late report, but my head just stopped spinning from all those crits! Tulsa Tough is an omnium series of 3 crits held near downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. A prize list of $75,000 brought out some serious pro talent and the racing was furious. The actual Tulsa downtown was almost completely deserted during the weekend, which was durn creepy. Like some virus had ravaged the town and the zombies were just waiting for nightfall to come for brains. Despite all that, each of the courses was packed with cheering fans, and that made for a great atmosphere. A pre-race highlight was Justin's interaction with the locals:
Janitor at hotel with more fingers than teeth: "WHOOOOOEEEEEEEE! You gonna win tonight??!"
Justin: "If I do I'll be you a beer."
The janitor went on the press Justin about his name and lodgings so he could collect his beer after the inevitable victory.
Friday: Blue Dome Criterium
This course is a real beauty. Its an eight turn barn burner with smooth corners and some gradual grades on some sections. They had repaved some of the turns since I was there two years ago and this, combined with an impressive field kept this race fast fast fast. The Pro/1 Men didn't start until 9:30pm which meant the course was dark and a lot of the fans were already a few drinks deep. If you want to recreate the atmosphere get 10 of your friend and give each of them a desk lamp, then have one of them spin you in your chair while the other 9 scream and flick the lights off and on.
The race started fast and never slowed down. The three of us did a pretty good job of staying forwards in the group, but with the speed constantly high and people taking the turns up to 5 and 6 abreast it was hard to move around. When I say constantly fast, I mean that I kept it in the 53-13 for most of the race. It switched to laps much earlier than we thought and Rand and I were not in great position. Justin was farther up in better position, but after getting tangled up in a crash (he was fine) he pulled the plug instead of risking his life to move up through 100 riders going all out. Rand is wiser than I and knew that any move form our position would be in desperation, but I'm impetuous and tried to get up near the front. I failed. In the end I could only roll in for 42nd. I think that might be the hardest I've ever ridden for such a bad placing. Winners note: Justin said he had never seen anyone go as fast on a bike as Brad Huff was going when he won the sprint. Bahati couldn't even make up any ground on him.
Saturday: Brady District Criterium
This course was a big L, with the start finish on the short part at the bottom, followed by 3 turns before the course did a gradual climb up a wide boulevard past Soundpony, a local cycling bar where fans were going absolutely nuts. At the top of the course the road narrowed to two skinny lanes before turning onto the long downhill stretch and a final left onto the finish. This race was pretty frustrating, especially for Justin, poor guy. Right off the bat one idiot caused two crashes before we had done half a lap. None of us went down but it put the whole field in a bad mood. We ripped around the course for a good while and then Justin established himself in what looked like a great break: two guys from most of the big teams and a decent gap. He put his head down and did a big pull and then Floyd Landis attacked their group. Some guy from Jelly Belly started yelling at Justin to chase it down and Justin rightfully told him where to stick it. Sometimes people think they can tell you what to do just because they get paid to ride their bikes. Good on Justin for not letting himself get pushed around.
The rest of the race stayed more or less together. We'd rip around the course going hard out up the hill, avoid the carnage as the course narrowed at the top and then say a little prayer as we flew through the bottom corner leaned all the way over at well over 40 miles an hour. Then people would try to move up on the finishing straight only to jam up 8 wide in the first turn. Towards the end of the race, Justin did a great job of moving me up, but I couldn't hold the position amid all the swarming and I ended up out of position and sitting up in the final sprint.
Sunday: Riverfront Criterium.
This thing is a real doozy. A long exposed start finish straight, then a sketchy narrow right onto a 17% climb similar to Cat's Hill, but instead of leveling off, it takes another ride up a 6% grind. Then you do a big whoop-de-do before turning onto a STEEP descent into an off camber right back onto the finishing straight. In short, the course is crazy. The course, and the fans. There were maybe 200 people gathered at the top of the climb going absolutely nuts! Many were in costume, bedecked in flowing robes and viking helmets, some burnished voodoo dolls and all were screaming and dancing, blasting the field with hoses. Its pretty wild, to say the least, but I would have kissed the people with the hoses. Tulsa is nothing if not HOT and combined with the humidity it was overwhelming. Justin had to catch and early flight to get back to work, so he raced the 1-2 field. It looked like he had it on lock down, riding comfortably in the top ten while we were watching, but his heart just wasn't in it and he pulled the plug on the last lap.
Sadly, Rand and I didn't fare much better. We were pinning it every time up the climb and tempting fate through the last corner each lap. I felt like I was racing against the course more than I was racing against the other riders. People were dropping like flies due to the heat and the previous hard days of racing. I was sitting in flogging myself up the climb each lap, but I decided to pull the plug with about 10 laps to go. I wasn't feeling strong enough to finish well and it didn't make sense to dig myself into a hole and risk taking a spill just to say I had finished. Rand made the same decision and we called it a weekend. Dan Ramsey had an incredible ride after attacking the field with 4 to go and managed to finish just meters ahead of a sprinting field for the win.
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Tulsa Tough NRC (Blue Dome, Brady District and Riverfront Criteriums)
Teammates: Rand & Justin.
Hi All,
Sorry for the late report, but my head just stopped spinning from all those crits! Tulsa Tough is an omnium series of 3 crits held near downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. A prize list of $75,000 brought out some serious pro talent and the racing was furious. The actual Tulsa downtown was almost completely deserted during the weekend, which was durn creepy. Like some virus had ravaged the town and the zombies were just waiting for nightfall to come for brains. Despite all that, each of the courses was packed with cheering fans, and that made for a great atmosphere. A pre-race highlight was Justin's interaction with the locals:
Janitor at hotel with more fingers than teeth: "WHOOOOOEEEEEEEE! You gonna win tonight??!"
Justin: "If I do I'll be you a beer."
The janitor went on the press Justin about his name and lodgings so he could collect his beer after the inevitable victory.
Friday: Blue Dome Criterium
This course is a real beauty. Its an eight turn barn burner with smooth corners and some gradual grades on some sections. They had repaved some of the turns since I was there two years ago and this, combined with an impressive field kept this race fast fast fast. The Pro/1 Men didn't start until 9:30pm which meant the course was dark and a lot of the fans were already a few drinks deep. If you want to recreate the atmosphere get 10 of your friend and give each of them a desk lamp, then have one of them spin you in your chair while the other 9 scream and flick the lights off and on.
The race started fast and never slowed down. The three of us did a pretty good job of staying forwards in the group, but with the speed constantly high and people taking the turns up to 5 and 6 abreast it was hard to move around. When I say constantly fast, I mean that I kept it in the 53-13 for most of the race. It switched to laps much earlier than we thought and Rand and I were not in great position. Justin was farther up in better position, but after getting tangled up in a crash (he was fine) he pulled the plug instead of risking his life to move up through 100 riders going all out. Rand is wiser than I and knew that any move form our position would be in desperation, but I'm impetuous and tried to get up near the front. I failed. In the end I could only roll in for 42nd. I think that might be the hardest I've ever ridden for such a bad placing. Winners note: Justin said he had never seen anyone go as fast on a bike as Brad Huff was going when he won the sprint. Bahati couldn't even make up any ground on him.
Saturday: Brady District Criterium
This course was a big L, with the start finish on the short part at the bottom, followed by 3 turns before the course did a gradual climb up a wide boulevard past Soundpony, a local cycling bar where fans were going absolutely nuts. At the top of the course the road narrowed to two skinny lanes before turning onto the long downhill stretch and a final left onto the finish. This race was pretty frustrating, especially for Justin, poor guy. Right off the bat one idiot caused two crashes before we had done half a lap. None of us went down but it put the whole field in a bad mood. We ripped around the course for a good while and then Justin established himself in what looked like a great break: two guys from most of the big teams and a decent gap. He put his head down and did a big pull and then Floyd Landis attacked their group. Some guy from Jelly Belly started yelling at Justin to chase it down and Justin rightfully told him where to stick it. Sometimes people think they can tell you what to do just because they get paid to ride their bikes. Good on Justin for not letting himself get pushed around.
The rest of the race stayed more or less together. We'd rip around the course going hard out up the hill, avoid the carnage as the course narrowed at the top and then say a little prayer as we flew through the bottom corner leaned all the way over at well over 40 miles an hour. Then people would try to move up on the finishing straight only to jam up 8 wide in the first turn. Towards the end of the race, Justin did a great job of moving me up, but I couldn't hold the position amid all the swarming and I ended up out of position and sitting up in the final sprint.
Sunday: Riverfront Criterium.
This thing is a real doozy. A long exposed start finish straight, then a sketchy narrow right onto a 17% climb similar to Cat's Hill, but instead of leveling off, it takes another ride up a 6% grind. Then you do a big whoop-de-do before turning onto a STEEP descent into an off camber right back onto the finishing straight. In short, the course is crazy. The course, and the fans. There were maybe 200 people gathered at the top of the climb going absolutely nuts! Many were in costume, bedecked in flowing robes and viking helmets, some burnished voodoo dolls and all were screaming and dancing, blasting the field with hoses. Its pretty wild, to say the least, but I would have kissed the people with the hoses. Tulsa is nothing if not HOT and combined with the humidity it was overwhelming. Justin had to catch and early flight to get back to work, so he raced the 1-2 field. It looked like he had it on lock down, riding comfortably in the top ten while we were watching, but his heart just wasn't in it and he pulled the plug on the last lap.
Sadly, Rand and I didn't fare much better. We were pinning it every time up the climb and tempting fate through the last corner each lap. I felt like I was racing against the course more than I was racing against the other riders. People were dropping like flies due to the heat and the previous hard days of racing. I was sitting in flogging myself up the climb each lap, but I decided to pull the plug with about 10 laps to go. I wasn't feeling strong enough to finish well and it didn't make sense to dig myself into a hole and risk taking a spill just to say I had finished. Rand made the same decision and we called it a weekend. Dan Ramsey had an incredible ride after attacking the field with 4 to go and managed to finish just meters ahead of a sprinting field for the win.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Race Report: Pacific Grove Criterium
This past weekend marked the return of a former Bay Area Classic: the Pacific Grove Butterfly Criterium. This is a cool little race that used to be a national level event. It was even won by Greg Lemond on a couple of occasions in the late 70's. It's been absent from the calendar since the 80's but it's back and hopefully will return again for years to come. A 4-man Webcor/Alto Velo squad contested the P12 main even. We did well covering attacks in an animated race that eventually came down to a sprint. Our guy James Badia netted a nice 4th place. Below is his report.
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Race: Pacific Grove Criterium
(Photo from Mark Nakamura's Flickr Page)
This is was my first time racing this course. For the last 20 + years the race has been in hybernation. When I heard they were running a race in downtown Pacific Grove I was very much looking forward to it. The pre reg numbers were small but at the start line I noticed a lot of good crit riders from the Nor Cal scene. Cal Giant, Lombardi, Clif, Form Fitness and other teams were present with multiple guys. In addition there were a few of the local solo guys who usually do well in crits.
James
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Race: Pacific Grove Criterium
Duration: 75 minutes
Teammates: Rob MacNeill, Matt Beebe, Graham Simpson, Steve Jones (honorary teammate who was our course scout on the radio)
Placing: 4th of 40ish
(Photo from Mark Nakamura's Flickr Page)This is was my first time racing this course. For the last 20 + years the race has been in hybernation. When I heard they were running a race in downtown Pacific Grove I was very much looking forward to it. The pre reg numbers were small but at the start line I noticed a lot of good crit riders from the Nor Cal scene. Cal Giant, Lombardi, Clif, Form Fitness and other teams were present with multiple guys. In addition there were a few of the local solo guys who usually do well in crits.
This was Steve Jones' first time doing radio for the team. I want to give him a big thanks, he did an awesome job supplying us with the information we needed. Steve, anytime you want to come out we could always use the help!
My plan was to race aggressive and try to establish a breakaway. If it came down to a field sprint I wanted to be in the mix.
The official decided to start the race with a neutral lap and blow the start whistle as we came across the line from our first lap. Well, I am not sure I would call the first lap neutral as Dave McCook went to the front and started drilling it. We were lined our for the "neutral" lap and still in a long line when we came across the line. The official decided to blow the whistle anyways so the race was on. From there it was super fast for most of the race. About 3 laps in I found myself somewhere around 3rd wheel when a prime bell rang. I stayed 3rd wheel until turn 3 where I put in a small attack thinking I would go for the prime and establish some separation. It worked, I had a good gap, won the prime and stayed off for another 1/2 lap or so until the pack caught me. I was reabsorbed into the pack where I drifted back for a few laps to recover. During this time Rob did a great job up at the front of the race covering moves so I could relax a little. After a few laps of recovery Graham gave me a tow back up toward the front of the race. All of the teams were attacking like crazy. Rob and I were both following moves and making sure the green team was represented.
The officials had some confusion as to how long the race was. at about 30 minutes in they were announcing 12 minutes to go. That lasted a few laps and then they sorted it out and were back to the planned 75 minute schedule. With about 20 minutes to go, a break slipped off the front with every team represented but ours. I attacked the field, and spent about 1.5 laps bridging up to the breakaway. When I got there I was gassed and skipped a pull to recover. This disrupted the rhythm and our breakaway ended up coming back. My memory from this point in the race on is a little fuzzy. At some point there was a large group of 10-12 riders that had maybe 8 seconds on the main group. They held this for some time. Rob did a great job on the front bringing this gap down. Eventually this gap was closed (mostly from Rob's doing) and the group was together.
At this point there was about 5 laps to go. For the final 5 laps I was maintaining a position of about 10th wheel. Guys were starting to get more aggressive and pushy in the corners in these final laps so you really had to fight to maintain position at the front. I hung in there and with a little radio encouragement from Rob on the final lap (I'll leave out the specific phrases for now) I made a final push on on bottom straight to get better position for the sprint.
There was a big squeeze into turn 3 where I gave up a few spots. I put in a hard effort out of turn 3 to get better position. I took the outside of turn 4 and sprinted up the snow fencing and started blowing by people. In the end I would cross the line in 4th place. My finishing speed and power felt better than it has all year.
I found out after the race that I had won a 2nd prime. I don't really remember when it was but it must have been one of the times I was off the front solo trying to get breakaways to stick.
I would recommend this race for everyone if it is on the calendar next year.
Thanks for reading
Catching up 2: Tales from Fabrice
Our resident Frenchman, Fabrice, is always good for riding hard, being in the mix, and getting results. Below are 3 of his recent race reports from the challenging Panoche Valley Road Race (2nd), the Bay Area classic Mt. Hamilton Road Race (3rd in a Bissell 1st, 2nd, & 4th place sandwich), and the Memorial Day Crit (8th).
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Panoche Valley Road Race
05/17/09
Distance: 67 miles
Teammates: None
Place: 2nd of 13
Two factors made the race very hard: First the size of the field (13 guys is not enough), and second, the temperature was around 100 degrees.
My plan, before the start, was to wait as long as possible to save some energy for the way back, which I expected to be difficult with the strong wind. But after 6 miles, some guys attacked and I was involved with that game. After a move from Andrew Talansky from Amore-Vita team, I made a counter attack, which worked. We were just two on the front of the race with nearly 60 miles to go!!! So I decided to work but while saving some energy. On the major climb of the day the other guy was dropped!!! So now I had 50 miles to do alone!!! After passing the valley, I was facing to a strong wind. Alone in that situation is not so easy, so I preferred to lose a little time and wait for the second group which was only 1 minute behind me. On the way back we were only 3 guys, and we worked together until the finish line where I finished second in the final sprint behind Justin Laue from Z Team.
That race was a very fun, and a good training for the upcoming races.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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May 24,2009
Mt Hamilton RR Pro1/2
Distance: 63 miles, 6550 ft climbing!
Place: 3rd out of 55
Teammates: Bo, Billy and Peter
Full Results
The was my first ride on the Mt Hamilton, it was a kind fun to discover the climb during a race. I only knew that you need to stay calm during the two first parts because the last one is the most difficult.
I started the race in the middle of the field and tried to not do same thing as the Panoche race. But one of my teammates, Billy, was on the ball and covered the first move of the day with AJM from Bissell. English from Z Team rolled off the front to bring back all the attacks. Then Paul Mach from Bissell again made a counter attack, which was dangerous because he knew how to win here (he won last year). On the two first parts he managed to increase his gap but with difficulty, only 10 or 20 seconds. For my part I stayed in the main group (only 10), in good position. In the last part of the climb, English was burned, nobody seemed to close the gap so I attacked two times but I was controlled by the Jacques-Maynes Brothers who were protecting their teammate. We crossed the KOM 1 minute behind the leader. The descent was for me another great new experience with some tricky turns!! On that descent, Jackson Stewart (BMC) must have made a crazy descent because he closed the gap between our group and the leader!!!
In the valley, The Cal-Giant team of 5 guys in our group worked together to close the 1 min gap. They closed it with 10 miles to go. So in that first group we found 3 Bissells, 5 Cal-Giant, one BMC, one Zteam and myself. During the last few kilometers a lot of attacks appeared and I managed to respond to all the attacks containing one guy of each big teams. In the descent Paul Mach succeeded to take a little advantage. At the bottom of this one I was surprised to see 1km to go, so I tried to recover for the final sprint. Jackson launched his sprint from a long way in order to pass the leader, but with 100 meters he was exhausted and Andy Jacques-Maynes, who was in his wheel, passed him and with his speed passed in the last 20 meters his teammate for the victory. For myself I finished just behind Paul Mach for the third place..
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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May 25,2009
Memorial Day Crit P1/2
Morgan Hill
Distance: 75 minutes
Place: 8th out of 60
Teammates: Justin, Rand, Billy, Neil, Graham, Bruce on Radio
Full Results
After a big Sunday under the Mt Hamilton, I didn't know how my legs will respond. The circuit is totally flat with wide roads and only 3 turns. My goal was to help the team in covering escapes. After some little moves on that fast circuit, 10 strong guys succeeded to make a big move, all the big teams were in it, including Rand and Justin from our team. The Webcor team did a good job to protect that escape between Billy, Neil and myself. But one big guy who was not in it, Jackson Stewart of BMC, was working on the front of the pack to close the gap. And it was after 30 minutes of chasing that the escape was over!! All the next escapes were nothing and the conclusion of that race was a final field sprint. In the last 3 laps, Cal-Giant worked to prepare the sprint for Steve Reaney, I tried to stay in good position and I managed to finish in 8th position, the race was won by the sprint specialist Steve Reaney.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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Panoche Valley Road Race
05/17/09
Distance: 67 miles
Teammates: None
Place: 2nd of 13
Two factors made the race very hard: First the size of the field (13 guys is not enough), and second, the temperature was around 100 degrees.
My plan, before the start, was to wait as long as possible to save some energy for the way back, which I expected to be difficult with the strong wind. But after 6 miles, some guys attacked and I was involved with that game. After a move from Andrew Talansky from Amore-Vita team, I made a counter attack, which worked. We were just two on the front of the race with nearly 60 miles to go!!! So I decided to work but while saving some energy. On the major climb of the day the other guy was dropped!!! So now I had 50 miles to do alone!!! After passing the valley, I was facing to a strong wind. Alone in that situation is not so easy, so I preferred to lose a little time and wait for the second group which was only 1 minute behind me. On the way back we were only 3 guys, and we worked together until the finish line where I finished second in the final sprint behind Justin Laue from Z Team.
That race was a very fun, and a good training for the upcoming races.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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May 24,2009
Mt Hamilton RR Pro1/2
Distance: 63 miles, 6550 ft climbing!
Place: 3rd out of 55
Teammates: Bo, Billy and Peter
Full Results
The was my first ride on the Mt Hamilton, it was a kind fun to discover the climb during a race. I only knew that you need to stay calm during the two first parts because the last one is the most difficult.
I started the race in the middle of the field and tried to not do same thing as the Panoche race. But one of my teammates, Billy, was on the ball and covered the first move of the day with AJM from Bissell. English from Z Team rolled off the front to bring back all the attacks. Then Paul Mach from Bissell again made a counter attack, which was dangerous because he knew how to win here (he won last year). On the two first parts he managed to increase his gap but with difficulty, only 10 or 20 seconds. For my part I stayed in the main group (only 10), in good position. In the last part of the climb, English was burned, nobody seemed to close the gap so I attacked two times but I was controlled by the Jacques-Maynes Brothers who were protecting their teammate. We crossed the KOM 1 minute behind the leader. The descent was for me another great new experience with some tricky turns!! On that descent, Jackson Stewart (BMC) must have made a crazy descent because he closed the gap between our group and the leader!!!
In the valley, The Cal-Giant team of 5 guys in our group worked together to close the 1 min gap. They closed it with 10 miles to go. So in that first group we found 3 Bissells, 5 Cal-Giant, one BMC, one Zteam and myself. During the last few kilometers a lot of attacks appeared and I managed to respond to all the attacks containing one guy of each big teams. In the descent Paul Mach succeeded to take a little advantage. At the bottom of this one I was surprised to see 1km to go, so I tried to recover for the final sprint. Jackson launched his sprint from a long way in order to pass the leader, but with 100 meters he was exhausted and Andy Jacques-Maynes, who was in his wheel, passed him and with his speed passed in the last 20 meters his teammate for the victory. For myself I finished just behind Paul Mach for the third place..
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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May 25,2009
Memorial Day Crit P1/2
Morgan Hill
Distance: 75 minutes
Place: 8th out of 60
Teammates: Justin, Rand, Billy, Neil, Graham, Bruce on Radio
Full Results
After a big Sunday under the Mt Hamilton, I didn't know how my legs will respond. The circuit is totally flat with wide roads and only 3 turns. My goal was to help the team in covering escapes. After some little moves on that fast circuit, 10 strong guys succeeded to make a big move, all the big teams were in it, including Rand and Justin from our team. The Webcor team did a good job to protect that escape between Billy, Neil and myself. But one big guy who was not in it, Jackson Stewart of BMC, was working on the front of the pack to close the gap. And it was after 30 minutes of chasing that the escape was over!! All the next escapes were nothing and the conclusion of that race was a final field sprint. In the last 3 laps, Cal-Giant worked to prepare the sprint for Steve Reaney, I tried to stay in good position and I managed to finish in 8th position, the race was won by the sprint specialist Steve Reaney.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
Catching up on reports 1... Pleasanton and Modesto
We have been busy racing, but too busy to keep up with posting rider reports apparently! Here's a summary for a few:
5/9 Joseph Mendez Crit P12: 5th for Rand
5/16 Modesto Crit P12: 8th for Rand
5/16 Modesto Crit 35+123: 4th for James
5/17 Modesto RR P12: 10th for James
Below are the detailed reports.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Mendez Criterium
05/09/09
Pleasanton, CA
Teammates: Justin Fraga, Brian Buchholz, James Badia, Rob MacNeill, Graham Simpson, Neil Harrington, Matt Beebe, Keith & Bob on the Radio
Place: 5th of ~60
Full Results
Formerly known as the EBC crit, this is one of the most wide-open courses imaginable. No corners of note, extremely wide straights, smooth pavement and ripping wind make this race harder than you would expect.
Our plan was...well...pretty standard. Fraga and I attack like a couple crazy breakaway monkeys, with James ready for a field sprint if nothing sticks. Keith Williams (Williams Wheels, sponsor of the century) was on the radio slingin' his usual ridiculous nonsense at us, as well as calling out times and laps.
Justin attacked early, in a break with Chad Gerlach among others. Pretty solid effort by him, but it was too early. That break came back, and we reshuffled with me in the next move. Unfortunately the break that stuck contained all the major players and was 10-strong. 1 in 10 odds are not great, and frankly we should have had another rider in the move.
Oh well.
I did what I could to conserve energy and get ready for the last few laps. Chad Gerlach attacked the break with 7 to go, but everyone kept rotating through and he was brought back. With 1.1 laps to go, a DBC kid attacked hard, and I attacked to chase. This attacking strung the break out, and we dropped a few guys, which was the hope. Gerlach attacked as soon as the top 3 guys came back together on the backstretch and no one could answer. As I was setting up for the sprint, a couple guys came flying past us into the final turn. I had no idea they were there. My bad dawg.
Ended up 5th overall.
Couple mistakes to learn from. 1) 1 rider in a 10 man break is not enough. Our team should not have sat on that kind of move. 2) I should have waited for Gerlach's move instead of going with a full lap to go. Wasted some valuable matches there only to be caught.
Still, another top-5 for the Elite team. It's been a good year so far! It's great to see all our guys up at the front working and attacking and whatnot.
Thanks for reading,
Rand
-------------------------------------------------------------
Modesto Criterium
05/16/09
Modesto, CA
Weather: like 110 degrees. seriously.
Teammates: James Badia, Rob Macneill, Matt Beebe
Place: 8th of ~60
Full Results
I should not have even been at this race. I am supposed to be locked up in a room with books and papers and equations and pain and suffering, studying for my PhD qualifying exam.
Nevertheless, I am addicted to bike racing and so, on a whim, I loaded my car and drove out to Modesto on a record-setting hot day. This was a pretty standard downtown course (though the downtown course is rapidly becoming a scarcity): 6 corners with a TON of botts dots. Not super windy, but really hot.
Those who know me can guess how the race went.
Flurry of attacks, breakaway sticks with me and 9 other guys. We all roll around for a while yelling at each other to 'pull through' and 'dont be sissies' and to 'hold your line idiot' and 'we're gonna get caught' and 'you have three teammates so you best start pulling' and 'seriously, stop clipping your pedal moron' and pretty much every combination of the above.
2 laps to go, we are still away but in jeopardy of being caught. I start cramping and cannot get out of the saddle. I feebly attempt to attack, which looks pathetic when you are unable to stand up or even pedal smoothly. Going into the final sprint, I pretend like I have something left in hopes that it will intimidate my break-mates into handing me the win. Alas, they called my bluff and I got rocked. I finished 8th out of 10 breakmates.
I am going to implement a new system whereby I assess my performance with letter grades:
Finish Position: D
Tactics: C-
Style: F
Overall: FAIL.
Good thing I am in school for something else besides bike racing...
Thanks for reading!
Rand
-------------------------------------------------------------
Modesto Road Race
Thanks for reading,
--
James
5/9 Joseph Mendez Crit P12: 5th for Rand
5/16 Modesto Crit P12: 8th for Rand
5/16 Modesto Crit 35+123: 4th for James
5/17 Modesto RR P12: 10th for James
Below are the detailed reports.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Joseph Mendez Criterium
05/09/09
Pleasanton, CA
Teammates: Justin Fraga, Brian Buchholz, James Badia, Rob MacNeill, Graham Simpson, Neil Harrington, Matt Beebe, Keith & Bob on the Radio
Place: 5th of ~60
Full Results
Formerly known as the EBC crit, this is one of the most wide-open courses imaginable. No corners of note, extremely wide straights, smooth pavement and ripping wind make this race harder than you would expect.
Our plan was...well...pretty standard. Fraga and I attack like a couple crazy breakaway monkeys, with James ready for a field sprint if nothing sticks. Keith Williams (Williams Wheels, sponsor of the century) was on the radio slingin' his usual ridiculous nonsense at us, as well as calling out times and laps.
Justin attacked early, in a break with Chad Gerlach among others. Pretty solid effort by him, but it was too early. That break came back, and we reshuffled with me in the next move. Unfortunately the break that stuck contained all the major players and was 10-strong. 1 in 10 odds are not great, and frankly we should have had another rider in the move.
Oh well.
I did what I could to conserve energy and get ready for the last few laps. Chad Gerlach attacked the break with 7 to go, but everyone kept rotating through and he was brought back. With 1.1 laps to go, a DBC kid attacked hard, and I attacked to chase. This attacking strung the break out, and we dropped a few guys, which was the hope. Gerlach attacked as soon as the top 3 guys came back together on the backstretch and no one could answer. As I was setting up for the sprint, a couple guys came flying past us into the final turn. I had no idea they were there. My bad dawg.
Ended up 5th overall.
Couple mistakes to learn from. 1) 1 rider in a 10 man break is not enough. Our team should not have sat on that kind of move. 2) I should have waited for Gerlach's move instead of going with a full lap to go. Wasted some valuable matches there only to be caught.
Still, another top-5 for the Elite team. It's been a good year so far! It's great to see all our guys up at the front working and attacking and whatnot.
Thanks for reading,
Rand
-------------------------------------------------------------
Modesto Criterium
05/16/09
Modesto, CA
Weather: like 110 degrees. seriously.
Teammates: James Badia, Rob Macneill, Matt Beebe
Place: 8th of ~60
Full Results
I should not have even been at this race. I am supposed to be locked up in a room with books and papers and equations and pain and suffering, studying for my PhD qualifying exam.
Nevertheless, I am addicted to bike racing and so, on a whim, I loaded my car and drove out to Modesto on a record-setting hot day. This was a pretty standard downtown course (though the downtown course is rapidly becoming a scarcity): 6 corners with a TON of botts dots. Not super windy, but really hot.
Those who know me can guess how the race went.
Flurry of attacks, breakaway sticks with me and 9 other guys. We all roll around for a while yelling at each other to 'pull through' and 'dont be sissies' and to 'hold your line idiot' and 'we're gonna get caught' and 'you have three teammates so you best start pulling' and 'seriously, stop clipping your pedal moron' and pretty much every combination of the above.
2 laps to go, we are still away but in jeopardy of being caught. I start cramping and cannot get out of the saddle. I feebly attempt to attack, which looks pathetic when you are unable to stand up or even pedal smoothly. Going into the final sprint, I pretend like I have something left in hopes that it will intimidate my break-mates into handing me the win. Alas, they called my bluff and I got rocked. I finished 8th out of 10 breakmates.
I am going to implement a new system whereby I assess my performance with letter grades:
Finish Position: D
Tactics: C-
Style: F
Overall: FAIL.
Good thing I am in school for something else besides bike racing...
Thanks for reading!
Rand
-------------------------------------------------------------
Modesto Road Race
05/17/09
Modesto, CA
Weather: Ridiculously hot
Teammates: Matt Beebe
Place: 10th of ~30
My legs were a little tired going into this race from racing two races the day before in downtown Modesto. I was talked into doing this race by teammate Neil Harrington, ultimately he ended up not doing the race so Matt and I were left with the smallest team Webcor has fielded so far this year. That doesn't mean we weren't going to try and ride like a big team. The plan was to be aggressive and try to ride near the front of the group, following moves or attacking and creating moves on our own. The course is a flat 9 mile circuit with lots of 90 degrees turns. It was a full road closure and run all on farming roads.
The race started out pretty slow for about the first 5 minutes. After that it was really fast the entire time. Lots of attacks were attempted in the first half of the race with myself and Beebe sharing the load of assuring Webcor had representation. Just after the mid point of the race a break of about 10 guys went and Beebe and I were not in it. I didn't think the break would stick but soon the pack started slowing and the time gap increased. Beebe and I both went to the front and attempted to organize a chase effort but no one was willing to comply. I recovered for about 5min. sitting in the pack then went to the front and again tried to organize a chase. No one would help and there were 2 laps to go, the break had a minute 30 seconds on the field. At this point I decided to attack. I was able to get separation. At this time I decided to just go into TT mode and see what happened. I continued to increase my time gap over the field. When I was about 30 seconds in front of the field two riders bridged up to me. The 3 of us started working together and we continued to open our gap to the field and reduce the gap to the lead group. In the end we would finish about 15 seconds behind the lead group and 90 seconds in front of the field. I finished 10th place in the overall.
In the end it was a solid race and great training for the summer races to come. I felt pretty good given the heat, it was nice to get in to the air conditioned car and get out of the central valley.
--
James
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