A few of the guys spent a vacation day in hell, I mean Leesville, last Friday to contest the dreaded Leesville Gap Road Race. The single loop ~70 mile race is noted for terrible pavement, a hard climb early in the race, and insane heat. It's usually a race of attrition due to heat and mechanicals and this year was no exception. Billy Crane, one of our up and coming riders, rode valiantly to finish in 10th place. Below is his entertaining report.
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Leesville Gap RR aka ride through hell
Williams, CA - they have a nice deli...and that's about it
July 3rd, 2009
Weather: 20 minutes of pleasant then HOT
Teammates: Peter Cazalet, Bo Hebenstreit, Rand Miller
Placing: 10th or something like that of ~35
The Wednesday before a group of friends invites me wakeboarding on Friday. I weigh the options thinking I always have fun boating...but bike racing is fun too!
3:45AM Friday- alarm goes off. girlfriend throws elbow to get me out of bed...grumbling to myself "I should've gone wakeboarding this weekend" I roll out of bed and start what would be a fantastic day of suffering. I thought the perks of being in the 2's was race radios (highly overrated) and late start times...
For those not familiar with the course it starts with ~8 miles of flat decently paved road that leads into ~25 miles of "unmaintained farm roads" aka "we paved them in 1921 but haven't done jack to them since". This includes multiple gravel sections of various depths and a ~3 mile climb. The rest of the course is over good roads and has a 45mph+ descent. The last 15 miles are flat as a crepe.
The plan going into this race was to have Peter and/or Rand get into an early move before the climb and get enough of a gap that it could be held for the remainder of the course. If that failed...well I guess my skinny ass would have to haul up the climb with the top guys. Unfortunately, those top guys included Max Jenkins (now gainfully employed by a Belgian team) and local strongmen Jesse Moore and James Mattis. Peter started the attacks from the time our lead Honda Insight (even motorbikes don't show up for this thing) honked the horn to signal the end of neutral roll out. He lingered off the front for a few miles solo, then was brought back after the bridge attempts were all followed. Rand immediately jumped, but with similar result.
A small group that contained Peter, Jesse Moore, and Max (I think) got a small gap just prior to us hitting the gravel/jacked road. About 300 meters into this eyeball jarring experience I saw Rand with his hand up..."sh*t, one teammate down" "I know I'll sacrifice my race and give him my wheel and keep my eyes in my head" I thought. Rand accepted the offer..'YES!!!' Now this is where the day goes a bit sideways. Just as I came to a stop Rand realized he didn't want to jack my race and told me to keep keep going. Cursing to myself about his change of heart I take off chasing the pack....wishing I'd gone wakeboarding instead. After a few miles of chasing through the gravel and dust I catch back on. Unfortunately, I'm now at the back of the pack and there has been a small separation. I look over to see James Mattis and think "well I'll just follow his wheel...I mean I do on some training rides" As I'm thinking this my front wheel hits a deep patch of gravel and goes sideways....no idea how I stayed up, but I no longer need to pee.
We hit the climb and my strategy of following James' wheel is now a fading memory and I'm resigned to climbing at my own pace. As guys that were in the break are quickly coming back or flatting I see that I'm the 3rd group on the road. I'm working with an Above Category guy and a couple others I couldn't identify. Peter catches up to us as we hit the flats again. The 5 of us quickly form a paceline and work together to catch the group ahead of us. This was interesting and sometimes challenging to do over the bumpy roads. Unfortunately for Peter he hit 499 potholes to our 498...the last one (and I swear the last one on the entire course) took his front wheel. He flatted and cracked his wheel. Now come for attempt #2 to 'sacrifice' for a teammate....Peter declines. DAMMIT!!! Our group catches the 2nd group on the road of 4-5 guys just as we hit the 2nd and final climb of the day.
Around this time I wonder why my left hand is burning...figuring I'd be hardman and not wear gloves was stupid. My left hand is now sporting some decent blisters...oh joy.
As we hit the 2nd climb a few guys pop instantly and are shed off the back...unfortunately, I didn't last much longer at that pace and popped with only a few hundred meters left in the climb. Luckily Tyler Brandt was in the same position. We crest the hill together and bomb down the descent into the feedzone. As we hit the feedzone Tyler turns to me and asks how his rear wheel looks...erm...I think you've got a flat. I look up the road and see the group fading away into the horizon with all the puddles of water and look back to see nobody there. I'm resigned to finish the last 15 miles solo.
Given that this sufferfest is a point to point race I quickly run through my remaining options: A.Give wheel to teammate...nope already tried twice, B.go wakeboarding, nope...C.fiegn stomach flu and get into team car, I wish....D.HTFU put your head down and finish the day. D is the correct answer.
I set the goal of not getting caught and nearly made it except a rather intent group of 3 M1/2/3 riders caught me with a couple miles left.
The epic day of suffering was capped by Velo Promo provided watermelon, a nice sandwich from Granzellas...
Wakeboarding would've been fun, but I'd have less stories to tell...
Thanks for reading.
Billy
Friday, July 10, 2009
SLO Race Reports: Fabrice scores a win!
Last weekend Fabrice and a few guys went south to San Luis Obispo to participate in 2 hard races. One was a hilly circuit/road race on Saturday and another was the SLO Downtown Criterium on Sunday. Fabrice has been knocking on the door of a win all season long. Even with some bad luck in the road race, he overcame everything to score an impressive win in what sounded like a very hard race. Here are Fabrices reports from the weekend:
Race: SLO Road Race
Category: Pro1/2
Place: 1st of ~60
Teammates: Bo (12th), Jeff (25th), special thanks to Amy and Anne Lise for the feed zone.
The course was 12 laps of a 7 miles loop. On a normal day the principal difficulty of the circuit should be a 1.5 miles climb composed in two steep parts. But during the race, the wind was huge and oppressive all the way to the finish line.
In the first lap, I tested my legs in the climb by attacking the pack but that didn't work. Then I tried to stay in good position in the decent. With 2 miles to go to the finish line, my front wheel flatted. The neutral car was way too far back so I pressed on to the finish line where Bo had put his wheels and I changed out the wheel. At that point I thought that the day would not be mine. But after one lap of pursuing, I finally caught the rest of the field of nearly 30 guys. When I caught up, the situation was an escape of 2 guys with 20 seconds of advantage. The situation didn't change for another 2 laps. Then Neil Shirley from Kelly Benefits attacked in the climb and I joined him. We closed the gap at the top of the climb. In the descent we tried to work together but the field caught us. After the catch, more attacks were firing off but nothing stuck.
With 5 laps to go, it was a repeat of 2 laps prior: 2 guys off the front, with Neil Shirley and I crossing the gap on the climb. However, this time we were able to increase the gap as we approached the finish line. The four of us tried to stay together as long as possible, since we knew that the wind would make it very difficult to go it alone. In the last lap I tried to save energy as much as possible, while still working the breakaway, as I knew that a sprint would decide the race.
The final straightaway was a false flat with the wind on the right. I stayed in second position on the run in to the finish, and I jumped on Neil Shirley's wheel when he launched his sprint from behind. I stayed behind him as long as possible to save some energy and I finally jumped him in the last 25 meters. Finally I got my first victory of the season! Finally...
Bo and Jeff finished the race bravely in 12th and 25th position.
Race: SLO Criterium
Category: Pro1/2
Place: 12th of ~100
Teammates: James and Jeff
The SLO Downtown Criterium is anything but Slow. The race started out fast and besides one or two occasions, where the pace eased for a few seconds, it remained fast for the entire 80 minutes. The SoCal crit championship jersey was on the line for the winner, which helped to keep the pace high. The course is the usual downtown course with a chicane section through the mission, a fast slightly downhill long finish on new pavement this year. All of the corners if done correctly allow you to carry your speed.
The difficulty was the wind, another day with a strong wind so an escape will be very difficult. I tried in the first 20 minutes to attack but the wind was clearly too strong and all the attacks were sent back to the field during the whole race. I decided to stay in good position and to save energy for the final sprint, since a field sprint seemed inevitable. In the 5 last laps the speed increased and the field was strung out single file. James and I stayed in good position with the help of Jeff, who helped us to pass some guys and to stay on the front. In the last corner I was only in 15th position, with James just a few spots behind me. Then I heard a crash from behind. Unfortunately, James stacked it hard due to a guy from Kahala/LaGrange who rolled his tubular right in front of him. For my part I tried to pass some guys at the beginning of the last straightaway, but that was just for a placing and not for the victory; my position was not the best. I passed some guys but with 100 meters to go two guys closed the door just in front of me so I stopped my effort and finished the race in 12 position. The race was won by Bahati from Rock Racing.
Since the race, James reported his injuries aren't as bad as first thought. He should be racing again this weekend at San Rafael.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
Race: SLO Road Race
Category: Pro1/2
Place: 1st of ~60
Teammates: Bo (12th), Jeff (25th), special thanks to Amy and Anne Lise for the feed zone.
The course was 12 laps of a 7 miles loop. On a normal day the principal difficulty of the circuit should be a 1.5 miles climb composed in two steep parts. But during the race, the wind was huge and oppressive all the way to the finish line.
In the first lap, I tested my legs in the climb by attacking the pack but that didn't work. Then I tried to stay in good position in the decent. With 2 miles to go to the finish line, my front wheel flatted. The neutral car was way too far back so I pressed on to the finish line where Bo had put his wheels and I changed out the wheel. At that point I thought that the day would not be mine. But after one lap of pursuing, I finally caught the rest of the field of nearly 30 guys. When I caught up, the situation was an escape of 2 guys with 20 seconds of advantage. The situation didn't change for another 2 laps. Then Neil Shirley from Kelly Benefits attacked in the climb and I joined him. We closed the gap at the top of the climb. In the descent we tried to work together but the field caught us. After the catch, more attacks were firing off but nothing stuck.
With 5 laps to go, it was a repeat of 2 laps prior: 2 guys off the front, with Neil Shirley and I crossing the gap on the climb. However, this time we were able to increase the gap as we approached the finish line. The four of us tried to stay together as long as possible, since we knew that the wind would make it very difficult to go it alone. In the last lap I tried to save energy as much as possible, while still working the breakaway, as I knew that a sprint would decide the race.
The final straightaway was a false flat with the wind on the right. I stayed in second position on the run in to the finish, and I jumped on Neil Shirley's wheel when he launched his sprint from behind. I stayed behind him as long as possible to save some energy and I finally jumped him in the last 25 meters. Finally I got my first victory of the season! Finally...
Bo and Jeff finished the race bravely in 12th and 25th position.
Race: SLO Criterium
Category: Pro1/2
Place: 12th of ~100
Teammates: James and Jeff
The SLO Downtown Criterium is anything but Slow. The race started out fast and besides one or two occasions, where the pace eased for a few seconds, it remained fast for the entire 80 minutes. The SoCal crit championship jersey was on the line for the winner, which helped to keep the pace high. The course is the usual downtown course with a chicane section through the mission, a fast slightly downhill long finish on new pavement this year. All of the corners if done correctly allow you to carry your speed.
The difficulty was the wind, another day with a strong wind so an escape will be very difficult. I tried in the first 20 minutes to attack but the wind was clearly too strong and all the attacks were sent back to the field during the whole race. I decided to stay in good position and to save energy for the final sprint, since a field sprint seemed inevitable. In the 5 last laps the speed increased and the field was strung out single file. James and I stayed in good position with the help of Jeff, who helped us to pass some guys and to stay on the front. In the last corner I was only in 15th position, with James just a few spots behind me. Then I heard a crash from behind. Unfortunately, James stacked it hard due to a guy from Kahala/LaGrange who rolled his tubular right in front of him. For my part I tried to pass some guys at the beginning of the last straightaway, but that was just for a placing and not for the victory; my position was not the best. I passed some guys but with 100 meters to go two guys closed the door just in front of me so I stopped my effort and finished the race in 12 position. The race was won by Bahati from Rock Racing.
Since the race, James reported his injuries aren't as bad as first thought. He should be racing again this weekend at San Rafael.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Burlingame Crit Report
Race: Burlingame Downtown Criterium
Teammates: Rob MacNeill, Graham Simpson, Rand Miller, James Badia, Neil Harrington, Jeff Williams, Justin Fraga, Billy Crane, Peter Cazalet
Placing: 4th of 90+ for Fabrice, 9th for James
The Burlingame course is a 0.7 mile circuit with technical 90 degrees consecutive turns, an unusual finishing straight from a long sweeping turn, and bumpy pavement. All combined, it makes for a challenging course. The race is one of James' favorite races and he's had some huge results there from bunch finishes the last couple of years. So, our tactic for the day was to cover attacks, to protect James, and, in the event of a final sprint, to launch our sprinter from a good position!
From the start, there were a lot of attacks from Daniel Holloway (Slipstream U23) and Chad Gerlach (Amore-Vita), but all of them were covered by one of the green team. During first 20 minutes all these attacks didn't take a big advantage, but the field was straining from the constant chasing.
Sensing the fatigue from the field, Scott Zwizansky (Kelly Benefits) attacked and was join by two dangerous guys: Chad Gerlach and Chris Jones (Team Type 1). As these three guys were very dangerous I attacked too and joined them. With these 3 big guns, the speed of our group was high and the gap to the field was increasing lap after lap. For me, at the beginning of that escape I felt uncomfortable with the pace but got better as the finish drew near. With 3 laps to go the gap was around 30 seconds so it seemed likely the victory would be between us 4.
I tried to stay on Gerlach's wheel during the sprint. He launched it from a long way, which was perfect for me. I stayed with him and with 100 meters to go, I launched my sprint. Unfortunately as tried to pass him, I hit a pothole in the rode and my chain flew off the big ring. Luckily somehow I managed to not get catapulted off the bike. I tried to put my chain back on but there was no way. So, I was forced to coast the remaining meters across the line while the other 3 sprinted it out. Of course, that left me with fourth place. In the field sprint, James was shepherded by the team and secured a good 9th place.
I still don't understand what happened. All I can say is that I need to do some good Voodoo in order to get some luck this year. Anybody have a chicken to sacrifice?!
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
Teammates: Rob MacNeill, Graham Simpson, Rand Miller, James Badia, Neil Harrington, Jeff Williams, Justin Fraga, Billy Crane, Peter Cazalet
Placing: 4th of 90+ for Fabrice, 9th for James
The Burlingame course is a 0.7 mile circuit with technical 90 degrees consecutive turns, an unusual finishing straight from a long sweeping turn, and bumpy pavement. All combined, it makes for a challenging course. The race is one of James' favorite races and he's had some huge results there from bunch finishes the last couple of years. So, our tactic for the day was to cover attacks, to protect James, and, in the event of a final sprint, to launch our sprinter from a good position!
From the start, there were a lot of attacks from Daniel Holloway (Slipstream U23) and Chad Gerlach (Amore-Vita), but all of them were covered by one of the green team. During first 20 minutes all these attacks didn't take a big advantage, but the field was straining from the constant chasing.
Sensing the fatigue from the field, Scott Zwizansky (Kelly Benefits) attacked and was join by two dangerous guys: Chad Gerlach and Chris Jones (Team Type 1). As these three guys were very dangerous I attacked too and joined them. With these 3 big guns, the speed of our group was high and the gap to the field was increasing lap after lap. For me, at the beginning of that escape I felt uncomfortable with the pace but got better as the finish drew near. With 3 laps to go the gap was around 30 seconds so it seemed likely the victory would be between us 4.
I tried to stay on Gerlach's wheel during the sprint. He launched it from a long way, which was perfect for me. I stayed with him and with 100 meters to go, I launched my sprint. Unfortunately as tried to pass him, I hit a pothole in the rode and my chain flew off the big ring. Luckily somehow I managed to not get catapulted off the bike. I tried to put my chain back on but there was no way. So, I was forced to coast the remaining meters across the line while the other 3 sprinted it out. Of course, that left me with fourth place. In the field sprint, James was shepherded by the team and secured a good 9th place.
I still don't understand what happened. All I can say is that I need to do some good Voodoo in order to get some luck this year. Anybody have a chicken to sacrifice?!
Thanks for reading
Fabrice
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