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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)