NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

Races all around NorCal!

Many of the women of NorCal are out doing the epic, the glorious, the ridiculously difficult Kern County Stage Race.  Held down in Bakersfield, this fiendish race tests riders against punishing climbs, never ending time trials, and braincase melting hotwinds.  For women, there’s childbirth … and then there’s the Kern County Stage Race.

This will be the first year I’ll miss out on running support for the event … so, I’ll be relying on those stalwarts at the race to toss updates up north so fixes can be gotten.   Muchas gracias.

Other races going on this weekend are the Modesto, Winters, and the Scotts Valley criteriums.  That’s a lot of gawdamn criteriums on one day in May … but, hopefully each will have huge turnouts of regional riders and satisfied grins will be extended to both competitors and promoters, alike.  I’ll be heading up to Scotts Valley with Beth in just a few minutes and am very much looking forward to announcing for the women’s race, and maybe even slapping on a number myself for a bit of sprinting out of a wet paper bag.

Speaking of Sprinting … SGP ~ man-style!

The Sacramento Grand Prix has a full field of 160+ frothing, stomping, muscle-pumped men ready to bull-run around the state’s capital and show the nation just how much speed and disdain for safety dudes with shaved legs and spandex can throw at each other.

This event is a Pro-Am race … with professionals from a few California based squads ready, willing and able to mix it up with the best of the up-and-coming amateurs from the state.  Leading the favorites for winning this event has to be the founder and captain of the Bahati Foundation, Rahsaan Bahati.   A former US national criterium champion, Bahati, is one of the fastest finishers in the country and has been a proven winner in big-time events over the past few years.  If the race comes down to the anticipated field sprint, Bahati will be very difficult to beat.

But there will be teams bashing at the front of end of this 60-minute event from the drop of the flag … with many teams knowing that a breakaway, while unlikely, will better their chances for taking this most prestigious of wins. The largest teams and most renowned for having hardcase, teeth-gnashing breakaway artists would be the Yahoo! Cycling Team, California Giant Berry Team, Webcor/Alto Velo, and Williams Cycling Team powered by SCVelo.  The Yahoo! riders have proven themselves very adept at pushing off the front end of bike races in their first year of racing together … but, the SGP men’s field will be averaging well over 30 miles per hour for the 60 minute event ~ and to consider keeping a breakaway at higher speeds than that is a crotch numbing proposition, to say the least.

But there are other strong teams and characters to be on the look out for on Sunday.  The American Lung Association Team is chock full of young talent and experienced veterans and they will have a clear voice when it comes to how the narrative of this event will be told.  Team Specialized Racing has a quality grouping of junior and senior riders competing, with a phenomenal story of a father/son duo in the form of Dean and James Laberge.  Both Dean and his son have been district criterium champions and it will be a sweet scene to see these two lined up together for this top-notch race.

NorCal is a hotbed of both junior and masters-aged racers, and there will be a number of quality veterans out there mixing it up with the young thoroughbreds.  Big Bubba Melcher, a former football player turned svelt bike racer, has already predicted that he’ll grab a top placing in the SGP … and that’s not all bravado pushing out of the big Reno-rider’s lungs.  Nicholas Oliver was a recent district champion in the 30+ aged-criterium and will be a part of a strong Wells Fargo Team lacing up shoes for Sunday, as well.  Rocknasium’s Chad Demasi was a winner in the 35+ aged-criterium over the legend to be named later, Chad Gerlach – and both riders will be out and ready with strong squads for the SGP.

But again, this race will likely come down to a field sprint – and aside from Bahati, there are some well established fastmen ready to mix it up and dash it out to capture this gem of the 2010 season.  Sterling Magnell leads the rejuvinated McGuire Cycling team, joining fellow fastmen Randy Bramblett and 3-time US track champion, David McCook.  Williams Cycling has an incredibly quick sprinting Jeremiah Wiscovitch at their disposal, not to mention their hard hitting duo of basher brothers, Kyle and Brandon Gritters.  And very much worth watching for will be the Trek Livestrong U-23 rider, Justin Williams … a lightning quick accelerator who has won quite a few bunch sprints in the past couple years.

I’ll be out there racing it up with all of them for the Kinetic Cycles/Great Basin Imaging squad … and you can bet we’ll get our name called out on the front end of things, as well.
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Well ~ it’s off to Scotts Valley where Beth is going to win us some dinner cash!  Hope ya’ll have great fun out there racing, training, or watching the first stage of the Tour of California.  Heady times, indeed, for cycling in our state … be a part of it and hope to see you out there!
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