NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

Almost August …

Which, for Cali-For-Nya roadies, means the tail end of a long, long season of burning tread up and down the state … and maybe a even trekking long distances to a few choice locations around the nation to suffer like dogs under the musher’s whip. For cyclocross’ers … August means the year is just beginning, and it’s time to start chewing up sunsets with choppy-stroked intervals on dusty-caked kicker trails.

And for track riders … it means saving up as much money as you can for the over-priced, stupidly placed Elite Nationals down in idiots-ville Los Angeles.
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The road season still has a month to be contested, and there are a few battles worth watching here in the NorCal. There’s a pretty fierce battle for the NCNCA Points Series (http://209.204.175.237/points/) between Beth Newell, Mary Ellen Ash, and Mary Maroon (and don’t discount Jane Despas, either … she always shows up with guns blazing for August).

Newell has been leading the 2011 season most of the year – an impressive result for her first year of p1/2 road racing … and the first time she’s ever road raced past May. But, her major goal is US Track Natz … so, focusing on that will make it hard for her to do much local racing. Mistress Maroon was last year’s winner and has to be the heavy favorite to repeat the title, as she is a true all-arounder and seems to be swinging back into some wicked fitness. However, making a SERIOUS tear in the fabric over the past month has been MEA … the Metromint rider has more toughness and smiling ferocity than anyone I know. MEAsh is one of my all-time favorite racers to watch.

There’s nothing much to win with the Points title … other than a cool trophy and some bragging rights ~ but, I’m looking forward to see who comes out on top.
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The NCNCA Premier Series (http://209.204.175.237/premier/Premier-pts2011.pdf) is a battle between two of the series superstars of NorCal this year – Rebecca Werner and Susannah Breen. The two have battled all year long … and this Series takes home not only some chest-puffing pride, but a cool $Grand$ in cash.

Now THAT is worth fighting for!

Breen and Werner will be awesome to watch in this final month+ of racing, so we’ll do our best to cover all the races left on the schedule. Werner is the Aussie sensation who has been racing around the nation this year, learning the US ropes and impressing heaps. Breen is always the best rider never mentioned in any of the pre-race write ups or promotional materials. She’s low-key, under the radar, and an absolute angel of the mountains. The climbing races will suit Breen, the all-arounder events will be a tight battle. This will be a series worth watching.
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The Men’s Points Series looks to be a battle between Steve Reaney and Rand Miller … but anything can happen in the final month of racing. Reaney is in his last year of full-gas racing, as he is expecting a baby soon. Well, his wife is expecting … he’s just got that kind of deer-in-the-headlights look of, ‘oh shit, is feeding a baby like pumping a tire up?’

Rand Miller is everyone’s favorite … but sort of like Spanky in the Little Rascals … the center of things, but always getting the short end of the stick and pie splattered on his mug. It’s hard to imagine Rand actually winning something ~ but, we’ll all be pulling for him.

Jesse Moore and Nate English look to be the contenders for the cash in the Premier Series. Moore ramped up something huge for Elite Nationals and, if we’re honest, looked to have been robbed something serious in that week of mayhem. Nate English, on the other hand, has been mind-bogglingly strong all year long – and if you didn’t see his performance recently as Cascade … I’ll just describe it as “hole-f*ck.”

If a pro team doesn’t pick up English for 2012, then the politics of bike racing is lost forever.
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Teams, Transfers, and begging crumbs

And that’s the other thing that August signifies – riders scrambling to sign contracts or network with those in the know.

With the ever increasing prices of entrée fees, travel costs, clothing, and equipment … teams are feeling the financial pinch even more than years’ past. And it’s always been slim margins of survival in the pro-elite ranks.

Entry fees are consistently rising for low-key to high-profile events, with Elite and Junior Nationals soon pricing themselves out of sight for the majority of racers. Teams just don’t have the cash to send teams to these races. For example, the Omnium at US Track Nationals is a hefty $225 fee this year … that’s $225 for approximately 45 minutes of total racing time.

That’s right … to race the Omnium at Nationals, you’re going to pay about $5 per minute of racing. Not to mention (many) hundreds spent in gas/lodging/food to be down there in LA.

Ridiculous & Retarded.
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Of course, USAC will argue that it’s expensive to rent the HomeDepotCenter down in Carson, and there’s a host of officials they have to pay, and there’s equipment that has to be paid for … and blahblahblah.

Horseshit.

Focus on the athletes.
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Any-Way.
Mostly, I just wanted to post something to move that dipthong picture of me announcing at Lodi … down and out of the page visuals. Ugh.

I wish I could have provided more coverage of the Cascade Classic last week, but it is what it is.

Chris Phipps crushed the 35+ with a team that has to be one of the coolest group of guys around. They all slayed themselves into pedaling zombies to win that race. It was pretty sweet.

The Davis Bike Club 45′ers were up there in Oregon to show off how to wear orange in style … which they did.

And Colavita showed that they are the best woman’s team in the nation. Hands down.
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Beth Newell and Anna Barensfeld were the top amateurs in the GC at Cascade. Barensfield has been hugely impressive all year long … the woman rides bravely, with intelligence, and a never-say-die attitude that inspires. Barensfeld ended up 16th, I believe … after being in almost every break that went during the 6 days of racing.

Newell went 22nd, but had her most impressive ride in the opening road stage where she was climbing with the best. It’s been hard to keep her legs ready for track nationals AND able to climb this late in the year … but she showed her potential and I’m very proud of her consistent and improving performances this year.  But I am biased.

Both Barensfeld and Newell are riders in that nebulous area of being too good for strictly local races, but needing to be on big teams to get to the races they require to continue their rising development. It’s a situation many up-and-coming riders find themselves in.

We’ll see how it goes.  For everybody.
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