NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

I like it when folks send me the goods!

Final Cal Cup Results Are Up!

Getting them was like pulling teeth, and i have no idea who owns the mysterious IP address, and for all I know it might actually be downloading all my credit card info to Russia… but I now have some finality to my summer.

1. Men: Evan Huffman his Cal Giant team  take the title it over a scrappy McGuire and late charging Marc Pro Strave
2. Women: Mary Maroon (Webcor) proves that consistency and persistence is key to a Cal Cup victory.  It’s the Lance strategy. One good TT and two mountain stages…
3. Master 35+123 Men: Matt Carinio (ArtsCyclery.com/Wild Horse Wine) takes the title begging the question why on earth is SLO in the SoCal district
4. Cat 3: Jeromy Cottell (riding for Peninsula Velo/Pomodor, one of my favorite low key and supportive teams) took the win over 17 year old Alistair Eeckman.  Masters better watch out… Cottell is 36, and if Eeckamn doesn’t get ruined by high school or college he’s gonna be trouble.

 

As one commentator said… if you can’t find results does the series even exist?  It is an important philosophical question i pose to the NorCal cycling community.  It is up there with the important ones like.

1. Is masters doping something we should care about?

2. Should NCNCA secede once again to form their own cycling union?

3. What is the best port-a-potty company, and as a community do we have enough klout to black ball the offenders who skimp on toilet paper and cleanliness.

4. Will timing chips ever work in the land that invented silicon and google?

It is important that we keep mulling these questions over and over since there is an answer that we have just not identified yet.

Anyhow… here is what I have so far thanks to contributors.

Women

Holy crap!  Mary Maroon (Webcor) took it seriously and got down to business over the weekend.  Maroon managed a top five placing at all the races over the weekend putting her in the lead according to The Cal Cup Calculator.  A Cal Cup victory has been a strong indicator of women on the move, so it will be interesting to watch Maroon next year as she tries to move her cycling to the national level.  Below are the results as estimated by our contributor The Cal Cup Calculator.

Mary Maroon – webcor- 98
Jane Despas – yahoo – 87
Jane Robertson – metromint- 59
Michelle Melka – red racing – 54
Anne Fulton – metromint – 53
Fiona strouts – 49
Rikke perisler – metromint – 46
Susannah breen – Fremont bank – 46

courtesy of The Cal Cup Calculator

Men

Justin Rossi (Marc Pro Strava) was throwing everything he had at Evan Huffman’s (Cal Giant Cycling) lead.  Despite Rossi’s efforts, after Huffman won the Esparto TT his lead should have been intact going into the Giro SF which he was skipping in light of his upcoming asian tour.  If anybody has the final tally, or wants to tally it up, give us the skinny!

Cal Cup madness is close to ending. With the end of Cal Cup the NorCal road season will draw to a close leaving the way open for a few final party races, track nationals, and of course NorCal cross. Before these winter activities set it VeloPromo has a doozy of a weekend that is going to test racers fitness and will to win with a simulated stage race that is as close to an Oregon stage race as you can get down here.

The weekend kicks off with the Challenge Road Race, a bitch of a course with over 9k of climbing for the men, and a mega drive instore for those looking to flog themselves one last time. The action continues at the Esparto Time Trial, and while the points on offer are a little discounted, the modest number of entrants usually makes this and a great chance for the TT geeks to make up some ground on the leaders. The finale at the Metromint Giro di San Francisco is the only Velopromo event that can compete with the big party races like San Rafael and Cats Hill for ambiance and party like atmosphere. A smattering of Pro’s usually show ip for the Giro so the racing is often scintillating and the location (Levi Strauss Plaza) cannot be beat.

Overall the weekend is tailor made for Evan Huffman who just gets stronger when he has to race more than one day in a row.    After telling us that his favorite race was the Challenge RR I would be hard pressed to find another rider currently able to take him on a pure slug fest.

In the women’s field Jane Despas has a solid lead but her hold on it will be dictated by the ambition of the women stalking her like Jane Robertson, Mary Maroon, and Michelle Melka. If anybody can pull off a successful three starts then an upset is entirely within reach. Despas has been slipping lower in the points the last few races so it is definitely time to go for broke time in the women’s field.

Jane Despas – yahoo- 80

mary maroon – webcor – 63
michelle melka – RED – 54
Anne Fulton – metromint – 53
jane roberston – metromint – 53
fiona strouts – stanford – 36
rikke preisler – metromint – 36
christine riker – RED – 26
Susannah breen – fremont bank – 24

courtesy of the Cal Cup Calculator

The cat 3s even sent me their points. All I can say is if you are in the top 5… quit sandbagging and sign up to get you ass kicked by Rand in Monday’s P12 field.  See below for Cat 3 Points.. i got masters here somewhere to from somebody..i’ll dig that up later.

Cat 3 standings (after Vacaville)
Points Name Team
1 (41) Jeromy Cottell   Peninsula Velo
2 (40) Joseph Ison    Metromint
3 (35) Alistair Eeckman Above Category Racing
4 (32) Colin DAW    Wheel Away Cycle Center
5 (27) Andre Tenthorey  Sacramento Golden Wheelmen
6 (26) Jason Berens    Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada
7 (20) Chase Goldstein  L.Raphael-Leopard Cycles p/b Dave Jordan
8 (20) Roger Martin    Wells Fargo Racing Team
9 (19) Dan Tedford    Squadra Ovest Cycling
10(19) Henry Scholz    Team Mike’s Bikes

courtesy of Cat 3 Cal Cup

Have a good weekend this Labor Day – Power to the workers!

 

 

 

Winters RR

The men’s race was won by a resurgent Marc-Pro Strava who have been falling just a few feet short in the last few Cal Cup races.  Marc-Pro Strava’s Keith Hillier won the 96 mile slug fest out of a break of six, a break which saw several casualties that last lap.  (Thanks to for the men’s updates.)

The women’s race was won by Touchstone’s Marley Smith who won a two up sprint from Metromint’s Jane Robertson.  Metromint jammed up the chase pretty good and was able to take 3rd and 4th ahead of Webcor’s Mary Marron.  The pack got some pro tutelage from Giana Roberge who gave the field some choice feedback on how to ride hard. Once a boss, always a boss.

Vacaville RR

The women’s race saw a stacked field with the Cal Cup and Prestige series contenders show up to square off against big guns like Olivia Dillon (Peanut Butter 2012) and Katheryn Curi Mattis (Webcor).  Despite some aggressive riding by Red Racing, Webcor, and Susannah Breen (Fremont Bank Cycling), the race came down to a field sprint which was led out and subsequently won by Olivia Dillon how put the hammer down in the final corner and was able to hold off Katheryn Curi Mattis (2nd) and Jane Robertson (3rd.) Robertson has to be looking good for a run at Jane Despas’s Cal Cup lead after two podiums in two days.

By the time the men’s race rolled around the Central Valley heat kicked in and the boys mind games started before the race.  Rand Miller set up a pre-race kiss for Evan Huffman in an attempt to throw him off his game.  Despite the head games both Miller and Huffman threw down with some efforts at the front, but it was James Mattis (Cal Giant) and Justin Rossi (Marc-Pro Strava) who managed to make their break stick to the finish.  Mattis took the win over Rossi, which begs the question… have James Mattis and his wife KCM turned into NorCal’s best hope to beat the SoCal Crit Monkees at their own game?  Thanks to and who tag teamed tweets from the race making the coverage as thorough as what we were getting from the Colorado Pro Dork Fan Fest. (Which was great twitter coverage provided by i might add.)

 

This is the second NCCN interview following Cal Cup contenders, don’t miss our last interview that followed Annie Fulton. Evan Huffman (Cal-Giant) is no stranger to success.  He’s got a national championship under his belt from his junior days and has done the tour of successful NorCal teams like Lombardi’s, Yahoo!, and California Giant Strawberries.  Huffman has impressed many the last few years, but In the process of following Cal Cup I have been impressed by both his thoughtfulness, attention to detail, and his willingness to fully embrace the lifestyle needed to make it as a cyclist.  With several Cal Cup races still to go, including his favorite Challenge RR, Huffman is going to be a hard man to beat as he gears up for a National Team tour later this fall.

You have always been a NorCal rider to watch, but you have been on a different level since July. Do any of your races pop out as particularly special to you?

I would say Nationals.  I was just ok in the time trial (7th), but I think my 3rd in the RR was a great ride.  Of course, I would have rather won, but it’s hard to say if that was even possible.  I’m just happy with it because I showed a lot of physical strength/endurance, but also raced hard for 3rd even after the top 2 spots were up the road.

Looking at your NorCal racing, you are just tearing up Cal Cup right now – at what point this year did you decide you wanted to give it a go?

I think sometime around Cascade.  I had my fingers crossed I wouldn’t be able to do many of the races because I’d be in Europe with the National Team, but that didn’t work out.  I’m always fittest in August and September.  Last year I got to do Utah, but obviously that wasn’t an option this year.  I just thought if all I can do is local racing, I might as well win.  However, I just found out I’m doing the Tour of China September 9-19 with the National Team so that is great.

Tour of China sounds cool, are there any stages that you will target while you are there?

I will just be taking it day by day and looking for opportunities.  On paper, seem like stages 3, 4, and 8 are the hardest which would normally be the best for me.  It’s hard to say exactly how the race will unfold.

I have been impressed by how thoughtful and detail oriented you come across – do you do any recon before a stage race like that?

There were very few races this year I did for the first time, so that made it easy.  Tour of the Gila was the obvious exception, but I was there early to acclimate to the elevation so I ended up riding most of the stages.  There’s not a huge variety of roads in Silver City.  I usually don’t go out of the way to recon stages, but if it’s convenient I’ll check out the courses when I come to a race early.

Coaching – In your opinion how important is it for an athlete racing at your level to have a coach, and how do you use?

For me, it’s been huge.  I know a lot of people coach themselves and maybe that’s great for them, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that.  It’s good to have someone else to learn and grow with especially being a young rider.  A lot of things are new for me.   For example, China will be 10 days of racing and the most I’ve done before is 6 so it will be interesting to see how my body reacts during and after the race.  I’ve been coached by Felicia Gomez for just over 2 years now and we work great together.  If you’re going to have a coach, communication is key.  I call Felicia several times a week to talk about how I’m feeling, how the upcoming training/races look, and anything about physiology or nutrition I’m curious about.

What kind of time/milages do you put into training during the year – the level of commitment strikes me as something a lot of up and coming racers really do not get.

I probably ride about 15 hours a week on average.  That might not seem like much, but it’s all about intensity for me.  My training is very scientific and I’m always doing specific intervals using power.  I rarely go out and “just ride” for longer than an hour.  Once you get to a certain level of fitness, those rides are just a waste of time.  A lot of people subscribe to the old-school mentality: The more you ride, the stronger you get.  That’s just not how I train.  Sure, there are long rides, but I’ve always got one eye on the power meter making sure I’m doing something that’s going to make me stronger.  I also normally ride 6 days a week and have one day completely off.  So, it takes a big commitment, but more hours on the bike doesn’t equal more fitness and there’s a lot you can do off the bike (eating right, getting lots of sleep, stretching/massage).

You came up through the junior ranks which is helpful if you are looking to make a career our of it How did you get started racing?

I started out swimming, which led to triathlons, which led to cycling.  I did my first cycling races in 2007, just a few junior and Cat5 races for training.  I was on the Lombardi Sports Tri Team and the cycling guys wanted me to do more races with them.  After a terrible showing at Triathlon Age Group Worlds and moving away to college, I was ready to try something new for 2008.  I did a lot of collegiate racing, but also quickly got my Cat 2 upgrade.  I won the Road Race at Junior Nationals that year, went to Europe, and decided I wanted to be a professional cyclist.

Your mother () is a prolific tweeter [ed note. must follow if you want updates from the road at various races] and seems to follow racing very closely.  Describe they role your family has had in your success?

Yes – is my mom.  She is very supportive now.  When I first decided to quit school…not so much.  Most people told me I was stupid and throwing away a great opportunity and I think my parents felt the same way, but never said it in such harsh words.  I saw it the other way around.  That’s part of what makes cycling such a tough sport.  There are a lot of ups and downs and it’s often hard to see progress even when you’re making a lot.  My parents are very supportive now that they see how motivated I am to make it happen.  My mom comes to all the races she can, even taking time off work for the bigger NRC races.  I really appreciate the emotional and financial support.  Seems kinda shallow to bring up the money, but honestly, living at home rent-free with little to no expenses makes cycling a lot easier.  I can focus all my energy on training and racing.

In addition to your family you have a top notch team behind you.  Cal Giant is producing some awesome young riders, Talansky, Bennett, not to mention the older guys.  What kind of support are they giving you that works out so well?

For me, the laid-back atmosphere is huge.  There’s little or no pressure for results from the management or older riders.  They understand we’re young and different people are going to develop at a different pace.  I also like having the older mentor riders not just around, but out there racing with us.  Experience is a huge part of cycling and having those guys around to watch, and ask questions has been really good for me this season.  Of course, we also have excellent equipment support from Specialized, SRAM, Zipp, etc.  The equipment is on par or better than any domestic Continental team.

With such a large cast of characters at Cal-Giant who is your favorite person to room with when you are on the road?

Chris Stastny with an honorable mention to Jesse Moore.  Chris has had a very positive influence on me mentally this year.  I have a tendency to get really down on myself when I don’t race well and also get stressed about things can’t control.  I’ve learned to let go of poor performances because there’s nothing you can do but move on, learn from it, and try to do better next time.  I can’t count how many times I have been super stressed about my bike being dirty, not having super-healthy food, or something else relatively unimportant and Chris has told me to just chill out and focus on racing.  Jesse is great because he knows something about everything and a lot about bike racing.  You can ask him about aerodynamics, diet, training, tactics, etc. and he’s always happy to share some great information.  However, I will say Chris and Jesse both tend to get really grumpy when they’re hungry, but it’s not a huge problem because they’ll eat almost anything.

Where does college and career fit in your plans?

I went to school at Cal Poly for 4 quarters (1 and 1/3 of a year), but made the difficult decision to put that on hold and focus on cycling.  Ironically, it was being in SLO that really got me into cycling.  I did a lot of collegiate races, made some great friends there, and really just fell in love with the sport.  I went to Europe after winning Junior Nationals in 2008 and really liked the whole Euro Pro thing.  I got invited to go back for 10 weeks the next spring and that’s what pushed me over the edge in the school vs cycling debate.  I’m not sure where I’ll be in 5-10 years, but for now the plan is to see how far I can go in the world of cycling.  I’m in a great environment with Cal-Giant to do that and am already looking forward to seeing what we can do next year.

Any thoughts on your 2012 team?

I think it’s still a little early to say for sure, but most likely I’ll stick with Cal Giant for another year.  I’ve been extremely happy.  I feel really loyal to the team and sponsors for having some faith and giving me such great opportunities this year.

Ok… final brain buster Rand vs. Reaney: Not to give away any secrets but if you were Rand’s coach (yes we all know he’s un-coachable) but if you were) how would you guide him to beat Reaney in a crit. Purely hypothetical of course.

Hmmm…that is a tough one.  Rand is a good rider, but Steve is REALLY good.  I would lose to him too, but luckily we’re on the same team.  Head to head, in a 2-man break like they’ve been doing, Reaney just has a huge advantage.  He’s a better sprinter and has a strong team behind him so he doesn’t necessarily need to work that hard.  Rand’s best chance is to get up the road without Reaney…or just wait until he retires.  No offense, Rand.  I just have a lot of respect for Steve and think he’s an excellent bike racer.

Sorry Rand – i tried!  Better just wait till he retires.

If you see Huffman on the road give him a good heckling and help get him stoked for his trip to China with the national team.