NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

The Sportsbase-gate continues to unfold after I received an email and call from NCNCA president Bill Nicely who had been in touch with Dirk Cowley.  Cowley purportedly told Nicely that NorCal promoters would be made whole (paid in full) on the money that is owed to them.  Several promoters who had been trying to pin down a Sportsbaseonline.com representative for the last few weeks expressed and eagerness to speak with Nicely, via our comments section, to figure out more of what was going on with the company which is apparently shutting down operations.  An email was forwarded to us later in the day ,purportedly sent to promoters et al, promising full compensation for money they are owed.  The letter we received is below.

From: SportsBaseOnline Admin <>

To:

Sent: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 1:41 PM

Subject: Update from SportsBaseOnline

First off, we apologize for the unclear email that was sent on Monday, October 3, 2011.  Sports Marketing Concepts, Inc. DBA SportsBaseOnline is dissolving as of October 15, 2011 but has every intention of paying funds owed to all outstanding events with regard to registration fees.

We are currently working to sell company assets and obtain private funding with which to do so.  We hope to have this solidified and have payments dispersed as soon as possible.  We will keep you posted with regard to your payment and what steps need to be followed to complete the transfer of funds.

I especially like how they apologize for how their original communication was “unclear”, that’s a nice touch, and a rather amusing understatement.  I think it was quite clear, as in, “SBO is not going to pay you.”  Of course “intending” to pay out funds owed, and actually doing it are two different matters.  This most recent communication is more promising than the original email which stated everybody was S-O-L.  The original email was likely required as part of a legal dissolution proceeding, something akin to a bankruptcy filing.

While there may be some hope for promoters who have been left in the lurch, extracting money from entities that are going down the tubes is never an easy endeavor.  Our advice to you is stay loud, stay angry, and get a lawyer ready in the wings.

Looks like the SBO implosion is official and will impact several promoters in the NorCal area. When asked how this would impact the NCNCA President Bill Nicely responded quickly…

“Minimal [impact] directly (prize money for Premier Series). The NCNCA will cover prizes for the Premier Series. We are looking to help promoters affected by forgiving fees, getting USAC to forgive fees, and considering loans. This affected all races from Giro forward on SBO. About 65k in reg fees as a loss in total. The BOD is deeply saddened by this loss and we are grateful to USAC for their participation in lessening the burden to our affected promoters.”

As a result the dissolution of Sportsbaseonline.com will impact several of NorCal’s most prolific promoters like Velopromo and ProjectSport who put on several late season races using Sportsbaseonline.com registration systems. Overall it is horrible news, and likely a major set back, for the promotion teams that had any revenue tied up with SBO. In theory SBO’s contract pay out on 80% of registered users prior to the event, and then the following wednesday after but…as we all know, cyclists are last minute registrants, and in my experience nobody pays money on time if they don’t have too.

Our promoters are a vital piece of the racing ecosystem, and events like this do great damage to their ability to put on key events like Snelling Road Race, and the San Rafael Twilight Crit, which have become and important part of the NorCal racing calendar. Regardless of how you feel about the promoters events, ie. you hate your 5th place T Shirt from Santa Cruz Crit, this is a good time to drop your local promoter and note and let them know you appreciate their effort – otherwise, who could blame them for packing it in for a while.

UPDATE

This Just in from NCNCA President Bill Nicely who is keeping us posted through the comments section. We will keep the thread updated as news breaks. Plus I’ll post Hernandos Track Natz news in a bit in hopes that Velonews will pick that up too:)

“Since Velonews is quoting NCCN, I’ll break this news here. All outstanding amounts owed to promoters will be paid in the next 24-48 hours per direct information. I am thankful that this will be resolved. I am grateful to those who have offered assistance (USAC and NCNCA BOD).”

UPDATE 11:03 AM Nicely said in a phone call the info came straight from Dirk Crowley. It appears there are quite a few promoters with revenue coming down the pipe. With trust at a minimum it may be premature to celebrate but it appears #sob, or it’s management, will be trying to close this off civilly, or perhaps just quiet down the outrage.

I feel like I have a hangover.  The end of the Tour always leaves an empty void in one’s stomach like when you first got dumped by your high school girlfriend, when you graduated from your local community college, or as in my case.. both at the same time.  When the tour ends you suddenly have so much free time it is a little disarming.  You can go back to cooking regular meals, reading the paper, walking your dog, or even paying attention to your work and family.  Given that all those pursuits are unsatisfying, except for the family one of course, there are multiple other summer cycling related activities you can apply your energy too.

Cascade Re-Cap

The RealCyclist.com team stole another domestic stage race making the invites to Colorado race feel a little hollow.  With the exception of Evan Huffman who hung tough for 23rd in the GC the NorCal men did not have much of a showing.  The women’s race looked like it was lining up to be a slug fest between Clara Hughs, Peanut Butter 2012, and TIBCO but was totally shaken up by aggressive riding from the Colavitta squad who gambled everything and took both the GC and Sprinters jerseys.  Pascale Schneinder (Vanderkitten) and Beth Newell (BMC Total Care) were the top local riders performing valiantly in their roles as guest riders coming in 11th and 22nd respectively.

Crit Season wraps up with this new little gem getting thrown for the Elite racing crowd down in Watsonville.  With Dave Towle showing up it is sure to be an NRC vibe and a great atmosphere.  The question is does anybody have the stones to try and beat Reaney on his teams home turf?  Rand has thrown in the towel, via twitter, and said Reaney is just better.  Will there be any other challengers?

Cal Cup

It has an awesome name, a bunch of great courses, and while most winners don’t start out trying to take the overall title they end up racing a few hellish races like the University RR in order to garner valuable points.  Catch up on the 2012 routes at the Velopomo site.  Cal Cup is the NorCal story to follow in August.

Almost Cyclocross Time!

The cross freaks are emerging from hibernation.  Chatter on the has increased dramatically the last month with bikes for sale, clinics, and new coaches popping up every day.  It’s time to dig up some old issues of Cyclocross Magazine and figure out when you need to start dismount practice.  There are even some summertime cross races and clinics happening that can help you get all polished up for October.

Master Track Nationals

The old folks are running in circles out in T-Town at this very moment. Hellyer Riders are racking up the medals, and hopefully treating the Trexlertown Tools with the animosity  they deserve.  Below is an annotated update published on the track list server today courtesy of Cathy Morgan

National Champions in respective age groups

• Scratch Race :Mark Rodamaker, John Elgart, Linda Elgart, Donna Woods, Bev Chaney
• Kilo:  Pete Billington
• 500m TT:  Mike Macdonald, Annabell Holland, Lorraine Jarvis

Utah and Colorado Stage Races

No idea when they start or what they are actually called but there are some big teams going.  Podiumsinsight.com will have the gorey details.

Grand Fondo Madness

I am not sure i really get the “Grand Fondo” appeal… didn’t we used to make fun of these before Levi made it cool?  Anyways…apparently there are a ton of them coming up including one in Palo Alto.  You know when there is a Palo Alto Grand Fondo then Satan has taken over the family business.

CCCX Insanity

Jesus… what don’t these guys promote.  We all need to try something a little different (mountain bike, cross, downhill, crazy road race) so check out what race CCCX is promoting and just go do it. I have my eye on some downhill races coming up….

 

 

 

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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Crit season is the time for the late bloomers.  The late bloomers have experience from years of racing, but have passed up life on the road, for a normal, adult like existence.  The late bloomers have real jobs, and use the extended daylight hours of summer to get in the necessary training required to burn down the finishing straight of a big money crit.  The late bloomers might not be able to win a stage race against the likes of riders named Armstrong, but dump the late bloomers into the hot city streets of a four corner crit and they will take you to school like it’s the first day of kindergarten.  The late bloomers take a while to get started,  but if you are a local NorCal rider you are probably willing to settle for second when you see them at the start line.

While our NorCal men have been getting schooled by the muscle bound hollywood wannabe crit monkeys of SoCal, Martina Patella and Mary Ellen Ash have stood on the podium of pretty much every race since Crit Season kicked off at Burlingame. Patella and Ash both have been around the cycling scene for years and know the ins and outs of training and racing.  Patella took down Burlingame, a race she had dominated over time, in a tight sprint,  while Ash over powered a dominant Webcor squad at Davis.  Both riders hung onto the big shots for a podium finish at St. Rafael and Lodi Cycles fest.  Looking at podium photos from recent criteriums it’s hard to tell which race you are looking at since they appear so frequently in first, second, or third.  Patella and Ash have fine tuned their speed in the long hours of our cool summer days, but they rely on their wits and past experience to out gun the full time racers.

Crit Season continues this weekend with several local crits for the late blooming speed freaks amongst you…

• Colavita Grand Prix  #colavitagp
• Watsonville Criterium #watsonvillecrit
• Berkeley Bike Club Criterium #bbccrit