NorCal Cycling News

Shelley Evans wins NZ … and we heard about it!

With a crushing display in the criterium finale of the Tour of New Zealand, Shelley Evans put an exclamation mark on her ability to win while marked and under pressure.  Both Cyclingnews and Velonews have been covering the race, but if you’ve got an eye on both e-presses, you know that even though CN has the rad fotos and better web-navigation, it was Velonews who gave us just that bit more insight into the race … into the personalities and drama of the event.

Here’s a couple of cool quotes:

“Just as I jumped to bridge, I dropped my chain and unclipped from my pedal at the same time,” Evans explained. “I sat down and desperately tried to get the chain back on and my foot in the pedal again as the rest of the field drove past me on both sides. Finally, with about 400m to go, I got it all sorted out and looked up to find a huge hole on the left side of the road and the field indecisively heading towards the line. So, with a lot of adrenaline, I jumped and took off up the left side. I don’t think anyone expected it or even saw me coming, as they had seen me have the issues just 100m earlier. I kept momentum, found a clearing, and shot straight up the left side to take the win.” [VN]

“Most of all, I want to thank my teammate, world champion Amber Neben, who selflessly rode on the front of the peloton, despite being the race leader, in the last stages of the tour, to allow me to take over in the general classification,” said Evans. “She is a true professional and a class act and I was honored to ride alongside of her this week.” [VN]

The Editor of VeloNews is a guy named Ben Delaney ~ and you may not have heard of him, but let me tell you this is a fella who really does know cycling ~ from the bragging rights slugfests on the local’s only grassroots scene … to the international money-grubbers buying souls and deigning to hand off an occasional golden chamois.

Delaney has been giving props and finding quotes on the women’s cycling side … AND, has overseen a push in US regional coverage on the VN website.  So, if you like hearing and seeing e-coverage like what has taken place during the women’s Tour of New Zealand, or maybe even a few collegiate results ~ be sure to let him know, EMAIL velonewsben@competitorgroup.com.

As in all things … it’s the metrics that do the talking in this crap-corporate world ~ so, thanks for sending continual emails to let the chaps @ VN know they’re on the right path.
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Smelling Merced … the good, the bad, some ugly

There are quite a few stories to tell out of this weekend’s bike racing.  We’ll start with the big stories … ProAm Mens and Femmes. And pictures found here.

Daniel Holloway wins Snelling … many lose $$ in bike parts & med bills

It was a brutal day of racing out there in Snells-ville, with a good couple dozen  falling down in the first kilometer of racing for the p1/2 men, causing many a rider DNF and upwards of $30-grand in bike damage, I reckon.  It was frustrating to see good guys like Aaron Gallardo, Aaron Beardsely, and Tyler Dibble hitching rides back to the wagons.  But, it is what it is.

The winds were just light enough to cause guttering, and simultaneously keep the speeds ridiculously high for the afternoon events.  The morning waves may have seen double-digit gusts and ankle-deep water puddles, but by noon ~ the day had dried and calmed just enough to let the legs do all the storming.  And storm they did.

CalGiant’s Jesse Moore was a monster the entire race, launching blistering effort after effort, showing yet another step-up in level to his game that has occurred these past 3 seasons.  If you have any inclination on grabbing for that extra gear, check out his coaching services … because the man’s a walking display of what can be achieved with sound science and hungry discipline.

There would be moves away all day in the p1/2 race, with teams and individuals shuffling in and out of the front of the race.  United Healthcare’s Maximus Jenkins was victim of the first kilo crash, but his teammate and NorCal superstar Roman Kilun made a final selection that began with over a dozen, but quickly shed to only a select few hardmen.

Bissell Pro Cycling had uber-blogger Paul Mach doing his best to not attack from the remaining field, as teammate DHolla was in the front group riding pretty … but, I like how he played it ~ so, let’s quote him now:

“Well, it was Crazy Town. Attacks, crashes, and hecka hard racing all put me deep into the box for the the first few laps.

Thankfully, a group of about 15 finally got off the front. Bissell had Danny Holloway up there and since he was riding a replica of Ben J-M’s Pinarello training bike I was confident in his ability to win. This allowed me to spend the next 3 laps just sitting around talking to people while Chris Jones and Will Routley hammered on the front.

With a half lap to go, I attacked over the Merco finish hill with someone yelling, “No, Paul” from the field. But with a gap of still over a minute, I figured it was fair game to start racing again.” [PM]

Indeed, Mach’s attack would shake up the top-10 significantly as final lap shreddings would see but a handful of riders come to the line to contest the victory.  Winning the sprint was Holloway, in front of a very fit looking Ryan Parnes from Yahoo.  With the inevitable travel that will take the UCI pros around the country, the NorCal scene is going to be quite bloody indeed as CalGiant and Yahoo get free reign to pound the ground for mere mortals.  CalGiant had young gun Andrew Talansky taking fourth behind Chad Gerlach, who is looking more and more like a man returning to the form that saw him dominate most of the summer of 2009.

A good showing was put in by the enigmatic Logan Loader, finishing 5th in front of perennial Czar of the River Ride, Mike Sayers.  Logan’s finish compliments a very, very strong showing of young riders in this year’s Snelling … and signaling that NorCal road racing is back on track to being the breeding ground for future pros of the peloton.

Noteworthy were the efforts put in by Specialized racers Peter Taylor and James Laberge, as well as Williams Cycling Nathanael Christensen.  Strong riders joining a growing group of talented U-23s out there in NorCal.

And before we switch gears to painting pretty pictures with the ProAm femmes … have to give a huge shout-out to the class and sass of Webcor Builders, Katheryn Curi-Mattis ~ as she was out there getting in the high-octane training by racing it up with the men’s field.  KCM was strong and smart enough to stay out of the early crashanigans, and also fit to finish well with the survivors of one helluva hard edition of Snelling.

Kudos, KCM.
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Tibco vs Tibco vs Olivia Dillon

TIBCO showed a tremendous amount of coolness this weekend by splitting up their squad into two separate teams to contest both the Snelling RR and Merced Crit.  One squad used the summer whites, the other used the elegant blues.

Superb.

With the team focused on the training aspects of the race, it was good to see that they were throttling each other and the field every chance available.  With the amount of speed and aggression, it was perhaps inevitable that fatigue would cause a touch of wheels in the field late in the race.  Lamentable victims of the spill were NorCal favorites Hanan Alves-Hyde and Meg Guarnier.  Hanan has a fracture that will likely see her out of action for a few weeks - which is a damn shame as it was evident that her fitness and speed has made another jump this year.

Meg perhaps got off a bit better, with just some bruises and a pretty sizeable gash in her wing.  But that won’t keep her down for long, as she is scheduled to return to her Euro-stomping grounds with the TIBCO women as they take on some of the early classics.  Look for a Flanders result from these women, as they have Brooke Miller ready and a very strong and experienced group of women with her.

The front end of the women’s race saw TIBCO’s Rebecca Much and Devon Haskell against Olivia Dillon.  Much would take the race, but it was a very strong showing by Dillon put in yet again.  Dillon would bridge across solo to the two TIBCO riders in a show of power and grit.  The former current & 2x Irish time trial champion is looking to put in another stellar year of racing … what a fan favorite.
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Tidbits … before out of time

Last quick notes:

Another young rider to keep on the lookout for is Specialized’s Eamon Lucas.  This young man only began racing last year, and is already beginning to show the talent to find Europe calling.  He has still metric tons more to learn about racing and will have to suffer many more kilometers to find it … but, if he has the discipline and desire for it … the Euro-peloton awaits.  He was the winner of both the cat 3 Snelling RR and the Merced Jr crit.

Ruth Winder outsprinted the women’s cat 3 field for her final race before upgrading.  Her mom, Margaret Winder was also a winner in the women’s 4s … which is all story-book and everything.  We’ll see if daddy Winder can keep up and grab himself a podium or two this year in the geezer races.

Merced Crit victory in the P1/2 went to Brian Bosch of Yahoo & the gang.  It’s good to see BB get a legit crit win for the new squad since CherryPie … should be a great battle as the year progresses in NorCal racing.

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Hanging out near the portos offers some great people watching…

First batch of parking lot pictures is here …

more to come of the racing.

Sunny skies for the Cherry Pie races today. I’ll leave the full blow-by-blow to other, more eloquent bloggers (Hernandito? Hellyer? Michael himself?), but here’s a little taste of the day:

Masters 35+ 1/2/3 is rumored to have had some real officiating snafus. Something about a break not getting lap cards, then being neutralized after a crash when the field wasn’t, and ultimately being scored by the order in which they joined the break instead of their order across the line? (Maybe they confused Cherry Pie with that other Napa race that did the reverse win-and-out last year.)

All I know for sure is that LaBerge won the field sprint. Does anybody have the real scoop?

The Women’s 1/2/3 field was an exercise in loving one’s abuser. You can’t help but love those TIBCO gals, even when they’re out for blood. They came out swinging, with Alison Starnes dragging the field around all day, ultimately setting Big Brooke up to win the sprint with plenty of room (incidentally, the Women’s 4 race was won by a Team Tibco II development rider - hell of a day for the team). The David to TIBCO’s Goliath was Irish TT champ Olivia Dillon, riding for Specialized Designs for Women this year, who got away solo for several laps until two to go & then had enough pop to take third in the field sprint.

The Pro/1/2 came down to a small break, won by Dirk Copeland from the new Yahoo team after he avoided a crash in the finishing straight. I don’t know who it was who crashed, but how do you crash out of a group of seven? ten? in a wide-open uphill straightaway like that? Sounds like somebody should take an Early Bird refresher. Yahoo also came up on top in the field sprint - maybe that Klein guy knows what he’s doing after all.

Now, who really knows what happened?

Hello NorCal!

True ’nuff … it’s been a long, long spell since I’ve posted to this website ~ but I do appreciate all the writings put forth by those who’ve volunteered time and wit to the enterprise of spreading the fun of cycling in NorCal.  Hopefully, as the road season picks up momentum we’ll have more content rolling through these e-pages of interwebdom.

But for now ~ I’ll throw out some early season sass to help lube the machine.  I’ll save my comments for the Masters and Women’s racing … as I know there are at least a couple secret scribblers of this website who were in attendance in SacTown to flesh out all the ins&outs of yesterdays crit-shenanigans.  And who knows, maybe we’ll have a word or two about how the Folsom crits shook down, as well.

All hail those who spread the gospel.

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Cal Aggie Criteriums ~ v.2010

Land Park is one of my favorite venues for NorCal racing - it’s quiet enough you can rowdy it up without too much reserve, it’s wide and safe but keeps riders on toes and accurate with a couple of curb-feeler swishy turns on the backside, and it’s always good for a workout that will leave snot dripping from noses and lungs burning for breath.

My kind of day.
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Elite Women’s Event

The field at this year’s Cal Aggie Crit was smaller than perhaps hoped for ~ but packed a good strong punch and, i’ll submit, offered a rather insightful microcosm into the state of women’s cycling.

The race began with the invigorated Wells Fargo Racing Squad shooting sparks right off the line. The first 2 laps of the race were very, very quick - with both the Fargo ladies and UCDavis sending a rider each off the front.  The pack would chase hard for a couple laps, with SugarCRM doing a good amount of work, as well as Beth Newell.

A lap later, Newell would take a dig at bridging across solo - soon to be joined by another duo from WellsFargo and UCDavis … solidifying the front of the race with 5 riders - 2 WellsFargos, 2 UCDavis, and Newell.  These riders would say nothing and ride hard … the best way to run things.  Each lap, each rider would take turns at the front - getting in the early season training and doing the hard work of riding a break for the win.

What inspires me tremendously about what was seen on this Sunday in Sactown … was the courage and budding professionalism displayed by the women in the field.  The front 5 women were all business - no squabbling for pulls (… note to masters racers …), no games played … just all effort and no bullshit.  These women went after it.

Bad Ass

Winning the race was Emily Kachorek of Wells Fargo.  In the break and finishing behind were Amy Chandos (UCD), Cody Graf (WF), Larissa Fitchett (UCD),  and Beth Newell (Bell Lap Racing)..  These women show us that the future of NorCal women’s riding is strong and growing … 5 quality riders with a long road of development in front of them.  Can’t wait to see how it goes.

And what inspired just as much were the 3 women chasing behind the lead group … giving a thousand percent to stay in the race, be the race, MAKE the race.  These 3 women were no less dedicated to racing their bikes than any mens’ field ~ not one iota less brave and not one ounce less exciting to watch.  I applaud these women and their willingness to show what it is that makes bike racing a beautiful sport … never giving up, racing with honor, and a little bit of puking once across that finish line.

well done, rockstars
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But what frustrated me on Sunday - and where I’ll call out a rider to give more … because i know she has more to give … is the riding of SugarCRM’s Kim Fong.  Fong spent the majority of the race on her tops - giving the impression that she didn’t care about the race, didn’t care to expend the effort, just plain … didn’t care.  And, getting lapped in the process by BOTH groups of racers.

All this type of riding does is reinforce the negative impression that still resides in some racers, promoters, even officials … that women don’t race their bikes hard and fast, that women aren’t committed to the beauty of the sport.

This type of riding doesn’t reflect well on the team, the advertisers of the team, or her teammates.  And perhaps it frustrates me most because the women of SugarCRM are one of my favorite squads to watch in NorCal, favorites to cheer for, favorites to write about.  And they still will be - and I’ll look for another opportunity to cheer for Kim Fong, as well.  I hope she burns a hole in her chamois in the next race, shoving each and every word I’ve written about her down my craw.  Because I know she can.

So do it, damn it.

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Masters Racing … same old, same old … with a new kid on the block

Chad Gerlach won the 35+ race at Cal Aggie the way it should be done - the hard way.  He was his typical self … relentlessly throwing himself off the front and powering away like a man possessed.  And of course, he is.

Joining Gerlach were Matt Ream of Kinetics Cycles/GBI, Andres Gil of Williams Cycling, Nick Theobald of Safeway, Jason Boynton of Rocknasium, and one rider I wasn’t able to identify (apologies).

The men threw down a few kilotons of aggression at the field and each other … showing why racing in NorCal masters fields is so very, very demanding.  Each of these riders is a quality p1/2 rider and can mix it up in any region of the US as an elite.  But, in NorCal … there is a strong tradition of ‘forever young’ … and these boys exemplified it on Sunday.

The chase behind was always strong with Clover and Zenn being the largest teams to miss the move.  They chased sporadically, attempted bridging moves incessantly, and were marked dead in their tracks by the cohesive riding of the break’s teammates.

Classic masters racing - hard, fast, tactical … and a little bit acidic.

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In the end, it would be Theobald tossing in some late, strong attacks that would splinter the break - each rider doing their best to bluff, and counter.  But it was the hardman’s legs of Gerlach taking the win over Gil, Theobald, then Ream.

Great racing. Almost makes me want to be out there.

Almost.

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BASP ~ GGP-action from CyclocrossMag!

Katerina Nash (Luna) and Chris Jones (Champion Systems) took a break in their usual chase for UCI points to partake in the Bay Area Super Prestige Race #4 held at one of the most storied cyclocross venues in the country, Golden Gate Park.

But the domination by the top two riders was only half the story. District championships were awarded, the earlier races had equal drama, and fans came out to offer up random hand-ups and world-class heckling. In the B race, Spence Peterson (Above Category) took a big win over Isaiah Rapko (Team Oakland), and Don Myrah (BuyCell.com/Ibis) continued to win the Masters A race.

Full report here, results here.

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Night racing returned to the Bay Area Super Prestige cyclocross series for the second annual evening race at Sierra Point.  More team tents than ever showed up, the Christmas lights and disco balls were on display, and there was a little racing to be had at the party by the Bay. Kerry Barnholdt (Scott / Ritchey) took a sprint finish over Barb Howe (Vanderkitten) in the women’s race, while Aaron Bradford  (Onsite Ultrasound) bid his time and watched the HRS / Rock Lobster control the front of the race before making a late race surge to get his first big win in the BASP series. Series leader Don Myrah had an off day and finished 13th. Read all about it on Geoff Gunderson’s Bay Area Super Prestige #3 race report on Cyclocross Magazine.

Cyclocross racing hit Coyote Point park for the first of two races this past weekend, and Kerry Barnholdt (Scott - Ritchey) and Josh Snead (HRS - RockLobster) held off strong assaults by deep, talented fields on Sunday to win the second stop of the Bay Area Super Prestige Cyclocross Series.  But those weren’t the only impressive rides; 15-year-old Isiah Rapko (Team Oakland) crushed the B men once again, and Rich Maile (Sacramento CX) did one more lap than the rest of the singlespeeders en route to a one-geared win.

Check out the full report and photos on the cyclocross racing action at Cyclocross Magazine, written by Team Oakland’s Geoff Gunderson and captured by CXM editor Andrew Yee.

First off we had a great trip to Vegas for Interbike.  I love that place, pure and simple.  The show itself is remarkable for how similar it is each year.  Here is my oversimplification of what was going on at the show this year.

1. Fixed Gear/Single Speed - Its gone big time…felt like everybody had something to show here and several smaller booths were specializing in this product line.  The San Jose Mob are hardcore Hellyer-ites, maybe the rest of the bay area fixies will get inspired as the movement grows.
2. MetriGear Vector Power Meter - Dude - it’s freaking Star Trek in its coolness.  It’s james bondian in its size.  It’s VHS ian in its importance to using power in your daily training.  Most importantly … its NorCal born and bred.  Can’t wait to see this puppy in action.  It is going to be geek city once all the local pro’s start showing up with their beta versions, getting the local cycler-ati all jazzed up to go spend their money on these little guys.

Other than that the highlight for me was Cross Vegas - I wasn’t thrilled with the set up.  It was harder to get beer and to traverse the course, but the crowd looked the same size even though Lance totally flaked out this year (pansy.)   It was the best race I have seen there as two up and comers took the bull by the horns and shook up the US Cross Pros.  Local Sac boy Chris Jones took it to the pack early and worked with Jamey Driscoll to stay away for the entire race and land himself a second place spot on the podium.   With Wicks going all Mtn bking and the Jacque Mayniac’s focusing on the road it was sweet to have a NorCal boy on the podium at a big event.

In other news….

The news of Frank Vandenbrouckes death caught me by surprise.  I figured he would be kicking around forever, making me giggle with his silly euro hair, and crazy new teams, and running naked through the yards of his Belgian neighbors.  Underneath the drama and drugs was a sick man.  It is hard to think of the Euro Stars as real people.  The recent plight of Chad Gerlach was even more surprising and sad.  For one Gerlach is local, and we have all heard about his heroic performances the last  year.  There is not small amount of satisfaction we take in watching our local pro’s excell and succed.  Secondly the story was inspiring.  For anybody that has battled the demons Gerlach had seemingly overcome it was a survivors tale that looked like it could give Lance a run for his money.  The reality is, the set backs, and losses when dealing with addiction, mental health issues, and just regular life for that matter - outweigh the victories.  For talented athletes who have such a propensity to win such challenges must appear easy, yet prove impossible.  A quote from the Sacremento Bee’s article which broke the story stood out  ‘Local drug counselor David Husid sees little hope for the fallen champ. “Until he… realizes he’s just an average guy, he’s never going to figure it out.”

As the news broke there was a lot of shock, and what can be interpreted as hope for recovery, in the NorCal cycling community.  While the comeback started out as a great story the real win for Gerlach will be if he can find a more solid anchor for his life in his young new family.

Drugs, drugs, drugs…. I found it interesting that these stories were breaking around the same time as the AFLD announced “incongruous substances” found in medical equipment, which has lead to a broader investigation by French authorities.   The phrase “French authorities” always makes me giggle since they seem to be more willing to make a fuss, but less willing to indict anybody than the Spanish authorities.  I will give it to the Italians, CONI, at least they seem to be going after anybody when they get on the trail of somebody they think was a doper.  With all that in mind, I am still pondering how to weigh harmony in cycling vs. exposing cheaters.   The focus on Astana strikes me as a red herring since Bruyneel’s trade craft is so strong i find it unlikely that his team would get busted by equipment they turned over in a public waste disposal mechanism.  Since AFLD’s revelation did not seem to have an immediate point, other than to embarras the UCI, i can only assume it is part of some long complicated plot being developed to catch Lance Armstrong in a lie.