All last week Hernando and his paramour were trying to goad me into writing a retraction on my Bontrager-Livestrong opinions.  Mostly because they are master shit talkers, but also because the Bontrager Boys hit it hard at Gila went to the presses saying how their stage win and third GC proved they can compete in the big leagues. I started to craft a clever reply that went like this…

1. I like the boys.  Dombrowski’s got big ones.
2. It proves nothing

Then the thing that bothered me the most is how the Bontrager Tifosi were handling them with kid gloves.  The whole time that i was crafting this clever, witty, spectacular reply in my head I kept thinking about Peter Sagan.  The dude is only 22, very close in age to the Bontrager boys.  He was probably brought up by parents who lived through crazy soviet style, WARSAW Pact country, depravity.  Their desperation likely drove them to genetically enhance their offspring through arranged marriages at the “sporting college” of their particular region.  When i see Peter Sagan come to the Tour of California as a ProTour veteran at the age of 22, with several major wins under his belt, winning with apparent ease, on an italian team no less – a team which probably makes him eat rice and water for dinner – he doesn’t strike me as a boy in any sense. When he wins one of these US races, which seem to suit him for some reason, he has that look I’ve seen on lots of Eastern Europeans in the US.  Kind of like…”This place is nice! Everything is so easy… i can take what i want and nobody can stop me.”  He’s a Merckx/Scarface hybrid, riding a Cannondale of all things.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that Bontrager-Livestrong did well at Gila.  Frankly – Joe Dombraski is quickly becoming my personal favorite.  He chimed in on the NCCN comments section to tell me i was full of shit, and then went on to get third overall at Gila with several big rides.  Ian Boswell’s ride at the U23 Liege also impressed me, but he was already a NCCN favorite since he’s the current king of Nevada City, one of the coolest races in the world.  Lawson Craddocks win at Gila was a major surprise, i figured he would be a junior that faded into obscurity – I got that one wrong… i hope.

Still, is it fair to match up a bunch of awesome US U23 guys against the worlds best like Boonen, Horner, and Sagan?  I don’t think so.  Sticking the boys onto other Pro Tour teams would be a better experience for them, especially since they will most likely be in the worker roles they will have to fight out of once they make the leap.  These guys have not had a reality check yet like many of the 30 year old pro’s who make up the domestic peloton.  Most guys get into cycling thinking the goal is the Tour De France, to quickly find out the goal is; can you make a base salary of $16,000 and get married on the winnings your team is ‘supposed’ to split with you at the end of the year.

The riders on Bontrager Livestrong are argueably the best the US has to offer, so don’t coddle them.  Expect a lot from them.  I expect them to be taking on Sagan.  That’s success.  Not finishing a fucking protour race. Wait till they go to Belgium or Italy for a full year, and god forbid they become a race contender.  Over there they will be fodder for the gossip columns if they have any success or meltdowns.  I even think that while sticking a U23 team into a pro-tour race is a mistake, it’s great the Bontrager-Livestrong was willing to pony up the cash and, i’m speculating here, likely waive the Armstrong “personal appearance” fee as part of the entry package.  That’s serious sponsor commitment.

But let me throw my disappointment in US teams a little more broadly. Sadly – at least Bontrager-Livestrong is noticeable on camera. From the video feed it looks Bissell the only American team riding this race! I suppose Exergy can drop out since they actually got a podium, but the rest seem to be hurting.  The most news that Optum Health has made is when they asked to review the film of the sprint for Stage 3 into Livermore.  BMC seems to be loosing riders every day.  They must have a case of the whiney-prima donnas.  United Healthcare is in there, and I assume they are just saving bullets to try and get Sutherland into the 10 ten.  I think we could create a drinking game about the number of times that Matt Busche (Radi0Shack) falls off his bike.  You’ll be drunk by 2 PM.  If they don’t have the ability to contend for a victory the American teams should be in the long break every day.  Take a cure from the French at LeTour… if you can’t win, get on camera.

Anyway… back to my point about not coddling the youth and domestic riders.  For every Phinney there is a Matthew Kelly.  Raise your expectations, be hard on the riders when they come in second, harder when they crash out, and encouraging when they are surviving with the protour in the laughing group.  There aren’t any ribbons for participation anymore so grow the fuck up people.  To me this means Bontrager-Livestrong, and the rest of the domestic teams, will prove they deserve to be in the Amgen Tour of California when they win a stage.  Nothing less will suffice.*

Time to pony up American teams.  Peter Sagan holds you in contempt and is taking candy from you like your a baby.  No more of this wait for the TT BS.  Go win something.

 *I’m calling this the “Hinault Gambit.” In 1985 Lemond threw away his chances at a tour victory to help teammate Bernard Hinault who promised to help Lemond win the next year. Then come 1986, when it was Lemond’s turn, Hinault took a full tilt run at the race later insisting his efforts were to demoralize the competition and inspire Lemond.  When Lemond won, Hinault insisted his efforts were part of the success.  I’m not sure Lemond saw it that way, but there is a certain historical perspective that, if you squint really, really hard, makes it look like he could be right. 

This long-running, classic event is a 30-Km loop that circumnavigates the San Pablo and Briones reservoirs. The course has more than 2,700m of elevation gain for each lap with a 1,500m, 7% uphill finish. The day started out overcast and cool with the sun starting to break through, at least at the finish line, on the very latter laps. There were only Mens categories racing at this year’s event; concession was extended to the Mariposa Women’s Stage Race taking place the same weekend.

In the race for Men Pro-1-2, Chuck Hutcheson (Marc Pro-Strava) was away on a first-lap solo break as he started down from “Mama Bear” on Bear Creek Road. His gap was close to 60 seconds but that was too early for this 143-km race. At half distance, fellow Mar Pro-Strava team mate Keith Hillier got away on a two-racer breakaway with Colin Daw (Fremont Bank). “About 40 miles in we got a break, a pretty successful one,” reported Hillier, “[We] worked together. The break was at 5 minutes for a while. At the finish here we were both pretty gassed.” Hillier admitted Daw conceded the win allowing Hillier to cross the finish line first well ahead. With officials reporting a 3-minute gap between the break and the field on the final lap, Daw’s hold on second place was secure.

Daw and Hillier on their breakaway

The next two places went to California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized team mates Torey Philipp in third and Stephen Leece in fourth. Taylor Bertrand-Barrett (Red Peleton) crossed the finish line in fifth. Despite fielding seven racers, Team Mike’s Bikes were less successful than their previous outings. During the race, the black, yellow, and blue kit did not appear as cohesive as they have in the past, particularly at criteriums.

Daw and Hillier looking for a time check as they start the bell lap

Hillier wins ahead of a distant Daw

We are so very, very saddened to report of the death of Suzanne Rivera at the Mariposa Stage Race.  We extend our deepest sympathies to Suzanne’s friends and family.

We forward her teammates’ sentiments of this tragedy.
-michael hernandez

It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write to you this sad news. Today, B4T9 teammate Suzanne Rivera passed away as a result of a crash at the Mariposa Women’s Stage Race. Suzanne was a friend, a bike racer, a mother, a wife, an athlete and an amazing fun, spirited woman who we all enjoyed immensely.
Although new to our team, Suzanne fit in well, was always smiling and encouraged others. We as a team and as individuals are heartbroken, devastated and sad beyond words that could be written at the loss of Suzanne. Our thoughts and prayers are with Suzanne, her family and friends on this most anguishing day and for the difficult days they face ahead.
I personally, and all of the team, want to express our gratitude to the nurses, racers and friends who gave their all on site to administer every life saving measure possible. Everyone was courageous in their effort.
Thank you for your support, prayers and thoughts for the family and friends of Suzanne at this difficult time.
Details of services will be posted at a later date.
With great sadness,
Jill and the B4T9 Team members, sponsors and supporters.

Suzanne Rivera (B4T9) "Competing hard and having the time of her life." - Jill Gass

12 May 2012
Mariposa Women’s Stage Race
Day 2 – Groveland Hillclimb and the Greeley Hill Road Race

Updated Report – added top-five results for the hill-climb.

Stage 2 – Groveland Hillclimb
Starting from a graffiti-covered bridge, this 6.9-mile course climbs 640m (2,100 feet) along Wards Ferry toward Groveland. There is a short dip just after the first mile that turns through a narrow bridge. At mile 3, there is another downhill section that is one-half mile in length. The remainder of the course has but a few short downhill sections and most of the reports from racers suggest these few were used for recovery.

Kelly Crowley (Primal/Map my Ride) won the Women Pro-1-2 race. “[The race] went hard right from the beginning. I kept on going as hard as I could,” said Crowley, “I didn’t really do much attacking. That climb is so long, I just tried to ride hard but not too hard.”

At the two-mile mark, Crowley was leading in a group of five along with Nicole Justice (Steven’s Bike p/b Pactimo), Ellen Sherrill (Metromint Cycling), Johanna Trueblood (RED Racing), and Amanda Seigle (Metromint Cycling). Sherrill and Siegle were first to drop off. “We were down to three,” continued Crowley, “I knew there was someone on my wheel. I didn’t even bother to turn around and see who it was. I just wanted to stay in my zone [and] keep on going. At a kilometer to go, she disappeared. I didn’t think I hit the gas too hard but maybe I did.”

Crowley said she just kept going and crossed the line in first, some 15 seconds ahead of Trueblood in second. Justice finished in third place another 12 seconds back. Despite a late flat, Sherrill took fourth place followed by Rikke Preisler (Metromint Cycling) in fifth.

Kelly Crowley (Primal) on her way to winning the Groveland Hillclimb

Stage 3 – Greeley Hill Road Race
This circuit race was on a five-mile triangular loop following a short promenade. It was a tough race with the warm, sunny afternoon and a significant fraction of the elevation gain occurring within the final kilometer of each lap. One rough section of road is reminiscent of the course for Copperopolis.

“We [had] a big team here,” commented Molly Van Houweling of Metromint Cycling, “We, coming in to this stage, had been out-climbed by a couple of really great climbers. We had some catching up to do on GC. So we figured we would use our numbers to make the race as hard as we possibly could. We didn’t want to settle for where we were on GC.”

As the race developed, Van Houweling got away later in the 10-lap race while many of her teammates were at the head of the trailing field. At two-to-go, Van Houweling had stretched her lead beyond 2 minutes and she was able to stay ahead for the win by a margin of 2 minutes and 58 seconds. Rikke Preisler (Metromint Cycling) won the field sprint for second whilst Ellen Sherrill made it a Metromint one-two-three after just reaching the line ahead of Nicole Justice.

A grateful Van Houweling was full of praise for her teammates. “Everyone took part in that. That made it possible finally for me after we all put in lots of attacks. We just kept at it until I finally got off.” Van Houweling went on to say she was tired and feared strong racers would get together in the pack, “But I also knew that my teammates would be back there looking out for me.”

Molly Van Houweling and Metromint Cycling Win the Greeley Hill Road Race