NorCal Cycling News

Read-up and follow along with the next generation of superstars:

I am Peter Taylor and I raced Paris-Roubaix juniors today. This is probably the most prestigious one day race for juniors in the world: 122k and the last 80 miles of the pro course against the best juniors in the world. Before the race the U.S team junior team director gave us our battle orders. Stay up front, protect Lawson Craddock and Nor Cal’s very own Ryan Eastman and hit the first cobbled section in the front.

The race started with all its craziness. Junior races in Europe are sketchy, every rider wants to be at the front and most will do anything to get there.

Coming into the first cobbled section I was near the back, due to a string of bad lack and near crashes for 5k. Over the first few cobbled sections riders in front of me got gapped off and I spent much of the first half of the race chasing back to the ever diminishing pack. Fortunately this put me in good position to tow back team leader and one of the best juniors in the world, Lawson Cradock, to the lead group.

Many riders opted to ride in the gutter. Many of them got flats or crashed when they got their tires stuck. I opted to ride every cobbled section to avoid crashes and move up. The race split up quickly over cobbled sections 6,5,4,3 and 2. I found myself in a small group with teammates Ryan Eastman and Jaun Carmona entering the city of Roubaix while teammate Lawson Cradock was up the road in a four man break with the World Champion Jasper Stuyvens. We entered the stadium and Ryan sprinted to take the group win for 13th and I took 17th. Lawson Cradock took 3rd behind the World Champion Jasper Stuyvens. The entire team including David Kessler and Mathew Lisbscomb finished, a feat that only 66 of the 120 or so starters managed. This is an amazing improvement on the last time the U.S raced with only 1 finisher.

After the race we got to see Cancellara come into the velodrome solo. What a perfect way to finish a wonderful day au Enfer du Nord.

[thanks, Lyman!]

Collin Samaan & Phillip Snodgrass … chasing the pro dream

Two of the U-23 riders from the Wells Fargo Racing Team are heading over to Belgium to compete in euro-races this spring and summer.  Though we’ll miss their animating presence on the Norcal circuit for a couple months, we wish them well in their pursuit of the pro contract.

These are young men with great stories ~ Collin survived a near fatal, coma-inducing car incident when he was 15-years old.  He builds everyday to repair from a serious head injury and has shown more and more these past 2 years that he has what it takes to be in the professional ranks.

Phillip dropped everything and transplanted himself from to Norcal to pursue his dream of riding with the pros.  His is a story of sacrifice and desire … exactly the ingredients needed for a rider to make the jump into the big leagues.

For those with a few bucks banging around and want to be a part of making Norcal the continued breeding ground of American and Euro pros … please help the Wells Fargo Racing team send Collin Samaan & Phillip Snodgrass to Belgium this spring/summer.  Donations, however modest, will be very much appreciated and can be made via PayPal at www.c4racing.org.

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TIBCO goodies for sale

Saturday ~ April 10th from 9am to 1pm

Los Altos, 1577 Fairway Drive … take advantage of some incredible deals on equipment, clothing, wheels & bikes … hell, all things cycling.

The TIBCO professional team will be making room for their 2010 stock, so if you’re not racing until the afternoon, or get done at o’dark AM with your efforts … make the short drive over to Los Altos and pick up some super pimp TIBCO swag.

Bring your cash and grab some supernew stuff at sillysweet prices.
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Saturday Racings galore …

Well, our region has decided to stock 6 tons of racing into this first full-fledged weekend of April.  Yeppers, the season has finally begun in earnest, yo.

CCCX will be hosting the final circuit race of the series on Saturday … and for anyone who has ever kicked up dirt in the CCCX boyz cross or mtb finals, they know that they throw one helluva good party.

If you’re on the southern side of things and don’t want to drive over the bridges or through canyons d’ America … take the quick the jaunt down 101S and hit a safe, cool and closed course for a good strong workout.  You might even grab some cool prizes or a beer, or two.
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And if you’re up north, you’ll be able to choose between two races in beautiful Santa Rosa or wine-ly Napa.

The Santa Rosa Apple Pie crit is for those who want the serious, high-octane speed training in their legs as we prep for the first big classic crit sessions of the season.  Santa Rosa is a solid corporate course that offers a chance to work on your attacking endurance or kilo-watt field sprints.  I’ll be there with the camera, so be sure to smile through the pain.

Napa is offering reverse win-n-outs for all classes … hopefully it will be safe and sound. If you don’t know how to race one of these, head over to Santa Rosa for training.  But if you’re interested in trying out a challenging format and want a crack at some decent prize money ~ Napa’s your game.  But remember, no finish line celebrations at Napa …
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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Menlo Park Grand Prix … it’s one of the few announcing gigs I’m going to be doing this year and am getting pretty damn amped for it.  It’s a good long finishing straight out of a quick left-right setup, so should be excellent drama for primes and field sprints.

VeloGirls always chocks good chunks of primes for fields, so bring the fast wheels out to Menlo Park and get ready to have your name screamed across the peninsula.
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Or, if you’re genetically pre-conditioned against crits … there’s a challenging climberfest up in Sonoma County with the Spring Hill Road Race.  They’ve got good money for prizes and lots of scenery for you to suck in while suffering.  Pre-reg only for this event.
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See you at the races this weekend.

Locals shine under chilly, thundery skies

It seems there’s rarely an edition of Copper that doesn’t have a few majestic professionals taking part to prep themselves for later season grandeur by storming the training log with gear-wrenching climbs, windswept pursuits, and frame jarring descents.  From li’Levi getting ready for L’Tour to big Jacques-Maynes stomping his way up the NRC rankings … there’s almost always a turbo showing up to blow exhaust over the regional riders in this Norcal classic.  Oh, the bitterness of recollecting the only year I’d ever had a stone’s throw of a chance at winning the elite race … looking back and seeing world champ Felipe Meirhaeghe crushing up the climb to swallow my hailmary attack. He was popped for EPO two weeks later at Sea Otter … douchebag.

But not this year.  This year was a battle of the Norcal regulars ~ the up and comers, the grizzled veterans to fight it out for a year’s worth of bragging rights for taking the first big crown of the season, the epic … the classic, Copperopolis.

Lap 1 ~ setup and sitdown

With 105 miles on order, those who take the first lap flyers are either insane, or just insanely fit.  CalGiant’s Steve Reaney is, of course, both.  But what he is mostly, is one helluva team rider.  Reaney threw himself out in front of the race all day long, knifing away at the front end of the race to keep the pro1,2 peloton on the defensive from the get-go.  Yahoo! Cycling was equally represented in courage and strategy by Philip Mooney.

Mooney and Reaney are fascinating contradictions in style.  Mooney will crack a joke and giggle to himself like a 12-year old as he spins an elegant 1000 watts, while you rarely see Reaney smile unless he’s contentedly chewing on some poor cat 2’s thigh.

There was a solid group of 6 riders off the front starting the lap 2 climb in the men’s race: Reaney, Mooney, Echelon G-Fondo’s Nate English, Bahati Foundation’s Morgan Ryan, Erick Pierce of Los Gatos, and ThirstyBear’s Eric Kimbles. The chasing pack was riding with steady conviction, and thus, dwindling on every ascent.  Leading the charge were riders from Morgan Stanley, ALA-Lombardi, and Above Category Racing.  The next two laps would see groupings and regroupings at the front until finally it was down to an elite group of 5 left at the business end of the race.

United Healthcare’s Max Jenkins and CalGiant’s Jesse Moore would join the original breakaway hardmen of English, Reaney, and Mooney.  This quintet would power away from the pack, with all other riders scrambling to finish, or finish ahead of others.  But, the final 20 miles were to be fought out amongst these 5 quality riders, all homegrown talents from the Norcal.  Satisfying indeed!

Beginning the final climb, it would be Reaney leading Moore and Mooney up the feedzone, powering up the choppy, rutted false flat.  There were no smiles left from Mooney, but Jesse Moore had the look of a cat licking lips in front of a canary cage.  Up the climb and across the plateau, Moore would soar away from the race and finish with a glide to the line.  Mooney would hang on for a solid, brave 2nd ~ with Reaney overtaken by English and Jenkins to finish off the day’s work in 5th.

Great race.
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Women … chips all in

The p1/2 women’s field was chock full of all the local bombadeers we’ve grown to love over these first few months of the season.  The odds on favorite had to be Metromint’s flying ace, Molly Van Houweling.  MVH had the form and momentum to vie for a Copperopolis title, hot off her GC win last weekend in the Topsport Stage Race, as well as nabbing the final road stage.   But it was a strong contingent of Touchstone Climbing women who were on hand Saturday, led in spirit and strategy by the return of Kelly McDonald to the Norcal scene … showing that ‘retirement’ is a word not able to sit long in the vocabulary of most cyclists.

The first lap was very mild for the p1/2 women, with Metromint confident of the climbing abilities of MVH on the final 2 laps and perhaps Touchstone not willing to drill it after losing their big engine, Marley Smith, to what must have been a mechanical early in the race.  Coming through the feedzone to begin lap 2, it would be the p1/2 field riding steady, cat-n-mouse pace ~ with the cat 3 field leaders but a scant few seconds behind, and Marley Smith pounding away in solo pursuit well over a minute behind that.

The women’s cat 3 field showed, once again, that Norcal is developing more and more talent for the near and long-term future of US cycling.  Luna triathlon professional, Tyler Stewart would press the pace for the entire 63 mile event in the 3s, throttling her lithe frame up the steeps and forcing a relentless pace through the winds and across the flats of Copperopolis.  Stewart will likely upgrade to the p1/2 field after this weekend, and she very much has a future in women’s professional cycling, if she desires it.

As a former iron-distance triathlete myself, I know the beauty of solitude that the sport offers … the challenge, the inner battles, the epic accomplishment. But cycling is a world unto itself, a universe apart … a set of challenges so diverse and intricate that once you are set on that path, it is near impossible to step off.  Hopefully, Stewart will be able to convince Luna that women’s road cycling is another solid marketing step for the line of Clif products.

Joining Stewart, and equally as possessed in driving the pace of their lead group was Beth Newell (Bell Lap Sh*t-talkers), Marian Jamison (Touchstone Climbing), Francesca Barsamian (Wells Fargo), and Susan Lannoo (Bella Fiore).  These women powered across a 5-minute gap to catch and pass many of the p1/2 women’s field.  Strength and grit … and good signs for the future of Norcal cycling.  Stewart would eventually take a solo victory, with Newell outsprinting Jamison for 2nd and Barsamian ahead of Lanoo rounding out the top-5.

But in the p1/2, the cat and mouse tactics came to an abrupt end on lap 2 of the race.  Touchstone’s Mary Maroon shot off the front of the race and made a courageous solo effort for the win.  Pounding through the feedzone, Maroon was the picture of agony … chewing on her bars, mashing gears ~ a model of willpower and suffering endured.  It would be Metromint’s MollyVH next in solo pursuit, profiting from her teammate Amanda Seigle’s massive detonation of the field on the backside climb of the course.

“From wimp to pimp”

Maroon would have a 45 second gap on MVH starting the climb on the final lap.  The two would connect and ride together over the flats to set up a big showdown on the backside hill and descent into the Copperopolis finish.  It was an especially sweet moment for these two riders, as both recalled with painful clarity that it was but a few years ago that they were both off the back of this same race. But this year, these two women were off the front and dueling it out for the win.

MVH would put in a superb final climb and accelerate away from Maroon by 40 seconds over the crest of the hill.  But it would be Maroon who would put in a colossal effort of strength and daring to throw herself down the descent, chasing like a demon, a banshee, a woman possessed.  At the finish line, the crowds could easily pick out the two riders, the distinct polka dots of MVH ahead of the low, powering form of Maroon … impossibly rocketing across the gap.

“Go Molly”

“Go Mary”

Yelled from all sides, and often from the same sources ~ as all present would have been pleased to see either woman come across the line first.  But it was MVH, in full grimace and with a heroic final hundred meters that fended off Maroon’s improbable chase.

What a race, what a race.

Behind would be Metromint’s Jane Robertson sprinting past a very, very strong effort by Third Pillar’s Jazzy Hurinko, with Nicole Dolney leading a trio of Touchstone climbers in Heather Pryor and Marley Smith.
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Masters wins came in the form of Dan Bryant over Chris Phipps for the men’s 35+, Michael Pugh just grabbing a tight 45+ sprint over Michael O’Rourke,  and Mark Caldwell winning the 55+ over Peter Taylor.  Linda Elgart would capture the women’s master race against a solid field of competitors.

In Juniors racing, incredible efforts were put forth by Andreas Freund of the Davis Bike Club in the 17-18 field, and Zeke Mostov of SJBC in the 13-14 division.  Jack Maddux of Specialized would lead in a powerful chase to try and capture Mostov … but, what a solo effort by the young man from San Jose to stay away and earn the win.  Great racing in the junior ranks.

Perennial rockstar, Katrina Howard took another win in the 13-14 for the women … and it’s amazing to believe how many years this young lady has been dicing it up on the cycling circuit.  If she wants it and commits to it, this young woman will be the next Ina Teutenberg … count on it.

Tyler Williams (AIAGE/Grimway Farms) would speed away from talented Alexander Freund (Davis Bike Club) and year-round racer Isaiah Rapko (Above Category Racing) for the win in the men’s 15-16.  Tieni Duro’s Page Robertson would easily win the women’s 15-16, while Elisabeth Scheder-Beschin would take victory in the 17-18 over Taylor Meilahn.

Bunch of my .
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Next up ~Santa Rosa’s Apple Pie Crits and the HippStar Menlo Park Grand Prix … see you there!
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May 22-23 … all you need to get comfortable with no brakes

2010 Women’s Track Clinic @ Hellyer Velodrome

Now, it is true that I speak from a world of bias … as someone who has a deep and forever-bound love for the art and drama of track racing ~ however, I can assert with some pretty damn strong confidence that people who ride the velodrome become better, safer, and faster riders out on the road.

Riding the velodrome implants a greater understanding of bike handling, the reasons and consequences of lateral movement of riders, how to become adept at sensing and avoiding overlapping wheels, and … of course, how to build yourself a better sprint.

This May, master’s national champ Annabell Holland will join Beth Newell (3 top-10’s at 2009 Elite Track Nationals) to provide 20 lucky women a chance to get introduced to all things fixed gear. This is the second year of the Women’s Track Clinic … and if you’ve ever had an inkling to check out velodrome riding ~ don’t miss this opportunity.

Track riding breeds finesse on the bike.  It teaches you how to increase your vision while riding and how to become more fluid in your ability to process and predict the action of bike racing.  Fixed gear riding promotes a smoother pedalstroke and allows you to realize that increasing your efficiency on a bike will provide you much more speed and power than trying to increase pure strength.

Get yourself to this clinic … and you’ll find that you’ll be wanting to get yourself a cheap fixed gear bike to add to your road riding fun.  Toss a brake on for safety out on the roads, and get to pedaling fixed … it’ll change your whole perspective on bike riding.

Register now! Only 20 spots for the weekend.

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The day is heavy with news

Jeremy Regalado was killed Sunday in a freak electrical accident while setting up for Sunday’s Velopromo race.  Many of you will have taken a neutral bottle feed from this fine young man over the last couple years - his generous hand reaching out, a sunburned face from long hours out on the roads to assist cyclists. Or, you may have been directed in a helpful way where to ride safely, where to park your car … or been smiled at as you registered to race your bicycle.

Jeremy was smart and funny … and was skirting around the idea of getting into race announcing.  Last year we joked about it lightly, treading softly around the subject as it’s always hard to nurture something that will put a person out in the open … to be judged.  But the seed was in him … and it was sprouting ~ because he had the talent.

And this year … in the early road races ~ seeing him out there, seeing the sparkle in his eyes.  We would have had him.  We would have had another ‘lifer’ in our sport … not someone who races, but someone who loves racing.  Someone who sees the beauty in our sport and wants to contribute … to the community.

You will be missed, Jeremy.  You will be missed.

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Landpark thoughts …

I am a huge fan of the Landpark Criterium … it’s been around for years, draws a great mix of new and elder riders, and offers a course design that begs for streetbrawl racing tactics.  It’s a wide-open sufferfest ready for speed.

The women’s racing was fantastic last weekend - in both the 4s and 1,2,3s events.  Alissa Maglaty of Early Bird Women’s Development Program took a very close field sprint over Lisa Tupper of Metromint in the cat 4 race. The EB program is headed by Laurel Green … and it’s producing fantastic results, with women not only learning how to race well ~ but having a damn good time doing it.  Kudos to yet another good (and model) program being run here in NorCal.

The cat 4 race was chock full of attacks and strong chases, tense tactics, and late race drama.  Team Bicycle Trip/Symantec’s Michele Heaton put in a very strong late move to try and solo away, but Team iPass would be diligent in the chase and set up for a spine-tingler of a field sprint.Good, safe, fast racing.

New(ell) kids on the block … NorCal is going places

The Women’s 1,2,3 crit at Landpark was fantastic for spectators and showed again that NorCal is THE hotspot for women’s racing in America.  Young riders like Larissa Fitchett, Amy Chandos, Brianna Hand and a slew more were out and pounding the pavement in Sactown last Sunday.

Larissa Fitchett was very noteworthy for gobbling up a couple of primes during the race and being active in multiple attacks and breakaway attempts.  Fitchett is one of those riders with fire in her belly ~ the type of rider that shows courage and bravado.  A rider who will be a fan favorite because of her … panache.  Her UCDavis collegiate racing partner, Amy Chandos, has been getting stronger and more saavy each time I see her race, and I feel that this is a rider who has a significant amount of untapped power in her legs. It will be quite interesting to track these two emerging stars in the near future. But the big stories of the Landpark criterium were the powerful displays put on by Alison Starnes, the Metromint team, Wells Fargo’s Emily Kachorek, and Beth Newell.

To put it bluntly … Ali Starnes rode her ass off.  We must remember that it was but a couple years ago that Starnes was the winner of the Cat 4 Bariani Cup … and now she’s on one of the biggest, most powerful professional squads in the United States.  It is extremely beneficial for Starnes to be racing events like Landpark, because they offer her chances to learn more about how to race bikes in different situations … how to read riders, how to time attacks, how to FIND ways to win.

As a pro with TIBCO … most of her hours in races are spent slaving away under team directives.  But thankfully, with the shitcanning of race radios, she’ll have more opportunity to learn how to race instead of being ordered how to race.  And it’s events like Landpark that give her chances to experiment, risk, and learn.  Kudos for killing it out there, Starnes.

Metromint absolutely threw themselves at the Bariani/Landpark weekend, constantly on the accelerator … and it was beautiful to watch.  Jane Robertson fought every millimeter during the final 200meters of the field sprint at Landpark, just edging out a very fast finishing Emily Kachorek.  Kachorek was stellar again in showing that she has the instincts and resilience to be in move after move during a criterium.  She timed her attacks well and responded instantly to dangerous accelerations out of the field.  It was very surprising that a breakaway didn’t shatter out of the women’s field last Sunday … but offering good evidence of how strong and deep the startlist was, as speeds remained high and all were hungry for results.

Jane Robertson’s powerful final 5 pedalstrokes kept her ahead of Kachorek, but were unable to close the distance on the surprise winner of the Landpark Criterium, cat 3 rider Beth Newell.  Beth has been working very hard on her acceleration … and it showed in spades as she sensed a slight hesitation from the front of the field with 300meters to go and instantly rocketed up the side, full-tilt and with utter commitment.

Newell’s strike left the field shocked, instantly opening up a dozen bike lengths on the group as she powered to the line.  Phenomenal move made by the track rider as she continues to progress in the road, as well.

Men’s racing … all about aggression

Chad Gerlach was the winner again in the 30+ field for the men, but it would be a crash in the later p1/2 race that would shock us all.  Gerlach is recovering strongly from the spill and will be out making his daughter proud again soon.  Alex Holtz put in a good showing for second in the masters race, with the powerful Safeway squad getting another podium with Michael O’Rourke.

The 45+ crit was another victory for Safeway, with Gregg Betonte taking the win over Vince Gee of Mellow Johnny’s and Clover’s John O’Niell.  The 55+ field saw a Morgan Spinely packing of the podium with Brian Fessenden, Mark Caldwell, and Joe Saunders going 1,2,3.

The p1/2 event finally saw Webcor/Alto Velo taking a big win in 2010 … with Rand Miller forcing a late break in the event and seeing fit to come out on top.  Joe Iannarelli continues to impress and nabbed a silver on the day behind Miller.  The 22-year old Clif rider has been consistently in the action and is showing an increasing diversity of skills on the road.  He will be a rider to watch.  Max Polin finished on the podium just ahead of the old campaigner, Peter Knudsen.  Knudsen has seen his share of NRC events in the past, and it is very satisfying to have another quality mind out there in NorCal showing the rising stars how to mix it up.

Topsport Stage Race

Molly Van Houweling did it.  The Metromint rider attacked the final road race stage of the Topsport challenge … even though she was ahead on time in the GC.  Her ferocity was rewarded with an overall title and two very satisfying stage wins.  Kachorek took the circuit race field sprint ahead of Dolce Vita’s Kate Ligler and Janelle Kellman.

Roman Kilun was leading the men’s race by a scant couple seconds going into the difficult final road race stage by taking first in the time trial … and then was able to win the road race as well, securing the overall win.  The circuit race was won by young Andrew Goessling of Lombardi’s … and excellent showing, indeed.

Copperopolis awaits … and then we get crits

Yes, the classic has come.  It’s the NorCal’s epic spring slugfest … and nothing has changed about this beautifully painful race.  The roads are just as choppy, the descents every bit as butt-clencherific, and the climbs haven’t gotten any less angry as they smack down cyclists who aren’t willing to bleed for it.

Copperopolis is one of the crown jewels in the NorCal calendar … and if you’ve never taken been a part of this event … now is the time.

Crits galore!

And then the following week we have a slew of criteriums on hand.  Leading the charge is the Hippstar Menlo Park Grand Prix.  I’ll be out announcing at Menlo Park, and look forward to screaming out your name to the sky.  Menlo is a great location with pleasant grass to hunker down in and spectate as riders kick their engines into overdrive on this wide-open throttlefest of a course.

And on Saturday, you have the Apple Pie classic to race up in Santa Rosa … an always fast and safe course put on by the cool folks at Colavita & NorCal Racing.  There’s also a crit in Napa and a CCCX circuit race in Monterey to choose from on the day.  Lot of racing for one day in NorCal….

TIBCO sale April 10th … great bargains

Pro teams periodically sell off their slightly used stuff to the public as they make way for the new product bike companies want them displaying and advertising.

These sales are very cool and if you haven’t heard about the amazing deals offered by the TIBCO team … now is the time to check it out.

April 10th from 9am to 1pm in Los Altos, 1577 Fairway Drive … time it between your trips to the Menlo Park Grand Prix and take advantage of some incredible deals on equipment, clothing, wheels & bikes … hell, all things cycling.

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see you out there ~ be safe, have fun … go fast.

San Dimas drama

One look at Mara Abbott and there’s an indication that this is a woman who wants to go uphill … fast.  The new recruit for the PBdozen indicated in a recent Cyclingnews article that it’s the ability to remain grounded to home&community and inclusion on a squad that allows for individual quirkdom that she found attractive in the offer from her new team.

If there’s one thing that M’Abbott can do ~ it’s give a powerfully good interview.  She’s press savvy in a way that makes you want to cheer for her not only as a quality racer, but also as a plain ‘ole coolio cat from the homestead.
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InaT the Barbarian went into the San Dimas Stage Race’s final criterium down about 90 seconds on Mara Abbott.  Abbott’s team had slaved themselves like Spartacans the day before to protect her GC lead over the grueling, hot and dirty circuit race that ensnares itself around corporate parking lots and crawls over the mini-mansion’d hills of north Los Angeles.  Team Vera Bradley’s Alexis Rhodes was a rockstar off the front all day long, punishing herself enough to get a solid hold on the sprinter’s jersey and throwing her new team on to the national map in their first outing of the year.  And it was very cool to see Colavita-Bici get their first win of the season early with the fine sprinting form of Kelly Benjamin.  Everybody played out there on the day.

But this race was a battle between the youth and ambition of the PB&Js vs the experience and devouring desire of HTC’s Ina Tuetenberg.  What a show, what a show.  And to say that San Dimas set up an incredibly fascinating Redlands Stage Race this weekend is an understatement, indeed.  Ina showed not only her tenacity and fitness, but also gave a textbook display on tactical ability.  She waited until halfway through the criterium … working with her teammate Evelyn Stevens to scare the PB&J’s into burning themselves up early with high tempo and sprint efforts to protect Abbott’s lead against time bonuses

… and then the Ina struck.

Anyone who has seen this woman race knows she has an acceleration that claps like a thundergod.  She can explode a race in 5 pedalstrokes … and her many years of racing against the best have taught her not only how to use that power, but when.  TIBCO’s Meredith Miller, Vera Bradley’s Robin Farina, and Colavita-Bici’s Carmen Small joined her in the move, but it would be Ina going solo for the final 4 laps that would give her the win in the crit, and take away the GC from Abbott.   What a race.

The young PBdozen will take a great lesson from San Dimas … with nothing to hang heads about when one of the best cyclists in the world just plain whoops you.
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Bariani RR … now that’s racing

The women’s field at Bariani was packed with good strong teams and every single one of them amp’d and willing to launch off the front of the race.  From lap 1 on, the teams were sending riders out on the attack, the speeds of the peloton shedding riders every few miles like a good sufferfest should.

It was Metromint, Touchstone, ThirdPillar, and WellsFargo who were the strongest teams in effect … and each had their heroines mashing and bashing to set something up for a winning effort.  Molly Van Houweling was the day’s crusher … off the front for most the 2nd half of the race in move after move … especially impressive since she’d done a time trial that morning as warmup (yoinks! that’s fitness, folks).

But it would be individual riders who would have big impressions upon the race.  TIBCO’s Alison Starnes would be in her 2nd race of the day @ Bariani … and at the front of the field in critical moments ~ inspiring the others to chase or accompany her as much as possible.  The weekend was good experience for the young Starnes ~ as it is an entirely different race when you’ve got a bigger’n life bulls-eye on your back as a legitimate pro in a regional race.  There is a lot of responsibility put on the shoulders of a rider like that … and it’s good to see that Starnes is on her way to learning how to conduct herself like a pro and accept graciously the heavier burden of racing with all eyes on you.  It makes a rider stronger, and it makes them smarter.

Another individual impacting the race was the Iron-trigeek Tyler Stewart.  She would do a yeoman’s amount of work in chasing down break after break … not yet experienced enough in road racing tactics to know how to get separation from a pack before laying down the power of a burner effort, and absolutely crackers when it comes to knowing how to conduct herself in a field sprint.  But hopefully she’ll get more races under her belt and see the beauty of a real sport.

But it was the V12-engine block of Touchstone Climbing’s Marley Smith who would surprise all and shatter dreams with a final solo acceleration over the KOM as the field was closing in on yet another breakaway attempt led by Molly Van Houweling.  Smith would power a massive gear across the plateau, a dramatic display of determination before swinging left and dropping into the rolling, drag-race finishing 500 meters.  She would take the race with seconds to spare as the field galloped in behind.

Wells Fargo’s Emily Kachorek would take the field sprint, just in front of the developing road rider, Beth Newell.  This was a weekend that would see Kachorek showing again that she is a racer very much rising to the top of the class amongst NorCal road riders.  Kachorek displayed consistent sprinting prowess, an uncanny ability to position herself well in the field, determination and grit to follow and initiate attacks, and a tremendous amount of racing fitness.  This is a quality rider and I hope to see her on top of the Best All-Around standings in the NCNCA soon.

Hard fought win in Bariani … showing this is going to be a tremendous season in NorCal racing.  Can’t wait, can’t wait.

Flickr pictures of &

Landpark Criterium thoughts coming up…

Women’s Racing … stories and dropkicks

I’ll say it straight off the bat - I am not a fan of having multiple fields on criterium courses.  It’s unsafe, it impedes the quality of racing, and it causes scoring nightmares for the officials.  However, one could argue that racing multiple fields on a crit course is the only way to fit in all the categories of our diverse population at a race like Madera.

If that’s the case, then it is absolutely incumbent that the promoter have enough moto officials for the event, AND those moto officials be properly educated on how to avoid fields combining in the final few laps of a race.

The opening stage for women at Madera is a criterium where category 4s and 35+ race  at the same time, and then the p1/2s and 3s do the same a bit later.  In the 4s/35+ race … it was only with the slimmest margins of luck that the cat 4 field didn’t sprint into the back of the 35+ field on the final lap.  It was way, way too close.  Luckily, the 35s revved up the engine just enough to keep a safe separation.  In the p1/2 and 3 fields’ race … that luck ran out, the fields combined with 3 to go ~ the moto tried an unsafe separation in the final laps, and a crash ensued.

There was an easy solution to both instances … in both races, it was evident for the final 7 laps that the fields were getting too close to each other and there was a high potential for overtaking.  To stop this from happening the moto should have neutralized the packs that were behind for just a few moments, creating a gap between the fields that would ensure safety through to the finish, and yet also allow for each field to resume its quality of competition.  At Madera, the moto ref simply did not have the experience or understanding of racing to know to do this.

The moto was responsible for the crash that occurred once the p1/2 and cat 3 fields combined: firstly, because the fields merging could and SHOULD have been avoided; and secondly, because if fields merge in the final few minutes of a race - the safe thing to do is let them all finish together and let the cameras sort out the placings.  The moto, in this instance, inserted himself into the race to demand field separation and caused stress, distracted the riders, and ultimately increased significantly the chances of a crash occurring.

With the discontinuation of radios for teams, it becomes even more important for (we) officials to become better trained.  Officials need to know how caravan feeding will work for a race and communicate that to the riders/teams; they need to know how to best handle field neutralizations mid-race and especially near finishes; and officials need to know how to properly communicate road hazards and time gaps to riders.

It’s what we are paid to do - so either do it right, or don’t be out there.

/rant

The actual racing

Lauren Hecht won all the time bonuses for the p1/2 field - showing very strong powersprint conditioning.  She would take the win in the crit ahead of Mary Ellen Ash (Los Gatos) and Emily Kachorek (Wells Fargo) in a chaotic field sprint.

For the cat 3s, Beth Newell won the first time bonus with a well timed drive to the line, showing building form for her assault on the velodrome season later this year.  Jane Wolcott would be the winner of the crit, part of a quintet of category 3 riders who jumped into and through the p1/2 field with 3 laps to go.  (sigh)

With the time trials later in the day for the women, the racing was less aggressive than would be hoped for by spectators (at least this one), and no riders stood out in either tactics or determination.
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The time trail was won by Metromint’s Molly Van Houweling, 14 seconds ahead of Jane Despas (Yahooligirl).  But, as in the Valley of the Sun Stage Race earlier in the year … MVH would be moved down the leader’s board because of time bonuses won in field sprints.

Jane Despas rides solo, and yet she was able to control a field of 34 riders and 4 strong teams from any breakaways ~ ensuring she had opportunity to take the 20 second time bonus on hand for the winning the road race.  And Metromint Cycling, one of my favorite teams, was unable to force a combine of other teams to send anything off the front to steal away that time bonus … a tactical blunder of epic proportions.

With 4 riders in the top-12, Metromint had opportunity to create selections in the road race that would benefit their team by a) forcing Despas to chase and burning her matches for the sprint; and/or b) getting one of their riders in a position to take the overall.

But instead, it was a full-field coming to the line in a 72-mile road race … with Despas easily dispatching the others in her forte, a grinder uphill sprint.  Kudos to the tenacity and strength of Despas, but huge disappointment in the Metromint riders for not having the ability to protect their GC.

How to force a break

I’m someone who couldn’t sprint or time trial their way out of a paper bag … yet, I’ve been able to win a good number of crits, road races, and GCs in my day.  How? Through the art of the breakaway.

There is much that influences when, where, and how to attack in a bike race.  And there are a myriad of goals for attacking, as well … especially in a stage race run on time.  There are tactical breaks that go away (usually early) because teams find them beneficial, and there are physical breaks brought about by continued aggression.  For now, I’m just going to try and outline what i feel are the necessary components of creating a successful physical break.

Forcing a breakaway takes team cooperation, the ability to read a race, and the relentless but JUDICIOUS use of the attack.  Too many riders employ the kamikaze attack methodology … saving up their strength for one, massive explosion upon the race.  This is very often done at a moment in the race when the rider feels the strongest … and not when the race situation demands it.  The kamikaze rider is not reading the race, but instead looking for an opportunity to unleash their effort … to die.

Breakaways are rarely formed in one big explosion during a race … but instead, through a serious of orchestrated mini-bombs dropped on the field, over and over again, until finally the field relents, folds in, and must recoover from the bombardment by dropping pace as the break rides away.

Once attacking begins in a race, it is most often a relentless series of continuing attacks that will form a breakaway.  To achieve this, teammates must coordinate their attacks:  if one rider launches a move, it is incumbent upon the others to prepare to counter attack when/if that rider’s effort is caught.  If your team has 4 riders able to attack … that gives ample opportunity for each rider to force some rest into their legs and lungs while one of their teammates has initiated a move.

By trading attacks, you spread the workload over multiple riders … keeping energy expenditures down.  Get rid of the kamikaze mentality … instead, be a chess playing bombadeer.  Think moves ahead ~ consider who is chasing the breaks, what teams are also attacking, which riders seem committed to getting away and which are content to sit in.  When you attack, realize that you are likely going to have to make another acceleration off the front OR follow a competitors attack again soon. Remember, you don’t have to attack at 100%!  And moreover, you can save energy by ATTACKING WITH OTHERS!

Solo attacks are rarely beneficial to your team, as the speed of an individual is not going to outpace or strain a pack of riders.  If you find yourself off the front of a race solo - you must ask yourself if this is beneficial for your team, or just pride f*ing with you.  Remember, it is through judicious use of energy and attack that builds successful breakaways.  Don’t be a kamikaze unless the situation demands it … and it rarely does.

In other words, read the race and meter your efforts.  Breakaways occur because riders have the courage and resilience to keep attacking, again and again, until finally a move is forced away. It is only through trial and error that you will learn how to accomplish this.- you must attack.
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more later …