Carrera de San Rafael - Masters 123

2006 Pro 1,2, Finish

If there's one master's crit you win all year, let it be San Rafael. The crowds, equipped with Swiss Miss cowbells, made such a ruckus you thought you maybe were somebody. They didn't care that we were just a bunch of has-beens/wanna-bes, they yelled and screamed and shook those cowbells every lap like we were champs.

And the racing was up to snuff too. Lots of team-on-team gangbang action with EMC/Vellum, Slaveway (sorely lacking that kooky blogmeister who begged out of the battle to just "have fun and drink" but was he just... afraid?), CVC, Sierra Nevada, etc. AMD had a colorful cast of characters with Billy "The Kid" Innes looking spry, Wyatt "Earp" Weisel coming out of recovery from a gunshot wound to the 5th vertebrate, and Kenny "G" Carpenter riding caboose but always a closer.

It was hot and heavy from the gun. The teams that were in the game were going blow for blow... a tactical warfare extravaganza. Well-constructed 1-2 punches, hooks, and jabs from all the teams, lots of setups and explosions and double-bounces. Billy and I were raining tag team blows on the pack, deadening its senses and weakening its will. And when we missed something Wyatt was there to pick up the slack. Ken was our hedge bet. It was everything I love about teamwork in bike racing. And the crowd was going wild, thanks to Casey doing a damn fine job on the mike.

About halfway through a group of 5 got an 8 second gap and did a good job holding it. It was Alex "Chippendale" Holtz from EMC/Vellum, a couple other guys I don't know, and our very own Billy the Kid. That was just fine with us and the race had been hard enough until then to discourage any stupid glory moves to try to close up the gap. So we sat and let it roll. Then a funny thing happened. Safeway, a beast without a head in this race, missed the break and kept throwing guys one at a time on the front. First it was Pasco the Crab, then Yo Yo Ma, except they didn't actually organize and chase. They whittled it down, which meant that they basically burnt all their matches ineffectually. I felt bad for them but whatcha gonna do? With the help of a couple other leave-behinds they did bring it closer and I was attentive for the counters but then unexpectedly Billy, Holtz and 1 of the others.... just kept it rolling. And nobody sealed the deal. They instantly recaptured their 10 sec advantage and that was pretty much it. The will of the mob was broken.

At this point I started to think about the composition of the break and I started to worry. Alex Holtz is a frickin' beefcake and when he's on, he's on. He tends to hide out so nobody knows quite how good he is, but goddamn if this might just be his breakout ride. I had a quick chat with my old pal from the Sacto crew, Chris "eBay" Baker, who was suspiciously confident in having his teammate Alex up the road, and the more I thought about it, the more worried I got. I seriously thought about having one of us pull out of the race so we could warn Billy about Alex. That's how concerned I was.

Well, that didn't happen because none of us are quitters, especially with legions of adoring females watching, waiting to bestow love and admiration and wet panties upon us, and thus on the last lap Alex stormed up 4th Street like a top fuel dragster to take an overdue and well-deserved win for his team. And if it wasn't to be Billy, I'm glad it was Alex.

1. Alex "Chippendale" Holtz, EMC Vellum
2. Billy "The Kid" Innes, AMD
3. Other breakaway guy (sorry)

Juniores
The promoter paid me the compliment of asking me to call the combined junior race with Casey and it was great. Our boys rode well. Lots of aggression, good awareness of team dynamics. They finished 2nd, and I heard some nonsense about "winning my age group" but guess what kids? There's only one winner and you're either it, or you sincerely congratulate the guy who beat you and get him next time. No consolation prizes or caveats. Overall, I liked what I saw and I'm proud of these guys and their dedication and professionalism.