Freddie who?

The Ronde van Brisbeen circuit race was my first Pro 1/2 race and words cannot describe how nervous I was. So nervous that I forgot to bring a water bottle to the start line and forgot to roll-out my junior gears. Joel came to my aid with the bottle and the officials brought me to the front at the start after a last minute roll-out, but I was still shaking on the start line. The reason I was so nervous: BMC, Healthnet, and Freddie Rodriguez. Pretty intimidating for a 17 year old, especially since I had been traveling and not training all week. The first 15 minutes of the race scared the living daylights out of me because I felt sluggish and I wasted some energy trying to follow a breakaway on the hill. I was pretty sure after three laps that I would not finish the race in the pack. I learned very quickly that it is a terrible attitude to have because it just made me feel worse. The race went on, though, and I started to feel better. The pack split into two with all the pros up front and just about everyone else in the second group (including me). I thought for sure that the front group would stay away, but apparently two BMC guys went off the front of the front group, so BMC stopped pushing the pace. This allowed my group to catch back up and all was back together about halfway into the race. The two BMC riders, Nathan Miller and Brent Bookwalter, built a gap of a minute and held it all the way to the finish. I was feeling much stronger at the halfway point into the race, so I stayed toward the front and followed wheels. Next thing I knew, with four laps to go I was in a chase group of 15 riders with Fast Freddie, and a bunch of other pros. I hung on for dear life and put myself through a whole lot of pain to stay with the group. Freddie and two other riders went off the front, so there was 7 of us in the group with one lap to go. At this point, I was suffering pretty badly. The descent was brutal with junior gears, so the group gapped me, but I fought back on at the bottom of the climb. After my effort to catch back on, I had nothing left and dropped off the back of the chasers. The front end of the main group caught me at the finish line, so I finished 20-25th. All in all, it was a hard day of closing gaps and staying out of the wind. I surpassed my expectations for the race and surprised myself at how competitive I could be. It was a successful first pro 1/2 race and thanks to Dylan, Mike, Larry, and Craig for giving me pre-race advice!!

-Charlie Avis

One

2008 is shaping up to be a great year for bicycle racing. It’s a summer Olympic year, the Tour de France will definitely be interesting to watch, and the 3rd annual Tour of California passed right through our backyards in February.

The roads in Northern California are filling up with more and more cyclists, which is great to see, but the 2008 racing season started off a bit slow.

Back in January our team continued its involvement with the 21st annual Early Bird criterium training series, where we helped to mentor and teach skills to new racers. The weather was not ideal. The turnout, which we had expected to break records, was instead just average. Fortunately, in the weeks that followed, including the week of the Tour of California, rider and racer numbers jumped significantly.

As our team heads into its 21st year it is important that the sport continue to grow. We’re especially pleased to see the roads filled with all these new riders… kids that see a bicycle as their tool to their adventures and travels; drivers that made the decision to drive just one less time to save the gas money (and the environment), and all those folks that want to use cycling to improve their health. Consistency and persistency will lead you straight to fitness and your goals.

On the racing front, our junior program is going exactly as planned. Nine juniors make up this years squad and all have been matched up to a master or two to help guide them through their development. Along those lines, not only do our juniors get the benefit of the wealth of experience on this team, but all that visit our team website (www.teamSpecializedracing.com) can find tips and tricks to fill their mind as well as course descriptions and advice for the many Northern California races that have traditionally filled our racing calendar. (see upcoming races with a *)

For instance, the Berkeley Hills Road Race is the oldest race in California at 51 years old. The Nevada City Classic will celebrate its 48th running this year, while this weekends’ Santa Cruz Classic reaches 40 years. Los Gatos’ Cat’s Hill Classic and the Giro di San Francisco both will see their 34th anniversary in 2008. Our masters have competed in and have won races like these and all the others on our insanely rich calendar. Our juniors (and the visitors to our website) benefit from the experiences of our masters and the passing of knowledge. After all, in every race that we compete in we learn something new.

Personally, I have been bicycle racing for 20 years, competed in hundred of events and I can tell you that no two races have been alike. That’s exciting and I’m excited for this team and for 2008 in what it will bring. It’s also exciting to know that every event is a learning opportunity. We go in with a plan and learn to be flexible… just like we do in life and just like we did at last weekend’s race:

At the 2007 Ronde de Brisbane Chris Phipps (then w/ ZTeam and racing w/o teammates) embarrassed our team in the M35 race when he jumped away with 3 laps to go and held off a charging field. We had six teammates in the race.

For today’s race we agreed that a pre-race meeting just might be a good idea. Duh! Craig Roemer, Mike Audley, Steve Cassani, and Wyatt Weisel gathered near the start line as former USPS professional Dylan Casey laid out our plan. I was futzing with my wheels and extra layer of clothes so by the time I rolled over to the guys all I caught was “we’ll be on Phipps wheel when he goes”.

When I played basketball in high school I wasn’t very good but when the one good player on our team gave the signal I knew what to do. Play number one was simply to spread it out and let the guard go one on one, or one on five depending on who we played.

Basically, today’s race was play number one. Phipps went with three to go, Dylan saw it coming and followed, then rode away with him and outsprinted him for the win.

Behind the main action we scored 3rd, 6th and 8th. The coolest part is that Dylan has the best attitude any former professional rider could have. He’s just out there to have fun. I think he had fun today!

Grass Valley with Ben Sharp

Last week end  we had a junior camp up in Grass Valley. The team flew out Ben Sharp (who is the national coach and picks which junior go to Belgium). We had two very different days of riding. The first day it snowed and hailed on us while we were riding. After the ride we had a snowball fight. The next day we had great warm weather. We had a great time talking and riding with Ben Sharp.

One time at this race in Belgium, I mean Zamora...

Billy kicked the day off by saying, “You think this is cold? There was this one race in Belgium…”. Zamora, California isn’t Belgium, but the cold air and wind resembled a nice day on the Flemish Coast. With sewing machine legs, goose bumps, and chattering teeth I began to wonder why are we doing this. Because it’s fun?
Homework for this road race was on our team website: http://www.teamspecializedracing.com/index.php?page=cross-wind-racing-2.
JUNIORS READ THIS TIP.
Huddled behind a barn waiting of the 8 o’clock start, our team meeting was quick and concise: "go to the front and hammer at the first cross wind section...". This predetermined point was about 3 miles into the 60 mile race. As soon as we got to this section the pace heated up, and Kevin and I found ourselves in an early break. At mile 8, we had about 30 seconds on the chasing field when Billy came across with notorious spring terrorists (Dan Martin, Nathan Parks, and Chris Phipps). This was the last time I saw the main field.

The race started off windy and only got windier as the day progressed. The conditions separated the riders who had fitness from the pretenders. Unfortunately some of our riders, with great fitness, got caught up with those who couldn't hack or didn’t want to stick their noses out into the wind. Frustrating?

Going into the final lap, on the 10 mile course, the breakaway was Kevin Metcalfe, Billy Innes, Dan Martin, Nathan Parks, Chris Phipps, Dave Nelson, Rich Del Valle, Steve McCaw, and me. With less than 8 miles to go, Kevin made the leap of faith and attacked the group. Ironically, it was almost the same place where the break originated. This put the burden on Parks, Martin, and Phipps to chase while Billy and I rode the slot. Kevin dangled just off the front, but none of the chasers could close the gap. At 2 miles to go, this random sheep appeared on the left side of the road. As the chasing group passed, the critter spooked and began running along the road just in front of us. About 100 feet down the road, the poor bugger was almost shorn as it crossed right in front of the chasers. Parks avoided disaster as he popped out of a pedal. The sheep then paced us down the road on the right side before piling itself into a fence. Sheep aside, the terrorists regrouped and began chasing again. Whew! Around 1 mile to go, going over a small hill, aka the KOM, Kevin’s effort seemed futile, but the hardest section, a brutally windy and exposed 300 meter stretch, was between us and the finish. At this point the chase had whittled down to Dan, Nathan, Chris, Billy, and me. Kevin gave no indication of surrender as Nathan and Dan continued their pursuit. The pace proved to be too much for Chris and me as we popped off the back. Kevin's supernatural abilities took hold as he continued to fight for and finish with a very respectable solo win. Billy swiftly and cleanly won the sprint for 2nd. I rolled in solo for 5th.

That was fun!
The post race stories blame the sheep for Kevin’s success. A sheepish excuse?

Photos complements of Pete Whitbeck http://www.peterwhitbeck.com/

Tuesday Night Track Training - March 18

Thank you for the kind words Brian and Marc. The upside of getting creative is that it can be different and fun. The downside is that some riders have an expectation of a specific workout and they may not get it.

With Twenty eight riders last Tuesday the odds were not good that any one rider was going to get their one ideal workout, so thank you all for being flexible and open to some creative training! 28 riders was a vote of confidence that moving off our Thursday night schedule was a wise thing to do. Thank you all for showing.

Madison warm-up??? ... my intent during this Tuesday night series is to promote training races and to assist a whole bunch of riders into being better track racers. The madison warm-up will take place every Tuesday at 7pm. I am encouraging all riders to participate. Last week we focused on just two aspects of the madison: 1) matching the speed of the pack, and 2) riding as safely as possible, meaning that you are ALWAYS riding above a madison exchange. Since we did not do madison exchanges the riders behind the "exchange" did not get to practice riding over the exchanges. We will continue to add the various "beginner" components of the madison to the warm-up, and we will always keep them safe. All riders that participate in this warm-up will improve their spacial awareness, their position within the field, their tactical savvy, and their judgment of varying speeds. Finally, even if you never race a madison, simply getting to the track and doing some madison training will make you a fitter and faster cyclist.

Rental bikes are available but must be picked up before 6:50pm

Because the March 18 and 25th training sessions are not "racing" sessions, lights go off at 9pm. Training will conclude by 8:45pm on these two nights. I'll do my best to see that you use up all your energy before that time.

Last week we did the madison warm-up with two groups (matching speeds only), 3 lap "go as hard as you want" sprints, two "negative split" (about 15 laps each, starting at 30 secs per lap and dropping about a half second per lap), and then a "modified team sprint" where teams of 3 (or more) rode 2, 4 or 6 laps (as opposed to the 1,2,3 laps of the team sprint in the rulebook).

Tomorrow night Rob Evans has offered to motor pace so here's the plan for March 18th:
(e) indicates an endurance workout, (s) indicates a sprint workout, (s-e) indicates a workout for both endurance riders and sprinters

- (e) madison warm-up (1 or 2 groups, dependent on rider turnout)
- (s) 3 person 3 lap "lead out" practice (break for Rob)
- (s-e) accelerations from a motor paced pack going 23mph
option 1- sit in and spin
option 2- fly off the front (when safe to do so), do your effort and then swing up and get back on the pack
option 3- 30mph for four laps will gain you a lap!
- (s-e) 5 person 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 lap "team sprint"
- (s-e) motor pace cool-down (if we have time)
See you tomorrow night, Larry Nolan, Team Specialized Racing
***
Agreed, it was a fun and instructive session. Thanks Larry! I'm looking forward to next week. -brian peterson
***
I just wanted to say thank you to Larry for doing a advanced practice session last night. It's hard to get everyone out for a practice when its not structured as a race session but he did a great job of making it a great experience for everyone.

He had some very creative ideas providing both physical and mental training for track racing. The madison warmup was challenging since few people had ever ridden a madison, but it's a great practice laying the groundwork for the real thing. I think the madison is the real heart of track racing. It combines teamwork, skill, and very high energy. If someone were to ask one way to improve spectator interest in track racing, the madison, as in madison square garden, stands out. But it sometimes seems intimidating and so simple drills that teach just a little of the race at a time are very helpful. Thanks for making this a part of the program.

I also wanted to applaud juniors program and Larry working well together. Remember to bring your trainer to warm up while the juniors are working on drills. Ill try to get some video of this up this weekend. Marc

BBC TTT

Who will drink from the poisoned chalice and blog the Berkeley Bicycle Club Team Time Trial? Okay, I'll do it!

Hey, I got this really great photo of Rob and me winning the 90+ race. Not shabby. Very artistic, plus I look like a revolutionary hero in front. A lot of me, and just enough of Rob to show he was there. Hopefully the beer gut will shrink soon. Photo credit to AbbiOrca Photography (www.abbiorca.com).

Without putting too fine a point on it, the word of the day was "punctuality". Or not. An 8:00am start, an hour forward on the clock, registration open late with long lines: those may not have been a few of our favorite things. Am I wrong? Didn't every one of our 4-man teams go off with 3?

Still, it was truly a beautiful day for riding. We took out 1st and 2nd in the 90+ category, and Steve and Wyatt had an outstanding ride in the 70+, which got them 2nd place. No attempts to coat the asphalt with lycra and epidermis by any team members. Levi L. laid waste to us all, of course.

Thanks to BBC for making this special event happen every year.