This was a great race for me and I hope that my 2010 season will be filled with great results that I will be able to help out teammate to win many races as well.
Happy New Year and Thanks for reading,
-David Benkoski
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Favorite race of 09
Looking back at 09, I definitely have a new favorite race, Landpark Criterium. For those of you who don't know this race, it is a flat course with a couple very sharp turns. This year I started the jr. race in hopes of getting a good result. First few laps of the race started off as any junior race, many attacks, but most insignificant. I tried launching a few ones, but none succeeded in a break. Eventually Daniel Farinha (SJBC) Zach Wick (Davis Bike Club) and Miguel Henderson (Tieni Duro) were off the front with a significant gap. With about 10 laps to go in the race, I decided I would give it my all and bridge. I went about 600m before the Start/Finish and caught up to them about 3/4 of the way through the next lap. When I hooked on I caught my breath and decided to help rotate through as I saw that our advantage over the pack was increasing. With about 1 laps to go, I put my tired face on and skipped a turn. Henderson went with about 1/2 a lap to go and immediately got about 60m on us. This made Zach Wick try and give a chase, but both Daniel and I were still on his wheel. We eventually caught Henderson and Wick decided to keep drilling it in hopes of powering away, with 200m to go, Farinha came around and launched his sprint to my right, I decided to go to the left, but right as I jumped out of the saddle, Wick closed the narrow gap that I had chosen as my path and I was forced to back off giving Daniel Farinha the win without much challenge, but I still got a decent second place.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
2010
My name is Jack Maddux. I am very excited to be racing for Specialized in my 2010 season. I am 12 years old and I will be racing in the 13-14 age group in 2010. I have been enjoying the camps and get-togethers. My off season has had a little set back due to my broken wrist. I have been riding rollers thanks to Larry Nolan. I am looking forward to our next training camp at Marcus's. See you all at EB's.
~Jack
~Jack
Thursday, December 24, 2009
2009 Reflection
Going into the 2009 season, I was very excited for many reasons; the first being I was going to be at the top of my age group and also I would have five other teammates to race with, all of whom were very strong and smart riders. Two thousand and nine looked very bright and full of gold medals for Team Specialized Racing Juniors. Both the 15/16 and 17/18 teams would have the numbers and talent to control and dominate the local races. 2009 was also a year of learning many valuable lessons.
In September I had surgery to remove the plate and screws that were in my femur. As a result, my winter training started a bit later, however, my leg is now 100% healed and I was able to put that injury behind me.
Come February the race season was here! Like always, I started my racing season with the first NCNCA Junior Points Series race, Cherry Pie. This year they made a change to the course, they added a chicane at the bottom of the hill. Even before the race, many were not in favor of this addition to the course and some would be even more opposed after the race. With 56 competitors, this was a large field for a Northern California junior race, which meant crashes were bound to happen. James, Chris and I went down in a crash in the lovely chicane and Marcus was taken out with less than a lap to go. James, Chris and I were more fortunate than Marcus was, because the worst that happened to us was a DNF placing for a race, where as Marcus ended up with a broken arm. This did not stop the team from victory. A fine example of teamwork was demonstrated when Joel towed Peter up to a break and David was able to catch on. Peter was able to win the sprint and David was the only 15/16 in the break giving him the victory for the 15/16 race and a 4th place overall. Besides the crashes, Cherry Pie showed good signs for Team Specialized Racing Juniors. Lessons were learned, and probably the most obvious one for Cherry Pie was not to ride in the back of the pack.
Two weeks later it was time for the Merco criterium. Known as a fast race, it was also one of the earliest and coldest races of the year with a 7:30am start time. However, Peter, Joel, James and I were able to fire up our engines and show how a team works together. The race started with many attacks and every time there was a big white S in the break following the attack or attacking. Nothing was going to get away without at least one of us in it! About half way through the race, James and two other riders were able to get away and stay away. That left Joel, Peter and myself to control the pack, and boy we did. One of us followed every attack and not one single rider was able to bridge up to the break. As a result of our teamwork, the break was able to get a big enough gap to lap of the field with one lap to go! This lead to the positive result in that James one the race, but both Joel and I, both of which race often on the track, did not think about what happens when the field is lapped. No one in the field sprinted and the race was over. Lesson learned.
However, the true test of our strength and ability to work as a team had not been fully tested because our goals were to dominate national races and to win those races. In April, we had our first chance to dominate a national race, Sea Otter. Looked at by USA Cycling, Sea Otter has been an important junior race for many years. Not only are the courses challenging, but also many people from across the country come in for the race. The first of the two races was the circuit race. This year was the first time I have ever done this race. Previously something had always interfered with it, but this year the calendar was clear! One of the best things about the race is the Laguna Seca racecourse. Known for the corkscrew decent, the racecourse is very well known and I had raced it countless times on Gran Turismo for Playstation. I had also seen the course on my favourite (spelling dedicated to the nationality of the show) TV show Top Gear (http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/nsx-v-playstation.) However, racing a bike on this course was very different from driving an animated car or watching someone else driving a car around it. The first big difference was the hill. On the bike, the hill hurt like heck! However, every time up one of us Specialized boys put our nose in the wind and controlled the pace up to the top of the hill. However, in the sprint we were unable to dominate and bring home a win. This was disappointing but we fought hard. We would strike back with the wrath of the gods in the road race! The road race was longer, harder, and hot as he-double hockey sticks. However, this proved to be good for us. Early in the race, Yuma Koishi (San Jose Bicycle Club) and I broke away. My loyal teammates controlled the field and Allistar was able to bridge up to Yuma and me. However, Allistar kept the pace high on the main climb and I said so long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye (wait this is not The Sound of Music) this left Yuma and Allistar in the lead, me about a minute and a half behind them and then the pack. Yuma had a wheel problem and I was able to pass him before neutral support reached him. After changing wheels Yuma was able to reel me in, but when we hit the hill, he was dead and I was able to ride away from him. Allistar finished first, me second and Yuma third. The teamwork definitely paid off!
My legs continued to operate correctly the next weekend at Wente road race and criterium. The race stayed together until the second time up the finishing climb when the field completely blew up! There was even a little mushroom cloud. I was dropped and went into chase mode. Allistar was the only one with the leaders. I was able to ride back up to the leader about three fifths away around the course. However, I did not sit up; I just rode right by them. They all got on my wheel so I sat up. There was a little bit of attacking, but nothing got away. We then formed a pace line and when we passed the start line and went under an overpass, I pulled through and I do not know how but I had a gap. This was not the first time this had happened (three years ago at the district road race, the same exact thing happened but I did not step on the gas and I ended up getting caught very easily) and I had learned my lesson from the first time, so I hit the gas hard and did not look back. I was able to get a good gap thanks to teammates controlling the pace in the pack, but not blocking. When I hit the finishing hill, it was as if I hit a wall. I lost quite a bit of speed and a group of strong and fast riders were reeling me in. I dug deep and went as hard as I could. Thankfully, I was able to cross the finish line first, but only about two seconds ahead of Bjorn Fox (Above Category Racing.) Teamwork was definitely a big factor in this race once again. The next day in the crit, we almost had a full team, and Specialized dominated, but we had some mistakes … okay I made a very big, über mistake at least I guess they consider working at the front when you have a teammate off the front a bad thing; who knew? (for those who do not get the sarcasm, I realize I was being a horrible teammate.) Moving on, Peter was off the front for ever and then some more, but was caught and with two laps to go, I became an eagle or bought a bagel, aka attacked and when I came around to the front stretch I heard Mr. Ruggy Holloway, the master himself, yelling at me to go faster or something along those lines (I guess oxygen deprivation makes it harder to remember what people said hehe) I shifted to a harder gear and really started to go into the pain cave. The last lap felt like one of the longest laps ever! However, I held my lead off until the finish line and was able to take the win. We went one, two, three in the 15/16 race and Mr. Peter, I’ll just ride a majority of the race off the front Taylor, sprinted in for first place in the 17/18 race.
May brought the team’s second chance to race at a national level at Edgar Soto Classic in Nashville Tennessee. Not only was this the world championship qualifiers for the 17/18 and the winner of the 15/16 would be guaranteed a spot on the Belgium team. Obviously, there was a lot at stake for this race. The race was divided up into two days and scored as an omnium. The first day was the time trial and the course felt good after the pre-ride. It was an out and back course with a steady uphill on the way up with two little descents. I rode to a fourth place, Marcus and David both placed in the top ten too. However, the road race was going to be a hard race. Not only was the course very difficult, but the competition was VERY fast, but we were too! The race was very hard with somebody always attacking when we hit a hill. The field ended up breaking up. David suffered a flat within the first five kilometers and was out of the race. Marcus and I were able to stay with the leaders until part of the last lap. I finished 6th and Marcus 7th. All of us were had a good fitness level, but needed to get faster if we wanted to do well at nationals.
In July, Track Nationals came and I was ready. Along with Joel, I traveled down to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca to the ADT Track for the second year in a row. This is the only wood track in the USA besides the track in Bolder, Colorado. I was registered for the team sprint, and 15/16 omnium, which consisted of a sprint tournament, scratch race, points race, and five hundred meter time trial. The main highlight was my points race. I rode away from the pack and was later joined by two other riders. We lapped the field and I won my first at national race! (video can be viewed here: part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ai7yY06CBo and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9t7a9-uiO0&feature=related) Three weeks later was road nationals in Bend, Oregon. Unfortunately I did not have as much luck there. In the road race I had a flat and the wheel change took over a minute for a front wheel. I was unable to chase back to the field and my race was over. In the time trial I rode to an eleventh place.
After nationals I did a couple of Cal Cup races in an effort to earn upgrade points, this did not go as well as I had thought, but it could have been worse. However, in September I had the chance of a lifetime to go train in Colorado and stay in at the Olympic Training Center for part of the ten days. I was allowed to attend a national junior Madison camp! Another bonus was Larry was attending as one of the coaches. At the camp I learned a ton! The Madison is a very complicated race and a very popular one on the international level. The camp was also a blast! It was fun training and learning with people I usually only see once or twice a year. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Overall, 2009 was a good year, but it could have been better. Without the support of the team sponsors, many of the things that made the year would not have happened! Their support is priceless, to me at least. I am very thankful to all of them for their support and time. I am also very thankful for my excellent teammates. It gives me great pleasure to say I suit up in the same kit as all of you guys. Your support means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate your help at races and hope my support and help is beneficial to you too! I am very excited for 2010, and all of the opportunities that open up and look forward to an excellent season!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading,
--Andrew Lanier, II
In September I had surgery to remove the plate and screws that were in my femur. As a result, my winter training started a bit later, however, my leg is now 100% healed and I was able to put that injury behind me.
Come February the race season was here! Like always, I started my racing season with the first NCNCA Junior Points Series race, Cherry Pie. This year they made a change to the course, they added a chicane at the bottom of the hill. Even before the race, many were not in favor of this addition to the course and some would be even more opposed after the race. With 56 competitors, this was a large field for a Northern California junior race, which meant crashes were bound to happen. James, Chris and I went down in a crash in the lovely chicane and Marcus was taken out with less than a lap to go. James, Chris and I were more fortunate than Marcus was, because the worst that happened to us was a DNF placing for a race, where as Marcus ended up with a broken arm. This did not stop the team from victory. A fine example of teamwork was demonstrated when Joel towed Peter up to a break and David was able to catch on. Peter was able to win the sprint and David was the only 15/16 in the break giving him the victory for the 15/16 race and a 4th place overall. Besides the crashes, Cherry Pie showed good signs for Team Specialized Racing Juniors. Lessons were learned, and probably the most obvious one for Cherry Pie was not to ride in the back of the pack.
Two weeks later it was time for the Merco criterium. Known as a fast race, it was also one of the earliest and coldest races of the year with a 7:30am start time. However, Peter, Joel, James and I were able to fire up our engines and show how a team works together. The race started with many attacks and every time there was a big white S in the break following the attack or attacking. Nothing was going to get away without at least one of us in it! About half way through the race, James and two other riders were able to get away and stay away. That left Joel, Peter and myself to control the pack, and boy we did. One of us followed every attack and not one single rider was able to bridge up to the break. As a result of our teamwork, the break was able to get a big enough gap to lap of the field with one lap to go! This lead to the positive result in that James one the race, but both Joel and I, both of which race often on the track, did not think about what happens when the field is lapped. No one in the field sprinted and the race was over. Lesson learned.
However, the true test of our strength and ability to work as a team had not been fully tested because our goals were to dominate national races and to win those races. In April, we had our first chance to dominate a national race, Sea Otter. Looked at by USA Cycling, Sea Otter has been an important junior race for many years. Not only are the courses challenging, but also many people from across the country come in for the race. The first of the two races was the circuit race. This year was the first time I have ever done this race. Previously something had always interfered with it, but this year the calendar was clear! One of the best things about the race is the Laguna Seca racecourse. Known for the corkscrew decent, the racecourse is very well known and I had raced it countless times on Gran Turismo for Playstation. I had also seen the course on my favourite (spelling dedicated to the nationality of the show) TV show Top Gear (http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/nsx-v-playstation.) However, racing a bike on this course was very different from driving an animated car or watching someone else driving a car around it. The first big difference was the hill. On the bike, the hill hurt like heck! However, every time up one of us Specialized boys put our nose in the wind and controlled the pace up to the top of the hill. However, in the sprint we were unable to dominate and bring home a win. This was disappointing but we fought hard. We would strike back with the wrath of the gods in the road race! The road race was longer, harder, and hot as he-double hockey sticks. However, this proved to be good for us. Early in the race, Yuma Koishi (San Jose Bicycle Club) and I broke away. My loyal teammates controlled the field and Allistar was able to bridge up to Yuma and me. However, Allistar kept the pace high on the main climb and I said so long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye (wait this is not The Sound of Music) this left Yuma and Allistar in the lead, me about a minute and a half behind them and then the pack. Yuma had a wheel problem and I was able to pass him before neutral support reached him. After changing wheels Yuma was able to reel me in, but when we hit the hill, he was dead and I was able to ride away from him. Allistar finished first, me second and Yuma third. The teamwork definitely paid off!
My legs continued to operate correctly the next weekend at Wente road race and criterium. The race stayed together until the second time up the finishing climb when the field completely blew up! There was even a little mushroom cloud. I was dropped and went into chase mode. Allistar was the only one with the leaders. I was able to ride back up to the leader about three fifths away around the course. However, I did not sit up; I just rode right by them. They all got on my wheel so I sat up. There was a little bit of attacking, but nothing got away. We then formed a pace line and when we passed the start line and went under an overpass, I pulled through and I do not know how but I had a gap. This was not the first time this had happened (three years ago at the district road race, the same exact thing happened but I did not step on the gas and I ended up getting caught very easily) and I had learned my lesson from the first time, so I hit the gas hard and did not look back. I was able to get a good gap thanks to teammates controlling the pace in the pack, but not blocking. When I hit the finishing hill, it was as if I hit a wall. I lost quite a bit of speed and a group of strong and fast riders were reeling me in. I dug deep and went as hard as I could. Thankfully, I was able to cross the finish line first, but only about two seconds ahead of Bjorn Fox (Above Category Racing.) Teamwork was definitely a big factor in this race once again. The next day in the crit, we almost had a full team, and Specialized dominated, but we had some mistakes … okay I made a very big, über mistake at least I guess they consider working at the front when you have a teammate off the front a bad thing; who knew? (for those who do not get the sarcasm, I realize I was being a horrible teammate.) Moving on, Peter was off the front for ever and then some more, but was caught and with two laps to go, I became an eagle or bought a bagel, aka attacked and when I came around to the front stretch I heard Mr. Ruggy Holloway, the master himself, yelling at me to go faster or something along those lines (I guess oxygen deprivation makes it harder to remember what people said hehe) I shifted to a harder gear and really started to go into the pain cave. The last lap felt like one of the longest laps ever! However, I held my lead off until the finish line and was able to take the win. We went one, two, three in the 15/16 race and Mr. Peter, I’ll just ride a majority of the race off the front Taylor, sprinted in for first place in the 17/18 race.
May brought the team’s second chance to race at a national level at Edgar Soto Classic in Nashville Tennessee. Not only was this the world championship qualifiers for the 17/18 and the winner of the 15/16 would be guaranteed a spot on the Belgium team. Obviously, there was a lot at stake for this race. The race was divided up into two days and scored as an omnium. The first day was the time trial and the course felt good after the pre-ride. It was an out and back course with a steady uphill on the way up with two little descents. I rode to a fourth place, Marcus and David both placed in the top ten too. However, the road race was going to be a hard race. Not only was the course very difficult, but the competition was VERY fast, but we were too! The race was very hard with somebody always attacking when we hit a hill. The field ended up breaking up. David suffered a flat within the first five kilometers and was out of the race. Marcus and I were able to stay with the leaders until part of the last lap. I finished 6th and Marcus 7th. All of us were had a good fitness level, but needed to get faster if we wanted to do well at nationals.
In July, Track Nationals came and I was ready. Along with Joel, I traveled down to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca to the ADT Track for the second year in a row. This is the only wood track in the USA besides the track in Bolder, Colorado. I was registered for the team sprint, and 15/16 omnium, which consisted of a sprint tournament, scratch race, points race, and five hundred meter time trial. The main highlight was my points race. I rode away from the pack and was later joined by two other riders. We lapped the field and I won my first at national race! (video can be viewed here: part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ai7yY06CBo and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9t7a9-uiO0&feature=related) Three weeks later was road nationals in Bend, Oregon. Unfortunately I did not have as much luck there. In the road race I had a flat and the wheel change took over a minute for a front wheel. I was unable to chase back to the field and my race was over. In the time trial I rode to an eleventh place.
After nationals I did a couple of Cal Cup races in an effort to earn upgrade points, this did not go as well as I had thought, but it could have been worse. However, in September I had the chance of a lifetime to go train in Colorado and stay in at the Olympic Training Center for part of the ten days. I was allowed to attend a national junior Madison camp! Another bonus was Larry was attending as one of the coaches. At the camp I learned a ton! The Madison is a very complicated race and a very popular one on the international level. The camp was also a blast! It was fun training and learning with people I usually only see once or twice a year. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Overall, 2009 was a good year, but it could have been better. Without the support of the team sponsors, many of the things that made the year would not have happened! Their support is priceless, to me at least. I am very thankful to all of them for their support and time. I am also very thankful for my excellent teammates. It gives me great pleasure to say I suit up in the same kit as all of you guys. Your support means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate your help at races and hope my support and help is beneficial to you too! I am very excited for 2010, and all of the opportunities that open up and look forward to an excellent season!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading,
--Andrew Lanier, II
A Look Back
Before looking onwards to 2010 I want to look back at some highlights of my ’09 season.
Pinole Team Time Trial: This course is a forty minute loop designed to be as painful as possible; the road starts downhill and gets progressively more windy and hilly as the kilometers tick by. This year I did the race with Charlie Avis, soon to be National Time Trial Champion. This was a lesson in survival and I was so relived and pleased when we crossed the line shattering the junior course record and winning by a nearly three minute margin. The hard effort was good for me, and a turning point in how I viewed time trialing. I realized that if I wanted to be good at time trialing I would need to train more in the TT position and be willing to suffer more than everyone else, or at least as much as everyone else. Although my time trialing is still a work in progress I improved markedly since this event which earned me 2nd in the State Championship and 16th at the National Championships.
Santa Cruz Classic: This race came at a crucial time for me while I was still looking for those last few upgrade points. I tried to stay up front as much as possible to make sure that I didn’t miss out on a break. With five laps to go Joel told me to get back in the field and get a little rest from the wind; I had been second wheel almost the entire race, so this was a good suggestion. Thanks Joel. Fast-forward a few laps and I was 8th wheel coming out of the last corner, probably just a bit too far back. I waited and with about 200 meters to go jumped as hard as I could. I threw my bike at the line to take the win by a hair.
National Criterium Championship: After the Pinole Team Time Trial this was the hardest race I did all year. I tried to stay up front and out of trouble, but with about 8 laps to go I decided to take a risk and bridge to a break of three riders containing the National Road Champion. I attacked out of the group and was quickly joined by Juan Carmona and Anders Newbury. We worked together and nearly caught the break, but began to lose ground with four laps to go before finally being brought back into the fold with three to go. I drifted a little far back after being caught and I spent the remaining two and a half laps moving up to take 6th in the field sprint and 9th overall. The group that I was a few meters from bridging up to went on to win. This was my last race of the ’09 season and was a great way to finish the season.
Pinole Team Time Trial: This course is a forty minute loop designed to be as painful as possible; the road starts downhill and gets progressively more windy and hilly as the kilometers tick by. This year I did the race with Charlie Avis, soon to be National Time Trial Champion. This was a lesson in survival and I was so relived and pleased when we crossed the line shattering the junior course record and winning by a nearly three minute margin. The hard effort was good for me, and a turning point in how I viewed time trialing. I realized that if I wanted to be good at time trialing I would need to train more in the TT position and be willing to suffer more than everyone else, or at least as much as everyone else. Although my time trialing is still a work in progress I improved markedly since this event which earned me 2nd in the State Championship and 16th at the National Championships.
Santa Cruz Classic: This race came at a crucial time for me while I was still looking for those last few upgrade points. I tried to stay up front as much as possible to make sure that I didn’t miss out on a break. With five laps to go Joel told me to get back in the field and get a little rest from the wind; I had been second wheel almost the entire race, so this was a good suggestion. Thanks Joel. Fast-forward a few laps and I was 8th wheel coming out of the last corner, probably just a bit too far back. I waited and with about 200 meters to go jumped as hard as I could. I threw my bike at the line to take the win by a hair.
National Criterium Championship: After the Pinole Team Time Trial this was the hardest race I did all year. I tried to stay up front and out of trouble, but with about 8 laps to go I decided to take a risk and bridge to a break of three riders containing the National Road Champion. I attacked out of the group and was quickly joined by Juan Carmona and Anders Newbury. We worked together and nearly caught the break, but began to lose ground with four laps to go before finally being brought back into the fold with three to go. I drifted a little far back after being caught and I spent the remaining two and a half laps moving up to take 6th in the field sprint and 9th overall. The group that I was a few meters from bridging up to went on to win. This was my last race of the ’09 season and was a great way to finish the season.
Racing for Specialized
Happy holidays everyone, my name is Matthew Valencia. I would like to thank Larry Nolan and Wyatt Weisel for inviting me on this team and for taking the time to help the juniors improve. Next year racing for this team, i will be looking forward to the support i get from the masters team and racing with some of the fastest teammates in the country. Our team has many goals and i think we will be able to achieve them in 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Dream Come True
I have raced six full seasons now and I finally got to do the race I had always heard about. Since my beginnings on the bike I had always heard amazing things about the level of competition as well as the awesome experience that came along with the Tour de Le Abitibi. The world renowned 17-18 Junior race is held in
The selection process started months in advance; the first criterion was whether or not a rider was attending a regional camp. Historically there were only a few camps that sent teams, but with the new process a rider could attend any camp and if selected would race on regional team from a different area. I was invited to join
Now to the exciting part, the actual race; all of the racers and team support leave out of the school in
2009 was a fantastic year, a year during which I got to experience something that I will never forget. I hope to go back and race again at Abitibi and will hopefully improve upon my top ten results and climb up to that top step of the podium.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Countdown to 2010 Race Season
Hello everyone. I'm Torey Philipp and I live in El Dorado Hills, California. I am very excited to now be a part of the Specialized Junior Race Team and I'm looking forward to racing with my awesome, new teammates. I have had a great year of racing road and cyclocross and I am extremely motivated and have goals set for 2010!
2009 by Chris
2009 was full of wins losses and close calls. But mostly huge accomplishments. We had Larry, Peter, David, Daniel, Charlie, James, Dean, Billy, Kevin, Rob, Marco, Alistair, Andrew, Joel, Craig, Rob, and Dylan has won at least one race during 2009. and some are on national levels and others on international levels. and this next year we are trying to get more national and international wins throughout the entire masters, and Juniors teams. We have already held a pre 2010 team ride in Napa a few weeks ago. And we are about to have another team ride in pleasanton and a mentoring tutorial on the same day. lets make it a great year.
Eamon Lucas
Hello my name is Eamon Lucas. I live in Pacific Grove, Ca. I am so happy to be on Team Specialized and am very motivated for the 2010 racing season. My off-season training is going well and i am right on schedule. I had a good season last year and i cant wait to better my self and the team this year. I am very thankful for all the support i receive from Specialized and all the other sponsors and i know this is going to be great year.
I also have a personal blog that will be updated through out the year.http://big-es.blogspot.com/?spref=fb
I also have a personal blog that will be updated through out the year.http://big-es.blogspot.com/?spref=fb
James's 2009 Cycling Season
Well, I would say that my cycling season this year was a success overall, but there is always room for improvement. I won this year's State Road Race and Criterium (15/16's), and I won other races this year. I had a very fun time with this great team this year and I’m very excited and motivated for the upcoming season!
I remember back in June, it was ICCC Dash for cash and Marcus (Smith) and I were racing the category 3's race. We worked very well together during the whole race, and it came down to a field sprint (which is great for me). Marcus and I coordinated with each other so well and we were magnets stuck together the whole last lap. Marcus gave me the best lead out ever and propelled me forward like no other. Even though I finished 2nd, we had super coordination!
Another great memory that I have from this past season was at Nationals, in the Criterium. Again, it came down to Marcus (Smith) and I. The race was really fast the whole time, and no one got away safely. It was 1 lap to go, and I thought it was just me left, and all of a sudden Marcus flies by the side of the field and attacks! And nobody chases! I thought Marcus was going to get swallowed up right away, but instead, we waited until 200 meters until the line. I finished 4th, and Marcus finished 6th. I learned that I should have taken the risk there and went with Marcus because I would have had a much better chance at winning the National Criterium!
Overall, this year was a great leap year and I believe this upcoming year will even better! I couldn't have performed like I did these past 2 years on Specialized without my team bike, components, wheels, coaching, and of course my teammates!
Thanks for reading and happy holidays!
Monday, December 21, 2009
End/Start of The Year
Oh man cross is all over, but what a race. The course Brad Ross and the rest of the Cyclocross Crusaders set up was absolutely amazing; it threw a little bit of everything at you mud, ice, twisty off cambers, sharp drops and punchy hills.
My race started just as the course started to thaw, so we face a good amount of mud. Everything was working great up until the first corner of the race. Somebody shoved me into a course marker as I was taking the outside line trying to out fox everyone. I picked up my bike, wrenched someone's leg out of it, rode to the pit with crooked bars, and swapped to the spare bike. I really had to get moving, being in last place. Within the first lap I had caught about 7 people. The rest of the race I dug deeper into the pain cave, catching more people. I sprinted out of each corner and braked hard into the next, just barely grazing the course tape as I did. In every corner I could feel the tires start to roll off, or I could feel rocks hitting my rims
In the end I rode up to 7th place, just 5 seconds off of 5th place. It would have been great if I didn't crash and if I didn't have to catch people, but that's 'cross for ya.
Now I am excited to start racing on the road with Team Specialized. I am privileged to be invited to race with such a talented group of individuals. I want to use everything I learned from traveling and racing 'cross and apply it to road racing to make myself and our team better. This is going to be a great season, with the support of Specialized and all our sponsors, we will be unstoppable.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
2009 Reflection
Going into the 2009 season, I was very excited for many reasons; the first being I was going to be at the top of my age group and also I would have five other teammates to race with, all of whom were very strong and smart riders. Two thousand and nine looked very bright and full of gold medals for Team Specialized Racing Juniors. Both the 15/16 and 17/18 teams would have the numbers and talent to control and dominate the local races. 2009 was also a year of learning many valuable lessons.
In September I had surgery to remove the plate and screws that were in my femur. As a result, my winter training started a bit later, however, my leg is now 100% healed and I was able to put that injury behind me.
Come February the race season was here! Like always, I started my racing season with the first NCNCA Junior Points Series race, Cherry Pie. This year they made a change to the course, they added a chicane at the bottom of the hill. Even before the race, many were not in favor of this addition to the course and some would be even more opposed after the race. With 56 competitors, this was a large field for a Northern California junior race, which meant crashes were bound to happen. James, Chris and I went down in a crash in the lovely chicane and Marcus was taken out with less than a lap to go. James, Chris and I were more fortunate than Marcus was, because the worst that happened to us was a DNF placing for a race, where as Marcus ended up with a broken arm. This did not stop the team from victory. A fine example of teamwork was demonstrated when Joel towed Peter up to a break and David was able to catch on. Peter was able to win the sprint and David was the only 15/16 in the break giving him the victory for the 15/16 race and a 4th place overall. Besides the crashes, Cherry Pie showed good signs for Team Specialized Racing Juniors. Lessons were learned, and probably the most obvious one for Cherry Pie was not to ride in the back of the pack.
Two weeks later it was time for the Merco criterium. Known as a fast race, it was also one of the earliest and coldest races of the year with a 7:30am start time. However, Peter, Joel, James and I were able to fire up our engines and show how a team works together. The race started with many attacks and every time there was a big white S in the break following the attack or attacking. Nothing was going to get away without at least one of us in it! About half way through the race, James and two other riders were able to get away and stay away. That left Joel, Peter and myself to control the pack, and boy we did. One of us followed every attack and not one single rider was able to bridge up to the break. As a result of our teamwork, the break was able to get a big enough gap to lap of the field with one lap to go! This lead to the positive result in that James one the race, but both Joel and I, both of which race often on the track, did not think about what happens when the field is lapped. No one in the field sprinted and the race was over. Lesson learned.
However, the true test of our strength and ability to work as a team had not been fully tested because our goals were to dominate national races and to win those races. In April, we had our first chance to dominate a national race, Sea Otter. Looked at by USA Cycling, Sea Otter has been an important junior race for many years. Not only are the courses challenging, but also many people from across the country come in for the race. The first of the two races was the circuit race. This year was the first time I have ever done this race. Previously something had always interfered with it, but this year the calendar was clear! One of the best things about the race is the Laguna Seca racecourse. Known for the corkscrew decent, the racecourse is very well known and I had raced it countless times on Gran Turismo for Playstation. I had also seen the course on my favourite (spelling dedicated to the nationality of the show) TV show Top Gear (http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/nsx-v-playstation.) However, racing a bike on this course was very different from driving an animated car or watching someone else driving a car around it. The first big difference was the hill. On the bike, the hill hurt like heck! However, every time up one of us Specialized boys put our nose in the wind and controlled the pace up to the top of the hill. However, in the sprint we were unable to dominate and bring home a win. This was disappointing but we fought hard. We would strike back with the wrath of the gods in the road race! The road race was longer, harder, and hot as he-double hockey sticks. However, this proved to be good for us. Early in the race, Yuma Koishi (San Jose Bicycle Club) and I broke away. My loyal teammates controlled the field and Allistar was able to bridge up to Yuma and me. However, Allistar kept the pace high on the main climb and I said so long farewell, auf weidersehen good-bye (wait this is not The Sound of Music) this left Yuma and Allistar in the lead, me about a minute and a half behind them and then the pack. Yuma had a wheel problem and I was able to pass him before neutral support reached him. After changing wheels Yuma was able to reel me in, but when we hit the hill, he was dead and I was able to ride away from him. Allistar finished first, me second and Yuma third. The teamwork definitely paid off!
My legs continued to operate correctly the next weekend at Wente road race and criterium. The race stayed together until the second time up the finishing climb when the field completely blew up! There was even a little mushroom cloud. I was dropped and went into chase mode. Allistar was the only one with the leaders. I was able to ride back up to the leader about three fifths away around the course. However, I did not sit up; I just rode right by them. They all got on my wheel so I sat up. There was a little bit of attacking, but nothing got away. We then formed a pace line and when we passed the start line and went under an overpass, I pulled through and I do not know how but I had a gap. This was not the first time this had happened (three years ago at the district road race, the same exact thing happened but I did not step on the gas and I ended up getting caught very easily) and I had learned my lesson from the first time, so I hit the gas hard and did not look back. I was able to get a good gap thanks to teammates controlling the pace in the pack, but not blocking. When I hit the finishing hill, it was as if I hit a wall. I lost quite a bit of speed and a group of strong and fast riders were reeling me in. I dug deep and went as hard as I could. Thankfully, I was able to cross the finish line first, but only about two seconds ahead of Bjorn Fox (Above Category Racing.) Teamwork was definitely a big factor in this race once again. The next day in the crit, we almost had a full team, and Specialized dominated, but we had some mistakes … okay I made a very big, über mistake at least I guess they consider working at the front when you have a teammate off the front a bad thing; who knew? (for those who do not get the sarcasm, I realize I was being a horrible teammate.) Moving on, Peter was off the front for ever and then some more, but was caught and with two laps to go, I became an eagle or bought a bagel, aka attacked and when I came around to the front stretch I heard Mr. Ruggy Holloway, the master himself, yelling at me to go faster or something along those lines (I guess oxygen deprivation makes it harder to remember what people said hehe) I shifted to a harder gear and really started to go into the pain cave. The last lap felt like one of the longest laps ever! However, I held my lead off until the finish line and was able to take the win. We went one, two, three in the 15/16 race and Mr. Peter, I’ll just ride a majority of the race off the front Taylor, sprinted in for first place in the 17/18 race.
May brought the team’s second chance to race at a national level at Edgar Soto Classic in Nashville Tennessee. Not only was this the world championship qualifiers for the 17/18 and the winner of the 15/16 would be guaranteed a spot on the Belgium team. Obviously, there was a lot at stake for this race. The race was divided up into two days and scored as an omnium. The first day was the time trial and the course felt good after the pre-ride. It was an out and back course with a steady uphill on the way up with two little descents. I rode to a fourth place, Marcus and David both placed in the top ten too. However, the road race was going to be a hard race. Not only was the course very difficult, but the competition was VERY fast, but we were too! The race was very hard with somebody always attacking when we hit a hill. The field ended up breaking up. David suffered a flat within the first five kilometers and was out of the race. Marcus and I were able to stay with the leaders until part of the last lap. I finished 6th and Marcus 7th. All of us were had a good fitness level, but needed to get faster if we wanted to do well at nationals.
In July, Track Nationals came and I was ready. Along with Joel, I traveled down to the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca to the ADT Track for the second year in a row. This is the only wood track in the USA besides the track in Bolder, Colorado. I was registered for the team sprint, and 15/16 omnium, which consisted of a sprint tournament, scratch race, points race, and five hundred meter time trial. The main highlight was my points race. I rode away from the pack and was later joined by two other riders. We lapped the field and I won my first at national race! (video can be viewed here: part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ai7yY06CBo and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9t7a9-uiO0&feature=related) Three weeks later was road nationals in Bend, Oregon. Unfortunately I did not have as much luck there. In the road race I had a flat and the wheel change took over a minute for a front wheel. I was unable to chase back to the field and my race was over. In the time trial I rode to an eleventh place.
After nationals I did a couple of Cal Cup races in an effort to earn upgrade points, this did not go as well as I had thought, but it could have been worse. However, in September I had the chance of a lifetime to go train in Colorado and stay in at the Olympic Training Center for part of the ten days. I was allowed to attend a national junior Madison camp! Another bonus was Larry was attending as one of the coaches. At the camp I learned a ton! The Madison is a very complicated race and a very popular one on the international level. The camp was also a blast! It was fun training and learning with people I usually only see once or twice a year. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Overall, 2009 was a good year, but it could have been better. Without the support of the team sponsors, many of the things that made the year would not have happened! Their support is priceless, to me at least. I am very thankful to all of them for their support and time. I am also very thankful for my excellent teammates. It gives me great pleasure to say I suit up in the same kit as all of you guys. Your support means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate your help at races and hope my support and help is beneficial to you too! I am very excited for 2010, and all of the opportunities that open up and look forward to an excellent season!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading,
--Andrew Lanier, II
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Daniel's Trip to Kentucky
RRG 2009
I was lucky enough to be able to go down to Kentucky this year and race at the only international junior race in America. I had a lot of mixed feelings in this race. Going into it I was super excited, and really focused. I also had a great team with me going out, with a few extra riders from California thrown into our group. Going into this race, I knew the courses suited my style of riding. I also think I perform better in races that have a higher pace, compared to those races that are more of a ride to the last 10k. Because this had such a high number of top competitors, I knew the pace would be higher.
The first race was the prologue, which lasted about 2 min. I under paced the course, and ended up mid field somewhere. My teammate Charlie, however, had a good day, and won, taking the yellow jersey. Going into the second stage, I had to protect Charlie’s yellow jersey. He wanted me and a few of the other breakaway artists to go up ahead and take away the time bonus slots on the course. That way he would have a good chance of holding onto the lead until the time trial. I ended up breaking away early in a two man break with the soon to be road National Champion. He and I held a 1-3 min lead until a few miles after the first KOM point. That is when a group of about 6 other riders joined us. After being in a two man break for a while, I was tired, but I knew I had to hang on to try to get rid of some of the time bonuses. I managed to get in the top five in the sprint point, and again, knew I should hang on for the last KOM of the stage, and maybe even go for the final sprint. Right about now I ran out of the water I grabbed from Craig, and was calling for a car to bring up some. Unfortunately, the officials thought that the road was too narrow from then on to the finish to bring cars through. I was stuck with a sip or two for 20 more miles. Right around then, the group split up, and ended up weeding down the group to a total of six riders. I ended up dropping off at the last KOM, and within the last four miles loosing 3 min and being caught by the pack. This stage taught me to always bring extra water. I also realized how much better later breakaways are than going off from the beginning. Early breakaways = pain.
The next stage was my most unlucky stage ever. I started off the stage tied for third on the KOM classification. My goal was to get top placing on the first two KOM points. That never happened. I ended up getting a flat in the first 10 miles. Billy quickly changed it, and I caught back on soon enough. Before I could move to the front, I ended up crashing. I got up and going in a few seconds, and tried to chase back on again. This was harder than the last time, and I felt I couldn’t catch back up until we turned unto the next section of downhill. That did not happen though. I ended up crashing again, due to a rider with me freaking out when hitting a rock on the road. I took me a good minute to get up from that crash. I was in a lot of pain, and my top tube was broken. I still wanted to at least finish the stage so that I could help out in the crit the next day. I ended up riding for another 25 miles until I was sure I couldn’t make the time cut. It wasn’t all bad though. I got some good experience in the caravan, and learned to keep chasing. Unfortunately all my chasing that day ended up getting me nowhere. Sometime in the future it will help out though.
I was lucky enough to be able to go down to Kentucky this year and race at the only international junior race in America. I had a lot of mixed feelings in this race. Going into it I was super excited, and really focused. I also had a great team with me going out, with a few extra riders from California thrown into our group. Going into this race, I knew the courses suited my style of riding. I also think I perform better in races that have a higher pace, compared to those races that are more of a ride to the last 10k. Because this had such a high number of top competitors, I knew the pace would be higher.
The first race was the prologue, which lasted about 2 min. I under paced the course, and ended up mid field somewhere. My teammate Charlie, however, had a good day, and won, taking the yellow jersey. Going into the second stage, I had to protect Charlie’s yellow jersey. He wanted me and a few of the other breakaway artists to go up ahead and take away the time bonus slots on the course. That way he would have a good chance of holding onto the lead until the time trial. I ended up breaking away early in a two man break with the soon to be road National Champion. He and I held a 1-3 min lead until a few miles after the first KOM point. That is when a group of about 6 other riders joined us. After being in a two man break for a while, I was tired, but I knew I had to hang on to try to get rid of some of the time bonuses. I managed to get in the top five in the sprint point, and again, knew I should hang on for the last KOM of the stage, and maybe even go for the final sprint. Right about now I ran out of the water I grabbed from Craig, and was calling for a car to bring up some. Unfortunately, the officials thought that the road was too narrow from then on to the finish to bring cars through. I was stuck with a sip or two for 20 more miles. Right around then, the group split up, and ended up weeding down the group to a total of six riders. I ended up dropping off at the last KOM, and within the last four miles loosing 3 min and being caught by the pack. This stage taught me to always bring extra water. I also realized how much better later breakaways are than going off from the beginning. Early breakaways = pain.
The next stage was my most unlucky stage ever. I started off the stage tied for third on the KOM classification. My goal was to get top placing on the first two KOM points. That never happened. I ended up getting a flat in the first 10 miles. Billy quickly changed it, and I caught back on soon enough. Before I could move to the front, I ended up crashing. I got up and going in a few seconds, and tried to chase back on again. This was harder than the last time, and I felt I couldn’t catch back up until we turned unto the next section of downhill. That did not happen though. I ended up crashing again, due to a rider with me freaking out when hitting a rock on the road. I took me a good minute to get up from that crash. I was in a lot of pain, and my top tube was broken. I still wanted to at least finish the stage so that I could help out in the crit the next day. I ended up riding for another 25 miles until I was sure I couldn’t make the time cut. It wasn’t all bad though. I got some good experience in the caravan, and learned to keep chasing. Unfortunately all my chasing that day ended up getting me nowhere. Sometime in the future it will help out though.
-Daniel Tisdell
Monday, December 14, 2009
Alistair's year in cycling
2009 was my first year on Team Specialized Racing Jrs. I really wanted to be part of this team and when my dream came through I was overjoyed. I learned a lot this year and I really enjoyed being part of such a great team.
The highlights of my season were the Sea Otter Road Race, where I was able to break away from the pack and finish first. This would not have been possible without the help of my teammates, and of course the superlight Specialized SL.
I also had a great time in the Gold Nugget Stage Race. Unfortunately they did not post the results of this race on the web, but it was very hard. I won a stage and finished second in the others. But most of all was the unforgettable experience of riding a stage race. Every day you have to be there and work hard or all is lost. That was very clear to me before the last stage, when I was leading by only a few seconds. I not only had to race hard, I also had to race smart and it was a great lesson for me.
Unfortunately, I had a serious mishap at Nationals and was unable to finish the road race even though the course suited me well. A few days later I still had a sore hip and that affected my time trialing quite a bit. And then on the very last day, in the crit, I got stuck in a major crash right in the very first turn.
A real highlight of my season was the chance to race in Belgium, where I quickly found out how tough it can get. The roads were narrow and bumpy and the pack was large and agitated. During my second race, I crashed again and was left with new wounds on top of the old ones. My beautiful Specialized helmet cracked when I hit the pavement and the glasses that Billy gave me got lost. Fortunately, a bystander brought them back. Despite the bandages, I stuck to my guns and finished a third race one week later.
Overall I look forward to racing with Team Specialized in 2010. We had a fantastic camp in Napa and I learned a lot while there. It is so much fun to hang out with teammates and friends. Happy Holidays everyone.
Marcus 2009 Recap
2009 was a good year for me. I learned and grew (figuratively & literally) a lot.
My season started out on a bad note with a crash in the final turn at Cherry Pie and a broken arm. I was stuck on the trainer for 6 weeks after. I learned to keep motivated through the hard training when all my teammates were racing.
It took a while to get up to race pace with all the other juniors who had been racing all spring. But I was up to speed by Edgar Soto. Time Trials aren't my strength, but on the TT I kept my mind focused and finished 10th which I was very happy with. The next day in the road race I felt great and finished 7th. Overall I end up 8th, but 2nd out of the 15 year olds.
At Nationals Charlie Avis won the 17-18 TT. I saw how hard he went and knew I could make my body go that hard, but maybe not as fast. I remembered this in the crit when with one lap to go 8 riders got a 10m gap off the front. I closed the gap and decided to keep going. I lasted until 50m and was passed by the sprinters (I think I was pedaling squares). I ended up 6th and the 1st 15 year old.
After Nationals I raced in the Cal Cup as a 3. In the past years I had only been able to stay with them, but this year was different. I was stronger and had peaked later because of my crash. I got a few top 10 finishes and some of my upgrade points so hopefully I can upgrade in 2010 to a 2.
This year I learned to keep motivated through hard and boring trainer time. I did well for my age in big races. I also grew 4 inches during the year. SO WATCH OUT next year
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Masters Track Worlds Day 4, 5 and 6
I think I’ve sold 4 Specialized Transitions, as long as they don’t stop making the 2008 model. This road time trial frame has done wonders for my track racing. With rear track dropouts and aerodynamic carbon tubing this is one fast bike!
Masters Track Worlds Day 4, 5 and 6
When I did the sprint tournament in 2008 I felt like I had been in a 15 round boxing match by the end of my 9 full out intensity rides. I scratched on the sprints at the last minute and after watching these great athletes slug it out for two long days (Day 4 and 5) I have absolutely no regret.
Moving on to Day 6 and the final day of the 15th annual UCI Masters Track World Championships (Saturday, October 24, 2009) my head was all over the place for the upcoming points race. I was confident because I had won this event in each of my five championship attempts, I was relaxed because I had already won two titles and I knew the rest days would help me. That being said, I didn’t have all that much confidence with my new sniffly nose and drizzly shits, nor with the most competitive field I had ever faced.
Our morning qualifying ride was cancelled as there were only 23 athletes interested in points racing (lots of sprinters on the list were pulling out), so we moved straight into the final late in the afternoon. I snuck in a nice (very rare) nap and felt slightly better. Sixty laps or 15km in total with sprints every 10 laps. My plan was to not take the win on the first sprint (uses too much energy), not let Steve Daracott (Australia), Bernardo Figueroa (Colombia), Stephane Le Beau (Canada) or Robert Upton (Australia) get up the road without me.
We were rolling it pretty good from the beginning, and when the first sprint lit up I got in line but there was a surge over the top and I didn’t place. I made a silly move after the sprint and rolled away. What a waste of energy. 2nd sprint came up and I was out of position again. We’re heading into 30 to go sprint and I have one point! Time for a quick self-talk… okay, I can still win this if I take the remaining sprints –and- slow the pace so that I’m not attacked. Thankfully I wasn’t attacked by my main rivals and was able to mark the current leaders/ contenders (Stephane and Bernardo). I took the 30 to go sprint, was 2nd in both the 20 and 10 to go sprint, and 4th in the last sprint to win 13 points to Stephane’s 11 points and Jim Rutherford’s 8 points. That, teammates and friends, was one of the most difficult wins I have ever fought for!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Masters Track Worlds (Day 3) Oct. 21
“Reunions” - that’s how some competitors describe these track championships and I have to admit that I have a lot of fun when I come to these things. The majority of the world would think us odd for taking vacation time to do something like this: race, eat, sleep, do it all over again the next day. I mean one comes to a beautiful place like Sydney and we’re racing in circles, not walking to see sights, sitting on our butts whenever we can and generally have a whole lot of fun doing it.
Two points to this lead-in. To be a world champion, which is one reason why a lot of people come here, one cannot be like the majority. We racers tend to go bed earlier, party a lot less and work a whole lot harder than most would think possible. We ride in the rain, dark and cold to get our aerobic base and we do more intervals than our competitors (at least we think we do!). We skip a lot of extra servings and steer ourselves towards the road less traveled, including walking stairs, not concerning ourselves with parking too close to a store and generally ride where it would be easier to jump in a car. What a strange lot we are. But, we’re a goal driven bunch that emits a positive energy that is usually contagious. It’s a great atmosphere to live in and around.
This is my 6th UCI masters track world championship. Former teammate Vic Copeland was the first to test the competition when he attended the first edition in Manchester, England in 1995. Vic won 9 championships and taught me a lot about being humble, thankful and working really hard for your goals. In 1997 former teammate Glen Winkel went to worlds and won the pursuit and points race. In 1999 I finally had a reason to get a passport though my work and squeezed in the September 1999 event, taking home my first (3km pursuit) and second (points) masters world championships. Our family lived in Belgium in 2001 so I just had to get to Manchester and scored two more wins in the same two events. I continued this two year pattern in 2003 with wins number five and six but was foiled of my pursuit bid in 2005 and “only” won the points race. I skipped 2006 and 2007 so that I could focus on 2008, my 50th year on this spinning globe and the 2km event, which as previously written is well suited for me. Well, it turned out that my myopic focus on the speed that I needed for the 2km win helped to carry me through the other events, including wins in the scratch race (new to the championships in 2007) and the sprints, which was quite the shock (but with 9 rides in 2 days it is an endurance event.
Yesterday (October 21) was scratch race and team sprint day. With a record breaking 430 athletes Day 2 was a 16 hour day of pursuiting. Yikes, no wonder the UCI wants to close down the event! Some groups had their qualifiers in the morning (we had thirty seven riders in two heats to pull 24 into the final). I qualified.
Next up was the team sprint where Reid Schwartz (Chicago, Ill), James Host and I did our best but only managed an 8th place finish.
Twelve hours after the qualifier we’re back on the track for the final. I’m exhausted as this lack of sleep is catching up to me (the awards ceremony for my pursuit win ended around 11:30pm and I was up at 5:30am, simply wide awake with my mind racing about all this racing. I got up and worked. Okay, so I’m tired and I cut a deal with myself. If I win the scratch race I’ll pull out from the sprints and reward myself with two days away from racing. Sold! But, winning is tricky with this BIG S on my back! Americans James Host, Aubrey Gordon and I talk about not chasing eachother. That’s sort of like teamwork, right? James gets into the early move and it looks promising with the 2nd (James) and 3rd place pursuiters (Stephane Le Beau) up the road. Well, Didier Ramet from France bridges across and now the trio is rolling away. After a hard chase by Bernardo, Upton, Rutherford and others the trio is caught but thankfully almost everyone is gassed. I’m talking 30 laps of almost 30mph speeds. 50 year olds can motor! The group is caught with about 8 laps to go, we do our little slower speed dance, I get a close encounter with a guys rear wheel and with 3 laps to go I hit the front. I can’t wait to see this video but for some reason no one attacked and I was able to razor my sprint to the line for the win.
check out: http://photoaction.net.au/site/#/gallery/uci-m5-scr/uci-m5-scr-8107/
for a nice shot of my vee!
A full night of scratch racing, some of the best I have ever watched.
Larry
- note: Rumor has it that the 2010 championships will be held in Lisbon Portugal. Now, there’s a place I’ve not been! Reunions… I love them.
Two points to this lead-in. To be a world champion, which is one reason why a lot of people come here, one cannot be like the majority. We racers tend to go bed earlier, party a lot less and work a whole lot harder than most would think possible. We ride in the rain, dark and cold to get our aerobic base and we do more intervals than our competitors (at least we think we do!). We skip a lot of extra servings and steer ourselves towards the road less traveled, including walking stairs, not concerning ourselves with parking too close to a store and generally ride where it would be easier to jump in a car. What a strange lot we are. But, we’re a goal driven bunch that emits a positive energy that is usually contagious. It’s a great atmosphere to live in and around.
This is my 6th UCI masters track world championship. Former teammate Vic Copeland was the first to test the competition when he attended the first edition in Manchester, England in 1995. Vic won 9 championships and taught me a lot about being humble, thankful and working really hard for your goals. In 1997 former teammate Glen Winkel went to worlds and won the pursuit and points race. In 1999 I finally had a reason to get a passport though my work and squeezed in the September 1999 event, taking home my first (3km pursuit) and second (points) masters world championships. Our family lived in Belgium in 2001 so I just had to get to Manchester and scored two more wins in the same two events. I continued this two year pattern in 2003 with wins number five and six but was foiled of my pursuit bid in 2005 and “only” won the points race. I skipped 2006 and 2007 so that I could focus on 2008, my 50th year on this spinning globe and the 2km event, which as previously written is well suited for me. Well, it turned out that my myopic focus on the speed that I needed for the 2km win helped to carry me through the other events, including wins in the scratch race (new to the championships in 2007) and the sprints, which was quite the shock (but with 9 rides in 2 days it is an endurance event.
Yesterday (October 21) was scratch race and team sprint day. With a record breaking 430 athletes Day 2 was a 16 hour day of pursuiting. Yikes, no wonder the UCI wants to close down the event! Some groups had their qualifiers in the morning (we had thirty seven riders in two heats to pull 24 into the final). I qualified.
Next up was the team sprint where Reid Schwartz (Chicago, Ill), James Host and I did our best but only managed an 8th place finish.
Twelve hours after the qualifier we’re back on the track for the final. I’m exhausted as this lack of sleep is catching up to me (the awards ceremony for my pursuit win ended around 11:30pm and I was up at 5:30am, simply wide awake with my mind racing about all this racing. I got up and worked. Okay, so I’m tired and I cut a deal with myself. If I win the scratch race I’ll pull out from the sprints and reward myself with two days away from racing. Sold! But, winning is tricky with this BIG S on my back! Americans James Host, Aubrey Gordon and I talk about not chasing eachother. That’s sort of like teamwork, right? James gets into the early move and it looks promising with the 2nd (James) and 3rd place pursuiters (Stephane Le Beau) up the road. Well, Didier Ramet from France bridges across and now the trio is rolling away. After a hard chase by Bernardo, Upton, Rutherford and others the trio is caught but thankfully almost everyone is gassed. I’m talking 30 laps of almost 30mph speeds. 50 year olds can motor! The group is caught with about 8 laps to go, we do our little slower speed dance, I get a close encounter with a guys rear wheel and with 3 laps to go I hit the front. I can’t wait to see this video but for some reason no one attacked and I was able to razor my sprint to the line for the win.
check out: http://photoaction.net.au/site/#/gallery/uci-m5-scr/uci-m5-scr-8107/
for a nice shot of my vee!
A full night of scratch racing, some of the best I have ever watched.
Larry
- note: Rumor has it that the 2010 championships will be held in Lisbon Portugal. Now, there’s a place I’ve not been! Reunions… I love them.
Masters Track Worlds (Day 2) Oct. 20
2,000meter pursuit is on the schedule. I've been waiting for this event for 6 months (when I decided to return to Sydney) and I've been training for this one for something like forty years. I say that because the 2,000 is optimally suited to my physiology. It took me years to learn that and it’s also one of the reasons why I like to coach people. So that they might reach their goals sooner than later.
For those that didn’t know (but care enough to read this), my athletic background has very humble origins. I ran in high school, college and during the “running boom” but never won a race. I took up triathlons and did pretty bad in the swimming and cycling portions… but, I’m a persistent bloke and slowly got better at cycling. Slowly! I’m talking about 5 years of slow progress and then another 5 years before I found that track cycling suited me well. That’s a long time! How many athletes do you know that are patient enough to stick out 10 years of slow progressive growth? How many give up after one month? One year? I found the track in 1992 so add another 17 years to that 10 and you have a pretty patient athlete!
Onto the race: As the defending champion I’m in the last heat. I not only have the advantage of seeing all the times to beat but I also get the adrenaline rush as the times start to fall. I received another gift when the organizers placed last years 2nd place finisher James Host (Chicago, Ill) in the 2nd to last heat, so now I get to see his time and only need to beat either the competitor across the track in my heat or the most current best time (top two go into the gold ride). Save something for the final, right? Well, it turns out James has a 2:20 in him and sets a very high bar. Yikes, I did a 2:20.119 last year. Do I have a 2:20 in me today just 30 hours after arriving in Australia? Let’s find out, shall we?
As I mentioned, the 2km suits me well because I have a weakness in starting out too quickly and that’s a price that you can not pay back in a 3km or 4km event. But, in the 2km the penalty for starting out too fast is not as great. Yes, I started off too fast. Wouldn’t you? This is the world championships!
Kenny Williams is coaching me through this ride but its his wife Annette that I am thinking about. Wait, that doesn’t sound right (he he). Seriously, Annette set the world record for a 45+ year old woman for 2,000m at 2:31. That’s a smoking time and she would have placed 11th in the M50-54 age group. Back to the story: before the ride Annette is telling me about her new tactic with 2kms. Simply, when she is going out too fast, just continue to throttle it! Instead of backing off, she drives it and hopes the blowup will hold off until late in the race.
So, when I hear “six-oh” (short for 16.0 seconds per lap) from Kenny I know that I cannot hold this speed for the whole eight laps but I stay on the throttle. Turns out that I am up on my schedule (to qualify) and simply decided to roll with it. I qualified first in 2:17.051, a new 50-54 world record.
Okay, I don’t want to sound too petty but here’s the inside scoop. I was in Manchester England when Ian Hallam set this record in 1999. It was an amazing ride to watch and Ian was a great rider, for sure (professional) but what crawled under my skin was that he “retired” from work for a year to win his road and track world championships. Heck, I was laid off in July and decided to start my own financial consulting business. Just last Friday I was at a client for 14 hours. That’s not how I define retirement.
A WR is nice, but I still haven't won the world championship. James Host (who is a leap-year baby just like my son Andrew) and I face each other in the final. He appears more nervous than me but he doesn’t realize that I’m exhausted and wondering what’s in my tank! I thought Jim might set out for a scheduled ride (consistent is better than blazing) but he decided to go blazing and hit the first four laps really hard probably hoping to throw me into his game but I stuck to my pace and ended up with a fast ride, a Kookaburra stuffed animal, my gold medal and world championship jersey.
Thanks for reading. Larry
Masters Track Worlds - Day 1 (Oct 19)
Fags... we'll get to that later.
14 hours of flying to Sydney for the UCI Masters Track World Championships and very little sleep (how do people sleep in an upright position? I can't!). I arrive at 7am, get to the hotel at 9am, build up my bike and get on the veldrome by noon. The 500m (aging does not suit all of us!) is the first event and I've signed up not expecting to do well but to a) gain valuable experience with the start gate, b) to do some opening efforts for my goal event the next day and c) improve on my horrible start in 2008.
Since I had not signed in until a few hours before the event the organizers popped me into the first heat to make it easier if I was a no-show. My 35.8 second effort was the time to beat until the last two heats and then it was crushed. Dave LeGrys from Great Britain won in a world record time of 34.4!
Awards ceremony time and he's not to be found... he was outside smoking! Yes, he's a chain smoker and a world record holder too! "Fags" are slang in both Australia and England for cigarettes ;-)
14 hours of flying to Sydney for the UCI Masters Track World Championships and very little sleep (how do people sleep in an upright position? I can't!). I arrive at 7am, get to the hotel at 9am, build up my bike and get on the veldrome by noon. The 500m (aging does not suit all of us!) is the first event and I've signed up not expecting to do well but to a) gain valuable experience with the start gate, b) to do some opening efforts for my goal event the next day and c) improve on my horrible start in 2008.
Since I had not signed in until a few hours before the event the organizers popped me into the first heat to make it easier if I was a no-show. My 35.8 second effort was the time to beat until the last two heats and then it was crushed. Dave LeGrys from Great Britain won in a world record time of 34.4!
Awards ceremony time and he's not to be found... he was outside smoking! Yes, he's a chain smoker and a world record holder too! "Fags" are slang in both Australia and England for cigarettes ;-)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
51
To commemorate your fifty one years of age,
A poem I lay upon this page.
A year since last a celebration held,
It was of no grand occasion
Just friends and bikes and beer for all
Gathered in Australia nation.
The days were long, for it was spring,
(and what beautiful days they were)
So your daughter you thought so nice to bring
(quite generous gift to her)
Above the pacific sea you flew for hours
Alone with your planning of races
While she enjoyed Sydney’s spring showers
And dreamed of seeing new places
You rode like the wind (if it possessed wheels)
And fought the champions title
Challenged the competition, never kicked up your heals
For success was extremely vital
Hard work produced a medal and cheers
A new jersey and a nice koala
So we settled in for birthday beers
Too bad nothing rhymes with koala
You biked that day and the days before
Worked too hard and got kind of sore
You donned tight pants and a silly little hat
We all know you enjoy walking around like that
On that day it was fifty years
Since you joined this messy place
Fifty years of sweat and tears
Created a champion in that race
It was a birthday to remember, yes
But from last years story I digress…
For this year you are fifty ONE
And when you hear that starting gun
Think of family, think of Joe
Think of a squeaky “go-daddy-go”
And while you are so far away
Remember these wise words I say
You should hold every single birthday dear
Whether north or southern hemisphere.
Aubrey Leigh Nolan, our 23 year old daughter.
I love you girl!
Oh man am I ready for worlds...
A poem I lay upon this page.
A year since last a celebration held,
It was of no grand occasion
Just friends and bikes and beer for all
Gathered in Australia nation.
The days were long, for it was spring,
(and what beautiful days they were)
So your daughter you thought so nice to bring
(quite generous gift to her)
Above the pacific sea you flew for hours
Alone with your planning of races
While she enjoyed Sydney’s spring showers
And dreamed of seeing new places
You rode like the wind (if it possessed wheels)
And fought the champions title
Challenged the competition, never kicked up your heals
For success was extremely vital
Hard work produced a medal and cheers
A new jersey and a nice koala
So we settled in for birthday beers
Too bad nothing rhymes with koala
You biked that day and the days before
Worked too hard and got kind of sore
You donned tight pants and a silly little hat
We all know you enjoy walking around like that
On that day it was fifty years
Since you joined this messy place
Fifty years of sweat and tears
Created a champion in that race
It was a birthday to remember, yes
But from last years story I digress…
For this year you are fifty ONE
And when you hear that starting gun
Think of family, think of Joe
Think of a squeaky “go-daddy-go”
And while you are so far away
Remember these wise words I say
You should hold every single birthday dear
Whether north or southern hemisphere.
Aubrey Leigh Nolan, our 23 year old daughter.
I love you girl!
Oh man am I ready for worlds...
Sunday, September 20, 2009
2009 ain't over yet
iPhone over the helmet shot of the group ride yesterday. Our team gathered for a ride and eats and fun.
5 potential 2010 recruits + 3 parents + 8 juniors + 7 masters = motivation to push the pace on Palomares which is one of my favorite climbs with a new personal record of 17:43. 261 recorded climbs since 1991 and yesterday was my fastest! Getting old does not have to mean we slow down (although Peter Taylor beat me to the top!)
How is your off-season going? I won't know until after Master Worlds in Sydney (Oct 19-24) but our team is SOOOOOO looking forward to 2010.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Madison Camp (Sept 5-12) summary
Look, no one is sleeping!
Okay, so I ran out of time and didn’t post updates while I was in Colorado. Overall, I had a great time over the 10 days that I was away from home. Coaching at a National Camp has been my dream for many years and I hope to have more opportunities in the future. I learned a lot from Clay Worthington and from the athletes too. The other coaches were inspirational - Colby Pierce (Livestrong) joined us on days 6 though 8, and Cari Higgins (Proman) was there all week.
“That’s an accident waiting to happen” was my very first reaction when I saw a Madison about 15 years ago. If not schooled correctly, it’s easy to see most Madison races that way. It has been Clay’s ambition to change Madison races to be run off more like points races than shattered fields of riders. Obviously, I’m not the best Madison rider around (although I’ve won 6 state championships with 5 different partners ;-). Even still, I now fully appreciate that Clay tossed these national caliber athletes into the most sophisticated of cycling events and that the athletes responded without fear and with confidence.
Day 5- day after the rest day and you begin to understand why stage racers work their rest day! The group looks groggy and out of sorts.
Day 6- energy is back up as we have a morning session and then an option to race at night. It’s the final Madison event of the year in COS. We’ve got 4 junior teams duking it out with Colby and his teammate. The juniors score 2nd, 4th and 5th in the 40L chase, 5L scratch, 15L scratch, 80L chase format. Yours truly was DQ’d for dropping back and helping out one of the junior teams. Doh!
Day 7- 30mph winds kept us off the track so we were back in the classroom and then on the road in the afternoon.
Fast forward to Day 8 (Saturday, September 12) and we are looking at 12 teams of two riders exchanging in harmony, so much more coordinated than back on Day 2. Riders are staying on the pedals before and during the exchanges, relief riders better understand their roles and drop down with precision, exchanges are made powerfully and the speeds are up! Wow, what a week!
577km (358 miles) in 8 days! Great memories.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Junior National Madison Camp, Colorado Springs, CO – Day 3 and 4
Teammate Andrew Lanier Jr. and Matt Baranoski (Buck’s County, PA) hamming it up next to the USA Cycling that I’ve been driving all week.
Day 3 – another 4 hours at the track. 30 laps warm-up around 25mph in an 86 or 88 then 10 laps full gas burning most of the riders off, BUT today more stayed on longer than the first two days so we’re seeing progress.
We moved immediately to a Madison paceline warm-up and we’re seeing huge progress with the group of 13 teams of riders and their exchanges. That’s 26 riders on the track at the same time! The chaos is becoming organized! Two - twenty minute sessions with some solid instruction has these kids improving every hour.
Then the fun began. We stayed with our partners and did a flying 2km test. 3 weeks ago I broke my old national record at this distance (the 50+ year old pursuit distance) here at the Springs so this distance is obviously one of my strengths. But, we’re not talking about aero equipment, we’re talking about two riders slinging each other maybe 4 to 6 times in 2km. This is a real test because the higher speeds accentuate any exchange flaws the partners may have. It’s a great learning tool. About 10 of the 13 teams went under my 2:19.661 record with the winning time of Matt Baranoski (15-16 National Omnium Champ) and Colton Barrett (17-18 National Spring Champ) just around 2:08.5. That’s a respectable time, around 57.5kph!
Day 2 – afternoon and we were in the classroom to learn more about the fine intricacies of the Madison and to hear about the USA Cycling Track Endurance Program. We shuffled some kids around and then sat down for a 3 hour dinner with Clay. I am fully supportive of his initiative to improve Madison racing in America. So much so that I’m going to change my Tuesday night format to Madisons. Initial thoughts: Partner match-ups at 6:30pm, Madison warm-up at 6:45pm, two Scratch races, Miss and Out (together), two points races, final Madison, with all scoring done as a team. Feedback is encouraged.
Day 4- its our off-day today so we are planning a ride from the OTC out to the Garden of the Gods, followed by a nap!
Just to give you an idea of the quality of riders attending this camp:
Danny Heeley (CA) – Jr Madison National champion
Ian Moir (CA) – Jr 17-18 pursuit National champion
Matt Barnoski (PA) – Jr 15-16 Omnium National champion
Andrew Lanier (CA) – Jr 15-16 Points Race winner (part of omnium)
Zack Stein (CA) – Jr 17-18 Points Race National champion
John Tomlinson (IL) – Jr 17-18 Scratch Race National champion
Michael Dessau (CO) – Jr 13-14 ITT and RR National champion
Dave Kessler (CO) – Jr 15-16 RR National champion
Yannick Eckman (CO) – Jr 15-16 ITT National champion
Colton Barrett (MN) – Jr 17-18 sprint National champion
And, many more talented athletes! What an honor it is for me to work with these young athletes!
Speaking of young athletes, my 20 year old daughter Thea scored a goal for Fullerton yesterday!
Ain’t life wonderful?
Larry
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Junior National Madison Camp, Colorado Springs, CO – Day 1 and 2
A handful of cyclists in the Olympic Rings
Labor Day Weekend Hot Air Ballon festival just outside the COS Velodrome!
Clay Worthington is the USA National U25 endurance track coach and talent identification manager. He’s also responsible for all of the regional camps across the US. I met Clay when we were organizing the western regional camp. He came out to observe and help at our June camp. I was fortunate enough to have been invited to assist him during the Sept. 4-13 madison camp.
Teammate Andrew Lanier Jr was invited to the camp as was local talent Daniel Farinha (San Jose).
Neal Henderson (Taylor Phinney’s coach), Cari Higgins (Proman) and a few other coaches are here to help too.
Day 1 – Clay invited 22 of the best road and track junior athletes in the US. Clay laid out the rules and number one (as it should be) is safety. These kids are amazingly talented yet some had not ridden on a track before. The grand goal of Clay’s ambitions is to raise the level of Madison racing in America. The madison is arguably the most complex event in all of cycling. Guy East and Austin Carroll helped get lift off last year when they won U25 races in Europe. Daniel Holloway and Colby Pierce helped add credibility when they won pro six-day races. To raise skill and tactical levels of brand new track racers to these high standards seems lofty, but Clay dreams big –and- teaches in the detail so that these athletes simply “get it”. In today’s three hour session on the track we dove right into team pursuiting. Not the easiest skills (speed of pull, position in the draft, communicating while anaerobic, swinging off, latching back on, recovering to do it again) to aquire. All 22 riders raised their game in a relatively short period of time.
Day 1 afternoon road ride from the Olympic Training Center towards Pikes Peak (only 420m of climbing) helped to tucker these young athletes out (but only until they recharged their energy)
Day 2 – back to the track for 3 hours and we dive right into Madison exchanges after our paceline work. Amazing! I’ve been track racing for 17 years, I’m a supervisor at the San Jose Track and I’m the promoter of Tuesday Night Points races but until today I never would have thought that a rider with 3 hours experience could do a Madison exchange. These kids handled everything tossed at them. We practiced paceline Madison riding with 26 riders on the track repeatedly, with breaks for Clay to provide feedback, and the improvement with all of the riders was totally exciting to witness.
Day 2 afternoon road ride from the Olympic Training Center. No climbing but we did get rained on. When we turned to come back to the OTC we had the rain chasing us so the young men turned on the juice and throttled it for a nice 10 mile stretch into the wind. Like I said, these are some very talented athletes and I am very fortunate to be here to help. 80 miles in my legs today and I’m starting to eat like a teenager! Not really. Most of the OTC campers did 4 meals today (he he)
Good night!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Cheating Death
Today was the Altamont Team Time Trial which was also the District TTT Championship. It was the same course that Larry, Rob, Mick and I raced on in the spring, with a few miles added on to make it 40km. This time around our team was Rob, Craig, myself and Mark Volkman who stepped in for Mick when he got sick this week. We raced in the 35+ group.
We knew it would be windy today. It was windy in the spring and well, they put the windmills here for a reason! But hey, it wasn't THAT bad in the spring.
What followed was probably the most frightening 59:50 I've ever spent on my bike! Every thing was fine until we made it over Altamont Pass on the way out. As expected we got going pretty fast on the back side. What I didn't expect was the HUGE side wind gusts. Let's just say that getting moved across the center line at 50mph is NOT fun. My max speed was 52.5mph. I spent one mile where I averaged 45mph!!! I certainly wasn't in the aero bars and I likely wasn't pedaling much either! All told I probably spent less than 15 minutes in the aero bars and on some of those fast sections I wasn't even trying to go fast, I was just trying to control my bike and not go down. There were a number of occasions where we'd get blow over, get a speed wobble and fight like hell to get back in control so we could go again.
Poor Rob at 135 lbs was getting blown all over the place. We finally had to leave him as it was just too hard to stay in the pace line for him while he was getting blown all over. It was bad enough at 165 lbs...
We hit the turn around in 21:35 for an average speed of 34.7mph! On the way back there were sections where we were riding three abreast because the side wind was so bad. Where even in the "draft" I was putting out over huge watts just to stay on. This was the cross wind section. When we turned back into the teeth of the wind and started climbing back over Altamont Pass it was at least safe. But it was SLOW. I looked down during one of my pulls and saw that I was putting out 400W in my aero bars and going 13mph in my 39x21. Our return trip took 38:15 at 19.1mph.
We were the only team to break 1 hour. I have only once gone this slow in an individual 40km TT. Afterward, everybody I spoke to was in agreement that this was the scariest thing we had ever done on our bike. We all agreed that we spent far more energy on not crashing than riding fast on the way out. In retrospect a road bike with clip on bars and something like Zipp 404's front and rear would probably have been faster than our TT bikes today!
Happily as far as I know all the teams made it through and kept the rubber side down.
We knew it would be windy today. It was windy in the spring and well, they put the windmills here for a reason! But hey, it wasn't THAT bad in the spring.
What followed was probably the most frightening 59:50 I've ever spent on my bike! Every thing was fine until we made it over Altamont Pass on the way out. As expected we got going pretty fast on the back side. What I didn't expect was the HUGE side wind gusts. Let's just say that getting moved across the center line at 50mph is NOT fun. My max speed was 52.5mph. I spent one mile where I averaged 45mph!!! I certainly wasn't in the aero bars and I likely wasn't pedaling much either! All told I probably spent less than 15 minutes in the aero bars and on some of those fast sections I wasn't even trying to go fast, I was just trying to control my bike and not go down. There were a number of occasions where we'd get blow over, get a speed wobble and fight like hell to get back in control so we could go again.
Poor Rob at 135 lbs was getting blown all over the place. We finally had to leave him as it was just too hard to stay in the pace line for him while he was getting blown all over. It was bad enough at 165 lbs...
We hit the turn around in 21:35 for an average speed of 34.7mph! On the way back there were sections where we were riding three abreast because the side wind was so bad. Where even in the "draft" I was putting out over huge watts just to stay on. This was the cross wind section. When we turned back into the teeth of the wind and started climbing back over Altamont Pass it was at least safe. But it was SLOW. I looked down during one of my pulls and saw that I was putting out 400W in my aero bars and going 13mph in my 39x21. Our return trip took 38:15 at 19.1mph.
We were the only team to break 1 hour. I have only once gone this slow in an individual 40km TT. Afterward, everybody I spoke to was in agreement that this was the scariest thing we had ever done on our bike. We all agreed that we spent far more energy on not crashing than riding fast on the way out. In retrospect a road bike with clip on bars and something like Zipp 404's front and rear would probably have been faster than our TT bikes today!
Happily as far as I know all the teams made it through and kept the rubber side down.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Specialized Junior wins Elite District Track Championships
I've been racing the track since 1992, and I can't recall the last time a junior won the elite track championships. Certainly not a kilo or 4km pursuit. Maybe Daniel Holloway won a points race, but I'll have to check the records.
Our teammate Charlie Avis won the 4km individual pursuit on Saturday! Boy, did he look smooth out there. Not only that but somehow Ruggy Holloway talked him into doing a kilometer less than an hour before his targeted event. He posted a very respectable 1:10.84 in the kilo (good for 4th) and then took to negative spliting the pursuit. Check out this pace...
29.0, 25.4, 25.4 = 1:19.8 1st km
24.6, 23.9, 23.9 = 1:12.4 2nd km, 2:32.2 after 2km
23.9, 24.0, 24.1 = 1:12.2 3rd km, 3:44.4 after 3km
24.1, 24.3, 23.5 = 1.11.0 last km, 4:56.3 and winner of his first elite championship!
For those that care, 25.0 laps are 30mph and a 23.5 is 31.8mph! Sub- 5:00 on the San Jose track is respectiable. I'm thinking that Charlie could roll a 4:50 in his next try.
Not to sound boastful but Charlie was a great student. Robert Meyer (Metromint) had posted a 4:57.6 in the ride just before Charlie and Charlie responded very well to my shouting encouragement and asking him to pick up the pace!
Our teammate Charlie Avis won the 4km individual pursuit on Saturday! Boy, did he look smooth out there. Not only that but somehow Ruggy Holloway talked him into doing a kilometer less than an hour before his targeted event. He posted a very respectable 1:10.84 in the kilo (good for 4th) and then took to negative spliting the pursuit. Check out this pace...
29.0, 25.4, 25.4 = 1:19.8 1st km
24.6, 23.9, 23.9 = 1:12.4 2nd km, 2:32.2 after 2km
23.9, 24.0, 24.1 = 1:12.2 3rd km, 3:44.4 after 3km
24.1, 24.3, 23.5 = 1.11.0 last km, 4:56.3 and winner of his first elite championship!
For those that care, 25.0 laps are 30mph and a 23.5 is 31.8mph! Sub- 5:00 on the San Jose track is respectiable. I'm thinking that Charlie could roll a 4:50 in his next try.
Not to sound boastful but Charlie was a great student. Robert Meyer (Metromint) had posted a 4:57.6 in the ride just before Charlie and Charlie responded very well to my shouting encouragement and asking him to pick up the pace!
Vacaville GP
I showed up to the Vacaville GP not really sure of what I was getting myself into. I had overheard on local group rides that there was a hill in the course. When I got there my dad and I walked around the course once. The course itself is over a mile long! When I saw the hill I wasn't too worried at first as I knew that it was a straight up power hill. After walking around the course and doing the usual warm up/goofing around with teammates, we lined up at the start. I was already not feeling to well, I had a stomach ache and was tired and nauseous all over. At first I thought it was the usual stress you get at the start of any race ( I later realized that it was because I was sick). When the race started, the first lap was pretty contained with almost no attacks or surges. A few laps in a break of 4 including local junior Sam Bolster. I had watched the previous race and saw that the winning break went very early on. I decided to make my move and bridge up with 13 laps to go (out of 15). Within 1/2 a lap we got brought back. I stayed middle/front of the pack for most of the race until 5 laps to go when on the back side my bottle came lose and I had to slow down to fix it, this brought me to the back of the pack. With 1 lap to go I managed to move up to top 2o on the hill, but unfortunately I was pinched between two riders in the last turn who just could not hold their line. That meant that coming out of the last turn I had fallen back to about 30th. Realizing that sprinting for 25th would be stupid and dangerous, I just shut it off right there and drifted back to about 40th. Hopefully next week at the Giro di San Francisco I can do better and get some upgrade points!Thanks for reading,
-David
Sunday, August 9, 2009
First race in Belgium
Lovendegem, Belgium. The course was a 5KM loop with narrow roads and a 700 meter stretch of nasty cobble stones. The finish was near the end of the cobble section. We did a total of 12 laps, 60KM and I think 114 riders started. We went out really fast with everyone fighting for position on a road that could only fit about 3 cars; then we had a narrow right hand turn where you could barely fit 1 car. Right away a big crash happened right there and I was forced to go off road to get around them. I then had to stay in a group of riders trying to catch back up to the pack. When we got to the cobble stone section, it was the roughest and bumpiest road I had ever ridden on. I followed rider's wheels to save energy and eventually we caught the peloton. More crashes happened -there was a crash on every lap. I eventually cramped up after trying catch back on again and lost the peloton half way into the race. A small group of riders caught up to me and for the next 3 laps I stayed in that group as we caught rider after rider that had been dropped. At 9 laps done our group was pulled from the race because we had lost too much time on the peloton. Hopefully next week I will have a better race with no cobbles (thank God) and several climbs (in Ooike).
Alistair
Alistair
Friday, August 7, 2009
15-16 National RR
The road race was a long, hard, but also annoying road race. We started our 75 km road race. It was 14 laps around this 5 km loop, including a roundabout , that we had to take the long way around (I have no clue why they made us do that). 2 km into the race, Allistair unfortunately crashed, and we were hoping it would be a good day for him. Chris also got in the thick of this crash, so his race was over too. Then, 3 laps into our race, Andrew got a flat, and the neutral support guys took over a minute to change a front wheel! it was surprising for a national event! He tried to chase back on, but couldn't. then, it was Marcus, David, and I. 4 laps into the race, Paul Lynch attack out of the group and I followed him. Right after me, it was Yannick Eckmann, and David Kessler( both 5280 squad) followed me. We got into a break, and 3 km later, we got a 40+ second gap! We were flying! After about those 3 km, I could hold on. I popped off and went back to the field. Eventually, that was the winning break, with Kessler winning the road race.Then, about 5 laps later, there was a crash on the back stretch, and David got in that crash, so his day was done then too! After that group of 3 were up the road and gone, nobody wanted to do any work. with about 5 laps to go, somehow a group of 4 formed up the road, and so, I tried to catch them by attacking out of the group, but couldn't catch them, and nobody would help me catch them at all! It got really annoying! So, it came down to a sprint for 8th place, and I finished up there in 12th, and Marcus finished 21st. It was an okay day for the team, but there was some bad luck with 4 of our guys crashing, or flating, and with me not being able to hold on to the wheel in the breakaway.
--James LaBerge
--James LaBerge
James's 15-16 National Crit
After a little misunderstanding between James and I we each wrote entries about the National Crit. As you all know, two people never see the same race the same way. So here is James's view of the Crit.
After the race, this race was definitely the hardest, but the most fun race to watch throughout the whole day! Even USA Cycling said that our race was the most exciting race of the day! We had a field of about 70 guys, ans part of the course goes through a brewery, so the road was really small. The race started, and as I guessed, there was a huge pile up going around the first turn. This probably took out about a quarter of the field including 3 of my teammates( David, Chris, and Allistair)! Right after the crash, Yannick Eckmann(5280) attacked and had a gap. He had the field strung out for 9 out of the 25 laps on our 1km course. Our lap times were a speedy 1:30 about every time we went through those first 9 laps! Eventually, we caught Yannick, then Andrew put in some good attacks and brought back a lot of guys that would try to break away. While Andrew was doing all the work, Marcus and I were sitting in the pack waiting for the sprint or the right time to attack. The race settled down, and with one lap to go, there was either a split in the field, or a crash, but I do know that all the sprinters were up in the lead group , including me. Marcus then bridged up to my group of about 10, and went straight by us and attacked out of the group, and surprisingly, nobody jumped onto his wheel! Then, two 5280 guys were on the front, just keeping Marcus in striking distance with me right behind them and Cory Williams behind me. With about 300 meters to go, Marcus was still right in front of us, and I started my sprint! Unfortunately, as I started my sprint one of the 5280 guys started moving over, moving me into the sidewalk. So, I had to slow down. As I shad to slow down Cory Williams started his sprint, and there was nothing that I could do. I had to take the last bend on the very outside. Cory Williams eventually won the sprint. I ended up finishing in 4th, and Marcus 6th; best for 15 year olds! Congrats Marcus! As I look back now, I should have followed Marcus when he attacked because I could have started my sprint in front of everybody else and not have to worry about trying to get around anybody to start my sprint. In Conclusion, it was a great team effort, and this 15-16 squad received a medal at nationals!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Nationals Crit 17-18
On the day of the Nationals 17-18 Criterium things were going very well for the team. Charlie had won the 17-18 Time Trial and Marcus and James both got close to the win in the 15-16s Criterium, not to mention that we had achieved a season long goal of shaving everyones head. Joel and I were the only two racing in the final junior event at Nationals and I hoped to continue the team’s success. The start was faster than I expected, but I soon found a comfortable place in the field. Joel moved me up on a couple occasions when I moved too far back in the field. This type of teamwork is rare at Nationals where everyone wants a good result for themselves. With twelve laps to go a break of three riders that would end up staying away was about 15 seconds up the road. And 10 seconds up the road was another chase group of three. I bridged up to this group, but our group was caught by the field with 5 laps to go. I recovered for the sprint and finished 9th to cap off a successful Nationals.
15-16 National Crit
On Saturday we had our 15-16 crit. The course was short with a small hill on the back side. I was called up to the line because of last year's results. David Benkoski lined up next to me. In the first turn there was a crash and David almost went down, but kept both of us up. We had to unclip and get around the crash before sprinting up to the pack again. For the rest of the race small attacks went up the road with Andrew and James, while sat in and followed the wheels. With two laps to go, Andrew and I were set up well about 10 back, but a crash pushed both of us in 20th. James was in front of the crash and I worked my way up to him. On the last lap a 9 man break with all the sprinters (including James) got a small gap on the climb. I jumped across the gap and caught the sprinters who were looking at each other to work. I attacked them and got a gap through some turns. James got in 3rd spot and waited for the sprint. I don't remember much more then with 50m have 5 riders pass me. I finished 6th and James finished 4th. It was great teamwork because Andrew and James early attacks set up my attack and James's sprint.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tour of the Red River Gorge
Like most days when we have a local juniors race, we had an early wake up call, however this time it was to get to the airport for our early flight to Louisville, Kentucky. Upon arrival at the airport, the four of us who would be travelling together (me, Peter, and our two guest riders – Daniel Farinha from SJBC and Cody Tapley from Davis Bike Club) checked in our bikes and bags and began the trek though security. With time to kill, we found seats near our terminal and pulled out our various cycling magazines and breakfast foods. We hopped on the plane, found our seats (happily I got an exit row seat without a seat in front of me), and relaxed until we landed in Chicago. After an hour and a half lay over in Chicago, we were on our way to our final destination.
"Howdy y'all" greeted us over the PA system in the Louisville. All the luggage made it with the exception of Cody’s bag of clothes. Picking it up the next day was not a problem as another trip to the airport was required to pick up Daniel Tisdell. Billy and Craig, who supported us on the trip, picked us up and took us to our hotel in Lexington. In an effort to get us accustomed to the time zone, Billy and Craig gave us a strict 6 a.m. wakeup call, and boy was that tough. Little did they know that after a 6:30 breakfast we all went back to sleep for two hours. We spent the next day and a half riding the TT course a couple of times, driving the two road race courses, and taking in all the glory that Kentucky had to offer. Tuesday was our first day of racing, a double day – a 1 mile prologue in the morning and a 100km road race in the afternoon. Cody was first off and his TT bike did not pass the newest UCI rule which had apparently become effective only two days before the race. So he, like many others, were on their road bikes. One by one we went off and came back, none of us knowing exactly what our times were or how we stacked up against the current leader. Finally it was Charlie’s turn. He headed out and came back with the winning time! (at least that is what we gathered from the excitement in the announcer’s voice). Charlie’s time held through the few remaining riders.
Team Specialized was in the yellow jersey and it was time to defend it. As many of us expected, stage two began fairly fast. The riding was sketchy further back in the pack, so the team tried to stay near the front without putting our noses into the wind. After a few weak attacks from the pack, our very own Daniel T was able to get into a small breakaway that stuck for almost the entire race. The other five of us had our own jobs and team goals for the race, but it relieved some pressure by having a teammate in the early break. Going through the feed zone the pace began to pick up and continued hard into and through town to the intermediate sprint point. As we made our way out of town a group of about 12 riders went off the front and got a gap on thepack – but no Specialized riders were in the group. We spent the next portion of the race getting to the front and pulling back as much time on the group as we could. However, with so many teams represented in the break it was hard getting enough riders to work and the group ahead began to gain time. Charlie tried to follow wheels up to the break but was unsuccessful. Daniel F tried the same later in the race but was also unsuccessful. It was a very hot day and we were in desperate need for more water. I made one successful trip back to the team car for water but when I went back again, my bars turned into the car door, I bounced off the car and went flying across and off the road. I stayed upright but every single muscle in my legs cramped. Eventually I got back on my bike and had a mechanic give me a push, but it was too late to catch back on to the pack. I rode the last 15 km with one other rider who was dropped from the group. We finished the day with five of our six in the main group about one minute back from the new leader. And so we began our recovery for the next day.
Wednesday was the longer time trial, a 23 km out and back course with a few big rollers. Both Cody and took it easy today as there was no time cut and neither of us were in contention for the leader's jersey. Once I was done with my recovery ride/TT, the bigger namesstarted their rides. We were unsure how our guys would stack up and it became a waiting game. We waited and waited and were still unsure of the results as we packed up and headed out, but we did know we did not reclaim the leader's jersey.
Thursday was the much anticipated, very hilly, final road race stage of the tour. It was 115 km long with supposedly 8000 feet of climbing. The race started out at the bottom of the Red River Gorge – this was actually the first time that we saw the Red River. The pace was fast from the gun and continued fast over the top of the first climb, but then settled in to an easier pace over the next 20 km of rollers. As we made our first descent Daniel T. had a flat tire and had to drop pretty far back to get a new wheel. Just as he was catching the pack on the same descent there was a big crash, caused by the stupidity of a few riders. Daniel ended up going down, while the rest of us were comfortably ahead of it. A few kilometers after the feed zone we turned up the second of the four major climbs. The most steady of the four, this climb had a tunnel at the top for the riders to negotiate before making a descent into yet another section of rollers. While there was very little separation in the field on the climb, once the group got to the tunnel everything split. Unable to see more than 3 feet in front of ourselves, we were forced to ride at a very slow rate, while the front of the group cruised right through. After making it safely out of the tunnel we began the descent. Trying to chase back to the lead group there were a number of riders who completely missed turns. Watching riders go shooting of the road I began to descend more cautiously. With the help of about 5 other riders we made it back to the group just in time. After making it back up to the front third of the group there was yet another crash at the back of the field. This time it was Peter who had the unfortunate luck to be caught in the crash. A little cut up and completely covered in mud he began his chase, but was unable to catch the group. With about 45 km left we began our ascent up the third climb. At the base of the climb an HPC/Garmin rider attacked and Daniel F attempted to follow. After getting swallowed back up by the group, both he and I started to drift further and further back. Just as Charlie and Billy had predicted, the split was occurring on the third and hardest climb. Cresting the steepest section of the climb Daniel and I formed up with a group that quickly began to grow. As team cars came around our group, I knew that the selection was going to stick, and that Charlie was the only Specialized rider to have made the split. The next hour and a half of racing was quite uneventful in our group. As we came into the finish line Daniel F. was able to get 2nd in our group sprint, finishing around 20th overall on the stage. We later heard that from the lead group of about twenty, five riders broke off, then dropped one, and came to the line together. Both Cody and Peter rolled in more or less by themselves, with Peter coming in just minutes before the time cut. We would be starting the crit the next day with five of our six riders, as Daniel was unable to finish the stage.
Friday night was our final race, a downtown crit in Lexington. A six corner course with strong
winds on both the uphill and flatter sections was going to make for a very hard race. With nothing to lose our plan was to be aggressive and try and get in an early breakaway. When we got the whistle to start the race there seemed to be plenty of guys willing to make it a hard race, which meant it was tough to even get to the front. Both Charlie and I were fairly active for the first half of the race, but were unable to get in a break. With about 30 minutes left in the race a few riders got off and were joined later by another two. That break stuck for the remainder of the race and took the podium. Charlie attempted to take a flyer with two laps to go, but as was the case for the entire race, he was a marked rider and the pack did not let him escape. Riding on the leadout train of Hot Tubes I was able to go into the field sprint with great positioning and finished 5th in the field sprint and 9th overall.
Overall, the race was a great learning experience for everyone. We got in some good hard racing just in time for nationals. It was also a really fun trip and I look forward to returning next year and putting in a strong team performance.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Watsonville 3's
Watsonville for me was supposed to be more of a "training race", something not too important, but once I smelled the finish line and thought about winning, in my head I had to give it all. The race started as usual, the whistle blew and we were up the hill. The course at watsonville has a hill that resembles the one from Cherry pie. It also has 2 near 180 degree turns and three 90 degree turns. Since I had already won at Cherry Pie on a similar hill, I knew I would have an advantage in the sprint. That idea was soon gone when a 2 man break went only 4 miles into the 24 mile race. My dad was yelling the time gap (in french) and it soon got to almost 30 seconds. A few guys brought the gap down to around 15 seconds, and I decided to jump across. It took almost 3 laps for me to catch them. We held off the front with about a 20 second gap until about 4 laps to go ( a little over 4 miles). Our lead was wipped out in less than 1 lap. With about 3 laps to go I knew it would come down to a sprint. I sat in and recovered as best I can knowing I would try to contest the sprint. With 1 to go I was 3rd wheel. A rider from SJBC (who happened to be about 6'5" tall-best draft) decided to lead it out for all of us. I very aggressively fought to get on his wheel. Coming around the last turn I was 2nd and with about 300m to go I went. I started my sprint with the best pop I think I ever had, slowed down a bit, and then had a second kick of acceleration with about 75m to go which gave me a clear lead over everyone. I went across the line first. I was so happy. I know that having a pair of Zipp 404's and my Tarmac SL2 frame definitely helped with both aerodynamics and stiffness.
Hopefully I will pull the same result at nationals!
Thanks for reading.
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