Copperopolis and Easter Sunday Classic

Saturday was Copperopolis, a race that is known for having really bumpy roads. I decided to race with the category 3's instead of the juniors 15-16. On the first lap, the field was riding at a decent pace but riders were getting popped off the back on the first climb. After the second climb, my seat post started to slip. I didn't have any tools with me, so I had to pull it back up as far as I could hoping it wouldn't slip again. There were no attacks on the second lap, but a group of three riders got away on the flat section of the course. They had a minute gap from the field because no one wanted to chase them. On the first climb of the third lap, we hammered it up again and most of the field got dropped leaving about fifteen riders. The field wasn't getting any closer to the break until the last lap. One of the riders from the break dropped the other two riders and we were able to catch one of them on the flat section. We were coming up on the last climb, when the field split again. The group that I was in was able to catch back up on the descent. I was getting ready for the field sprint when we caught the other rider from the break. I finished 5th in the field sprint and 6th overall. In the end, there were only about 10 riders left in the group and we started with 50.

Today was the Easter Sunday Classic, a very windy and tricky course with two hairpin turns. A Mike's Bike rider went off the front on the third lap and gap the field. I waited for someone to make the move. One rider jumped and I followed and we caught the Mike's Bike rider. I was then in a break of three and we were all working well together. Our gap was growing and I saw riders were trying to bridge to us but were unsuccessful. Coming into the finish I could not go around the other two riders because of the strong head wind. I ended up finishing 3rd.

Overall, I had a great weekend of racing and I am looking forward to Wente Road Race and Auburn Crit next week.

Matt Valencia

Junior development trip to Belgium

Europe trip #1 by Billy Innes

Izegem, Belgium. This little farm town out in West Flanders is where the USAC cycling house is and where we base most of our 15-16, 17-18 and U23 racing trips. It’s a house full of rooms and bunk beds, bike rooms and wheel holders, and a grand dining table usually full of hungry athletes refueling after a long day in the saddle.
This year I received an email detailing the trips I was heading over for. My first adventure is a two week trip, with a bunch of races consisting of a kermesse, a Junior Interclub (think big, important Junior race), and a 4 day stage race, Ster van Zuid Limburg, then I come home get over jet lag and head back to Belgium 12 days later (but that’s another story).
We’ve got 6 guys ready to compete here and are rearing to go, Gregory Daniel, from Colorado, Matt Lipscomb, from Georgia, Tyler Williams, Kyle Torres and Scotty Stern, from California, and Colby Wait-Molyneux from Washington. It was unfortunate that David Benkoski came down with the flu just prior to this trip and stayed home, but we hope to see him over here on the next trip in early May. All the guys flew over a few days ago, dealt with a bit of jet lag and after a couple of light rides are ready to race. Scotty has been living in Belgium for the last month or so, familiarizing himself with all the subtleties of Belgian racing and he’s become the source of information for the others who haven’t been here yet.
Today is their first race, a kermesse in Geluveld, which is only about 30 minutes from the house, therefore logistically super easy. 15 laps of a 6.2km circuit will make for a quick day, about 2.5 hours and then we’ll be back home eating dinner and preparing for Sunday’s Interclub race. Kermesses are local affairs with a start finish line taped to a road, a beer tent, a casual feed zone and no caravan. They are the most basic of Belgian races, but some of the most difficult to win. Local team politics and where a rider is from can influence a kermesse like nothing else. Imagine there were a lot of races in America, local races that had riders living near or in the towns where they were held. You’d do anything to win in front of your Mom, wouldn’t you? Belgium has this scenario in spades. For example: today, a Saturday, there are 13 races, for different categories, in West Flanders alone. West Flanders is about 1200 square miles, around the same size as Rhode Island.
Sunday’s Interclub race, being held in Pommeroeul, Wallonia (the French speaking region of Belgium, 6600 square miles) is a much larger race and one that resembles our National Championships in terms of size and material, but these races take place around 4 times a month, or more. It will have a managers meeting, free coffee for all who attend (important to me), race bibles, podium girls, flowers, trophies, a feed zone, an extremely hectic caravan, race radio, and a lot of spectators. Suffice it to say that Belgians are used to more in their races than we are back in the States-sometimes on a Wednesday.
Having a house in Europe, as a base of race operations is unbelievably crucial to the development of our athletes, wherever they may land and wherever their careers take them. The lessons learned from racing here go so very far. Parking lot criteriums will not make Olympians.
Much more to come…



R-L: Matt Lipscomb, Colby Wait-Molyneux, Tyler Williams, Gregory Daniel, Kyle Torres, Scott Stern

Team Specialized Racing

This weekend I traveled to Upper State New York to race Battenkill. If you are unfamiliar with Battenkill, it is a one day road race through small 'villages' on both paved and dirt roads. In it's 5th year, it is already the biggest one day race in North America.

We don't have any teammates anywhere near New York, but the Team Specialized Racing influence is still strong there. Many competitors came up to me and asked if I knew different teammates around the country who they had raced against. They were always so positive. They usually said something about how strong our teammates are and then about how they talked to them after the race and how nice they were. They asked asked if I had any teammates at the race, because they knew that when we show up with a team at a race, we race as a team. One 17 year old competitor in particular talked about a race where he almost beat Phillip O'Donnell. He was so excited just to finish close to Phillip.

We have worked hard to form a good image of racing hard and being respectful, while also having fun. It was great to see how the image of Team Specialized Racing has spread around the country.

I went into the race hoping to repeat on last year and win, but I had some bad luck. We started the race with 75 17-18s and 50 15-16s all in the same pack. I rode near the front on the climband felt great. We thinned out the field to around 50 riders after 20 miles, but then I went around a turn and hit four pot holes flatting quickly. I continued to ride with the group while waiting for the follow vehicle, but it too far back. I lost the group once we hit some pavement. The support vehicle finally made its way through the shattered groups of riders to me and about 5 other riders. I got a new wheel, but I was already 5 minutes off the pack. I decided to make the best of it and go as hard as I could to the finish. I pulled a shuffling group of other riders for the next 2 hours as we caught and dropped riders. I was disappointed that I was out of the race, but "it's racing" and I had to make the best of my situation.

Marcus

Racing in the South

This weekend I ventured over to Anniston, AL for the NRC Sunny King Criterium and Foothills Road Race. This race was circled and underlined on my race schedule. The day started off with the Juniors race at 11:30. This years 15-18 year old race started off in 80+ degrees temperatures. Promptly after the start, Frazier Cycling animated the race. I would say that I did 85% of the work to keep these riders with in a reasonable distance. As soon as one of the Frazier riders had been brought back, another one went. After bringing them back several times by myself, I decided to let the next attack dangle; letting me keep them in sight with out killing myself on the front. By the end of the race, I found myself on second wheel coming in to the last turn. This race also solidified my confidence in my sprint; taking the win by a bike length.

The major focus of the day was my category 2 race. The race started with 120 riders on a .6 mile circuit. I was very happy with my race. After about 10-15 minutes of racing, I took off on a solo break. Lap after lap went by with a 5-10 sec gap. Meanwhile, in the field, a 20 person crash happened on turn four. As I came through the home stretch the riders were being let out of the neutral pit!  Before I even passed the pit, riders were almost moving at my speed. Those 20 riders filled in the gap between me and the field. At that point, I was not a happy camper. After about 3 laps of rest, I wanted redemption. I chased up to a group of 3 off the front. I restructured their move. Another rider came up to help and we forced the pace, releasing 2 of the original break riders. Another great move with at least 10 seconds or more. Another strong break. This one lasted even longer. But, eventually the field got anxious and brought us back. As a sat in the final 7 laps or so I started setting my self up for the sprint. Coming out of the last turn in a disappointing 15th or so, I managed to make up ground for 7th!

The next day was the Foothills road race.  Just looking at the start list and seeing these teams: Kelley Benefit Strategies, Bissell, RealCylist.com, Chipotle, Pure Black Racing, Pista Palace, Kenda, Jamis, Team Type 1, and Mountain Khakis, I knew it was going to be a tough race. The course featured some tough climbing,  a climb with switch backs and a speedy descent. I knew what I had predicted was correct; a day in the pain cave. But I stayed strong in the pack, racing with guys who make a living doing this! As we hit the final two miles of flat country roads, dropping off the plateau, the racing was fast. I hung in the draft watching what some will watch on TV during the Tour of California. Teams battling for position, bumping, and surging. In the end, Cole House of RealCylist.com took the win, with me spinning away mid pack with 25th place. I was very happy. The race was one of my proudest cycling moments to date.

Next up for me is Sea Otter Classic where I will reunite with my teammates to throw down an onslaught of fury. Not to mention catching up with sponsors! Come check out the demo bikes from the Specialized tent and drop by the team tent. It is sure to be a fun week!

Turlock Lake RR

Today at 8am Kevin Metcalfe, Dean LaBerge and myself hit the starting line for the 1st annual Turlock Lake Road Race. It was going to be a long 107 miles in the middle of nowhere other than a lake. We headed out without talking before the race and knowing that there would be a good possibility of a breakaway getting away with Cal Giant and Kirk Carlsen there. Many people tried to get away and for the ones that did, they were kept on a short leash of no more than 45 seconds. After the 2nd lap of 4, Kevin started bringing out some attacks and the "real race" was getting started.....that is until we were short-noticed by an official as we are barreling towards the turn at 30 mph. We came to an immediate stop and were told that there was an accident and the races had to be stopped. Earlier in our race, there was a nasty crash on the pothole section (luckily we were all up at the front and were safe). We heard that there was a more serious crash from the women's race and 2 medical helicopters had to come in and take them to a local hospital. We laid down on the warm pavement for over an hour, stretching and talking and having fun making jokes. It even got to the point of Kevin and I talking about how we could be blogging at the time about the race while we were stuck for the hour. After the delay, we were able to finally continue our race and oh did my muscles not feel the best after sitting and stretching for an hour and racing for the previous 3 hours. It took a good 1/2 lap to get back into the rhythm of racing again and I felt good. We came into one lap to go as a single group and we knew the last lap was going to be fast. My dad, Kevin, and I were all at some points at the front making attacks, pulling at the front to create gaps and try to pop off anyone. Eventually with about 10 miles to go, Steve Reaney made an attack and the field didn't even move. Kevin immediately went after Reaney and was able to catch him and they started working together. Behind, the field chased the rest of the way to the finish with a couple attacks and eventually Kirk was able to bridge the gap and it was the 3 of them. We closed in on the 3 in the last km and it almost seemed like a bunch field sprint. There were many lead out trains as I hoped from one to another hoping I would find the right one, but didn't. I was finally able to sprint after 107 miles and finished 14th. Kevin got caught and passed with 200 meters to go. This race was proudly presented my Rabobank and they really helped make this have a great venue for being out in the middle of nowhere, so thank you! Hope this race continues next year and see you then!

Thank you for reading.

--James LaBerge

Most Fun Training Ride Ever

So a few weeks ago, I had no racing going on over the weekend so I headed out for a nice long ride in the hills. I ate a filling breakfast and fueled up with a couple cups of coffee before heading out the door and riding into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was very cold and cloudy outside when I left and after about 15 minutes, it started pouring. There is no better way to keep your body warm than by climbing a hill. Luckily I had a lot of hills on tap for this route. The excitement didn't start until about an hour into the ride when I began climbing the incredibly steep hill, Prospector Road. About halfway up, the side of the road was sprinkled with snow and by the time I got to the top, I was getting pelted with snow and hail. I was staying pretty warm going up the climb but when you go up, you must also go back down. It was now time to start the descent down Marshall Grade into a headwind. The snow and hail was smacking me in the face on the way down the hill. I got to the bottom and immediately found a gas station so I could thaw out a bit. I usually don't like gas station coffee too much but on a day like this, it tasted so good. I felt warm again so I hopped back on my bike and headed back home....into a headwind with an occasional 40+ mph gust! It never stopped raining and the wind only got worse as I rode on. Luckily, my Specialized SL2 handled great on the slick, serpentine descents that I faced on my way home. I finally reached my driveway and rode into the garage. I was drenched, frozen, and exhausted but it was definitely one of the most fun times I've spent on the bike. Torey Philipp