2013 CCCX CR #9 - P123

Race: CCCX CR #9 P12
Course: 90min on the original Fort Ord course, some of everything but not too much of anything. Just what I like (keeps my mind busy while legs are screaming).

Result: http://instagram.com/p/ckiswZFRBe/#
1st Place!

Report: Only ~15 riders showed up today for the P123, but included Eamon (CalGiant) fresh of his BIG Win at SRT, Ranier & Nick from TMB, Randy B. (Leopard), Byron A. (DBC) and Logan Loader's roommate Thibault representing France Thibault plus a few riders that were on the podium in the E2/3 race. So I figured my best chances are from a break that does not include Randy or Rainer.

At the start I find a Cliff, Mario, and  Scott fresh of their podium in the race before. So bar was set high and they seemed in great spirits and simply told me to win. Thanks for the motivation guys. 

Attacks started flying from the gun: After several attacks from just all over the place Eamon goes solo establishes a gap n the false flat after the tailwind climb, I jump hard and bridge. On the main rollers into the headwind Thibault joins us. Great we have some major horsepower, but there is equal horsepower behind us and still 85minutes left in the race!!! By the front-side tailwind rollers we have a good gap but Chris Cain (hot off his E2/3 win) is bridging solo. We decide to wait since one more rider will really help our TTT effort and we assume he will not be there at the very end since he is on race #2. After a lap or two of Thibault really punching it on all the climbs, Eamon has had enough and decides to sit up since the pack is on our heals and the pace had been pretty surgey and unpleasant. At this time Chris is yo-yo-ing but I convince Thibault to take longer pulls rather than harder pulls and give Chis some time to recover. Chris hangs tough for another lap or two before giving us some encouragement and sitting up.

Two Man Break:The pack keeps coming in and out of sight, so Thinbault and I just try to keep the gas on as much as we can and make sure we hit all the climbs pretty hard. We had to do about half the race as a two-man break and for the last 2-3 laps we had a small chase group of about 2 or three trying to bridge that was pretty close at times. We worked well together and didn't play any games until half way through the last lap when we new the chasers were not going to catch. Thinbault made one big attack on the final rollers, but I was expecting it and he finally looked to be fading. I wanted him to be on the front for the descent and finale since that is where I lost the race last time against Eamon on this course, so I went to the front and guttered him for the final mile or so before the descent gave a flick of the elbow so hopefully he would out of courtesy take over after my long effort. Unfortunately he was content to sit on.

The Finale: So the games began. I hit the final descent at a tempo effort before swinging off to the right so he would have to come around into the wind. Again he just waits, as we get closer to the final corner I ease off the gas to loosen up the legs and stay right so I can see him out of the corner of my eye. Now it is almost like a match sprint. I watch to see how close I can get to the corner before he opens it up. He never jumps so I jump just before the corner and get the inside line and give it all I got. This was at lower speeds than normal so I make sure not to get too trigger happy with the shifting knowing the final kick before the line can really bog you down if your over-geared. Sure enough Thibault comes around slowly before the road kicks up. I just give it as much as I can to keep the gear from slowing. The tables turn again and Thinbault begins to fade slightly as I keep my gear spinning to the line and take the Win by about a wheel length. Chris C. snapped a video of the sprint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5DF42r0jLY&feature=youtu.be It is not pretty but we had just done a 90min TTT effort.

Date Geek Info: http://app.strava.com/activities/72008447

Time: 1hr27min

Dist: 34.4mi

Elevation: 2887ft

Norm Power: 279w (254w Ave) setting new power PRs from 60min thru 90min

2013 Foothill College Circuit Race - pro 1/2

Race: Foothill College Circuit Race P12

Course: 60min and description per promoters webpage, "Course is a clock-wise 1.09 mi. loop around Foothill College campus, on good, clean pavement. 60 feet of climbing per lap. Start/Finish on top of hill at the pedestrian bridge."this will be relevant later ;)

Teammates: Tim L., Sean S., Carmi, Matt A., Lee P, Jesse C., Pablo E. and myself. Awesome crew!

Results: http://instagram.com/p/bxbFOxlRAp/#

2nd - James, 7th - Lee,  top 15 for Matt (forgot to get a photo of the results)

How it went down: Over 40 riders showed up at the start line, Lots of solo heavy hitters, and several squads such as Leopard-Sapporo & Lombardi having a handful of riders. Our plan was to be active, we better be we had a lot of guys in this race! Pretty open ended plan of marking moves and making sure we have someone in every move, with Matt & myself (if my legs had any snap in them today) being our sprinters if it came down to a field sprint.

Early: Riders took a lap or two to get the lay of the land and then it was pretty much attack after attack. SquadraSF was simply in every move that mattered. If we somehow missed it which was race someone would either bridge to it or tighten the screws at the front and let the pack real them in. This was a great display of our strength, Natalie (my wife) was on the sidelines watching and said the announcer was always mentioning SquadraSF and that we ALWAYS had someone in the move! Having so many teammates being active was great, I could follow an attack that made sense based on my location in the pack relative to my teammates and how gassed I was at the time. I honestly can say every single rider on our crew was up the road at some point. Made my racing less nervous and tactics much easier.

All the early moves were brought back quickly since the race was pretty much full gas, but after the mid-point you could tell that people were getting tired the pace would let up more often, This couldn't have happened at a better time because all of my early moves were brought back pretty quick and I would be immediately sent to the back of the pack to lick my wounds. A little demoralized I decided to continue simply marking moves and told Matt he is our guy for the Sprint.

Final Break: With about 7 to go, Rob S. (Fremont Bank) and another rider are given a bit of a leash on the first hill, I move up knowing they have some firepower and bridge across over the finish hill. Next time up the hill the other rider gets popped and I give some encouraging words to Rob saying we got a pretty big gap lets go for it. After a lap or two the gap is about the same but Rob Evans (BearDev) bridged solo. The three of us work together pretty well, we can hear time checks over the loudspeaker, ranging from 10-20seconds, about one turn ahead of the pack. My teammates did a amazing job patrolling the front, Natalie recalls seeing Lee & Carmi on the front clearly holding thier ground up there but riding a false tempo. Word on the street is Pat Briggs brought it back almost within reach on the final lap then handed it over to anyone else and everyone just looked at each-other for that split second.

Finale: About that same time, I had just done a final hard pull up the main climb and try to get Rob or Rob to take the final decent. They hesitate, I give some more encouragement that they are right on our tail and gonna catch us if we mess around. So Rob takes the decent and I jump on his wheel, Evans on mine. I jump hard at the bottom of the decent and start the long sprint to the "start/finish on top of hill at the pedestrian bridge", I have the inside line and legs have some pop left in them and am able to spin it up pretty good... fly under the pedestrian bridge where the finish was in 2011 & 2012 with Evans still behind me, I stop pedaling after passing the pedestrian bridge thinking the race is over, sit straight up, and throw an arm up. Announcer even calls it that I won, then I realize Evans is still going full gas and his front wheel just passes mine at the 2nd tent which happened to be the one with the finish line and camera 50m past the initial tent and pedestrian bridge. OHH NO I DID NOT JUST DO THAT.....YES I DID, luckily it wasn't much farther than the old finish line so my momentum carried me fast enough to still only miss the win by less than one wheel, but SHIT that is one hard lesson. Happy with 2nd Place for sure but it definitely not a WIN that was almost in my pocket. Don't assume anything and pay attention to important details such as where the finish line tape it.

Anyways the pack was literally on our heels, Tim was leading out Matt and got boxed in. Lee freelanced his way to 4th in the field good enough for 7th Place with Matt just a little farther back somewhere in the top 10 or so in the field sprint. Again SquadraSF was by far the most active team and was mentioned more than any other team during the race. Despite my finish line location F-up I think it was a victory for the team as a whole. Natalie watched the whole thing and was really impressed by the entire SquadraSF crew!

Amateur Tip: Primes are a great way to open up the legs, test the final sprint, and practice your line for the final sprint. Going for a prime earlier would have been a perfect place to make my mistake.

Data Geek Info: Strava File - http://app.strava.com/activities/67179655
Time: ~60min
Distance: ~26mi
Elevation Gain: 1840ft
Power: 285w NP w/ 235w Ave.

Final Break was ~15min w/ 308w NP & 296w Ave

2013 CCCX #7 - P123

Race: CCCX #7 - Fort Ord Circuit Race
Field: P123 w/ ~15 starters.

Teammates: None, but they killed it in the E2/3 race taking 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 6th!!! Can't wait to read that report!

Result: 2nd Place
Strava File

After missing a few races due to stress, traffic, burnout & hectic schedule I was excited to try to get back at my favorite Low Key event in the NCNCA....but then I somehow remembered I forgot my shoes after getting on the 280!!! So my long warmup and stress free Sunday was no more, but there were plenty of teammates around when I arrived to help me get my life back together and get ready to race (despite no warm up)!!!

Lap 1: Everyone (even Eamon) said they wanted to take it easy for the first half the race but Eamon off his European campaign had other plans. Metro-Mint had several riders, BearDev had 2 and we were off, but after only 3min we were already hitting the first climb pretty good to test how everyone is feeling.

Lap 2: BearDev sprinter Matt sneaks away clearly setting up his teammate Sam to get a free ride. On the tailwind climb Lucas brings it back and hits it as we pass Matt. I keep it going on the false flat to drop the biggest threat in a sprint out of the race. On the backside rollers Sam puts in a good attack while I am at the back, I wait, but then see Eamon putting the hammer down over the top of Sam. I had no choice but to go the long way around into the wind, but this at least kept anyone from getting onto my wheel. When Eamon checks the damage, I hit the front and add some more. Sam fades on the false flat and the group behind is splitting up.

Lap 3-7: So with 75min left to race we are more than happy to share the workload. It actually works out great, I have a great draft & motor do less work on the flats and I hit most of the climbs keeping the pace up. After about 30min into our effort we ease up a bit and ride tempo since the chasers were not in sight, some riders had pulled out and were now watching and we lapped a handful of riders who had thrown in the towel.

Final Lap: David Mesa (Chica Sexy) was one persistent MFer. He takes advantage of our confidence and catches us as we come into the bell lap. Props Dave! Now the games started. On the steep section of the tailwind climb I hit it as hard as I can. This pops Dave, but Eamon sits on. I end up playing the odds game vs going purely for the win. Having Dave in the finale would have bettered my chances for the Win, but could cost me 2nd. Eamon's Dad was watching and he wanted revenge from CCCX #3 when I got him in the sprint. So Eamon makes me take us ALL the way through the rollers and decent. Cat and mouse ensues before the final turn, we are basically track standing. In the match sprint I have the inside line, but Eamon has the better jump and gets the Win for his dad. After a weird month or so of riding/racing I am happy with 2nd, but if there is a re-match before the end of the season I will be aiming for the Win.

Podium Shot

Data Geek Info:
Time: 90min Dist: 8laps = 34.4mi Norm Power 267w ( w/ 233w ave)

Almost identical to CCCX #3 when I was in the lead group w/ Eamon, Bryan Duke, and Chris Cain except this time I was the bridesmaid.
CCCX #3 Time: 88min Dist: 34.4mi Norm Power: 265w (w/ 229w ave)

Central Coast Circuit Race #3 - Pro/1/2/3

Kurt, Scott, Mike (off a long solo effort for the win in 35+), and myself rolled up to the startline for the P123 which ended up having 37 starters. Weather was perfect, 60s, and a strong onshore wind.

The race began pretty mellow. I did not recognized too many riders except for Ethan (Metromint) and Art (Marc-Pro), but there were several other Metromint riders and a half-dozen Ritte Dev. JRs. After a lap or two we hit the front side climb pretty hard. After Art did the damage he pulled off and I came through to keep the momentum but find everyone was simply marking him, but fine to let me waste energy off the front. 
Break of two-1: I decide to just keep cruising at a tempo pace and let them catch back up or have some riders bridge, but they shut down and my gap grows. So I pick it up to a hard tempo, but still being careful to not go over threshold for any extended period of time. One Metromint rider bridges and we work together for a lap or two. I paced it pretty conservative hoping more would bridge, not wanting to do a 2-man TT for 1hr. Rob (McGuire) bridges, but the pack decides 3 is too many and reels us back in.
Break of two-2: As expected there is counter attack. Ethan (Metromint) jumps, Kurt anticipated this (perfect play Kurt) and hops right on and a new break of two forms. Their gap holds steady for a lap and then they disappear growing to over 1min, then shrinks as the laps tick by 50sec, 45sec, and finally 30seconds. With 2 laps to go the gap was close-able but the pack seemed to have lost motivation once again. When we hit the bell lap Kurt decides to leave his break companion and go on alone. Ethan throws in the towel and the atatcks start coming again, nothing sticking but shedding riders every so often.

Finish: As we hit the final rollers several riders attacked, but were quickly marked, this caused the gap to close down almost all the way then again the pack sat up, Kurt continued on and the gap grew. I thought this might be it, "he's gonna do it." About that time a Cal Poly rider and a Ritte rider put in a solid attack/flyer attempt over the last roller. I jump on it, they look back asking for help, see my jersey and continue on realizing I my teammate is still up the road. Halfway down the decent the majority of the pack is with us and Kurt is not too far off.  I am on the outside near the bad section of road at the bottom of the decent and see Art (Marc-Pro) drill it on the inside gutter, I accelerate into the wind to get over to the inside and muscle my way onto 3rd wheel. Art continues to drill pulling off just before the corner. I was expecting him to just go for the line since he didn't have any teammates today, but maybe he just wanted to bring back Kurt and not mess with the sprint? Kurt is making the turn and we are right behind coming at full speed. I sense some hesitation by the rider in front of me and the swarm behind so I jump to take the hole shot on the corner passing around the outside of Kurt and open up the sprint. That little rise just gets steeper and steeper ouch the last 30m almost killed me but luckily I got a solid gap at the corner and was able to take the WIN with room to spare. 

Strava File
Placings:
1st - James (me)
17th - Kurt swarmed at the final turn. Mike and Scott were a little taxed from earlier races.