2013 Little City Stage Race - Pro 1/2

Little City Stage Race (actually an Omnium)

Pro1/2 field of 25 rolling solo for SquadraSF. While many teammates were up North at an Epic stage race in Oregon, I chose to do a pretty low key event Stage Race and visit my Aunt/Uncle who live about 10min from all 3 stages. Despite the weather forecast it was an awesome 2-day event just a few hours from the Bay Area.

Stage 1: 10mile TT

Out and back course at an elevation of 5,500ft with a gradual decent on the way out and slight headwind and false flat on way back. I went off at 11:30am and it was already in the 90s. I did my best not to overdue it on the way out and try to pick it up a bit on the way back. I ended up gaining on the two ahead of me which was promising, and feel I paced it pretty well considering the altitude and heat. Clocked a 20:52 good enough for 15th and 3 omnium points.

Stage 2: 60min Crit

Pretty fun 6 corner crit. Our start was at 3pm and it was well over 100degrees for this race. They started the race off with 3 hot laps for $100, $75, then $50. Unfortunately, due to the dry heat my contacts completely dried out waiting at the start line so I had to sit off the back due to lack of vision and blink repeatedly for these "hot laps." The omnium scoring makes for interesting tactics. I played it pretty conservative and just sat in the bunch waiting for dangerous moves to form. About half way through the race two Chris & Nate (Marc-Pro), Pete (Cliff Bar), and Vincent Owens are up the road. The pack was clearly unsure if they should chase. All those guys are motors and Chuck was happy to let them go since Chris was 2nd on GC and Carling had missed the move. I was pretty confident this move would stick.

The gap stayed at 10-15 seconds for a few laps then Brite-Sport puts a few guys on the front, I get on the wheel of their last rider. I knew as soon as he was done the pack would loose it's organization and motivation once again, so as soon as pulls off I jump hard from the front and go all in to bridge across. It took almost a full lap, but I just barely made it. WOW the heat makes it hard to recover, I was on the limit for a few laps, but slowly began to come around and helped my break-mates. The 5 of us stay away until the finish, Chris H-D attacks after I take a pull with 1.5laps to go. I could not immediately respond, Nate waits, I try to jump across, but fear of getting swarmed by my companions limits my commitment and I swing off about half way across to Chris. Pete takes over and does one hell of a leadout almost shutting down the gap. Chris just holds off our group, I open up the sprint out of the last corner but Nate beats me by a wheel. Considering the heat and bridge effort I am pretty happy with 3rd Place, netting a bunch of omnium points and moving up to 8th on GC. Of course now it is so easy to look back and ask "what if I fully committed to jump across to Chris" but should-a, could-a, would-a.

Stage 3: 66mile Road Race

11mile loop with two short power climbs and long false flat drag w/ crosswinds towards finish. Again heat was the biggest challenge. The course is hard, but I was more worried about the heat. I started with ice in my jersey pockets and grabbed partially frozen bottles each lap which were a life saver. Again omnium tactics would dictate the race. At the end of Lap 2 attacks were coming hard and fast. I marked several dangerous ones but everything was coming back. Then when I decide to mark a few less to save some matches sure enough one goes that includes, Chuck (Marc-Pro), Trafton (TMB), and Pete (Cliff). I still remember being near the front when the gap was still bridgable (much smaller gap than in yesterday's crit), but for some reason I didn't commit. This was probably my biggest mistake of the entire weekend. Since Brite-Sport and a few other teams missed the move I thought it would be coming back, but I was wrong after our slow decent they already had 3minutes, it was clear the break with motors like that was gone.

For some reason I was marked extremely close and any attempts over the final laps to get away with a few others were shut down. On the last lap, the field was now racing for 5th since Dave Mesa was allowed to slip away on the previous lap. The last time up the climbs my legs started to lock up, the pace was nothing crazy, but the heat had finally gotten to me. Instead of pushing them until they completely locked up (that could have been the smartest or 2nd worst decision of the day) I backed off the gas and had to finish the last 5miles solo crossing the line in 16th just behind the "field" which had really slowed down and seemed to be doing match sprints and track stands near the finish.

Results:

Overall I ended up 11th in Omnium, not exactly what I had hoped but glad I grabbed 3rd in the Crit. The road race built some character for sure and gives me a upper limit of what kind of temperatures I can handle. The omnium scoring does suit me much better than a normal stage race and the courses were great so if the weather is in the 80s next year I will be there for sure.

Chico Stage Race - Pro/1/2

I was hesitant at first to register because a totally flat SR does not really suit me, but the chance to race a relatively low key stage race with Cat 2's picked separately was all the convincing I needed. I was the solo SquadraSF rider in a field of about 46.

Stage 1 - Paskenta Road Race: 90mi basically pancake flat, 2 x 45mile laps w/ 5mi gravel section and rollers towards the finish. Trying to learn from my experience missing the move at TopSport, I did my best to stay near the front. The field was a weird mix of riders. A few Elite teams with lots of riders then a few PRO riders, Kenda/5hr Energy, Jelly Belly, Wonderful Postaccios, Full Circle racing..... But ended up being a tea party until the gravel section each time around, with a few all out efforts as riders attacked and weer chased down in the cross wind. Oh yea and (2-3) full field nature breaks! So all the action was in the gravel section and the last few miles before the finish. 

Lap 1: Everyone was getting really anxious for the gravel section so the pace just kept increasing as we got closer and closer. I played it safe and fought my way to the very front just before we hit the gravel. Being able to pick my line and stay on the hard-pack sections really helped. I stayed top five through the entire gravel section, trying to sit on the biggest and best wheels of Roman (Kenda/5hr Energy) or Menso (Jelly Belly). The pace through the gravel was pretty aggressive, I recall towards the end of gravel section Roman, then Menso, then myself (why now right) attacking (or simply picking up the pace) in the final rollers. We entered the gravel with 40+ riders and by the end of the first lap we had about 15 riders.
Lap 2: Unfortunately the laps were LONG and all the represented teams had several riders that were dropped in the gravel section so no one rode. The single pro riders could have towed everyone around if they wanted but didn't out of principle. By the time we hit the gravel section for the final time the group had more than doubled in size. We exited the gravel in a group of about 30. Several attempts by riders to sneak off in the final few rolling miles were shut down. I followed one promising move which may have been my last match. As we hit the final stair step section before the finish, riders were popping all over the place and I was on the limit as well, getting gapped at one point and used all of whatever pathetic sprint was left in my legs to get back onto the group. The uphill sprint began and I was basically sprinting for the back wheels of the group to make sure no time gaps formed. Small success, I finished 18th of a shattered lead group of 22. 
http://app.strava.com/rides/6743453
Placing: 18th  


Stage 2 - TT (9.9 miles FLAT point to point TT): So not much to say except the course was totally flat without too much wind. Not my specialty here, was flying for the first 5min then faded in for the middle portion and tried to pick it back up as much as I could for the final 5min. Crossed the line in a time of 22:35 respectable, but was hoping for a little better. 
http://app.strava.com/rides/6836126
Placing: 29th  


Stage 3 - Downtown Chico Crit (70min): 
Started at the front followed a few moves, and grabbed the first prime through short 6 corner crit course. After my 10-15min of glory riding near the front. I setteled back in the group and was just focusing on recovering for our 70min race. It was strung out 40 riders long for the first 30min. Finally the pace started to ease every now and again. Breaks were given more leway at this point and two riders snuck off and had a solid gap. A few laps later another group of two snuck off. As we hit the wide open start finish the back bollooned again I used the momentum to attack/bridge to the group of two. Everyone in our group of three was committed, and the odds were in our favor, Mikes Bikes and Freemont Bank were up the road and I was with a Red Peleton and Stage 17 rider. Within a few minutes we are already one corner ahead of the pack (thank you short technical course). After 15min we could see the peleton about a 2/3 a lap down and we were closing on the two leaders. After some motivational conversation, and 5 more minutes of drilling it we made it to the front two with 9 laps to go. At this point we were withing lapping range of the field, but took a little breather instead of lapping the field. Everyone was most concerned about moving up on GC so we shared the work equally keeping the same high pace.
Bell Lap: Coming into the final few corners I fought for good position and hit the final 150m second wheel (perfect), I began my sprint in the draft, but it was clear that I had no snap left after bridging then doing a 30min team TTT. With my unfortunate sprint I crossed the line in 4th of 5 (1st of the Cat 2's) 1min ahead of the chasing bunch. By far the most enjoyable day of racing in the P/1/2s yet. Moving me from around 23rd on GC to 8th overall! Being able to taste my first bit of success in the P/1/2 is motivating. 
http://app.strava.com/rides/6836128
Placing: 4th (1st of Cat 2's)

Overall GC: 8th  (3rd of Cat2's) 

Valley of the Sun Stage Race - E3

In the 3s we had (3) Swamis. Myself, Mario C., and Jason H.

Stage 1: TT 14.4mi basically flat

Report: What had always deterred me from VOS was the flat TT, flat RR, flat Crit. But this year I had a full TT rig and have been training a bit on it. Jason and I had TT setups and Mario was going Merckx style. The wind was pretty calm in the AM and started to pick up on as it got closer to when the 3s went off. Mario rode hard but did not want to leave it all out there because without a TT bike and all the gear he knew he would not be a GC contender. Jason left it all out there and had a solid time of 33:36 good enough for 19^th of the 80 or so riders that started. I did not know what to expect a flat TT is something I am not typically fond of, but what the hell I warmed up well and was setting a good pace on the way out. About 4km from the turnaround I felt the sign of a side crank coming on…damn…I dialed it back a bit to see if it would go away, nope, so I held it at that lovely line where my side stitch was not getting worse but still pushing hard. In the end I came across in 21^st with a time of 33:42.  For reference the fastest time in the 3s was 31:32 and 29:29 for the Pros.

Stage 2: Road Race  

Course: 74miles, 4.5 laps of a 16miles loop with one 6km +/- gradual climb each lap.

Report: Well not being in a great spot in GC we were hunting for the stage. They moved the finish closer to the top of the climb this year so this suited me better. We made up a game plan but none of us had ever ridden the course so it was subject to change. It was 80degrees and pretty windy at high noon when we went off. We assumed that a break would not stick because of everyone riding for GC. The first lap and every lap for that matter was pretty slow until the climb which we hit extremely hard the first and third laps. Well maybe it just felt crazy fast because I was carrying 3 full water bottles up the climb. No neutral feed so we were all hauling our own water. The second lat a group of three broke away and got a good gap. The pace remained pretty slow on the flat sections and as we planned were content to sit in and save energy and eat. The third time up the climb they hit it again, I stayed near the front on the climb and as we crested the top we realized that ½ the group was off the back including the leader, but the guys close on GC did not have the teammates or the strength to drive the group away on the flats so almost everyone cough back on. This continued and the race was pretty boring until the final lap. In the last two laps we were neutralized a few times and this gave the break and even bigger gap. Leading up to the final climb Mario got me to the front and hit it leading up the climb. Mario’s legs were done so he gave me one last effort and set me at the front. There were a few attacks/surges after Mario’s and but everyone was chasing everything down at this point. I found myself a little farther back than I wanted to be while Jason was near the front. We caught one of the Pro breaks going up the climb so they were neutralized and we were allowed to go over the yellow line..my chance to move up 20 spots. Perfect I was right up near the front with Jason when we hit the 3km to go sign. Just a short while after Jason hit it. He jumped clear of everyone and I stayed near the shoulder just watching everyone look at each other. Riders started to ramp up the pace and we caught him and one of the guys in the break just before the 1km sign. Then a rider I recognized from Chula Vista jumped and I followed. He is a breakaway artist and climber and that is his best shot so I knew was going for the line as it was his only shot. I looked back to see who was following as I tried to stay as close to his rear wheel as possible and only one Helen’s guy was with us. Everyone from SoCal J. I yelled at Josh and said we have a gap so that he would not give up and leave me to take the front with 500m. So he took it all the way to 200m before I jumped for the line. I looked under my arm and saw the Helens rider sprinting but not gaining, raised one arm and took the field sprint for 3^rd! Team rode smart and our plan to save energy and let the GC riders do all the peacemaking worked.

Discussing the finish.

Stage 3: Crit. 35min (all races were shortened)  

Course: ~1mile Technical and bumpy 7 or 8 corner flat course.

Report: When warming up for the Crit Swamis got a big complement from Tribe a local team. One of the riders came up to me and said that they were happy to have us in AZ and that we were the smoothest riders in the peloton and we should be sure to come out next year. 

Again the plan was to sit in and stay in good position because the GC guys were not going to let anything go. From the gun Jason gave one solid attack. He drilled it trying to get a small group to go, but instead it just set the pace for most of the race it was pretty fast and strung out. It got pretty sketchy at times so I grabbed a $50 prime early stayed either in the top 10 riders or at the back chatting. Being only 35min, 3 to go came really quick and I was too far back. I waited for the time to move up and not waste too much energy and with 1.5 laps to go finally moved all the way up to the front. Just when I got their one rider hit it hard and I tucked in 3^rd wheel. He took it that full ½ lap but realized that the entire pack was on his wheel so he pulled off. The rider now at the front took a short pull and then I was at the front just past the start finish on the bell lap. Realizing there are like 5 quick corners ahead of me I said what the heck I would rather make it through them cleanly and not have to hit the brakes. I rode high tempo to the back straight and then eased a tad and waited and waited. Started to feel like a Miss-N-Out at the track do just enough so they don’t come around and then be ready for the big move. So one of the local squads was on my right and had a train of 3 guys ready to go the first rider jumped and I jumped to follow he was on the inside so when he swung wide to take the corner at full speed I held my ground and he basically just move in front of me leaving his teammates in the wind….oooooppppss. He drilled it for the double right turn that spits you out onto the front straight with about 350m to the line. As he eased exiting the corner I knew it would be strung out single file for at least the top 10 so this was my chance to get the gap. I jumped hard and went for the smooth outside lane, got the gap then sat back in the saddle and spun up through the gears. I knew that I was moving, had a gap, and just had to keep it going. As the line got closer I looked over my shoulder to see no one was there just in time to raise one arm to win the field sprint again but this time for the WIN. I heard Mario yelling and put his arm up when I turned to look at the pack coming across the line behind. What a perfect last lap! Couldn’t have asked for a cleaner and more fun sprint.

RESULTS

TT: 21^st 33:42 (2:10 off the leader)

Road Race: 3^rd  (50 seconds behind breakaway minus 4 second time bonus for 3rd)

Crit: 1^st  (w/ 10 second time bonus)

Overall GC: 14^th, 2:29 back