Illness

I jinxed myself with the last post and came down with the flu on Thursday night. I couldn't even finish work on Friday with a 101 temperature, massive body aches, and cold sweats that would impress Oprah in menopause.

Feeling a little better today. Hopefully I'm over this before San Dimas next Friday.

The Paris-Roubaix of the West

Saturday is Copperopolis. Copper is the hardest, longest (time wise) race on the northern California circuit. 105 miles and 7500ft gained of pain and suffering on some of the worst roads California has to offer.

You should see about 10 of these signs on the course.

Copper is a very prestigious race and is definitely known as a "hard man's race" because only the fittest survive. It combines hard climbing, fierce winds, long miles, and tough competition. Scoring a top 10 in this race automatically means you're a stud. They don't call it the Paris-Roubaix of the West for nothing.

Check out the cobbles at Paris-Roubaix. Similar to the roads at Copperopolis

Copper is also the only race that I have done every season as a racer. As a cat4 I scored a 5th place as three guys got away individually and I managed a 2nd in the "field" sprint of 6 guys. A year later as a cat3 I flatted out of the winning group of 5, but got a wheel and still managed 5th place. Last year I had the best legs of the season and a broken cleat cost me a possible top-10 finish as Levi Leipheimer destroyed the field doing the last lap solo. This year my goals are as follows in order of importance. Note: its the most stacked field in years with several top pros signed up and likely more will show up race day.

• Don't crash (always my first goal)
• Don't flat or have a mechanical
• Finish the race
• Get a top 10
• Get a great workout
  

I have several teammates this year so we all get to suffer together. I can't wait

Mishaps and Free Lap Rule

*****
1A20. A mishap is a crash or a mechanical accident (tire puncture or
other failure of an essential component). However, a puncture caused by
the tire coming off due to inadequate gluing is not a mechanical
accident, nor is a malfunction due to mis-assembly or insufficient
tightening of any component. A recognized mishap is a stoppage that
meets the above conditions. An unrecognized mishap is a stoppage where
the above conditions are not met.
A broken toe strap or cleat is a mishap. A worn or misadjusted cleat or
toe strap is not a mishap. If more than one toe strap is used on a
pedal, breakage of one is considered a mishap. Any mishap not
immediately inspected by an official is unrecognized.
*****
Doesn't getting run into count as a mishap?


Free Lap Rule
*****
3D5. Free Lap Rule. Riders shall normally cover the distance of the
race regardless of mishaps and must make up any distance lost on their
own ability unless a free lap is granted for mishaps. A free lap may be
granted for each mishap subject to the following rules unless the
official race announcement states that no free laps will be allowed. On
courses shorter than 1 km (.6 mile), two free laps shall be allowed for
a given mishap.
(a) Bicycle inspection and repairs must be made in an official repair
pit. If announced in advance by the Chief Referee, riders are permitted
to cut the course to get to a pit, but only while the free lap rule is
in effect. Either an official following vehicle shall transport riders
to a single repair pit, normally near the start/finish line, or riders
must proceed to a repair pit in accordance with Rule 3D2. If no
following vehicle is used, there should be repair pits at intervals of
1 km around the course.
(b) There must be a referee stationed in each repair pit to determine
if the mishap was a legitimate one and if the rider is entitled to a
free lap. The referee must keep track of all riders who are granted
free laps and submit a written report to the Chief Referee at the end
of the race.
(c) A rider who is granted a free lap must return to the race in the
position held at the time of the mishap. A rider who was in a group
shall return at the rear of the same group the next time around. A
rider returning to the race after a free lap shall be ineligible for
sprint prizes for one lap thereafter.
(d) There will be no free laps granted in the last 8 km of a race. A
rider who is ineligible for a free lap must make up any lost ground
*****

Seems like I got screwed.

The only good thing about Sequoia is the beer

Race: Sequoia Crit
Date: 03/16/08
CAT: CAT 2
Field size: 27
Teammates: none

The course: A fast L shaped course with 5 lefts and one right. The pavement was pretty smooth except for the inside of the 4th turn.

The Plan: Coming into the race I was 7th in the 99 series so I wanted to move up as much as possible. I didn’t think I had a shot at first, but a top 3 was possible. I also wanted to win the race (I always do).

The Conditions: Fairly windy, but sunny and pretty cool. Perfect for a 50-minute crit.

The Race: 27 riders showed up to do this one. Now, to receive any awards for the 99 series you had to finish this race. I looked around at the start line and recognized a bunch of familiar faces. Seven BPG guys, 2 Mintys including the guy that won last week, and several others that I have seen the last couple weeks.

The pace started off like normal, kinda fast, but not too bothersome. On lap #2 I take the inside on one of the turns and another guy collides into me but both of us stay upright. He continues without a problem, but I dropped my chain. I was able to fix it after 10 seconds or so, but the group was already 300m up the road so I figured I’d take my free lap. I roll up to the pits and tell the ref that I collided with another rider and dropped my chain.

He says “no free laps for a dropped chain.”

I say “what? I collided with another rider!”

He says “a dropped chain is an adjustment problem so no free lap for you.”

I then politely ask him “how do you adjust a chain so that it doesn’t fall off when someone runs into you?”

He says “no free lap, but I’ll put you back into the race 1 lap down”

I say “should’ve told me sooner, I would have chased…” Adding another word to it in my head. Next time I’m falling over to get my free lap.

I get back in the race and I’m not too happy. I immediately go the front and attack. I ride off the front for 2.5 laps going 28mph, but I don’t make it anywhere as no one else knows that I’m lapped. I continue to attack/follow wheels so that I’m in 90% of everything that goes up the road with the hopes that we get a good breakaway and lap the field. Nothing is going away though because the BPG guys still can’t work together very well. I even won a set of tires in a prime, but they wouldn’t give them to me because lapped riders can’t sprint for primes. Bogus.

I don’t really know what else happened because all I could think about was the fact that I’m a lap down and have no chance at winning. I sat up before the last turn because I saw 15 women go down on their last lap and I knew the same thing was going to happen in our race and of course it did as 4 guys went down. I did get to watch Minty win another race though. He’s got some serious fitness right now.

Thoughts: I don’t really have any other than I still ended up in 5th for the 99 series and would have likely been 4th if not for the ruling. Just a crappy weekend of racing for me, but I’m already looking forward to Copperopolis.

Results: 22nd

Did I say equipment matters...?

Race: Exeter 40K ITT
Date: 03/15/08
CAT: CAT 2
Field size: 15
Teammates: none, but it doesn’t matter in a time trial

The course: A semi hilly out and back course that was twisty near the turnaround, but otherwise not very technical. Semi hilly means a 1.2 mile climb near the start, false flat on the way out with a couple more risers, and the repeat on the way back.

The Plan: Get into a good groove, keep concentration throughout and go as hard as humanly possibly

The Conditions: Almost as bad as it gets with 15-25mph winds, some rain showers, and one really bad hail shower about ¾ of the way through.

The Race: I started off ok, trying to get some good rhythm for the first 2 miles before the hill came. I didn’t want to start too hard so I could push the hills hard to make up as much time as possible. I made it to the top of the first climb and caught my 1 min man, who was two riders in front of me as we went off in 30 second intervals. After the downhill and two 90-degree turns I got back down in the bars and tried to get comfy. Unfortunately my 1 minute man caught me and I tried to keep up with him (not drafting!) hoping he was just a better climber than me. Not so, he was flying and I had to back off.

After another mile of doing ok, my aero bars started to move on me. Another mile later and they were completely loose as it started to rain. I no longer had control of the bike while on the bars so I was forced to ride on the drops, which is considerably slower than the bars. This also wreaked havoc on my mentality as I suffered really bad on the way out desperately trying to keep my speed up until the turn around.

At the turnaround a guy yelled “2:12” to me and I assumed that’s how much time I had lost to the really fast guy. Unfortunately for me, on the way back was more wind friendly and it was the time to really get a good groove going in the aero bars. I had to settle for riding the drops and making sure I didn’t let my bars fall into my front wheel, which would have been really bad to say the least.

I went as hard as I could and even passed a couple of the slower CAT3 guys, but I knew my result was not going to be good. At least I got a nice 5-min hail storm to keep me occupied.

As I crested the top of the last climb the two guys up there were laughing at me and jokingly asked if I needed a wrench. I just laughed it off and hammered as hard as I could and sprinted the last 200 meters for a time of 1:03:45 or 23.41mph. This ended up being 6.5 mins slower than the winner who had the second fastest time of ANYONE on the day and 2:45 behind second place. I’m sure the aero bars cost me a min (or more) and the mental aspect of equipment failure cost me too.

Thoughts: After struggling with the bars I cannot find a way to tighten them more than they were so I’m gonna have to give them to a professional. My TT bike is also too big (too long of top tube) for me so I need to re-evaluate the whole thing so next time I can be more competitive.

Results: 9th

that sums it up

CVC crit finish

The race of truth

The truth hurts. And in cycling, you almost never know it. But, on Saturday, I will know it.

The Exeter ITT (individual time trial) takes place this Saturday. With a time trial everyone races on their own against the clock. No body to draft, no tactics to play, no energy to save. Everything gets left out on the course and when the results come out everyone will know who is the strongest.

Well...sort of.

Most cyclists, get classified into a type. The common types are

• Sprinter or one who is fast for short bursts. Usually win a lot of races and generally don't make good climbers, but are well known for bike handling skills and nerves of steel.

Robbie McEwan is a perfect example of a sprinter and can accelerate like a Ferrari

• Climbers - guys that go uphill fast. Almost always light and produce very high watts/kg

Levi Leipheimer is a very good climber. He weighs 135lbs

• Flatlanders - guys that would be good climbers except they are too heavy. Fast for long periods of time, but not light.

Magnus Backsted (right) loves flat roads. Uber fit, but weighs 210lbs

• All arounder - someone who is good at everything, usually not superb in any.

Jens Voight can do everything well, but a specialist will always beat him in their discipline

• Time Trial specialist - a rider that can ride in a very aerodynamic position and still put out a ton of power. They have excellent concentration skills.

Look how low and aerodynamic Dave Zabriskie rides

On Saturday I get to do my best impression of riding like Dave Z. Its definitely is the race of truth as far as you only have yourself to race against, you have to concentrate all the time, and you have to pedal really hard for long periods of time with no other motivation but your thoughts. The only reason I hesitate to say its not the race of truth because equipment matters more in this discipline than any other.

For the most part when I show up to a P1/2 crit against 100 other racers the equipment makes about a 1-5% difference at most. For a time trials, it could make a 25% percent difference. Luckily a huge chunk of that difference can be seen by just buying a low cost set of clip on aero bars, which help you to ride in the position similar to Dave Z. above.

Wish me luck on my 40K (25 mile) solo effort on Saturday. Hopefully I can break the magic time of 1 hour. At least we'll know the truth then.

CVC Crit

Race: Central Valley Classic Criterium

Date: 03/09/08

CAT: CAT 2

Field size: 14 – yeah, that’s right 14!

Teammates: Kevin

The course: A 0.9 mile course that starts with a 180 degree turn followed by a right hander and then 3 left handers and a 200m straight section to the finish line. All the road conditions were very smooth and the roads were mostly wide except for the 180.

The Plan: With only 14 riders (where was everyone?) our goal was to get me in a break with a few others and hopefully I would have the fitness/savvy to win the race out of the break.

The Conditions: Sunny, warm, not very windy. It was perfect racing conditions.

The Race: The field consisted of 4 BPG riders, 2 Wells Fargo, and 8 single teams. For a break to stay away it would have to have a BPG rider and most likely the BPG rider that they wanted to have in a break.

From the gun BPG sent Aaron Cox off the front for the first 1.5 laps. Kevin did about 90% of the work to bring him back and immediately another BPG launched with Kevin again doing most of the work at the front. I knew we had to get a good break soon or Kevin was going to work himself to death, which he would because he’s such a great rider/teammate. I decided not to follow/mark any BPG rider since I didn’t know which one of them was strong and which one they wanted in a break. I decided to mark Chris Coble from Olympic Club because I was with him at Snelling and both Merco races and I know he’s as strong as an ox.

On lap three with Elliot from BPG off the front a bit, Chris attacked with me on his wheel. We brought one more rider in an aqua kit that I didn’t recognize with us and now the 4 of us had a good gap. Chris and I worked really hard at first to make sure the gap increased so we could stay away. Elliot was work half-assed as he figured he didn’t have to work that hard because he has 3 more riders in the race. The aqua kit guy was the worst at cornering and barely made it through the 180 each lap, but seemed pretty strong and didn’t miss many pulls.

We worked together for 5-6 laps when I started seeing a Metromint guy bridging. Kevin said Minty countered a 2-man pack prime that Kevin won and was motoring pretty well. Kevin wasn’t worried about one man bridging and when I saw him trying I put some bigger efforts at the front because I didn’t want any more guys with us. Unfortunately, the others in the break didn’t seem to care so he caught us and immediately started taking his turn at the front. Minty was very smooth in the corners and never missed a pull.

Fast forward to 3 laps to go because absolutely nothing happened in the break other than everyone working pretty well together and me mopping up the primes. We were starting to get antsy and I could feel it. Just before we made it to two to go, Chris attacks and I’m on him and pull through him after he tires a bit, but Minty also makes it to us, so we all sit up and the other two make it back as well. Chris tries again going through 1 to go, but everyone is on him. I somehow ended up on the front through the last 180 so I moved all the way right and waited for an attack doing 12mph. I thought about going then, but I knew it wouldn’t work so I waited a bit longer. Then, right before the left hander Minty attacks hard and everyone reacts. I hop on Elliot, then switch to Chris, but they’re both going too slow so I go on my own and put in a very strong effort to reel back Minty but I come up short and my wife takes a terrible picture of me 5 meters back as the Minty has his arms in the air for the win. I settle for second place. Kevin sweeps up 6^th place overall, 1^st out of the pack thanks to a generous tow for a 1.5 laps by Clint from BPG.

Thoughts: I really wanted the 5-man break to come down to a drag race because I knew I could outsprint the others. I thought I marked the right guy, but I was wrong so you live and learn. The good news is, between my 2^nd and Kevin’s 6^th place, and two prime wins each we took home a combined $119, $10 gift certificate, and 4 high-end tires. That’s some good loot and made the 300 mile round trip drive worth it.

Results: 2nd

The 99 Series

New this year is a series called The 99 Series. Its a set of races that all take place off highway 99. The first two races were the Merco races, which have already happened and you can read my full reports below this one.

There are 3 more events that complete this series and they happen the next two weekends.
First - there is a crit in Fresno on Sunday called the Central Valley Classic Crit. Its a 60 mins L shaped course with a 180 degree turn to shake things up a bit.

Second - there is a 40K time trial on March 15th called The Exeter Time Trial. All I've found out about it so far is that its 40km long and that the first and last 5K are not flat. I'm hoping to get a profile and some timing data from someone.

Finally - the series ends with the Visalia Crit. Participation in this event is mandatory to be scored at all in the 99 series. Its an L shaped course that is described as flat and fast. Should be fun.

Now, more about the series. A rider earns points based on field size - 1 point for every rider in the race. For example, if someone wins a race with 100 people in it he gets 100 points, 2nd place would get 99, 3rd would get 98, and so on. You have to finish the race to get any points. At the end of 5 races whoever has the most points wins the series as long as they finish the Visalia crit. The payout goes 10 deep and right now I am in 12th place, but only one point from 9th and six points from 7th place. I'm 32 points behind first place, but if some of the guys ahead of me don't do all the events then I will surely move up.

Looking forward to it.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Sequoia Brewery is close by the events? One of the Hop Hunter's favorites.

4th in the field sprint

Looks like I was 4th in the field sprint. The guy in all white kit (behind me and slightly to the right[my left]) is the one that gapped me off.

Merco Foothills Road Race

Race: Merco Credit Union Foothills Road Race
Date: 03/02/08
CAT: 2 only
Field size: ~120
Teammates: Aaron, Peter, Mark, Paul

The course: Four laps of a 24-mile loop of mostly flat terrain with a few rollers. There was 600 ft of climbing per lap. The finish had a short, steep kicker followed by a 500-meter downhill sprint.

The Plan: Aaron and I were the protected guys so we were supposed to do as little as work as possible to save the legs for the finish. Peter was to follow or get into breaks and Mark and Paul were there to chase anything serious if we weren’t represented.

The Conditions: Mildy windy and cool. It was actually pretty cold at the start line and I was shivering, but once we got going I warmed up to a comfortable level.

The Race: The pace was fast, but with 120 guys in the race it wasn’t hard. Staying out of the wind was paramount. The toughest thing at first was avoiding the bad pot holes. The roads were mostly smooth, but every once in a while there was a bad pot hole that caused many people to flat. It was also very surgy so there were tons of accelerations.

Lap1 (56:08): Not a lot happened on this lap as guys were trying to get a feel for the field and to get completely warmed up. There were a few guys that flatted because of the bad pot holes, but otherwise it was a fairly uneventful lap.

Lap2 (54:12): Several break attempts started, but it looked like nothing was going to get away. Aaron, Peter, and myself all took turns near the front watching out for stuff. Aaron and I both agreed that nothing was likely to get away and the wind wasn’t that bad.

Lap3 (54:17): At one point during the third lap I saw Peter in 3^rd wheel patrolling the front. About 5 mins later a group of 8 (maybe 9) roll off the front and I was pretty sure Peter was in it. No BPG, no Metromint, and no McGuire. Those were the 3 biggest teams in the race. Unfortunately, 5 mins later Peter rolls up to me and asks if the break is serious or not. Damn, I thought he was in it (we need to be more distinguished), but I told him that none of the big teams were in so it would probably come back. JD from BPG said that he wasn’t worried and that it was coming back. Aaron missed the break because he got ran off the road by some yahoo but was able to reattach himself and come back with a little extra anger.

Towards the end of lap 3 Peter and Mark start slaying themselves with huge pulls trying to bring the break back. Mark works so hard that he eventually had to sit up and take an extra breather consequently making the last lap a solo affair for him. Way to stick it out.

Lap4 (53:22): Peter is still taking huge pulls at the front as is Minty and McGuire, but they are completely unorganized and half the guys are attacking rather than chasing. People were riding like complete buffoons. I even took a couple pulls figuring we could use all the help we could get to bring it back. BPG was a mess, with only one of their guys really working. And the worst part was we could see the break getting closer and closer… Aaron and I talked about who should lead out who for the finale and we decided to make it a game time decision for whatever way it lined up at the end.

Then, with about 5K to go he’s taking massive pulls at the front so I figured it was my duty to go for the sprint. We didn’t catch the break, so the sprint was for 9^th place. The last 1K was insanely sketchy. A rider fighting for 3^rd wheel leading into the hill crashed and I barely missed him, but he took a big chunk of riders including Aaron, who amazing maneuvered his way to the grass before crashing.

Even though it wasn’t for the win I still wanted the field sprint. For some reason I always overestimate how fresh people are after 95 miles as my legs felt great. I crested the kicker in 5^th wheel and everyone hesitated, then someone jumped. I was on the Rock Racing guy’s wheel and he completely blew gapping off the first two guys. I jumped around him and held everyone else off for 3^rd in the field sprint, but I couldn’t catch the first two guys, which was a total bummer because that meant that I finished 11^th, one spot out of the money. Looking back on it now I should have just gone from the bottom of the hill, but hindsight is always easier than foresight.

Results: 11th

Thoughts: Again the team totally kicked butt. We slayed ourselves trying to bring the break back and had I not botched the sprint we would have ended up with a top 10. If they break had come back we would have had a great shot at a victory, but unfortunately the 2’s, aside from us, don’t really know team work or organization.

One more note: Peter went down in the crit the previous day (but still finished) and broke his derailleur hanger so his bike was toast. Fortunately his fiancée Cody offered up her bike for him to ride. AND, on top of that worked the feed zone for us for 3.5 hours providing a perfect feed. She gets my vote for teammate of the week.

Merco Downtown Grand Prix

A little change of pace as I added my teammates report from the race along with my own.

Race: Merco Credit Union Downtown Grand Prix (Crit)
Date: 03/01/08
CAT: 2 only
Field size: ~100
Teammates: Aaron, Peter, Mike

The course: Almost an ‘L’ shape with a chicane instead of a turn and a wide, fast 90-degree turn into a 350-meter finish.

The Plan: History says no one ever gets away on this course because its pretty open and it’s a highly prestigious race. We are new as a team so we are still figuring each other out and learning everyone’s strengths. We all planned to save matches for the end, try to find each and lead each other out.

The Conditions: Windy and cool. The wind really swirls around a lot on the course making it difficult to get a good draft at times.

Here is Mike Foley’s report

This is told from my vantage point so (Zack, Aaron and Peter) please add…
Windy - crosswinds, headwinds and tailwinds were the order of the day. Nice venue as always – downtown criterium, hay bales, storm fencing, announcers, prize money, spectators in the park. Some big names - I saw Chris Horner spinning around and Fred Rodriguez got a call out. The Rock Racing contingent was present. I didn’t see Cippo.
I was able to connect briefly with Zack and Peter before the Elite II race - start 1:30 pm, saturday. Nice to finally put faces with the names/emails. We warmed up and got acquainted, briefly talked strategy but mostly agreed that we’d have to see how things panned out (first race together) get a feel for how each of us rides. I didn’t get a chance to meet Aaron but I’d see him soon enough.
The Elite II race was a full field. It felt like 100+. The speed wasn’t as fast as I expected – it would pick up and slow down into the corners -riders bumping into each other, skidding around the orange metal fencing, cracks in the pavement. Slinky-effect. so many close calls. Blown tires and burnt rubber. Riders diving into the corners at the last minute. I came close to hooking the fencing on the right side of the start/finish straight-away a couple times. It was sketchy.
Throughout the race it was a constant battle to stay up front and out of the carnage. Hot laps and cash laps were announced keeping things interesting. I was content to sit-in – wait - and try our luck at the finish – save my matches. The final laps almost went our way… Throughout the race I’d regularly see Aaron tucked-in great position –top ten/fifteen sitting-in. Another time, while almost 30 of us took a free lap due to a crash- I looked up in time to see a breakaway of four shoot down the start/finish with Peter making a clean bridge into turn one. Zack was always right there. Whenever I moved up I’d be right next to him. Wells Fargo was always up there. For 40 laps it was a game of move up and slip back through the field. Stay up front and avoid the inevitable crashing. Riders would make lazy mistakes, drifting into corners, clipping the metal fence – like it wasn’t there the lap before?
With two to go I was able to move into fourth position with Zack on my wheel in fifth. Things were looking good. I knew Pete was close by. It was difficult to hear each other with the wind always shifting. We were trying to communicate. We stayed in that position for most of that lap and then the bell lap saw a single rider crashing hard-looked like helmet-to-pavement-on the backside of the course, which suddenly brought more riders up to the front and then… it was anybody’s race. Things were shuffled around again. A block before the last corner I knew Peter was close (on my wheel?) so I gave it what I had before the last corner, and turned to give him a last push… but… it wasn’t him! The uniform looked so similar in that split second I turned and shoved the wrong rider forward and then saw Peter on my left – Damnit!!!!
Overall it was a good race – we rode well – in my opinion. Always up front. I’m glad we all stayed upright. It is difficult to pick our riders out of the crowd. A couple times I couldn’t tell if we had someone in the break –and hesitated to chase. Maybe different colored tires? There are two other teams that look real similar. What do you guys think? Something that makes us stand out –I’m glad we all stayed upright.

And here’s my two cents:

Did Mike mention that it was sketchy and that there were people diving into corners and taking bad lines? It was ridiculous. There were 6 crashes by my estimate and I narrowly avoided two of them, one of them being on the last lap when I almost went over the front end trying to brake.

Mike's got it right. We rode a great race until 1 to go. He found me with 4 to go and kept me top 10 for 3 laps. It was actually quite amazing that we were able to find each other and stay together considering we had met each other that day. But, with one to go we didn't anticipate the swarm well enough going through the start/finish so we lost about 20 spots. I was tasting the victory in my mouth just before the swarm and I still had 3 good matches left. Even after the swarm in which I lost contact with Mike I still planned to try and manage a top 10, but the crash on the backside happened 10th wheel when I was sitting 13th wheel and I still don't know how I avoided it. After that I rolled in not even contesting the sprint for 30th place

Peter was 16th and did an amazing amount of work. With 3 to go he saw Mike and I sitting 4th and 5th wheel and he went to the front to try and string it out, but they stupid cat2 field just let him roll off the front.

Cat2 only races suck. Seriously, I don't know how to convey how sketchy of a race it actually is. Some guy had a helmet cam on, maybe we can get footage so everyone can see how bad it was.

On a positive note, the team chemistry rocks and we are seriously gonna take home some wins this year. Yes, wins in the P1/2 fields. Not just top 10s, but victories. You heard it here first.

Results: 30th