DJs Produce's Robert Terra is News Sentinel Athlete of the Week

DJs Produce Athlete, Robert Terra, Wins in Triathlon Opener
By Lodi News-Sentinel Staff
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Accomplishment: Robert Terra, a 13-year-old incoming eighth grader at Millswood Middle School, recently won the season opener of the TBF Racing's Tri-For-Kids at Rancho Seco Park.
Terra completed the 150-yard swim, 4-mile bike ride and one-mile run in a time of 22 minutes, 6 seconds, to place first in a field that featured nearly 150 kids.
Family: Guy and Michelle Terra, parents; one brother and one sister.
Favorite sport: Cycling, because it's fun.
"Even when I'm tired it's fun," Terra said.
Favorite athlete: Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen.
"He's one of the best (cycling) sprinters in the world," Terra said of Boonen, whom he met at the Tour of California this year.
Best sports moment: Winning the Scott Tinley's Adventures Triathlon last year in San Luis Obispo.
Worst sports moment: Terra says his baseball team lost in the championship game last year and the score wasn't close.
Favorite hobbies: Riding his bike and swimming.
Favorite subject: Social studies.
Would like to meet: Swiss cyclist Fabian Cancellara.
"A lot of people like him," Terra said.
Favorite local restaurant: Avenue Grill. Terra said his favorite dish is the strawberry French toast.
Dream vacation: Brussels, Belgium.
"Belgium is one of the top cycling countries in the world," Terra said.
Must-see tv: "River Monsters" on the Animal Planet channel.
Plans: To be a pro cyclist.
* * * *
Thank you Rocket Sports Racing Sponsors: DJs Produce, Wild West Designs, Riding for John, Stockton Bicycle Club, Delta Velo, In-Shape Health Clubs, Fuller Cycling, and City Bicycles of Lodi.
About Rocket Sports Foundation, Inc.: RSFI, is a not for profit corporation, is a group of athletes, volunteers and mentors committed to making bicycling and other endurance sports a fun and lifelong activity for people of all ages. Our activities help support two local youth cycling causes: the JETS (Junior Elite Talent Squad) which is composed of licensed junior USA Cycling and USA Triathlon athletes and the Sprocket Rockets, a recreational cycling program dedicated to helping children develop new friendships and healthy habits while learning cycling safety.
http://www.rocketsportsfoundation.org/

Katelyn Race Report: TBF Tri-for-Kids #1

Race Description: 50-yard swim, 4-mile bike, and a 1-mile run
Overall Rank: 15th out of 77 people in 10 & under
Division Rank: 4th in 10-year-old girls
Overall Time: 27:06
Pre-Race Routine: Go on a little ride & swim in the water before I started

Swim: 50-yard swim
Time:?
Overall Rank:?
Division Rank:?
Pace:?
Water Temp: 60-70
Water Condition: Perfect
Wetsuit: None
Course: Start at an orange buoy, and then you swam around a person and into the swim finish
Start: towards the back
Pacing: perfect
Drafting: None
Navigation: Great
Comments: Best swim ever!!!!
What would I do differently next time: I would start in front

T1: Fast
Remove Goggles/Cap: Great
Helmet On/Suit Off @ same Time: N/A
Suit stuck on heels? N/A
Run w/ Bike: Great
Jump on Bike: Good
Getting up to speed: Great
Comments: Best T1 ever!!!!
What would I do differently next time: Nothing

Bike: 4 miles
Time:?
Overall Rank:?
Division Rank:?
Pace:?
Wind: None
Course: 2-miles out and back
Gear Changes: Great
Eating/Drinking: None
Comments: Best bike ever!!!!!
What would I do differently next time: Nothing

T2: Great
Riding w/ feet on top of shoes: None
Jumping off bike: Great
Racking bike: Good
Running Shoes On/Helmet Off: Fast
Comments: Best T2 ever!!!
What would you do differently: Nothing

Run: 1 mile
Time:?
Overall Rank: ?
Division Rank: ?
Pace: Easy
Course: out and back on a fire trail
Keeping cool: Great
Drink/Eat: None
Comments: Best run ever!!!!!
What would you do differently: nothing

Warm-Down: Walk around and stretch
Limiters: I was tired
Mental Effort: OK
Physical Effort: Tired & hurting
OVERALL: OK

Congrats to all the DJ's Produce racers out there.
Thanks for reading,

Katelyn

Connor Race Report: Mokelumne River Challenge

Race Report:

Swim 1k
The swim was okay. I could have trained A LOT harder though. I wore my tri-suit and a wetsuit top over that. I wish I would have just worn the tri suit because the wetsuit was making it harder to move my arms. the water was a lot warmer then I thought it would be as well. I came out of the water around 7th place and in about 20 minutes.

Run 5k
I took the run too easy because I wasn’t sure what to expect for the paddle part still to come. I ran at a decent pace and moved up to 4th place. I think my run was somewhere around 21 minutes.

paddle-7 miles
I winged it on the paddle. I had never gone that far on a kayak before, and I wasn’t sure what it would be like. I was on a white water kayak instead of a flat water kayak, which made navigating a lot harder. I got passed by one person after another and it seemed like I would never make it to the turn around point. Eventually I did, and then I got passed by a lot more people on the way back too. My hands started to blister which only made things worse.

I wish that I would have gone out harder on the run. I took it easy because I wasn’t sure if running hard would make me too tired to kayak. I also wish that I had trained for the swim (the farthest I have swam was 800 yards and that was labor day of 09).

My overall time was 2 hours and 27 minutes and I got 3rd in my age group. (My age group was 15-17 and the winner was 17 and his birthday was tomorrow!) After talking to some other competitors, we agreed that, next year, the run should be farther and the paddle should be shorter.

Connor Phillips

Ryan Race Report: TBF USAT Youth Development Triathlon

Race Description: 800 yd swim, 16 mile bike, 3 mile run

Overall Rank: 45 out of 539
Division Rank: 2nd in USAT Youth Division
Overall Time: 1:25:54

Pre-Race Routine: I ate breakfast, set up transition, stretched and then waited for my bike (For those of you that don't know, my bike fell off the rack on the way to the TT in Sacramento and it broke my fork. Because of this I had to use a friend's bike for the race. She also had to get a ride in that morning so I was very nervous and was hoping she'd be back in time. She was so I could finally stop worrying and focus on my race!!!)
Swim: 800 meters
Time: Around 12 min.
Overall Rank: ???
Division Rank: 4th or 5th so I was very proud of that and was also very surprised
Pace: around 1:30 per hundred
Water Temp: 70s
Water Condition: smooth as glass
Wetsuit: full
Course: out 200 m. right turn, 400 m. right turn, 200 m. back in
Start: right in the front
Pacing: great
Drafting: I drafted off two different people for the whole race
Navigation: excellent
Comments: Thanks to all the swim coaching, I finally had a great swim
What would I do differently next time: nothing

T1: Fast
Remove Goggles/Cap: great
Helmet On/Suit Off @ same Time: No
Suit stuck on heels? NO thanks to all the pam
Run w/ Bike: good
Jump on Bike: good
Getting up to speed: good
Comments: pretty fast for me
What would I do differently next time: nothing

Bike: 16 miles
Time: around 50 min
Overall Rank: ???
Division Rank: ???
Pace: 19 mph
Wind: none
Course: out and back
Gear Changes: only used about three gears
Eating/Drinking: good except that my aero bottle kept falling out so I had to hold it the whole ride so I couldn't get much water
Comments: felt really strong
What would I do differently next time: not break my fork three days before a big race

T2: Really fast
Riding w/ feet on top of shoes: perfect
Jumping off bike: perfect
Racking bike: good
Running Shoes On/Helmet Off: NO
Comments: All the powder and body glide on the heel of my running shoes helped me slip them on and is a good suggestion if you have trouble getting your shoes on
What would you do differently: Nothing

Run: 3 miles
Time: 20-22 min.
Overall Rank: ???
Division Rank: ???
Pace: ???
Course: out and back on a fire trail
Keeping cool: good
Drink/Eat: none
Comments: could have pushed harder but wanted to finish strong
What would you do differently: go out easier and finish stronger

Warm-Down: stretched and walked around a bit
Limiters: NOT MY OWN BIKE
Mental Effort: great
Physical Effort: great
OVERALL: a great day at the races

Congratulations to all the DJ's Produce athletes and all the podiums

Thanks for reading, Ryan

Sophia Race Report USAT Junior Devo Triathlon at Rancho Seco

Race Report-Sophia Fuller-Rancho Seco Sprint Triathlon
Pre-Race: I woke up at 4:30 and had all my stuff laid out for the triathlon. I ate a light breakfast and got dressed and got my stuff in the car before settling down for the long car ride. When I got there, I set up my transition area and found some of my teammates and began talking to them. About half an hour later, I quickly put on my wetsuit and went down to the water. The distances would be the longest that I have ever raced all together. An 800yd swim, 16 mile bike, and 5K run, I knew this was going to be a challenge.
Swim: The person rang the bell and we took off. I had to position myself to go right towards the first buoy and I swam about at a medium pace. I'll just say that I was glad that I had my wetsuit, some people were talking about the cold before the race started. I got around the first, second, and 3rd buoys no problem, I knew the swim was going to be the easiest for me because I do about 4 times more than that every day and my swim practice. As I went through the balloon tunnel/swim finish, i pulled off my swim cap and the arms to my wetsuit.
Transition 1: I sat down at my transition area and pulled my legs out of the wetsuit. I quickly half-dried my feet and pulled on my bike shoes. I threw on my helmet and sunglasses, quickly unracked my bike and ran through the transition.
Bike: The first part of the bike was easy. I was only passed by 20-30(?) year old men throughout the whole bike portion. The bike course was kind of hilly and at the end after going as hard as I could and staying in my arrow bars basically the entire time, I was dying. I passed one girl that looked about my age while going back. I literally felt like I was going to pass out. I was relieved to get close to the end of the bike and got ready to quickly jump off my bike.
Transition 2: I racked my bike, threw down my helmet, changed shoes as quickly as possible, and grabbed my race belt. I then jogged to the run start feeling as though I was going to throw up.
Run: It was the longest 5k I had ever done. I have only done 2 or 3 5k's before that race and those were hard for me too. I grabbed water at all the water stations. My stride was shorter than usual, the sun was burning into me and I felt as though I was going to melt on the spot. The rocks and loose dirt did wonders for this problem, adding peril to everything else. I was again passed by mostly grown men who looked like they were runners. At the end I heard a girl named Emma running up right behind me. She was my age and I felt I needed to beat her. I sprinted and left everything I had on that course. I ended up getting 4th in my age group, with a time of 1:43:42.
Congratulations to Kayton Avilla (overall USAT winner), Ryan Messersmith, and Mark Whittock (USAT age group winner) for competing and doing well in the race.
Thanks for reading, Sophia

Robert TBF Triathlon Win Interview

Stuart Fuller Race Report June 6, 2010. TBF Tri-for-Kids.

Stuart Fuller Race Report June 6, 2010. TBF Tri-for-Kids.
Pre-Race: I saw teammate, Bowen, first thing and we hung out together as we were getting our transition areas ready. I made sure mine was closest to the run start.
Swim: I moved up in age group, so I was able to swim with my teammate, Robert Terra. I was looking to see who I was racing against. When we lined up I noticed it was 11-14 y/o and girls racing together. We swam 150 yards in the lake. I was 10th or so out of the water.
T1: I ran to my area so I could get ready for the bike part. I dried of my feet, got my shoes on, and grabbed my helmet. I got my bike off the rack and ran to the bike mount line.
Bike: I went to my aerobars from the beginning. In front of I saw girl I saw a girl wobbling on her bike. I was hoping she would regain her balance. I saw her go down and looked like it hurt a lot. I had to pass her. Next was a speed bump, so I grabbed the bull horn handlebars. At the turn around point there was a group of four that I wanted to pass. I went down to my aerobars again and that is how I caught up to them. I just went as fast as I could to the bike dismount line.
T2: I racked my bike, but I while I was doing that my pedal scraped my ankle. I unclipped my helmet and hooked it on my bike, I went down to grab my race belt, and I was off on the run.
Run: At the aid station for the water I did not want any so I just ran past it. I just tried to keep myself on an easy pace. There was a downhill I ran down. I went to the turnaround point and turned around. I then went down another downhill. I looked behind me and another 11 y/o, Jason, was on my heals. I sprinted ahead trying to stay in front, and held him off to the line.
Finish: I waited for Bowen to come to the line (he raced 10 y/o's). I waited to run to the finish line with him. When Bowen finished I went to congratulate him. After that we walked around and waited for the awards to start. I won second place in my age group.
Thanks for reading, Stuart

Robbie, District Crit Champs and Memorial Day Crit

Sat District Championships
13-14s & Cat 4/5 juniors
Monday Memorial Day Crit

I really wanted to do these crits as I hadn't done a crit in a month or so. It was a big field of about 20 riders. It was about 15 laps. The pace was high most of the time. I know I hit 31 - 32mph. There were repeated attacks. Bobby T attacked once and had a good run. I thought Bobby T, Jon and me all rode pretty well. We were able to stay with all the attacks. Coming into the final couple of turns everyone was more or less bunched. We all sprinted. I think Jon and me were probably in about 8 or 9th spot and we moved up to 5th and 6th. Great job to Jon and Bobby. Sophia looked really strong earlier also.

Cat 4/5 Jrs. This field had about 20 - 25 riders. It had several older kids in it also. This pace was a lot faster for some reason . I was really happy that I was able to hang on. I ended up in 6th place again.

Memorial Day Crit - It almost sounds like a broken record or repeat here but it was a lot more of the same. Everyone was attacking a lot. I was fairly happy that I was able to hang right there in all these crits. For some reason my legs were a bit fatigued and didn't feel as strong. In the past I was always towards the back and not comfortable in the pack. I felt a lot better and stayed in there with all the good riders. Both Bobby T and Jon were riding really strong. Jon looked especially sharp and fresh. We tried a couple of things as a team but couldn't pull it off. Oh well it was fun trying. I think we all came in the top 10. Jon at 6th I think (great ride Jon) I got 7th and I think Bobby T was about 10th. We are all definitely getting better and stronger. We are now in the mix and right in the packs. Now we all want to continue to get stronger and better.

Robbie

Jon: Junior State Criterium Championship Race Report

Junior State Criterium Championship Race Report
Junior 13/14's
Pre-Race: In the morning I ate a bowl of Oat Bran and had some toast. At the race I ate a Snickers bar. Then I drank a bottle of water, finished up my warm-up and headed to the start.
Race: I started it with a bang and a boom. Before I knew it I had a huge gap (the biggest gap that anybody would get in this race.) Then next second everybody had caught me. I lasted almost a whole lap. After I got caught I just sat in for the rest of the race and let everybody else chase the attacks. Out of maybe 10-20 attacks that happened in our 15 lap race I would say Team Swift did almost all of them. Bobby T was really active and attacked a couple times, his attacks were the best. Last lap my lungs were BURNING (maybe from being sick?) and I knew that my best shot was sitting on a wheel and just killing myself. So I hopped on Stanley's wheel and on the finishing straight he pulled me into fifth and I didn't let anybody take that from me.
Post Race: I rolled out again and sat down (I was really tired.) Then I got some team photos taken and I got on the podium. The podium was 6 deep but Robbie didn't know that so it only showed it going down 5 deep. Then I shared my prizes with Bobby T for the work he did in this race.

Junior 4/5's
Pre-Race: I relaxed and rode around a little bit with Robbie (who did amazing in this race.)
Race: This race started fast and stayed fast. Halfway through the race they put up lap cards (it was a 40min race, and they put up 12 laps to go.) At 7 laps to go I got dropped and at 1 lap to go I was lapped. I got 11th out of 20ish riders.
Post Race: Watched Robbie get on the podium and went home. Thanks Robbie for sharing you prizes and Mr. Farrens for driving me home.
-Jon

Pre-Race: I woke up at 4:30 and got a really early start. My dad woke up 15 minutes later and then we got dressed and left. I slept in the car and when we got there, I got on the trainer to warm up a little while my dad helped my little brother. My race was first so I had to warm up first. After a while we had to do some laps on the course so I did 3 or 4 laps then went to roll out. I passed with no problems, did another lap to get in the right gear and lined up. I was racing 4 other girls including Katrina Howard, Claire Jensen, a racer on team Chico, and a racer from Los Gatos.
Race: At the starting whistle, I got in the first main group that included Katrina Howard, Claire Jensen, and 2 girls I don't know very well (editor's note: they started with the 10/12's too, so ten girls total). I stuck on the back and hung on as Katrina and Claire established a strategy that everyone was going to race with. Katrina did some little attacks to split up our group of five but we stuck together. At one point a racer on Team Chico went off the front and nobody was really excited to go catch her. Eventually she fell back and stuck on my wheel. At 5 laps to go Katrina attacked and nobody could catch her. Claire, the racer on Chico, and I were the chase group and we did our best to catch her, but it is pretty much impossible to catch her from that jump. She had a solo finish and left the rest of us to duke it out for the 2nd,3rd, and 4th places. At the last turn before the straight away, I jumped just before the turn and sprinted my heart out to the finish, barely taking 2nd place on the podium.
Post-Race: During the cool-down lap, the racer on team Chico caught up to me and we talked for a while and I pretty much felt like I was going to pass out right there on the floor. Luckily, I didn't and stayed alive long enough for the podium pictures, and team pictures. My max speed was 26.2mph and my average speed was 20.5. Overall it was one of the best races I have done this year and I am looking forward to the next one I will participate in. And good job to my teammates Jon C. for taking 5th, Robbie for taking 6th, Stuart for taking 7th, and Robert T. for taking 10th.
-Thanks for reading, Sophie

Jon, Race Report: Land Park Criterium

Land Park Criterium
AVG: Around 20mph
Time: 40min
Group: Juniors Open
Course: Flat with some wind. A chicane and other turns.
Junior roll out took me a long time (chain kept falling off) so I lost my spot on the front. Luckily they had a neutral lap and then a restart, so I got to be on the front for the real start. After the first few laps flew by I got dropped. Soon Bobby Terra caught me and we worked together. We shared the workload pretty evenly, and we were only lapped once @3 to go. Once when me and Bobby lapped a girl she hung onto us. There was less then 5 laps to go and she was annoying me (we couldn't drop her.) So I thought of a plan and told it to Bobby. Coming into the chicane I went fast and we got a gap on the girl. Then Bobby came by me and we got our gap even bigger. On the last lap I found myself pulling on the last stretch. I slowly pumped the speed up and when Bobby jumped I think we were going 24mph+. Then coming into the last few yards I dug deep, like ten feet, and I came up next to Bobby and tossed my bike (he tossed his too.) I thought we tied but I guess I beat him (the results had me down as 13th and him as 14th.) Good job to all my teammates!
Thanks for reading,
Jon

Robbie, Snelling Race Report

Robbie Snelling Race Report
2/27/2010 – 13-14yr olds
6th place – photo finish
26 miles roughly
This was the hardest and most fun race I have ever been in. I got to meet a lot of new kids. The way we did the ride out to the start and waiting gave us a chance to talk to other riders more than other times.
It was kind of over cast bad weather but it had stopped raining. There was a lot rain before so the roads were really wet and some areas with a lot of water on the road. The course had roller hills like out by John’s house in Clements but not as many.
There were about 21 riders. We were all doing fine and all held together the first time around. Robert, Ryan and me were keeping with the pretty fast pace. A little in to the second lap I was talking with some other riders and I saw Dylan and another guy shoot past and they were off. I was totally caught off guard and now I know what an ATTACK is like. I had never had one happen before like that last year in the 11-12 year olds. I tried to catch up but they were gone. I caught up with another guy, Matt of Specialized, that got dropped from the attack group and then we took turns leading till the end. Matt had a lead going into the finish hill. I pushed and got even with him at the finish line and thought I was going to beat him. Then he pushed his wheel forward and beat me for 5th place by inches. The officials had me down as winning 5th place but I didn’t and notified them so they could make it right. So I got 6th place.
I learned three things for sure. 1. I have to pay attention to attacks and watch Dylan. 2. I have to learn how to stand on these hill finishes so I can go faster. It is the gearing switches that throws me when I go from sitting to standing on a sprint up hill. 3. I will always push my wheel forward in the future if it is really tight. That cost me a point.
Again it was a lot of fun and I need to train more because I had no energy left.
It was really fun hanging with Robert and Ryan. They rode well. The only way it could have been better is if John C. would have been there with us. Hope he is better.
Robbie

Ryan, Snelling Road Race Report

Snelling Road Race
Place: 12 of 21
Avg: ????? (no speedometer - will have to look into that)
I had a great warm-up and felt really strong going into the race. This race was the first of this year for me so it was pretty interesting. The weather couldn't have been any better considering all the rain during the week. The race started out with what felt like a very slow neutral compared to two years ago. When the race finally started, everyone was just happy to be done with the neutral portion. For the first lap Stanley and Dylan kept having these short "breakaways" to try to catch the group off guard. None of them stuck but they sure did tire me out a bit. As we crossed the finish line going into our last lap someone started to sprint and try to break away. I thought I was dropped for sure but at the top of the hill we had to slow down and become neutral. During the restart, Dylan started heading towards the back of the pack and I thought it was a little weird since he was leading the race up to this point. All of the sudden Dylan and a SJBC rider were flying up the side. The pack got split up into a couple groups with me and Robert off the back. We started working with each other and were going pretty good but I was struggling to keep up. I told him to keep going so I wouldn't slow him down. I was by myself for the rest of the race. I now kind of know what Jon means when he talks about the pain cave!!! I ended up placing twelfth which is 8 better than 2 years ago. All in all I think it was a great race for me!!!!
Congrats to all the DJs Produce riders who raced that grueling course Sunday.
Thanks for reading,
Ryan

Robbie, Monterey GP Series 2/20/2010 Report

Robbie race report 2/20/2010
Monterey Grand Prix Series, Cat 4
Basically I did terrible (in my opinion anyway) and wasn’t excited to do the race report but my dad made me (sorry but just being honest). I thought I was ready to have a good ride. It was cold and raining a little before the start. I loosened up well and felt pretty good. I was a bit nervous because of the wet roads and turns. It looked very hilly and lots of rollers.
I was in the first line to start. The course is about a 4.5 mile loop for 60 minutes.
I started out fine. The pace was very fast. I wore a poncho and wished I hadn’t as it didn’t rain anymore. There were about 25 riders that almost all were really good. It was a fast start that had the first hill after half a mile. I did fine going up the hill and was in fourth. Then a group passed on left and they were really going on attack. I was then dropped. I was really frustrated. We then had a bunch of hills. I was bummed and thinking about quitting as we made the first lap. I was really behind and not happy. Then I saw my mom and dad and got mad and wanted to make sure I wasn’t lapped. I went pretty well after that and even passed a few people. It was a pretty hard pace and course. My mom and dad were happy (and very proud…..my dad made me add that part) because they thought I was just going to stop but I kept going strong. I caught some other people’s wheels some times. Going down hill on wet roads at 40 MPH was kind of nervous.
I am really glad I didn’t stop. I think I finished in front of a couple of people that pulled out of the race. It turned into very good training ride. I did about 18 miles in the race and got some hill work.
Robbie
PS. we got to go to two really cool libraries in Carmel . One for adults and one for kids. I got a couple of new books to read….yeah.

Early Bird Criterium Race Report, Robert T

The Early Bird Criterium was very instructional. The clinic was mostly about cornering. The kids clinic worked on starting and stopping. The team warmed up together.
At the start of the race I made an early break I only worked when there was a tail wind, well at least I tried to. The group was for guys Robby, Jack, and a kid on the CVC Team. We later got caught by the older guys with 3 or 4 laps to go. I was going to lead out Robby to the sprint but he was pushed off my wheel. Then on that lap I got dropped.The race was really fun and again instructional.
Till next time,
Bobby T

Early Bird Criterium #3 Race Report, Robbie

Robbie Race – Early bird report Sunday 17th

Clinic – this week they taught us more about pace line and be comfortable. Coach Robert taught us a bunch of that last year so this was like refresher. I got stuck in with 7 women to practice so that was kind of interesting.

Cat 5 race- This one was a lot harder and faster than the other ones. Maybe it was because the weather only had out serious riders. It was a pack of about 45. The last two weeks they broke us into 2 groups. This time they kept us all together. The race started fast. They were averaging about 25 – 27. After about 4 laps the back of the pack (where I was at) started to get dropped. We were doing about 20 – 21mph after that. I saw the big gap opening up and I wanted to go catch up. I didn’t realize how big a gap it was but was going to go try anyway. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have caught up but was going to go for it. Then one of the OLDER mentor guys started yelling for me to stay with the group. I was not happy but since it was for learning I stayed with this group. We got lapped on about the 9th lap by the fast guys. I stayed in our group and was able to keep pace. I felt good about the race since overall the pace was pretty fast. I saw lots of guys getting dropped and picking back up on the next lap so that made me feel better.
I sprinted for the finish in our group and was somewhere toward the front of our group at the end.

Jr race – It really started raining hard right before we started. I don’t know why but was I still cold from the earlier race and was shivering. I just had nothing. I raced anyway. Joe and his team took off really fast. I got dropped along with some others almost right away. I think most of them were older so I didn’t feel bad. I was soaking wet, my face was covered in dirt or mud and rain. I raced the rest of the way with another guy and we helped each other draft. The main group split in two and we jumped on their wheel as they went by. We were doing about 17 – 20mph. I was in the GONE cave.

It was fun and I learned again not to be in the back of the pack. Once they start to go away it is really, really hard to try and catch them. But I got some good training and exercise.

Thanks for reading,
Robbie

Early Bird Race Report, Stuart

Before the race there were two clinics. One for adults and juniors, and one just for juniors. I did them both. Afterwards I started to warm up with my teammates Robbie, Robert, Sophia, and Stefan. When I was riding the course it seemed pretty easy, but I did not know how long I was going to ride. Then after I was done riding the course we got out the trainers and started riding for about 30 minutes and then waited for the race to start.
At the start there was about 30 juniors (18 and under) there. We had to line up younger people in the front and faster people in the back. We a minute or so head start from the older people. It did not take long for them to pass us.
In the middle of the race I was in a group of three with a mentor. We would switch off taking the lead in our line. Then after awhile I tried to breakaway but they caught me again. So then I was back in my little pack. We got lapped once from the older people.
At the end at the last corner it was a dead on sprint. I was still tired from my breakaway attempt. My pack went ahead and beat me. After I finished we were instructed to go into a parking lot and discuss the juniors race with the mentors.
I learned to breakaway that you need to be strong enough to hold the lead and not have them catch you back.
Thanks for reading,
Stuart

Early Bird Race Report, Robbie

early bird crit. Cat 5: 1-10-2010
At the beginning of the race I had the goal of just finishing the whole 40min. of the cat 5. And at the starting line of the race I was as nervous as anyone would have been doing their first full Cat 5 with all the older guys. It’s the beginning of the year and I am doing these rides for conditioning and experience. Everyone says cat 5 is a bit more dangerous since they are usually beginners but since it is learning races and no winners it is more controlled. So it helps my nervousness.
When they signaled us to go I got on some ones wheel and just tried to keep up with the pack as it went speeds of about 21 – 25mph. It is sure a lot easier at that speed when you are drafting the entire time. As the race progressed I had to move to a ton of different wheels as I was at the back and middle of the pack, but I know that the way I was racing I was doing much better than last week. I felt better in the pack and was using some of the things they were teaching us in the earlier clinic and last week’s clinic. (like pedaling all the way thru the turns and which lines to hold in the turns)
About half way thru the race there was fairly big wreck that was right in front of me. About 5 or 6 guys. Some bikes got messed up. I don’t think anyone was hurt bad. Luckily I saw it coming and pulled out. They let us rejoin on the next lap. I was able to hold on and finish with the main group which was my goal. There wasn’t a ton of strategic moving as we were supposed to be learning pack rules and stuff. The race was hard and with 5 laps to go I just wanted to make sure I finished. The pace picked up and we were moving pretty fast. There were about 5 – 8 guys that kind of sprinted for the finish. I sprinted also but was somewhere in the middle to the back of the pack. They taught us in the after clinic that if you are in behind the 12th – 15th place not to sprint or you can cause accidents. I was just glad to not get dropped (last week I got dropped with about 4 – 5 laps to go.) So I was glad to finish and still have some energy at the end. I am going to get to go to one more week so I can be a little closer to Cat 4.
Jr Race.
It was really cool to race with the Rocket teammates again. It was fun to see everyone. It felt like old times last year. The race was a controlled and supervised 30 minutes. We kept a good pace. They had 12 years old in with older kids to 17 years old. The groups got broke up at the start. Robert and I were in the second pack and we kept up with the older group of kids. Robert was riding strong. Almost the entire group spent a lot of time on working with each other and learning drafting techniques. The mentors and coaches were in the middle or right behind us giving advice. The older kids were moving pretty fast and were stronger. Robert and I were just drafting and hanging on wheels. We made it. I think I came in about 4th to 5th. I was totally exhausted afterwards but happy I finished. Special thanks to coach Tom who helped mentor today and gave some really good tips to me afterwards. I hope I can remember them…..I will try. Thanks coach Tom.
-Robbie

Early Bird Race Report, Sophia

Before the race there were two clinics to go to; one for juniors and for adults, and one just for juniors. The one for juniors and adults I found more helpful than the one just for juniors. In the one for juniors we went over stopping and starting and clipping in. In the other one we went over pace-lining. After these clinics I had my dad lower the seat height of my bike and fix my gears that kept switching. Then we went on trainers for half an hour before the race. Ten minutes before the race we went to line up and I got a spot in the second row. Luckily, this race didn't count at all and the mentors were there to help us through-out the race.
The race official let the younger kids go first and then we all started after that. The mentor that was closest to me had me work with a few kids that were much slower than me and I couldn't catch up to the lead pack. After a while I was getting upset about how slow I was going (and because we had another mentor that was helping) he looked at my expression and told me to follow him to break away for the kids we were with. By this time we had been passed by the main pack and I was still upset but I followed him. I was working with him basically all the way and sometimes I took a pull. Eventually another group consisting of one of my brothers and 2 other racers passed us and I held on for as long as I could (10 seconds at the most) then I was dropped again. I eventually lapped the kid that I was "working" with at the beginning and I did pretty well. After the race there was a debriefing about what happened during the race. Overall on a new bike and the first race of the season I think that I did not great but okay.
Thanks for reading,
Sophia

Early Bird Criterium Race Report, Stefan

Early Birds Criterium Race Report, Juniors Category

Before the race, I had attended two cycling clinics which taught me how to corner better and how to start and stop better on my bike.

Just before the race I was feeling good. When the race started I drifted to the front of the pack and led them for about half a lap. Then my teammate Robert attacked, splitting up the pack and leaving me behind. I managed to hang on to three other riders who had also been dropped. A Spine racing guy and I were working together while the other guy just hung on. We forced him out into the wind to help us work. We stayed like this for most the race.

At the end the guy who had been sitting on attacked about half-way into the lap. Since I had been pulling and was tired, I realized that I was kind of worked when the Spine guy went off too. So I sat up and pedaled to the line.
Thanks for reading,

Stefan

CyclingNews.Com Team 2010Presentation

DJs Produce-Rocket Sports Racing Team announces 2010 squad

The DJs Produce-Rocket Sports Racing Team, a junior development racing team based in Northern California, supported by Rocket Sports Foundation, Inc., has finalized its team roster for the 2010 season.

California State Champions, Ryan Messersmith, Jon Christensen, and Sophia Fuller will co-captain the team which includes returning riders like California State Road Champion Robbie Farrens, Robert Terra, Stuart Fuller, Benjamin McDonald, Connor Phillips, Katelyn Messersmith, Abba Christensen, Bowen Terra, Stefan Fuller, and Jackson McDonald. Benjamin Binder is new to the team.

In 2009, along with winning five California state championships titles, Rocket Sports Racing scored age group wins at the Cats Hill Criterium, the Cherry Pie Criterium, the Panoche Valley Road Race, the Davis Criterium, the Sacramento Cyclo-Cross Series, and four top 10 placing at USA Cycling's Junior Road National Championships.

The squad will be coached by the long time USA Cycling juniors coach, Robert Fuller, and Tom Fahey, a multi-time national track champion.

The team's title sponsor is DJs Produce, an organic produce company based from California's San Joaquin Valley.