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
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
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
Saturday, February 20, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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
Monday, January 18, 2010
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
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
Monday, January 11, 2010
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
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
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