Photos CCCX 2 Manzanita Park

by Brent The Elder

The thrilla in Manzanilla

It was champagne on the podium for Scott,Dave and Aaron in the CCCX Manzanita park race.

Here's some of the earlier racing with Janel Lodge leading the team charge that would wind up 2,3,4 in the womens 35+ race with Kathleen Bortolussi and Michelle Perez in that order.
This is how you make a bike go fast and win an elite race-keep your head down and pedal hard. Nobody was pedaling harder than Stella Carey as she led the womens A race from the start to the finish. Not satisfied with just one race, Stella jumped on her single speed and rode to 9th in the single speed A event.
Here's the start of the mens A field showing the large turnout and pretty much the whole of our elite team. The rider in the white and red kit holding the saddle of his bike is Joachim Parbo, the CX champion of Denmark. Scott Chapin would go head to head with Joachim and basically outride the Danish champ in what was one of the most exciting races in a few years. Dave Wyandt stayed close for the first few laps and held onto third with Aaron Odell in 4th. Kevin Crossley sprinted to an excellent 6th place with the top ten being rounded out by Ben Dodge in 9th. Alex Work had a super start but the heat took its toll as he faded to 12th with Dean Poshard close in 14th.
In the mens masters ,Mark Howland finished a strong 3rd with Brett Lambert not far back in 8th. the ever improving Frank Kalcic was up in 12th. Alan Bennett finished 17th in a large 35 B group. In the open B catagory, our lone entrant Davis Millett finished 18th. In the 45 B group our three riders , Bruce Lodge, Benoit Dubuisson and Jeff Traugott stayed on the lead lap going 7th, 12th and 14th. In the 55+ group , I was a lucky 4th place and Brent Harris got his best 2010 finish in 6th.

CCCX 1 Photos

Brent the Elder

Local beatdown continues......

Photos will be added later but really, you had to be there to witness the first CCCX and how this team had folks at the front and on the podium in nearly every event. Early in the morning the masters men started out with Will Hall just off the podium at 6th in the 35 B mens ,Allan Bennett in 15th , Jeff Traugott finishing 4th in the 45 B group with Bruce Lodge in 7th, Benoit Dubuisson 10th.. Not too far behind in the 55 + group , I managed to sneak in at 5th and Brent Harris finished 7th .The lone finishing entrant in the open B catagory, David Millett rode to 21st. with newcomer to the team , Jon Mason crashing out in dramatic fashion.In the master's A group Mark Howland led from the gun and held off the whole field while Brett Lambert fighting all sorts of mechanicals and mishaps finished 15th, right behind team mate Frank Kalcic. Stella Carey rode a strong first race of the season to finish 3rd in the womens A race and later rode in the singles speed A group to 7th , nearly 2 hours of flat out pedaling total.Jay Melina got a top-10 in her first race of the season and her debut in the top catagory for this year. In the 35 + masters women it was all Bay 101 /HRS /Rock Lobster with Janel Lodge, Kathleen Bortolussi and Michelle Perez going 1-2-3 in that race. The final event of the day saw Dave Wyandt convincingly beating nor-Cal's finest in the mens A race. Ben Dodge overcame a first lap endo to finish 9th and Jeff Patton rode to a solid 15th inspite of an early hard crash. Kevin Crossley crashed out while in the front group but showed that he had the power to ride in the front 6. All in all, the team got three wins and a lot of strawberries , not a bad way to start the season.

Swiggco Roubaix

Eleven riders kick up quite a dust cloud at 20 m.p.h. on the bluffs and trails of the Friday team ride. Newcomer Eric was in the back catching a lot of dirt in the face-the picture doesn't really show how much was there.

Our distinguished elite team looks a little beat down after the ride and a few refreshments.

Ain't nothin but a 'cross party