CCCX IV

This was a longer course than the previous week and most would say that it was tougher. Since this was the first race on the junior calendar the course had a huge turnout from our team.

In the 9:00 AM races the C men had Manny Offonso, jr. in 5th.
In the jr. boy's 15-18 race we had a mob:
Ethan Waterhouse took the win, Ethan Karp 2nd, Nate Vahlberg 3rd, Alaska Grant 7th and Pete Vahlberg 8th.
In the girl's 10-14 Genevieve Keefe got 3rd
In the girl's 15-18  Ella Phillips got the win

 In the 10:00 am B race we had no shortage of riders,
Dan English got 5th, Matt Miller got 11th, Charles Rausch 14th, Brian Kalcic 15th.
In the master's 45 B race we had John Vahlberg at 7th, Michael Schaller at 16th and Frank Kalcic at 17th.
Here's Hans Van Housen in the men's A race

As the day got longer the wind really started blowing and was a factor on the course.
In the 11:00 races we had four riders.
In the 35 A race Ben Dodge scored an impressive 4th
In the 45 A race Greg Foy rode to 11th riding a category younger.
In the 55 A race Detlef Adam rode to 8th
In the 60 A race I managed 7th

 Dodgeball in the men's A race

Dean Poshard after a flat and a bike change in the A race

 Alex Work making up time late in the A race

Eric Brown holding down 12th in the A race

Later in the day it was time for the women's events.
In the women's B race we had lanie Goldberg in 5th and Alexis de Zubria in 7th
In the women's 45+ race Kathleen Bortolussi got 4th
In the women's A race Sarah Jordan rode to 4th.

We had five riders in the men's A race even with some notable absences.
Alex Work led our team finishing 7th, Eric Brown followed at 12th, Hans Van Housen at 14th, Ben Dodge in his second race of the day came in 15th and Dean Poshard came in 17th.

CCCX III Manzanita park

A near perfect day greeted the racers at Manzanita park last weekend. Many of the team were not present but we still had a respectable showing. This was also the first race where the new kits would be in effect. From now on we will be flying the new design complete with some new images, new sponsors and design features. This might be the best kit ever.
First riders to go off were the juniors and they had a very good day.
In the boy's 10-14 Mac Tomkins got 3rd with Cullen Keefe following in 4th.
In the boys 15-18 Nate Vahlberg got 2nd with  Ethan Waterhouse coming in 4th.

 Next to race were the B open .
Kyle Taylor had a great race coming in 6th with Matt Miller close at 8th. Junior Dan English came in 15th.

 Next to race were the masters A category.
In the 55+ race Greg Foy took the win convincingly. Craig Ball followed in 6th with Detlef Adam close in 7th.
In the 60+ I managed to get 5th

 Next to go were all the women's categories.Only three of our women's team were there but they both made the podium with Kathleen Bortolussi winning the 45 + and Ivy Young getting 5th in the A race.
Mary Maroon did well to finish 2nd in the single speed A race where she was the only female .

Last race of the day was the men's A category. We had a large group in that race with four entrants. Flat tires and other factors would make it a tough outing but there were some great moments.
Alex Work had his best race so far finishing just off the podium in 6th.
Brendan Lehman and Max McFadden had great starts riding at the front early in the race but a flat took Brendan out of contention and he finished 14th. Max had an injury and had to pit so he wound up 21st.
Hans Van Housen rode a steady race to finish 15th with Eric Brown close at 17th.

CCCX II

Not the first race of the season but the first one where the team showed up in numbers. It is still very early in the season but this day showed that there's a lot of depth and talent in this years edition of the team.
Early in the day the Juniors were in the action :
Boy's 10-14    Mac Tomkins 4th
Boy's 15-18   Korbin Tomkin 1, Peter Vahlberg 2, Ethan Waterhouse 3, Nate Vahlberg 4, Alaska Grant 7th, Lucas Binder 8th.

In the open B category: Dan English 7th, Kyle Taylor 8th.

In the master men 55+   :  Greg Foy 2nd.

Men's A race:  Max Judeslon 2, Brendan Lehman 5, Alex Work 8, Noah Hayes 14, Eric Brown 18, Dean Poshard 19.

Next week is Manzanita Park- hopefully the rest of the team will be there to represent. With racers spread all over the bay area and some in other states it is difficult to have most of the team in one place but there will be a few dates in the calendar when it will happen.

# 1 will be our home race, the Surf City cyclocross presented by team Voler Rock Lobster on Oct. 28th at the Cal Fire camp on Empire grade. More about this race soon.
# 2 will be the Nor-Cal districts T.B.A.
# 3 will be the nationals in Louisville, Ky. in December. This will be the return of the nationals to the earlier format, a full month ahead of last few years former date in January. This will mean that in 2018 we will have two national CX races- possibly a first ever.

What a way to start a season !

It is barely September but in Virginia the first UCI weekend kicked off with the Go Cross in Roanoke. Our sole participant in the event was Caroline Nolan who got in the points both days with 5th on Saturday and 4th on Sunday, only 26 seconds off the winning time. This is Caroline's best start to a season ever and could be a sign of big things ahead. With racers in China, California and Virginia , this small team has a pretty big presence on the world CX circuit. More race reports to come as CCCX # 1 was Saturday and the two race UCI series in China is ongoing.