BASP race IIII

 Who's going to shred the course on the 1973 Motobecane ?

 Zac Stanley got on the podium first with a 3rd place in the nearly sold out 35 B race. Benoit Dubuisson finished 7th in the 45 B race that was sold out .Allan Bennett and Michael Schaller would follow.

 Alan Bennett would later use the pit single speed in the same race as Zac Stanley.Brian Staby finished 10th in the mens 35 A field ,Mark Howland finished 7th in the 45 A race followed by b.b.q. master Tim Watson in 13th. The ribs ,salad and jalapeno cornbread along with a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies fed not only our team but many other racers who came by the team tent.

 Ellen Sherrill is back ! A 4th place in the womens A race confirmed that. Katie Jay Melina would finish in the money at 7th followed by Mary Ellen Ash.

 Next to grace the podium was Janel Lodge in 3rd in the womens masters. This was a great result in a dense field.

 The fog kept coming in during the mens A race and here's Aaron Bradford and Scott Chapin in the lead group.

 With two laps remaining Aaron made a move that stuck until the end of the race, winning his second consecutive BASP race.

 Scott Chapin stayed in the chase group and made the podium in 5th proving that he is definitely back.

 Dodgeball in full flight late in the race. Ben would roll a tire and have a fairly long run before getting a bike change.

 Aaron emptying the tank late in the last lap-The pain on his face  clearly visible .You have to hurt to win.

 The victory at the line with Cal Giant's Tobin Ortenblad in the distance only able to hang his head after a futile chase.

The mens A podium with Aaron first and Scott fifth-a great result in one of the best fields of the season. Check the Pilarcitos cyclocross site for other placings.

Surf City race II

 Early in the morning it was the B masters and the open B race. Benoit Dubuisson was first to get on the podium with 5th place in the 45 B category. Matt Garcia raced to 13th in the open B race.

 I don;t think anyone has more experience riding in the mud than Sarah Kerlin. She showed her experience with a 5th place finish on the podium in the womens A race. Ellen Sherrill would follow in 6th.

 Janel Lodge would battle in the womens 35+ race to 2nd place, the highest placing of any team rider on the day.

 Here's Ellen Sherrill moving up from a last row starting position.

The mens A race was extremely fast and anyone in the top ten was a hero. Aaron Bradford finished 4th and Alex Work 9th. Scott Chapin was pretty fried from the race the day before but still held onto 15th while Aaron Odell finished 22nd with Ben Dodge following at 25th.In the Master's 35 A mens race Jason Rahlwes rode to an impressive 7th while Tim Watson did the same in the mens 45 A race followed by Mark Howland in 10th.Other placings can be seen on the Surf City cyclocross site in the coming days.

BASP III Sierra Point

 Here's the scene of the crime.....team headquarters on the road. This day we were treated to a BBQ and beer tapper from Frank a tradition at the night race even if frank is taking the season off.

 Benoit Dubuisson getting a good start at the men's 45 B race. He would finish 12th out of 60 starters ahead of team mates Alan Bennett and Michael Schaller.

 Janel Lodge was the first to get on the podium with a 4th place in the women's master 35 race. In the elite race Ellen Sherrill would race to 7th, Katie Jay Melina 8th and Sarah Kerlin 9th. Following were Mary Ellen Ash and Natasha Perry. Much of our women's squad have been having a mid season break and this was the first race back. Mark Howland was our lone entrant in the men's master A category and finished 8th.In the open B category Matt Garcia suffered a few mechanicals and had to run in the last 1/2 lap.

 Later the lights came on for the final race, the men's A event. We had five riders in this group: Aaron Bradford, Scott Chapin, Andrew Giuliano, Aaron Odell and Bend Dodge. There were some fast riders in the group but our team got the first and second place-winning this race for the third year in a row. Aaron Bradford and Scott Chapin managed to ride away from the entire field, led by Ben Jaques-Mayne. They did this on their single speeds, showing that there was nobody who knew this course better .Aaron won from a 4rth row start and Scott animated the entire race inspite of a hard fall on the barriers early in the race.

Be sure and check the Pilarcitos site for other results in the coming days. Special thanks go out to Frank Kalcic for the BBQ, Benoit Dubuisson for the excellent cheese course, all the folks who brought food and to our newest sponsors: Pro Gold bike lube and wash and Buckler Embrocation.

Surf city Halloween race Aptos High

 This blurry photo is of Sarah Kerlin making her comeback to racing after a long layoff. She would ride a strong race and finish 6th in the women's A race.

This is Katie Jay Melina charging through the field after a chain fell off on the start line. She would make the women's elite podium in 5th with a very  strong showing.

 Janel Lodge on her way to 3rd place in the women's masters 35+ race.

 Jane's husband Mark Howland would also make the podium in the mens 45 + A field at 5th place. Benoit Dubuisson would ride to 6th in the men's 45 B race and Jason Rahlwes would do the same in the men's 35 A race. Other placings will be up on the surf city site for the master's and B events.

 Alex Work did a great come from behind sprint to get 9th in the men's elite race showing that the hilly course didn't keep him from having something left for the last lap.

 Thie is the elite men's podium with Aaron Bradford finishing 4th in spite of a hard crash midway through the race. Scott Chapin always rode near the front and captured 3rd .

Little did Scott know that this pose would be prophetic on the day that the Giants would win the would series.

BASP II Candlestick point......again !

 With many of our team either sick or at the UCI race in Los Angeles we brought a smaller contingent to this second edition of the BASP race. Here's Benoit Dubuisson on his way to 3rd place in the 45B sold out field of 60 racers.

 Here's Alan Bennett, not so lucky this time with a flat and a lengthy visit to the pit. He would finish 40th.

 Michael Schaller was similarly delayed by crashes and finished 34th.

The old man came good in the 55+ men's race with 4th place and a box of Cliff bars.

 Benoit with a medal and a box of cliff bars for 3rd place.

 This is Zac Stanley with two laps remaining in the 35B sold out race. He would later shed the rider with him and ride in solo for the win.

 To the winner goes the plaque, a new thing for the BASP races.

 Janel Lodge, our only Master's woman racer to make it to the race rode well for 4th place in the 35+ field.

 Sarah Kerlin is back and racing after a long layoff. Looks like she is getting back up to speed again with a great ride in the women's A field for 4th place.

Brian Staby rode to 8th place in the men's 35 A race-Mark Howland finished in the top 10 in the men's 45 A race. Matt Jordan , Matt Garcia, Aaron Odell and Jason Rahlwes also raced-placings to come.

Team bike at Rapha club

Sarah Kerlin's team bike was on display at the Rapha Club in a Brian Vernor Nor-Cal cyclocross exhibit. There were lots of great photos and written bits on display, even the team horn. Although this exhibit was months ago I thought that it would be good to show here in the middle of the current season, especially as there will be a few big races in the S.F. area in the coming days.

CCCX #4

   We had two first time winners at this race: Benoit Dubuisson won the 45 B men's race and Matt Garcia won the open B men's race. Mark Howland  had a 4th place finish in the men's 45 A race.

 Alex Work seen here ferrying a wheel that rider Katie Jay Melina flatted in the women's A race. As a result of this help she was able to finish 4th.

 She's back ! Stella Carey seen here for the first time this season in the women's A race.

 Janel Lodge rode to 3rd in the women's 35 + race with Michelle Perez coming in 2nd in the 45 + race.

 Ellen Sherrill came in 2nd in the women's A race and is strengthening her overall ranking in the series.

Scott Chapin also came in 2nd in the men's A race with Alex Work coming in at 7th. More placings to come and also will be viewable on the CCCX website.