Biriani CX , Zamora

Out in the middle of the central valley it is usually very hot and dry this time of year but this day the conditions were much nicer for this flat and ver fast course. The team showed up in most of the categories with some very good results. 

Kai Yee got the win in the junior 10-14 race with Noah Hekkert getting second.

In the masters A races the team was well represented starting with Eric Brown getting 4th in the 35 A race, Carl Hekkert getting 4th in the 45 A race and I got 4th in the 60 A race followed by Rick Ortenblad in 5th.

Kai Yee returned to race in the open B category and finished 12th. 

A big result for the day was Matt Miller finishing on the podium in 3rd in the single speed A race. Another standout ride was junioe Enzo Berghout finishing 2nd in the men's A race after leading it for at least 4 laps. Nathan Delaney also rode the men's A race and finished 5th. 

I really wish that I had gotten more photos but I'm sure that some will show up on the event website as there were at least three photographers track side that were very active during the event. The course was a lot of fun with some very fast sections, some whoops and a little pump track , even a flyover. I would encourage all to check out this course next year-I have to say that it was one of my favorites.

 

RIP, the Wolf- Dave Wyandt

 A mythical racer on the team- really much more than just a bike racer- has passed. Dave Wyandt was only on the team for a few seasons and newer racers might not know his name but anyone who raced CX in the years from 1998-2010 would know his name. Dave started racing young and was a top junior MTB racer at 16. He went into cyclocross not long after and was on the legendary Clif Bar team in the early '2000's. He was good enough to podium at a UCI race and race pro on the road.

Starting a family meant that Dave had to give up his cycling career and work closer to home. It was around 2007 that I invited him into the team and immediately he changed the dynamic of the elite team adding his experience and wisdom. Other racers on the team really appreciated his low key take on CX and his sense of humor. He seemed to be the smartest person in the room without any arrogance. He mostly worked to help his team mates win, even in races where he was clearly the strongest. 

Dave was usually holding court at team parties and led animated discussions about much more than racing. He had depth as a person and was an original thinker , seeing things that most others overlooked. 

On our team socks there's always some sort of ironic saying and it changes every year. This year's saying is "It's never too late to be late " . A favorite from 2008 was "We're not happy until you're not happy" . Dave came up with one that summed up CX racing with just three words. The team was at the Sierra Point night race, an event that can draw 800 racers. The sad truth is that 95% of these racers have no chance at a win and little chance of getting anywhere the podium. Several of us were at the course and as usual, music was blaring loudly and not the kind of music that Dave appreciated.A Journey song came on :" Don't stop believing" . Upon hearing this dave uttered :" Don't start believing " . The irony of this illustrated the futility of most people's racing experience while at the same time was a hilarious parody of the song. I had to put this gem from Dave on the team socks and the next order I did. 

Dave will be missed by many, even those that didn't know him that well. He did not live long but seemed to have been on the CX scene forever. Even people older than Dave referred to him as the "Old Man". In the ultimate irony, he didn't live to be old and died way too young. Rest in peace Dave and shred the great beyond. I sure hope the music is better wherever you are now.......

Some like it hot, some not- Surf City UCSC

102 degrees greeted the 200+ brave riders at the Surf City UCSC CX race, pretty much a re-creation of a nationals course from several decades ago. Courses then were quite different so the addition of some really sketchy parts made for interesting racing. The amazing thing was that the red cross tent was not busy at all.....seems that people paid attention and managed tp keep the rubber side down- no small feat on this course. the absence of rain and the hot air made for a dusty and dry day with never enough water handups. That said, people did appreciate the uniqueness of the event and of course the view of the bay.

Early races started with the juniors. Noah Hekkert got 3rd in the 9-14 age group.

In the masters 35 C race Patrick Lewis got 10th. In the masters 35 A race Eric Brown got 3rd.

In the masters 45 A race Carl Hekkert got 7th. In the masters 60+ A race Greg Foy came out of retirement to get on the podium in 5th , followed by Rick Ortenblad in 6th and Paul Sadoff a distant 7th.

The women of the team showed up in record numbers and if it weren't for them, it would have been a pretty low turnout. The women's A podium was nearly a sweep for the team with Dani Moreshead winning , Mara Valcarcel 2nd, Hannah Solberg 3rd and our Pennsylvania team mate Clem Nixon in 5th.

In the womens single speed Maddie Ortenblad got the win with newcomer Keelen Senkier getting second in her first race. Chloe Ortiz got the win in womens tracklocross. In the womens masters 45+ Sarah Jordan got 2nd with Kathleen Bortolussi getting second in the womens 55+. 

Men's A field had Max Judelson traveling up from So-Cal to take 4th with Anthony Griffin Yeh coming in 8th , Nathan Delaney in 11th, Enzo Sapojnikoff in 12th and Kailin Waterman in 14th. 

In the single speed mens A race Dylan Gong got 4th, Gene Selcov 6th, Matt Miller 7th and Kyle Taylor 11th. In Tracklocross , fixed gear specialist Isaac Estrada got the win with Gene Park coming in 2nd. 

The team raced well but also did the heavy lifting along with other volunteers to create a course where one had never been-back in the '70's and 80's other parts of the campus were used for the CX races so this was a real challenge to find a long enough lap to really have a proper race. At one mile, this course was short but with all the obstacles and the searing heat it was a very long mile. Will it happen again next year ? Time will tell. 

 

Big race weekend at UCSC- Surf City CX # 1 , Oct. 6th

 Sunday will see the first CX race on the UCSC campus in nearly 30 years. The team and other locals are pitching in to put on an old school CX event of the most primitive style. There's going to be some really rough ground to negotiate on the course but since everyone has to ride on the same track it is an even playing field-if a rough one. 

We will have out of town guests in the form of Max Judelson and Clementine Nixon- both of them CX nationals stars with Clem being the current women's 35-39 national champion. This might be the most complete gathering of the team this season so show up and be part of a historic day. 

First race of the season- Sacramento CX race #1 , Napa Skyline park.

I have not ridden here since 2008 and that was a single speed MTB race. This is the first time I have heard about the park being used for CX and I'm glad there's another venue out there. 

We did not have a big group at this race but there were some good results. The standout would be Noah Hekkert winning the middle school boy's race-it was one of the larger fields of the day.

His father Carl got 5th in the men's 50+ A race.

I scored a rare podium in 3rd in the men's 60+ A race and Rick Ortenblad got 5th , even though he missed the start. He also did not have his timing chip on so he won't appear in the proper place in the results but trust me, he came in 5th.

Kailin Waterman rode to 12th in the men's A elite race , even with a bike change. 

Next stop- UCSC -all you Santa  Cruz team people should be there and help us put on this race....it will be historically significant as this is the 40th anniversary of the nationals being held there. 
 

Nationals day 5- the finale

Hard to really covey how good a day this was for the team. Usually , the scene in the pit watching an elite race is watching your riders go by and wondering how long they might last before being pulled. Seldom do riders from small independent teams finish on the lead lap at the nationals but today three of our four riders made the cut and then some.

Clementine Nixon rode to 11th place in the women's elite race- her best finish ever and well within the time limit to be on the lead lap.

Max and Andy had starting positions pretty far back in the field but rode strongly to keep on the lead lap. Max finished a career best 13th and Andy finished 27th. Dean Poshard had to start in the very back and at over 50 years old , the writing was on the wall that he would not make the cut but he did get credit for 40th and rode nearly half the race.

This concludes a week of truly great racing and some heroic rides by this small scrappy team. I am really happy I made the trip to witness all the events and also super happy to have this group of amazing athletes on the team. We will be back next year - maybe even stronger.
 

Nationals day 4- juniors

Today was all about juniors racing and the large fields bode well for the future of the sport in a way that the current elite fields do not. Not only are these juniors numerous, they are ripping fast-I was impressed at the speed and skill level of everyone I saw out there in the 13-14 and 15-16 age groups. First off was Kai Yee who had the distinction of the last callup in a huge field. He rode all the way up to 47th with a show of strength and finesse. 

Right after the 13-14 race there was a real downpour and the course changed dramatically. With the wetter conditions racers in the 15-16 group were pitting and having more mishaps out on the now slick course. In this field starting 58th was Reid McGlaughlin. He rode very strongly all the way up to 31st place. This was only a 30 minute race and Reid has been racing in A category races that are typically an hour so this short sprint of a race might not have played to his strong suite- still, he did really well.
 

A day to remember

After a pretty full day at the course the team along with Andrew Yee of CX Magazine went to a pizza place to refuel and celebrate two major achievements on day 3 at Joe Creason park. We ordered what looked to be way too much pizza but by the end of dinner it was all gone except for one last piece. It was a good thing that the house was about a 1/2 mile walk so that we didn't all feel to bloated to sleep. 

On most of these nationals trips we arrive with not much in the way of expectations, only wanting to participate and represent our unique flavor of the sport and of course all the people who got us here- big shout out to Billy Rickard of Sightline Construction, Voler, Easton sports, Bell, Pasta, etc. , Chris King , HRS , all the volunteers at Surf City CX , Jim Gentes , so many really great people. I'll compile a complete list when this weekend is done. 

There's still two more days of racing and six more of our team going out on the course. We have already racked up a very successful nationals but it isn't done yet.
 

Nationals day 3 part 2

As if the day could not get better.....it did !  The riding of Max Judelson and Kailin Waterman in the single speed category was inspirational.  Max went to the front and drilled it and separated a group that would eventually determine the podium. Max rode to third and a bronze medal, bested only by two of the biggest stars in American cyclocross- Kerry Warner and Lance Haidet. Kailin was on the very last row but probably past a third of the field and finished 47th. It was a great outing . Max's attacking was relentless and he beat all the riders that had beaten him on Wednesday. Tomorrow the juniors ride and we are expecting some rain- this will be some really epic conditions for

racing.

 

Nationals day 3 part 1

Team history was made early this morning- Clementine Nixon who just joined the team last August won the national title in the women's 35-39 age group. She rode a heroic race at the front, had a crash on the limestone stair approach but recovered quickly and chased down the two riders ahead of her.

After that Clem put in a punishing last lap and finished of with a long sprint to win by about 4-5 bike lengths with the only rider who could stay close. It was a great race with lots of tension and drama. The whole team is very proud of Clem and virtually walking on air right now. Later today Kailin and Max will be racing single speed- a group that has always suited both of them. It will be great to watch.