CCCX Manzanita park II

It was supposed to rain today but looking at the pictures you would never know that. It didn't rain on the team parade, either as Sean Coffey got a 3rd in the A single speed race inspite of a bike change. Tom Sullivan also got 3rd in the 55+ mens catagory.

Jeff Traugott reached a milestone today getting his first medal at a 'cross race in 5th place.
On the women's side, Katheen Bortolussi and Michelle Perez went 2nd and 4th in the womens 35+ race.

This mob is the wmen's A field with Stella Carey getting 3rd , Jill Fattor getting 6th and Steph Thompson coming in 7th.......I think.
Erin Dunn got 4th in the womens B race but wasn't in the photo.

Nobody could hold back Justin Robinson today but our team dominated the podium with Dave Wyandt in 2nd, Scott Chapin 3rd, Aaron Odell in 5th.

Sierra Point Night Race

Just a few photos to show the Night Race scene.

  

A few highlights:  The front of the Men's Elite field was crawling with Lobsters.  Chris McGovern in 2nd place, Josh Snead in 3rd, Scott Chapin in 5th, Aaron O'dell in 6th, and Dave Wyandt in 7th.

Brett Lambert in the Men's 45+ A class was moving so fast that the announcer at the finish line didn't even see him and announced someone else as the winner.  Fortunately the officials got it all sorted out and Brett got the win he deserved.

Jay Melena and Kathleen Bortolussi each took 3rd place in the Women's B class and Women's 35+ class respectively.

Brent The Elder

Photos CCCX4 by Brent The Elder

CCCX 4 Toro Park

Well, my camera died but there are plenty of photos to be seen on the CCCX site from this exciting race. There were not as many racers or spectators this time but some of the fields were substantial. The 10:00 a.m. races saw David Millett getting 10th in the open B 's, Jeff Traugott and I going 6th and 7th in the 45+ B's and Tom Sullivan ( still waiting for his team kit ) and Brent Harris getting 3rd and 6th in the 55 +. At 11 the 35+A masters had Tim Watson stomping his way to 14th place ( quite literally..) and Brett Lambert in the 45+ managing 3rd after two bike changes. Frank Kalcic had a super race finishing 7th. Frank's son Brian got 2nd in the kids race proving that last weeks win at Surf City was no fluke. Stella fought hard in the womens elite race to secure 3rd and Jill Fattor followed in 4th to protect her overall position on the G.C. . Erin Dunn rode to 3rd in the womens B's inspite of a rather dramatic crash. Kathleen Bortolussi was to one win of the day in the womens master 35 + with Michelle Perez following at 4th. The two of them seem to have that catagory sewn up in the G.C. In the mens elite race we had some no-shows but still had major players with Josh Snead, Scott Chapin, Aaron Odell and Aaron Kereluk. Jason Rahlwes and Eric Highlander also raced and fresh off the plane from the east coast showing up with not time to spare was Jeff Patton. Crashes would take out Snead and Highlander but Scott battled at the front for much of the race and finished 3rd , making him leader in the G.C. Odell was up there until a wipout sent him back a number of places but he rode back up to 6th with a strong finish. Aaron Kereluk rode tough throughout and finished 11th with Jason Rahlwes riding from the very back all the way up to 8th place. Jeff Patton , in spite of jet lag and no warmup rode to 16th . All in all, the team had folks on the podium almost all day. Jay Melina and Steph Thompson both battled in the womens elite race as well and improved from the previous races. Check the CCCX site for great pictures of the day......especially the aerobatics of Tim and Erin.

Surf City weekend races

The Halloween race at the Watsonville fairgrounds is always a big event-the turnout this time was huge and the fields were larger and deeper than any local race so far. The two days are a blur right now but I'll try to give you a brief overview, as much as I can recall. In the elite men on day 1 Josh Snead suffered an early flat and had to chase for much of the race but made it all the way to 5th. Dave Wyandt proved strongest of the team and finished a close 2nd behind a super strong Justin Robinson. Chris McGovern was not far behind, riding strong. Aaron Odell and Aaron Kereluk were up in the top 11 as well, showing that we have a super deep team. In the elite women Stella Carey went 2nd both days. Although the first days race was changed dramatically by a crash, Stella prved on Sunday that she has the strength to win the series. Jill Fattor finished 4th on the first day , riding strong all season. On the second day both Erin Dunn and Michelle Perez won podium spots with gutsy riding on a demanding course. Brett Lambert pretty much dusted the fields both days , winning in a sprint on Saturday and on Sunday by a huge margin. Brian Kalcic demolished the field in the Sunday kids race, even jumping the barriers . The Highlight for me on Sunday was watching Dave wyandt outsprinting Don Myrah for 5th.....on foot ! Josh and Chris rode to 3rd and 4th Sunday with Scott Chapin coming in 10th , A.K. 13th, Jason Rahwles 14th. Steven Sperling used the C race for a warmup and got 2nd......I guess it was a good warmup!

Pilarcitos II Coyote Point

Sundays race was a twisty, loose dirt power-sucking contest that really demanded a lot from every rider. The course was perched up on the hill at the park.....formerly just a short feature in previous races , it now contained the entire lap. Crashes and flat tires were common. Sean Coffey suffered a flat in the A single speed race, Matt Jordan as well in the elite men's race but the most noteable flat was on Scott Chapin's bike while he was getting a good gap on the elite mens fieldIn spite of losing a lot of time he rode back up to 10th place. With Don Myrah driving the pace at the front , there was little chance for anyone to get away but with about four laps remaining, Josh Snead escaped and stayed away until the finish with Dave Wyandt and Chris McGovern getting 3rd and 4th.Aaron Odell and Aaron Kereluk were also in the top eleven. Once again, the teams depth made it possible. In the Womens elite race Jill Fattor showed that she can really excel in the twisty loose dirt , barely missing a podium spot at 6th , with Sarah Kerlin and Stella Carey 7th and 8th . The very best on the west coast were there driving the tempo but they never got too far from our top three. Ryan and I were kept busy in the pits and at the repair stand-it seemed like a good number of the bikes were new and weren't fully dialed in. Kathleen Bortolussi made it to the podium with a strong 2nd place in the 35+ division and Tim Watson had a high (3rd)finish in the mens 35+A. Brett Lambert was 4th, hampered by a rider who twice t-boned him in the early part of his 45+ A race. Jeff Traugott rode to an excellent 10th in a very competetive 45+ B race, maintaining his top-10 overall position.

CCCX III Toro Park

Toro Park near Laguna Seca posesses one of the steeper paved climbs in Nor-Cal cyclocross and the climb proved to be decisive. Folks who raced the previous day in Fairfax for the most part suffered today , but there were a few exceptions. Scott Chapin went to the front and battled with the Cal Giant duo of Justin Robinson and Cody Kaiser. Scott wound up second to Cody but did outlast Justin while Josh Snead finished 4th after the previous days win and Kevin Crossley in only his second elite race finished 7th after passing most of the field. The Saturday race didn't seem to blunt the sprint of Brett Lambert for his win in the 45 A group.....his third win in a row. If not for a last lap spill our own Jeff Traugott would have gotten a medal today-maybe next time !

Stella Carey rode to a strong 3rd in the elite wones race while Jill Fattor finished just off the podium in 4th.
Sarah Kerlin was feeling the pain from the previous day but still managed 6th.

Kathleen Bortolussi proved that she is perhaps the fastest 35+ woman in the series and continued her winning ways.

Erin Dunn wound up on the podium as well in the womens B division after a strong ride.Sean Coffey rode to 4th place in the single speed A division , narrowly missing a podium spot.

Rock Lobster Race Headquarters @ Surf City #1

We definitely have a strong presence at every race we attend. Great job everyone! See you next weekend.

Timmy!

And More Pics of Surf City #1 (Soquel High)

More Pics of Surf City #1 (Soquel High)

Surf City #1 Pics (Soquel High)

Here's some photos courtesy of Timmy!

Madison USGP

Photo from Nikki. The first two rounds of the USGP were in Madison Wisconsin this year and everything seemed to be coming together for a great race weekend. Matt and Sarah were in town, the ground was wet and it was everything a big time race could offer with the home town feel.

Saturday, as much as I was hoping to ride the wave of a good performance in Vegas, did not go as well as I had hoped. After a good start and riding with the group of guys I had hoped to be with, a rider washed out in front of me in a corner. It threw me through the tape and onto my back. As I gasped for air and listened to the announcer, I knew there was no way for me to get back into the race and be competitive. I called it quits and went and heckled the guys on the run up.

Sunday was a new day and I had an hour less of racing in my legs than everyone else, so I was excited for the day of racing. At this point my goal for the day had become as little as not falling over and as the rain rolled in 15 minutes before start time, even that was looking slim. I'll take falling over in the rain over a parched course any day though. My start position did not change too much and as the rain cleared we were rolling into the coral.

My start was once again pretty good, and by the time I was rolling through the barriers, I had somehow made it even better. Anytime I am on Justin Robinsons' wheel I feel like I am in good shape. I was once again in the group I was hoping to be riding with. And then I slid out in the 180 out of the pit row, lost that group and sat in no man's land for the majority of the race. But, when the announcer broadcasts about your fall, it is kind of a clue that you are doing well. For a couple of laps I gave high fives as I rode the steep hill out of the hairpin turn. That was pretty fun.

I battled it out with a few guys for a long time, but for the most part it was just steady riding. As the laps came down, the leaders were catching up. With three to go, I didn't think I had much of a chance, but when I rolled onto two to go, I knew that if I pushed as hard as I could, I would be able to fight for the lead lap. So again, I was making a first lap effort to make it onto the lead lap and it paid off. Rolling across the line for 33rd.

A weekend of racing back in Chicago before I head down to Cincinnati for a crazy weekend of UCI racing.

Mc'G' in the lead

Chris McGovern was in front the whole hour of the race battling Don Myrah. It was an epic battle complicated by the many lapped riders causing traffic in the closing laps.