Readers familiar with my love/hate relationship with the Madera Stage Race know why it was marked as a priority race for this spring (if you don't know, go search my blog posting archives from 12 months ago). I'm happy to say this year I survived Madera and finished without the cranks falling off the bike. So on to the recap...
Crit:
Typically this is a tame race given that the TT is later in the afternoon. Guys usually will sandbag a bit to save the legs, but then again, with the field we had this year you just didn't know. Specialized had split up their 35+ team and had some of them (Lyman, Roemer) riding with their juniors in the P12 field. However, Safeway looked strong with Dan Martin.
And speaking of Dan, he attacked pretty much on queue after the first lap. He stayed away long enough to take the first prime, but he was caught soon thereafter. After a short break, Dan attacked again. This time he got some help and stayed away to almost snag a second prime. We caught him with probably 10 minutes to go before the finish.
The wind was pretty strong coming across the course and it made the west and north legs of the course pretty hard. In retrospect it could have been harder if a team was motivated to gutter everybody, but thankfully that didn't happen.
By the way, did I mention Dan attacked again?!? Off he goes, and as I roll up to Ramon I said, "We need our guys on the front". Calmly Ramon looks at me and says, "GO!". I hit the gas from about 20 places back and caught a ton of people by surprise. I bridged up to Dan and a few other guys were on my wheel. We had about a 10 second gap with 4 laps to go, but it was caught with around 2 laps to go.
Coming into the last lap I worked to get near the front when we hit the crosswind section. I had to work hard to get up there and was rewarded with being around the 5th wheel coming through the final corner. The Rocknasium train came flying through the apex just behind me and had a pretty good jump on the field. I looked around and realized it was going to be a pack finish so no need to sprint this one out...save the legs for the TT. I rolled across feeling pretty good about not burning too many matches for the TT a few hours later.
TT:
The wind was so strong that everybody knew to throw out any potential time target you'd shoot for. Last year I did the TT in 22:36, good enough for 9th place on the GC. This year I came into this TT with better fitness and stronger legs. My target was sub-22. But with the wind I knew that was unrealistic.
After a good warmup I proceeded to go out pretty hard and hold almost 31+mph on the downwind section. What proved to be beneficial was the pacing I forced on myself to leave just a bit in the tank for the returning headwind section. I was able to average 24+mph into the wind. I didn't pass many guys so I wasn't able to gauge how well I did by that criteria, but I had completely emptied the tank and knew there wasn't any left to give when I crossed the line. I was happy with my time of 22:43.
Later that night when the results were published I was in 4th. However, there was a missing rider (Innes from Specialized); come to find out he showed up on the results the next day after the stage race was over. He had clocked in at 22:39 so I was actually sitting in 5th coming into the RR. Vitamin/Bike Plus had 3 guys in the top 7 so it was going to be an interesting RR.
RR:
After a bit of strategy/tactics discussion at the start, we rolled out with a neutral start up in ~40* weather! Clear as a bell and cold. On the first lap somebody attack. Oh yeah, Dan Martin attacked. From what I could see it looked like Dave had found his way into the break, so for us it was an opportunity to relax just a bit.
The demons from last year loomed large as we hit the bumpy ~4 mile stretch of road. I got through there without breaking the crank, so that was a minor victory. And I didn't have any of my water bottles eject, so another small win. As we came up through the rollers and past the finish line I saw Dave sliding back through the pack. Come to find out he just flatted, so we had lost a teammate.
Ramon was doing an excellent job of being our road captain. He was making sure we had people up front when it was necessary and he made sure I stayed out of the fray to protect my GC position. If I remember correctly the pack stayed together for the second lap and then Dan Martin attacked again, this time drawing out Dan Bryant. This duo hooked up and stayed away all the way through halfway of the final lap.
By this point there were some tired legs all around. Chad had fallen off the back with a double snake bite flat. Ramon had done the work of 3 men up front and popped off (immediately after Ramon popped Ron Anderson from Specialized popped, so you know it was pretty brutal up front).
We hit the bumpy section and the Vitamin/Bike Plus guys find there way to the front and slow ramp up the pace. I was in death mode and found myself getting caught behind riders who were getting gapped by the high pace. I continually had to hop around folks and close down the gap to the next wheel. At this point there were no teammates to help, I was on my own. Coming out of the bumpy section I was in the lead pack of ~25 guys with the rollers coming next.
Somewhere another gear was found by the pack and not by me. There was a hard acceleration and I could not keep contact. I looked around and the only person near me was Dan Martin. We hit the first roller as hard as both of us could; we probably were only 10-12 seconds behind the lead pack when we crested. We held that gap but the lead group accelerated again as they wound up their sprint. I had no relief from the wind and found myself riding as hard as I could with my head down watching the yellow line as my guide.
I crossed the line not aware of who might have been in the lead pack and whether or not I could have lost any GC places. Come to find out Innes had flatted so that moved me up a spot, but 3 other riders behind me on GC were in the pack that finish ~25 seconds ahead of me. That bumped me down to 7th on GC.
Overall I'm really pleased with the effort the team put in during the weekend to support my "A" race goal. I learned a ton during the RR and hope to put this to use during the Chico SR. Many thanks to my teammates who worked so hard, I'll be more than happy to pay you back during your "A" races.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Memorial Day Weekend - Sponsorship Opportunities
In this economy it's tough to secure money for events. I've seen it with other clubs in the local area and across other sporting activities where I'm engaged as a parent. However, it won't stop me from using this communication medium as a way to make a plug for a cause that's near and dear to lot of local cyclists.
It's less than two months away and SJBC has a great opportunity for potential sponsors. The Mt. Hamilton Road Race is the only point-to-point race in the area and tackles the infamous climb up the slopes to the observatory on the peak of Mt. Hamilton. The Memorial Day Crit competes around a fast and safe circuit in Morgan Hill and with plenty of racing categories for all participants.
The cherry on top of this opportunity is fantastic. For racers, this race weekend is the final opportunity for qualification into the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Details can be found here about the specifics for qualification. For sponsors, Nature Valley is providing a huge conduit for communications of these qualification races. Sponsors will be able to leverage the targeted marketing communication efforts provided by Nature Valley to the greater cycling community through TV and press.
If you're interested, read through the sponsorship documentation and contact us.
It's less than two months away and SJBC has a great opportunity for potential sponsors. The Mt. Hamilton Road Race is the only point-to-point race in the area and tackles the infamous climb up the slopes to the observatory on the peak of Mt. Hamilton. The Memorial Day Crit competes around a fast and safe circuit in Morgan Hill and with plenty of racing categories for all participants.
The cherry on top of this opportunity is fantastic. For racers, this race weekend is the final opportunity for qualification into the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Details can be found here about the specifics for qualification. For sponsors, Nature Valley is providing a huge conduit for communications of these qualification races. Sponsors will be able to leverage the targeted marketing communication efforts provided by Nature Valley to the greater cycling community through TV and press.
If you're interested, read through the sponsorship documentation and contact us.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Berkeley 2TT Race Report
There's nothing I like about Berkeley, but that's probably because I'm a Stanford guy and I have a fond dislike for those Cal Bears. However, I'll chalk up this event as one redeeming quality for Berkeley...
Last year Clark and I rode in the 70+ Masters category with our TT bikes, but this year we wanted to try something different. We signed up for the Merckx category. For those not familiar with this category you cannot use any aero equipment (wheels, bars, frame, etc.), not even a skinsuit! We found out prior to the event that our arch-nemesis from Morgan Stanley (Chris Phipps, Paul Dyrwal) were going to ride in the same category. Last year they took 4th place from us by 1.5 seconds.
Luckily we arrived with plenty of time because the registration lines were moving very slow. I think we wasted 30+ minutes at the reg desk because they were so disorganized. On the plus side both Clark and I learned that we can get a very effective warm-up in less than 25 minutes.
At the start line there were quite a few teams around us that were late. Thankfully we were on time (yes, it's the experience you bring to the table as a Master's racer) and ready to rock the course. Our plan was simple: ramp up the intensity and leave the tanks empty.
Off we went and Clark got us up to speed. The first couple miles along San Pablo Road had a not-too-friendly headwind. We probably passed at least four teams along this part of the road which was a nice confidence boost, but no luck in seeing the Morgan Stanley guys up ahead of us (they started three minutes ahead). In my effort to maximize my recovery behind Clark's draft I was riding dangerously close to his rear wheel. At one point I came about an inch from rubbing wheels, but I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to distract my teammate.
As we rolled through the backside of the course and navigated the gradual climbing/rollers we kept the pace high. I forgot to ask Clark about this afterwards, but I got the sense that we tempered our efforts back just a little bit on this stretch of road so we'd be a tad more fresh for the upcoming hills.
The wind was enough of a factor that I actually could get a some protection behind Clark as we hit the first big climb. I was feeling pretty good so I yelled up to him to ramp it up just a bit. Around mid-hill I could sense Clark fading so I came around to hammer up the last half of the climb.
Up and over a few smaller climbs and we were still picking off teams left and right. Coming into the final hill we found a good tempo and got comfortable in the pain closet. Like the previous major climb I came around and led us over the last 3+ minutes. I didn't ride with my power meter, but I can probably estimate that I was pulling 450+ watts (5+ w/kg) on the final portion of that climb.
We flew down the small descent to the uphill finish line and emptied our tanks. We crossed the line at 43:15 and were pleased with the effort. Chris and Paul were waiting past the finish line and we swapped stories; come to find out Chris pulled Paul all the way from the start to the base of the first climb (12+ miles)! They won, but at least this year it wasn't by 1.5 seconds. Next year we'll probably go back to the TT bikes to see what happens.
Last year Clark and I rode in the 70+ Masters category with our TT bikes, but this year we wanted to try something different. We signed up for the Merckx category. For those not familiar with this category you cannot use any aero equipment (wheels, bars, frame, etc.), not even a skinsuit! We found out prior to the event that our arch-nemesis from Morgan Stanley (Chris Phipps, Paul Dyrwal) were going to ride in the same category. Last year they took 4th place from us by 1.5 seconds.
Luckily we arrived with plenty of time because the registration lines were moving very slow. I think we wasted 30+ minutes at the reg desk because they were so disorganized. On the plus side both Clark and I learned that we can get a very effective warm-up in less than 25 minutes.
At the start line there were quite a few teams around us that were late. Thankfully we were on time (yes, it's the experience you bring to the table as a Master's racer) and ready to rock the course. Our plan was simple: ramp up the intensity and leave the tanks empty.
Off we went and Clark got us up to speed. The first couple miles along San Pablo Road had a not-too-friendly headwind. We probably passed at least four teams along this part of the road which was a nice confidence boost, but no luck in seeing the Morgan Stanley guys up ahead of us (they started three minutes ahead). In my effort to maximize my recovery behind Clark's draft I was riding dangerously close to his rear wheel. At one point I came about an inch from rubbing wheels, but I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to distract my teammate.
As we rolled through the backside of the course and navigated the gradual climbing/rollers we kept the pace high. I forgot to ask Clark about this afterwards, but I got the sense that we tempered our efforts back just a little bit on this stretch of road so we'd be a tad more fresh for the upcoming hills.
The wind was enough of a factor that I actually could get a some protection behind Clark as we hit the first big climb. I was feeling pretty good so I yelled up to him to ramp it up just a bit. Around mid-hill I could sense Clark fading so I came around to hammer up the last half of the climb.
Up and over a few smaller climbs and we were still picking off teams left and right. Coming into the final hill we found a good tempo and got comfortable in the pain closet. Like the previous major climb I came around and led us over the last 3+ minutes. I didn't ride with my power meter, but I can probably estimate that I was pulling 450+ watts (5+ w/kg) on the final portion of that climb.
We flew down the small descent to the uphill finish line and emptied our tanks. We crossed the line at 43:15 and were pleased with the effort. Chris and Paul were waiting past the finish line and we swapped stories; come to find out Chris pulled Paul all the way from the start to the base of the first climb (12+ miles)! They won, but at least this year it wasn't by 1.5 seconds. Next year we'll probably go back to the TT bikes to see what happens.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Historical Trends - Cantua
Playing around with Google Analytics is a fun way to see what's happening with this blog and site traffic. To my surprise I was caught off guard to see that my old race report from Cantua nearly two years ago was the second most hit posting on the blog. I guess folks are searching the interwebs to find any additional info they can around this upcoming road race before they make the drive past the cows at Harris Ranch and pin on the race number.
Funny to also note who reads my random musings. I was riding on Sand Hill Road yesterday and saw a guy with a Metrigear Vector water bottle. The conversation went like this:
Me: Nice bottle.
Rider: Huh? Me: Nice bottle.
Rider: Oh, thanks. Got it at the low-key event.
Me: Cool
[some random chatter happens, then this...]
Rider: Hey, you look familiar...
Me: I'm Todd, nice to meet you
Rider: I think I read your Cantua race report last night. You're that manley man guy...
One joke here is that the only product released by Metrigear so far has been their water bottles. Second, I find it pretty cool that a cat 5 beginner who has a passion for racing is searching out race reports to get an edge...that's inspiring.
Continuing the Crank Saga
The bottom bracket fix seemed to do the trick on the Zipp cranks, but check out this latest problem:
If you look closely you'll see the threaded sleeve moves back and forth as I try to tighten/loosen the pedal. It only takes about 0.5Nm of force to make this happen. I'll be having an interesting conversation with Zipp on this problem.
I've since gone back to the old aluminum SRAM Rival cranks. Today will be the first ride with the old crankset and I'm hoping it will be enlightening particularly around the stiffness and lack of chainring flex. I did notice a bunch of flex with the Zipps and recently confirmed that their new chainring design due out in March would fix this problem. Too bad I won't be running your cranks Zipp to let you know if the problem was fixed.
If you look closely you'll see the threaded sleeve moves back and forth as I try to tighten/loosen the pedal. It only takes about 0.5Nm of force to make this happen. I'll be having an interesting conversation with Zipp on this problem.
I've since gone back to the old aluminum SRAM Rival cranks. Today will be the first ride with the old crankset and I'm hoping it will be enlightening particularly around the stiffness and lack of chainring flex. I did notice a bunch of flex with the Zipps and recently confirmed that their new chainring design due out in March would fix this problem. Too bad I won't be running your cranks Zipp to let you know if the problem was fixed.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Cranky BB Bearings
After last season's mishap at the Madera Stage Race I decided to play around with a set of Zipp cranks. Shaving off nearly a pound from the SRAM Rival cranks was a nice bonus, but other interesting surprises have popped up.
In the past seven months I've burned through two sets of ceramic bottom brackets. I'm not sure if I'm getting sloppy seconds from Zipp, but this hasn't been much fun. Each time the BB decides to bite the dust it makes the loudest click-click sound you could imagine. I'm sure a few guys riding near me at Cherry Pie yesterday were wondering what was happening to my bike. Trust me, as annoying as it is to you my fellow competitor, it's ten times worse for me. I get a bit OCD when it comes to having a quiet bike.
I'll let Zipp know about this failure and see if their steel bearings might be a better fit for me. Each breakdown of the ceramic bearings has had the same result. It feels like grit and sand has worked its way into the ball bearings; definitely not rotating smooth, but very rough. Thankfully I've got a spare set of BB's on the shelf that will keep me on the bike. If these break down again I might just have to find another crank alternative.
In the past seven months I've burned through two sets of ceramic bottom brackets. I'm not sure if I'm getting sloppy seconds from Zipp, but this hasn't been much fun. Each time the BB decides to bite the dust it makes the loudest click-click sound you could imagine. I'm sure a few guys riding near me at Cherry Pie yesterday were wondering what was happening to my bike. Trust me, as annoying as it is to you my fellow competitor, it's ten times worse for me. I get a bit OCD when it comes to having a quiet bike.
I'll let Zipp know about this failure and see if their steel bearings might be a better fit for me. Each breakdown of the ceramic bearings has had the same result. It feels like grit and sand has worked its way into the ball bearings; definitely not rotating smooth, but very rough. Thankfully I've got a spare set of BB's on the shelf that will keep me on the bike. If these break down again I might just have to find another crank alternative.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
SJBC Training Camp
This past weekend marked the second year SJBC has done a winter training camp. Last year was our initial trek down to the ultra-secret central coast location. Ok, it's no secret, but Solvang is still a nice quaint small town. Again we were treated to perfect weather and plenty of sun.
Friday's mid-trip stop in Paso Robles was an excellent way to break up the drive and get a quality ride into our legs. Peachy Canyon, Vineyard and some other back roads were excellent. Caution had to be given in most corners due to the debris in the road from the recent rains, but for the most part people were safe and had a blast. I can probably throw this blanket statement out there for most everybody when I say that our pace was probably a little too brisk for the first day of camp. We must have been itching to throw down because my power file showed some pretty high numbers for extended amounts of time for a January ride. Ok, I was one of the instigators...
The next morning brought on Figueroa. Riders had the option of doing a shorter ~50 mile loop or toughing up and doing the ~95 mile route. For some reason climbing up the backside of Figueroa this year didn't seem as hard as last year. It was a few degrees cooler this past weekend, but I think what made it easier was knowing the climb. I was expecting much worse for myself because I had my own personal challenge that I set for myself; I wanted to stay with the lead group all the way up the climb. I accomplished that which was nice. Also, the elevation profile wasn't completely truthful. After completing the 95 miles we had put in nearly 8,000 feet of climbing.
After our team meeting Saturday night, some excellent food and a good night of sleep, my dead legs were put to the test on Sunday. Thankfully there wasn't any significant cramping all weekend, but it was still hard to roll out of bed and know I had another 75+ miles waiting. The plan was to ride out to Jalama and back. I did map out a longer route, but there weren't any takers and I needed to be back to Solvang by 3pm. To make up for the shorter distance, I made sure I put in some pretty serious digs to get out of the ride what I wanted. For those that had to peel off early and head back to Solvang before reaching the coast, I advise you make the effort to stay later and ride Jalama Road all the way to the beach. One of the best rides I've had!
It goes without saying that all of this couldn't have been possible without the tremendous support of our SAG folks. They did a great job keeping everybody hydrated and well-fed, safe and took some pictures too (I'm trying to track all of them down...). And I'm glad the wives who came along had a great time too. I know my wallet is a little lighter from wine club memberships and shopping, but that's an insignificant expense when you consider the compromises our families make to allow us to ride and race.
Friday's mid-trip stop in Paso Robles was an excellent way to break up the drive and get a quality ride into our legs. Peachy Canyon, Vineyard and some other back roads were excellent. Caution had to be given in most corners due to the debris in the road from the recent rains, but for the most part people were safe and had a blast. I can probably throw this blanket statement out there for most everybody when I say that our pace was probably a little too brisk for the first day of camp. We must have been itching to throw down because my power file showed some pretty high numbers for extended amounts of time for a January ride. Ok, I was one of the instigators...
The next morning brought on Figueroa. Riders had the option of doing a shorter ~50 mile loop or toughing up and doing the ~95 mile route. For some reason climbing up the backside of Figueroa this year didn't seem as hard as last year. It was a few degrees cooler this past weekend, but I think what made it easier was knowing the climb. I was expecting much worse for myself because I had my own personal challenge that I set for myself; I wanted to stay with the lead group all the way up the climb. I accomplished that which was nice. Also, the elevation profile wasn't completely truthful. After completing the 95 miles we had put in nearly 8,000 feet of climbing.
After our team meeting Saturday night, some excellent food and a good night of sleep, my dead legs were put to the test on Sunday. Thankfully there wasn't any significant cramping all weekend, but it was still hard to roll out of bed and know I had another 75+ miles waiting. The plan was to ride out to Jalama and back. I did map out a longer route, but there weren't any takers and I needed to be back to Solvang by 3pm. To make up for the shorter distance, I made sure I put in some pretty serious digs to get out of the ride what I wanted. For those that had to peel off early and head back to Solvang before reaching the coast, I advise you make the effort to stay later and ride Jalama Road all the way to the beach. One of the best rides I've had!
It goes without saying that all of this couldn't have been possible without the tremendous support of our SAG folks. They did a great job keeping everybody hydrated and well-fed, safe and took some pictures too (I'm trying to track all of them down...). And I'm glad the wives who came along had a great time too. I know my wallet is a little lighter from wine club memberships and shopping, but that's an insignificant expense when you consider the compromises our families make to allow us to ride and race.
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