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Kenny Bailey’s Golden State Crit Race Report

John Depew and I thought we would “represent” at Saturday’s Golden State Crit, participating in the Masters 35+ Cat 4/5 group (photos courtesy of Zach Hamm).  The race didn’t start until 3:50 which makes for an unusual start time.  I think we both agree mornings would be a better time to race.  The good news about local crits is you take a total of 2 hours out of your day to travel, prep, race, then head home.

It was a nice day to race, sunny with some wind but really didn’t feel it during the race.  Since this was sponsored by Rio Strada, they were well represented.  Throughout the race, they kept throwing guys out for breakaways where a couple of other teams like SN/Bike Plus would hunt them down.   I think they got 1^st/2^nd overall,  so the tactic worked.
Overall, a straightforward crit with no real danger as everyone kept their line.  There were a couple of times where a rider would try to sneak past the group by hugging the curb and running over the grates but were quickly “reprimanded” by the peloton as they didn’t need a hot-dogger to take out ½ the group.  My the f-bombs were thrown at that guy!

For some unknown reason, we hit the back part of the lap about 13 minutes in and seemed everyone pulled up considerably.  I figured I had good inertia heading out the corner and proceeded to take the pull at the front.  We will mark that at as my “young bull” move as I burned a couple of matches doing that which proceeded to hurt me at the end.

Last two laps heated up and John was right in the mix with overall placement of 24^th.  He did fantastic as it was his first crit!  I ended up in 40^th because of said previous pull move and I sat up.  Dumb idea as at least 5 people passed me, including the only girl in the race!
KEY LESSONS:

1. Don’t take a pull unless we have 6 riders in the peloton, we want to push the pace,  and Rob tells me to.
2. Don’t sit up at the end, no matter what place you’re at.
3. John and I should have worked together more.  I think I should have shielded him the whole race until the last lap then let him go nuts.  Need to get educated on that more.

Rick Kile’s Race Report

Golden State Race Series presented by Rio Strada

Saturday Criterium:  Boy it’s nice not to have to travel 3 hours to a race venue, a 30 minute drive had us located in a nice venue off Hwy 50.  It was a modern business park setting with wide roads and oddly shaped turns, temperatures a chilly ~50 degrees at 9am but perfect once racing started.  We rolled out right on schedule with 45, 45+ racers.  A pretty standard Criterium, with a couple of primes to keep the pace up; Paul Diaz from Colavita (3^rd at Livermore) took both the primes and looked to be my primary antagonist.   We had a couple of minor flyers, but nothing was going to stick on this wide open course.  I positioned my self well on the back stretch opting for an inside final corner position since the road pinched down on the outside; better to have control of my own line, or so I thought.  I rolled through the corner clean about 4^th wheel, and started my sprint, where I then proceeded to pull my foot out of my pedal.  I did not panic, re-clipped started my sprint again, over geared and off balance, I then pulled a wheelie.  I finally got it together and made a run for the line;  I salvaged a 5^th place.  There is something to be said for being near the front on that final corner.  I was pretty frustrated and felt I had a better placing in my legs.  I was really bummed that I more than likely let the nice custom signed overall winners jersey slip away.  I promptly went to Bicycles Plus and bought a new pair of pedals; blame it on the equipment. :-0

Sunday for the Circuit Race, it was the same venue, stretched into a good course with quite a few more turns and a pretty strong wind in spots.  The field was smaller, only about 30 guys in the field.  We had two primes, I took one mainly to match Paul’s hard earned chase for a prime earlier, there were a couple other flyers that kept the pace reasonable; we did 6 or 7 laps in all.  Going into the last lap we had two guys go off the front, we reeled them in a bit a couple times but backed off and ultimately waited too long.  We were ripping down the back stretch getting closer to the break when Paul made the right move going into the final ‘chicane’ before the finish.  That created an opening and I got on his wheel to thread the final two corners single file.  We both started our sprint and caught the 2nd guy in the break and I nipped Paul at the line for 2nd. A guy from Truckee took the well deserved solo win.   Since yesterday’s winner did not race, Paul and I ended up tied for first with 7 ‘points’ (the sum of both race places, him 4-3, me 5-2).  Since I placed better in the second race, that was the tie breaker, and I won the overall and the cool jersey signed by George Hincapie and Levi Leipheimer.  A pretty good outing given my mishap in the finish yesterday.

I hope to have good races next weekend for Folsom and Auburn, did I mention it’s nice to only drive 30 minutes to races?

Rick Kile

Hey all…

Modesto RR…6-laps of a 9-mile course…elevation change of ~3-feet )

Racing Masters 35+ 4/5 ‘b’  50-riders, no centerline rule

Dave B and I pre-road about ¾ of the course as a warm up at a nice easy pace discussing strategy (1. keep upright, 2. have some fun, 3. stay near the front and out of trouble, 4. go into the last corner in 3&4^th place…win the race).

Lap 1

In spectacular fashion, the guy leading the pack sits up at the 1k sign and looks back over his shoulder and dumps his bike on the ground causing other riders to crash and the front half of the peloton to head for the dirt on the sides of the road. I was riding about 10^th at the time and managed to get through the gravel/dirt shoulder and back on the road with what was now the lead riders. I was looking back to see if Dave was still upright and he also successfully managed the detour and yelled for me to keep going.

Lap 2

Group of 4-5 riders gets off the front

Lap 3

Dave and I participate in a chase with about 15-other guys on the front and bring the breakaway back from a >1-min lead to <9-seconds…at that point one of the breakaway riders sits up and drifts back into the group, everyone stops chasing and the breakaway starts opening up a gap again. Two riders from the pack attack and bridge up to the break and the gap opens up to >1-min again. I tell Dave not to participate in any chase and that I will help chase if anything organized gets going.

Lap 4

No one wants to chase and for some reason… the Talaeo team (the largest in our group with 5-riders) has apparently decided to practice their blocking drills for the day and are executing a perfect example on how to shut down any and all attempts to chase the break…No, they don’t have a rider in the break, their just Yahoos.

Lap 5

More of the same…

Lap 6

More disorganized “chasing” at 20-mph…give me a break, getting frustrated…

At the 2.5 mile to go point, a group of 8-Masters 1-3’s go by. A guy riding for Rio Strada in our race that I have been marking through the race…very strong… takes off and I immediately go with him

(David Hassleman who lives right behind Steve Baker). I look back and we have a gap and go by the Masters 1-3 group. I pull past and tell him we have a break and do my pull. As I rotate off and Dave H takes a pull, I see that Dave B has bridged up to us…three off the front of the pack trying to bridge up to the 4-riders off the front.

I take the next pull before going through the last right hander ~1k before the 1-k sign…I see the breakaway group ahead and bury myself chasing (~27mph) knowing that Dave is on behind me. I get about 50-feet off the break and am not closing anymore so look back at Dave B and tell him to close the gap if he can. Dave B rockets up behind the break, leaving Dave H and me still riding about 50-feet off the break.

At this point we are now at the 1-k to go sign and pass the Masters 35+ 4/5 ‘a’ group. Dave H jumps out of the saddle and closes to Dave B and the break…at some point one of the break riders has attacked the break and I am still creeeeeping my way onto the back of the break. We go through the last corner and I’m on the back of the break (6-riders in the last turn ~350-meters to finish line, one rider off the front). 2^nd place finisher jumps immediately after the corner, Dave H jumps with 300-meters to go and I yell at Dave B to gogogogogogo! Both of them are now chasing 2 of the original break down the last 200-meters. I’m trying to figure out if the funny little lights in my vision are real or not and what will happen if I try to get out of the saddle. With 100-meters to go I pass the last 2-riders in the original break and about fall off my bike crossing the line.

Dave finished 4th, I finished 5th

Last 1.5 miles: avg 24.9mph, max 30.5mph, 27.6mph at finish line

Lessons:

1. Plans change…heard that one before )
2. Never give up…be ready and take the opportunity if it presents itself, you never know
3. Communicate with your teammate if your tapped out…let them go for it
4. Riding a race with multiple team mates opens a lot of doors
5. Dave is a savvy, smart rider who has some gas in that tank!! Great job of racing!!!
6. Don’t expect the biggest team to do any work and to actively block for no one ) …it just happened

Rob

Hey Team…this one was a complete team effort!

The course was an 8-mile loop, we did 6-laps, which had a lot of patched pavement and was much more hilly than advertised on the website with a 10-12% WALL approximately half way through the lap and a 1k climbing finish…centerline in effect…~25 riders in the pack starting out, we have the largest team represented.

Our plan starting out was to get Todd into a winning break…plans change )

Lap 1

The start was on the uphill finish and as we rolled onto the course BC was on the front with myself, Matt and Rick 3-across and Todd/Brad right behind us…I wanted to start pretty easy because we had no idea what was ahead of us so I was climbing about 8-12mph…Rick was setting a faster pace and I told Matt to let him go and see if anyone went after him…no one did/could because BC was blocking across the road…very interesting no one from behind us said anything and I was “well lets see how big a gap Rick can get”…in another ¼ mile he was gone out of sight-out of mind. New plan: see if Rick can solo for the win from 47.5 miles to go. Matt, Brad and I kept riding “easy” letting the gap grow for the entire first lap. Just before the SF line, Brad’s crank cracks…see photo and he is out.

Lap 2

As we came across the SF line, a couple of people behind us started asking if there was anyone off the front….according to Matt no one was ). We kept rolling now watching for any attacks and I’m talking to Todd about being vigilant about anyone going off the front and that he should go with anyone that does.

Lap 3

A couple of guys go off the front after the SF line and are about 100 yards off the front when Todd jumps and bridges up and flys on past…so now we have 2 BC guys off the front and we absorb one of the other guys (I thought we had gotten both of them). The WALL is really starting to bite and we are now loosing guys off the back, Matt and I are hurting staying with the front 2-3 riders on all laps.

Lap 4

A Davis guy goes off the front after the SF line and I’m thinking let him go we still have 2:1 ratio assuming he can bridge up to Rick and Todd and 3 have a better chance of staying away than 2 do…I’m still expecting the main group to put in a serious chase. The WALL is really hurting now…but everyone sits up and goes easy at the top each time allowing me to recover…nice of them )

Lap 5

Brad tells us there is a good gap and that BC has a good lead ahead…Matt and I stay in the top 4riders around the course…shutting down all break attempts…not that there are any serious one left, we are all suffering. The moto ref tells us there is a 3-min gap to the next rider ahead of us…not sure which rider it is though so we don’t chase…not that we were feeling like chasing anyway.

Lap 6

I’m now thinking about the finish and how we can set it up for either Matt or myself…there are 5 of us that are still riding “strong” and another 4-5 riders bouncing off and on the group depending on climbs vs. descents. At the bottom of the WALL one of the riders yells and almost falls over as his calf cramps out…Matt starts cramping at about the ¾ mark on the WALL…I’m just trying not to think about cramping and how to just fall over without getting run over. A guy gets off the front on the wall and Matt, myself and two Funsport guys, one of which has been riding strong on the front the whole time, start chasing. I take my first pull of the day going down a hill trying to keep the other 4-5 guys off our tails and trying not to let the other guy off the front get too big a gap on us (I’m pretty sure he has gone too early)…Matt takes a pull and then it’s the Funsport team pulling going into the bottom of the last 1-k climb. The guy off the front is 200-meters ahead and keeps looking back. The remaining Funsport guy makes up about 100-meters on the guy ahead but then gets blown just before a small kicker…I decide now or never and bridge up to the guy on the front with about 250-meters to go…he is pretty much blown by the time I get there and I get out of the saddle for the last 200-meters, look back and have a good gap by 100-meters to go mark and sit back down and go easy to the line….owwwww!

Lessons:

1. be flexible with your race plan
2. Have strong riders on your team that can ride off the front for miles by themselves )
3. like last week, keep digging when you think you are done

Next week: Berkeley Hills RR   Go Team!!

Rob

Wente Race Report

Weather was perfect in Livermore…sunny, little wind, 60’s at start 70’s at finish…3-laps and 50-miles of racing with ~? Feet of climbing per lap (a lot)

My personal goal was to stay upright throughout the race and with the lead pack on the first lap going into this race. I had a very good recovery week going into this race…only road 45-min., not planned, just worked out that way.

My team goal was to contribute in anyway I could to helping a teammate improve their finish.

Lap 1:

The team had good position at the start and I was about 7^th rider starting the climb and settled into what I felt was a sustainable level of effort up the climb and watched the pack of 75 riders gradually stream by up the climb to the bridge. I was about ¾ of the way back in the pack by the time I crossed the bridge over 580 and stayed pretty much there to the top of the next climb (178bpm, 14.4mph, 2.5miles). On the descent (38.8mph) I picked my way through to about the front ½ and then lost ground again up the final climb section. On the final descent I again worked my way back up to about 15^th place by the bottom rejoining Todd, Steve, and Rick near the front as we worked our way back to the start….I was feeling pretty happy at achieving goal one.

Lap 2:

On the next lap I pulled Steve/Todd up to the base of the climb and said “I’ll see you guys later” not expecting to be able to stay on the lead group with them. This time up the climb (178bpm, 14.1mph, 2.5miles) I ended up at the back of the very elongated/strung out group with Brad near me on the second part of the climb and I apparently was in a fair amount of oxygen debt as I thought he was Randy Volkmar and kept telling him “nice job Randy”. Once the group compressed again it was a repeat of the first.

Lap 3:

I was definitely figuring I was going to be off the group this time up the climb (180bpm, 13.9mph, 2.5miles), but kept saying to myself “ its just like Penryn Hill on the Coffee ride…hang on”. Randy and I were in a third group at the bridge and he did an amazing amount of work with a couple of other guys to bring us (about 7 riders) back onto the lead group by the time we were going up the second climb…I was just hanging onto the back of this group hoping it would all be over soon.

Finish:

I again moved up the group going down the last decent and talked with Rick, Steve, and Todd about who we were going to be working for on the last climb…Todd felt the best so I worked for him (179, 20mph, 1.6 miles) going into the base of the last climb to the finish line…I think we went into the last corner in 3^rd place and Todd finished in 5^th or 6^th…a great job!!! Having a team mate finish this very challenging race in the top 10-riders )….meanwhile I was trying to get my big ass up that last climb (179bpm, 13.3mph, .8miles) without blacking out…of the riders who passed me up the climb, I was able to re-pass an amazing 1-rider at the finish line ) just for pride…

Looking forwards to Sonora RR next Sunday

Lessons:

1. A good recovery week can help a rider ride above his/her expectations on race day
2. Teammates working for each other can help motivate each other to ride better than they expect
3. Keep working regardless if you think you are toast…surprise yourself )

Gabby is sporting her Body Concepts’ colors at last years Prairie City Mountain Bike series.  Yesterday she donned her BC harness again in preparation for this season.  She is ready.  Are you?

Rob and I took a little break from blogging, but we are back!  Look for cycing race team updates, Linda’s gardening progress, rowing adventures, and general BC news.

Bike Skills Clinics 10-23-09 (two of them)

The morning started at 8am with the Sacramento Wheelmen’s braking and cornering clinic. First on the menu was a 1.5-hour discussion/white board mapping of different issues to consider when braking…ie which brake stops a bike fastest and cornering…ie what it the most important thing to do when cornering a bicycle?

We then got our gear together and rode over to Negro Bar to do some on-the-bike practic. We started with rear brakes, then front brakes  and finally using both brake practicing coming to a full stop (one foot down) while gradually building speed into the coned braking area. Everyone did a great job…not even one tip over!!  The cornering drill started next doing a 180-degree turn dialing in the compenents of a “counter steer” turn. Again everyone did a wonderful job sequencing their turns and gradually building their confidence with faster and faster turns with more and more bike lean. One of the most challenging things everyone learned was to keep their eyes up and looking through the turn to keep their bike traveling in a steady arc. Great job!

We have two more Skills Clinics coming up for the Wheelmen… one in January and one in February on Climbing/Descending and the second one on Group Ride Skills.

Body Concepts Race Team skills clinic was next starting at 1pm with introductions of new members and discussion of 2010 goals. We did some mapping of various race finish scenarios on the white board and then headed out to do some real practice.

The first drills we did were for the mayhem that are race finishes…ie bumping drills, wheel touches. A bit nervous for many of us but fun and informative. We then progressessed to easy leadouts working on the mechanics of sequencing different leadouts to get the feel…nothing fast just fitting the parts and pieces together. We finished with a nice rotating line around Lake Natoma. A very good start to what we hope is going to be  a productive season.

We are doing monthly skills clinics for our team through the rest of the year and will keep you updated as we go…

Rob

Well, I managed to finally convince Rob to come rowing with me.  Now, I am not naive; I know Rob did not decide to start rowing with me because he wants to spend time with me doing something I love.  After witnessing the power that Olympic hopeful rower, Matthew, can generate on the bike, he became very interested in rowing.  Rob and I went out in the sculls yesterday after he finished teaching a Pilates Barrel Teacher Training course around 4:30pm.  It was a little muggy, but there was no wind, nobody on the lake and the water was glass.  This was Rob’s third time in the scull and he was doing great.  He has phenomenal balance and great strength and endurance in his legs from cycling, so he is a natural at rowing.  We rowed past the 2K and spun the boats after the orange buoys.  When we got back to the 2k I suggested we try some starts.  Normally I would not have a beginner practice this because they are likely to flip the boat, but Rob is a stud.  We did a fraction five start of 3/4, 1/2, 1/2, 3/4, full.  That means you start at a 3/4 slide with your blades squared and buried, take that stroke then your next stroke is only half a slide, then another half and so on.  These are short strong strokes to get the boat up and moving.  We had already done two starts and Rob was doing well.  I told him to try and go a little faster with no layback, just legs and arms.  Did he ever!  3/4, 1/2, 1/2 3/4, BAM!  There was a loud noise and Rob’s boat dipped drastically to starboard.  His starboard gunnel was under water and he is struggling to keep the boat upright.  I involuntarily scream No, no, no, hold on!  His strong legs and balance came in handy.  I think anyone else would have gone into the drink.  He rights the boat and is fine.  What happened?  On the last full slide, full power stroke, Rob sheared off part of the track that the foot stretchers are in and his entire foot stretcher came out of the tracks.  It wasn’t because they were loose either.  I rowed over and I locked our riggers together and as Rob put his foot stretchers back in he said, “The Legend Begins”.  Rob is the least braggadocios person I know, so that comment was unexpected.  I laughed so hard I almost flipped us both.  Foot stretchers fixed we headed back to the dock.  It was a great row back and as we moved our boats quietly down the lake side by side, I was very happy that rowing is great cross-training for cycling.  The Legend Begins.

Body Concepts Race Team

2010 will bring with it a new road race team for Body Concepts.

We are starting with a Masters Cat 4/5 Team for next year and see where we go from there. We currently have 9-riders on the team and are open to others joining us for some fun, team work and goal of winning some races. We are focusing on being an aggressive, attacking team with emphasis on team tactics and implementing race strategies at each race we compete in. 

As a developmental team we have a solid core of experienced racers who are willing and able to assist in bringing newer riders up to speed and help build skills and fitness. We will be doing a minimum of 1-team ride per month focused on building the skills and knowlege needed to implement team tactics.

If you are interested in joining us, please email me at: rkopitzke@bodyconceptsinc.com I would like the following information- name, age, race experience/results for last two years, why you would like to join and your goals for next two seasons.

Have a great day!

Rob