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5th Place in The Pro/1/2 Modesto Road Race
Posted on May 21st, 2009 No commentsModesto Road Race
Pro/1/2 Field: 30
Teammates: Carmi on his lonesome
Place: 5thHere’s the report from Carmi…
“The course reminded me a lot of Texas; flat and hot. We had to do 8 laps on the 9-mile course consisting of a bunch of corners, it was actually a lot of fun. About two laps in 3 UC Davis guys go off with a couple of other people and looked pretty promising, but eventually Clif Bar and Webcor brought it back after a couple laps. The next lap just consisted of people recovering and there were a couple attacks but
nothing serious. With 3 laps to go I saw a break go up the road that had a Davis, Clif Bar and a cal giant guy who all had teammates, there’s also a fellow loner Godspeed courier who eventually fell off. I decided to bridge up before they got to far up the road and managed to get up to them by myself. We instantly started rotating evenly and smoothly (I really like racing the p12s) and eventually a Reno
Wheelman and a Rocknasium guy bridged up and helped with the work. We managed to keep a 30-45 second gap over a 3 man chase group and worked our way up to over 2 min over the main field. With 1k to go the Reno Wheelman attacked the break and caught everyone off guard and held it to the line. I didn’t have anything left to sprint with and rolled in for 5th managing to win 5 bucks and a T-shirt, well worth it.” -
Cat’s Hill Pro 1/2 Report
Posted on May 4th, 2009 No comments
From the desk of AG:Image copyright Velodramatic.com / Michael Robertson,Massive Start List of 100 ridersMates: Carmi, Jan, Angelo, and myself
Place: Aaron 10th; Carmi/Jan strong pack finish; Angelo DNP
Cat’s Hill is a race that demands a lot of respect. Virtually everyone that is showing up is on top form in early May and all are motivated to make a mark from last years race. The town, crowds, level of riders and pressure that we hide well - as we pressure on ourselves on our bodies and mind. However, the only reason we’re all out there is that 22% climb that makes the race what it has become - CAT’S HILL. The sheer crazy of going up that hill repetitively is not only torture and sadomasochist, but also can be fun at the same time. People screaming, drinking, partying, dogs barking over and over again. The pain is worth all of that – what a greatly supported race and cool little town of Los Gatos.
I felt good during the week leading up to Cat’s Hill (much thanks to Yoga) and our overarching plan was nothing more to hang on. Sounds simple – but physically demanding.
Cat’s Hill brings out some of the top Pro riders and experienced 1/2 riders that all have massive strength and bike handling abilities. To be in the company of these guys is very respectable and earns one some street cred. Knowing that I’m in company of Pro’s, Webcor, Cal Gaint and many more to mention is almost scary, the race was going to be very very painful. I’m still working on the confidence, lately my results aren’t giving me that extra boost that I need. Until today! Today I felt we rode well and I’m very happy with my performance as the race went 95% perfect for me and almost everything clicked into place.
Most of the race was fast and fierce with some crashes near the rear of the race (hope all are ok). I managed to keep clear of all the stacks and stayed near the front for the entire race. I knew my legs were filling ok as I would hit the climb around 15th-20th place or so and make up some spots here and there. Coming into the last 8 laps, I only saw about about 50 plus guys left in the race. With 5 to go there was a pretty nasty stack 25 meters coming into the climb. So the only safe thing to do for the down riders and everyone else was to neutralize the field.
After about 20 minutes of trying to keep our legs warm and talking about the last 70 minutes of a godspeed war to one another – they lined us up again. 5 to go – 5 to go! Most of us were done and just wanted to pack up home.
With 5 laps left in the race the head count of beasts were around 40 or so guys. That goes to show you that even the best have off days. The first lap up the hill was complete hell, lucky not only for myself, but I heard moans coming from the entire field. Lap 2 of 5 to to was a bit easier and not as shocking on the sticks.
The final laps I tried my hardest to maintain a steady up front position. Trying not to let anyone come around you is so hard and INTENSE. The bell lap was fast and the last final punch of a climb was like time standing still (not) only to be over in 30 seconds. I came around the final corner with some speed and ended up passing one or two in the sprint for 10th.
All the mates did a great fight and are already getting pumped for more pleasure and pain next weekend.
Nuff said
Aaron -
Kit Sorting!
Posted on April 7th, 2009 No commentsSent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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Official Results
Posted on March 22nd, 2009 No commentsJan got 9th in today's crit and 27th overall.
Good job Yanni.
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Finish sprint
Posted on March 22nd, 2009 No commentsJan was up there. Probably around 12th? Hard to tell. Will post when official.
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Squadra Ovest
- The Team's in full force today at the Giro di San Francisco! Levi's Plaza.. stop by the tent to say hi!!
- @lloydman pulling hard: http://ht.ly/2qttx
- Dan Tedford ripping a corner at the Suisun Crit: http://ht.ly/2qts3
- Eric 4th in E4s!. Murat and Ian 4th and 5th in 3s! Masters and Pro race up next.
