mix1 is now available in Safeway & check them out on Facebook

Our main sponsor mix1 just got their product into Safeway in Colorado.  As such they are trying to promote it with social media. So please go to their Facebook page (link below), then "like" the page if you have not done so already, and lastly you need to post some thing to identify our team.  For example "I like mix1 because the mix1 masters cycling team uses it" or "I like mix1 after the mix1 masters cycling team gave me some to try". 

So if you would not mind please head to their page, click on "like", and then post some message with the mix1 masters team in it.  There are points for being funny so have at it.

https://www.facebook.com/mix1life

mix1 will also be sending out coupons for free product to some of the people who post on their page.   So if you would not mind doing this for me I would appreciate it.

CJ

Our own Peter Ismert is running for the ACA Board

Peter Ismert from our Mix1 45+ squad is running for a seat on the Board of Directors for the American Cycling Association (ACA), soon to be the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado (BRAC). This organization is the primary bike-race permitting entity for Colorado and eastern Wyoming, and will be a local association for USA Cycling. Cycling team leaders will be voting for the new Board at the annual meeting on Dec. 14th.

Peter wants to give back to the sport, the organization, and its members by becoming an active member on the BRAC Board of Directors.  If elected, Peter looks forward to addressing the many organizational and operational issues that will arise when changing from ACA, which has been an autonomous, self-supported entity, to BRAC, which will be partially supported by USAC.  Peter wants to find creative ways to maintain the level of service seen under ACA and also capitalize on the advantages of becoming BRAC. Peter believes that developing a more diversified funding plan is one of the top priorities for BRAC.  With his experience working with other nonprofit organizations and helping them develop fund-raising plans, he can offer creativity to the BRAC Board to help bring sustainable funding to the organization. He also understands that having a full-time, paid, Executive Director for a nonprofit organization such as BRAC is a great opportunity and he wants to help that person succeed to the fullest extent possible. Finally, he wants to promote how the Board of Directors and Executive Director can best interact with its members (racers, promoters, officials, mechanics, and others) to draw upon their skills and to solicit help to move the new organization forward.

2 new riders for the 35 Plus team

The mix1 Masters Team is pleased to welcome Michael Burton and Lee Middlekauff on board for 2012.  Here is a little information about them both.

Michael Burton

Michael is originally from Boston, MA, however he moved out west in 98 to open the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He and his wife, Paula, live in the highlands of Denver.  They share their home with three very needy dogs, Michael works in the wine industry and represent 30 wineries from around the world.  That fact alone was enough to get him on the team..............

He started off his racing life with Triathlon in 1999. After 5 Ironmans with similar results it was clear he was good at 1 of the 3 disciplines, the bike. Highlights from Michael's racing are; 3rd- Ca State ITT 30+, 2nd- Salida Omnium overall, 3rd-San Dimas SR overall, and a "W" Manhattan Beach crash fest. For 2012 Michael is inspired to race Gila, VOS, Cascade, Master Nats, and BAT races for the team. His strengths are Crits and TTs , however never count him out in any RR.  His favorite discipline will always be stage racing!  In addition he has raced the track and cyclocross, but never found them compelling due to the time constraints.

Outside of racing Michael and his wife enjoy snowshoeing, Costa Rica, hiking, lots of Sushi, and a little wine, ok maybe a lot of wine. They both practice Zen Buddhism at a local temple, but are far from enlightened per Michael. They appreciate life in Denver, look forward to a great year in 2012, and told all the guys to just call him Burton!




Lee Middlekauff

Lee is 42 yrs old and like a lot of the guys on the team from back east.  It is ironic, but 4 different team members, including 2 brand new recruits all remember racing with/against each other in the NYC area in the late 1980's and early 1990's.   Lee had completed two 1000 plus mile bike tours up and down the coasts  by age 16 and spent a summer as a bike messenger in NYC where he grew up.  In 1987 he started racing with CRCA and Toga, both well know teams in the New York City area who still actively race today.   He took his passion to the University of Colorado, Boulder where he was involved racing for one of the best collegiate programs in the country, and onto the pro/1/2 fields.  After a 20 plus year hiatus from racing he returned to the sport in 2010 and rediscovered the thrill of the racing scene.  In 2011 Lee started off in the 35 Plus cat. 4 category and moved up quickly, then winning in both the 35's plus cat 3 category and the senior cat 3 category.   He tends to do well in crits, is a past winner of the NJ State road champion, and looks forward to the "Spring Classics" here in CO.

 

Lee has been married to Amy for six years and they have 4 yr old twins, Connor and Gracie.  Lee has worked in the investment world since he graduated from college (along with 3 other team members) and he currently is in the institutional equity sales group for Citibank based out of Cherry Creek.

24 Hours Of Moab

Mountain bike racing is not part of what the mix1 team really does, but like a lot of things some of the guys do compete in the off season from road racing.  For some that is on the track, for others that is cross, maybe mountain biking, or even running.  Each fall the grand daddy of 24 hour mountain bike races is held in Moab, UT, on the same course since the 1st edition in 1995.  This year CJ Gauss went down with a team of 5 and raced the co-ed category again.  CJ's team was 2nd last year, but stepped up this year to win their category, and was the 6th fastest team out of the several hundred in Moab.  CJ flew the mix1 flag the entire race and more importantly the team of 5 consumed 2 full cases of mix1 over the 24 hours to keep everyone happy, well feed, and with happy stomachs.  24 hour races are very hard on one's digestive system and mix1 was the perfect drink for all.  On top of that if you are going to stay awake for 36 hours, you better drink something that tastes good.

 Not the best picture, but CJ on the right side of the top step, in mix1 hat and vest.

 CJ's lap is over, time to sit down, put your feet up, and get ready to race at night.

One has to keep it light during a event like this, so might as well stick your tongue out at the camera guy.

New Additions to 45 Plus and 55 Plus

The mix1 masters team is proud to announce the addition of 2 riders to our 55 plus team and 1 rider to our 45 plus team for 2012.  Adam Asnes will be joining our 45 plus team and Butch Stinton and Steve Matous will be joining the 55 plus team.  The 45 plus team won the Best All Around team competition for Colorado last year, but with the loss of one strong rider for 2012 Adam is a welcome replacement.  The 55 Plus team was a new group for mix1 in 2011 and had a great year.  Bill Kelligher won the Best All Around Rider competition in Colorado with only one team mate.  So for 2012 the team will be field 4 riders with Bill and Steve B. returning, as well as new recruits Butch and Steve M.  Keep an eye out for the 35's who are still doing some recruiting.

Here is a little bit more about Butch:

Butch started racing at 14 and has raced most of his life since then.   He has been racing over 45 years, he is the inventory manager at Bikesourse, and his strengths are sprinting, crits, and track racing.  Between 1980 and 1988, he completed over 100 Triathlons including 5 Ironman’s.  He has raced his bike in all the different disciplines in Road and Track and he has won over 400 races including over 40 State Titles, 20 National Titles and 15 World Titles.  At this point Butch is  looking to have fun helping his new Teammates get the best results they can. 

Recent Highlights:

Masters State Crit Championships – 1^st

Raisin Hope Crit – 1^st

Salida Crit – 1^st

Glenwood Springs Crit – 1^st

Coal Miners Classic Crit – 1^st

Vic’s Crit – 2^nd

Wheels of Thunder Crit – 3^rd

Banock Crit – 5^th

Hugo RR – 11^th

BAR & BAT Year End Awards

Report and photos from Peter Ismert. 

The end of the 2011 bike race season was marked by the annual American Cycling Association Awards Party.  Best All-Around Team (BAT) and Best All-Around Rider (BAR) awards were presented to all the junior, senior, and masters categories.  The mix1 Masters Team received BAR/BAT awards for all their respective categories and had a couple first place wins. 

For the individual awards, mix1's Bill Kellagher's won the first place BAR award for the 55+ category.  Bill is new to mix1 this year and he gave racing his all by racing from March through August, winning races throughout the season.  Because he was racing against strong competitors from various teams, his first place BAR win wasn't decided until the last race of the season. Also, Matt Gates from the mix1 35+ team and Peter Ismert from the 45+ team each took 2nd in their respective BAR categories. These guys also raced a long season against great competition from several teams.  They were often seen winning races or getting into the top 3 placings. Bill, Matt, and Peter did will this year due in a large part to their teammate's support during the races, enabling them to ensure high-placed finishes. Congrat's to Jeff Hartman (P2P/Westside Cycling) and Rod Yoder (Natural Grocers Cycling Team) on their first place BAR wins in the 35+ and 45+ categories.

For the team awards, the mix1 45+ squad won the first place BAT award for the 3rd year running. The team showed consistency throughout the season by winning races and often placing in the top three spots.  A hard charging Great Divide cycling team kept the season exciting as mix1 and Great Divide often exchanged the lead for BAT from week to week.  Also, the Mix1 35+ team got 2nd place in BAR due to their ability to race as a team and posting many key race wins by several of their riders throughout the season.   Congratulation too the Westwisde P2P team who not only had the best rider, but also a very deep team and deserved their team awards.

The ACA BAR/BAT awards was a good way to mark the end of the bicycle road-race season for Mix1. Great competition and race venues, along with our many generous sponsors, made this season one to remember.  The Mix1 team is looking forward to some enjoyable non-racing cycling this off-season in preparation for another exciting year in 2012.

 Peter Ismert on the podium for 2nd in 45 Plus Open BAR and representing the whole team on their BAT win, for the 3rd year in a row.

 Matt Gates took 2nd in the 35 Plus Open BAR for the second year in a row, with Jeff Hartmann winning for the second year in a row.

 Bill Kelligher taking the win in the 55 plus BAR, which a big credit to his team mates Steve, as it was often just the 2 of them again much larger teams.  look out in 2012, they are bringing in the reinforcements.

Steamboat Stage Race 45 Plus

45 Plus race report from Peter Ismert.

While much of the Mix1 team was racing at the National Masters Championships in Bend, Oregon,  Mix1's Matt Vawter and Peter Ismert decided to race closer to home and participated in the Steamboat Springs Stage Race.  The fields were a bit small, but the racing was still big.  Matt had the best overall success by claiming second place in the end, propelled by a solid time trial result, a good second place finish in the road race, and a hard fought 3rd place finish in the final criterium.  After four days of racing, he was only 14 seconds out of first place overall.  Peter just missed getting into the top 3 spots on the podium for the final overall, but was able to come away from the weekend with success by winning both criteriums.  Matt and Peter's performance put the final stamp on the Mix1 45+ team's successful season which ultimately ended in winning the ACA Best All-around Team competition and Peter coming in second in the Best All-around Rider competition for the 45+ category.  The 45+ team is due some well-deserved down time for the remainder of the year as 2012 is just around the corner.

 Podium for the final stage with Peter taking the win and Matt in 3rd.   We apologize for Matt's belly sticking out!

 Podium from the road race with Matt taking 2nd overall and moving into the top 3 on GC.

Raisin Hope Crit 45 Plus video

Here is a video Peter Ismert shot during the 45 Plus race at the Raisin Hope crit last weekend.  The guys worked to set up Matt V., but it did not come together this time.

http://vimeo.com/27812272

Bannock Crit, a Great Day with 2 Wins

Jeff Oksanko taking a close sprint in the 45 Plus race and his first victory of the year.

CJ Gauss taking the win in the 35 Plus race, as he cleanly out sprinted the 6 man break, just as they got caught by the field.

The team had possibly one of our best days ever at Bannock this past week, but also it worst days ever for rider injuries.  We had guys racing in the 35's, the 45's, and the 55's, and from those 3 fields we went 1st, 1st, and 2nd.  Not too bad.  Unfortunately we lost 3 guys for the year in frustrating crashes.  We say frustrating as Bannock is pretty wide open and safe, so you would think there would not be much crashing, let alone losing 3 guys for the year.  In the 45 plus race both Larry and Henrik we taken out in turn one, Larry ended up with 2 broken ribs and a broken collar bone, and Henrik ended up with a hole in his face that required a lot of stitches in his face and inside his mouth.  In the 35 plus race there was a crash right at the front of the field with 1 to go and Pete and Josh got real unlucky and went down.  Pete will live to race another day, but Josh broke both his wrists and is done for the season.  So good luck to our 3 team mates, glad it was not worse, but get better and we will see you soon


55 Plus Race report from Bill Kellagher:

The story of the 55+ team continues.  Steve and I got up dark and early for the Bannock Street Crit. I guess they figure old folks don't sleep that well anyway, so they started the combined 55/65 field at 7:50.  That meant a 4:30 wake-up call for me.  Ugh.  But knowing that there were BAR points on the line and my competition for the BAR would not be at this race, I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed, So Steve and I dragged our butts down there to start our 30th race of the season. 

So there we were, warming up for our crit, enjoying yet another fine breakfast of Cliff bars and Rockstar, as the sun is cracking over the tall buildings in downtown Denver, Steve asks what I was thinking of for tactics, offering to do anything he could to help my chances.  I was just blank.  Thinking that there were lots of Vic's guys who were all good sprinters, and there was a huge target on my back.  Then as I rolled up to the line, I noticed that there were only 3 Vic's guys and the rest of the field wasn't looking super strong.  That's when the light came on and I thought, "just drill it!"  They blew the whistle and bang, I was off going as hard as I could down and through the first turn, out of the saddle down to the second turn.  Head down and going as hard as I could down the back stretch, I heard a voice behind me, Steve Matouse saying that he was with me and willing to work.  Pushed it up a gear and kept pounding.  By the time we were through the 3rd turn, two Vic's guys had bridge up and when it appeared they were willing to work, I knew we were gone.  Meahwhile back in the field, Steve was doing yeoman's work, spreading mayhem and confusion.  Chasing down anything that moved and clogging up the turns.  Steve said it only took about 4 laps and we were out of sight and out of mind, the break was gone for good, wire to wire. 

For the most part, everyone in the break worked hard and we didn't even sprint for the primes.  Seemed like everyone got a chance to roll through on the front to pick up some extra cash.  I even won a prime for a case of Mix1!  With about 7 or 8 laps to go, the Vic's sprinter Steve Worley started to sit on while the rest of us continued to work hard.  But when the field came into sight up ahead, the rest of us started to ease up as we didn't want to lap them and then get caught up in confusion of the field for the final sprint.  With 5 to go, with Worley still sitting on, Steve M and I stopped working.  Since there were two Vic's guys, we forced the other one to tow us around for the last 5 laps with the rest of us holding position.  On the final lap I had good position and timed the sprint well, but Worley was just too fast for me and pulled away, while I managed to hold off the rest of the break.  Steve B continued defending the break, and then even got 4th in the field sprint for 8th place. Vic's got the win, but I got 23 unanswered points for the BAR. 

45 Plus Race Report from Jeff Ofsanko:

The pace was fast from the gun with attacks seeming to come and go throughout the 50 minute event. However, the squad was up for the challenge with Mix1 riders either getting in the key moves or working to bring them back. In the end the race come down to a bunch sprint with Jeff Ofsanko getting his first win of the season.

The squad designated Jeff as the team’s sprinter for the day while Peter x 2 (Pete Lucke and Peter Ismert) were to play the roles of attacking and controlling the race…which they did to perfection. Throughout the race Peter x 2 covered all the key moves and started many breaks themselves. Occasionally, when a move would go and Peter x 2 were out of position to cover it, Jeff would make an effort to keep the break in check.

With 5 laps to go the field was all together when Peter Lucke slipped off the front while Peter Ismert and Jeff sat towards the front of the field disrupting the efforts of the chase. Lucke stayed away until the bell lap. With one lap to go, as Lucke was getting reeled in, Jeff latched onto the back wheel of Ismert and with half a lap to go Ismert took control of the front of the race. Ismert led Jeff through the course’s final 6 corners and just before the finishing straight, Jeff made his jump and held the field off down the 200 meter stretch to take the win.

While Jeff got the honors of crossing the line first, it was the work of Peter x 2 that made the win possible. They controlled the race, Lucke put the pressure on the other teams with his late attack, and Ismert brought Jeff to the final straightaway in perfect position. This race was one of best displays of teamwork for the squad all season. Congrats guys.

 Jeff on the top podium with Adam Asnes from Vittamin Cottage

35 Plus Race Report:

Bannock is an important race for us, as we have been riding very well in crits of late (winning 4 of the last 5) and we came so close last year with 2nd and 3rd.  So this year we looked to do better.  We started 8 guys and had one of the larger teams, with everyone having a job to do, with the only goal in mind getting a win for one of our riders.  Team sprinter Dan Schmatz got going right away and went off the front early with Michael Gibson from Westside.  It was an odd move as they are both 2 of the stronger riders in the field.  Eventually under pressure from other teams they came back and the counter attacking started for real.  From the fray Matt Gates got away with another Westside rider and dropped him.  Matt was not bothered by this and just went on solo, collecting a bunch of primes.


Back in the field Westside went to the front and brought it back, then launched their strong man Jeff Hartman, but CJ was on his wheel as he waited for the counter move.  Things continued like this for a while, but no group could form a real gap, with Dan, CJ, Josh, Matt, and Matt continuing to try to get away.  With 5 laps to go it looked like a field sprint and the guys decided to work for Josh as he was feeling good.  Literally 30 seconds later time trial stud Jon Heidleman, Westside, went to the front and pulled a small group away.  CJ reacted and covered the move for mix1.  

In the end 6 riders got away, but only had a small lead with 4 laps to go.  CJ did not think the break had any chance, but was smart enough to sit on, with the 2 best sprinters back in the field in Dan & Josh.  Of the 6 riders only 3 were working, with 2 of them being strong TT guys, and the third having more to lose if the break did not work.  CJ's tactics made sense and allowed him an easy ride in the break.  At one lap to go it appeared the break had a chance, but it was small chance.  They there was the big crash in the field, which occurred close to the front, took out a bunch of the best guys, and probably allowed the break to stay away to the line.   CJ moved up and was 2nd wheel with 2 corners to go, his only job was to beat the break, and if they got caught at the line, his team mates hopefully had it under control.  Dan D from 8 Sixteen Racing jumped first and CJ locked on his wheel coming out of the final turn.  CJ let Dan go for a little while and then jumped about 300 metres out for a clean win.   It was perfect tactics for the guys again and the team's 5th crit win in a row, with 4 different riders.

As always it was a total team win, with all 8 guys working for the team, and not too concerned who got the win.  Of the 10 guys on the 35 plus squad, 8 of them have won a race this year . That is a stat we are very proud of.

Lookout Hill Climb 55 Plus Race Report and another Win

Race report from Bill Kellagher:

Steve and I went after both Lookout and Bannock this weekend and I ended up taking first at lookout at a near PR time, and 2nd at Bannock.  Both races had big bearings on my hopes for another BAR championship.  At the start of the weekend, I was leading by a mere 2 points over Kim Workman.  For those of you who don't know, I have been in a very close race with Kim all season long.  He has been consistently beating me in hill climbs and time time trials, while I generally have the upper hand in crits and road races.  And while we have been within 10 points of each other all season long, the third place rider is over 100 points back.  I've also been a bit handicapped as I missed a few BAR races back in the sprint when I had killer form, but was out of state for the Gila and Battenkill.  So now it's down to the last 3 races of the season and it's a very close run thing.

Since Kim had been consistently beating me at hill climbs, I decided that my best strategy would be to mark Kim and let anyone else who wanted to ride up the road.  My rational was that if he was first and I was 2nd, I would lose 3 points to him.  If he was 3rd and I was 4th, I would only lose 2 points. Then if other people would could potentially beat me were already ahead of Kim, then the finish would be easier to manage.  So off we go and sure enough about 200 yards into it, two RealD riders split off the front of the field and I just watched them ride away. The RealD guys really were capable of winning the race, so just before that first left-hand hair pin, the other contenders hit the front and started pulling them back.  When we hit the long flat section at half way, Kim decided the RealDs were not coming back on their own, so he hit it hard at the front.  It was a pace that just about sucked the life out of me, but I was able to sit on and just when I thought he would be able to crack me, he cracked himself and backed off.  We caught the RealDs just before the next set of hair pins and as we hit those steep turns, we had it down to just the four of us, me, Kim, and the two RealDs (Steve Matouse and Jim Wier).  But the RealDs weren't done.  As we approached the last switchback, Steve M took a super hard dig at the front and just as he set up, his team mate Jim, jumped from behind.  But Kim was on it and we pulled the attacker back just before the last turn that led in to the sprint.  This set me up perfectly as it left me on Kim's wheel at 300 meters to go with Kim a little gassed from leading the chase.  When the 200 meter to go sign came into view, I got a little impatient and jumped early thinking that on hill climbs, they usually put that sign up closer to the finish than what it says.  As it turned out, they measured that distance pretty accurately this time around and man was that a long sprint.  I started sprinting at 250 meters, came by Kim as we passed the sign and almost hit it!  Then hung on, hung on, hung on, ran completely out of gas, hit it again, and basically soft pedaled over the line as I had absolutely nothing left.  Didn't even have the strength to put my hands up.  Only thing that I could think of is that Kim was worse off than me and couldn't come around.  I think that was the first time I beat Kim in a hill climb and actually my first hill climb win ever. 

Vic's Prospect Race Report

This weekend was the 3rd annual Vic's Prospect Crit, in the hip Prospect area of south Longmont.  Our team loves this course, it is short at under a minute per lap, very tight, and has lots of corners.  Bottom line if you like old school crits, this is a race for you.

For what ever reason the 35 plus race had a really small field of only 20 guys.  That is too bad, but probably had something to do with the near 100 degree heat and the fact the mother of all Colorado Hill Climbs was the day before, Mt. Evans.  The guys started 6 riders (Marcel, Jim, Josh, Dan, CJ and Matt S) and had the biggest team in the race.  As such we wanted to be aggressive and make sure we had multiple riders in any breaks. 

The race started off slowly with riders feeling out the turns in the early going and people being conservative with the heat, but eventually that all ended and the attacking started for real.  Jim was all over the front and eventually was part of an 8 man move, that both CJ and Matt made as well.  As the field was so small, this was really not a break, but more the fact the field had split in half.  Dan and Josh talked back in the pack and it was decided Josh would try to get up to the break on his own.  This is a good strategy as Josh is a very good sprinter, but would only work if Josh was able to do it solo, as we did not want any more riders up there.  Josh put in a hard effort for 4 to 5 laps and finally made it.  Once he was there the guys had 4 of the riders in the 9 man break and the best sprinter, so it was a major advantage for mix1.

There was some attacking in the break and eventually it split, which is not too unusual with it being so large with 9 riders.  The split worked out well for mix1, as Jim and Josh made the front 5, and the other 3 riders were all solo, as their team mates got stuck in the back half of the split.  The 5 riders put down the hammer and lapped the field.  Once that happened the guys were in a good place and Dan was there to help set up Josh to win.  Jim attacked with 2 laps to go in a win or die type of move.  He nearly pulled it off and made it to the last corner with the lead.  It forced the other teams to chase him down and that set up Josh perfect for the win.  All in all a good day with Josh taking the win, Jim getting 5th, CJ taking 7th and Matt in 9th.

 After lapping the field Dan went to the front, on the wheel of past National Champ Byron Nix from Rio, to set up Josh in 3rd.  The tactic worked great and gave Josh a better chance to win.

Early on in the break with Jim leading the 5 guys as they worked to lap the field.

Longmont Crit - 2 Wins!

It was a strong effort at the Longmont Crit as the guys won the 45 plus race and the 35 plus race.  This is a classic Colorado crit that has been around for a long time, but the course was slightly changed this year.  All the guys like the new course, it had safe pavement/turns, and was a lot like the old one, that was well regarded.

In the 45 Plus race the guys started with Pete Lucky, Peter Ismert, Henrik, and Jeff, plus our 2 grizzled veterans of the 55 plus world, Bill and Steve joining too.  Bill deserves a shot out, as we only have 2 guys in the 55 plus race, but he is currently leading the Best All Around Rider competition for the 55 plus category.  Anyway the race had a lot of attacks from the big teams including Vic's, Vitamin Cottage, and of course Great Divide.  But the guys covered them all and at the end just got out of Pete's way.  Pete came out of the last corner in 2nd, but then the mix1 kicked in and he took the win on the line with a clean set of wheels.

In the 35 plus race the guys started 7 riders and had a big team.  Unfortunately Marcel was lost about half way when he and a Vic's rider came together and Marcel's front wheel was destroyed.  The race got out to a quick start as Jim initiated a 5 man break with all the big teams represented (Rio, Westside, Rockymounts, and Scion).  It was not a great move for mix1 as 1 out of 5 in a risk, but the guys let the other teams chase.  Not much occurred for a while, but eventually another Rio rider, Byron Nix a past national champ, and super smart/strong Danny Sullivan, Scion,  got away, to try to bridge.  That would have made a so, so situation much worse, so the guys went to the front, lead by LT, and eventually the entire race came back together.  Matt Segur got away solo for a long time late in the race, but that move could not last forever.  So at 5 to go Jim, CJ, Matt Gates got back to the front to keep it moving, and Dan and Josh lined up for the sprint.  Josh and Dan got it perfect as Josh won and Dan had time to post it up a bit as well. 

 Jim in 1st wheel, with CJ in 4th wheel, and Josh in 5th, as the guys ride on the front to keep control over the end of the race.

 45 Plus Podium with Pete on the top step, Mike Inglis in 2nd, and Rod Yoder in 3rd.

 Just before the line Dan had some time to help Josh "post up" as they went 1st and 2nd.  Dan is a very selfless rider, as as much as he can win many crits, we all know he loves to help someone else win.

Josh as he crosses the line and realized he has won.  Josh has lived in Longmont for a long time and really wanted to win this crit.  He told the guys in advance, they rode as a team, and he got it done.

35 Plus North Boulder Park Classic Race Report

 After getting beat the day before by Westside the guys were ready to take revenge, and unlike the day before, showed up at the North Boulder Park Classic Crit with a full team of 7 riders.  The NBP Crit is a classic race, that has been around for close to 30 years and was often the last stage of the famous Coors Classic.  The race went away for a while, but it is great to have it back with Keith Harper as the boss.  Our field was not huge, about 40 guys, but filled with the top riders in our category.  Our plan was to be in every major move, take a look at the move to make sure it worked for us, and if things staid together, then we would line it up for the sprint. 

Jim & Dan got the race off to a quick start as they made a front group of 7 when the field split, with the group eventually getting to 11.  The guys in the back did not think it was a good move for us, but said let the other guys chase, and chase they did. Once things came back Matt Gates and Matt Segur were all over the front covering moves, as was Jim.  CJ eventually got off the front solo (see photo above), but was smart enough to not work too much.  With about 35 minutes to go CJ attacked again and got up to Rio strong man Bob Dahl, who has won the race a few times in the past.  They worked well together taking some cash primes, but 2 guys was just not enough on the course and a few teams worked to bring them back after 5 laps.

Soon after that there was a bad crash on the start finish line and Rio rider Todd Schuster was down with what would eventually be diagnosed as a broken femur (ouch).  It changed the race as the finish straight was now only one lane wide.  About this time LT got away with a BRC rider and staid out there for a while, but with 5 laps to go Westside brought them back.  Then Mike Sutter from Vic's took a solo dig, but Matt Gates literally rode from 5 to go, to 1 to go solo on the front, and it was all together.  At one to go Matt and Jim rode at the front and keep it single file, while CJ, Dan & Josh moved up as a group.  In the alley way on the back side Dan and Josh hit out, and got into turn #3 first and second.  They took it from there, exiting the last turn first and second.  Dan staid in his position for the win and Josh got nipped on the line, but held on for 4th, with CJ in 10th.  All in all a good day for the guys, with our riders in every move, 3 guys in the top 10, and the win. 

We talked as a team afterwards and felt bad about what happened to Todd.  So we took a good portion of our prize money and headed over to our shop sponsor, Excel Sports, to buy Todd a little get well gift certificate.  Any bike geek knows there is so much bike porn at Excel, a gift card there is golden.  We then got him a card,  a case of mix1, and then stopped by the hospital to say hi and wish him good luck.  We look forward to seeing Todd at Nationals in Bend and back on the bike in 2012!

 Matt Gates, following Matt Segur, and railing the only right hand corner.

 Dan getting low through the multiple turns at the end of the park.

 Matt G, leading Matt S. and Dan out of the last corner.  The guys did a great job of using their team size to their advantage and riding together.

 Dan getting low in the ally with Jim on his wheel.  A couple of last looking FOCUS bikes with Mavic wheels.

 Matt Gates taking Dan thought turn number one at the top of the hill.

Pete Lucke in the 45 Plus race.  We only started 2 guys in that race, but Pete was in the top 10 as usual. 

Tour De Bozeman, MT, 2 more wins

Tour de Bozeman Race report from Marcel:

Friday Big Sky Criterium:

Maters A and cat 3’s were combined. The crit course had 6 turns, had some elevation change with the last 4 turns so close in succession that made passing near impossible. There were two  $100 primes. I was gunning to get those and use those set ups to see where the best place was to start the sprint. Unfortunately the announcer never told us what the prime was for. In the end I ended up with two primes that were gift certificates for a store that was closed! Lame.  It did help me figure out the sprint and won that.

Saturday AM Time trial:

The TT was pretty technical in that it was constantly up and down with lots of false flats. It would have helped to do it 10 times to figure out where to push through and where to conserve. In the end I got 5^th place.

Saturday PM Street sprints:

I was really looking forward to these! It was a 300 meter long,  triple elimination so each rider had to lose three races to be eliminated. My first heat was against the guy that got 2^nd last year.  He looked like a track sprinter with legs the size of a horse! I was a bit worried.  I did my usual “get out the gate like a bat out of hell”. I got a gap on him and was looking to coast the last 100 meters…I looked back and he kept coming so I had to kick again to the line to take the win. The next two went easier and I won both my second and third heats.  For the fourth I had to race the guy I had raced in heat three again since he had only lost twice. I beat him again and took the win.

Sunday The road race:

Maters A and cat 3’s were combined again. This race took place on a lot of the roads that I trained on for 15 years while living in Montana. There was a total of 5000 feet of climbing, all above 6000feet of elevation. The first 5 miles of the race was down hill rollers followed by a 3 mile stepping climb. I had my concerns about this climb but suffered through it to make it to the top. Following the downhill, and another 7 miles of 2-3% climbing where a stiff pace was set by three guys from a local team, we arrived at the tough part of the race; a two mile climb with grades of 8-9%. I stayed near the front and focused on the wheel in front of me. I ended up getting dropped about ½ mile from the top. Over the top I started chasing down the 5 mile decent. At the bottom of the decent I could see the field about 30 second up the road. Another 5 minutes of chasing got me back in the field. To my surprise the pace was ridiculously slow; 16-18mph. I sat in and recovered for about 5 minutes and started attacking through the rollers to the turn around.  I knew the last climb had 11-14% pitches and would get dropped so wanted to either get away or make it hard for the climbers.  Attack 6 finally got me a gap, unfortunately I was alone as no one was interested to make the race hard. I was off the front about 4-5 miles before the race leader hunted me down with the field in tow.  In the 15 miles leading up to the last climb I attacked on every roller and each time someone would chase me down with the field in tow. As the final climb started I did one last suicide move and attacked with everything I had. The field blew up and the leader came up to me with 5 other riders. As he passed me he jokingly said “marcel, you are a pain in the ass”. They left me and I was caught by a few more riders before we got to the finish.  I got 7^th which moved me up to 4^th place in the final GC standings.

BRC Crit

The 45+ squad’s crazy roller coaster year continued through this weekend. So far this season the team has overcome injuries, illnesses, and several untimely flats to maintain a tenuous lead over the Great Divide Cycling Team in this year’s Best All-around Team competition. For a brief moment early last week, it appeared that the team was turning the proverbial misfortune corner. On Sunday, Jeff Ofsanko returned to racing after battling bronchitis all summer to earn a respectable 5^th place at the Candellas’ Circuit Race and Jimi Gibson announced that he was returning to race the Mount Evans Hill Climb, a race that he has won the past two years. However, on Friday as the team was planning for another weekend of racing they were informed that Jimi and Chris Leggere were both involved in accidents with distracted drivers while out on training rides. Although both riders are mostly OK and recovering well, the accidents effectively ended their seasons.

Nonetheless, the team’s depth led to another successful BAR/BAT outing at the BRC Criterium in Highlands Ranch. The team brought six riders to the event and rode an aggressive race throughout. Jeff was in two promising breakaways that unfortunately didn’t work out and the rest of the team (Peter Ismert, Pete Lucke, Larry Cornman, Henrik Pederson, and Steve Birnbuam) worked to reel in several other moves that favored the other teams.

In the finale the plan was for Jeff to mark any late moves and if no moves went, work to set up Peter Ismert and Pete Lucke for the bunch sprint. With about a half mile to go Peter Ismert found Jeff at the front of the field and Jeff led Peter through the courses’ final two technical turns before dropping Ismert off on the front with 400 meters to go. Unfortunately, Pete Lucke lost a few places in the group prior to those final two corners and couldn’t get into team’s leadout train. Despite having 400 meters to sprint, Ismert rode admirably conceding only two places to hold onto third place. Meanwhile, Henrik’s 11^th, Larry’s 13^th, and Lucke’s 14^th places helped the team to build on their BAT lead.

Congratulations to Peter Ismert for his 9^th podium placing of the season and the team for building on their lead in the BAT standings. And best wishes to Jimi and Chris for a speedy and full recovery. We will miss you guys.

The 35's had a small team of only 3 guys (Dan, CJ & Matt Gates), so for a change they were one of the smaller team and had to be careful with burning their matches.  Matt was not too worried about his matches and got into the main break of 3 that was away for most of the race with a RIO and a BRC rider.  Westside missed the move and did some work, while CJ and Dan covered the front.  The break never got too far away and it all came back together with 5 to go.  Matt & CJ pulled the last few attack back on the last few laps and at one to go lined up for the field sprint, with Dan on CJ's wheel.  Unfortunately for the mix1 guys Westisde owner, and strong man, Michael Gibson made a great move, with his massive acceleration into the hill, and got away with half a lap to go.  CJ hit out after Michael, with Dan 2 wheel back, and they got a nice gap on the field, it was enough to get Dan second place, but he ran out of real estate to catch Michael.  Nice move Mr. Gibson and nice win.  You made us mad and we want revenge at North Boulder Park.

Candelas Circuit Race

Thanks to DBC Events we had a new race over the holiday week, a difficult circuit race down in Arvada.  As it was a holiday weekend the fields were a little small, but we had 2 guys in the 35 plus race and 3 in the 45 plus race.  Not a whole lot to say about the 35 plus race, it got real hard on lap #4 and the winning move got away.  Jim Thies and Matt Segur missed the moved, but set about chasing as the wind picked up.  They did a good job of bringing what was left of the field back together, but in the end did not get up to the 4 guys away.  Jim rode well in his first major race back from the birth of child #2 and took 5th place.

The Mix1 team brought 3 riders from their 45+ squad to the new Candelas Circuit Race, Jeff Ofsanko, Pete Lucke, and Peter Ismert.  Some good competition showed up to race, including 3 strong riders from the Great Divide Cycling team. The course had a significant hill in it, which the riders rode up 8 times. After about 3 laps, a small front group formed, which Ofsanko and Ismert managed to join while Lucke stayed back with the chase group.  Ofsanko, just back to racing after a couple months of illness and still regaining fitness, road strong, but fell off the front group.  Ismert continued on with the front group of 4 riders, which increased their lead.  Of the other 3 riders, two were from Great Divide and one from the Natural Grocers team, Jeff Ray.  The Great Divide riders had the opportunity to play out some team tactics on Ismert and Ray.  In the end, Karl Kiester from Great Divide rode hard for his teammate Forrest Newman on the final climb to the finish.  Ismert tried to get the jump on Newman at the end, but Newman came by him at the finish.  Ismert was still glad for a 2nd-place finish against good competitors at a new race venue.  Ofsanko won the field sprint, which was a good test for him and showed that his fitness is almost back. DBC Events put on a great race at Candelas and we hope it becomes a permanent race on the schedule.

 Peter Ismert on the podium in 2nd in the 45 pus race, sporting a nice team jersey and a mix1 hat!

Dead Dog Stage Race - 4 stages wins, 1 overall win, 1 2nd place overall

The Mix1 45+ squad had some good results at the Dead Dog Stage Race, headquartered in Laramie, Wyoming.  At the road race, which went up high into the Snowy Range Mountains, the Mix1 riders, Matt Vawter, Bill Stalhuth, and Peter Ismert, had some good top 10 finishes, but were beat by some strong riders from Utah and Nevada.   Ismert was able to grab 3^rd place on the final climb to the finish, with plenty of help from his teammates during the race and at the finish.  At the criterium, they had more success thanks to Matt Vawter controlling the breakaway attempts during the race and getting in good position to ensure a fast finish.  This enabled Ismert to start his sprint from a long distance from the finish and he was able to hold it for the win (photo above is Peter winning the crit).  The Time Trial was all Bill Stalhuth.  Bill beat the entire field on a windy afternoon at 8000 feet to take the win for Mix1, beating out several other strong time trialists, and placing him in 4^th overall GC after all the racing was done.  Although Mix1 didn’t get on the podium for the overall GC, they came away with a couple wins and lots of good racing with great competition.  The race promoter and all the volunteers once again pulled out all the stops for the racers and put on an excellent event.  Plenty of local citizens from both Laramie and Centennial, WY were also out to cheer on the racers.  

Most of the 35 Plus guys took the weekend off, but Matt Gates represented the team solo and was out to avenge bad luck from last year.   He got the race off to a good start by making the winning 4 man move in the RR, dropping 2 of the guys, and then out sprinting the last remaining member of the break for the win, which also gave him the GC lead.  The crit was hard with a small field and Matt riding solo.  But he rode a smart race and let a non threatening Horizon Organic rider get away to take the win, with Matt winning the field sprint for 3rd and another time bonus.  So Matt entered the finally TT sill in the lead and delivered with a strong 2nd place that locked up the win overall.  Great ride Mr. Gates.


The 55 plus team duplicated Matt Gate's results with a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd in the 3 stages, all by Bill Kelligher, who ended up 2nd overall (he won the crit)  Steve was also racing and constantly placed top 10 in all stages and took a fine 9th on the final GC.

Coal Miners Classic Race Report

The Coal Miner's Classic has become a main stay on the Colorado racing calendar.  The race got it's start in downtown Louisville and was put on by the Louisville Velo Club (it still is).  In the late 1990's it was time for a new course and it was moved to the Storage Tek corporate campus in Louisville, just off of highway 36 (it is no longer there as the company was sold to Sun and the campus was sold to a large energy company).  That was a great course our own CJ Gauss was the race director of.  As the property was sold the course was moved again, this time just down the road to the Louisville Technology Center.  The current course is a great one, with a nice L Shape, some really fast corners, two uphills, and it makes for a good race.  This years 35 plus race averaged 27.9 miles per hour for an hour.  That is fast on a course with corners and hills.

The 55 plus guys raced first and although we did not get a race report from them, we watched the race and saw Bill and Steve all over the front of the field.  The race came down to a sprint with Bill taking 3rd and Steve in the top 10 as well.

The 35 plus guys felt the race was going to end in a field sprint too, as the course was just too fast for a break, and it is an easy course to chase on (it is wide open).  None the less we did not want to race negatively and as such we put our strong men on the front like Matt Gates, Matt Segur, Jimmy Thies, Marcel, 45 plus stud Peter Ismert and LT.  They covered all the moves and there were definitely some from the strong men like Espoiti (Map My Ride), Nix (Rio), and Gibson/Carlos (Westside).  But the race played out as expected and with 3 laps to go it was a field sprint time.

Dan found the front no problem and CJ & Josh were there too.  In the last few laps the Matts and Marcel worked hard to keep the pace up, Jimmy Thies attacked to make the others chase, but with the course being so wide open it was a rough ride behind the top 5 to 10.  CJ & Josh got stuck in the swarming and had to battled back up.  As we approached the last corner Dan was right where he needed to be and sitting pretty, CJ was on Dan's wheel keeping it free of other teams.  And that was all she wrote, Dan took the sprint for another nice win and CJ came in the top 10.

One funny note is that every year on this course the mix1 team and Bob Dahl (Rio) have gone 1st and 2nd, without exception.  Bob is the constant as he has never finished worse than 2nd and over the 3 years and we have used 3 different riders to win twice and get second once (Kevin, Josh, and now Dan).  So we told Bob it was only fair we would let him win next year and we would find a 4th different guy to get 2nd.  He smiled and liked our plan.

Dan about 50 meters before the line.  As you can see Dan and Bob really got the jump on the field, with 4th to 15th being packed in there pretty tight.

City Park - Another Team Win

All photos for this report are from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com, check them out if you get a chance.

The 35 plus guys got off to a bit of a slow start this year, but things have turned around of late with wins at the Sonic Boom Crit and the Superior Crit.   The team was frustrated with a poor showing the day before at the EROCK race and showed up ready to go for City Park.  City Park is a classic Colorado race, that is the oldest race in the state, held in Denver in City Park, and somewhat unique as the course has three traffic circles per lap.  In our prerace meeting we decided to be aggressive and not wait for a field sprint, even thought a field sprint would favor Dan.  The field was about 50, not large, but had a lot of good rides like Jeff Hartman from Westside who has won a lot this year, Eddy Gragus from Helen's (past US Professional Champion), and Michael Carter from Map My Ride (another ex pro who has raced the Giro).

As the race settled in there was a small move off the front with 2 strong riders, Byron from Rio and Frank from Vic's.  Jim was riding tempo at the front to keep in in check (3 days after his wife gave birth to his second daughter.  THANK YOU Joanna for letting Jim race).  CJ used this as a chance to attack and get up to the break.  As it settled down CJ had made it to the break and it was now a 6 man move.  The key thing was the 5 largest teams each had a man in the break (mix1, Vic's, Westside, Rio, & Map My Ride).  The result was good cooperation in the break and there were not a lot of teams left to chase (Rally Sport and Grove Subaru maily).

The break got out to a 30 second lead and staid there with Carlos from Westside, Frank Zoldak from Vic's, Byron Nix from Rio, Dan from Rockymounts, and Larry from Map My Ride.  CJ rode a smart race as he knew a 1 in 6 chance was not great and he had the best sprinter back in the field.  Back in the pack Dan, Josh, Jim and Matt covered all the moves and gave anyone who wanted to chase a reason not too.  Michael Carter finally got away after some hard laps of chasing, even thought he had a team mate in the break.  Josh saw his move and sat on his wheel, as they tried to get to the break.  The result was a perfect situation for mix1, as CJ sat on the break, Josh sat on Michael Cater, and Josh and Michael made it up with less than 5 laps to go.  

The final lap played out well for the mix1 guys as CJ went back to work with some pulls to make sure the break staid away and Josh rested a bit.  Josh came close to winning this race last year, but did not get into the final traffic circle first, so he learned his lesson.  This year he attacked into the last traffic circle, got their first, and no one was able to come by him.  Josh has had a difficult year with bad races, flats and a broken frame in a crash.  So it was great to see him get the win.  CJ took 5th overall from the break, and both Matt and Dan were in the top 15 from the pack behind.  It was a complete team race, where we won by racing as a group, and racing smart.  Good things are happening and the guys are excited.

Josh taking the win.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

CJ rolling in right behind for 5th.  Nothing is better then when a team mate wins and the other guys are right behind with their hands in the air too.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

CJ driving the 6 man break.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

CJ & Josh in the break with 3 laps to go.

 Dan, Josh and Jim totally controlling the front of the field as Michale Carter chases.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

 Matt Segur riding at the front coming out of the 1st traffic circle.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

CJ bridging up to the winning break away early in the race.  Photo from http://www.mountainmoonphotography.com/

Subaru EROCK Twlight Crit

All the wonderful photos in this entry were provided by  www.mountainmoonphotography.com.  If you get a chance please check out their wonderful work.

The Subaru EROCK Crit is a new race on the calendar this year.  The name is short for the Elephant Rock event, with is a large recreational ride that has been going on for years.  This year they added a crit and it got very good reviews.  It was a fun course, in downtown Castle Rock, with a nice prize list.

It was a BAR/BAT race for the 45 plus guys, so it was extra important for them.  They are the two time defending best overall team in Colorado, but this year they have found themselves in second place for most of the season behind Great Divide.  It has been a hard year as the team's best rider Jimi Gibson has been out all of year with an injury, the team's TT World Champ Gene Palumbo was been out with an injury, and the team tactical leader on the road, Jeff Oksanko, has been out sick for too long.

EROCK was a great race for the guys and despite the aggressive nature, it came down to a sprint.  There is a photo of the finish and first to third was separated by about a foot on the line.  Rod Yoder from Vittiam Cottage got the photo finish, with our own Peter Ismert taking 3rd by a few inches.  Chris came in 6th and Henrik in 7th, giving the guys 3 in the top 7th.  With strong overall results the prior weekend the guys also took back over 1st place in the Best All Around Team Competition.

The 35 plus race was smaller, but Dan, Josh, LT, and Matt lined up.  It too was an aggressive race, but nothing got away.  As the laps wound down the guys set about getting ready to lead Dan out, who had won two crits in a row.  Then disaster struck as Dan flatted inside the last 5 laps and could not get a free lap.  So the guys went to plan B to lead out Josh, but thing just did not work out, with Josh and Matt making the top 10, but too far back.  The poor result motivated Josh and within 24 hours he had the fire back in belly (see City Park race report).

Who said sprinter just sit in?  Dan trying to break up the 35 plus race.  Photo from www.mountainmoonphotography.com

Same thing with climbers?  Who said they do not do crits?  Matt Segur driving the front of the 35 plus race and he finished in the top 10.  Photo from www.mountainmoonphotography.com

Finish of the 45 plus race, you can see just how close it was.  Photo from www.mountainmoonphotography.com

Peter keeping the pack strung out in the 45 plus race on his way to 3rd place.  Photo from www.mountainmoonphotography.com

Superior Morgual Classic Weekend

This past weekend was the Superior Morgual Classic, it was one stage less this year, but featured a hard crit on Saturday and the famous Morgual Bismark RR on Sunday.  We had guys racing in the 35 plus, the 45 plus and 55 plus fields.  The sum total for the weekend was 1 crit win, 1 RR win, a 1st overall, a 2nd overall and a 3rd overall.  Here are race reports from each team.

35 Plus Race Report

The 35 Plus men were ready to rumble after a strong team win the prior weekend.  They came with a big team for the crit and expected an aggressive race, but the strong teams (Vic's, Map My Ride, Rio, and Westside) combined with high winds made for a group finish. As a result the guys worked to set up Dan and he delivered the win, coming off of ex US Pro Champ Eddy Gragus's wheel, with plenty of time to pound his chest, with the announcer calling it a Gorilla pounding!  Matt Gates took 6th to score some good points and Marc took 11th as well to give the guys the team lead

The RR started well with Dan in the Pink Leader Jersey (looking just like Contador..........), but the pace got hot the very first time up the wall.  From there the make it or break it lap was the 3rd trip up the wall when strongmen Jeff Hartman, Westside, and Paul Espoiti, Map My Ride/Scion, put in a surge that few could follow.  Matt Gates went deep and made the 4 man front group which was a feat.  Unfortunately he did not fully recover and got dropped out of the winning move later in the lap.  As is too often the case once the winning move goes things got negative and all people wanted to do was chase everything down.  So the Matts and Marc eventually stopped trying to attack or chase and waited to the final time up the wall.  Matt Gates again rode strong and took 5th on the day to get 3rd overall for the weekend, with Matt Segur and Marc not too far behind.

45 Plus Race Report

The Masters 45+ team had some good stage placings at the crit and at the road race, enabling a Mix1 one rider to finish 2nd in the overall Omnium competition.

Teamwork at the crit on Saturday enabled Peter Ismert of Mix1 to sneak around the finishing pack for a 4th place finish.  Other Mix1 riders who worked hard during the race to bring in breakaways, or get into breaks,
finished well within the top 20 to earn team points for the weekend.  With a strong lead by teammate Henrik Pederson, Ismert was also able to win a points prime early in the crit, which boosted him to second overall in the Omnium after the crit.

At the road race on Sunday, teamwork again prevailed for a good finish.  The rider who had the highest points from the crit didn't race in the road race, leaving Ismert as the points leader at the start of the race.  The points were so close among the top 5 riders, getting a win at the road race was imperative for the overall Omnium victory.  The Mix1 team protected Ismert from the start to maintain good position for matching attacks and for going into the climbs.  Each time up "the Wall", Dennis Farrell from BCV-Scion easily led the race to the top.  Ismert new his best bet to win on the last climb was to rely on his teammates for help and to save his energy by allowing Farrell to cover attacks and hope other riders didn't get away.  In the end, Farrell proved too strong and won the drag race up "the Wall" to the finish. A strong Gary Sharp from Real ID-Amgen got second, with Ismert third.  Mix1's Chris Leggere finished a strong 8th and was there to pace Ismert up the "the Wall" on each lap.  With the team's efforts, Mix1 got Ismert in 2nd for the overall Omnium competition.

55 Plus Race Report (written by Bill Kelligher in the first hand)

In Saturday's criterium, there were many primes so I counter attacked each time there was a prime. It was a good idea, but nothing stuck.  There was some fun racing though including some full on handlebar bashing with a certain gladiator from Natural Grocers.  The Vic's guys prevailed in the end.  They got their field sprint and Steve Worley took the win.  Steve is coming into form for track nationals and he did a exceptional sprint, just holding off Glenn Winkle, and me about a length back in 3rd.  Steve B came in a creditable 9th after riding sweep for me in the lead-up to the sprint.  He did some handlebar banging of his own keeping that gladiator guy off of my wheel. 

The road race for us was only 2 laps, 3 times up the wall for 27 miles, so what for everyone else was an epic road race, for us, was once again a battle with the Vic's guys who were working for a field sprint.  For me, thinking I didn't have the form to dominate such a short race, I decided to more or less take what they would give me.  So the first lap, I just sat in and as a result, we just rode tempo around the course.  Once we got to Marshal Rd, Geoff Cooper one of the Pro Peloton guys launched, and since he didn't do so well in the crit

By the time we headed up the Wall the 2nd time, things got a little perkier.  Hard tempo pared the front group down to 9 guys.  Then I gave it a go on the Feed Hill.  I got away an built up a healthy 30 second lead by time we hit 93, but a determined chase by the Vic's guys brought me back about half way up Marshal Rd.  From that point on, there were lots of jumps and attempts to get away, but the Vic's guys were determined to bring everything back and we arrived at the base of the Wall with those same 9 or 10 guys.  There was a vicious surge up the first part of hill but from the past I knew you didn't want to launch your sprint too early so I waited and waited, and with about 70 meters to go I launched my sprint coming around the guy who had led us our form the base of the hill.  Just then I noticed that the rider up ahead going very slowly was none other than Geoff Cooper, our solo break-away.  Holy Smokes!! Dig, dig, dig, I think I can, I think I can, dig, dig, Grrrrr!  Got him!!!  Right on the line!  I won the race by about a foot.   Phew, sometimes you need a little luck.  Turns out Geoff had no idea that we were coming up from behind on him and was just cruising in to the finish. 

And speaking of luck, the other half of the team wasn't quite so lucky.  Steve flatted about halfway through the second lap. After riding the flat tire for several miles, he managed to beg a wheel from a spectator and still finished the race.

Sonic Boom Race

The Sonic Boom team (http:/sonicboomracing.com/) brought bike racing back to downtown Louisville this past weekend and we had a total blast.  It was a well run event, especially for a first year event, and we just loved the course.  Hopefully it is back in 2012 and if we are really lucky maybe the city would repave Front Street (a few laps there the train tacks next to Front Street looked like a smoother option).  This was an old school crit that we have less of these days, so it made it that much better.  The course is a classic figure 8 course, with 8 turns, it was pretty narrow, and the course went up for half and then back down for half.  Due to the nature of the course we knew it would be single file most of the time, so riding at the front was important.  Our 35 plus guys had 9 riders on the line, with a good mix of riders from sprinters, to worker, to some all around guys.

As soon as the gun went off the guys hit the front early, attacking to see if they could sneak into an early split.  CJ was up the road on lap two, and soon after the Matt's both had a go, along with Principal Barnett, then Pete Lucke fresh from the 45 plus race.  The pace never slowed much and the guys covered all the moves.  A group of 5 got away with CJ and Matt Gates, Byron from Rio, and Paul Espoiti from Map My Ride, but that group split and Jeff Hartman from Westside went up the rode solo.  Jeff is clearly one of the strongest guys in the field and he rode his lead out to close to 30 seconds, solo.  It was an impressive effort.

Luckily the mix1 guys did not panic and once the lead got to 30 seconds it stopped going up.   There was a lot of attacking going on in the field, but nothing was going anywhere.  With about 10 to go team sprinter Dan Schmatz got the guys organized and we put 4 riders on the front who staid there to the bitter end.  It was a sight to see with Matt Gates, LT, and Marc just rolling at the front and slowly bringing back the break.  We did not get much help from the field, as they were more interested in attacking, but with some help from Grant on Vic's, we caught the solo break on the last lap.  Things got a little dicey on that lap, but Dan and Josh held position, Dan had a strong move into the last corner and took the win, Josh came in right behind in 4th, and CJ just missed the money in 11th.  All in all it was a complete team effort and after a lot of close calls all the guys were excited to race like team, take change of the race and deliver the win. 

 Dan with his oldest son right after the race.  This photo sums up our team, as we have lots of families, and lots of kids.  Racing is fun, winning is great, but doing it with the family is even better.

 Clearly Dan did not go hard enough as he needed some extra work after the event.

Paul Espoiti from Map My Ride, Dan, and Lance from Groove Subaru on the podium.  Lance deserves the bike handling award on the last lap as another rider cut him off with 3 corners to go and he made a great save to keep it up right, get around said rider, and make the podium.  Nice work Lance.