Busy Weekend - 7 Races In 2 States

This past weekend was the real season kickoff, with a crit on Saturday, the famous Boulder Roubaix road race on Sunday (which was also the start of the season long points series) and for some guys a 3 day stage race in Utah. This photo is of CJ leading the field and on his way to a 5th place result at The Prairie Center Crit.

Prairie Center Crit: this was a new race, but had a large cash purse from long time cycling sponsor THF Reality. With the big road race the next day a lot of guys were resting. Photo is Marcel working hard on the front in the 35 Plus race. The 45 Plus squad was only represented by Larry, who was up against several other team with full compliments of riders. It was an aggressive race, with lots of breaks, but nothing would stick. In the end it came down to a sprint and Larry took his first top 10 of the year. CJ and Marcel raced the 35 Plus race, which also had a small field, and was

aggressive. Both riders were active, but a break never got up the road, so the race was decided in a sprint. CJ took the 35 Plus team's first top 5 of the year and rang the cash register with some money. Photo at left is Larry riding at the front of the 45 Plus race. All photo compliments of Larry's friend Kate. Thanks!

Boulder Roubaix: this is a classic Boulder race and was back after a few years absence. The promoter created a new course, that was longer, more interesting and very well received. The 45 Plus team lined up a full compliment of riders, with several team members making it their first race of the year. Over the course of 3 laps the pace took it's toll, as did the dirt roads. However a large group came in for a field sprint. The team missed out on the win, but slotted in Jeff, Jimi, Peter and Matt in paces 5th through 8th. It was an impressive show of force and certainly an indication of how strong the team is. The 35 Plus race was considerable more aggressive. 99 riders started and after 1 lap it was down to 35, with all 5 Mix1 riders making the split. Then the team luck ran out. Josh flatted, CJ flatted 5 seconds later, and Matt G. flatted in the feed zone, all on lap 2. Matt S. stuck with the front group and finished 10th, with Marc in 15th. The flatting was really unfortunate as it robbed the team of several more top placings.

Tour Of The Depot: this is a 2 day, 3 stage race in Tooele, UT. The 35 Plus team went last year and had a blast, winning a stage and getting 2 guys in the top 4 on GC. This year Pete, Jim and LT represented Mix 1. LT set the tone with a strong TT result to claim 4th place. Both Jim and Pete rode strong in the afternoon circuit race to protect LT, but the leaders team had a death grip on the field and they could never get away. Pete took a time bonus and moved up on GC, while Jim took 11th in the sprint. The next day the boys in red woke up to 30 to 50 mile an hour wind gusts and wondered what they were in for. Due to the wind part of the course was closed, so the race was shortened for safety. This allowed the boys to be super aggressive, with Pete taking another time bonus. By the finish climb the field had blown to bits. Jim rode at the front and scored a fine 5th place on the stage and moved up into 10th overall on GC. Both Pete and LT retained their places on GC, so after 3 stages all 3 Mix1 riders were in the top 10 on GC. Way to go guys.

1st Win Of The Year

This week was the kickoff for the Cherry Creek Time Trial Series and featured a new course for the first time in years. For anyone who does not follow it, it is a 7 week time trial series, in Cherry Creek State Park, held on Wednesdays starting in April. 35 Plus team members Matt Segur and LT traveled down to race, as did 45 Plus team member Gene Palumbo. For some weird reason there is no 35 Plus race at Cherry Creek. So Matt & LT rode with the big boys in the Pro/1/2 race and finished a very respectable 5th and 6th.

However the big news of the night was Gene taking the win in the 45 Plus race and in a time faster then his team mates. In fact Gene's time was the 3rd fastest of the night. Gene has put in a lot of training this winter, with a new coach, and has his eye on Masters Nationals and Masters Worlds. Congratulations Gene on getting things off to a good start.

Race report from Gene: Wow. What began as a bleak day for a TT bike race, turned into a near perfect day. You can count on the fact that it will not only be windy at Cherry Creek, but it will be down right gusty. Not tonight though. This couldn't have played out better considering there was a brand new course this year with a very different profile, especially the finish. Instead of some small rollers, typically into the wind, and a slight uphill finish, this years course had a significant hill to a false flat finish. Simple put very painful. You had to save some power in the engine on this one or you would blow up.

I had a good warm up with LT and Matt and after the start my legs felt pretty good. Since it was the first race I was finding it a bit difficult to find the right gears and to get into a rhythm, but after the first turnaround I felt like I had a nice cadence. To try and drive a good pace I kept thinking of a mantra my 7 yr old son suggested I use "ride like a rocket train Daddy". If anything, this helped to mask the pain in my legs and my chest. My strategy was to try and keep a steady, and strong pace, throughout the course, try to accelerate, and shift up through the uphill finish. While I admitted to myself that I was not achieving this goal while it was going on I kept pushing though to the finish and tried to accelerate through the line.

Koppenberg Race Reports & Podium

The team dominated the 45 Plus race with new team members Jeff Ofsanko and Peter Ismert taking 2nd and 6th respectably. We do not have any still photos, but we do have video footage of the first lap, featuring new riders Jeff & Peter blowing the field apart. Video footage courtesy of Rod Yoder (Vitamin Cottage racing team): http://vimeo.com/10662332

Here is a race report from second place finisher Jeff Ofsanko: My pre-race plan was to play the gutter game on the first lap and it worked. Just before climb #1, Peter and I shared the workload to put us 1-2 up the climb. Once we hit the top I came around Peter and (leaving only enough room on the leeward side for Peter) drove the pace. Unfortunately, Peter hit some soft dirt and fell off the pace. But I got away with 4 others. After that it was windy pacelineing until the sprint…which netted me a second place. Peter took advantage of my being in the break and sat on, taking 6th place overall at the finish. A great start for 2 new team members.


The 35 Plus was the usual hammer fest of cat. 1's and 2's. The race went from the gun and all 3 team members made the split. Over time with the hills, the dirt, and the wind the groups got smaller and smaller. Here is new team member Matt Gates climbing the hill at the front. Matt just missed the winning break, but lead the team home with a 5th place finish.

Marc Holbert riding strong with eventual winner Michael Gibson on his wheel. Marc is returning to form after breaking his collar bone this winter surfing.

Team member Jim Thies riding the Koppenberg on the second lap. Jim has never done this race before and was happy with his placing in the top 20.

(all photos courtsey of www.303cycling.com)

Behind the moto with team sponsor Mavic

This entry is courtesy of team member Marcel Van Garderen. Marcel works for Mavic, on a volunteer basis, as part of their neutral support race services.



Marcel: As I was heading out the door my wife and daughter chime, “Have a fun vacation in California.”

I was on my way to Redlands to work with Mavic providing neutral support for the Redlands Bicycle Classic. This will be my second full year volunteering with Mavic. For my regular job, the one that pays the bills, I am an architect for the Neenan Company, where the extent of my exertion consists of pushing a mouse around. My heart rate goes up slightly when I get up to refill my mint tea. Working with Mavic, however, means work and can not be misconstrued for vacation...at least not the one where you lay on the beach. Don’t get me wrong, I love doing this and in many ways it beats lying on the beach.

This trip to Redlands was my first foray as the moto pilot for Mavic. I worked as the jumper (mechanic jumping from car to provide neutral support) and driver of one of the Mavic cars during the 2009 Tour of Missouri and quickly realized that being on the moto provided the best seat in the house.




Mark, the guy that runs the Mavic neutral support program, asked me to drive one of the neutral support cars to Redlands with Roscoe, one of the guys I met at the OTC while getting licensed as a race mechanic. I checked my work schedule and quickly said yes. I am an early riser, so I picked up Roscoe on Tuesday at 4 A.M. to start our drive south. We planned to spend the night along the way somewhere before Vegas. Well, plans are made to be broken and we got to Vegas around 3 P.M. and decided to push on to Redlands. We arrived in Redlands at 6:30, just in time to join a few guys from Mavic for dinner.

Petar drove the Mavic truck pulling the trailer all the way from the east coast. The truck and trailer house all the things we need to provide neutral support for a four-day stage race: wheels, bikes, two motorcycles and a car!



The first order of business was to represent Mavic in a good light. This means all of the 100 wheels needed to be checked, and get rubber and cassettes. We also checked over the 10 neutral bikes and made any necessary adjustments. The truck, trailer and cars all got washed; the cars went to the carwash the truck and trailer were done by hand. This took the better part of the day working diligently with five people. Toward the afternoon, the rest of the crew finally made it to Redlands - some stuck at snowy airports in Colorado, others in traffic coming from Southern California. That night we sat down for dinner with the full crew of 11!

Time trials are generally uneventful for the Mavic crew. The short event and the equipment that does not get used often cause everything to run smoothly. We did have a few of the smaller teams visit the pit we had set up near the start house for some minor adjustments. An hour before the start we took the three Mavic cars and set up pits with wheels and bikes along the course. We ended up setting up six pits along a 3.1-mile course with each pit having at least six wheels and one bike.

My first day piloting a neutral moto was during Friday’s road race. I have been riding a moto for 15+ years and have been racing a bicycle for 28 years and I would be lying if I told you I was not a little nervous. It was not driving the moto that made me nervous but more where to be during the race. Lucky for me, Mark had paired me with Bart, one of the best jumpers! Bart has the Mavic record for fastest wheel change. He once changed Chris Horner’s wheel at the San Francisco Grand prix while leading the race in the last lap, in seven seconds!! Perhaps this was more reason for me to be nervous working with this legend. As it turned out, Bart is a great, down-to-earth guy, who was incredibly helpful getting me to the places I needed to be. The race went fantastic from a neutral service perspective.

Bart and I did 14 wheel changes during this stage alone! Often we would get to the riders before their teams did and the rider would be off and integrating into the field as their car would pull up. The benefit of providing neutral support from a motorcycle is that when a rider put up his hand mid-field, indicating a flat, we could already see him and were able to squeeze by the field. It happened more than once where Bart already had their wheel out before the last rider in the field had come past us. It is also an advantage that the motorcycle gets to ride closely behind the field rather than have to sit behind the race official and medical cars

After we provided a rider with a new wheel we needed to get rid of the flat. While Bart made the wheel change I radioed to the Mavic car the rider’s number and whether he had 10 or 11-speed. Once the rider was off, we sped up to the Mavic car, where they had a fresh wheel ready for us and we made the exchange and joined the back of the field, waiting for the next flat.

When we work to provide neutral support at a race we are so intently focused on everything from road conditions to riders and cars that travel at different speeds we forget how exhausting it is mentally and physically until we sit down at the end of the day and the realization hits home; This is not vacation, but it is a hell of a good time!

(All photos supplied courtesy of Marcel. He is the moto driver, in the dark blue Rudy Project sunglasses. Marcel is sponsor correct, as always!)

The Season Really Begins

The 2010 race season kicks off for real this weekend with the Koppenberg Classic, put on by Boulder Racing (www.boulderracing.com). This race is a classic in the front range, with lots of dirt, lots of wind, and often very difficult conditions. Although team members have been racing for a month now, they have been racing with the senior categories (pro/1/2 or cat 3) and this weekend will be the first weekend of masters races, with both 45 Plus Open and 35 Plus being offered. The team is excited to get going and work towards defending such good results from 2009. Good luck to everyone and especially to defending 45 Plus Open Champion Peter Ismert.

Pictures are from our friends, and past teammates, over at 303 Cycling. They were doing some course recon and took some pictures of current team member Jim Thies pre riding the nasty hills. And yes, the road is as bad as it looks and as steep as it looks.

Here is a link to the photos on 303 Cycling as well:

http://picasaweb.google.com/303cycling/2010Koppenberg?feat=directlink#

Niwot Crit #3

After a week’s hiatus do to inclement weather the March Practice Criterium series resumed this past Sunday. A sunny but cool Sunday afternoon greeted the racers. Several of the top local pros and elite amateurs were on hand to test their legs after a long winter. The Mix1 crew had an excellent showing in the last race of the day. Lining up for Mix1 were Josh, Matt Gates, Marcel, Jim, Pete, and LT. Joining the 35+ riders were two 45+ standouts Jimi Gibson and Matt Vawter. Mix1 was well represented and had one of the largest squads in the race. The race started with a quick pace as several riders tried to gain an advantage. Most attempts were in vain as no break succeeded until the halfway mark when a break of six riders got clear, including Chuck Coyle, Clark Sheehan, Dirk Friel and Colby Pierce. The field chased, but the leaders were not seen again. While Mix1 missed out on the winning break, they had a constant presence at the front end of the field. New recruit, Josh Barnett, had a solid ride and was competitive in the field sprint for the remaining places, taking 10th overall. As a group the Mix1 riders were content with the outcome of the race. It was the first race of the year for some, and proved to be a good opportunity to get an excellent speed workout and sharpen our focus for some of the bigger goals later in the season.

Josh, Marcel and Matt G. covering the front of the field with eventual winner Chuck Coyle.

Pete Lucke laying down some horse power with ACA leader, and cat. 1, Jon Tarkinton on his wheel.

Jim Thies at the front of the field and stretching it out with a huge pull. The field may have been blinded by those white, white legs James!

Josh contesting the fields sprint for 9th, where he finished second in the sprint and ended up in 10th, the only non pro/1/2 rider in the top 10. Way to go Josh.

Race commentary provided by Jim Thies. All photos from www.303cycling.com (thanks David & Kris).

Team Sponsor Clif Bar Featured in the Wall Street Journal

Clif Bar has been a team sponsor from the beginning. We love their product, love working with them, and love what they stand for. Today they were featured in the Wall Street Journal and here is a copy of the story on our great sponsor:



A Company Fueled by Athletes' Sweat

By MICHELLE WU


Gary Erickson first dreamed up Clif Bar while in the midst of a grueling 175-mile bike ride near San Francisco in 1990. Though tired and hungry, he couldn't bring himself to eat another PowerBar, then one of the few energy bars on the market. Figuring he could make something tastier, Mr. Erickson, then a bakery owner, came up with an original protein-packed recipe, named it after his father and launched Clif Bar in 1992. Today, Mr. Erickson, 52 years old, and his wife, Kit Crawford, 51, are at the helm of an organization that posts $235 million in annual revenue and markets itself largely through word of mouth. The Berkeley, Calif., company, which says it decided against a $120 million sale to Quaker Oats in 2000, says it plans to remain private, in part to keep the focus on its eco-friendly practices, such as sustainable agriculture and waste reduction. (Quaker declined to comment.)


Kit Crawford and Gary Erickson, the owners and co-CEOs of Clif Bar.

Q: How did you come up with the recipe for Clif Bar?

Mr. Erickson: I went to my mom's house, because she taught me how to bake. We went to work in the kitchen and 6 months later, we came up with 3 flavors of Clif Bar. When it hit the market people almost couldn't believe it was an energy bar because it tasted so good. Our first year we did about $700,000 worth of sales and we were in several bike shops and natural food stores around the country.

Q. How did you get the funding to grow the company?

Mr. Erickson: We ran it on cash flow. I worked out terms with everybody. I gave discounts [to distributors] and I asked for cash on delivery. I was able to stretch out payments with our vendors. To this day we haven't raised any outside capital.

Q. How did you get in stores across the country?

Mrs. Crawford: We went from bike shops to natural food stores and then we got into grocery stores after that.

Mr. Erickson: The whole area [of natural foods] has grown tremendously and we were right at the front edge of that. Now, almost every grocery chain has a natural food section.

Q. How have you grown so quickly, with minimal advertising?

Mr. Erickson: We talk to people at sports events such as bike rides, marathons, decathlons or skiing where they need the product. And we tell people to tell their friends. But the whole thing would have fallen apart if …we didn't love it.

Mrs. Crawford: We definitely chose not to advertise. It was kind of unconventional, and it still is. There's a social equity…when people use a product and talk to somebody about it, that is very powerful. And then those people talk to people, and it sort of exponentially grows.

Q. You have a motto of "Grow slower, grow better" – why do you want to grow slowly?
Clif Bar

Mrs. Crawford: In our business model, slower growth means natural growth ... so we can sustain the things we value. When we went organic [in 2003], that was a big risk. But by growing slowly, we could figure things out. Now, we've got around 30 million pounds of organic ingredients.

Q. How did more expensive organic ingredients affect your bottom line?

Mr. Erickson: We just hoped that by telling our consumers what we were doing, we would be rewarded. Since going organic, Clif Bar has grown by almost 20%. We were able to absorb the margin hit because we grew.

Q. Why did you decide against a possible sale to Quaker?

Mr. Erickson: Those years leading up to almost selling the company were the hardest years, with growing pains and partnership issues. [Mr. Erikson ultimately bought out his former partner in the bakery, Lisa Thomas.] At one point it seemed like the right thing to do. PowerBar was sold to Nestle, and Kraft had bought Balance Bar. I felt sick to my stomach. This was not the bike ride I had wanted to be on. I thought: I want to do this my way. So I listened to my gut.

Q. In retrospect, do you think you made the right decision?

Mr. Erickson: Yes. It's been better every year from that moment.

Mrs. Crawford: We really value the ability to steer the company and its values, and we just can't see that happening if we don't remain private.

Q. Last year, the FDA issued a ClifBar recall because of possible Salmonella contamination. How did you deal with that experience?

Mr. Erickson: Stuff like this can happen - no matter how good your procedures are. We were just honest with people. We returned every single call. We made sure everybody got an email back. We gave people coupons. You have to do the right thing, be honest with your consumers, with your retailers, the press, everybody. I can tell you firsthand, we had some of the biggest buyers from some of the biggest grocery stores say that no one has ever handled a recall better than Clif Bar. And that's all we needed to hear.

Q. What is your advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Mr. Erickson: First, you have to do something you believe in. I believed from the start that Clif Bar was a worthy product. Then, keep making it the best you can. Also, you've got to be humble about whatever you do—do not become arrogant, and always keep your ego in check. And never give up.

CU Crit

This past weekend the team was greeted with very nice weather for a home town race at the CU Research Park on Saturday. The same could not be said for Sunday, with a 20 degree temperature drop, a mix of rain and snow and 2 races getting cancelled. Jim, Josh, CJ and Matt S. lined up with the Pro/1/2 field as there was no maters races this weekend. New 45 Plus rider Jeff also raced with the cat. 3's. The pro/1/2 event went well, with all riders comfortably finishing in the field, happy to get some quality training under their belts.


Jim Thies riding strong in the CU race and coming back after a crash last weekend.











Matt Segur rode a strong race for Mix1 as well. It was Matt's first race of the season and he made the main breakaway of the day. Unfortunately that breakaway was caught, but Matt was happy with the effort.



















Josh making his Mix1 Masters Cycling team debut and this race severed as his return to racing after a several year break. Josh will never tell anyone this, but Josh is a past winner of the CU Research Park Crit in the pro/1/2 category. He won the race in the early 2000's from a very strong breakaway. Josh looks solid in his new kit, his new Velo Vie team frame and new Mavic Cosmic Carbon wheels.

CJ riding in the field with a look on his face that says, "man I am having a lot of fun". Luckily is new Mavic wheels kept him moving along at a fast pace!

All photos are courtesy of www.303cycling.com, if you get a chance please check them out.

Mix1 Masters on the Boulder Velodrome

As you may know a group of local cyclists finally pulled off what has been talked about for years, they built a Velodrome in Boulder. A little over a year ago the Boulder Indoor Cycling facility opened to the public. Since then it has been a success with offerings for riders from little kids, to high school students, to beginners, to world class athletes. Over that time plenty of the riders on the Mix1 Masters team have used the track as a form of off season training. This winter team riders Henrik Petersen and CJ Gauss have constantly been on the track on Tuesday nights and snowy weekends.

Recently the Boulder County Business Reporter newspaper was out at the track and spent time filming CJ and Henrik's group, plus doing interviews. Here is a link to the article that includes quotes from Mix1 riders and a video:

http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=104131



Or here is a print out of the article, without the pictures and videos:

Racing at the V, By Ryan Dionne

February 19, 2010 --

BOULDER - Spinning around a 142-meter track over and over while being chased by another rider is an every day occurrence at the Boulder Indoor Cycling track. The velodrome, which opened in January 2009, is a wooden oval track with 45-degree banked turns.And every week, racers grab their fixed-gear track bikes, don their cycling shorts, jerseys, helmets, gloves and shoes, and put their skills to the test." We're pretty lucky to have this," said CJ Gauss, a local rider sponsored by Boulder-based mix1 Beverage Co. Though Gauss, and many others, is a sponsored rider, it's not just elite racers or hardcore enthusiasts who use the velodrome. Steven Herzfeld, the velodrome's cycling director, said they see everyone from first-timers, who typically become staunch riders, to professional bikers. "It's not an elitist group of racers," he said. Yet, Olympians ride and teach at the track. Former Olympian Colby Pearce and professional rider Chuck Coyle are on the list of coaches at the velodrome. Those coaches are there to get people hooked on the thought of track racing. Herzfeld said after the initial $30 membership fee to get riders in the door, most riders take a roughly $120 to $140 introductory class to learn more about the ins and outs of the velodrome. Gauss said he and his road-biking friends took the course and most, if not all, have since bought track bikes and are regulars at Boulder Indoor Cycling. At first they used bikes that the business "rents" for free. Unlike a road bike, when on a track bike, riders can only go as fast as they pedal. If the bike's rear wheel is turning, so are the pedals in the same way a "fixie" or fixed gear bike operates. Herzfeld and Gauss both said riding a track bike is safer when riding in a tight pack because nobody has brakes. Many crashes in cycling are caused by riders braking hard and then causing a series of fender bender-type crashes. The fixed gear also helps riders become stronger by forcing them to constantly ride with the same gear ratio and continually keep their legs moving. But the track isn't meant for recreationally riding in circles. Numerous times per week riders show up for a handful of individual and team competitions. One race, "pursuit," pits two riders against each other. They start at opposite sides of the track and try to catch each other within a specific number of laps.Another race, "Madison," is much like a relay in that one rider is in the race while the other is resting or slowly circling the track. After a set amount of laps or time, the riders fluidly and quickly switch. The first team to cross the finish line after a set distance wins. Local companies sponsor some of those riders. Businesses like mix1, Excel Sports Boulder, Vics Espresso and even Google are some of them. "A good example is Google," Gauss said. "They don't have a lot to do with cycling, but they've got a big office here. They've got guys who are into cycling. One of the guys on our team rides for them. (I'm) happy to have cool local companies like that involved."With the high cost of cycling, the riders appreciate any help. Though perhaps less expensive than road biking, track bikes can range from around $700 to a few thousand dollars. "The sky's the limit on track bikes," Herzfeld said.But even in a recession, the velodrome has a consistent pack of riders going in and out, Herzfeld said. Though many other velodromes along the Front Range have failed in the past, he thinks Boulder Indoor Cycling is different. For one, among the co-owners, Herzfeld is the only one who rides, which helps the group take a more businesslike approach because they're not as emotionally invested. He also said the business has enough options for everyone from private party spaces, kids riding areas, the track and an indoor mountain bike park. All of this is in a minimalist warehouse easily accessible from throughout Boulder and the surrounding area.And because the velodrome is inside, unlike some others throughout the state and country, it's not impacted by weather. That makes it a great place for riders to train as they prepare for their summer racing season.

1st Weekend Of Racing

The Mix1 Masters Cycling Team kicked off the 2010 race season this past weekend. "Big Ring Bill" Stalhuth took home the team first top 10 of the season on Saturday with a strong ride in the Frostbite TT, while on the same day Jim Thies got things started in Denver with the City Park crit. On Sunday the racing was closer to home, with a crit in Boulder. Matt Vawter, Jimi Gibson, Henrik, and Marc Holbert got things off in the B race, with both Matt and Marc taking top 10's as well. Up next was the pro/open race with Pete, CJ, Marcel, and Henrik lining up for that. No top 10's in the pro race, but everyone did fine and Henrik deserves the ironman award for doing both races. The photo at the left is of Pete and Marcel early in the Pro/Open race.


Henrik from the Pro/Open race, having already finished the B race. All photos are from David Kutcipal and 303 Cycling. check them out if you get a chance.