Introducing Clif Quench

Clif Bar has been a long standing sponsor of the Mix 1 Master Cycling team. When you think about it, we really could not do what we do with a company like Clif Bar. We all use a wide variety of their products and do so almost every day. That is why it is so nice to work with a company like Clif Bar that has a proven track record from The Tour down to Colorado Masters' racing.

Clif Bar recently released a new product called Clif Quench and sent us a bunch of samples. Clif Quench is a sport drink that is all-natural, 88% organic, and lacks what you do not need (like high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors & colors, and preservatives). The drink comes in 5 flavors and is pre made, in a easy to use bottle that is 40% post consumer recycled plastic. We found the drink to be great for off the bike use, as a way to hydrate pre/post ride, or for a snack when you want something healthy. It has a much more natural taste that most sport drinks and is very easy to digest.

Anyone interested in Clif Quench can find it locally at Wholefoods, King Soopers, Vitamin Cottage and REI. We would recommend you go out and try some when you get a chance!


http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_quench//

Welcome Peter Ismert

The Mix1 Masters Cycling Team is pleased to welcome Peter Ismert onto the team for 2010. The 45 Plus guys have had their eye on Peter all season as he proved to be a worthy opponent and a strong all around rider. The photo on the left shows Peter in 2009 Excel kit racing the Koppenberg RR, he is the second rider on the left, and by the way he went on to win!

Here is a bio on the newest member of the 2010 Mix1 Masters Cycling Team.




Peter was born in Denver and grew up near Littleton, CO. He didn’t start racing bikes until after going to College at CSU in Fort Collins, CO. At first it was just dabbling with a few Cat 4 races, then after a couple years he spent more time racing and upgraded to Category 3. His favorite season back then was a year training and racing in Monterey, CA. In his 30’s he started racing mountain bikes back in Colorado and pursued other interests such as landscape photography, backpacking, and fly fishing. Peter spent several winters at Winter Park, CO teaching ski lessons and coaching masters and age class ski race teams.

Needing more year-round employment, he found a job with the Environmental Protection Agency doing everything from overseeing hazardous waste site cleanups to participating in water quality restoration projects in Montana and Colorado. Now he spends much of his free time cycling, cross-country skiing, fishing when he can, and travels to Europe in between it all.

Cycling has always been a big part of his life, particularly during recent years while racing with the Masters. He is excited about joining Mix1 in the coming seasons. In Master’s racing, most everyone in the peloton knows each other as competitors during the races, and good friends afterward. Peter is excited about training and racing with the many Mix1 friends that he has made over the years. He is now married to his wife Michelle and lives in the West Highlands neighborhood of Northwest Denver.

2009 Highlights

Louisville Criterium – 3rd
Scott Kornfield Classic -2nd
Dead Dog Classic Stage Race – 7th GC

Mt Evans Hillclimb – 8th

Salida Road Race State Championships – 3rd

Koppenberg Circuit Race – 1st
Steamboat Stage Race – 3rd GC
Overall: ACA Best All-Around Rider 45+: 4th

Steamboat Stage Race

Labor Day weekend hosted the final event of the 2009 road season, the Steamboat Stage Race. This is a 4 day race where the winner is determined based on the lowest cumulative time. This event was brand new to the calendar, but all the feedback said it was a great event. The 45 Plus squad already had the Best All Around Team (BAT) and Rider (BAR) locked up for 2009, so they were there to have fun and enjoy the final race. The 35 Plus team sat in second for the BATand in striking distance for 1st, but it would take great results and some luck. Matt Segur was within striking distance of 3rd place for the BAR in the 35 Plus Category.



Here is a race report on the 35 Plus race from Matt

Friday Prologue TT: A few hours before race time, the mix1 35+ team headed out to the race course for sign in and course recon only to be sequestered in our cars for an hour due to a severe thunderstorm in the area. As typical with Colorado weather the storm and came went leaving great conditions for racing. The Prologue of 4.5 miles was on a closed loop plenty of climbing and fast, technical descents. Mix1 stamped our mark on the race with 3 solid finishes: Segur in 2nd; Gibson in 4th and Lucke in 19th.

Stage 2 Circuit Race: Saturday’s circuit race took place on the same 4.5 loop as the prologue only run in reverse; making the course even tougher – more climbing! Jimi the Terminator Gibson took control of the tempo setting and shredded the field. Jimi ended up off the front with the GC leader (Mitch Westhall) and Dennis Farell (9th GC). I was in the 2nd group on the road but had to sit in and not work as Jimi was up the road. Jimi finished 2nd and I finished 7th with Pete in 14th. GC after stage 1: Jimi 2nd, Segur 4th

Stage 3 Road Race: 70 miles of up and down; no flat road. The course had 2 out back legs. The peloton split shortly after the start on the first switchback climb, but regrouped slightly on a long technical downhill. The course was all rollers to on the first leg. Numerous attacks here including a long one man suicide mission. Yours truly even attacked the GC leader and Dennis Farell twice, but they were too attentive to let me get away. This large group stayed together until shortly after starting the 2nd leg when Jimi got to work on a sick tempo that cut the field down to about 8. On the next climb the group split again with just six of us left. This leg had some insanely fast down hills!!! The six us stayed together until the last 2 climbs. We lost one on the first and then another at the start of last climb. This left jimi, mitch, Byron and me. We stayed together until 500 to go when Mitch attacked, followed by Byron. My legs said no and Jimi had enough to finish 3rd. GC after stage 2: mitch, jimi, Byron, segur. There is a chance that I can still get on the podium as there are time bonuses in tomorrow’s crit.

Stage 4 Criterium: With the 1st and 2nd on GC secured by Mitch and Jimi, respectively, the battle for 3rd was between Byron, a former national criterium champion, and Segur. Byron was holding an 11 second advantage. With a mid-race time bonus prime (5 – 3 – 1 seconds) and time bonuses on the finish line (30-20-10 seconds) Segur had the opportunity to secure 3rd on GC and put to two mix1s on the final GC podium. The race was fast and furious from the gun with the GC contenders teams all on the front controlling the race and other teams looking to get some results on the final stage after being dominated by Mix1 and Green Mountain all weekend. Segur attempted two attacks on the field taking advantage of two teammates, Jimi and Pete, on the front. These attacks were unsuccessful as Byron was attentive and chased hard to bring it back with support from his team and others looking for results. At the mid-point of the race the time bonus prime was announced and Segur went on the wheel of Pete having him lead out and allowing Segur to sprint for the 2nd time bonus of 3 seconds and cutting Byron’s lead down to 8 seconds. Jimi and Pete rode selflessly on or near the front of the race keeping everything in check and taking the pressure off of Segur. The race came down to the final lap with much action on the front. Segur managed to position himself in 3rd wheel coming into the final corner for the bunch sprint to line. Unfortunately, Segur picked the wrong wheels to follow and was only able to finish in 6th position ahead of Byron but out of the time bonuses.

Final GC:
2nd – Jimi
4th - Matt

The team made a heroic effort to win the 35 Plus BAT but after a season of racing came up 7 points short. Matt's 4th place did allow him to secure 3rd overall in the BAR for the season.

All in all a very impressive season for Mix1. They took 1st in the 45 Plus BAT and 2nd in the 35 Plus BAT. They took 1st, 2nd and 5th in the 45 Plus BAR as well as 3rd and 10th in the 35 Plus BAR. This team has come so far in only it's 3rd year and everyone is excited for 2010.

2009 Tour Of Colorado

The Tour Of Colorado is a race series based on overall results scored from several events across the state. Only top 10 placing count, so one not only has to do all the events, one has to do well. For the second year in a row Matt Segur won the Tour Of Colorado for the 35 Plus category. Matt's performance was so strong he had it wrapped up on the start line of the final event. Here is a photo of Matt on the podium showing off the Tour Of Colorado jersey. Matt is starting to get a large collection of them!

Info on the tour of Colorado : http://www.tourofcolorado.com/


Velonews.com story about the Tour Of Colorado:
http://www.velonews.com/article/97115/tour-of-colorado-series-wraps-up-sunday

Rist Canyon Hill Climb

Most of the team raced 35 Plus today to try to get some extra points. Jimi did what he always does and climbed like a mountain goat. He was right there at the end, but lost a close sprint for the win. Matt S. came back well during the middle of the race, to pass the 2 riders from Excel and claim 4th place, which Marc rounding out our top 3 riders in 8th. Both Big Ring Bill and Bruce Ring Bill took on the young guys and came away with top placing, in 10th and 11th respectively. These guys are such god climber they can do well at any level.

Chris Leggere stuck with the 45 plus guys and put in a solid effort for 5th. Chris is a great all around rider with top 5's in almost every discipline in 2009. Even more exciting Chris Cardoza started and finished the race. It was a great race back fro him after a crash in March forced him to miss most of the season. Welcome back Chris.

Here is a video from the promoter. The first half shows the "Red Train" dominating the field in the early going:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCLpYbHBcQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efccyclingfest%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded

Koppenberg Road Race

The 45 Plus squad showed up at Koppenberg knowing they already had the 2009 Best All Around Rider and Best All Around Team competitions wrapped up, but Matt V and Henrik were looking for more. Henrik is from Europe so this race reminded him of the mother land. His only complaint was that it was not raining. That would have made it a real race in his eyes. He rode strong and came in with another top 10.

Matt is shown in the 1st photos and you get a sense for just how bad this climb is. Most casual riders would not think you could get a road bike up it. Based on Mat's pre ride and advice from team Big Boy CJ, Matt was rocking the more interesting left hand line. He said as much as he liked it in training, it killed him in the race. Matt had to get off his bike on each of the 1st laps, but was strong enough to chase back on and finish 5th.

Matt is currently in second place for the 45 Plus riders in the Best All Around Rider category, behind his own teammate (way to go guys). Matt deserves a lot of credit as this guy is truly an all around hard man. He is out there in the sprint sprinting at the front of crits, can handle a nasty race like Koppenberg, does all the TT, and climbs with the front guys in many races.

Henrik in the middle of the climb.


















The 35 Plus guys started 4 racers and it was game on from mile 1. The winning break of 3 went away right away, but there was no one in there the guys were worried about. Matt S. decided to fall down on the hill for a second time that day on lap 1 and that was it for him. Marcel was up there for a while, but then settled back. Both Pete and CJ made the front group and were covering the Excel team who is leading the Best All Around Team completion. Here is a photo of Pete mid climb in the front group. Pete held on, but lost the grip with 1 climb too many. He came into the last lap with a group of 3, going for 10th and would have won that no problem, but he flatted and rode in a flat rear wheel.









Like Matt. V, CJ preferred the left hand line and used it like his own HOV Lane in rush hour. He hung tough for a big guy on the climbs and made the last lap with the front group of 6 going for 4th place. Unfortunately disaster stuck and he got his only flat of the year right before the main hill. He was able to borrow a wheel and held on to not get caught from behind.

Here is a link to some interesting videos another rider in the 35 plus race shot. you can get an idea for what was going on in the pack for the first couple of laps:

http://www.vimeo.com/6371259

Niwot Crit

The 35 Plus team arrived at Niwot with a strong squad of CJ, Jim T., Pete, Matt and Marcel. Marcel had gotten 2nd here the prior year and the team was looking to repeat a solid result. The field was small, but stacked with the best guys, and the race went from the gun. Jim T. got things off with bang taking an early flyer and it was like waving a red flag in front of bull. CJ was next to go, taking a prime and getting into a break that Matt came up to, but there was no cooperation from RMCEF up there, so it came back. Pete is pictured here leading the field out of the last corner. Man those ROL wheels are going fast.

Jimmy T. seen here taking the first flyer and stringing the field single file. Jim is a early attack guy and wants to make sure if someone throw a party, he gets an invite. He was the one throwing the party this day!

Back in the race a dangerous break got away that Jim was in, but eventually he came back to the field and Mix1 had to join the chase. Byron Nix from Green Mountain was an animal and did most of the chasing, but eventually with our help the break came back. By the last last only 11 guys were left in the lead group (35 started). CJ and Matt were up there, but neither had much left and then came in at the back of the lead group.

CJ covering the front and Colorado BAR leader Bob Dahl.

Patrick was also out representing in the 35 Plus cat. 4 race. Patrick rode most of the race at the front, in smart position and out of trouble. He was 1st in line at 1 to go, but was jumped on the back side by the sprinter. None the less it was a solid top 10 an his best result in 2009. Good work Patrick.

The 45 Plus had gone earlier in the day with Henrik and the ageless wonder Jimmy lining up. From what we hear Jimmy does not like to ride in the pack, so there is only one thing to do, attacking and pull a "Jimmy" on the field. Jimmy got away with 1 other rider from the powerful Vic's team and that was it. Here is the commentary direct from Jimmy:

" the 45's had a nice sized group...just henrik and i...legs felt good...took a couple of flyers right off the bat...got loose once early...for 2-3 laps...didn't stick...about 15 minutes into it...took another flyer from way back...had a good head of steam for this one...got a nice gap...and joe came across with me...which i was glad for..it was kinda windy..have wanted to be in a break with joe all year...we got our chance...for 20-25 minutes we were off the front on our own..karl and derek, and a bunch of other guys chased pretty hard..at one point they were within 7 seconds!..2 laps to go...put the gas on!!...i knew there was no way i'd out sprint joe, so i tried to lose him on the backside..with one last dig..got 2 bike lengths on him, but the head wind on the last stretch made it hard...last turn into the finish, joe and i came around the bend...joe came across...with me on his wheel for second..i was very happy with the ending...i just wanted to stay away...and he is a great guy to work with, i think he was very happy to have the company!!..the pack came around the last turn about 15-20 seconds later...henrik was right there for 5th...chris stout 3rd...i think john tally 4th...i love that course...a perfect course to be off the front...not very technical...but the turns really slow people down who are in a pack..nice day for us thank you to henrik for the pack patrolling...!!!..i owe ya"