State TT Champs & Niwot Crit

Saturday was the Colorado State Time Trial Championships. In the 35 Plus race Matt S. and LT competed on their Velo Vie TT frames. Matt S. had a strong ride to take 3rd and LT came across in 8th. In the 45 Plus group Gene, Bill, Jimi, Matt, and Peter raced for the State Championship. It was Gene's first race back after getting taken out at the last Cherry Creek TT of the season. In 2010 Gene has been undefeated in TT's and TTT. Gene put on a great ride, especially considering how hurt he has been, and all the time off the bike. Unfortunately it was just not fast enough, as Gene took 2nd by 38 seconds. Bill also made the podium in 3rd, with Jimi and Matt V. in 7th and 9th. 2 guy on the podium is a great day and we all were really happy to see Gene back and racing.

The next day was the Niwot Crit. For those who like crits this is a great race, held in the downtown area of Niwot, CO, just north of Boulder. It is a short course, with lots of tight corners, and hard turns over 120 degrees. The 45 Plus guys lined up first with 6 riders on the line. the race went hard from the gun, with 2 Skin's riders leading a 5 man break. Unfortunately for the boys in red they missed the break and could never get the field organised to chase. The Skins riders whittled the break down to where it was just the 2 of them and they took 1st and 2nd after a long break away. The field set up for a sprint for 3rd, with 35 Plus strong man Bob Dahl taking it, with Jeff close behind in 5th and Chris L. in 8th.

The 35 race started the same way, really hard for 10 minutes. In fact it was one of the same riders from Skins, Todd Robertson, who was just hammering on the front. Too has good form now and the boys would learn even more the next week (stay tuned.....). CJ, Pete and Josh all rode in the top 10 for the first 10 minutes covering the hot laps, hoping if the string to break, and if it did they all would be in the winning move. However despite the pace the pack stayed together the whole race, with no real moves ever getting away. With 5 to go the boys moved to the front, but were never able to get into the right place, with CJ having to chase a 2 man break late and Josh getting boxed in. With one to go 3 riders slipped away and that was it, we were racing for 4th. Josh won the field sprint and got 4th, CJ took 7th, Jim Thies took 12th after doing a lot of work, and Matt G took 16th after being aggressive as well.

All photos from www.prerace.com

Matt Gates leading in the final turn, with Jim on his wheel













Pete working hard

Josh proving that racing is not easy. He got a free lap and took 4th

Josh putting the hammer down

CJ leading a 5 man break late in the race. Look at those yellow Mavic shoes

New Shoes From Mavic

Mavic came on board as a new sponsor for 2010 and the team could not be happier. Mavic is a leading wheel manufacture in the world and guys love the product. In addition to the wheels Mavic has expanded greatly into clothing and shoes. So far 3 guys are riding in their shoes and a new pair of Mavic Yellow Altium Zxellium Ultimats arrived today. These shoes are fast standing still and the fit is very unique and comfortable. Check them out at www.mavic.com

Rocky Mountain Omnium Reports

This past weekend was the 3rd running of the Rocky Mountain Omnium, a 3 day race in and around Glenwood Springs. Day 1 was a time trial on the same course as last year, day 2 was a crit on a new course (too bad that old crit course was awesome), and day 3 was the traditional road race that is one of the best in the state. Unfortunately it was a difficult weekend, with massive traffic back ups from construction, snow on the mountain passes getting to the race, epic rain for the crit, and so much flooding.spring run off the road course had to be heavily shorten to something that did not even resemble the original. In the 35 Plus the Matt's race and combined to win 1 stage, had 2 second places, and went 1 & 2 in the overall. In the 45 plus race the guys focused more on the road race and both Jimi and Henrik were in the top 5.

Jimi's race report: three 45+ers went to race at Glenwood, with Henrik, peter and I towing the line. Unfortunately after learning that all the real hills would be taken out of the road race course i wasn't too thrilled, as it became a 3 lap circuit race with some rollers and some headwinds. It was not a bad course, but very tough to get away, and if someone did they had to fight the winds, which seemed to negate almost everything. In the end the sprint was up for grabs for 10-12 guys, but the yellow line rule was in effect, and made for some hairy handling as a few bars were bumped. Henrik and I managed to sneak through the middle for 5th and 4th, with Peter spending most of his last bits of energy on the last climb before the finish. There were some good sprinters and strong riders, so I was happy with our placing.

Matt S's race report on the 35 Plus race: great weekend of racing for mix1 and the two Matts at the Rocky Mountain Omnium this weekend. The RMO is a three day, three stage race in and around Carbondale, CO. The race this year featured new criterium and road race courses. The racing began Friday night with a 20km individual time trial aptly named the Leg Breaker TT due to the course's rolling terrain. The start times were moved back an hour as the race officials were delayed due to construction in the Glenwood Canyon. The weather threatened thunderstorms but cleared in time for the start of the racing. This issue had little affect on the two Matts races. Racers were set off in 20 second intervals and the two Matts quickly reeled in the riders in front for podium finishes with Matt S.in 2nd and Matt G. taking 3rd.

Saturday's criterium began in the mid afternoon under heavy rain,temperatures in the 40s, and ponding water the course. As the two Matts started the race in 2nd and 3rd, it was up to them to attack the overall leader (and the winner of the TT) Todd Robertson of the Skins Cycling Team. The two Matts wasted no time in making the race fast and aggressive right from start, despite the rain and temperatures.The attacks on the field and race leader came quickly with Matt G.getting the perfect jump and gapping the field. Matt S. then took to the front of the race to control the fields tempo and to protect Matt G's lead. As Matt G. was alone off the front, he had the course to himself and was able to quickly build up a commanding lead. Matt S.stayed with the field marking the overall race leader as well as the constant attacks from the other racers not wanting to settle for racing for 2nd place. Their attempts were futile and the race finished with Matt G. taking the WIN and Matt S. finishing 6th. MattG.'s victory was the second for the mix1 35+ squad this season!!After the stage 2 criterium, Matt G. moved into 2nd place overall with Matt S. falling back to 4th.

Due to the weather the previous day, Sunday's road race course was changed. The previous course favored the climbers (and thus favored the two Matts) but the new course was shorter with no significant climbing. Fortunately the race started under clear skies with only brief rain showers during the race, so weather was not a factor. The two Matts had their hands full in trying to control race to move each of them up the podium for the overall placings and to try for more stage podium finishes. The race as not aggressive for the first third with only minor attacks from competitors and the overall race leader.Things really heated up in the middle part of the race with attacks happening on every hill of this rolling course along the Colorado River. The attacks were coming from everyone, including the overall race leader, the two Matts trying to dislodge the overall leader, and the field looking for glory on the last stage. One rider was allowed to go free and the race leaders were far more concerned with each other. Nothing would stick until a fierce attack on the hardest hill of the course that allowed three riders to get away including mix1's Matt S. This group of three quickly gained time on the field and caught the lone rider off the front to make a group of five. On the final stretch of the race to the finish one more rider was able to go free of the peloton and bridge up to the leading group on the road.As the leading group approached the finish, riders were positioning themselves for the sprint. A few racers allowed their nerves to get to them, beginning their sprints too early. With a cross head wind to the finish line, they were quickly shut down. Matt S. was able staying the draft longer and finished in 2nd place. Matt G. came in with the peloton and sprinted very well to finish in 7th place. The overall race leader did not fair well and finished at the back of the peloton.
After the racing dust settled, mix1 had great results at the RMO with Matt S. claiming the overall race win and Matt G. finishing in 2nd overall!! Add to this the podium finishes in each of the stages!!

Team Member Marcel's son 2nd at the Dauphine

Mix1 Master team member Marcel VanGarderen's son, Tejay, is in the middle of first season racing at the Pro Tour level for HTC-Columbia. If you watched the recent Tour Of California you saw Tejay on the front during the major mountain stages drilling it for his team leader and overall winner Mic Rodgers. This past weekend Tejay went one better when he finished 2nd in the opening tt of the Dauphine race in France, to no other than super star Alberto Contador. As of today Tejay still sits in 2nd place. These photos are of Tejay and Alberto, with Tejay wearing the green sprint leaders jersey on stage one. Way to go Tejay.

Rist Canyon & City Park Crit

Saturday was the Rist Canyon Hill Climb, west of Ft. Collins. The fields were small, but don't let that foll you, this is a hard climb. In the 35 Plus race the Matt's line up and as things got hot Matt S. got away from the lead pack. Matt G. sat on the pack for a while, then took off. Eventually Matt S. figured it out, looked back and waited for him. With the 2 of them working together there were able to ride a steady tempo and take 1st and 2nd. In the 45 Plus race Jimi lined up with a few teammates to help him got for his first hill climb win of the year, after a flat tire in one day and a day off in another. Jimi did not disappoint and rode away from the field solo for 1st place. All in all a great day for the Mix1 Masters Cycling team, with two wins and 3 of the 6 podiums spots.

Sunday was the Denver classic City Park Crit, held in City Park on the east side of the city. I think this race has been run nearly 40 times and has featured in major stages races like the Coors Classic. The 2010 edition did not have a 45 Plus race and was back on the short loop. The short loop means there is no easy part, it is corner, sprint, then corner again for an entire hour. The technical nature of the course would lend itself to a break, but none got away. In fact over the length of the entire race no one got more than 10 seconds up the road. The team raced strong at the front with CJ, Jim, Pete, Matt and Mark covering a lot of moves. All the action caused the field to shatter and less then half the starters finished. With 7 laps to go LT took off on a well timed solo break and got a nice gap. Unfortunately it was a bit too soon and no one went with him. He got caught at 2 to go and CJ attacked again, but the field was single file and in chase mood.

So that set it up for the field sprint. Josh maintained good position, but it was a race to the last turn and he lost. Josh took 4th place and Pete came from further back to take 8th. showing the dept of the team we then had 4 more from 13th to 18th. We have missed out on the big win, but the way the guys are riding as a team it will come. The team also extended it's leads in the BAT Competition.

Morgul RR

Sunday came and it was time for the final stage, the famed Morgul Bismark RR. It has been over 15 years since this course was last used and it was a massive under taking for the promoter to put this race on. a big thank you goes out to Brian and http://www.boulderracing.com/ for making it happen.

The 35 Plus guys knew they would need to be aggressive with the strong Rio team, who had the race lead with crit winner Byron Nix. There were plenty of other strong men to watch like Michael Gibson, Todd Robertson, and ex-pro Michael Carter. The race settled in for most of the first 2 laps, then things got exciting towards the end of lap 2 when Matt S. got away with strong man Todd Robinson from the Skins team. For the first time in a few weeks this move really put the pressure on Rio. It resulted in the field exploding the 3rd time up the Wall, with the winning move of 8 guys going forward, a main back of about 15 guys getting together, and then just a string of bodies all over the rest of the road. Both Matt's made the front group to give us an advantage and Pete and Marc made the main field.

Things staid like this until the end of the race. Up in the break Matt S. attacked with 4 miles to go and went away solo. It was a bold move where Matt laid it all on the line trying to win. Matt hit the bottom of the wall solo and was painfully close, but it was not to be as the break caught and passed him. Matt G. sat on the break to take 4th on the stage and Matt S. holding on for 5th. Back in the ever dwindling pack both Pete and Marc held their own in the sprint to the top for top 15 placings. All of this resulted in the team sealing up the team competition, Matt G. nailing down 3rd overall, Matt S. taking 5th and Pete 7th. The boys scored 3 guys in the top 7, while no other team had more than 1. Although they did not win a stage it was a great race for the guys and they really raced like a team.

As for the 45 Plus guys Jeff O is back with another race report, as the boys rode angry after the poor showing in the crit. After making a call to the bullpen, the squad proudly regrouped for the Morgal Bismark and brought in 3 relief aces (Bill, Kevin, and Peter) to save the weekend. Having passed on the first two days of racing, the 3 aces used their fresh legs to drive the pace through the first trip up the“Wall" before Bill and Kevin took over the pace making for the first lap while Peter reloaded for the rest of the day’s climbs. By the time the group completed the first of three circuits, the 50-60 rider field was down to 20 with 8 Mix 1 riders present.

On the 2nd trip up the Wall, Bill was on the front when he noticed Jeff to his side. "Should I set you up for an attack," Bill asked. Knowing that he was having an off day and that Jimi should be the team’s go-to guy for the day, Jeff glanced back to make sure Jimi was nearby and told Bill to go for it. Bill set a strong tempo, then Jeff took over and then Jimi was away. Peter bridged up to Jimi on the windy false flats above the Wall and Mix 1had 2 riders to zero Great Divides in a 7 rider move and 3 (Jeff, Chris, Matt V.) in a small Great Divide led chase. Mix 1’s riders in the chase tried to discourage the Great Divide team from chasing down the Jimi group by informing them that the break contained no riders who were a threat to their overall lead. However, in the spirit of Bernard “The Badger” Hinault (who was famous for trying to win as many Tour de France stages as possible in route to winning his five overall Tour deFrance victories), Great Divide’s GC leader Derrick Nichol was not content to merely win the weekend prize, he also wanted to win on the legendary Wall of the Morgal Bismark.

Great Divide would eventually catch the lead group but from that point on they were always playing catch up. Several of their riders would get dropped on the climbs and then chase back on the flats (with Mix 1's in tow). By the time they chased back onto the lead group after the final trip up the feed zone hill, the group was minus one as Jimi was up the road...his escape facilitated when Peter purposely left a gap open that the others couldn't close. On the final trip along Marshall Road, Derrick the Badger commented from the chase group that Jimi was gone. To that Jeff looked over, grinned, and said "stone free to ride the breeze." When all was said and done, Mix 1 had placed two riders on the day's podium (Jimi 1st, Peter 3rd), moved Jimi up the 2nd in the overall and Matt V. to 3rd, and reclaimed the team title for the weekend. In addition, Chris L. ended up 5th and Jeff 6th in the overall standings. The tip of the hat for this week goes to the entire team in general and to the bullpen in particular. Today's race was a classic team effort in the spirit of the American Flyers.

All photos again from our friends over at http://www.303cycling.com/


Jimm T. working hard for the team over The Wall.


Matt S. killing his break partners over the wall as the field blows apart on lap 3.

Matt S. still driving the break over the top as ex-pro Michael Carter sits on.

Mix's 1's "Matts" driving the break on The Wall!

Lap 1 of the 35 Plus race, with 3 Mix1 riders on the front going over the wall.

Superior Crit

Stage 2 of the weekend brought a brand new crit course. All in all the course was well received, it has a decent sized hill that even met Jimi's approval, was plenty technical, and had a whopper of a 40 MPH downhill last corner. The 45 Plus team was up first and Jeff O. again had the race call: unfortunately, the crit was not as good to the Mix1 racers as the previous day’s street sprints. Jeff was out leader going into the race, but got dropped from the main group after spending a bit too much energy contesting two sprints for additional omnium GC points. Jeff’s misstep, combined with a stellar performance by Great Divide’s Derrick Nichol, eliminated Jeff's chance for the overall. Making matters worse for the guys was the fact that after Jeff got dropped the best placed Mix 1 rider at the finish was only 7th. This is a team with strong results and high expectation, so they were disappointed. It also caused them to lose the lead in the team event. The good news to all of this was it made the men in Red mad and they came back the next day and took it out on the field.

As much as the 45 plus guys had a bad day, the 35 plus guys felt they road as well as they could, just missing the win, but covering every break, and putting 4 guys in the top 8. Matt G. went with an early 3 man break, that got up to a solo rider, and the 4 of them were gone. Behind the team covered every move with riders like Matt, Pete, Jim, Josh, CJ, and Marcel all getting off the front in counter moves. At one point anothe rrider groaned as the Mix guy went up the road again, and Jim Thies wisely respond to the groan with the line of the race "We are like Visa, we are everywhere YOU want to be" (mind you Jim was just joking with the guy).

In the end nothing else stuck, but Matt S. managed to slip the field with about 4 laps to go and soloed in for 5th place alone. Matt G. rode the break to the finished and took 3rd. The field sprinted in for 6th, with Marcel leading it out and Josh just missing taking the sprint in 7th and Pete in 8th. Overall the boys put a strangle hold on the team completion and moved Matt G. into the top 3 overall and Matt S. into the top 5, with Marcel & Pete still in the top 10 too.

All photos from http://www.303cycling.com/ (thanks as always David & Chris):

Matt V. of the 45 Plus team hanging it out riding though the corners of the alley way.
The break sprints for the win, with Byron Nix from Rio taking it, and Matt G. getting a fine 3rd.











Matt Gates leading the 4 man break.








Pete, Josh & CJ covering the front with Matt G. & Matt S. up the road.

Superior Street Sprints

The Superior Morgul weekend of racing got started off Friday night with an unusual format, Street Sprint. In this race riders line up in heat of 6, start from a dead stop, and sprint full out for about 250 meter, with the faster racers from each heat moving on and the slower guys going home. Obviously it is an unusual format, but it proved fun. In the 35 Plus race the guys got the short end of the draw as 4 of the team's 7 riders were in the same heat and 2 of our guys, Marcel & Pete, knock out CJ & Matt S. None the less Matt G. also made it through to round #2. in round #2 the guys again got the weird officiating and all 3 of our guys were again in the same heat. The boys went 1-2-3, but only 2 could advance. So Marcel and Pete went to the finals and Matt G. went to the Consolation Finals which he won handily.

In the final Marcel got out earl and threw his bike at the line, unfortunately it was essentially a 3 way tie, as riders 1st to 3rd were separated by a tire's width. Marcel ended up 2nd with Pete just off the podium in 4th. The above photo is just before the line with Marcel still in the lead.

Matt Gates man handling his Velovie to a clean win in the 35 Plus Consolation Final, photo above and below. With 3 riders in the top 8 the 35 Plus team also took the early lead in the team competition.

For the 45 Plus race Jeff issued the following race report: like the roads of the fabled Morgal Bismark Road Race held on day three of the Superior Omnium Classic, Mix 1’s 45+ squad experienced a roller coaster weekend in terms of racing highs and lows. In the first day’s bracketed rounds of Street Sprints, the squad successfully placed three riders (Jeff, Chris, and Matt) in the final championship round of six, with Jeff taking 3rd for the day. This gave thew 45 Plus guys the early lead in the Team Competition and put all 3 guys in a god place to go for the overall win.