35-39 masters national RRchampionships 2012

Matt Gates taking 3rd place at National Championship Road Race
Bend Oregon September 5th 2012
Photo courtesy of USA Cycling

It’s all about the team: 2012 State Championship road race 55+

After the unfortunate fires early in the race season took many homes and torched large parts of our state the original Masters State Championship race was cancelled.  It was due to be held in Rist Canyon north of Ft Collins and this was the scene of some of the worst damage and loss of homes in Colorado.  Our heart went out to all those affected.

The ACA found support from two master’s teams to take on the challenge of running a championship race and a venue out in the eastern plains near Keenesburg was selected to contest the championship.  Flat as could possibly be for its 23 mile loop (less than 100ft gain or loss in all those miles) except the finish straight which was all downhill for the last 1K, we road two laps for 46miles. Flat farm lands with no wind, no hills, little except our own power and tactics to make a distinction before the final sprint. Over forty racers began with us at 9:45AM and it seemed almost all of them were in the sprint at the end, but first a few tales to get us to the finish.

Right out of the gate one rider flatted, but the peloton was already going full gas. By the end of the race we averaged close to 26mph for all 46 miles so when I say full gas I mean we were flying at the start.  There were some big teams well represented; Boulder Orthopedics (BO), RealD-Amgen, Natural Grocers, we as Mix1 and most everyone in the race all were speaking of how it would be a field sprint at the end. However Mix1 had several cards to play.  With Butch, one of the fastest men on the track and in sprints, as our ace in the hole, Bill and I (Steve M) were strong enough to get into a break and stay away and Steve B was ready to cover any breaks from other teams.  If it was to be a field sprint we just had to lead out Butch and let him go. 

From the gun Bill went on the offensive and strung out the field. Myself and some others from various teams added to the mix of attacks in the first lap.  Finally on the western straight of road I made a clean break on my own for a few minutes.  Just when I thought I might have to sit up I was joined by Geoff Cooper, a strong time trial rider and two others.  We continued to gain time on the peloton while three of us did most of the work.  A rider from BO was mostly sitting in but their strategy was to finish as a field sprint so we could not convince him to help.  Gradually we lost our 3^rd but Geoff and I continued to push for another few miles. As with so many breaks it became obvious we two could not hold off 35 others and so sat up a mile or two before the turn to the finishing straight.

On the second lap as we headed east a lone rider made a break.  While some others in the peloton spoke about the need to bring him back, but did nothing to chase, I just felt sorry for him as I knew how much energy he was using and that eventually we would catch him.

Half way through the second lap there was an attack that had a few strong men up the road. Steve B did an incredible job of bringing them back and with me on his wheel, brought me up to the break. There were a few minor efforts to attack after this but nothing that had any legs to it.  Eventually the attacks ended and at the end of the western straightaway we began to fight for the front of the bunch.  Heading into the final turn for the finishing two mile straight BO was in the lead attempting to put their sprinter Steve Worley, a National and World Track champion, in place for the sprint. 

Behind me in the group were the rest of our Mix1 team and our strategy was very clear, we needed to get Butch in good position and give him as much of a lead out as we could. Unknown to me Bill had skipped his wheel twice going through the turn but managed to hang on; this however had taken him out of position to help with Butch.  BO was slowing and the peloton was now bunching up, not good for a safe sprint nor our cause.  I hit the gas hard and rocketed to the front up the final hill before the 1k downhill to the finish line.  This caused a reaction in the field and pretty soon BO was driving hard next to me.  Looking right I could see Butch was now sitting 3^rd right behind Worley.  This was good as my legs were cramping, too much time in the break to be able to sprint now.

It was a mad dash for the line by 30+ racers all over the road. I stayed near the front long enough to see Butch come off Worley’s wheel and sprint but could not tell the result.  Butch won!  Bill came roaring past me just before the line for 3^rd, Steve B was right after Bill and took 8^th.  As I drifted back I managed to cross the line 13^th and our day was over.

A great team effort as our plans were played out to perfection! Mix1 had a taken the road race State Championship.

Steve Worley 2nd, Butch Stinton 1st, Bill Kellagher 3rd

45+ State Championship RR

Mix1 lined up with 6 riders for the Colorado State Road Race Championship 45+ category.  We had a plan going in to keep everything together for a field sprint which would be contested by Adam Asnes and Pete Lucke, both of whom were having strong results in August and hoped to carry the momentum into this race.  Although the race was dead flat and lacked any strong wind, the team wanted to keep the time trialists from the other teams from sneaking away.  This required mix1 putting Henrik Pedersen, Larry Cornman, and Bill Stallmuth on the front to control the race for the first of two laps.  However, a break of two did get away and Adam Asnes buried himself to bring it back at the start of the second lap.  Sadly after Adam's heroic efforts for the team he crashed out heavily with a broken collarbone and broken ribs.  Going into the final 10 miles, Matt Vawter and Pete Lucke came to the front to try and control the constant attacks that were now occurring.  They were successful in doing so and the field approached the final 2 miles intact.  Pete was now able to be near the front in a good position, but a downhill sprint at 40+ miles per hour on narrow country roads without Adam leading him out was a bit too much and Pete was able to finish on the podium in third place.  A good result for the team, we had 3 riders in the top 10, but a huge loss with Adam's season ending injuries.

NoBo criterium 35+ race

The Mix1 35+ squad came with a solid crew for the North Boulder Park Crit. Marc Holbert, CJ Gauss, Matt Gates, Jim Thies, Josh Barnett, and Michael Burton lined up against a solid field of racers. Groove Subaru and Boulder Orthopedic showed up with strong squads also, and they were ready to race.

The 35+ team decided to concentrate on an early break away squad. With Josh Barnett in the field as a dedicated sprinter, it was up to Jim Thies and Michael Burton to create the first moves. In addition we had CJ, Marc, and Mr Gates to back up Jim and Burton's first moves.  The team stayed very aggressive in the first 5-7 laps driving the field, opening gaps, and finally Jim Thies created the break ! Once the break away racers established a gap then Mix1 team moved up in the chase field to create a smart tempo.

The break was established with 2 Groove Racers, 2 Boulder Ortho Racers, 2 Mix1 Racers and Marc DeAntoni from Stages . Jim Thies controlled the tempo of the break, in addition he made BO and Groove Subaru work in the break. Jim’s efforts set the tone for the break. Carlos Casali and Byron Nix did their best to bust up the break away, but Jim pulled them back every time.

In the final lap to go Bob Dahl and Carlos Casali made a huge effort from the last turn for the win. Burton could not go early and possibly lead them out, but had to follow wheels , however he covered a lot of ground for a solid second place. After all the hard work from the team, Jim placed 7th , and Josh placed 9th . Again the Mix1 team raced with a plan, executed the plan, and delivered results!

Racing Hope Criterium, 35+ Win!

Raisin Hope (named for Saul Raisin who created this benefit race and now called Racing for Hope) was a Solo - last minute race decision for Michael Burton, while the 35+ team was focused on Nobo the next day. However, Burton line up with a combined category race of P1/2 s and 35 1/2s .  10 master riders and 30 P1/2 showed up for the old Wheels of Thunder or CSP Crit Course. Danny Sullivan and Carlos Casali presented the strongest competition in the 35+ field.

High winds and a drag race style course predicted pain for the group. After numerous attacks from Horizon,  VC,  Garmin youth, etc  - the break formed with a super strong Horizon element of 4 racers, Sonic Boom, VC, Groove, Garmin, and the of course the three strongest masters racers .

In true Horizon racing style they attacked the break away to setup their guys for the “W”. Carlos , Danny , and Burton attacked each other in addition to counter the efforts from Horizon . It was a race with in race.  With 5 laps to go it was a desperate battle, and the sprint lead out lasted forever. If Burton had signed up for the P1/2 race it would have been a 7th place finish, very respectful placing, however in the 35+ field it was a “W” for Mix1!

North Boulder Park Criterium, 45+ race

Adam Asnes, Bill Kellagher, Marcel van Garderen, Pete Lucke lined up for this Colorado Classic criterium.  It was a stacked field with some of the best local criterium riders and teams seeking some bragging rights for the coming offseason.  From the gun, the race was strung out due to both the technical aspect of the course and the strength of the field.  With the fast pace, no break was going to go or stick.  The Mix1 team had a good plan in place and executed it well.  The goal was to contest a field sprint for the win with Marcel providing a leadout with 2 laps to go.  This set up both Pete and Adam to be in prime position coming out of the last corner.  Pete was able to come out of the last corner in third position on the wheel of Natural Grocer's rider, Glenn Winkel, a local track National Champion, and was able to accelerate off his wheel for the win.  This was a true team win and although Pete got to be on the top step of the podium, it was a win for the entire team.

Racing for Hope Criterium, 45+ race

Pete Lucke (2nd) Bob Dahl 1st, on the line!

The Mix1 team lined up with Matt Vawter, Butch Stinton, Adam Asnes, Larry Cornman, Henrik Pedersen, Pete Lucke.  The race got off to a fast start due to a howling wind blowing down the one and only incline of the course.  This caused the riders to be echeloned for every lap going into the headwind and persistent attacks occurred in this location.  Mix1 riders were either throwing in attacks or covering them knowing full well that if a breakaway went, it would be the winning move.  And, true to form, a break did go which included 8 riders.  Of the 8, Mix1 was represented by Adam and Pete.  This was a good move for the team since there were 4 Mix1 riders protecting the break in the main group and covering any moves trying to bridge.  The break had a lot of horsepower in it and with attacks coming from within the break only 4 riders were left to contest the final sprint which ended in a photo finish with Bob Dahl from Boulder Orthopedics winning and Pete Lucke a close second.  Adam was able to finish between the break and the rest of the field for 5th and Matt Vawter finishing 10th after doing a lot of work for the team.

Podium photo 45+ Salida RR

Photo by Chris Lucke
Robert Sonora 2nd, Charlie Eckart 1st, Pete Lucke 3rd

The Salida 45+ road race was comprised of six laps of a 5.7 mile circuit.  Pete lined up as the sole mix1 rider which was okay as many of the other teams only had one rider each.  The pace started off very briskly as a Colorado Bike Law rider took off from the gun and strung out the field for the first lap.  This eliminated a lot of non-climbers and those having a bad day after racing the previous two days.  Pete was able to make the selection each lap until two laps to go when two riders slipped away on the climb.  The chase group was not able to close the gap by the last ascent of the climb, but Pete and a rider from Rally Sport attacked the group on the climb and broke away.   A hard chase downhill was only able to bring Pete and the Rally Sport rider within a handful of seconds to the front two by the finish.  Pete took the sprint for 3rd which capped off a good weekend after winning the criterium the previous day.

Longmont SM Pro 1-2 criterium video

Thanks to Fred Dixon for sending us this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMffJ8t5nIs&feature=relmfu

Saldia Criterium 55+ by Steve Matous

Its always a curious thing to be the first race of the day. The town is mostly asleep on Saturday morning at 6:30AM when you get your number and check in for the race.  The warm up laps are done while the street is still being swept, the cops are trying to get all the cars off the course and the organizers are still trying to set up and be ready.

Soon enough it all falls into place and you find yourself standing on the start line trying to focus your brain no less get the legs ready to respond.  Like all these races someone jumps at the start and sets a furious pace to get us going and create immediate gaps on the un-prepared. Today it was our team mate Steve Birnbaum.  As he tore up the street in front of us no one really chased.  The other teams kept him insight and slowly reeled him back in after a lap or two.

The race continued like this through out.  One of us would go off the front, others would chase and eventually we would be back together again.  While there was a slight up hill on the back stretch for the most part the race did not have any true obstacles that would allow a break to get away and stay away. I know, I tried on three occasions with various other riders including my team mate Bill.  None of these efforts worked.

During one break led out by another team I was sitting second wheel coming down the fast finishing straight when up ahead a buck (deer) came out into the street.  Fortunately for us the moto ref was there and reved his engine, waved his arms etc to get the deer off course.  It sprinted like we all wish we could.

The result of all these attacks and pressure on the field was by the time it did come down to the final lap only 1/2 the field (12) was left and more than half of those were far enough back to not be in contention for the bunch sprint. A few turns after crossing the finish line with one lap to go I heard that sickening thump and what I thought was a crash behind me.  I was sitting 2nd wheel and the rider in front of me (Dan G of CO Bike Law) turned to look.  I yelled at him to keep going as I was afraid his looking behind might cause him to slow and me have to brake, which sets off a chain reaction in the peloton, or even worse for Dan to lose control.

We made it through all the down town turns and were going up the back straight when the attack came.  Bob from Natural Grocers was off first and going fast. I went hard but could not close it before the turns onto the down hill finish straight.  We were going really fast now and I could detect a slow but certain gain by me (or maybe Bob was slowing or both). Still everyone else was behind and I thought I might have a chance.  About 50-75 meters (hard to tell exactly where you are at this point in time) I detected movement from my right.  I suddenly realized I was about to be hit by another rider and sat up and yelled at the same time!

Luckily I slowed enough that Callen, Zumxr racing, went across me at an angle from right to left but missed my wheel, just barely. In the same flash of a second I was sprinting again but also saw Bill K going by and then we were across the finish line. Callen won, Bill K 2nd, Bob 3rd and me 4th.  Behind was a blur for me but our team mates Steve B and Butch took 8th and 9th respectively for a total team top 10 finish!

In the cool down lap I was happy to learn there was not a crash but rather clipped pedal and stopping with no consequence other than lost placing. Callen apologized and we discussed the need to keep your own line in a sprint.  The race was over and since it was not yet 8:30 AM a shower and breakfast sounded good before the drive home.