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Wente RR
4/21/07
4th
Juniors 15/16
Field: 27
Teammates: Alex, Adam, Nick, Chris, Trevor, Max
At this point in the season I am beginning to think about the point series. My goal was to beat Joel and Edan who before this race were ahead of me in the point series. I decided to do this by setting a hard pace up the hill and see if I could break up the field.
Lap 1: I won’t go into much detail about this lap as nothing decisive happened. I set my own pace up the hill and broke the field up significantly on the first climb. After the climb I pulled off and let AMD keep the pace high for the remainder of the lap.
Lap 2: I knew I had to go hard on this lap because I was totally outnumbered. AMD had four in my group, Davis had two and there was one Swift rider who I had never seen before. About half-way up the hill I attacked. I thought someone was behind me so I looked back to see who came with me. To my surprise no one even responded. I suppose AMD thought that they already had the numbers, and I don’t think Davis could because Andreas was climbing in a very large gear. I decided not to wait, but to just keep riding at my own pace for the remainder of the climb. On the steepest part at the top, Charlie Avis (AMD) attacked. Because I was riding a couple meters off the front of the group I didn’t realize until he came flying by me at full speed. I then had to accelerate from a near standstill to get on the back of Charlie’s group, containing Davis Bentley(AMD), and Andreas (DBC) . Just before the top I blew up. I sat and waited for the next group on the road. I knew I didn’t have a chance of catching the leaders so I just sat in for the rest of the lap.
Lap 3: On the sharp turn before the final hill I attacked. I stayed away on the climb and finished fourth.
Although I didn’t manage to stay with the break I still accomplished what I came out to do. I beat Edan and Joel and am now leading the point series. Also, thanks Adam for staying at the back of the group, to warn me when someone was about to attack.
Sea Otter Circuit Race- 15-16
Teammates: Adam, Alex, Miguel, Nick Abal, Will
Field: 30-40
Place: 17th
Coming into the race my legs felt really good, so I thought I could do well.
Lap 1: The race started and we were immediately climbing. I got to the front and set my own pace; I wasn’t going too hard, but I still saw the field stretched out behind me. For some reason, even though I felt good, I couldn’t seem to get into any rhythm. At the end of the climb I pulled off and sat around 6th wheel for the remainder of the lap.
Lap 2: This time the group was going so slowly that I really didn’t feel like I had to get to the front and control the pace. This turned out to be a mistake. After the corkscrew the rider on the front eased up and everyone on the back surged up boxing me in. Adam attacked toward the bottom of the end of the lap. He told me he did this because he thought Daniel (AMD) was off the front. Edan countered and he took with him several strong riders, including Jacob, the first and second place finishers of the previous day’s road race, Joel, Daniel and an unknown. This move looked decisive so I knew I had to join them. I muscled my way to the outside of the field and then attempted to bridge. It took me about half a kilometer of full out sprinting to bridge. By this time the group was staring to climb. I knew if I could make it over the climb I would be okay. Unfortunately Jacob kept pulling hard. I gave everything I had to stay with them but I was still tired from bridging and could not keep up. My effort then meant I was caught and dropped by second group.
Lap 3: I can’t really say much about this lap except I was time trialing and over the top of the hill Andrew Lanier’s Dad said the gap was thirty seconds.
Lap 4: I was really beginning to suffer at this point after riding a lap by myself. I knew now that all I could hope for was a slowing of the field. Over the top of the climb Andrew’s Dad said I still was thirty seconds behind. This was good this meant that the field was slowing down. At the end of the corkscrew Nick caught me and pulled me for nearly the remainder of the lap – Thanks Nick!
Lap 5: I left Nick’s group on the hill and gave everything to catch the field since I believed that if I could make contact I might recover.
Lap 6: I caught the group and went to the front and set my own pace on the climb. At the top, I pulled off and sat around 5th wheel for the remainder of the lap.
Lap 7: This was our last lap so I began to get a bit nervous. On the hill I sat behind the rider who was second in the road race. He set a hard tempo and the rest of the field was stretched out in a long line behind me. Jacob attacked from around 5th wheel. It was one of the most incredible accelerations I have seen. The rider in front of me reacted and we began to open up a gap on the rest of the riders, although Jacob was still riding away from us. Unfortunately, the gap we had was quickly bridged at the bottom of the corkscrew because he blew up. Before they caught us I didn’t pull through because I could see Daniel on the front, giving everything to catch us probably to help Joel. When Daniel caught up he went to the front followed by Joel and I. I assumed Daniel would lead Joel out and I would sit on Joel. Unfortunately this never happened. The 17-18’s passed us in the inside of the left hand turn. They brought all the riders from the back of our field up to the front. On the last gradual right hand turn someone swerved in front of Joel who swung to the right. Since I was riding on the far left hand side of the road this forced me to brake and ride off the road. That effectively was the end of my race and I came in about 10 seconds behind the pack.
I learned few lessons from this race. Firstly, never drift too far back in the field. Secondly, no matter how far you are behind the field, never stop chasing.
Race: Sea Otter Road Race
Category: 15-16
Place: ?
Teammates: Alex, Adam, Nick Abal, Miguel, Matt
This race was the biggest race I'll be in all season so my goal was to do as well as I could. But, this was the first time at Sea Otter and I also wanted to learn how to ride in big races.
The race started early and I ended up arriving at Laguna Seca at 7:45. I started off by warming up on my trainer for a bit less than an hour and then went to the race track to finish warm-up and pre-ride the circuit race course.
The road race had an a few miles neutral start going out to an eight mile circuit that the juniors ride five times (48 miles total). The loop itself started out with a huge hill, followed by seven miles of wind and rollers. After five laps the course headed up, up to the finish line.
As many of the riders were from out-of-state I didn’t necessarily know my competition. Of course, I knew that AMD would have a strong showing. I assumed that the best or some of the best riders would be from out-of-state, because they are serious enough to take time to travel to California. In particular, I was worried about Jacob Rathe (Oregon) whom I met at last summer's USA cycling camp. I didn’t remember much about him except how he looked, and how strong he was.
Lap 1: We started on time and I stayed near the front in the neutral area just to play it safe. When we reached the first hill on the circuit I started setting my own tempo up the hill which for me was high ME. After the hill I pulled off. AMD did a little bit of attacking but nothing too much. On the neutral feed hill Davis Bentley attacked. I stayed in the group for a couple of seconds before the reaction came from Jacob. I thought that this move might be decisive so I bridged up to the two leaders over the crest of the hill. We started to pull away, but there was really no organization. Davis was too concerned about not working harder than Jacob and me. Jacob didn’t really care if the break worked or not and I was struggling just to stay with them after bridging. The field caught us and I tucked in around seventh wheel.
Lap 2: This lap started out incredibly slow. About half way around Daniel (AMD) attacked. Normally, in a race with a small field I would give everything I have to make sure he doesn’t get the smallest of gaps, but since this race had a huge and experienced field I didn’t panic. The motorbike came up to the field just before the descent and said Daniel had forty eight seconds. I knew there was going to be fireworks on the next lap. On the descent I started to loss position as several attacks came.
Lap 3: Turning onto the hill I was sitting around 20th wheel; this was not where I wanted to be. Jacob started gunning it on the front. On his wheel were Davis, Joel, someone from Alaska and someone from Utah. I saw Jacob going and started to work my way up through the field trying to make contact before the end of the hill. About ten meters from making contact, there was a sudden pain in my right quad. I could barely keep peddling. Subsequently, I concluded this was in part due to a shortage of electrolytes after drinking three liters the night before the race. The whole field passed me. When I crested the hill I saw the field split into several groups strung out in a long line. At this point I knew I had no chance of catching them. I decided to ride the rest of the race easy as not to impact my chances in the circuit race.
In the end that group did get away. The guy from Utah won, and the guy from Alaska was second.
I was happy with my race. Although I didn’t finish with the group I learnt several lessons. 1. Make sure not to be too far back at a decisive point in the race. 2. Monitor how much I drink before I race.
Copperopolis Road Race
4/7/07
Juniors 15-16
Field: 21
Teammates: Miguel, Alex, Nick Abal, Chris, Trevor, Alicia
Place: 2nd
Coming into the race I wanted to do well; in particular, I wanted to see how well I could climb after riding Diablo for the last few weeks. On the start line someone told me that Ian Moir (Major Motion) from Southern California was in the field and that he was someone to watch.
Lap 1: The race got under way with very little action. We reached the first hill and I got to the front to set my own tempo up the hill. This was Rick’s suggestion and very good one too. I started dropping people almost immediately. Before the steep section I looked around to see who was still with the group. To my surprise Ian (Major Motion), Joel, Daniel, and Davis (all AMD) were the only ones still left in my group. On the steep section Ian attacked. I bridged up to his wheel with Daniel. Daniel dropped off right before the end of the climb. I decided that AMD was probably setting a trap; they would simply let Ian and me pull off the front of the group and then reel us in with a few Kilometers to go at which point we would be totally spent. I sat up and within two minutes AMD had caught us. We tried to work together to keep everyone who we dropped out of the race. However, the organization wasn’t there, which allowed Edan (Davis) and Cody (Spine) to catch back on. Ian attacked regularly over the course, an exhibition of strength but he didn’t get very far. Edan attacked at the bottom of the descent. AMD just let him ride off the front of the group but Ian single handedly pulled him back right at the start of the second lap.
Lap 2: Like the first lap nothing really happened before the start line and the hill. The second time we got to the hill I went to the front again to set my own pace. Near the top of the hill Levi Leipheimer passed us and said something like, “Go juniors”, probably in recognition of the AMD Discovery Juniors team. Daniel used this as a distraction and attacked. He got around a hundred meter gap. This move looked decisive so I put my head down and bridged. Joel was the only one who could stay on my wheel. For the rest of the hill Daniel kept the pace high while Joel and I took short pulls at the front. At this point I was pretty nervous. I knew that this was the winning move; however there were two AMD guys and just one of me. Daniel started breathing heavily before dropping off. At this point I made a large mistake. I wasn’t sure if AMD would let Joel and I go; in fact I assumed that AMD would try and take first and second. I started taking longer pulls at the front to make sure the break would work. Half way through the lap Joel and I started attacking each other. The field nearly caught us so we made an agreement to work together until two hundred meters to go where we sprint side-by-side. Again, we started pulling away from the lead group until we had about five minutes ahead going over the top of the final hill. We were both spent from riding in the wind for twenty miles, and we were content to coast down the final descent. With 1k to go I made sure to ride right against the edge of the road so I would be guaranteed the side I wanted in the sprint. With 200 m to go I gave it everything I had but Joel was just a bit stronger. He won and I took second. Even though I didn’t win the sprint I was still incredibly happy with my performance.
Merco criterium
3/3/07
Place: 8th (in 15-16s)
Juniors 15-18
Teammates: Adam, Alex, Nick Abal, Miguel, Matt, 17--18-- Andy Goessling, Nick Jerabek, Ye Lin
Field: 50-60
This was a point series race; my goal therefore was to place as well relative to other 15-16's as possible. The field was huge compared to other junior races and that’s why at the beginning of the race I decided that to place well it would be incredibly important to stay near the front and not waste and then give everything I had left in the sprint.
I had a reasonable warm up, however I got to the starting line a bit later than I would have liked to be there. The race started and I slipped back to around 20th wheel on the third lap. I have never been in a junior race like this; normally junior races are, as Rick said "like a game of cat and mouse", but this race had a much more constant pace. There were, however, no shortage of attacks, in fact the pace of the field seemed to be governed by a flurry of attacks going one after another for almost the entire race. Around 15 laps to go, of the total 18, I started making mistakes. For nearly the entire race I road around 15-20th wheel riding on the best 17-18's wheel I could find in particular Ye, Andy, Jp, Alex Wick, and Taylor K. With three laps to go Nick got on the front and kept the pace high. I was glued to Andy's wheel. With one lap to go I felt like I was in a really good position. Unfortunately, someone else had got Andy's wheel. On the first bend of the final lap he went really wide and nearly took out my front wheel, even though I yelled outside. I had to brake not run into the barricade and lost around twenty positions. I knew that I had to get near the front, so I basically started and extended sprint from that spot until the finish. By the final bend I worked my way up to around fifth position, but I was really dead. Now I just tried to hang on. Next to me I saw someone dive for the line so I did the same, not realizing that I had just dived for a crosswalk. I eased up and in those ten meters before the finish line I got passed by Daniel, Joel, Davis, and Curtis to finish eighth.
Cherry Pie Criterium
2/11/07
Pulled
Cat 4s
Field: 80
Teammates: Adam, Alex, Jason, Eric, James
I was dead after the juniors and I didn't eat anything between races so I got pulled with 2 laps to go.
Cherry Pie Criterium
2/11/07
15-20th
Juniors 15-16
Field: 25
Place: 2nd
Teammates: Adam, Alex, Will, Miguel, Trevor, Chris, Alicia
I came into this race hoping that I could win, so I can get off to a good start in the point series.
The race started and I felt really good. I went pretty hard from the line hoping that I could get away with Joel (AMD). After about half a lap it became apparent that he did not want to work so I pulled off the front and settled in around third wheel. I felt really good on the first lap not getting gapped on the corners like I was last year in most crits. On the second lap Davis Bentley (AMD) attacked just before the hill and got a sizeable gap. Joel and Daniel (AMD) did a reasonable job blocking, but I wasn't very concerned. I took a few pulls at the front with Zach Wick (Davis), Andreas (Davis), and Edan (Davis), and within a few laps we had pulled back Davis Bentley. On lap five Adam attacked just before the hill. Joel decided not to jump onto Adams wheel but instead to ramp up the pace gradually. Soon after Adam was caught Miguel attacked with Cody Kaiser. They got a huge gap quickly. I tried to block but AMD and DBC just went around me. The only problem with the break is that neither of the teams AMD or DBC were represented in the break. After a lap of Miguel's attack I actually thought that they would get away, and I began to start looking at who was riding the best and whose wheel I wanted for the sprint. Unfortunately, Zach put in a huge effort at the front and got within striking distance of the break. Sorry Miguel, I should of done more blocking. I thought about attacking as soon as Miguel was caught to keep the pressure on. However, I decided not to because there were only three laps to go and I felt confident in the sprint against anyone but Andreas and Joel. With one lap to go on the top of the hill Edan attacked. I wasn't sure how I was going to catch him without blowing up; to be honest at that point I thought that he had won the race. I decided my best move, if AMD decided not to chase him down immediately, would be to try and get a jump from the group and bridge to Edan. After reaching him I should rest a couple of seconds and then launch an attack. Fortunately, AMD made the move. Joel took it upon himself to bridge the whole group back to Edan. I was very surprised he didn't get Daniel or Davis to bridge the gap because he is by far the best sprinter on the AMD team. After Joel had killed himself I looked for Andreas' wheel; he is the next best sprinter after Joel. I got right on his wheel coming around the last bend. On the final straight everyone was going very slowly, until Andreas attacked from the front of the group. At this point I thought I had the race. In my opinion he went far too soon; in the end I couldn't come around him. He had done just a bit less work than me during the race and that may have made the difference.
Martinez Bayfront Criterium
2/10/07
Category: Juniors
Place: 7th
Field Size: 12-14
Teammates: Andy, Eric, Ye, Miguel
This was my first race of the season so my goal for the race was to get the feel of racing again and try and help my team. The whole team warmed up together and Jason talked about the strategy for the race. He said that since we had nearly half the field we should try to get into breaks. The main competitors from other teams in the race were: Steven Reid (NRL), Logan Loader (major motion? or USA cycling junior development team?), Bryan Larsen (Mako). The course is just a traditional downtown crit with right hand turns on turn 1,2,5,6 and a single left hand turn on turn four.
The race started and nothing really happened the first lap. On the second or third lap Bryan, Andy and Logan somehow got a gap. The group was eventually caught; this is when Andy told me to attack. I did attack but I did it a little half-heartedly and the group caught me. A lap later I tried again, however this time I made sure to put everything I had into it. I got a sizeable gap and Bryan bridged up to me. For the first two laps I worked with him and our gap increased to a point where we couldn't see the group. At this stage, with around 30 minutes still to race, I didn't think I would make it in the break all the way to the finish. After three or four laps Jason yelled out that Andy was trying to bridge the gap. I got to the front and eased up slightly. Bryan figured out what I was doing though as he had heard Jason as well and was quick to pull around me. Half a lap later Andy had bridged up and it was now two on one. This is where I made my big mistake. I kept on pulling through even though I felt close to cracking. Only two laps later I was off the back of the group. This is where I made my second mistake. Instead of trying to keep my pace relatively high I eased up with the intent of being fresh when the field caught me. I should have kept the pressure up because apparently I had a 30 second gap. Three or for laps the field caught me and I just rested for two laps. With eight laps to go I attacked again hoping to make NRL work to bridge up to me. After one lap by myself the race motorcycle official pulled up along side me to tell me that Bryan and Andy had just lapped the field. Apparently Bryan kept the pace high at the front of the field and pulled the whole field back to me again. Nothing really happened until two or three laps to go when Andy and Bryan attacked, this where I made another mistake. The field decided to let them go. I should have tried to keep the field together so we could of helped Andy win his sprint for first. With one lap to go the announcer yelled one lap to go for the leaders which everyone assumed meant one lap to go for Andy and Bryan and two for the field. However, that lap was actually the final lap for the field as well. All of us went very slowly that lap not knowing that in fact that was the bell lap. Ye crossed the line in first for third with the two NRL riders behind him. We continued to race not knowing that in fact the race was already over. Coming around the last turn I was in fourth position and Ye was in second. I sprinted as hard as I could and in the end finished right behind Ye.
At the end of the race I learned that Andy had beaten Bryan in the sprint.
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