Sierra Pacific Racing Team

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Santa Rosa p1/2

Was hoping to do Pine Flat with the guys but had other obligations but did manage to get out for Santa Rosa (lot closer to home).

P1/2 had a small field of 30, and the wind was picking up so I figured it would be hard. Pretty early a break of four developed with Jared (Jittery Joe's/2007 U23 State Road Champ), Halloway, Parks, Rand Miller (I think). They got a good gap and were gone a long time before I started to work hard with CalGiant and BPG to reel them back in. It took a while but we got them. I bridged to them when we had them close in hopes of reviving it, but they were done.

The group stayed together for the end, Hernandez took a flyer but no one chased. I was sitting pretty in fourth wheel or so for the last four laps and was feeling good. Jared attacked with one to go and I decided to gamble on him. He took me clear for a 30 yd gap with a half lap to go. He let me through to take a pull with 600 yrds to go and I gladly did, but then he was gone! I was alone and tried to make it but the lead train caught me with 50 yds to go or so. I held on for 8th.

I put my report on the 35+ in my blog.

Pine Flat Road Race

First off I want to thank the team for riding a great race! Without them I wouldn't have done as nearly as well. The race started out pretty melllow. There wasn't really any attacks on the way to the turnaround. After the turnaround some guys started attacking and a group of 5 guys rolled off the front. With a long way to go and the toughest part of the race towards the end we didn't panic. The goal was not to bring back the break as soon as possible, because then another attack would have gone. So Brian, Tim, Eric and Coby went to the front and rode tempo to keep the break within striking distance, while I just sat in and was protected by the group. At this point I was starting to feel a little uneasy, because if I didn't ride well then I would be ruining it not only for myself, but also for my teamates. Everbody was sacrificing themselves for me to get a result. I was praying that I had legs on the climb! The boys reeled the break back on watts valley just before it started to get hilly. On the first roller a guy from the Cliff Bar team attacked and me and Ozzie from Cal Giant went with him. We quickly got a gap and started working together. We got to the wild cat climb together and then Ozzie fell off. Me and the cliff bar guy kept going and when we got to the steep section he started to fall off. I went hard about half way up and then decided that it probably would be best to wait, because I could see Jesse from Cal Giant coming and it was still to far to solo to the finish. The last part I took it easy and he caught me just as I had crested the top. We started working together, but then he stops and says he has a teamate coming. A group of 3 were chasing with ken Hanson from Cal Giant. They finally catch on and the group didn't work well at all, the strawberries would attack and nobody wanted to work. We fooled around for a little bit and then another 5 guys bridge to the group with another strawberry guy. At this point the group was not cooperative and strawberry started attacking. We were getting close to the finish and I threw down an attack just before the main climb and Jesse and Ken Hanson came with me from Strawberry. Not exactly the ideal situation, but better then fighting it out with 8 other guys. We got to the last climb and they started to tag team me. I covered the attacks, but when we made the turn with 200 meters to go I just didn't have a whole lot left. I sprinted as hard as I could but came up short and got 2nd. I road well and it was a complete team effort! Next up Snelling.

Vince

Monday, February 18, 2008

Dinuba 35+

And my thanks to the men in blue for helping me to win the 35+ race.

We tried to get 2+ guys into breaks for the first 3/4 of the race but they didn't hold, with Paulsen, Bennett, and others reeling them all back in, or at least bridging in a way that wasn't beneficial to us.

Brian tried another tactic, with us all going to the back for a bit to see what would sort out. Two guys went up the road with 10 to go and got a big gap with no one chasing. I gave a chase and Reid from VOS came with. One guy was cooked by the time we got there, and I was satisfied to mostly sit on while they took me to the last turn. Put on some burners to be sure of the win.

Brian also took 2nd in the field sprint for a 5th overall. A good showing.

Dinuba Elite Race

First, I would like to thank the men in blue for thier efforts today in the 1/2 race.

Three hours after racing the masters race, we pinned up for the elite race. With 30min to go before the start, many of us were a little on the filp-side for the elite race. Words like "my legs feel like @#$%", "Ah man, this race is over twice as long as the masters!" and "Vinny, you and Joel cover everything in the beginning we'll be hangin' out in the back." could be heard.

The whistle blew and we're off. I clicked in and sprint for the first turn. Come out of it third and a guy is driving it at the front. The first lap down and the next guy keeps it going. I looked back in the second corner and see a gap. We had six guys in the group and one is Eric E. This looked good for us, so I go to the front and kicked it up a bit. Our group of six worked well for a few laps, with help from Aaron (BPG) and Jon (VOS). We got a big gap fast, as the rest of the field just sat up. I had a chat with the Cal Gaint rider, to get him to do something but he was happy with sitting in and that must have been contagious because now nobody wanted to work with Eric and I. Because this was a great move for us, I stayed at the front for at least the next 6 laps. I didn't want anyone from the pack to bridge up to us and change our odds.

About half way into the race we could see what was left of the field ahead. I went for a prime and tried to jump across to the pack. The team saw me coming and kicked into overdrive. Good move guys. But it didn't work and all six in the breakaway were still together. Tim, Coby and Vinny stayed at the front the rest of the race and kept Eric and I safe from all attacks. Joel went off the front solo with 20+ laps to go and as he put it "That was the hardest 7th place I've ever raced for."

The last few laps saw a couple attacks from Jon (VOS) and one last try to deny us a victory came from the Cal Giant duo on the last lap. Coby and Vinny covered them and gave me a fast wheel to come out of the final turn with nothing but the finishline ahead.

Sierra Pacific gets the win and to make it even better, Eric the "pocket rocket" got second!
1-2 NICE!

Thanks guys!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Cherry Pie

Eric E aka "Pocket Rocket" jumped into a nine man break Sunday and was never seen again. The boys road great in Napa and we are definitely happy with the outcome.

With a full field of 100 riders, there was no shortage of talent as we saw the pace pick up to levels we haven't seen in a few months. It was certainly a great way to knock the cobwebs out from the legs.

Our guys were very active from the start and Joel and John were busy covering moves and atacking off the front. Eric soon jumped in and found the perfect mix of riders. Along with Lucas Euser, Jackson Stewart, Todd Hennings, Justin Devon, Brian Bucholz and others, the break was soon up a minute and we never saw them again.

The pace at times seemed the break was destined to be caught. With Fast Freddy and others taking their turn at the front, I was confident we'd catch but thankfully no since all I could really do for the first 30 minutes was watch what was going on in front of me.

The break ended up with an uphill drag race to the finish with Jackson taking the win followed by Lucas, Todd, then Eric for 4th.

Brian ended up taking the field sprint for 10th by several bike lengths.

Anyway, I couldn't be more happy with the way the team road this weekend. We trully have a great bunch of guys amd I'm looking forward to a great year!