mcdowell mountain circuit race
07/February/2010 13:03
Lot's of news as we are well into the racing season. Congratulations to Drew Albert who has moved from Junior last year up through the Cat 3 ranks and because of his recent race performance earned enough points to be awarded Cat 2 status! So, far this year, Drew has won two races, second in one and fourth in one!
The McDowell Mountain Circuit race is now in the record books and all of our riders worked through what could have been a very difficult day. It rained, rained, rained early in the morning, drizzled at the start of the race series and turned into a pretty good day leaving the racers to deal with only wet roads and some mud.
The first race of the day included Mary Jane Colson and Jerri Manley (Womens 4 and Masters). Yes, they were the first race of the day and were there in the dark warming up as it still drizzled rain. Both Mary Jane and Jerri learned a lot from their first race two weeks ago and were ready to go from the start. In spite of a lot of team tactics and greater experience, Jerri fought on and did not get dislodged from the fast pace until the last two laps in spite of the fact that there were two Cat 2 women in the field keeping the pace high. Mary Jane started out fast but had her contact lense slip in her eye and her race was over soon after the start. Based on recent training sessions, both women are improving really fast and will be contesting the sprints in no time.
Chris Colson raced in the Cat 5 men, his third race of his career, and he showed a whole new level of maturity and fitness that does not reflect the long hours at his job and short bike racing experience. He had no problem with the pace, moved through the pack at will and actually broke away with another rider on the last lap. They were caught before the final corner before the sprint which resulted in a place in the pack but his attack shows that he is ready for a podium finish this year.
The Cat 4 field included our very own Jeff Biever. He was relaxed throughout the race and finished comfortably in the bunch sprint.
The junior field once again topped previous years' numbers in both quality and quantity. Fresh from a Strada 1-2-3-5 junior finish last week, our juniors were out to keep the podium positions filled with Strada jerseys. A solo 18 year old break was left to go alone since the oldest of our juniors in the field is in the 15-16 age group and a furious battle took place from beginning to end. The attacks splintered the group leaving riders all over the course. Last week's winner, Sean Biever, was not feeling as he would have liked and was dropped from the shrinking lead group. Michael LaNue had come off the front group and was battling in another group that included riders who have been very competitive in the senior races. Nick Thorpe had a plan and controlled the group to make sure his plan worked his way. He easily won the final sprint continuing his record of wins in the final dash to the line. Close behind him was Don Henley who was involved in a photo finish controversy to decide second place...it was so close the officials needed to rely on the photo finish camera. Don was eventually awarded a great third place finish in just his second crit! Congrats to both Nick and Don for their 1-3 finish!
Lionel Space wore the Strada colors in another tough 50+ race that was filled with attack after attack. As usual, Lionel had his race planned to the last detail and there he was on the inside leading at the 200 meter to go point! He finished just off the podium. Another great race by Lionel.
Rick Giordano once again competed in the 40+ Masters race and was comfortably in the pack awaiting the sprint until he suffered a mechanical problem....and his race was over. You can imagine his frustration since he is known as Mr. Meticulous in his tech preparation! He will be back...
Finally, Drew Albert competed late in the afternoon against the Cat 3 men after his tired team mates left for home. As he has in all of his past events, he rode a commanding race and his finish resulted in a fourth place today...his first time off the podium this year!
The McDowell Mountain Circuit race is now in the record books and all of our riders worked through what could have been a very difficult day. It rained, rained, rained early in the morning, drizzled at the start of the race series and turned into a pretty good day leaving the racers to deal with only wet roads and some mud.
The first race of the day included Mary Jane Colson and Jerri Manley (Womens 4 and Masters). Yes, they were the first race of the day and were there in the dark warming up as it still drizzled rain. Both Mary Jane and Jerri learned a lot from their first race two weeks ago and were ready to go from the start. In spite of a lot of team tactics and greater experience, Jerri fought on and did not get dislodged from the fast pace until the last two laps in spite of the fact that there were two Cat 2 women in the field keeping the pace high. Mary Jane started out fast but had her contact lense slip in her eye and her race was over soon after the start. Based on recent training sessions, both women are improving really fast and will be contesting the sprints in no time.
Chris Colson raced in the Cat 5 men, his third race of his career, and he showed a whole new level of maturity and fitness that does not reflect the long hours at his job and short bike racing experience. He had no problem with the pace, moved through the pack at will and actually broke away with another rider on the last lap. They were caught before the final corner before the sprint which resulted in a place in the pack but his attack shows that he is ready for a podium finish this year.
The Cat 4 field included our very own Jeff Biever. He was relaxed throughout the race and finished comfortably in the bunch sprint.
The junior field once again topped previous years' numbers in both quality and quantity. Fresh from a Strada 1-2-3-5 junior finish last week, our juniors were out to keep the podium positions filled with Strada jerseys. A solo 18 year old break was left to go alone since the oldest of our juniors in the field is in the 15-16 age group and a furious battle took place from beginning to end. The attacks splintered the group leaving riders all over the course. Last week's winner, Sean Biever, was not feeling as he would have liked and was dropped from the shrinking lead group. Michael LaNue had come off the front group and was battling in another group that included riders who have been very competitive in the senior races. Nick Thorpe had a plan and controlled the group to make sure his plan worked his way. He easily won the final sprint continuing his record of wins in the final dash to the line. Close behind him was Don Henley who was involved in a photo finish controversy to decide second place...it was so close the officials needed to rely on the photo finish camera. Don was eventually awarded a great third place finish in just his second crit! Congrats to both Nick and Don for their 1-3 finish!
Lionel Space wore the Strada colors in another tough 50+ race that was filled with attack after attack. As usual, Lionel had his race planned to the last detail and there he was on the inside leading at the 200 meter to go point! He finished just off the podium. Another great race by Lionel.
Rick Giordano once again competed in the 40+ Masters race and was comfortably in the pack awaiting the sprint until he suffered a mechanical problem....and his race was over. You can imagine his frustration since he is known as Mr. Meticulous in his tech preparation! He will be back...
Finally, Drew Albert competed late in the afternoon against the Cat 3 men after his tired team mates left for home. As he has in all of his past events, he rode a commanding race and his finish resulted in a fourth place today...his first time off the podium this year!