2009 Road Racing Reports

Nevada City Classic and Benicia Crit by Bryan Larsen Pro 1/2

Auburn Crit Elite Cat 4 and Masters 4/5 by Jeff Mitchell (domestique)

Rio's are dominating the 4's this year.  To my surprise the left hand turn after the steep down hill was a smooth, fun corner. The course was a lot of fun. The plan in the 4's race was to get Todd the win.  Steve and I worked hard to keep the pace up and safe.  We dropped half the field on the first two laps.  3  guys from Tahoe were making their presence know on the down hill section. They were flying down the hill, creating a gap behind them almost every time.  The uphill section would allow us to catch back on. With two laps to go, I went hard up the start finish hill and opened a gap on the Tahoe boys, I kept the pace up as hard as I could, knowing Todd and Steve were sitting on their wheel.  I made it to the top of the hill just before the down hill before Todd and the Tahoe boys went by me.  They gapped me out on the down hill.  I came around to the sprint and I was alone with a great view of Todd winning the race, I ended up 6th and Steve O 7th. Great race!!!

Auburn Crit Elite Cat 4 By Todd Stone (1st)

This crit was awesome. and thats coming from a guy who hates crits. there wasnt a flat part in this course, it was first a long straight climb that turns into a wicked descent with 4 corners before the finish. it was a small field, (only had 21 guys) but that was for the best because of the nature of the course. jeff and steve were awesome. right from the start they both hit the gas HARD, both leading the field for a good two laps. throughout the race they both took turns attacking, while i had the easy part and just sat on the wheel of the guys chasing them. team cycle path from truckee made an appearance and were giving us a run for our money. they took turns killing themselves downhill, forcing the rest of us to chase them down once the ground kicked back up. by the last lap, it was just a group of 5-6 of us, (thanks to the havoc jeff created the lap before) and accelerated AGAIN up the climb. two cyclepath guys accelerated, and i jumped on. down the descent befor e the not-so scary off-cambor turn, the cyclepath guy getting led out opened up a gap so i jumped into second. coming outta the last corner to the finish the lead out guy blew up as i attacked, and the other couldnt get around me. jeff came in immediately after in 5th or 5th, and steve came in soon after. the guys were great and worked their cahoonies off for me. 5 points in the bag, im six points from a three. we really are becoming a kick ass team this year. way to go rios

Folsom Crit (Sierra Nevada) Elite Cat 5 by David Hassleman (2nd)

Trevor and I raced the Elite 5s on Saturday. The 0.7 mile course was in good condition and the first several laps were fast. Trevor and I rode most of the time in the top half of the pack, but at times I found myself being lazy and just drafting near the back. With 3 laps to go I push to the top 10. With 2 to go I was riding in the top 5 and there was a lot of bumping on the back side of the course (we were lucky nobody went down). On the final lap, I was in 4th spot and front two guys got a 15 yard gap on the group and the guy in front of me blew up. I had a split second to decide if I was going to hit it and catch the guys in front or wait for somebody else to come around me. Just as I was about to hit it, a guy came around me and I caught his wheel. He pulled hard until the final corner and then blew up.....I hit it and passed the 2nd place rider, but had no chance to catch the 1st place rider....I finished in 2nd place.

Power meter data
Average speed - 25.78
Average Watts - 256 watts
Last Lap Data - 490 watt average, 950 peak wattage, 32.5 Max MPH, 30.1 Average MPH

Modesto Crit Masters 4/5 by Rich Tabuso (1st)

Weather man was right, it was nasty hot today!!! Matt B, Shawn O, Derrick N and I did the mst 4/5 race. I thought the course was very similiar to Davis but a little shorter. Race started out fast but slowed as everyone started to feel the effects of the 90+ temp. Halfway through the last lap in a spot where the pace slowed considerable each lap I jumped hard and got a nice gap on all the other old fat farts and managed to stay away for my first win after 20+ attempts. Derrick N was 6th. Matt and Shawn started off strong riding at the front then I lost sight of them as the race progressed. I know Matt had an asthma episode and pulled out, not sure where Shawn ended up.

Wente Road Race Masters Cat 4 by Steve Christiansen (1st)

Wente 35+4's... Jeff, Steve O and I made it to the start line with plenty of time to spare... It was at least 60 seconds before we rolled out after arriving via the course rather than fight the crowd through registration. Good idea Jeff! I hadn't planed on competing for the first lap KOM so I sat in for much of the first lap conserving energy. By the second time up the climb I was on the move to find my place in the front of the group. I found Wells Fargo and Taleo to have big numbers in the front and controlling the race for the most part. When they were content to slow up I'd put some pressure on as Jeff described. I needed to hurt and crack guys without killing our own. From our conversation after the race it would appear that I timed my efforts just right keeping Jeff and Steve O there for most of the race. Up the climb the next to last time it I was on a tall, strong Wells guy and in the red. I saw we had a gap and knew it wouldn't stick with an entire lap to go so I eased up and slid back to the group to once again conserve. Over the top the group was whittled down to maybe 12 or so riders still dominated by Wells and Taleo with a Z team guy or two thrown in for color. Once out on the flats after the decent I was sitting about 8th wheel with a lone Davis pulling a string of Wells and Taleo guys who wouldn't pull around. Enough was enough and pulled up to the front tapping the Davis guy telling him let's go. He caught my wheel and I put the hammer down pulling th group at 37 miles an hour. This split us up quickly but the damage had begun. Davis and I were then alone of the front and agreed to sit up until the right corner leading the the big roller before town. There we put it down again this time joined by the Wells guy I let go up the climb last time around. The three of us traded off most of the way back. I was sitting first wheel with maybe a half mile to the right turn under the freeway when another Wells guys attacked hard. I jumped and was followed by Davis. The new Wells guy pulled off after a short bit and Iwas waiting for the counter attack not realizing that it was just the three of us. Three quickly turned to two as I was not letting up and Wells was done. Davis came around and shortly before the corner we were over taking a group of girls. I yelled to him to get us to the corner befor the girls and he did. Clear of the corner I pulled around, and took a look back. I told Davis it was too soon and lightened up a bit. Then he looked back, they seemed to be letting us go. We decided to keep going smooth steady. Before the final turn up the hill the motorcycle pulled aside and said we had two chasers but he didn't think they would catch us. I told Davis if we make it to the hill we're done 1and 2! At the final corner we came upon a group of 5's. We yelled to clear our way around them and passed then quite quickly. Davis and I traded positions a couple of times up the first section. I was in position for the final section and sat in. I could see he was spinning his second cog, I was in my first so I guessing maybe he had a 27 to my 25. Regardless keeping his wheel was painful. Seeing the Finish Line tent coming around the bend near the top was my que to go. I went around Davis uncontested and motored up the the top. I ended up on the bumper of what I have to assume was a chase vehicle near the the line. Since I was clear it wasn't a problem but could have been If I had to sprint for it. So it ended up Rio 1st, Dvais 2nd and Z Team 3rd. What happened to Wells and Taleo?! All in all another great day on the bike. Hats of to Steve O for not only finishing but beating 71 other guys 4 weeks after his ordeal and on his birthday no less.

Wente Criterium Masters Cat 4 & Elite 4 by Rich Tabuso (DNF/10th)

I did the mst 35+ 4 crit and rode well the entire race and felt strong enough at going into the final sprint to maybe pull out a decent result if I grabbed the right wheel. Unfortunately I grabbed the wrong wheel and ended up amongst a heap of mangled flesh and twisted carbon fiber!!! At least one person got to ride in an ambulance and several others received EMT treatment onsite. My bike also took a beating with most fo the damage going to the Reynolds wheels. I was not registered for the E4 race but Shawn Odom was nice enough to give up his spot so I raced it with a borrowed rear wheel, a twisted front wheel and no front breaks. I also started the race not remembering if I tightened the front scewer after removing the front wheel after crash! Needless to saw I kept a closer eye on my front wheel than I did to the race happening around me. Race was fast and actually safer than the mst 4/5 race ( that is usually not the case ). I stayed near the back the entire race because of my front wheel, with 3 to go I moved to the front and tried to sprint with the young bucks but as usual could not and eneded up 10th. I got to watch young Larsen go past everyone like they were standing still in the last 250 yards.

Wente Criterium Cat 5 Men by David Hasslemann (1st)

I was the only Rio in the Elite 5s at Wente. We had a 7:30 a.m. start, with the temp in the low 40s and a strong (10-15MPH) westerly wind. The first lap was fast, until we made the turn into the wind and the pace dropped down to about 20 mph. I figured this would be a race about saving energy for the finish, so I focus on riding protected from the wind for most of the race. On the fifth lap, a Dachshund Dog (Weiner Dog) ran onto the course and caused at least one rider to crash. I'm not sure what happened to the dog. With two laps to go the pace picked up and I moved up to the front. On the final lap as we headed down the back stretch two riders got a gap on the field. I bridged across and rode their wheels onto the finishing straigth away. With about 250 yards to go (just before the bridge over the creek), I jumped hard and went around the lead two riders and got a gap on the rest of the field. I sprinted hard and got my first win....

Wente Road Race 35+ Cat 4 by Jeff Mitchell (15th)

Wente went well for Rio with a start line of 100 riders. We sent Steve C out of the 4's in style with another win. He has Steve O and me to thank for it, we did so much to help him, ha ha. It was a tough race, especially with Steve C blasting it at the front on the rolling section after the big climb, ouch!!! Steve O was also a stud, looking really good for 4 weeks post surgery. I am not sure how the other Rio's did, but the results were; Steve C. 1st place Jeff M 15th Steve O 29th

Long Beach Cycling Grand Prix Pro 1/2 By Bryan Larsen (23rd place)

Starters: 150-180

Prize money: $10,000-$15,000 (I don't exactly remember...)

Protagonist: Bryan Larsen

Antagonist(s): Rock Racing, Bissell Pro Cycling Team, BMC, OUCH, Jelly Belly, and Fly V

Plot: Race around on a 6 corner downtown criterium course with narrow streets, SUPER tight corners, pot holes, barriers, Cracked pavement, and bumps, bumps, bumps for 80 minutes under the setting sun on a Saturday evening! Oh and a couple thousand spectators watching you do this too. . .

Exposition: attacks from everyone, a couple bridges, and crashes, crashes, crashes. PreClimax: 5 laps to go. Protagonist's Position= 10th. Some break up the road (he thinks) but it was too loud to hear the Announcer to really know. suddenly with 3 laps to go, Bissell sits up and SWARM! Everyone should have known it was going to happen. Especially with the amount of money on the line! CLIMAX: 1 lap to go. A hole opens. Bryan surges and takes it, moving outward another hole opens and Bryan flies up the left side of the road, teasing the curb with his narrow tires that now are whizzing by within inches. Corners 2 and 3 come and he takes a risk, slides left, dives right. 600m to go. Somehow he gets to exactly where he hoped to be, but never really thought he'd be able to do. He looks up and sees the two national champions in front of him, Justin Williams and Rahsaan Bahati. Both ride for rock racing, both are national Criterium Champions in the U23 and Pro Categories, respectively. Needless to say, they were the favorites and everyone wanted to be on their wheels, but NO! Those wheels were Bryan's! even when BMC and BISSELL came up and body chucked him trying to fight for the wheels, he didn't move. and dove into the 2nd to last corner holding tight to their wheels at nearly 38mph. fast, but maybe TOO fast. The outer barrier approached quickly when they took the super tight corner that fast. Bryan locked up, slid his back wheel, and hit the barriers on his left side! He bounced off the barriers only scraping his knuckles and bar tape a little bit. Back onto those wheels! 2 seconds after his near death experience it hits him "HOLY CRAP! DID I JUST BOUNCE OF A BARRIER AT 37MPH?!" No time to muse over this encounter though, there is still racing to be done. After that hard of a race, his sprint was gone. He was able to move up some, but not much, not enough. He crossed the line 14th in the pack. 23rd overall. 6 inches away from 20th which would have earned him $200. Resolution: try not to die while racing. And try to go 6 inches faster so you can take your significant Other out to a nice dinner.

Napa River Velo Grand Prix Cat 3 by Ron Rouse (7th place)

Yes, both Nick and I both got $10, for 30 min, massages after our race and while doing so proceeded to yell at Rich, Derek, and Matt in the 35+ 4 race to "Move Up"... It was pretty funny laying there receiving a massage, right next to the course, while the boyz raced. LOL. What a great day :-) Especially because Nick and I were done with our race.

Were there crashes...yes, but they were all on the 160 "Crazy P" turn, of which I actually liked. The only reason people were crashing were because they were either turning too tight, or because their left pedal was hitting the ground.

The race itself was fast, not once did we all sit up and look at each other...and this was due to the layout of the course, there was simply nowhere to sit up and take a breath, let alone drink from your water bottle. Nick and I both stayed up in the top 15 the entire ra ce other then when a guy went down in front of me while turning in the crazy P section. Well, I rode over his back wheel, and before falling right on top of him, I used some cyclocross skills and unclipped both feet and was able to tiptoe over him and re-mount. Now, from the back of the long single file train of 42 guys I started to work my way back near the front, which took four or five laps due to the course and the fast pace.

Well, as Nick said in his report, with about three or four to go I said "say on my wheel" and then the battle ensued to try and stay in the top five... Anyway I was counting of Jeff Needham of Rocknasium (a very strong rider) to make a mad dash before the Crazy P, of which he did not, which put us about 5-6 guys back from the front before the finishing straight. Oh well... Came in 6th, but was placed 7th (no need to protest since the only paid 5 deep and only were giving upgrade points 5 deep). All in all a wonderful day of racing! And ...it was fun to race with Nick in his first CAT 3 race.

Wards Ferry Road Race Cat 4/5 Men By Steve Christiansen (1st Place)

We had planed on riding conservatively the first 2 laps to let the climbing take its toll and weed out the field. Still we were going to be near the front to respond and cover any threatening attacks. Then if possible we were to start attacking to further weaken the group. Sounded good!

We rolled out hit the course and began the first climb of the day. Sticking to plan Chris and I were 2nd and 3^rd wheel with Todd and Robert close by.  There was a Taleo guy on front doing his best to push the pace. We crested this climb and headed down on a slightly bumpy fast descent. Chris and Robert having raced here before had told us about the descent being bad and at this point I’m thinking this is okay. Eventually we reached a 180 degree hair-pin turn where the real descent began. Okay… This is a one lane, super fast and technical descent on fair pavement. I’m not a great descender and this descent at speed would scare the best of them. The entire way down I could smell my cork brake pads burning as I was trying to feather them and not over heat a tube. About half way down there was a left hand 90 degree turn that I nearly cooked. So much so I remember thinking where can I pitch this bike. Problem was the outside of the turn was a 4’ embankment toped with a barbed wire fence. I made it through with inches of pavement to spare.

At the end of the first lap the entire field was to my knowledge still with us. As we approached the hair-pin turn again I started drifting back not wanting to repeat the first frightful experience down. This would be a mistake! Starting the descent near the back of the entire field had me gapped after a short time and fear of life and limb wouldn’t let me do anything about it. By the time I hit the bottom the group was pretty much gone but every now and then I could see them and given the rolling terrain all was not lost. It took me the entire road leading to the final turn towards the finish to catch back on. I did only to find Todd and Chris still near the front where I was supposed to be. We started dropping guys on the first climb on the third lap. This was nice because our lead group was now less than half of what it was. With the smaller more controlled group and better placing I stayed a lot closer on the descent and didn’t have to chase much to get back on this time around. We probably lost some more guys climbing toward the finish. I crossed the line 1^st wheel starting the final lap and sat up to drink and eat a couple bites. Shortly after a guy yelled pick up the pace, we didn’t and he shot around on the left. The group responded for what was a short lived acceleration and then we settled back into our comfortable pace. Back on the first climb of the course I pulled up next to Todd and asked him if he was ready to work. He said yes and off I went shooting out of the pack. It took a second or two but a small part of the group responded and a guy caught me saying come on let’s go. I sat up and he just looked at me wondering what was up. Once the pack was all together Todd attacked and again the group responded and Todd shut it down. Maybe 10-15 seconds later here goes Chris out the left side and we heard someone say “not again”. Rio Starda was now the only team with multiple riders in the lead group and we were in control of the race. My last time down the descent was by far my best and I was right on the tail end of the group with very little chasing. Once back climbing again with Chris and myself on the front I looked over at him and said stay here. I went up the road with no response so I shut it down and drifted back. Shortly after the final turn toward the finish a guy who we’ll call “Stinky” attacked hard to the left and the group let him go. I thought to myself that’s too soon we still had a long way and a lot of climbing to go. Stinky went up the road maybe 150-200 meters but that was it and we could always see him. We had started to reel him in and at about the 1k marker I pulled around Chris sitting 1^st wheel and said stay with me. I accelerated planning on getting this guy with the group in tow still climbing I heard Chris say go Steve and I was off the front. I passed Stinky on the left and shortly after I heard his bike/chain explode. I wasn’t sure what was wrong and didn’t look back but judging by the sound and the four letter words I knew he was done. Cresting the climb I could see the 200m marker below so back in the big chain-ring and powering down I went. At 200m the road turns up to the finish in a straight shot. I looked over my shoulder at around 150m and saw one rider between me and the pack. I stood and cranked toward the finish with Robert cheering me on the side of the road. This was probably the hardest 200m of my life. I actually thought I might blackout and had to keep spinning after I crossed the line.

It was another great day of racing with the Rio 4’s. Chris and Todd did a great job staying it the mix. Todd must have been in the top 5-10 riders 90% of the race which was an excellent performance given the terrain. He’ll be winning races very soon. We lost Robert on the second lap but he was right there with us up to that point.

In the end we all stayed upright, three of the four of us finished in the top 10 with a 7^th (Chris), 8^th  (Todd) and the win. It was pretty cool over hearing other riders comment about our team and what we did after the race.

Bariani Road Race Elite 5 By Jay Dillion

Mark Stern and I were the only Rio's in this race. It started off sunny & warm and the pack stayed together for the first lap. I was 4th up the KOM and feeling pretty good. There was actually a slight tailwind along the 505 and County Road section, so that part of the course was super easy. The real challenge was the long straight away right after the KOM, and of course the rollers getting to the KOM. One the 2nd lap, a couple of storms rolled through and we were getting soaked with rain, hail and crazy ass wind gusts. The wind pushed one guy right into my front wheel. I kept it upright then proceeded to get the hell out of that crazy pack. It was just crazy windy. I moved to the left and the pack slowed down a bit. I felt great so I took a flyer. Stupid move really (and I knew it), as I burned a lot of energy out there alone in the wind. As I was out there all alone on County Rd 14 I had to lean my bike hard to the left just to keep it upright. I was getting blown all over the place and being pelted by hail and rain. They caught up with me in the rollers, then a small group got away. Then it broke all apart. I saw the Cat 5 chaperone guy pass me, then I knew I was pretty much off the back. I dug deep and grabbed onto whatever wheel I could. I finally got in with a group of about 7 or eight and worked with them all through the final lap. After the KOM only three of us were left. As we made the final left hand turn only two of us were left. I sat on his wheel and zipped past him at the line for 15th place. I just kept telling myself the epic conditions were like racing in Belgium! Overall I had a blast and the crazy weather conditions just made it that much more fun. This was my last race as a 5, so I'll see y'all soon in the 4's!

Bariani Road Race Elite 4 By Steve Christiansen

Today had me racing with a group of our Elite 4’s. This makes two weekends in a row of racing for me and with two great albeit different squads. I don’t think I learned any new lessons today but I definitely had an old standby reinforced. That is position in the pack is crucial or should I say position near the front of the pack. So, thanks to all my teammates and coaches previous and present for helping to instill this in me. Today I told the guys to try and ride conservative for the first 2 laps or so and then turn it up to try and split the field if we had the chance. The first lap was the usual jockeying for position with most guys trying to win on the first lap. I didn’t have a chance at the KOM on the first lap because I was boxed in mid pack. (See the aforementioned position statement.) Once across the line of the KOM I was able to move around everyone because of the lax on the centerline rule. On the second lap once we hit the frontage road which was the crosswind section it started ramping up. I would find out that a big Davis guy was really putting it down. Had I not had the position near the front I would not have been able to make the split and as it was I held on with my teeth at 28-30 mph. So that was it I was in the winning break with between 8-10 riders near the start of the second lap. The next couple of laps we worked well together and every lap the big Davis guy would take huge pulls in the crosswind as we echeloned behind him. We had as much as 1:35 on the chase group at one point but we weren’t about to slow up. This is where I need to say thanks to the Rio 4’s for doing their part to block the pack. Thanks Guys! On the last lap headed toward I-5 one of the guys in the break attacked and I was the only rider to be able to catch his wheel. The two of us motored on working together up until about 1.5K to go. I had moved around him and said I pull to the upcoming corner. He sat on my wheel for a short time, long enough for me to do some work and then he attacked to my left. It took all I had to chase back on but I did and said “okay that’s it, lead me out.” We knew we had 20+ seconds on the next rider so there was no hurry and he slowed quite a bit. With 100m to go he took off. I did all I could to come around him but was a half wheel short at the line. So, today the Elite 4’s earned a second place and a KOM. The KOM really wasn’t contested after I took the second lap so it’s barely worth mentioning although it did help with the payday. I think we had another top 10 finisher but they will have to chime in. All in all another good day of racing. Thanks again to all the guys for the work. they put in.

Land Park Criterium Elite 5 By David Haslemann

We had 5 Rios (Robert Goss, Mark Stern, Blake Formanek, Jake Hensley, and me) in the Elite 5s. I was on the waiting list for the 5s and got into the race at the last minute. I was feeling OK for the first several laps and the pace was slow which helped me get warmed up. I was riding in the top 10 most of the time and tried to get into the turns at the front each time to avoid the rubber band sprints. With 2 laps to go I pushed up to the front and tried to stay sheltered behind riders as they started to move up. On the last lap I was riding in 5th spot and the pace was slowing down as we were going down the back side……Robert Goss came up to the front of the pack and yelled, “Come On Dave”…..I caught his wheel and we proceed to string out the field going into the turns. Coming out of the last turn I asked him to try and take me to the middle of the straight away….Robert rode hard and got me to about 250 meters. I went for the sprint just as we were starting to get surged…..As I started to sprint one rider came up on my right side with one trailer. The first rider got in front of me and the second rider got gapped and started to fall back. I think he tried to get on my wheel, but instead his front wheel hit my rear derailleur, derailleur cable, frame, and back wheel. His wheel took my rear derailleur cable housing to the metal and he ended up going down hard. After a quick look down at my wheel and derailleur, I continued to sprint and ended up in 2nd place….

Land Park Criterium Elite 4s and Junior By Steven Larsen

So I woke up and it was sunny and beautiful in placerville, I am really glad I decided to throw my leg warmers in my bag. Once we got to LP it was cloudy, chilly and windy. I was wait listed for the 4's and eventually got in. I had a short warm up. I felt really bad most of the race, I lost a lot of training earlier in the week when i was sick with something. But anyway, the race was really sketchy in the 4s. People were all over the place. I was considering with about 5 laps to go to just sit in the pack and finish. But I started moving up. On the last lap we picked it up quite a bit. Then in the cikane there was a crash right on the middle line. I had the outside line and was lucky to slip by just barely as the bikes and people came bareling across the road. This created a 20 person split group I was gapped because of the crash, but managed to tag back on. The wind caused the group to swarm. Then I found myself boxed in. The first available place I could slip through I did. Downshifting and flew away. And crossed first. So a Rio win! Nick got 5th I believe Now the Juniors race We had about 39 guys in the race. And with any Juniors race its attack, slow down, attack slow down. I never got out of the saddle to cover attacks. But I was pretty tired from earlier. I ended up missing the winning split. And with about 4 laps to go we caught one of the many lapped riders. He went down and his bike flew up and caught Sam Bolsters bike of Kinectic Cycles Team. He dragged the bike for about 30m as I was right behind him. I was just hoping it didnt fly off and hit me. Luckliy it didnt. But it was some sight to see. Anyway the last 2 laps were nothing but attacks. They were all covered and again I jumped away in the final group sprint for a 5th place. Overall $95 won, not a bad day in the saddle and stayed upright! And got 8 upgrade points. Who can complain!! Good Racing Rios

Madera Stage Race Masters 35+ 4/5 By Gilbert Martinez

TEAM: Small word for big efforts.

An example of team; at the end of the first lap my brand new, superlight , super expensive water bottle cages performed like the barrel of a smooth bore shotgun and launched both my water bottles at the sight of the first section of rough road. Great, now I have 2 ? laps to go and only Velo Promo neutral water support to count on. Not only do I have to hope for clean, algae less bottle, but I have to deal with the cluster of other guys who have lost their water bottles battling to get position at the neutral feed zone. Well, I couldn’t get in position and missed picking up a water bottle, damn it! As the peloton is picking up speed along the fastest section of the course I hear Jeff telling me something, I think he is telling me to move up, so I increase my speed and start filling holes and moving up. Jeff is moving up behind me and still telling me something, so I think he wants me to move him into position for another attack off the front. As I start to kick it up Jeff pulls up next to me and tells me he has a water bottle for me in his back pocket (he had seen my last bottle launch and me miss the neutral zone water and had presence of mind to pick one up for me). This is happening with the first 10 guys watching Steve C out front and the rest of the peloton watching Jeff be the ultimate teammate. Not only did Jeff do this little thing, he stepped up later in that same lap and covered a huge effort by the Colavita teams strongest rider and current stage leader and totally deflated the Colavita riders effort to bridge up to Steve C.

Madera Stage Race Elite Cat 5 By David Haselmann

Dick Coyle, Trevor Cadogan, Blake Formanek and I raced in the Elite 5s at Madera.

Crit

The race started off slow and it stayed that way for the first half of the race. We all were riding near the front of the pack and trying to stay safe. With 3 laps to go there was a bad crash behind us near the start/finish line with several riders going down. The pace picked up with 2 laps and I moved up to the front. On the final lap a Davis rider took off and got about 75 yards on the field. I was sitting on the wheel of a strong VOS rider and waited for him to go as we approached the final turn. Going into the final turn he took off and I was riding his wheel. We caught the Davis rider with 50 yards to go…..The VOS rider went around the Davis rider on the right side and I went around on the left side and he beat me to the line…I finished 2nd and the other Rios finished in the top 20.

TT

I went into the TT with the thought that I just wanted to survive and not get passed by another rider. Steve Offerman let me borrow his TT helmet. Not only did it make me look faster, but it probably shaved 10-20 seconds off my time (Thanks again, Steve). We figured that Dick would have a good TT and we would have a guy in the top 3 of the GC at the end of the day. Trevor, Blake and Dick went off before me. When I got up to the start line, I was about ready to go when they held me up to account for the two riders in front of me that did not show up for the TT (so I had 1:30 second gap to the rider in front of me). I rode smooth and measured my effort…As I was making the last turn into the finish line, I looked at my computer and saw that I had 0.4 miles to go…..I ramped it up and started hammering…..about 0.2. miles later I saw the 1K sign….after doing some quick math in my head, I realized the course was going to be longer than 10 miles (actual distance was 10.44 miles)……I finished the TT time in 8th place with a speed of 24.1 miles/hour and a time of 26:01. Dick finished the TT in 2nd Place with a time of 24:00, behind the 1st place Sugar/CRM guy that had a time of 22:38 (Cat 2-3 pace). Trevor and Blake finished strong in the 28 minute timeframes.

RR

We had our game plan going into the road race, which was to protect Dick as much as we could and get a top three GC finish…Everything was smooth and slow for the first two laps…The only events were some lost water bottles and flats on the bad section of the road…On the final lap the pace picked up and there were several attacks. Blake did an excellent job covering several of them. The GC leader got away with the GC 3rd place rider a couple of miles before the bumpy section….We started to pick up the pace and with 5 miles to go the Rio train moved up to the front to see if we could pull back the two guys. Trevor, Blake, Dick and I took turns pulling the group, with the help of one of the Davis riders….We ended up catching the GC 3rd place rider with a couple of miles to go and we got Dick to the final climb with the front pack. Dick and I finished with the main pack and Blake and Trevor finished with the second group. Depending on time bonus, Dick should end up in 2nd place overall. We had a great race and we worked well as a team…

Menlo Park Grand Prix Elite Cat 4 - By Nick Oliver

The Cat 4 race was at 4pm today. A bit unusual but glad I had the extra time to recover from the Davis ride yesterday. The race was your typical 4's race without a crash! Multiple surges on each lap, riders endangering each other through every turn, you know... My goal was to stay in the top third of the group throughout the race then find the Third Pillar guys on the final two laps for the ride into the finish. That sorta worked, except team TP wasn't feelin it I guess so I hopped on the wheel of the Chico Corsa guys and ended up 7th. Long 1.7mile course, massive headwind on the backside straight and a tail wind that pushed me to a 38mph sprint finish. Overall good race! 3 more pts to upgrade to 3's...

Snelling Road Race Elite Cat 5 Scott Ubrick

My first road race. Trevor, Blake and I represented Rio. Per Trevor's plan, the goal was to stay up front, out of trouble, let others do the work and watch for breaks with more than one team member in them. No breakaways, and we all did a good job of handling the accelerations out of turns, Trevor did a great job keeping us in check and Blake proved to be very strong, frequently to be found sitting up in the 5 thru 10 slot though he did go all cyclocross on us around one turn, but recovered quickly. Before the last turn, Trevor got boxed in but pointed out that if I could get to the right, I could poach the inside line of the last turn and be set up for the spint. I did, his advice worked great and in the last straight I was sitting 10th or 12th ready to hammer. At this point, as I can best recall, a rider slung past me, shooting into the non existent gap in front of me, taking out my front wheel. I went down hard with 250 yards to go, hit the pavement, breaking my hand. Remarkably, given the squirrlyness of the group the last lap, only one other Davis rider went down at this point. Trevor stopped to make sure I was still in one piece and helped my up so I could ride across the finish line.

Snelling Road Race - Elite Cat 4 By Nick Oliver

What a great day to be racing on Rio Strada! We all got ready together, rolled to the start together and raced as planned together. Great efforts by eveyone yesterday! Jeff emphasized how important it was for us to all stay toward the front for the entire race, which we did, and to make ourselves known... We all worked hard to accomplish this! If anyone didn't do what they were supposed to it was me. On the 2nd or 3rd lap I got a bit anxious to make something happen and went out front on an effort to 1, pick the pace up and 2 see how everyone was feeling and warm up my legs a bit. The problem is that I spent the match that should have been for the final sprint. Good race though! I just got home from the crit in Merced I attempted today. On the 2nd lap my leggs said no while my brain was saying GO! I just didn't have it after yesterdays effort. Thank you guys for doing the 4's race instead of the Master 4's. It was good to have a strong team of 9 in the race...

Cherry Pie Crit Race Report from David Haslemann - Elite 5

Zack and I raced in the Elite 5s.  I took up a position on the left side of start line, in order to take advantage of the sweeping right hand turn at the bottom of the hill. I had a good start and went into the first turn in the top 5 and proceeded to stay up front for the first two laps. As we reached the hill on the second lap, two guys took off and got a gap on the front of the pack.  They stayed away for a couple of laps, but were eventually reeled in by the pack. I continued to stay in the top 10 most of the race and got great encouragement from all the Rios at the race (Thanks!!).  With 5 laps to go there was a small crash going up the hill on the right side as guys got pinched into the curb…. Steve Larsen had recommended that we stay on the left side going up the hill, which helped me avoid many of the blow ups and that crash.  The pace picked up on the final two laps.  I pushed to the front with one lap to go and proceeded to stay in the second position going around the final lap. As we came to the bottom of the hill, the guy in front of me blew up and I was alone at the front. I rode hard up the hill, but got passed by two guys just before the finish. I finished 3rd (my first podium).

Cherry Pie - Steven Larsen CAT 4 Race

I woke up this morning and my legs felt like jello. Even when i started warming up i wasnt feeling so hot. On the start line i had good position it was especially nice because of the downhill start. I started the first couple laps in the top 5 positions just enough to be tucked out of the wind. I started drifting to mid pack and stayed there for a while. After having been giving instructions by big bro aka Bryan Larso at 5 laps to go i started moving up. Approaching 2 laps to go i got boxed in on the hill. But some team swift Juniors launched an attack, i jumped on that train. That streched the field out single file and i got my positions back. With one lap to go i came up the hill a little tired but in ideal position. We flew on the last lap and i thought i was going to get shelled but hung in there. I dove into the second to the last corner, i had never taken a turn so hard. I came into the chicane. And just as Bryan said everyone went to the right side, i stayed to the left and started down shifting. Bang, bang. I got into that bullet position and flew passed several guys. I came down to me and one other guy. I ran out of gears and he took me by about a bike length. It was a respectable finish on his part and now he is joining rio...Overall a great race!! Plus the pie was really tasty!!

Cherry Pie Race Report from Tracy Muegge

Sorry to say I raced probably the best Cherry Pie Race I have raced in years. However, the 45 + field was packed with great riders. I hoped for a top ten placing but all I could muster was 19th. You should know, Joe Rodgers from Morgan Stanley, former Olympic Candidate, 16th, Peter Allen 13th. Take a look at the names in top ten when the results come up on line. I thought I was at the Master's National Crit Championships. Wow, what a fun race. I was able to move in the field to the front as needed, but just couldn't out sprint these guys to the top of the hill. Brian Hitchman raced hard, was a good teammate ended 29th I believe. I rode the 35+ for the exercise.

Cal Aggie Crit Race Report from David Haslemann – Masters 35+ 4/5

We had several Rios in the 35+ 4/5s. I was riding middle to the back of the pack for the first part of the race.  On the 4th or 5th lap, going into the first “S” turn there was a crash as a guy clipped his pedal on the ground and took out the rider next to him.  I tried to pass them on the inside, but they ran in front of me and I had to come to almost a complete stop.  I spent a lot of energy to catch up to the pack and then proceeded to hang on for the rest of the race.  I finished with the main pack somewhere in the 50s.

Cal Aggie Crit Race Report from David Haslemann – Elite 5 

Trevor and I showed up early and got warmed up in front of the club house at the golf course. We had 7 Rios in the race and we worked together on certain laps.  My goal was to ride up front, but I got shuffled back during the middle of the race.  After watching a guy in front of me skid in sideways into the first “S” turn, I moved back up to the top ten and stayed there the rest of the race. Passing on the back side of the course before the first “S” was the key for me in the race.  Two guys went off the front in the middle of the race and were able to get a big gap on the field. I thought about trying to bridge over to them, but thought they would eventually get pulled in.  They ended up staying away and taking first and second. The rest of us were racing for 3rd going into the final lap.  Just before the first “S” turn on the back side, I was riding in 10th spot and there was a big crash behind me as somebody yelled “hold your line”, which was followed by #$$%##$#@$, and then the sound of bikes hitting the road. I came out of the last turn in 10th spot and was able to finish in 8th. I got some great pointers from Brian Hitchman on sprinting, which will be helpful in future races.