CCCX #1- A True Classic

As the rain kept dropping, CCCX X-C #1 turned into a true classic MTB race. Those who finished displayed character and determination and deserve respect. This was a race where it would have been all too easy to stop, quit, or not race at all. The ones who raced, persevered, and continued to fight to the finish on the demanding course are all hard Nor-Cal bicycle racers!

GT Dirt Coalition's Keith DeFiebre.....
Jeremy Loader....

Fusion Sport's Nick Hanni.....

Mark Faulkner of team Joselyn's/Burnham Coaching.....

Content Work's Danny McNaughton......

Menso DeJong- Pro/Expert winner....

Gary D'Aluisio.....

HRS/Rock Lobster rider Alex Work....

Cal Giant Inc. powered Casey O'brien....

Equipment was tested fully..........

Tim Sawyer of team Bicycle Trip/Team Symantec.....

James Lopez of team Joselyn's/Burnham Coaching.....

Team Specialized/Team Chico rider Corey Ward.........

Miles Niessier of team Arts Cyclery/Bionicom......

Expert 19-34 winner Brian Butler of team Joselyn's/Burnham Racing....

Classic race- Classic finish.....

CCCX XC #1- Ft Ord. 2/15/09

Tuff conditions on equipment and riders ruled the day......
Nor-Cal High School MTB racing- Stefen Sullivan....

Amber Frymier........

Salinas High's Samuel Nuki........

Monterey's Brandon Wehman....

Eric Ellis.....

Coach Mark Kintz warms up his squad.....

CCCX #1 at FT. Ord produced some outstanding racing action with well deserved winners in all divisions. The race course was peppered with constant rain and and off throughout the day. This made for some technical racing on a slippery track that featured many power sapping sections. Most of the trails held up well during the first races held at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. However, the Expert/Pro race which was contested last on the day, became a true battle of attrition for the riders. "Epic" could describe the hard racing that hit the riders going at it on a course that faced constant rain. Slide outs and equipment issues became common place in the wet conditions. Some riders could not finish, others came in one by one, all with a story to tell......

Full results here... http://www.cccx.org/mtb/2009/race1/index.shtml

Rick Rasmussen's photos here... http://bikeguy.smugmug.com/2009%20CCCX%20MTB%20Race%20Series/718369

Division winners on the day-

PRO/EXPERT WOMEN- Jamie Stamps- Another Bike Shop

PRO/SEMI-PRO MEN- Menso DeJong- Santa Cruz Bicycles

EXPERT 18 & under- Tylor Giger- Salinas H.S. Cowboy Racing

EXPERT 19-34- Brian Butler- Joselyn's/Burnham Racing

EXPERT 35-44- Alexander Rouch- Joselyn's/Burnham Racing

EXPERT 45-54- Scott Calley- VOS/Cycles Gladiator

EXPERT 60+ - Jeffrey Linder- Plus 3 Network.com

PRO/EXPERT SINGLE SPEED - Eric Thunstrom- SCCCC/Team Santa Cruz

SPORT 18 & under - Stephen Crowley- Cowboy Racing

SPORT MEN 19-34- Joseph Brody- Beaver Racing

SPORT MEN 35-44 - Frank Pinto- Joselyns

SPORT MEN 45-55- Jim Werle- Sterling Sports Group

SPORT MEN 55+ - Joseph Crabtree- Forest Hill Bike Shop

SPORT SINGLE SPEED- Tom Biggs- Ghost Tree Racing

CLYDESDALE- Daymon Prewitt- Me

SPORT WOMEN 34 & under- Sofia Gomez Villafane- Los Gatos H.S. MTB

SPORT WOMEN 35-44- Jen Lucia- SCCCC

SPORT WOMEN 45+- Sue Lovecchio- Velo Bella

JUNIOR MEN 14-18 - Nick Casaccia- Famiily Cycling

BEGINNING MEN 19-34 - Nathan Cuifford- Mountain View

BEGINNING MEN 355-44- Eric Ellis- Nipomo

BEGINNING MEN 45-54 - Bob Daw- WheelAway Cycle Center

JUNIOR MEN 13 & under - Jake Carrade- San Rafael

BEGINNING WOMEN 19+ - Thea Stein - Velo Girls

JUNIOR WOMEN 18 & under - Olivia Hays- Monterey Bay KingFishers

Cherry Pie Crit.- Napa- 2/08/09

The Cherry Pie Crit. held in Napa had some fantastic racing in all divisions. The race action produced some very outstanding photos of Nor-Cal road racers having at it. There is a plethora of photos to view here... http://wordpress.ncncaracing.com/?p=178

Results can be found here.... http://www.ncnca.org/road/

Thanks goes out to the EAGLE CYCLING CLUB and EAGLE RACING TEAM for hosting this event.

The photos selected below are from Nor-Cal photographer extraordinary Paul Doran, who's work can be seen here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/vicarioussojourn/sets/72157613579168798/
ProMan Pro Women putting out some power.....
Briggs time........

Cal Giant in full flight.....

Z Teamer....

BMC on the front....

A special-IZED attack....

A version of Dean Meyer's and Trent Klasna's super tuck...

Fine form LOOK.....

Master's early break attempt.....

Nolan backed up his Early Bird Crit. win with a Cherry Pie win.....

Wells Fargo going at it.....

Hutch.....

Total Body Fitness MTB Series Race #1- Folsom- 2/08/09

Race #1 of the TBF Series went off this past Sunday at Folsom Lake's Granite Bay area. This years course was similar to past race routes. However the laps did not go past the parking area and there was a lap junction some 100 yards out on course away from the parking/reg. area. The trails were in perfect shape, and recent rains made the dirt traction very grippy and extremely fast.

Here is a link to all the days results......

http://www.tbfracing.com/results/results/2009/mtbchallenge1/mtbchallenge1_OVERALL.html

Here is the top 5 Men's Pro/Expert times.....

1. Matthew Obregon 20-29 Expert 1:40:36

2. Nate Byrom Pro 1:42:57

3. Clint Claassen 20-29 Expert 1:43:17

4. Chris Schulze 30-39 Expert 1:43:43

5. Keith DeFiebre 40-49 Expert 1:44:24

Here is the top 5 Women's Pro/Expert times.....

1. Jaime Stamps 30-39 Expert 1:58:53

2. Shayna Powless 19&Under Expert 2:00:56

3. Katherine Pollard 19&Under Expert 2:04:23

4. Kate Riedell 20-29 Expert 2:07:11

5. Meiling Yee 40-49 Expert 2:09:35

Photos can be found here.....

http://www.jamesprattphotography.exposuremanager.com/g/february_08_2009brnbspnbspmtb_challenge_1

Next stop on the Nor-Cal MTB Tour is CCCX Series Race #1

http://www.cccx.org/

Thanks to the TBF crew for putting on a fun race in Folsom!

Cal Aggie Crit- 1/31/09

The Cal Aggie Crit. produced some very excellent racing exploits. The days racing benefited from the outstanding weather during the event, and the UC DAVIS race team did a fine job in hosting one of Nor-Cal's season opening road events. All the divisions had very full fields. Even the nearby Golfers, who had to wait for the packs of riders to fly by in order to cross the road to get to their next Golf hole, were impressed by the speed and the tight racing at hand. More local parks throughout Northern California, such as Land Park, should allow cycling races such as this....

Thanks~ UC DAVIS CYCLING TEAM....
http://www.ucdaviscycling.com/


UC Davis riders had a fine day at the park......

Keith DeFiebre....
UC Davis Nils Johnson digging in....

Colavita focus.....

Proman on BMC in the drops....

Code 3 power surge......

Solid effort Jerrold Oser .....

SJBC giving chase during the Master's race....

Master's 1/2/3 field.....

Cal Aggie Crit action Gregg Betonte .....

Peter Nicholson....

Cal Aggie Crit. racing....

Large fields made the racing very fast during the day.....

Early Bird Crit. Final - 2/01/09

Nor-Cal's Early Bird Crit Action......
Top 10 Cat. 1/2/3 Race~
1. Larry Nolan- Specialized Racing
2. John Wilk- Sierra Pacific Racing
3. Jan Diemont- Webcor
4. Randy Bramblett- Village Peddler
5. Brian Laird- Labor Power
6. Tyler Brandt- HDR p/b Lombardi Sports
7. Keith DeFiebre- HDR p/b Lombardi Sports
8. John Bergmann- Team Clif Bar
9. Paul Penn- Wells Fargo
10. Billy Hudak- SixFifty Racing

Top 3 Women's 1/2/3
1. Liza Rachetto - MB Cycles
2. Jennifer Van Muckey - SugarCRM
3. Lindsay Myers - SugarCRM

It was a picture perfect day for the final Early Bird Crit. event for 2009. The wind was down and the racing was fast & very competitive in all the groups on the day. The success of the Early Bird race sessions was displayed by the extremely large fields in all categories. The 1/2/3 race had nearly 100 riders fighting out placings. For that final, Pat Briggs(Cal Giant Inc.) ramped up the pace on the last lap providing a perfect opportunity for powerfully built Larry Nolan(Specialized) to sprint to the win.

A special thanks goes out to all the instructors who take great care in teaching safe riding to everyone in the early season. And a big thanks to VeloPromo and Bob Liebold for getting the whole thing going!
http://www.velopromo.com/

Ride Safe! Have Fun!

Around 100 riders contested to 1/2/3 race making for a very long line of cyclists when the speeds picked up.....

Large fields were the norm on the day..........
Blue Sky made for a awesome day in Fremont.....

It was very fast at the front....

Lombardi's David Nelson leads the group thru turn #1.....

Specialized tried to set up Larry Nolan in the end......