Team Swift Race Reports (March)
Race Reports for:
1. Land Park Criterium
2. Bariani Road Race
3. San Dimas Stage Race
4. Madera Stage Race
5. Turlock Road Race
6. UC Berkeley Criterium
7. Grasshopper-Chileno Valley
8. MTB Races #2 & #3
9. Sonoma MTB Race Series #1
10. Del Sol Stage Race
March Top Results:
1st Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14 Gianni Lamperti
1st Place Land Park Criterium Junior W. 11-12 Isabella Brunner
1st Place Land Park Criterium-Most Aggressive Rider Award Ryan Clarke
1st Place Sonoma Race Series #1 Sport male <35 Luke Lamperti
1st Place Del Sol Stage Race Juniors W. 10-12 Isabella Brunner
2nd Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5 Brad Butterfield
2nd Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14 Luke Lamperti
2nd Place Sonoma Race Series #1 Sport male <35 Gianni Lamperti
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, Crit Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, Crit Senior Category 4/5 Tomás Saldaña-Mitre
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, TT Senior Category 4/5 Tomás Saldaña-Mitre
3rd Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14 Isaiah Chass
3rd Place NorCal MTB Race #2 Sophomore boys D2 Cassidy Mountjoy
4th Place Bariani Road Race Senior Category 3 Ben Cook
4th Place NorCal MTB Race #3 Sophomore boys D2 Cassidy Mountjoy
5th Place Land Park Criterium Senior Category 3 Ryan Clarke
5th Place Land Park Criterium Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
5th Place Bariani Road Race Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
5th Place NorCal Race #2 Freshman Ben Cook
5th Place Madera Stage Race, RR Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
5th place Turlock Lake Road Race Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
6th Place San Dimas Stage Race,Crit Juniors 17-18 Ryan Clarke
7th Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5 Gianni Lamperti
7th Place NorCal Race #3 Varsity Eli Kranefuss
8th Place San Dimas Stage Race,Crit Juniors 15-16 Ben Cook
8th Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5 Luke Lamperti
8th Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14 William Stark
9th Place San Dimas Stage Race,RR Juniors 15-16 Ben Cook
9th Place San Dimas Stage Race,GC Juniors 15-16 Ben Cook
10th Place San Dimas Stage Race,TT Juniors 17-18 Ryan Clarke
10th Place San Dimas Stage Race,TT Juniors 15-16 Ben Cook
10th Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14 Esteban Ramirez
10th Place NorCal Race #2 Varsity Eli Kranefuss
11th Place Madera Stage Race, Crit Senior Category 3 Ryan Clarke
14th Place San Dimas Stage Race,GC Juniors 17-18 Ryan Clarke
14th Place Madera Stage Race,G.C. Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
15th Place Madera Stage Race, TT Senior Category 3 Ryan Clarke
16th Place UC Berkeley Criterium Senior Category 4/5 Tomás Saldaña-Mitre
19th Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18 Cat 4/5 Emmet Pfau
20th Place Madera Stage Race,TT Senior W. Cat 4 Emily Abraham
25th Place San Dimas Stage Race,RR Juniors 17-18 Ryan Clarke
26th Place San Dimas Stage Race TT Juniors 17-18 Jonathan Gunning
32nd Place Grasshopper-Chileno Valley Open Ben Cook
34th Place San Dimas Stage Race,RR Juniors 17-18 Jonathan Gunning
37th Place Land Park Criterium Senior Category 5 Tomás Saldaña-Mitre
Rider Race Reports
1. Land Park Criterium 3/15/14 Sacramento
Ryan Clarke
5th Place Land Park Criterium Senior Category 3
1st Place Land Park Criterium-Most Aggressive Rider Award
Land Park is always a fun race and since it’s not too far from home I drove myself there so my parents had a break from driving me to races. I didn’t anticipate the amount of people that were there so I ended up driving around for a solid 15 min trying to find a spot to park. When I finally got my gear out of the car I only had 45 minutes until the start. For some reason I didn’t pre-register so I had to find some money (which Mr. Lamperti graciously loaned me) because I forgot that too and by the time I was all changed and ready I had about 20 min until race time. I spun around on the road around the course to loosen my legs up and decided to go with the first couple moves to warm-up. The race started and nobody seemed interested in going fast so I attacked for my warm-up. I knew it wasn’t going to stick but I pushed hard to get my legs going. A couple laps in, they called a prime so I went for it and got it. A few laps later two guys got up the road. Nobody really seemed interested in chasing so I chilled out and relaxed a bit. The gap kept getting bigger and it was making me nervous so I decided to try and bridge solo. I got a solid gap and after a lap I was almost there. I looked back just to see what was up and the field was 5 or so seconds behind me so I went back so someone else would do the chasing. After a few more laps the very lazy field finally brought the break back and I started thinking about the finish. I was feeling good and since I was riding near the front the whole race I knew position wouldn’t be a huge struggle for me. With half a lap to go I was swamped by a bunch of riders which pushed me back a couple spots but I managed to get past them again through the tight corners on the backside of the course. I was sitting 5th wheel on the finishing straight and jumped at 250m. I had a good pop but because it was a flat and slightly tailwind sprint, I had to sit down and spin and I was passed in the last 10m or so. I definitely had good sprint legs and maybe with harder gearing I could have held it to the line, but I was happy with my result. Because I was constantly at the front, I was awarded the most aggressive rider award which was really pretty cool. Overall I was pretty stoked with how things went and I’m looking forward to racing there again next year.
-Ryan
Emily Abraham
5th place Land Park Criterium Senior Wm Category 4
This was my fourth time racing on this criterium course, which meant I knew the course fairly well compared to the other women in the race. I was feeling good when I arrived early for the race, my legs felt rested and ready to perform. There was plenty of time for me to go to registration, get changed, and begin my warm-up. It was nice to have that little bit of extra time before the race, it allowed for a stress free start. After a spin on the trainer and a painful pyramid, I headed to the start line for junior roll-out.
Since there’s a bit of a technical section on the backside of this course, we first had a neutral lap for those who had never raced it before. When the real race started, I positioned myself as second wheel. Once we were about forty-five seconds into the race, a woman on my left made an attack. Of course I went after her which wasn’t too smart since she didn’t get very far. I stayed on her wheel for the first and most of the second lap. The second lap was a prime and I was second wheel so when a woman behind me started sprinting, I went too. I was able to out sprint her and I won the prime. The race was interesting, lots of attacks and a fast pace. I stayed up towards the front as much as I could without pulling. Normally in criteriums I spend too much time on the front and I waste too much energy. I made sure not to do that as much during this race. Expect instead of taking too long of pulls, I went after too many attacks. There were quite a few attacks that didn’t really make a break, that I went after anyways, which just ended up causing me to lose energy. On the last lap, the entire pack was still together. I was positioned well for my sprint but I began sprinting too late. I ended up in fifth place and won three primes so I was happy and had a great race.
-Emily
Gianni Lamperti
Age 13 Juniors 13-14
1st Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14
When I started my warm-up I did not feel 100%, but I knew I would feel great after some hard pyramids. I had two other teammates at the start of the race with me and our tactic was to attack right from the gun and then keep countering till one of us got off the front. The whistle blew and my teammate Isaiah attacked. Then another person chased and as soon as we caught them I countered. I had about a 10 second gap by two laps of being off the front by myself. There was a good headwind on the backside of the course. It was very hard but all I was thinking to myself was I can do it. My favorite part of the course was the chicane. I looked forward to it every lap because I could rest for one second and it was also high speed and fun. I went as hard as I could all the way to the finish line and was super exited that I won.
I want to thank my teammates in my race for their help blocking and setting me up for solo break. After the race we stayed later and watched my other teammate Ryan Clarke do the cat 3 race. He did awesome and was off the front for a lot of the time. He also won the most aggressive rider award. I had fun staying to watch him and hope to come back and have more fun next year.
-Gianni
Luke Lamperti
Age 13 Juniors 13-14
2nd Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14
The morning of Land Park Crit I was super exited to go and hopefully do good. When we got there we went to registration and got signed up then we got our kits on and started warming up. At the start I was ready to attack right away but my cleat was not in fast enough so my teammate Isaiah ended up attacking for me. Right when Isaiah got caught Gianni countered and ended up sticking it. But behind that Grover was pulling the pack a lot with Jack. We had a group of about 7-9 the whole race until a couple of people got dropped with 2 laps to go. When we had two laps to go I was for sure my teammate Gianni was going to last off the front. That is the lap that I made an attack to try to stay off the front but then I knew I was going to get caught so I just sat in the field waiting for the sprint. Just after we went through the chicane there was a mini attack and I jumped on that and countered to go for second place which I got after the sprint. I would like thank Coach Laura for all the help and support of Team Swift.
-Luke
Isaiah Chass
3rd Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14
I was very excited for the Land Park Criterium. After I woke up, I had some breakfast, got my gear together, and got on the road to Sacramento. When I arrived at the race, I got my number and had some more food before warming up. After doing very hard intervals to warm up, I made my way to the start with my teammates Gianni and Luke. After doing roll-out I got into the front row of the group and waited for the race to start. Once the whistle blew, I quickly got clipped, and attacked from the line. After another rider in the group bridged the field up to me, my teammate Gianni made an attack and got off the front. Then, I sat up a little and waited for someone to jump on his wheel. Another rider started chasing Gianni on the other side of me, but he didn’t make it. Then, I sat in on the group and waited for another attack. A few attacks were made but quickly pulled back. The race had only a few laps to go and Gianni was still off the front. I moved my way up to get in a good position for the sprint and sat in until the last few corners. Then, right before the last corner, Luke came back to me and I told him to jump in, in front of me. I got right on his wheel, and got ready, when we came around the final corner, Luke jumped hard and got off the front. I was right on his wheel and we were sprinting to the finish. I quickly glanced to the side and saw no one. As we were coming up to the finish I knew we had 2 and 3. I was very happy knowing that my teammate Gianni, got 1st, and Team Swift got 1,2,3. Overall, this was a fun race and I was happy with how it went.
-Isaiah
Esteban Ramirez
Age 14 Juniors 13-14
10th Place Land Park Criterium Juniors 13-14
My first race was this past Saturday in Sacramento and I did learn a great deal at the races such as the “rollout” and how it all starts. The first thing I must say is how difficult the race was, I mean, I knew it was going to be hard, but I did not think 30 minutes were that long! I was totally burnt after the race and that woke me up on how crazy these things can be. So what I’m doing now is really get training and trying to go out on rides more often especially in this warming trend. I did not really enjoy the rollout because there were too many people in a confined area but I’ll soon get over that and I’ve got to build my muscles harder in order to get over the lactic acid building. Overall, I had a really great time over there but I still need improvement in a lot of areas and I’ll make sure I can get better and better with each race and ride.
-Esteban
Tomas Saldana-Mitre
15 years old, Cat 5
37th Place Land Park Criterium Senior Category 5
Although my result wasn’t great, I did enjoy trying a solo breakaway with 4 laps to go. I was able to distance myself from the pack for one lap but due to the constant catching up I was doing earlier in the race, I was caught and then dropped off the back of the pack. It was overall a great learning experience considering it was just my third crit and 5th race ever.
-Tomas
Isabella Brunner
1st Place Land Park Criterium Junior W. 10-12
My age bracket was started after, yet interspersed with the 13-15yr olds. At the onset into the first turn, I stayed with the three strongest boys in my group. I knew the course well because I raced here in the January Cal Aggie race. On the final lap, I made a jump and broke away from the boys for the win (in my age bracket).
-Isabella
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2. Bariani Road Race 3/16/14 Zamora
Emily Abraham
5th place Bariani Road Race Senior Wm Category 4
My decision to sign up for this race was sort of last minute. The Bariani road race was Sunday, the day after the Landpark criterium. So my weekend ended up being somewhat like a stage race, minus the time trial.
This race was a little weird for me, my start time wasn’t until 2:30 in the afternoon which is very rare for a road race start. Also the race was only 23 miles long, so it was by far one of the shortest road races I’ve ever done. I was definitely happy that my start time was later, it just made for a rather lazy morning, which probably wasn’t a good thing. When we arrived at registration, it was hot out and I was feeling rather sluggish. I got myself moving and thirty minutes before my start, I did some spinning out on the road. Then I rolled over to the start line. My field was huge, fifty-six women at the start line-by far the most women I’ve ever raced against. As the race began, I was placed towards the center of the pack. With such a huge field, I found myself struggling to find where would be a good place. I didn’t want to be all the way up in the front and waste my energy but I didn’t want to be too far back and miss any attacks. I tried to move up a few places but it was difficult at first since the race hadn’t gotten organized yet. After about ten minutes into the race, the pace started to pick up. The field was beginning to get strung out due to a few right and left hand turns, this is when I found out I had placed myself in a horrible position. I started to watch the field get away from me. I wasn’t at the back, a lot of women had already been dropped, but I was at the point where I had to give it my all to catch back up. Two women on Team Fremont came up beside me, I grabbed their wheel and hoped that they would help me to catch the main pack. Sure enough we did make in back into the front pack. I made sure to move up more into the center that way I wouldn’t get shot off the back again. The wind was horrible; cross-winds, tail-winds, and head-winds. I couldn’t believe the pace we were going considering all the wind, but I hung on as best I could.
Unfortunately, I was still feeling a bit sluggish. I really had no motivation to push myself or go hard, I should have had motivation since I could have scored some major upgrade points if I had won. Anyways, I forced myself to stick with the pack although I was feeling far from 100%. On our second lap, which was also the final lap, I made sure not to be in the back during the section with the turns that way I wouldn’t get gapped off. As we continued to approach the finish, I was thinking to myself, “It’s okay everyone has off days, if I don’t place well it doesn’t matter.” I’m not sure why I had such this negative mentality but when it came down to less than two miles to the finish, the adrenalin started flowing and I finally realized that I was in a race! I began moving up a few places so I could be in a good position for the sprint. When we made the last right turn which told us one km to go, the peloton was strung across the whole road because everyone wanted a good position to sprint. I lost my good position and ended up getting boxed in. I was freaking out, trying to find a quick way around so I could start sprinting. Then I saw a woman from Team Fremont start her sprint, I was too far back and immediately thought she was going to win it. But only a few women sprinted after her and I realized this was because she sprinted early, I guess she assumed the finish line was there when really it wasn’t. I found a way out and began my sprint. There was another women sprinting right next to me and we were battling it out for first and second, but then since the finish was on a small roller we were caught by some of the other women. I finished in an unbelievable fifth place. At the start of this race, I didn’t expect myself to even finish in the top ten. I felt horrible throughout the majority of the race but once I over came that it ended up being great.
-Emily
Ben Cook
15, cat 3
4th Place Bariani Road Race Senior Category 3
Bariani would be my first ever race with the 3′s, and I knew it would be a good one. The course was perfectly flat, with a few rollers on the back side. This was good for me, as I may be a climber, but I can time trial well in the flats, and this ended up aiding me later in the day.
We had a full 70 miles and 5 laps of the course to race. With how flat it was, I knew it would be less than 3 hours. So a pretty short one, but the wind was picking up some. I knew this would have a factor in the end.
I got to the race an hour early, pinned on my number, and was out spinning in 15 minutes since arriving. It was an early day, and the sun was only just coming up. I look off down the road to find a puffy jacket and a pair of Limitless Cycling shorts spinning down the road. Oh Garrett. I pulled up alongside my friend, who would be racing the 3′s with me. He and I were 2 of 3 juniors in the field of 50 today.
“Like the jacket, Garrett.”
“It’s all about the puffy collar, man.” Garrett says back with a smile. We start chatting about how we’ve been, and about today’s race. He told me that in most 3′s road races, the break usually goes in the first 2-3 miles, and will either stay to win, get caught mid way through, when another move will go and most likely win, or it will get caught right at the end and the day will end in a field sprint. With some valuable information from a well experienced racer, I lined up in the staging area feeling confident. Due to the fact that I’ve had issues getting in the right moves in prior races, I figured that just getting in a break would be a successful day, regardless of my end result. This was something I needed to know how to do.
We rolled out for a neutral start, and then made the left hander down the hill onto the course. Riders started to assemble themselves all over the road, and not even 500 meters into the race, Garrett made a move. I was still moving up, and decided this was nothing to be concerned about. If any other riders chased, I would follow. And sure enough, a rider countered. Flying around Garrett, he took off down the road. Another rider came around my left. Time to go. I jumped and sprinted around the 7-8 riders ahead of me, and flew down the road. I quickly to bridged up, when one more rider joined us. I looked around. That makes four. Not even a mile into the race, and we had a small group away!
We took smooth pulls, and were working hard to get away. I never once looked back to see how far the field was, we had to make this one stick. And sure enough, the motor ref pulled up along our side. “45 seconds! 4, 5!” He shouted at us. I looked back across the overpass and could see the field a good distance away from us. I had done it! I made the break! “That was simple enough!” I thought to myself. “Looks like I really did learn from all those other races. Awesome!” I was thrilled, but the day was only starting. We were cranking right along, and soon enough, one of the riders in our group was wearing down. We told him to hang in, but he had been sick prior to coming out today, and was done. That makes three. Rolling through for the second lap, we had a minute and 15 second lead on the field. The 3 of us kept it smooth, and I decided to grab a Clif bar to munch on as we came through the back of the course. Once we hit the rolling hills, another rider had had enough. He was a strong guy, but enough must have been enough. We said thank you, and I took off down the road.
That makes two. I looked at my breakmate, a Squadra SF rider, who looked to be a climber as well. This is when a good time trial comes in handy. We looked at each other in desperation, and in a little bit of fear as well. I found out later in the day that his name was Scott. So Scott gave me a look and said “I’ve got teammates in the field, they should block for us. We’ve got a 2 minute lead, so let’s keep it at a pace we can hold, and cross our fingers.” I nodded my head in approval and gave a thank you. This guy knew what he was doing, and didn’t seem like he was going to give out on me. We came through for the 3rd lap. I denied a bottle from the field, when Scott dropped his. I reached over to give him mine, so he took a few sips and returned it. I still had another one, anyways. We came down the hill and I spun out on junior gears, so he took the pull for me. About 15 minutes of hard and painful rotations later, the motor ref came along side us. “2 minutes on the field! 4 chasers at a minute away! 4 chasers!” We sighed in relief, but kept up the pace. I looked over the overpass and saw 4 riders coming at us fast, but still about 45 seconds behind.
Scott and I pulled hard through the flats, and finally, I heard the humming of drive trains, and felt a smooth breeze push along my back as four, tall, thick, and aero-dressed riders came along side. Saviors! These guys had it down. “30 second pulls! Flick your elbow when your done! Take a break in the back for now. We’re here to help.” Dang. Great!
That makes 6. I rested towards the rear with Scott, and soon got in rotation, but he was looking tired, and had a few more turns on the tail end of the group. We carried this on for over a lap, and were now on the 4th lap. The motor ref was soon to pull along side. “2:30 from the field! 3 chasers! 3 chasers at 1:15!” He shouted into the wind. Oh boy, we can’t let this group get too big. At this point we were just passed the feed zone, and I looked across the overpass once again, to find Garrett Marking sitting in between two riders. Here we go. I knew that Garrett wouldn’t just let us slide, this was his race. We kept a smooth rotation, but our chasers were gaining fast. Before I knew it, we had been caught. Garrett met my wheel. That makes 9.
“Oh Garrett, the early break never stays!” I teased. “OOOWWW! That hurt SO bad!”
“Well… Have a seat and relax!” So we came through to rotate, and we were soon picking up the pace after the moto told us that the field was splitting up, and we had more groups coming our way. I came through to take my pull, when Garrett came around my left. I had been out in the wind all day, and Garrett gave me a break. Man, he’s looking strong today. In the back of my mind I knew that Garrett was the best rider out here today.
We carried our rotation into the hills, and then Garrett went to the front and soon sat up. Cat and mouse had begun. We only had a few miles until the finish, but there was a chase group 20 seconds off of us. “No game until the final turn! Don’t get us all knocked out of top 10!” I heard. I think this got us into shape, because everybody, Garrett included, began rotating in a double pace line. This went all the way through the final turn at 2k to go, and it began to fall apart just after the 2k sign. I was towards the front, and was not going to mess up another sprint due to positioning. Hitting 1k, we were back in double pace line, as the group was just on our tail. I let myself drift towards the back, as we were still 700-800 meters out, and I knew this was ok. We neared 200 meters, the move went. I was soon to jump right on, and Garrett came flying around my left. I gave my all to get to the line. A rider on my left, and a rider on my right. I looked ahead and saw Garrett throw his fist to the air in victory, but my race wasn’t over yet. I gave it one last push and threw my bike across the line, but a pedal stroke too early! The rider to my left got me at the line, but I beat the rider on my right. I counted the riders ahead of me. 1,2,3. I got 4th! I let out a cheer once I realized that I placed, and heard a familiar voice from behind me. “Killer, Swift!” Scott said. “That was insane! Put it here. Thanks for sticking in there with me.” We shook hands on a great race, and came in joking about how much pain we just put ourselves through for the last 3 hours. I stopped by Garrett and gave him a huge congratulations.
In the end I had an absolutely amazing race at Bariani, and finally got to put everything I learned from the last few months of racing to the test. I got in a winning break and I ended up placing! So that’s always a plus! I came back to the parking lot and ate lunch with some friends I made out on the bike today, as I waited for results. Yup! 4th! I did podium and headed on home. It had been a great day!
-Ben Cook
Brad Butterfield
2nd Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18
I was really looking forward to the Bariani Road Race and it turned out pretty good. My race started very late in the day at 2:40. The race started with a neutral roll out for about a mile…here is mistake number one-The guy in front of me started sprinting, I followed but he slammed on his breaks a second later nearly taking me and everyone behind out. Not the best start to the race. The first 10 miles different guys attacked off the front. I ended up going with most of them only to have them sit up once I caught up. Apparently they all wanted a solo breakaway. Towards the end of the first lap a Robert Terra attacked into a headwind. Judging by his previous attack, this guy was strong. I went full gas to catch him. We worked together for a about a half mile until 2 other guys caught us, one of which was his teammates. For the next 5 miles the four of us took pulls and eventually getting the gap up to 1:45. With only about 4 miles left we had a big enough gap to where we could ease up the pace. As we turned onto the finishing straight Terra attacked. The 3 of us got onto his wheel and then his teammate attacked. He had a bit of a gap at first but couldn’t hold it. The final move came from Terra again. His teammate must have completely blew up at this point because as I looked back I could barely see him. Neither Zach or I could match his exceleration. With only 500 meters to go I was behind Zach. Here is mistake #2- I should have started my sprint earlier because although I was on my limit, so was he. Ultimately he beat me in the sprint. “Officially” I got 2nd place because Robert is a Cat 3. It was a great race and it was very fun to race alongside my teammates Luke, Gianni, Mile, Emmet, and Jonathan.
-Brad
Miles Daly
16 yrs old, Cat 4
21st Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18
I was very excited about this race since it was late in the day and I was feeling really good. The race started off fast and I followed wheels for a bit, until the first loose gravel turns. I attacked and got a little gap but I found the field coming up behind me. Then the next attack went, when I responded I had a mechanical that caused me to pull out. I rode the remainder of the 18 miles solo so I could finish the race. I was happy to hear my teammates did very well.
Jonathan Gunning
18 years old, Cat 4
DNF Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18
The day started well and I arrived at the start of the race with plenty of time to warm up. I had been riding quite a bit in the previous weeks and was finally starting to get into shape. I spun around on the roads near registration for about thirty minutes until I was nice and ready. The race started well and we had about five Swift guys in the race. There were a few small attacks in the first few miles that dropped a couple people, but no one broke away. After that, the pace stayed pretty high and a small pace line began to form. Throughout the race I was carefully watching the Limitless team and also Charles (who rides with Breakaway Racing), to make sure that I didn’t miss a break if one occurred. By Charles’ body’s language it appeared that he was a little tired out and not feeling too well, but I still tried to stay alert, seeing that he broke away, and stayed away to win at Snelling. Then as we went into a right turn about nine miles into the thirty mile race, I was cut off by a rider and down I went. He was taking a totally different line through the turn and dove through the apex early, and took out my front wheel with his rear. Fortunately, no one else went down in the crash and the rest of the team placed well, including a second place finish for Brad. No broken bones or serious injury, just some road rash for me. It is healing nicely, but taking a while… Next time I will be more careful of the “sketchy riders” and maybe a little more assertive of pack movements. For now I’m just focusing on healing, and then riding a lot more!
-Jonathan
Gianni Lamperti
7th Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18
It was a neutral start to the overpass. After the overpass somebody from Limitless cycling attacked and only stayed out for about 10 seconds. It was super windy and people with deep wheels were getting blown around. Coming into one of the corners I heard a crash behind me. When we came out of the corner I looked behind me and saw it was my teammate Jonathan. About 5 minutes later I heard another crash behind me and was told a few minutes later it was Grover. There were a few more hard attacks that split the field up. After that there were about 10 or 15 of us. Then a Limetless attacked again and I missed three people that bridged. Then there were 8 of us in a group trying to catch the break. Once we went over the overpass to start the second lap my teammate Miles had a mechanical. Then it was just 7 of us in the group. After that everybody was just attacking. Then about 5km out from the finish I attacked and was only out for about 45 seconds, then they caught me. I jumped back on and rested till about 200m out. It was a very long sprint but it was also super fun. I am super exited for next year and think this is a great race.
-Gianni
Luke Lamperti
11 years old
8th Place Bariani Road Race Juniors 15-18
The morning of Bariani Road Race I got up and ate a good breakfast and drove to the race. When we got to the race we went to reg and got our kits on. Just after that we went to warm up, do roll out and get lined up. When the race started we went down a little. At the bottom there was a little attack by Limitless rider. Everybody jumped on it. For the rest of the lap there was a bunch of little attacks until there was a big attack and I had my teammate Brad on the Robert’s wheel so I did not chase. There was then a group of four up the road going into the second lap. Just as we went into the second lap there was a little attack. I was on a teammate’s wheel and just as he had a mechanical problem I went around him to jump on but asking if he was ok. The group of four was still up the road our group did a bunch of little attacks until the sprint came. I had a wheel picked out going into the sprint but getting chopped off I got 4th in the field sprint. I am very happy with a super fun day of racing.
-Luke
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3. San Dimas Stage Race 3/28-30/14 San Dimas
Ryan Clarke
18, Category 3
6th Place San Dimas SR, Crit Juniors 17-18
10th Place San Dimas SR, TT Juniors 17-18
14th Place San Dimas SR, GC Juniors 17-18
25th Place San Dimas SR, RR Juniors 17-18
Stage 1: Time Trial
I’ve come to San Dimas ever since my first season of racing so I know the TT course quite well. I finally got my time trial warm-up nailed and I’ve learned how to gauge my effort well so I was excited to see how I did this year. I was feeling confident after my 13th Place at the Valley of the Sun TT which had a very competitive field. I’m no mountain billy goat but time trials are time trials so I was feeling good. My warm-up was great and I started explosively. I held back just a tad on the lower part of the course to make sure I didn’t go too hard too early. I got my heart rate to 183 which was my average at Valley of the Sun and at about the halfway mark I realized I could go a bit harder so I pushed the pace a bit more and finished well.
Stage 2: Road Race
This year’s road race was nice and sunny. The course doesn’t suit me too well because of an extremely punchy hill right before the finish so I knew positioning before would be critical. The race started off fast and I was feeling pretty comfortable. Attacks came from the MRI guys and some lasted longer than others but they all came back. I went for a hot spot sprint and to my surprise I was almost able to hold everyone off even from 300m. I ended up second for points. There had been a good size earthquake the night before and the officials had to take a lap out because emergency crews were going to check a dam which the course went over. The last time over the hill I lost contact with the main group just at the top but I kept going hard to the line to keep from losing a bunch of time.
Stage 3: Criterium
I was thinking about going for the hot spot points jersey today but since I didn’t contest the second sprint or the finish yesterday I would have to win the race and come in second in the sprint halfway. Instead I decided to ride wheels during the halfway sprint to observe how the finish would be. I rode the race smart. I let the right people chase and always stayed within the top 15 riders. I was in the top 5 with 3 and 2 to go. On the last lap in the second and third corners a massive rush of people flew up and came in on the inside of the corner which almost caused me to crash. On the downhill I moved up a few more spots and just before the last corner, the guys on either side of me both bumped me and I was forced to dab my brakes. That left a small gap between me and the top 5 or so and because the finish is so fast (and junior gears) I couldn’t make up enough ground before the line. I barely missed out on a podium but I had a ton of fun racing and I was extremely satisfied by being up near the front and riding the race smart. Although I’m bummed this was my last time racing San Dimas as a junior, I was happy to see a bunch of improvement from previous years. Thank you Coach Laura and my dad as well as my teammates Ben and Jonathan for making this a fun and memorable trip.
-Ryan
Ben Cook
15, Category 3
10th Place San Dimas Stage Race, TT Juniors 15-16
9th Place San Dimas Stage Race, RR Juniors 15-16
8th Place San Dimas Stage Race, Crit Juniors 15-16
9th Place San Dimas Stage Race, GC Juniors 15-16
The San Dimas time trial is just over 4 miles, and climbs almost 1400 feet. So? Well, this is great for me, as I just can’t get enough of hills. I live right at the foot of a 3000 foot mountain, and love to climb. I knew that this would be a huge benefit to me, and I came into the race ready to kill it.
The team and I got a good pre-ride in the day before, and I knew what I had ahead of me. I spun to the course with my teammates, Ryan and Jonathan. There, we met Coach Laura with the van. We set up trainers in the shade (or lack of it), and hung out around the van before warming up. I was up first up of the 3 of us. Start time: 1:03:30. After lots of time to kill with the team, I jumped on the trainer. Today’s warm up? 15 minutes z1, 10 minutes zone 3, 1×2 minute pyramid, and a 1×1 minute pyramid. I always loved these (not really). So I rolled up my skinsuit, threw on my Clif hat and an open jersey to block the sun, and got right down to business.
Jonathan was a new rider on the team, in his first stage race. He was just starting to spin as I was finishing up my pyramids. He asked how a time trial warm up feels. “TT warmups are the hardest thing you’ll ever do.” I said. He gave me a smile.
“Besides a time trial.” I added. I could tell that he and I were both excited for the tough day ahead.
After finishing my warm-up, I hopped off the trainer, filled up my tires, put on my helmet, glasses, and skinsuit, and headed over to the starting area to use the restroom one last time and spin around. After rolling out, I stayed under the starting tent. 5 riders to go. 4,3,2, oh boy. I was called to start. There was no start ramp, and believe it or not, I’ve never started without one! So this would be new for me. The timer started beeping, and before I knew it I was off. Not the fastest start in the world, but within 100 meters I was settled in comfortably.
The course instantly picked up, and soon enough I was in the little chainring. I may have been slightly cross chained, but it was better than missing a shift on the steep sections. I switched from the drops to the hoods and began climbing as the road hit 8% grade. Around the first corner, I remember hearing about how this section is slightly steeper, and a lot of riders blow up right here. So as coach said, I gave it 98%, rather than 100. I took it up the steep section at a good pace, and settled in and gradually began ramping my heart rate up. 189 bpm. Woah. It was pretty hot out, and I was feeling pretty good, but that’s high. I was 2 miles into the course, so I decided to keep up the pace, as I couldn’t have more than another 10 minutes. Soon enough, I felt a cramp in my stomach bugging me. It really had no effect, but it was annoying. So I pushed on. “UP UP UP! GET IT BEN!” I heard from my friend Matteo on the side of the road. Matteo would be racing with me that weekend, so it was good to hear some friendly encouragement. I was just passing 2K to go, and I was hovering around 192-193 bpm. Pretty high. The road flattened out the slightest bit, and I shifted into the big chainring and got out of the saddle. I began to push as hard as I could, and I was feeling good. Feeling good doesn’t mean that I wasn’t in serious pain, but I felt good. 1K to go. I held the big ring, and kept on top of the gear. Where in the world is the finish? I looked at my Garmin. 4.1 miles in. Time to really go. I got out of the saddle one last time and began my sprint. I couldn’t see the finish, but I knew it was only a few seconds away. I saw the line about 100 meters away. I had timed my sprint pretty well! So I kept up my sprint and gave it everything I had. I sprinted over the line and nearly fell off the bike. I had given it everything. I was happy.
I chatted at the top of the mountain for a while with a few other riders before heading down. I stopped at a few corners to watch some riders head up and look for my teammates. I saw Jonathan coming up the mountain, so I yelled and gave him a cheer. For his first time trial, he was looking great! I was happy that he could be out here with us. I headed down a few more corners, and saw my other teammate, Ryan, coming up. He was looking good as well, and I could tell he was giving it his all. I headed down the rest of the descent, and met up with Coach Laura. She gave me a wave, and asked how it went. I told her that I gave it my all, and that I was happy in the end. So we waited at the van for Ryan and Jonathan to come back, and spun on home.
I ended up 10th, with a time of 18:22. A time I was happy with for being a younger rider in my category, and being new to the race. Both Jonathan and Ryan placed well too, so we spun on home and ended off a great day.
Stage 2: Road Race
San Dimas was only my second stage race, and since I was in the younger end of my age group, this year was all about learning. Yesterday’s time trial was not my best, but I was feeling good about today, and was glad that we raced with the 17-18′s, to make a bigger field.
After warming up, I lined up at the start with my teammates, Ryan and Jonathan. During last night’s team meeting, Coach Laura had told us that today was the day to go for a stage win, since none of us had placed in the TT. So I lined up at the front of the race feeling pretty good. The start was neutral, which I liked. So the whistle blew, and we were off. 200 meters. I was in the front row still, but there was clearly a fight for wheels going on behind me. 100 meters. Before I knew it, we were crossing the start line. The race took off immediately. I found myself a wheel not too far down the pack, and sat in as we rounded the first corner. Brakes squealed and riders yelled. That’s a tight one. A few attacks went down the road, but I knew they would be right back. There was a slight crosswind, and Team Specialized and Monster Media were up at the front. We came to round the next corner. Still sitting about 15th-20th wheel, I felt pretty comfortable. I began to head left, but almost took a few cones with me. “Please tell me that’s the worst corner!” A rider joked behind me. But I wasn’t joking, that’s a rough one! The cones were close, the road was torn up, and it was a real tight turn. We all exited at way too big of a gear.
The rest of the race went on very similar to this; dangerously. The course was narrow, and if you weren’t focused on the road for one second, you could very easily go down. The one open section was on the hill, but that wasn’t really all that peaceful either. Once we got to the hill for the first time, I soon began to move up, and shifted into the little chainring early. The climb only got steeper and faster. Riders at the front drove the pace high. I began to feel something blocking my lungs, and started coughing. It was becoming a struggle to breath, and I had to clear whatever was stuck soon. I managed my way over the hill, and caught right on with the lead group. So I tried beating my chest open up my lungs. It seemed to work! So now that I could actually breathe right, I was back in the race. The only problem was, this happened lap after lap, and only on the hill, when my heart rate got up. Eventually, I ended up throwing up on the back side of the course. But not too badly, and I stayed on the bike. After that, everything was better! So far this race has been: dangerous, fun, and now gross. What else can we add? Well, why not painful?
I was sitting about 10th wheel on the finishing straight, coming in for 3 laps to go. I saw two riders up the road working together, and decided to join them. I launched myself off the front and caught them. The 3 of us began to work together as hard as we could. We knew it would be tough to get away here. We were right. 500 meters later, I felt a rush of air come up from behind me, and the field came around us. I dug deep and caught back on. “Ben! Don’t ever bridge a gap on your own! Somebody else WILL chase!” I heard my teammate Ryan shout into the wind. I took this into mind, and went back into the field.
The rest of the race carried on like this. No move made it away, and we just kept a fast pace especially over the hill. Me being a climber, I had the advantage here. The hill may have been short, but I am light enough to still make it over the top. However, my main issue was positioning. I would always drop back in the tight corners and rough sections before the climb. Once I actually got to the base of the climb, I would have to work hard just to stay with the leaders. So over every climb I just made it onto the tail end of the group.
Coming in for the last lap, I was stuck too far back again. I gave it my all and ended up right with the leaders. Down the decent, I moved up a few more places, and ended up right with the front group, ready for the finish. I was stuck out in the wind, however, so I tried to move into the pack. “Stop man! What are you doing! Stop moving in!” I heard as I began to take a rider’s wheel. I guess somebody doesn’t want their wheel taken! I began to try to move in again, but the rider bumped me on the hip, keeping me off. I was going to need to find a wheel soon, as we were only 1k out, and there was a pile of hay and a traffic island approaching fast. I began scrambling to find a wheel. “Head in, I’ve got you. I’m not in the mood to see a rider hit the deck today.” Another rider behind gave his wheel for me. Not the best place, but at least I was safe. This was one of my main problems in today’s finish; I was stuck out in the wind for too long. This ties into what I learned at the end of the day, I need to be more aggressive when I ride. This would have helped with positioning for the climb, and finding a wheel for the finish. We sprinted in across the line, and I made up a few places.
In the end, I was happy to have finished with the lead group of such a large race, and I learned a lot. I had a fun and interesting race, and was feeling good about tomorrow’s criterium.
Stage 3: Criterium
After having a fun road race, I was feeling good for today’s criterium, and ready to end off San Dimas Stage Race well. Crits are always fun for me, and I was assuming that today would be no different. I got to warm-up on course, since we were the first race of the day. After warming up, I lined up in staging. Coach Laura came over, and told me just to have a fun race. There was no pressure today, and just to go race well. That instantly made me feel better about the day.
The course was a fun one, and my legs were feeling good. The whistle blew, and we were off. I ended up on third wheel. A bit farther up than I would have liked. Soon enough, riders came around all sides of me. I latched onto one and carried off up the hill. A few laps in, I saw a group of 3 beginning to work together up the road. We came around the corner into the finishing straight, and I launched myself after them. Before I knew it, the field was right on my wheel. Dang it! I should have been more patient, and waited for another rider to chase. I sat back in the field.
The rest of the race went the same way. A lot of attacks, but none stayed. I saw my teammate Ryan moving up the road with 2 other riders. It was pretty cool to see him off the front! Within a few laps, they were back. With 3 to go, I began to move up some through the field. On the hill with 2 to go, I was about 10th wheel, and feeling good. On the last lap I was about 5th wheel on the hill, and was ready for the finish. But a mass of riders came from my right, and swept by us on the inside. I tried to jump in, but I couldn’t get on a wheel. So I carried down the hill in the upper part of the pack, and ended up having to brake hard, because I was pushed to the outside of the corner. I sprinted in for a pack finish.
I learned in the end of the day that I needed to be more aggressive, and fight more for wheels and positions. I did have lots of fun though, and my teammate Ryan ended up 6th in the 17-18′s! So I had a fun race, and came out of San Dimas with 9th place in GC. Overall, San Dimas was a great experience, and I’m happy with the way it turned out.
-Ben
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4. Madera Stage Race 3/1-2/14 Madera
Emily Abraham
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, Criterium Senior Wm Category 4
20th Place Madera Stage Race, TT Senior Wm Category 4
5th Place Madera Stage Race, Road Race Senior Wm Category 4
Stage 1: Madera Criterium
Although I didn’t place very well at the Madera stage race last year, I’m happy I did it because it definitely benefited me this year. Since I already knew the courses I felt that much more prepared. For the women’s category 4, the criterium was on Saturday morning and the time trial was on Saturday afternoon. I prefer criteriums over time trials so I was happy with the schedule. I arrived at the crit course an hour and a half before my start with plenty of time to get changed and begin warming-up. After spinning on the trainer for a bit, I was feeling pretty good. My legs weren’t too tight and I had confidence that I could do well in this race. I pushed through my painful pyramids, telling myself I would feel better during the race, then headed over to the start. When the race started, I was towards the back. I immediately knew that wasn’t where I wanted to be, so I found my way up to the front. I positioned myself well and made sure to stay alert during the entire race. I also focused on only taking a few short pulls that way I would save my energy. During one of the laps, as I sat about fourth wheel from the front, I heard two women (both on different teams) planning something. It sounded like one of the was going to make an attack so I made sure to keep my wheel right on the one who was going to make an attack. Sure enough, as we passed the finish line the next time, she began sprinting and I followed. However we didn’t make a break from the group. On the next lap she did it again and I followed again. The rest of the race was mellow, no huge attacks. Then on the final lap, I again made sure to position myself well. I was in second just behind the woman who was pulling the entire pack. As we came around the second to last turn, I felt myself getting anxious and excited, thinking “I could actually win this.” Then the final turn came and everyone began coming around me to start their sprint. I stood up for my sprint and gave it all I had to the line and got 3rd.
Stage 2: Madera Time Trial
The time trial course is just a short ten-mile loop with three turns. Time trials aren’t one of my strong points but I was still hoping to do somewhat well in order to keep a good place in the GC. After my warm-up on the trainer, my legs were feeling pretty good. I had some time before my start so I rode around on the road before. I arrived at the start line just two minutes before which wasn’t enough time. I was the first rider to go off in my category so the official kind of rushed me to get started. There wasn’t a ramp at this time trial which threw me off a bit since the last three time trials I’ve done there has been a ramp. I struggled to push off when the official said go so that probably lost me a few seconds. There was a rough head wind on the way out, I pushed through but wow my legs were killing me. I wish I would have pushed harder in the beginning then more towards the end, since the tail wind came just before the finish. When I was about ten meters or so from the finish, a huge bee stung me on the left knee. It was so painful and I screamed in agony, but I made it across the finish. At that point I didn’t care what my finish time was, I just wanted my leg to feel better.
Stage 3: Madera Road Race
I woke up on Sunday morning with a swollen leg from the bee sting. It hurt a little to walk on it but once I got on my bike it felt fine. I warmed-up out on the road for a good thirty minutes before my start. The women’s Cat 4 race was fifty-two miles, for a total of three laps around the course. It’s a neutral roll out from the start and the race doesn’t actually begin until about two or three miles from where we start. I was at the front of the pack during the neutral section, but then when we started the race I realized I didn’t want to be pulling. So I moved back a few places in the pack. The entire first lap was pretty slow. No one wanted to pull so we were going along at about sixteen miles per hour. I tried to get a rotating pace line going but it seemed like no one understood what was going on. That was frustrating but I decided if they wanted to go that slow and not treat it like a race, then fine that’s what we would do. Finally once we made the first right hand turn on the first lap, someone made an attack and we increased our speed. But then once the extremely rough patch of road came, we all took it at a good pace. I was happy about that because no one crashed or got a flat; except our mentor who got a flat. After the horrible portion of road, there’s about four rollers then an uphill finish. On the first time around, I went way too hard on the rollers which tired out my legs a lot. The second lap was a lot like the first, no one wanting to pull then we get to that right hand turn and increase our speed. I could feel my legs screaming on the second time on the uphill, but I pushed through and managed to stay with the pack. On the third lap, a woman broke away. The women didn’t even do anything about it; no one wanted to pull so no one went after her. I moved my way up to the front and began pulling and kept a steady pace instead of going all out to catch her. When I began to get tired, I pulled off the front and the person behind me started pulling. Finally! I got a rotating pace line going. We were starting to close the gap on the woman who broke away, but then we got to a slight downhill and the woman, who was in front pulling started coasting! I scream, “Keep pedaling!” Then other women also start screaming, “Keep pedaling!” But now the gap is back to where it was before and the woman is starting to get further away. One of the women beside me attacks and I follow. We go all out and in no time we manage to catch the woman who made a break. Unfortunately the whole pack had grabbed my wheel so we were all back together again. We came to the rough section of road, but everyone took it pretty easy in order to save their energy for the rollers before the finish. As we came upon the first roller, my legs were killing me. I pushed over it and stayed with the front pack. Some women started to drop off the back as we continued over the next few. When we came to that last uphill to the finish, I didn’t think I could stay with the other few women, but I pushed and pushed and amazingly ended up in fifth place.
-Emily
Ryan Clarke
15th Place Madera Stage Race, TT Senior Category 3
11th Place Madera Stage Race, Crit Senior Category 3
Stage 1: Time Trial
The Madera time trial is pretty flat but the roads are absolutely horrible. This was my first TT with my time trial bike that I got this winter and I was sure excited to show everyone what I could do. I got in a great warm-up and rolled to the start. When I got there my heart rate monitor stopped working but there were at least 5 other people there with the same one so I didn’t worry too much. I started well and tried to find my heart rate but it wasn’t being picked up and my speed wasn’t showing up. I turned off my computer and back on again with no luck. I tried my best to gauge my effort but at the finish I felt like I could have ridden the course again. I was a little disappointed but even without heart rate I was only a minute down which really surprised me and wasn’t all that bad compared to a lot of the other times. Since the tt and crit are in the same day I wasted no time getting food in me and resting for the crit.
Stage 2: Criterium
I felt pretty rested after the tt and I did a few jumps on the road before the race for my warm-up. The race had a lot of attacks and I rode smart and was always near the front to cover them. I often knew when people would attack and when I looked back to check they were just getting out of the saddle so I had a bunch of time to get on their wheel. Nothing serious happened until two to go when a guy went solo and the field slowly brought him back with half a lap to go. I went through the last corner 5th wheel or so but nobody drove the pace. One guy jumped on my right but the field swung really far left and I was caught in the wind. I really didn’t anticipate what happened because everyone was all over the road but 11th wasn’t too bad. I was happy with it and I had a super fun time racing which was the best part of the whole race.
Stage 3 Road Race DNF
Despite fiddling around with it in the morning, my heart rate monitor still wasn’t working so I had to start without it. Right off the bat after the neutral start a guy half attacked and I followed his wheel and the field just let us slide away. A few kilometers later 4 guys bridged to us and we started driving the pace hard. We were all working well together and right before the end of the first lap my chain and rear derailleur self destructed beyond repair putting me out of the race. I was super bummed because our break had 3:30 on the field and I was only a minute down in GC plus I was the highest rider on GC there so I was riding myself into first. Despite not being able to finish it was still fun to ride in the break and gain some experience in doing so. Sometimes things don’t go your way but overall I had fun and I was happy with the way I was racing.
-Ryan
Tomas Saldana-Mitre
15 years old, Cat 5
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, Crit
3rd Place Madera Stage Race, TT
Madera was my first stage race so the TT and Road Race were both new. I enjoyed all of it and gained a lot of experience, riding in a pack, drafting, and cornering. Unfortunately I flatted on the first lap of the Road Race and lost too much time to catch my group. It was still a lot of fun and good experience riding alone in a race.
-Tomas
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5. Turlock Lake Road Race 3/29/14 Turlock
Emily Abraham
5th place Turlock Lake Road Race Senior Wm Category 4
Unfortunately, the San Dimas Stage Race didn’t have category for women Sr 4 or junior women, so I wasn’t able to join some of my teammates for racing this weekend. I still wanted to do a race that Saturday so I went to Turlock to accumulate some points towards my upgrade.
I wasn’t feeling too great during my week of training proceeding this race but when Friday came, my legs were feeling good and I was excited to be racing. I woke up early on Saturday and ate a good breakfast before heading to the race. We arrived with just enough time for me to get my number and spin on the trainer a bit before my start. I had a small mechanical issue when I got off the trainer but we got it worked out just in time for my start.
The race started off pretty slow, it was an easy pace and I was worried that it would be one of those races where nobody wants to pull. But about 5 miles in, on the first roller, an attack was made. The woman didn’t get very far but I made sure to move up in the pack in case another attack was made. We went over a few more rollers then there was a right hand turn. I was second wheel, then the woman pulling started slowing so I went around her and took a (probably too long) pull. As I started to get tired, my friend on Team Fremont, came around me and started pulling. When she started to slow I came around and started pulling her. We kept taking turns for about 4 miles. Then a few women came around us as some more rollers began. At the end of this roller section, with 3k left on the first lap, the pack started to slow. Now we were going along at an easy pace again, which I was actually grateful for because I needed to rest a bit before the final lap. Just before we got to the finish of the first lap, a woman made an attack. No one went after her and I felt like she was going to make a break. So I sped up and tried to catch her and the rest of the women followed me. This happened a lot throughout the second lap, which made the race more exciting and much harder. Especially on the rollers a woman would attack, make a small break, the rest of us would waste our energy to catch her, then it would start over again. On the last section of rollers, my same friend from earlier got on the front and pushed herself over this one steep roller, I followed her. When we began going downhill before the next incline, I looked back and noticed we had a gap on the rest of the pack. I sped up and started pulling my friend. We went hard but unfortunately couldn’t stay away. For the rest of the race, I stayed in the pack so I could prepare for my sprint. When the flat section came with 3k to the finish, I began to get anxious. Whenever the finish of a race is coming, I start to get these voices in my head that are constantly contradicting one another. One’s giving me motivation and the other is telling me that I’ve already worked my legs too hard for a sprint. It’s like this constant battle going on in my mind, it’s quite distracting. So we get closer and closer to the finish and the pace starts to pick up and I try to find myself a good position. Now we’re at less than 1k to go, I moved up in the pack and I braced myself for the small rise that leads up to the finish. The women began their sprint up the small uphill and I got out of the saddle and also started to sprint. I then noticed a crash up ahead on the right side of the road but luckily the spectators were making sure we stayed to the left. The crash distracted me a little and my legs were screaming once I got over the small hill, there were four women right in front of me. I should have stood up