September 6 - Il Giro di San Francisco
Race website & results

Men's 45/55+ report by Ted Brooks    Men's 35+ 1/2/3 report by Michael Hernandez    Premier Series coverage

Race photos provided by: Garrett Lau   Chris Patterson   Dashaun D. Duffy

Men's 45/55+ report by Ted Brooks, Mako-Galaxy Granola Racing Team

Giro Heros

After doing half a race worth of warm-up laps due to a serious injury in the Cat 4/5 field before us, it seemed as though everyone was ready to go full-throttle from the start whistle. With a nearly full field of 72 riders, it would be a bad plan to hang too far back - especially with that nagging little hill that seemed to grow longer and steeper as the race went on.

Any open-category race can be wild, but when you throw in Super Larry Nolan (Discovery Channel/AMD Masters), it can and did, become brutal. Fast-forward briefly to the last lap: climbing the hill and hearing the announcement that Larry was crossing the finish - lucky he didn't flat or we might have caught him...

Ted Brooks of Mako/Galaxy Granola RT Photo by Laurence Dudson

I had a couple of teammates to work with as did many teams - at least for part of the race. The pace was so quick (average speed 25 mph, max speed 32.3 mph) that we started hearing of casualties in the field from the race announcer - riders getting shelled off the back. Much of the damage I saw would take place on the hill, with the rest on the back stretch. If you were lucky enough to survive the climb, you now had to kick it up a few gears and really power up just to hang on for dear life - and it wouldn't ease up until beyond the finish line. Plus, a few interesting obstacles in the pavement and a barricade on the left added a little extra skills test to the race. About half the field got an early ticket out as riders were being pulled.

Suffering from the previous night's training with my wife and some friends at the Livermore Wine Festival (bad strategy, no biscuit) perhaps made me a little less determined to get closer to the front, but nonetheless, I wanted to be in there at the end. My strategy of hanging on in about 20th position seemed to be working and then I noticed I was the last man in the pack - the rest were gone!

I decided to move up a bit and with only another couple of laps to go, a crash happened in front of me. I see one rider go down to the left, his bike shooting straight up in the air. Another goes down to the right, flat on the pavement. I had one quick choice - to try to get through between them. Fortunately, they stayed apart enough so I could get through, although I had to brake and lost momentum. I then hammered hard to chase and catch the pack. Often, the last couple of laps before the bell might slow up a bit as riders get set for the sprint - not so in this Giro.

Next thing I know, we're into the final sprint. I worked to move up a few places, finishing in the pack. This was a great race on a great course, and very well organized. It's always fun to have people on the street cheering on the field. Last race of the season for me - really (I had to try hard to convince my wife that I meant San Ardo was my last "road" race of the season and that this one, of course, was a crit). OK, the Mt. Diablo Challenge is not really a "race" - it's only a "ride". See you there.

Men's 35+ 1/2/3 report by Michael Hernandez, Team Spine

What a great race. Hat's off to Spiney (Joe) Saunders for braving it with the linebackers in that 45+ breakaway. Saunders, Bubba Melcher (Team Clover), Peter Allen and Larry Nolan (Discovery Channel/AMD Masters) in a 4-up move...sweet jaysus, you could barely see Joe through the impenetrable blurr of muscles and wattage generated by those three behemoths. I'm pretty sure Cap’n Hook stuck it out for fourth, but I was blocked from seeing the finish so couldn't tell for sure. I know that was one fast race, though.

The Pro/1/2 race was pretty quick, too. I did everything I could to get in a winning move, but it was a field sprint in the end. I just burned too many matches during the race to have anything close to a decent sprint, even with Hutch giving it all to try and keep me well positioned in the final lap. Magnell (Team Monex) won it fair and square. I wondered why he wasn’t working very much in a move with Moniger (HealthNet by Maxxis), Saunders (McGuire/Langdale), Zawinski and me. But, he knew it was more likely than nought to come down to a field sprint. Whatever. I guess if I had them big ol' thighs and could sprint worth a crap I’d try that sometime. But, since I ain’t got them genes, it’s attack central for me.

The earlier 35'ers event was short, only 20 laps, so equally as ballistic from the gun. Clinto Gaverus Maximus shredded his cassette on lap two, so it was up to da’ Plummer and Ford 350 to cover the early stuff for us Spineys. We needed this to be a hard race, and they delivered. Hutch pounced, then Dario, while Fonseca and I got to save up for later shenanigans.

"Even the best laid plans must be lively, changeable things." - Olaf Vanderhoot

Our first goal was to win this one last race of the Cal Cup series...and a prestigious little race, in and of itself. We wanted to stamp down our authority on this season. The second goal was to protect Dario Fredrick's second overall standing and try as best we could to move Scott Fonseca up to third to get us a nice clean sweep of the Cal Cup podium. Yeah, we’re total wanks.

THE PLAN:

1) Dan Plummer, John Ford, Clint Gaver and a little bit of Hutch (Mike Hutchinson) would make the race hard for the first laps. They would cover all moves or make attacks themselves, knowing that they were slaying themselves for the Team goals. How have we won so many races this year? Total selfless riding from every member. If there's a job to do, we do it...no matter who the rider. We didn't need these early moves to succeed, and our riders were only there to cover them and/or begin the many body blows we needed to create fatigue in our competitors. But if one of the attacks stuck, our rider MUST win from that group. So even though one might start out a race as a domestique, circumstances can change quickly and that rider might have to change his role to winner. This has been the Spine way - everybody works, everybody wins.

2) Dario, Hutch, and I would start hitting the field with serious attacks as the pack began to wear down from both our teammates’ work and the general aggression of any race of this caliber. We three would only dedicate ourselves to moves that offered us maximal chances for success. Fonseca would try to conserve as much energy as possible for a field sprint, but it would be his responsibility to cover any moves of more than five or six riders. He needed points.

3) If it came down to a field sprint, we would line it up with Ford starting off, then Hutch taking us up to Mach 7, like only he can. Then I would do the final lead out for Dario and Fonseca. That was the plan - but, circumstances called for a split decision.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

Close to halfway through, Dario went up solo and had about eight seconds on a hesitating pack. It was right at the base of the 'climb' (...hey, that thing actually ended up being one mother of a hill) and I saw an opportunity to bridge across to him. I jumped on the hill and came up to him after the top. We drove it hard, but the chances of a 70+rider pack letting the two of us get away...in another race, were quite slim. QUITE slim, indeed.

Mike and Dario try an early break

We worked the break, but it really was pure bravado and not the best use of our energy. What ya gonna do? Sometimes it just feels good being out there and showing your colors. So, though we worked the break, we also kept Dario a bit fresher so he would be able to go with the inevitable counter attacks that would occur once the field caught us.

A few laps into our escape, up rides Fonseca on the tail of a couple of competitor's bridge effort. "Hell yeah!" I put my head down and gave it a good drilling, but the field jumped up to us easily and we were all back together again. Time to reshuffle. Dario immediately countered with a little group, but he was pulled back. Then Ford went, but his group too was pulled back. Attacks were going off left and right, with no team really in domination for a good three or four laps. It was bloody out there. This wasn't artful fencing, this was smash 'em up fast and furious kendo.

With four laps to go, it was looking as though a field sprint was on order. I was navigating around to try and see where the mates were..."ok, there's Hutch on the left...yup, Fonseca's trying to move up through the middle..." And then, "WHOOLY SHYTE!" Like a gawdawm twin turbo shoots Ford up the right side of the pack with Dario doing his best to ride his wake. But, there's an attack from a couple competitors just as Three-Fitty gets to the front, so he just keeps barreling through the pack and chases down the move. Frickin awesome.

We are lined out pretty good as we start three laps to go. It's up the hill with a solid pace by team Morgan Stanley. They are obviously trying to set up their sprinters (Don) Langley and (Billy) Clark. A GS Lombardi Sports rider takes a good hard pull down the back stretch to keep things kosher for his sprinter, (Dean) LaBerge. We turn around the bottom of the course and it's not looking good for us. We've got Hutch, Fonseca, Dario, Ford and I all in the top 20, but we're spread all over the place and can't get organized. What's more, there's Discovery's McKinley and (Mike) McCarthy riding fresh and close together, drooling for the sprint. I can see McCarthy salivating like a damn pitbull eying a chihuahua in heat. Shyte.

So, it's decision time as we start two laps to go. The conditions:

1) we're not organized and it's damn fast, damn sketchy as everybody in the top 40 is going for the win at this race. We do not have a pure sprinter - we’re quick, but we’re not pure sprinters.

2) the sprinters teams are there, and ready - Morgan Stanley has two guys, Discovery have three, LaBerge is always ready to sprint, Safeway have (Jeff) Poulsen and (Patrick) Tafoya, and then there's the solo gunner Ed Goulet to worry about, too...as well as other opportunist riders ready to try and win it with a well timed move. And it looks like Dewars’ (Ben) Standish has a little gap of three or four seconds through the start/finish.

Shyte. This ain't looking good, at all.

Time for a quick assessment. There's a good amount of wind on the course. A gap can be created on the climb, but gunning it that hard to create distance between you and the pack puts you on the fast track to the republic of anaerobia. The problem is that damn descending back-stretch - a pack can roll down that thing so much faster than an individual rider. Meaning, even if one could get a gap on the climb - that’s only the start...you need enough power to maintain speed down the descent. Then, there are the two corners at the bottom, yes - a little bit of rest there. But after that, a straight-up headwind 400 meters through the finishing stretch until you turn, and turn again to start the climb...all with that frickin wind in your face. And then, you have to do it all again for the final lap!

But, if I attack with two laps to go - there’s likely to be less of an immediate reaction from the pack. With two laps to go, guys are still thinking that they have to save a little something for the sprint - that ever so slight pause as the pack looks at each other to see who will take up the chase. But on the last lap, everybody knows it’s a do-or-die moment, so they jump immediately with their lead-out men driving hard.

No. If I was going to make a solo bid of it, it would have to be with two laps to go. It would have to be NOW!

Boom.

Everything into it...but, everything measured to last two laps. Blowing up in the final 300 meters is not an option. I know what it takes to ride full-bore for 1.5 miles. I can do this. I know I can do this. An immediate acceleration to jump away from the pack at the bottom of the climb. Yes, just like I’ve practiced a hundred times these past months. A look under the arm to make sure no one is on the wheel - there is no sense in pulling along some guy who will jump past me. No way.

All right, there’s a gap as I approach the top. “Don’t get cocky, kid.” Christ, stop thinking about Star Wars at a time like this. Focus! More power.

No, don’t mash that gear, Hernandez. Let your speed drop a bit over that steep last five meters. Don’t worry, accelerate hard once you make the turn. Yes, that’s the place to use the energy - where the speed can really be generated. A maximal effort up that final five meters of the climb will only get me a couple more mph in speed. And, it costs soooo much energy. No, wait until you make that turn...yes, deep breath and then a big punch. Oh yeah - 5, 6, 7 mph faster than what the pack is usually doing there. Come on! Dig!

Now you’re halfway down the descent. The Dewars rider is dropped like something smelly in a pre-race visit to the portos. It’s just you now. That was a good acceleration down the first half of the descent, but now it’s flattening out and it’s full gas, baby. Full gas.

Another look under the arm - yes, the gap is there folks! Another huge breath...relax, Mike. It’s time to settle in for the pain. There is nothing but the pain and the speed. Technique is the key. Technique and constant practice. How many two minute intervals have I done these past three months? Yes, it’s all been done before. Concentrate! Ankles, breathing, down low and aero...but BREATH!

Full speed through the start/finish. There they go ringing that bell...one lap to go, brother. Here comes the turn, keep driving to it... now REST - a second of rest is all you get. Now, another big, calming breath and it’s back to pedaling hard. Five, six, seven pedalstrokes and then another tiny rest for the second turn. Ah...that felt good. OK, here we go...set up for the climb. Wait...wait, not out of the saddle too soon. This is when you’ve got to measure it perfectly. Here we go, now. NOW! Out of the saddle and breathing like a freight train. Not fast and labored, no...it’s deep and booming. Everything into each breath - all the power comes from proper breathing. Don’t fight the bike. Keep the cadence high - even out of the saddle. Be graceful...come on, now...TECHNIQUE!

Oh thank God, over the climb and so it all comes down to speed. Speed. Dig hard, no sense in looking back now, there is only forward. Only the goal. Empty the bucket, come on, pour it all into this one moment, this one effort. Don’t fight, just let the pain enter you and remember your training. Let your training take over. Speed.

Now raise those arms and smile.

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