Brian A

2013-04-27+28 Wente Vineyards Classic Road Race/Criterium Results

Congratulations to Brian Acord for winning the Wente Vineyards Classic Criterium 35+ Cat 4 field with a fantastic bike throw at the line.

Kudos also go to Nathan Parks for placing 2nd in the 35+ 1/2/3 field in the road race the day before! Great job guys!

Coverage for the 35+ 1/2/3 reported by Jack Arney:

On the second time up the climb, I saw “I’ve been sick for 4 weeks and needed to nap for 6 hours after a recovery ride on Sunda” 35+ team leader Dan Bryant on a break with Nick Theobold of Safeway. I was astonished on the one hand but if you know Dan Bryant, he is wired differently than the rest of us and seems to be able to push himself beyond where his fitness exists and as he tossed me his vest, I shook my head wondering if he had been sandbagging me with woes of a mysterious illness 🙂

Side note: As I drove the Flex up to the hill to the start, I was behind the M35+ 123 field……noticed two Folsom Bike riders well off the back getting a tow from a vehicle to catch up with the peloton. You sort of knew at that moment their day was going to be a tough one at a course that is tough to begin with. Maybe we need to hand out sports watches with alarms for primes tomorrow or convince Dan Bryant to be sure his guys know when the races start. 😉

Anyway, things pretty much stayed that way to the last lap. Dan Bryant was finally caught on the last time up the climb and ended up being caught 😦 but hug on to finish 7th! Well done for being in the wind 80% of the race against the best Norcal has to offer.

Great news was Nathan Parks made a run on the last time up the climb, hanging on to Chris Phipps, who was a monster today by all accounts, and Nathan’s late run landed him a 2nd place and a place podium!

Nathan did a great job getting himself in the right place at the end and only finished 2nd because the guy that one was unbeatable.

Kudos to Mike Buckley, Chris Lyman, Greg Gambeta, and Jayson Boynton, along with Dan and Nathan for great teamwork and another excellent result.

April 28, 2013 | Categories: Race Reports | Leave a comment

Cal Aggie Criterium, 35+ 4/5, 26 Jan 2013

It’s great to show up to your first race of the year and be greeted by the sweet looking Folsom Bike Team Volskwagan Jetta parked near the race registration and to have the team tent set up trackside. Kudos to Mark F. for getting down to Land Park and getting things set-up for the rest of the team that would be racing in various fields from 8am till 4pm.

The Cal Aggie Criterium is put on by, and supports the UC Davis cycling team. The course is a nearly perfect 1 mile oval in William Land Park in south Sacramento, but to make things interesting, a chicane with a sharp 45 degree turn and a near 90 degree turn are thrown in before the finishing straight. The weather can certainly be a factor racing in January. Though it looked like it wouldn’t rain, the pavement was still wet in the chicane due to the shade of the trees, and the finish is typically into a headwind. It was a perfect day to spin-up my new Zipp Firecrest 303 carbon tublars wrapped in my Continental Sprinters (and put to the test my first ever glue job!).

Kevin K. and I represented Folsom Bike-VW-Raley’s in the 35+ Cat 4 race that included Cat 5 racers. I’m not sure how big our field was on the start line at 9:40, but 45 were pre-registered. Team Bicycles Plus fielded a team of 9 and was certainly the team to keep an eye on. My strategy for the race: stay near the front to avoid any funny business, follow any big splits, and hope it comes down to a sprint with good position.

Half way through the race, Bicycles Plus attacked off the front with 4 or 5 riders heading toward the chicane. It was a dangerous move and something Folsom Bike needed to be represented in, or have pulled back. Everyone chased the move, including myself. After nearly closing the gap, I felt like I was doing too much work and they were not getting away; time to fall back into the peloton and recover.

For the remainder of the race I did my best to hold my position near the front, but not at the front. Easier said than done sometimes with the ebb and flow of the peloton, but Kevin leant a wheel and pulled me back up to the front at an opportune time. There would be a few more flyers off the front, but it looked like no one would get away.

Heading into the final lap, Bicycles Plus attacked off the front again, and had a good gap. I got in the chase group, but I was thinking I was racing for a top 10 finish. Coming out of the chicane I was able to move up a few spots out on the downwind side. Surprisingly, we caught and passed the Bicycles Plus led break before the final technical corner and Folsom Bike was posited well at fifth wheel. I kept telling myself to have patients and good timing as it’s a long finish into a headwind. I waited till the final 200m to come out and try and sprint around the guys in front of me. I ticked off one, two, three guys and threw my bike to slot Folsom Bike into second on the podium.

January 27, 2013 | Categories: Race Reports | Leave a comment