Carefast | Storck Race Results from Utah and So. Cal. Jan. 23-24

Desert Crit Series Race #2 – Ivins Park

Photos by Taylor Sisson

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Cat 3/4

Race Report by Jeff Mitchell

This was the second race in the Desert Crit Series and we had myself, Daniel Pearce, Sergei Vasilyev, Tony Rago, Chris Pearce, Shannon Larsen, Yash Gokul, and Tyler Chairsell. We had the numbers and talent to control the race.

The race started with some aggressive breakaway attempts but nothing stuck for the first few laps. Eventually Charles Mcfarlane from Canyon Sports initiated an aggressive attack. I decided to chase; our break stuck and by about mid race we were able to lap the field. Once we lapped, it was all about keeping him in our control. Danny, Tyler, Yash and Tony did a bunch of work to keep the pace hot, and catch other break attempts.

Charles tried to break off in the last lap, Danny & Tyler brought it back. I took the win, Tony took the field sprint for 3rd, Danny 5th, Tyler 6th and Yash was 9th.

Great racing boys, another dominate performance!

Cat 4:

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Race Report by Shannon Larsen:

This was the first race of the season for me. Both Sergei and myself lined up for this one. Plan was to stay up front and watch for any breaks to get into with the strong riders I knew of. There were several breaks early in the race but all looked pretty weak looking at who was attempting them. Later in the race the eventual winner got away on his own. With 2 to go, I got a little distance between me and the group but they brought me back just at the top of the hill. So here we go with 1 to go. I was trying to recover as best as possible from the dig I put in on the start/finish stretch and downhill before the back stretch. Hitting the top of the hill and through the corner I sprinted with what I had left and finished 7th.

Pro 123:

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Race Report by Terry Steeves:

Kevin Turchin, Nathan Grill, and Terry Steeves lined up for this race as our main event of the day, but we were fortunate to have a ton of support from many of our Cat 3 guys despite them already having 1 race in their legs on the day. The course was as short as any crit we have ever done with sub 1 minute lap times. Allegiant had a stacked team of fresh legs and they launched attack after attack. Grill or Kev covered most of them but as they would get brought back, as expected, a counter would go. Tony Rago stuck his nose in more than a few times to support the guys at the front, but the numbers weren’t in our favor and Allegiant got one guy away. Unable to motivate a coordinated chase from the field the laps ticked away. It would be a race for second. We had good position for the final lap and I was sitting 3rd wheel with Grill on the front. Terry kicked from turn 3, but the rider between he and Grill overbraked for the turn and the swarm was on them. Terry was pushed wide into the ribbon and the cones and had to ease off the pedals, now about 10th wheel with no momentum and 300m to go. Terry kicked again and managed to pull back to 3rd in the bunch sprint settling for 4th overall.

A good result and solid team effort. “I take responsibility for leaving the door open slightly in T3 knowing that that is what ultimately cost us the podium. There was plenty of room for the rider to my inside to exit the turn, keep his momentum and not run us out to the fence but he chose not to.” That’s racing. We had a great race, and the team is riding really well together. Congrats to Allegiant, they had a great plan and executed it perfectly deserving of the win.

Season Opener in So Cal at CBR

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Cat 3

Race Report by Tyler Chairsell

This race had over 60 racers and it was an hour long. Mike Allec just finished a masters crit 10 minutes prior to the Cat 3 race. I literally talked to him 30 secs prior to the start. He gave me some advice to watch the Lux riders. My plan was to make it into the winning break. I knew the winning break would come later in the race. I followed as many breaks as I could that had 2 or more Lux riders in it.  With 20 mins to go, a break of 4 went up the road with 1 Lux rider. Then Lux went to the front and slowed the group down. I noticed that then attacked hard out the next turn and bridged solo. Then next 20 mins we had a few others bridge. Some worked, some didn’t. I did a little of both.

By the last few laps we had 8 in the break. Lux rider attacked with a monster media rider with a lap to go. I remained at tempo and eventually caught them with half a lap. I was sitting third wheel into the last corner, but I didn’t have the snap or power for the final sprint. I got 7th. Mike finished safely with the group.

I was happy with how was able to bridge multiple breaks without blowing myself up. I was happy how I was able to recover. I need to be able to think tactically and save as much energy as possible in the break. The guys who won did the least amount of work.

45+ 123

Race Report by Mike Allec

I lined up solo for this race, which means either follow a lot of breaks or just let everything go and hope it’s together for a sprint. I opt to follow breaks (shocker!) A couple of teams were pretty aggressive so there were plenty to follow. There was one about half way thru the race that seemed promising, but it was brought back. Right before the lap cards came out, a great break went, including a guy that was announced before the race as the winningest racer in US history. I was on the opposite side of the street when it went, so I initially missed it, waited for a few to see how promising it looked and then decided to bridge. A couple of guys followed, and we spent the next 3.5 minutes chasing, finally catching the 3 guys up the road. We all worked together, but the group closed in on us at turn 3 as we were coming into the final lap. I still had a small gap coming up the hill so I decided to make another jump. I made it just past turn 1 of the final lap and then was caught and swarmed by the group.

Thank you to all of our sponsors and supporters!

The Plaid Army is headed to Santa Barbara next weekend for the Santa Barbara County Road Race and the Carlos Soto Memorial Crit!

Carefast | Storck Kicks off the Season in Utah at the Desert Crit Series

Cat 3/4 Race

Race Report By Tyler Chairsell
Photography by Taylor Sisson

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We had a stacked team in this race. During the team meeting, everyone was given a job. Tony, Yash, Sergei and I were to stay in the front and watch for any breaks. If the break looked good we would follow it. If it looked dangerous, we would bring it back. Mike and Jeff were going to attempt to get in a break late into the race. If it can came down to a sprint we would leadout Zac.

Race started out mellow. Within a 2 laps there was a rider off the front. We let him go knowing the group would catch him. Sure enough the rider was caught. Yash and I were towards the front of the field. There were a few weak attacks off the front that no one followed. I ended up following an aggressive attack up the hill that ended up petering out. I found myself off the front by a few seconds with another rider. I figured 2 riders can get through the 2 corners faster than 40 riders so I hit the corners as fast as I could. The Cicada rider followed me and went around and pulled me up the hill. When we went into turn 3, I looked and was surprised we had a gap! 3 laps later we had a 26 second advantage over the field with 35 minutes to go. The Cicada rider and I worked together from there on and managed to see the tail end of the field with 10 laps to go. I was told that were multiple attempts of other riders trying to bridge the gap, but our team discouraged them and they were brought back.

The race went 10 minutes longer than planned. With 5 laps to go I focused on positioning myself to be in front on certain parts of the course to keep the other rider motivated work. I was also looking at his body language to see if he was showing any signs of being tired. The last few laps seemed to ease up in intensity, so I was concerned that the Cicada rider would try an attack at some point. We stayed together through the last lap. The Cicada rider took the lead up the hill. I stayed on his wheel into the third corner. This is where I attacked. When we went around the corner, there were 4 riders in the middle of the road. It caught me off guard. This caused me to take the outside line while the Cicada rider went on the inside. This gave him the advantage.

Luckily, I was able out sprint him at the line. Then our team won the field sprint with Danny getting 3rd, Zac 4th, Tony 5th and Jeff 7th.
It was not my intention to establish a break that early into the race. But when the field gives you some space, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity. Our team really controlled the race from start to finish. We were able to communicate well and everyone performed the job that they were assigned.

Video of the last 3 laps by Daniel Pearce

P123 Race

Race Report by Danny Pearce
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Carefast Squad: Terry, Mike, Elliot, Yash, Grill, Kevin, Zac, Tyler, Jeff, Andy, Tony, and myself. Stoked to have a full team.
The Plan: Mike and Elliot get in a break. If we didn’t like it, we’d real it back in. If it came down to a sprint, we would like it up for me.

The first couple laps started out hot, as to be expected. I was debating on calling an audible and letting everyone know “I didn’t have it” for the sprint. Luckily, Grill did a great job of positioning himself to get in the break. This helped alleviate the pack’s pace for a bit. Carefast was out numbered in the break. Grill found himself next to 2 allegiant riders, 2 canyon riders, 2 Endurance 360 riders, and Joseph Garey. In the group, we didn’t love the makeup of the break because of the numbers. On the bright side, we knew Grill was the strongest sprinter. We were slow to make a decision, so we had to live with it. At its largest point, the break had 52 seconds on the field. “This race is over.” Hope Grill plays his cards right and can win. We managed the race by covering bridge attempts, but not actively trying to pull back the break. With a couple laps to go, surprisingly we caught the break on the backside hill. They started playing games that it allowed the pack to catch them. With 1 lap to go, I let Kam in between Terry and I. I was thinking this was exactly where I wanted to be. Grill and Terry drilled it at the front! Flying through turn 1 got the adrenaline pumping. Terry and Grill did a perfect job delivering me to the last corner. I jumped on the inside line and sprinted to a second place finish. Tyrell made a smart move with a half lap. Dude is strong and it stuck. Well done team!

There were many bridge attempts that Terry, Kevin, Elliot, Mike, Zac, and Tony jumped on. At one point I thought Elliot and an Allegiant guy were going to bridge. All the hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Great work. It’s appreciated.

Lastly, Thank you Elliot for the coaching. It is obvious the program you’ve developed prepared me and many others for race day.

The Carefast | Storck Winter Camp 2015

 

The Carefast | Storck Winter Training Camp 2015

During the week of Christmas 2015, December 20-25, while most were gorging on holiday food or traveling to see their loved ones, The Plaid Army held its 2015 Winter Camp.

Most of our riders were already in their standard winter training blocks but this weekend, and the days to follow, would prove to not only test their fitness but offer a great learning experience.

Dr. Johnathan Edwards and Pro cyclist Jon Hornbeck were on hand to help with questions and tips about nutrition, race strategy and training for the upcoming season.

Day 1 the team made their way into the Lake Mead National Park for 5-6 hours of saddle time and a plethora of drills on their Storck Bikes.

Day 2 the team launched from the M Casino and spent 5-6 hours of saddle time out to Jean, Goodsprings and Sandy Valley. More drills, more pain and more learning on and off the bike.

The subsequent days were peppered with group rides and all around camaraderie that this team is known for. We are looking forward to a great 2016 season where many of our riders will be racing in new categories and defending their stellar results from the previous season.

We want to thank our sponsors for making this possible and we hope you all join us in following the team throughout the 2016 season on Facebook, Instagram and through our new website carefastcycling.com.

Eliel Signs Las Vegas Based Carefast | Storck Cycling Team

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Since the very humble beginnings, a distinctive “Plaid” design on the Carefast – Storck team kit has been a major part of the team branding, and has become the trademark of the team.

For 2016, the “Plaid Army” will be rolling out in Eliel’s Carbon infused Mavericks Aero Speedsuit to all the regional races in California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.

You will also find the Carefast – Storck team supporting virtually every charitable ride in Las Vegas area.

Upgrade your team brand with Eliel’s extensive line of custom cycling gear.

Contact us today at custom@elielcycling.com