Carefast | Storck Race Results from Utah March 4-5

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Desert Crit Series Finale – Omnium Weekend

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Photo from Allegiant Facebook page

Pro 123

Race Report by Elliot Grothe

TT

The TT was an out and back, 9.1 miles with a sharp climb onto main road then rolling terrain. I was happy with my time, but not in my placing, 7/8

Road Race

Everyone kinda knew that Allegiant wanted Tate to defend his series placing from last year. We just didn’t know how they were going to do this. Race starts and of course and Allegiant is attacking before we make the first turn (100meters away). We get out of town, Grill goes with Shackley and one other rider. Allegiant seems ok with it, I figure that Tyrel and Tate will bridge later on so I am content to try and go with that move.

About 10 miles in, Kevin and two other riders get a gap, and I hear Tyrel tell his team to not worry about it. Kevin’s group catches Grill’s group and now 6 in the break.

We hit the first turn around and are told 4 mins, but it seemed more like 3. This is when I hear Isiah tell someone, let’s bring it back. The entire Allegiant team of 6 goes to the front and start team time trialing the break back. The rest of us sit in getting a free ride. I spend the next 30 miles waiting for Tyrel and Tate to bridge but it never happens and the gap really isn’t coming down. 60 miles in, the gap is just under 3 mins, Allegiant only now has 3 guys pulling, Tyrel, Isaiah, and Jed. We are coming to the first climb, gap is now 2 mins, we can see the lead goup which is now only 3. Kevin, Shackley and one other rider.

We hit the climb at a solid tempo, Tyrel attacks and the group is down to 4 or 5. I am managing well, but others look to be hurting. I knew Tyrel was never going to leave Tate behind, so I was in a good spot knowing I had some in the tank still. Over the top, the gap is 1:30 and Tyrel is back on the front towing us to the next climb. We are closing fast though. We go over the top and I can see Kevin doing most of the work. We make the catch just as we are coming into town, and now things get tricky since nobody really knows where to go or where to turn (The promoter had to employ city volunteers that did not the course.) Kevin tells me he is blown, expectedly after being in the break forever. I try to key off a S2C rider since he is sitting on Tate’s wheel and Tyrel is going to lead him out. It gets a bit chaotic since we are blowing through stop signs and not knowing if we are taking the right turns, then a car pulls out in front of us and slows down! I am just trying to follow wheels and not get killed. I had no idea the last turn was the last turn until a we made the turn, Tyrel wins, Kocher goes by Tate for 2nd and I go past Tate for 3rd. I’ll take that after 80 miles. Kevin get’s 6th which is great after being in the break forever! Grill did an impressive effort in the crit after this which was awesome. Somehow I end up in 3rd overall for the entire series. I jumped into this at the last second after talking with Mike Thursday, and I am glad I did, lot of fun just hanging out. Also awesome to see the team do well in the 3-4 races also. A great weekend for the team!

Pro 123 Crit

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Race Report by Nathan Grill

I think there were 15 guys at the start? Everyone had done the road race. Plan was to mark Tate and get Kevin or Elliot into a move with him and if it came down to a bunch sprint, the guys would line it up for me.

Well, Allegiant took the front almost immediately and within 5-8 laps, half of the field was gone. Two Allegiant guys gone already. Elliot made a move and then so did Kevin,but with the small field, nothing was going to get away. From that point, I made sure to stay on or near Tate. Allegiant was just riding tempo at the front, exchanging between Shackley and Tyrel.

At 3 to go, I had Elliot and Kevin get in front of me. At 1.5 laps to go, Kevin started it and came on the inside of the Allegiant train on the back straight. Elliot missed it, but it was okay and Kevin kept it hot for am entire lap. It was great. Out of turn 2, he skipped his wheel and lost some of his momentum and I was going to have to take it from 500m/half a lap. Suddenly, Tyrel pops out, looking for Tate to get on his wheel. I oblige and I’m glued to him until the last corner, where I jump, nobody’s coming around. I take the win to close out a great weekend of racing!

Cat 3/4

The TT was an out and back 9.1 miles final results had Tony 3rd and Mike 4th.

Road Race

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Race Report by Andy Erickson
Mike, Jeff, Tony, Tyler, and myself were in a field of 25 or so for this 60 mile out and back. We wanted to ensure Tony’s series points status stayed intact. Aside from that, we wanted to control the race and follow any opportunity that opened up. About 15 or 20 miles into the race I followed an SBR guy and the infamous Charlie Macfarlane as they sprinted away. I had no interest in working with them and I made that clear when an obnoxious rider ever so eloquently requested that I pull through to help hold the pace. A few four letter words were sent my way and the field caught us.

The two big climbs coming back were hot, but not deathly. All of us gathered together after the first but the second climb took its’ toll. Tony flatted on the top and Tyler decided to stay with him to provide help if there was any way to pace back but the lead group was descending and they had a delay at the wheel car.

Mike and myself continued with a group of nine with one Total Care guy off the front. His teammates did a solid job of interrupting efforts to catch. Coming into town we were improperly told to go straight through a 4-way stop where we should have turned right. This led us onto the main town road and we found our way back to the finish via a gas station and parking lot. Keep in mind we’re very much still racing. We had the finish line in site, albeit from a 90 degree angle, with only the registration tent as our final obstacle. We raced around and I crossed the line 2nd in the group, 3rd overall. The Total Care racer stayed away and to his credit rightfully earned it.

We controlled the race extremely well for about 75% of the time and the field respected our efforts. As Mike already said, it was a genuinely great weekend for us all. The hard work put into every race was rewarded every time.

Cat 3/4 Crit

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Race Report by Jeff Mitchell
Mike, Tyler and Andy lined up, all around our legs were not fresh after the 60 mile road race prior. Tony Rago sat out for the Crit, having the series title on lockdown and battling respiratory issues, recovery was prudent.

Tyler went out on an early break away with Sidney Thomas and a Total Care racer, max gap hits 45 seconds. Mike and Andy and I chase down any bridge attempts. Ultimately as a result of the Total Care racing team, the break was caught 25 minutes into the race. Several failed attacks subsequent from Total Care, SBR etc. nothing sticks.

2 laps to go, Andy gets on the front and I’m on his wheel, I tell him to keep it hot so the race stays strung out, he does just that, beastly pull, I’m pushing to stay on his wheel, it’s perfect – everyone else is struggling too. He takes us to the first corner of the last lap and on the straight away he tells me he’s done, so it’s go time – I don’t want to lose momentum so I hit it, throwing down a BIG effort through the last 3 corners, I’m still on the front, no swarm so I gun the final sprint and the Total Care lads can’t match the pace, I take the win with about a bike length. Great racing by everyone. Awesome weekend of racing!

Overall Series Results

Due to Jeff’s stellar performance this weekend, and Andy and Mike holding others off in the RR and Crit, he was able to catapult to the 2nd spot in the overall series in the Cat 3/4! Carefast  takes 1st and 2nd in the Desert Crit Series. Congrats Tony and Jeff!

Amazing job by everyone on the team through out this entire series!
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Carefast | Storck Race Results from So. Cal. Feb. 27-28

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Jurupa Valley Criterium

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Cat 3/4

Race Report by Danny Pearce

Jeff, Tyler, Zac and I lined up for the 3/4 race. The goal was to discourage breaks and lead Zac out for a sprint. The race was shortened to 25 minutes due to a crash earlier in the day. Being a short race, the field wasn’t letting anyone get away. Any attempts were squash quickly. A lot of them due to Jeff and Tyler. As expected, they crushed their “break duty” role.

Crossing the line with 1 lap to go, Tyler and Jeff were 1 and 2. With Zac on my wheel, we rode up to 6th position. I’m feeling confident with our team setting the pace and Zac on my wheel with a ½ lap to go. A surge comes up the left side. They created a pinch in the group from cutting right, while individuals in the pack cut left trying to get on. This causes a rider to go down, taking out Zac. [Insert multiple expletives]. I made the quick decision that I’d be plan B.

I put in a couple big efforts to make up position. I was 7th wheel coming into the last corner, jumping up another two positions after the turn. Sit-in…. Try to recover for a second…. Nope, not going to happen. Bryan Wierzchucki jumps. I match his sprint but didn’t have the legs left to come around him, ending in a 2nd place finish. Kudos to Impact. They ran a legit 4 or 5 guy lead-out train.

Overall, the day was bittersweet since Jeff and Tyler did a great job putting myself in a position to lead-out Zac, only to have Zac taken out. I’m confident our plan “A” would of gotten Carefast on the top step. Great Job guys! Thanks Elliot for the solid workout plans leading up to Saturday.

Cat3

Race Report by Tyler Chairsell

We lined up with Mike, Yash, Jeff, Danny and myself. Zac was taken out in the 3/4 race on the last lap, so he sat out on this race. The plan was to take Jeff to the line for the sprint finish.

We decided that that we need to push the pace of the race so that we can position ourselves for the finish. Mike set the pace early consistently catching break attempts without surging. Yash did a great job covering attacks from some strong riders. Jeff and I stayed up front for most of the race. With 4 laps to go I found myself up front setting the pace with Jeff on my wheel. No other teams wanted no part in taking the lead. So I just up front going as easy as I could without going too slow.

With 2 laps to go Yash and Mike took turns pulling in the front. I took over again and attacks started. We slowly brought them back then Danny took over the pacemaking with one lap to go with Jeff on his wheel and then myself sweeping for Jeff. Impact team came around Danny on the third turn. Jeff tried to join their train but too many guys followed so we were drag racing right next to them. Then crash out of turn three caused a Cast Shadow rider to attack so we followed. Jeff put an effort into and out of turn 4. Then we started to get swarmed. That’s when I went with everyone else. I held good position until the slight uphill to the finish. I started to get passed right before the line. I probably got a top 10-15 place finish. I thought we controlled raced pretty well. We just came up short at the end. Timing is everything. Great work boys!

Masters 50+

Race Report by Mike Allec

I was solo in a good size filed of around 50 racers. There were a few decent size teams, most notable was BBI, a regular force in this age group. I kept to my standard plan when solo, only follow good looking breaks, freelance the sprint if it stays together. I was really focused on keeping my mind in the race for the whole 40 min (well 35), keeping position and anticipating moves.

First half of the race was pretty quiet, just a few half-assed break attempts. Now that I’ve done a couple of races around this category, it’s easier to know what attacks you never follow. In the 2nd half of the race BBI starting launching attacks, so I ended up following more than a few, but nothing stuck. Things calmed down after the lap cards came out so I got ready to for the sprint. Elliot had pointed out a guy with a big spring number, so I was watching for him.

With 3 to go, I got swarmed in the last corner, lost some positioning. After hearing Elliot yelling at me as we came by I started moving back up. I ended up a little too far up, sitting 3rd wheel behind 2 BBI guys. One guy pulled for a lap, and as we came into the final lap I knew I was not in a great spot now sitting 2nd wheel. I decided to stay there and wait to either attack if the guy pulled far enough into the lap or fight the swarm when he pulled off. The latter happened, and as he pulled off I got into a pretty good position. The guy Elliot had pointed out made a move to the front, and I thought ‘ah perfect!’. Not sure what happened, but he only made it about half way up the little hill, then slowed up and pulled off. I got caught in the swarm and about 20 guys went around me, race over.

Boulevard Road Race

Cat 3

Race Report by Yash Gokul
Cat3

Lining up up with a field of 70 in one of the toughest road races on the calendar. So. Cals best climbers were all there so the plan was to stay close to the front and avoid any mishaps on the twisty 10mile decent and take as much cover and hold on for the 10 mile accent ….. for three laps.

The eventual victor solo’d away in the first lap of a quite windy day. No one could survive a solo dash for 50 miles…. Right?

With a strong tail wind blowing up the tail end of the main climb. It felt like a fast paced furnace. Literally everyone was hitting PR’s and a new KOM was crowned.
Unfortunately for me I found myself in a chase group maintaining a 1 min gap to the leaders after the first lap. After the second lap I found the chase group dwindling down as guys quit or got dropped.
At the end I rolled in 20minutes behind the leaders with 3 others….. Just happy to finish such a brutal race.

Some things I learned and Notables:
-Cattle guards are dangerous…. A guy went in one on the descent … handle bars hitting the ground in a crash of epic proportions. (taking out several racers)
– The best moves are the ones no one believes have a chance…
– Don’t come back to Blvd unless you are 140lbs or under

Masters 35+

Race Report by Elliot Grothe

This may get lengthy.

Lined up against Monster Media (Tintsman, Coxworth, Demarchi, Easter, Bordine, Big Bill, and friends) and Helens squad (Wikstrom, Manzella, Moston, and more friends). Between these two teams, fifteenish, they had about half the field of 30-35.

My plan was don’t follow anything until after the first lap, figuring a break would be up the road already by that point and perhaps I get in the second chase group.

First lap, a group of 5 get away before we even start the descent portion. The pace is easy, until we hit the first gradual backside climb, which isn’t even part of the actual main climb. I’m in the gutter, trying to draft going 17mph and people are getting dropped. For reference, last year in the 3’s we went 14mph on this section, with triple the riders. I just make it over and start thinking, wow the main climb is gonna get crazy. Oddly, we take the climb really easy. Over the top I look around, The group is roughly 10 now, with the break still up the road. Over the top there are 6-8 attacks as MM and Helens are blitzkrieg’n each other. I follow a few, even putting in an attack of my own. All together though as we descend.

Again I find myself in the gutter on the first gradual climb on the backside, 6-7 mins of just hanging on for dear life. Our group is single file, ten guys, it hurts, legs are heavy but I make it. We get to the main climb and I am hoping we go easy again. No, not this time, it’s harder and the struggle is real. I start getting dropped at the KOM sign. I’m 15 seconds behind over the top. Another rider has been dropped, I catch him and proceed to drill the rollers as hard as I can. This rider never helps, just stays on my wheel which is smart. I get us back to the group just as we start the last 300m climb to the finish, I get popped right away, while the rider who made it back with him, is able to stay in the group-he would end up getting 12th.

Anyway now solo, Karl Bordine and Chad Moston catch me on the descent, now three of us working. We get to the backside climb and drop Chad, so now just Karl and I. We catch Tintsman, back to three. Onto the main climb, we catch Randall Coxworth. Now 4 rolling to the finish, I’m kinda pissed, about getting dropped, but I’m finishing with three strong strong riders on a brutal course. Bordine hits it hard up the last 300m, I am empty but I see we are catching Mike Easter. I dig harder, Karl is about 10 seconds in front of me, Tintsman and Coxworth are about 20 seconds behind me, I just want to catch Easter now, Karl catches him first and pushes him the last 50m to the finish.

I roll in 5 seconds later-15th. I’ll take that.

Great work guys on such a gnarly course!