Body Concepts Bicycle Race Team – Race Results:
Date / Race / Category: 2013-03-24 Regalado Road Race Report 45+ 4
Riders: 46, Starting Time 8:40 am. Starting Temperature: Approximately 50 Degrees. Ending Temperature: Approximately 65 Degrees.
Total Race Miles: 52 Miles. Total Race Time: 2 Hours 23 Minutes. Average Race Speed: 21.8 MPH
Teammates: Randy Volkmar, Gary Neiman, Charley Magnuson, Pete Gemmell, Ron Faulk, Matt Conidaris
Race Report: Regalado Road Race Report: by Gary Neiman
Overall, I thought the pace of this race was not too fast. I think most were waiting for the selection to occur on the final lap, which it did. BC always had riders at the front, which was great to see. I was at the front on the first lap but dropped back on the gravel section and it took most of the next lap to work my way back up. Once I got there, I stayed there, which has been one of my goals to work on holding my position. I struggled in the deep gravel at the turns, literally surfing through it. After the race, Ron said that it’s like cycle cross and you have to peddle through it. A few breaks tried to go off, but mostly single riders and nothing stuck. The gravel really took its toll with stranded riders lining that section of the course I assume with flats.
The lead out played out a little differently. There were about 25 riders left coming into the finish. Charlie was leading out Pete prior to the 1k on the inside of the road. I was in the top 5 on the middle of the road and went around the front to get in front of Charlie inside 1k. I took Pete to just inside the 200 meter mark, which was just beginning to ascend the final hill. I knew this was probably not far enough, but it was as far as I could go.
What worked:
- Pete did a good job directing and heard him shouting at me from behind when I was in front to take some type of action, i,.e pushing the pace on the gravel.
- We did get a lead-out organized and they do not work every time and they do take practice. Given the hill, it would have been nice to get Pete up to at least the first stair-step here. That probably would have required us to delay the lead out, which would have put us at risk of being swarmed.
- No BC riders at the back, with the exception of me after the first trip through the gravel.
Still need to work on communication, but it continues to get better. We need to keep the chatter going up until the final sprint.
Race Report: Regalado Road Race Report: by Matt Conidaris
We all stayed towards the front of the group on the first lap entering the gravel section, which is approximately 13 miles into the 17 mile lap. The condition of the gravel road was the best I’ve ever seen it. It was fairly smooth with gravel thicker gravel on the sides and in the middle. Randy Volkmar was second wheel behind Ron Faulk when he flatted about halfway through the gravel section. The rest of the team members made it through the one mile gravel road with the lead group. Richard Gelsi-Medeot, Cal Giant, & Donald Case, Cushman & Wakefield, also flatted in this gravel section on the first lap. Gary, Ron & Charlie would occasionally go to the front and take a pull.
Things were pretty uneventful until the third and final time through the gravel section. As we approached the railroad tracks, a rider on the right side of the road hit a bolder and crashed, causing four other riders to crash. The crash caused everyone to move to their left, which pushed me to the far outside and didn’t give me enough room to make the right turn after the railroad track s. My front wheel started to wash out and I had to unclip to avoid going down. After I clipped back in, the lead group was approximately 50 yards in front of me. I went as hard as I could go to get back on and caught the main group on the downhill after the gravel section ended. I was pretty cooked, so I just sat on the back of the group.
As we were approaching the finish line about 2k out, a Cushman & Wakefield Rider crossed wheels with teammate, Kevin O’Donnell, and crashed right in front of me. I swerved around him and barely missed hitting him. My legs were cooked, so I just tried to find a good wheel to sit on coming into the finish.
As we approached the 1k sign, Charley and Gary were on the left side up towards the front of the peloton. Pete worked his way onto Gary’s wheel. At approximately 300 meters, Charley started the leadout and pulled for about 100 meters. Gary did the final leadout t pull for approximately 100 meters and Pete sprinted towards the uphill finishing line. He held the lead for about 30 meters and got swarmed and ended up placing 18th. Ron Faulk went past me and worked his way up through the pack for a 10th place finish. Charley finished 19th, I finished 20th and Gary 22nd.
With approximately 30 rides contesting the sprint and the center line rule in force, I think that Charley and Gary did a great job of leading Pete out. In addition, Pete stayed out of the wind throughout the race and gave it everything he had to try and win the race. Gary was sick, but still came to the race to support his teammates. He worked hard during the race taking a lot of pulls and emptied the tank in the final leadout. Charley took a lot of pulls during the race and emptied the tank in his leadout. Ron took a lot of pulls during the race and did a great job at the end of the race to place 10th. Randy Volkmar was riding strong, and had he not flatted, I confident that he would have been there to help with the leadout and had improved Pete’s chances for a win. As Gary said after the race, “It’s better to try the leadout and fail than not try it at all.” This is the first time of doing this race that I stayed with the lead the whole race. In all prior times of doing this race, I was dropped in the gravel section of the course on the first or second lap. As we get further into the season and my fitness improves, I’m looking forward to helping with taking pulls during the race and leadouts at the end of the race.