On a bright and sunny Sunday, I drove to Estacada for the 20 mile time trial along the Clackamas River. My start time was just before noon, so Joanne and I arrived about an hour early, giving me plenty of time to warm up. We parked the van next to Mark Zielinski, Rick Kercheski and Phil Litchfield. But once I was on the trainer, I was focused inward. My goal was to finish the twenty miles in under an hour. I thought I could do it, but I would have to work hard.

With just a few minutes before my start time, I rolled out of the upper parking lot and headed to the start. I declined the “time trial hold” as I am still a bit skittish about my recently healed broken leg.

The course is flat to start with, but within the first few hundred feet, there is a small hill, placed there just to show you that the course will not be completely flat. I knew this hill would hurt on the way back, and by the faces of racers who were finishing, I was right.

I never saw my minute man; I had no rabbit for the first four miles. I brought my heart rate up to 150+ beats per minute and held it there. After the small hill at the beginning, the course is mostly flat for several miles. I stayed within myself and I thought I was having a good ride.

I intended to press the “lap” button on my Garmin Edge 305 every mile so I could see how many minutes each mile was taking me. One problem: I was in a river valley with steep cliffs on each side. My Garmin lost contact with the GPS satellites. Oh well.

After four miles, Rick, who started two minutes behind me, passed me offering encouragement as he did so. I felt some of his power, and picked up my speed just a little bit to keep him is sight. I managed to do so for about a mile or two, but Rick finally pulled away from my sight.

Rick had warned me about a hill that was at the seven mile mark. He was right. My speed dropped to the low teens, and my heart rate rose well above my lactate threshold. But I crossed over the top and enjoyed the small descent down to the turn around. Yes, I peddled down the hill. I usually coast down hills in my Ultras, but this race was only twenty miles, and I need to make up some time!

The return was hard. Now I had some wind to ride against, and my heart rate showed that I was putting more effort into peddling. Surprisingly, the small hill that marked the end of the race came upon me sooner that I thought. I hit the hill hard knowing that once I crossed over, it the finishing line was just a few hundred feet away. My heart rate rose to it maximum of the day, 179 beats per minutes. And yes, I was very happy to cross the finishing line.

My time was 58:56, over a minutes below my goal. My average speed of 20.36 was higher than my average speed for the last As the Raven Flies TT (19.42).

Photo courtesy of Bruce Burke

Mens CAT 3: by Sage Freeman
This was a fun race! I typically do not like crits with the high crash risk factor but this course is wide open with only one “sharp” corner. The race began at a steady tempo pace with a few early break attempts. Kurt Haas, Mike Stockton and myself were there to represent Capitol Velo. Ironclad, Life Cycle and Therapeutic Assoc. also had 3 riders per team. 27 riders total for this race.Jen Akeroyd raced with the Mens CAT 3 and showed us all how strong she is, riding in the top 5 almost the entire race. With about 15 laps to go, a break formed with about 4 guys. They seemed to put some distance on the field getting about half a lap at the most. Kurt, Mike and myself all made attempts to bridge but with no success. Therapeutic had a man in the break and another marking all the bridge attempts. TJ on Therapeutic  raced brilliantly keeping all the attempts at bay. One guy in the 4 man break crashed on a corner and another popped off. I thought we might bring it back until we got down to the final laps. It became a field sprint for third place. Kurt went to the front with half a lap pinning it into the final corner to the finish. Stockton managed to sprint for 7th and I pulled 9th. Fast and fun!!

Juniors Race: by Jennie & Matt Jones
My daughter Jennie raced the Icebreaker and it was her second race. For her first race at the Capitol Cup she went out really hard and tried to keep up with the older junior racers so she was in the lead in her division for the first several laps, but she was slowly reeled in as she ran out of gas by the time she finished. This week she had a differentt strategy; stay with her group and pace herself slower and then kick it up in the last several laps. We had a swim party over in Springfield and we got to the event just before the race so she was a bit tired from that to start with. She certainly was pacing herself, so much so that she was falling back so I of course was yelling commands from the side like “Go harder!”, “Shift into a bigger gear!” (sideline parents can be such jerks.) She picked it up a bit but I could tell she was hurting. She later told me her quads had a pretty good burn going! She caught up to her team mates (which were doing a great pace line by the way!) near the last lap going around the first corner but by the time they came back into view at the last corner she was way behind again. She didn’t say anything, but I noticed she had a bit of road rash on her knee. She said “oh, yeah, I crashed just before the last corner.” She said she went over a square thingy (Metal valve cover in the road or??) and her rear tire wiped out. No tears, or even much worry about it. She is one tough girl! She says she is having fun racing which I of course love to hear!

Photo courtesy of Pat Malach, Oregon Cycling Action

Mens CAT 3 : by Sage Freeman
It was another great race for Kings Valley this year. I have yet to be disappointed with the weather conditions or toughness of this race in the past three years I have attended. The race pace shot up quickly from the start with several guys popping off the back on the early rollers (so I heard). I positioned myself at the front of the race, cautiously marking all the known leaders. Word-RCB had two strong riders (Bedford & Hansen) with Hansen breaking off the field early. I decided to mark Bedford’s wheel not knowing exactly what to do. Spahr from Ironclad also made some early efforts to break but was heavily marked by the field. Things settled down a bit once we pulled the early break back. Lap 2 Mitch Lee from Portland Velo broke away but his attempt was futile since he had one Team Oregon rider with him and they were not working together. Climbing the finishing hill on lap 2, I noticed Kurt Haas and James Shingleton up on the front looking very strong. On the final lap, I noticed my legs beginning to cramp. I tried everything in this race to avoid cramps, eating and drinking often, popping electrolyte caps every lap, but once you start to feel cramps it’s often too late.  Adam Edgerton from Team O broke away on the rollers in lap 3. I mistakenly thought it was another rider. Spahr on Ironclad broke off not long after with Hansen (Word-RCB) and Boswell (Hot Tubes) chasing. I knew that was the winning break and didn’t have the legs to follow. On the finishing climb I went backwards in the field watching my team mates (Haas, Shingleton, Stockton) finish strong.

Masters 40+/50+: by Jim Henry
Hello Fellow “Velo”  I hope that those of you that saw the OBRA  result page for Kings Valley realize that I was NOT disqualified for a yellow line violation! As any one who rode the old guys race can attest to, “it was freakin hairy” by that I mean the brake -skid-pedal-sprint movement of the peloton put all riders at great risk ( there was indeed a crash 4 or 5 guys, one broken collar bone ) and I chose to ride in the extreme left on one or two occasions ( ask Rick Kercheski, we rode side by side for a bit ) instead of slamming in to the rear of the guys in front of me. I tried explaining that to the guy in the follow car, (” look man I did not advance- all I did was avoid skidding “  ) but those pleas fell on deaf ears. I raced for two laps and reality kicked in at the first little hill on lap 3. No blood – no foul. A big thank you to John Divelbiss who towed me back more than once and to ageless Phil who rode like a champion the few times I made it to the front to watch how these “skinny fast guys ride.” I picked up a personal sponsor Saturday ( D. airy Q ueen ) who allows me free ice cream after every race so if you see d.q. by name name you now know why.Really though, we had a big Capital Velo turnout, it really was a huge kick to “bench race”afterwards with the team. It is sunny n dry so get out n enjoy today.

Mens CAT 4/5: by Matt Jones
The 4/5’s race was one big surging machine that hadn’t settled in by the time I got dropped heading up the finishing hill on the first lap. Warren did a great job working his way up towards the front!  I don’t know how he did it, but it must have been some great skill, or pure lady luck. Every time I tried to move forward the pack got sketchy and bunched up and then spring forward again. Brake! Sprint! Brake! Sprint! Smelled like hot brakes on aluminum back where I was. There was a break in the tail heading into Airlie Road and I used up a bunch of gas getting on to the pack again. I had just started to recover going into the climb (still surging!) up to the finish where I went OTB. I had a nice smooth relaxing race, er, ride, after that, chatted with several folks who also were enjoying the scenery and the weather couldn’t have been better. Learned the same lesson as I did at last weeks Capitol Crit; Get in the front eight to ten riders and stay there! I’ll figure it out one of these days!

PS- Though this is a tough course I loved it for some reason so a big thank you to everyone who makes it possible year after year!

Men’s CAT 3 Race: by Kurt Haas
First off let me start with a big kudos to the Willamette University Cycling team for putting on the race.  It was really nice to be able to race right here in Salem.  I was able to warm up on my trainer in the garage and roll over to the race right before it started.  You don’t get to do that very often.

In the race it was great to see a large number of us in the Cat 3 field sporting the Cap Velo colors.  The bummer was that for the second weekend in a row our team missed the winning break du jor.  After the first prime sprint 2 riders went clear of the field and that was that.  I tried once to bridge really hard, while Mike and the rest of the crew patrolled the field but was not able to make any ground.  A few of us tried with a little less effort later to bridge, but it was now clear that we were going to have a field sprint for 3rd place.  The race continued with a few more hard efforts by different riders but nothing was going to get any ground on what was left of the field.  With 5 laps to go they announced a field prime for us and I heard blah, blah, blah $$$$$$$$$$.  I figured what the heck, might as well try to make some money.  One rider attacked early on turn 3 and then another took after chasing him out of turn 4.  I went on his wheel, he opened a gap on me but I was still hanging in there, we passed the early attack and then I started to close on the rider in front of me.  I missed the prime by less than a foot (huge bummer).  At this point it was time to recover and get ready for the field sprint (for 3rd).  We came out of the last corner when the sprint took off in earnest.  I was on Mike’s wheel coming out of the corner and sprinted up the inside lane when everyone else seemed to be heading outside.  I was able to pick off a few riders and took 7th overall and 5th in the field sprint.  Overall I was happy with how I felt in the race, just a little ticked that we keep missing the breaks.  Next time.

Mens CAT 4/5 Race: by Matt Jones
As for my race I had a bad day. But it was also my Jennie’s, my daughter, first bike race so that part was awesome! The juniors raced just before us, so instead of warming up prior to my race I was taking pictures and rooting for Jen. I probably should of at least had some warmer cloths on! I got one warm up lap before the Cat 4/5 race lined up, not nearly enough. As we were listening to instructions on the line the rain started to fall, then flat opened up with an icy cold downpour. This was my first crit and I was anxious about the corners and I let myself slip towards the back of the pack. when we rounded corner #2 the headwind was brutal. I managed to stay on the tail of the pack until lap seven and then the gap opened up a bit further unitl they yanked me on lap ten. I got to watch the remainder of the race from the first corner and on the bell lap saw the big pileup on Waverly, one nasty crash! I expected a DNF but OBRA results say I finished 28th out of 33. Next time I’ll take the time to properly warm up, and remember to bring my riding glasses and leg warmers!

Photo Links
Tim Elhers – http://www.timehlers.com/share/9N16l6FGfiYLo
Tim Antone – http://www.flickr.com/photos/cvrc/sets/72157623690224015/
Leonard Johnson – http://leonardjohnson.zenfolio.com/p14967963

Photo courtesy Pat Malach, Oregon Cycling Action

Mens CAT 3 Race: by Sage Freeman
Sunday was tough! After the neutral roll out the field ramped up to a blistering speed. The crosswinds were punishing, the tailwinds forced the group to a suffering pace, the headwinds seemed to be the only relief tucked back in the pack. I spent most of my energy early in the race laps 1 and 2 trying to get in breaks. I was successful 3 or 4 times but the breaks kept getting pulled back. Half way thru lap 3, the final break went off. Kurt Haas jumped a few moments later attempting to bridge up with a couple others. Ironclad began to slow things down on the front since they had a man in the break. Mike Stockton also went to the front trying to slow things down in hope that Kurt could stay away. By the end I had very tired legs, bordering on cramping with no snap left for the field sprint. Like I said, this was a tough race.

Mens CAT 4 Race: By Eric Vickers
My legs have been feeling really good lately, so I talked myself into racing today! My day didn’t start so well, so hence the reason I was talking myself into racing! I awoke at about 3am in the morning with a pretty heavy intestinal disorder! A couple hours later I was able to get to sleep again!  I awoke again at 10am, surprised I was able to fall back asleep. Feeling better and a bit of breakfast, then off to the races. At the race, that I knew would be hard! (wind and rain) It was confirmed by Sage, Mike, Kurt, and Jim….. It’s gonna hurt!

As Mark Z. and I are waiting for the race to start, it’s starts to sprinkle! No worries! I tell myself as I am cooling off quickly! Finally we are off on a so called ‘Neutral Start’ for the first 2.5mi….. This is funny cuz we are now doing 28-29mph in a torrential downpour and had already dropped a number of racers…. Hmmmmm! All good tho, I knew the legs were feeling really good! Over the tracks and the race begins for real this time! Four guy’s are off the front as soon as we turn right, and their team mates imediately started blocking! They had 45 seconds in no time. After a couple of miles and a turn into the headwind 3 Portland Velo guy’s and myself take it upon ourselves to try to bring the break back. Swapping positions at the front, I think we were starting to make headway, legs still feeling awesome….. Until my first cramp, right calf! Ouch, backed off a bit and was able to keep my position, fighting thru it, it was my turn up front again. I was digg’n deep and made it thru my pull, but standing to make it up the next roller Cramp #2…. left calf, d*%n!. I lost a bunch of spots quickly.I was able to stay on but now both calves were cramping and I couldn’t push the pedals anymore, I slipped off the back. I was able to catch back on again but the cramps came right back… 13.5 miles in and my race is done. Pretty bummed, I turn off the course and rode back to the finish. Z-man made it another lap!

Since I DNF’d I was able to watch the finish of the other afternoon races. We were well represented in the Cat4 race with Earl Hazekamp, Tyler Rupe, Mike Emerson, Christian Francis. Earl, Tyler and Mike all had good races. I think Earl was in the top 10. Thanks for listening

Mens CAT 5 Race: By Zachary Jabin
In the 5s the pace was really slow due to the wind and no one but Warren was spending much time at the front. I sat back for the first lap and then most of the 2nd lap but I felt to boxed so i decided to move up. I moved up and took a pull on the front in hope that people would start cycling through but no such luck. With Warren and i doing all the work and the pace still pretty slow I jumped of the front a quickly developed a gap that lasted for almost half of the 3rd lap. When the group caught me a lot of people had been dropped and the attacks were starting. I was able to hang with the attacks, but my legs were feeling a little worn from my break. After being neutralized the attacks the group the attacks resumed and going into the finish there were only 15 or so of us with the front group. My sprint wasn’t great but came in 12th. Warren came in 9th.

Photos courtesy Mathowie

As the Raven Flies Time Trial #3: by John Henry Maurice

Yesterday was a busy day.

I woke up at 4:30 am. This because I was a volunteer at the Birkie Brevet put on by the Oregon Randonneurs. My job was to work registration and I had to be in Forest Grove at 6:00 am. Forest Grove is an hour away from my home.

It was cold in Forest Grove, but we got 41 folks off on what would prove to be an excellent ride. But my mind was on other things, like how I would rip my lungs out on my second attempt at the As the Raven Flies Time Trial.

I arrived at the race start with just enough time to warm up. I put my LeMond on my stationary trainer and rode it for 25 minutes getting my heart rate up to 145 bpm. The course is flat, for the first 100 yards, then you climb the highest hill on the course. As such, you must be warmed up right as you begin.

I headed down to the starting gate 15 minutes before my start time of 10:29. I first check the race clock. It was close enough to real time that I was not late. I decided a last minute bladder emptying was in
order but I had to wait in line for five minutes causing me some anxiety. But no worries as I was at the start with time to spare.

Unlike last week, the sun was out and the temperature was in the mid- fifties – perfect racing weather. My legs felt good and I thought I did have a chance to take some time off of my last weeks time of
40:37. I had not set any specific goals, well perhaps a few – do better than last week, race hard but have fun!

The last ten second count down always seems to take five seconds and fifty seconds at the same time. But I heard “zero” and I was off. I had just enough time to get my heart rate up before the hill started. As the incline increased, I shifted down into the middle chain ring (yes, I ride a triple) as I had wanted to be in a gear that I could spin as I crested the top. I watch my heart rate go into zones it rarely sees, but always stayed in a gear that I could spin. I did not want to blow up on the first hill of the route.

Looking up, I could see my minute man near the top of the hill. Hmm, I have a rabbit. Let’s to rabbit hunting!

Cresting the hill, I was in good shape. I shifted into my top gear, and peddled down the hill chasing my rabbit. No coasting for me!

Having done the course the week before, I was a bit more aggressive in the corners. I roadway was smooth and clear of gravel, so I felt fine as I zoomed through down the course. Keeping an eye on my rabbit, I could tell that he was not pulling away from me. It seemed like we were equal on the flats, but on each little hill, I was gaining. So, I worked extra hard on each hill and I could see the results. My rabbit was getting closer!

On the last little hill before the turn-around, my rabbit was getting into dire straits. His cadence was slow and so was his speed. I passed him like he was standing still. It felt good.

Now, I was in trouble. My rabbit was now behind me making me his rabbit. And I had no one to chase. This could be bad. At the turn- around, I could see that I was not that far in front of my former rabbit. I focused and worked as hard as I could on each little hill trying to eke out every bit of speed I could.

There is one turn in the course, one place where you can easily look over your shoulder to see what is behind you. When I made this turn, I did look behind me to see where my chaser was, and I could not see him! I had dropped him!

Now, it was me against time. I knew I was doing better than last week. I did some quick mental calculations, and determined I had a chance of finishing below 37:00. As I came to the last hill, I was determined
not to blow up so I shifted down to the smallest cog the bike has while staying in the big ring. I could feel myself slowing and I wanted to shift into the middle ring. But looking up I was only 20 yards from the top so I increased my effort and peddled harder.

Cresting the hill, I shifted into my highest gear, but I needed a few seconds to recover. Just moments later, I peddled as hard as I could down the hill, taking the last corner at speed and sprinted for the finishing line. I crossed it at 37:04:72. I felt great! I almost made it, but missed by only five seconds.

I finished 21st of 27 starters in my classification and 67th our of 92 started combined.

Life is good.

Photo courtesy, Rich The Neighbor

As the Raven Flies Time Trial #2: by John (The Hammer) Henry Maurice

The starting location of the As the Raven Files Time Trial is on a flat section of road, that is, it is flat for 100 yards before you begin the first and hardest climb of the route. My goal was not to blow up on this hill; not to blow up in the first quarter mile of the race. I was successful, but my minute man also passed me on the hill, and he passed me as if I was standing still.

Before last November when I broke my right tibia and fibula, this hill would have been fun. Today it was a challenge, a test of strength that I do not have. I struggled and I was happy to see the top! I shifted into my big ring and noted that my minute man was still in sight at the bottom of the hill. It took me 30 seconds to reach where I had seen him.

After the big hill, the course crosses five rollers as it wanders around the foothills southeast of McMinnville. This meandering gives the race it name – As the Raven Flies. Seems ravens like hills and can not hold a straight line for more than a couple hundred yards.

Cresting the last roller, I dropped down to one of the flattest sections as the course leaves the foothills for the valley floor. Of course, now I could feel the south wind in my face. But I did not have to suffer the wind for long as I soon came to the turn-around.

I successfully make the u-turn and headed back the way I came. The five rollers did not prove difficult, and neither did the last hill. Cresting the hill, I pick up speed as I descended and negotiated the last turn and sprinted for the finishing line. I hope it was impressive, as I was out of breath as I crossed the line.

My official time should be (hopefully) under 40 minutes, and I can not be too unhappy with it. Now that I have approval from my doctor to begin hard training, I can work on slowly recovering what I have lost since my accident, including the two inches my right quad lost!

Photo courtesy, Pat Malach Oregon Cycling Action

Mens CAT 3: by Sage Freeman
This was the last banana of the bunch and Cap Velo was looking to keep Mike Stockton in his 5th place standing in the series. The race for the CAT 3 Men started out fairly casual by ramped up within 1/2 a lap. Breaks began to form what seemed to be early in a 6 lap, 66 mile race. After multiple attacks last week (BB2) and crossing the line with tired legs, I decided to be patient and wait to join breaks later in the race. Unfortunately this early break stayed away the entire race. By lap 3 the break had gained 1 min 50 secs on the field. I sat back in the group patiently waiting for other teams to go to the front and work to bring the break back. On lap 5 the break was pulled back to within 40 secs. On lap 6 heading into the finish the plan was to lead out Kurt who would in turn lead out Mike. Within 1K I could hear Mike telling me it’s time to go. I charged up to the front and hammered down into the final turn on the bridge. Then I saw Mike come around on the small hill to the 200K sign. I yelled out “go…go…go…” and watched Mike rally up the hill. Unfortunately it was still a bit to early for Mike to ramp up his sprint and the field swallowed him up. So life goes… To live and let race another day.

Mens CAT 4/5 40+ : by John Divelbiss
Race lesson learned on Sunday at BB3 with the 4/5 40+:  Don’t lead out 17 of your new best friends.  Or, don’t start sprinting until you really know where the finish line is. Or, people like to tuck in behind the tall guy who has no clue how to time his big efforts.  Bring on the Scott’s Ride Stop Sign Sprints!  I need the practice.

Mens CAT 5: by Zachary Jabin
The Cat 5 race was just me this week. There was a crash going on to the damn on lap one but I stayed clear of it. I hung back til lap 3 when i tried to get a break away going but no one seemed interested so I went back to the pack and settled in. With a mile or so to go someone went of the front and stayed away but coming up that last hill towards the finish I took off and held off the field until 30 meters to go when I started getting past up and I ended in 8th place.

Echo Red to Red XC, photo courtesy Oregon Velo

Singlespeed: by Kurt Haas
I raced at the Echo Mtb. race in the singlespeed field. It was a fast and tough race with some out of a state riders pushing the pace. I had a good race considering I had not touched my mountain bike since last fall except for the shakedown ride this last week around town with my daughter in tow on the tag-a-long. I was riding with the #2 & #3 riders for over 1/2 of the race (the winner was long gone at this point) but they slowly started to pull away from me and I decided to cut my losses and not chase. I made sure to not lose any places after that point finishing in 4th place, but saved some legs for today at the BB#2.

On a side note, this is the 2nd year of this race way over in Echo (aprox. 4 hour drive from Salem out I-84) and I have to say it has become one of my favorite races of the whole Oregon Mtb. scene. The long course is 28 miles long and 22 of those miles are on single track without any mud, which is unheard of on most races. Amazing trails, great organization, well marked, and wonderful atmosphere. If you are considering mountain bike racing, I would check this race out next year. Hope to see some of you out there on the dirt side of things.

Mens CAT2: by Dusty Miller
Kurt and I where at Echo, and it was a perfect day for MTB race. The course was almost all tight and sometimes rough single track. I believe Kurt got 4th in the always fast single speed category, and I didn’t fair so well. I was towards the front of the cat 2 (sport) race, my guess 4th or 5th because the group I was with all scored podium spots in their age groups. Well with about 2 miles to go there was a turn off for the Pro’s/cat 1 and for some reason they pointed me that way. Probably the result of the sexy new team kit. Anyway I did an extra seven miles. I guess the moral victory is that I still didn’t finish last even with the extra loop. A bummer considering the drive time.

Banana Belt 2, Photo courtesy Pat Malach, Oregon Cycling Action

Men’s CAT3: by Mike Stockton
So this last Sunday was Banana Belt #2 and what a race it was. We had great weather for the am races and the course was swept as well because of the opening of the park to the public this weekend. For the second race of the 3 race series, the race was in the counter clockwise direction with a Hill Top finish instead of the usual fast downhill. The Cat 3 race started with Team Oregon going to the front and setting the pace around for the first lap. Sage was very active in the race going with several break attempts and taking a solo flyer as well. On the 3rd lap a group of about 10 riders went off the front just before the dam which included Sage, Kurt had come up to me and asked what we should do and we decided that we would sit and wait to see what was to come of it…..looked promising but could quickly see that there were only a couple guys working together of which included Sage but the otheres were just getting in the way and the break was pulled in by the top of the hill after the damn crossing. Kurt was riding very strong in the group and was able to move around in the group with ease and this is after driving a total of about 7 hours of driving and his 4th place finish at Echo on Saturday. I was feeling awful during the race and didn’t honestly know if I would even make to the finish, My head felt like it was going to explode so I was in survival mode just making sure I was staying to the front and staying in position in case the group was to split after the climb up from the damn. With about a lap to go a Ironclad rider made a big effort and ended up off the front by about 45 seconds, don’t think anyone expected him to stay off and kind of let him dangle out there, but he did have just enough gap to make it to the line. With about a K to go Sage, Kurt and myself put ourselves twords the front, I saw a group moving up the left side and figured this was it so I jumped hard to get the back of the group, next thing I know were at the 200m flag and everybody took off up the hill for the sprint. If the line would have been just another 50m longer we would have caught the Ironclad rider…but there is always BB#3! Overall Capitol Velo/PB Lifesource team had a great race and good results!

BB#2 Results for Cat 3
Mike Stockton: 7th
Kurt Haas: 22nd
Sage Freeman: 37th

BB Series Standings Cat 3
Mike Stockton: 6th tied for 5th
Sage Freeman: 14th
Kurt Haas: not available

Men’s CAT5: By Matt Jones
Here is my race report for BB2. Looks like Cap Velo had another good turnout with several top 10 finishes! I felt a bit off Sunday morning, almost to the point of staying home, but figured I would drive up and give it a go anyway. This weeks race was much faster than last week and I was just happy to hang on the back of the main group. Warren and Zach were near the front the entire time and I tried a couple times to move up to them but the wind and my flip flopping gut made it difficult to say the least. By the last lap I was feeling a bit better and at around 3 or 4K to go I pushed up to the middle but was hedged in pretty tight. We hit the finishing hill and much of the group was struggling, I don’t know what got into me but I found a gap with about 400M to go and stood in a big gear and just hammered it with everything I had. I passed a bunch of racers and ended up in sixth place crossing the line! My best road finish so far!

Masters 50/60+: by Craig Beavers
Wow! What a crazy day for the masters 50/60+ Two crashes! One on the second lap and one on the fourth lap on the flat section just before the finish.Phil L. and myself were present to represent cap velo.As the race unfolded Ivan Meadors went off the front on the first lap early.The pack eventually caught him after almost a full lap.Laps two three and four he and others would go off the front making everyone chase them down.Each time up the dam hill we would get stretched out with lap three being a huge effort to stay in contact.As usual after going over the bridge on the last lap the pace gets very fast.Thanks to Mike Stockton tip that the left side was better.Was able to avoid the crash and sprint up the left side unimpeded.Pretty sure I placed fourth.Hope Phil L. didn’t get caught up in the crash. Again Phil is riding very strong and looking good in our colors. Way to go Phil!