Team Swift Junior Cycling Development Program

Team Swift Race Reports

March 2008

Copperopolis Road Race
The Grasshopper
Webster-Roubaix Road Race
Merco Credit Criterium and Road Race
Alumni Report
Mountain Bike Reports

 
Rider Reports


Tyler Brandt
5th Place Copperopolis Road Race Elite 3

The Copperopolis Road Race is one of my favorites on the calendar. It is in the absolute middle of no where and I love it. It is always pretty early in the season and near the end of the season I tend to look back and think, wow it has been a long time since copper, a long season. At this point I get to sit up and enjoy the ride to come and the season that is just beginning.
Copper was my first road race of the season and I went into the race feeling content and ready. I have been feeling good on the bike and excited about my overall fitness. However, after my time trial last week in Visalia, which I was quite successful in, my hip got tight and messed up. I rode through it for the next week. Then on Friday, the day before copper, doing my pre-race ride I could tell that there was something wrong. I felt good, but then the last 10 miles of the ride my hamstring got tight and I just couldn’t push. That was not a great way to get the psychological/mental confidence in the right place.
I ignored it though and felt confident that it would work itself out by the morning. With a lot of stretching and a hot tub run it would all be back to normal I hoped. We awoke in the dark and I fixed myself two eggs and some toast. Not exactly having a huge appetite at 4 in the morning, but still needing to stuff some protein and carbs down. Luckily my awesome father drove me to the race so I got to sleep most of the way to the race, only waking up once as my dad stopped to take a picture of the still present, almost full moon.
We got to the race and after standing in line after line, I was able to get my number and use the restroom. Ryan and I went for a short spin and then we were off. We planned to take it easy on the first lap and so that’s what we did. I sat in the top 5 on the climb, just taking it easy and not pushing the pace. I talked to some friends during the climb while I some other people were suffering. I like to talk with people when I am feeling good, it’s good to mess with the others psychologically as they start thinking, “he is not even working and I am suffering, he is just sitting there talking!” So Ryan and I rode to the top of the first big climb in the front and then when we got the flats at the top I told Ryan to drift back into the field. He had sort of a confused look on his face like; “why would you ever do that!” but he came back with me. So we sat in the pack and just relaxed. We moved up at the end of the lap for the sketchy descent and then stayed near the front as we hit the climb again.
I started the climb and I noticed that my computer had been broken during the descent and it was dangling rather close to my wheel. So I went to the front and drilled it while trying to pull off my computer. When we got to the smooth section of the pavement Ryan attacked and then when he got a decent gap I made a hard jump that nobody followed and I bridged up to him. We rode together at a tempo pace hoping that some more guys would come up to us, but no one came so we let them catch us before the flats, because we were sure that we would not make it alone with another 2.5 laps to go.
Once again we took it easy on the flats and I was beginning to feel my hip problem. For the most part it was not too hard along the flats except for a few hard bursts. I tried to stay safe without having to do any work because I was not feeling too good. I knew that the race wouldn’t be won on the flats, but it could be lost there.
The third time up the climb I was suffering more, but I still sat in the top 5. Near the top of the climb two Z-team guys attacked and I tried to follow with a Webcor rider, but I was never able to get on their wheel. When I got to the flats the group was only about 10 seconds behind me and I thought that I would have a better chance of catching the Z-team riders if I was in the group. I tried to get a pace line going, but no one would work. The first half of the lap there were some attacks and one good one that I was in that got a little pace line going, but nothing worked. I went back mid-pack and searched for Ryan and could not see him anywhere. I figured that he had not gotten dropped on the climb, but it had looked like he was suffering, turns out that he stayed with the front group to the top of the climb with a flat wheel…impressive.
Then there was the last time up the climb and I was feeling as if I needed to just hang in there. I was able to sit top 10, but I was not feeling great. One rider attacked, but no one followed, and he was gone. I thought that we would catch him on the long flats to the finish, but that would not be the case.
Most of the last lap I just sat and watched. The pace was pretty vicious along the flats, but we did not bring anyone back. We got to the descent before the finish and it was pure mayhem. I sat about 5th wheel, so that I was out of the wind, but also out of danger.
The last few miles were fast, as would be expected, and I just tried to stay protected in the front. We hit the 1k sign and one rider attacked, but that did not last long. I knew that it was a long sprint and that a lot of people would go too early. So as we began the sprint I just followed wheels until I felt that everyone was beginning to die and then I punched it and made my move with about 200 meters. It was awesome to be able to handle those big guys this time as I did not have the gearing disadvantage with the uphill sprint. I won the field sprint, which was good enough for 5th place. I felt good, definitely was one of the best sprints that I have ever had. I even got an awesome Velo-Promo T-shirt!
-Tyler

Ryan Eastman
Copperopolis Road Race
Cat 3
The day started out with the sun rising over the mountains to the east. Tyler and I headed to the start line. We headed out on the bumpy road. The climb came around and our plan was to just sit in on this lap and see how things played out. It was just a fast steady tempo to the top of the climb. Once we got to the top we drifted about 25 guys back to sit in and stay out of the wind. We rode up the little climb that turns into the final descent to complete the first of 4 laps. The plan for this lap up the climb was for Tyler to set a hard fast tempo up the climb. Then I attacked I got a gap, and I’m not sure what went on behind but eventually just Tyler and I were off the front together. The gap got larger and we knew that just the two of us could not stay away for the rest of the race. We eased up a bit and road tempo not killing ourselves and we eventually got caught. For the rest of the way up the climb we sat on in third or fourth wheel. I was feeling really good. Once I was at the top on the flat section I dropped my chain and stopped to fix it. The field rode by me and I played it cool chasing back on knowing that I would eventually catch up. I rode on to the back of the now smaller pack and weaved my way back up to the top third of the group. As we road around the plateau to drop down the decent for the second time you could hear things breaking all the way down or the sound of the splashing bottles on the warm bumpy asphalt. Coming around for the second time now I saw my dad taking photos like he always does. Now it was the third lap. This is when it was going to all go down, up the climb. About two thirds of the way up I slowly started to realize that the road was feeling a bit more rough than usual, I look down and I have a flat. For some reason I did not want to believe it so I kept riding my butt off near the front. I slowly started to drift further back. With zero amount of air left in my back tire, I stopped, got off the bike and disappointedly sat there waiting to hitch a ride back to the finish because we had no follow vehicle. I finally got a ride back to the finish after not too long. I fixed my flat at our truck near the finish line and went out for a ride to cool off. I got back just in time to see my teammate, Tyler, soar up that final kick in the road to win the field sprint and taking 5th over all. That was pretty cool to see my captain do such a thing. It was a good day with good weather, and good fun!
Ryan Eastman


Zach Sargent
Juniors 15-16
Copperopolis Road Race
March 22, 2008

Friday my dad and I drove to the small town of Angels Camp to stay the night before the race. When we arrived, we checked in and then headed out to preview the course. With the map we had, we found a road that leads us onto part of the course. I hopped out of the truck, grabbed my bike, and started riding with my dad driving behind. After riding the course we went back to our room and went to bed. That morning my race started at 9. The Pro 1/2's left at 8 so we were informed they would be coming past us just as we stated the 21 mile coarse. Off we went. The first 4 miles was just easy riding getting settled in the peloton on the rough roads. VERY ROUGH ROADS. As we went on, I started to realize the road I had ridden the day before was not the right one. Oh Boy! Brentley was with me and had ridden the race the year before so as I talked to him I came to the understanding that my dad and I skipped over the hardest part of the course. The first and hardest climb. Four miles in we passed the feed zone and started going up. The strong rider moved to the front and began to hammer. After all of the intense training and preparation I had done for the month prior to the race, it all became worthless. About 14-16 other riders fell off the back including me. I was extremely disappointed. We continued on and formed a small paceline to catch up but that was spoiled when the Pro 1/2 peloton caught us. We were all forced to slow down and give way to the big guys. As they passed I recognized Scott Nydam and Nathan Miller as well as Jackson Stewart and many other riders I had met at the BMC Service Shop a few months prior. They passed us and we grabbed onto the back of them (even though it's not legal). Then they had a small crash with about 4 riders and we fell off. The rest of the first lap went fast and before I knew it I was dropped again off of my group on the climb just before the descent to the finish. Other riders were starting to fall off the main group and we passed a few of them. I went through the finish line and a San Jose Bike Club rider sat on my wheel for the next 5 miles. I was mad. I put the hammer on him and dropped him on the climb. Now I passed one other rider before catching Brentley. He as well had been dropped and we worked together the rest of the race. At this point the Cat 3's passed us towards the top of the first climb. Ryan and Tyler were in good position and waved as they passed me. Back on the flats Brent and I continued to pass riders who were spat out the back of other small packs. My fingers now had blisters from the rough roads and I could start to feel the burn. I ate some Cliff Bars and Shot Blocks and continued on. As we reached the top of the last climb I was exhausted. "I'm gonna Bomb this descent," Brentley told me. I could not trust my wheels enough to keep up with him and he beat me by about 45 seconds. I was finished. Exhausted and somewhat angry I cooled down. The race was a good experience and at the same time a small let down. My results have now inspired me to ride longer and harder to get better results for next time.

-Zach Sargent



Joey Nygaard
Copperopolis Road Race
7th Place, Junior 13-14

The morning of the race, my teammates Christian, Ryan, and I drove up to the start together. After a brief warm-up the 10-12 Swifties got in a car and drove out to their start line, halfway around the 20-mile loop. Since Stanley and I were starting from where we were, we got some more time to warm up.
On terribly paved roads, the race started out with a slow easy pace until we got halfway up the first big climb, where Marcus Smith attacked. I hung on but some people got dropped, and after a little while Marcus attacked again. I managed to hang on again, but the third time he attacked only Tyler from Tieni Duro could go with him. At that point I was third on the road, a little ways back of Tyler and Marcus, and a little behind me was a group of guys from the AC team. They caught me and I tried to hang on to their group for a while but I eventually dropped off. This was the first time I’d raced Copperopolis and I hadn’t realized that there was so much climbing. I had mostly been training on the flats and also doing short hill sprints, but I guess I should have been doing more long climbs on my training rides.
When I got to the summit of the climb, Marcus and Tyler were off the front and there was a group of AC guys between them and me. I started to make up some ground on them but then the wind picked up and the gap opened up again. After a little while of riding by myself, Chris LaBerge caught up with me and we worked together to catch the AC kids. I barely had any time to recover when we hit another small climb and my legs seized up and I found myself alone again.
After some tempo riding I saw up ahead that one of the AC kids was drifting back. I caught him right before the last climb and we tried to work together but he wasn’t going fast enough for me so I left him to try and catch the group in front of me. I bombed the tricky descent without going off the road, but my computer came off and I had to fumble with it to keep it from flapping around. I started to climb to the finish but at 200 meters to go Alexander Freund came zipping by me and stole my 6th place. After the finish my 10-12 teammate Stanley filled me in on what was going on in the rest of the race behind me.
I was a little disappointed with my race. I had hoped to do better, since I usually like road races better than criteriums. But it was nice to see someone other than Marcus or Alexander in first place, so I congratulated Tyler on his win.
Joey Nygaard

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Ryan Eastman
Grasshopper Road Race (a local group ride/race in Occidental)
March 15, 2008
6th Place


As my Dad and I drove through the country to the start in Occidental, It looked as if it was going to be a rainy day. Sitting at the start line awaiting the start Scott Nydam of BMC Pro Racing rode up behind me, I was happy to see that he had come. O’ Ya Levi was there as well. That was pretty cool too. So we set of to race now with Scott Nydam, Ben Standish (Dewar’s), Brian Anderson (Red Horse—winner of the Terrible Two), and I on the front. That was good because I didn’t have to deal with all the squirrelly people in the back. I knew the first deciding factor in this race would be the climb at the end of Franklin School Rd. So I just stuck on Levi’s wheel all the way up. Had a nice climb in awe that I am racing against Levi. I got to the top feeling pretty good, and having a blast. I was now in the brake away with Scott Nydam, Levi Leipheimer, Jonathan Lee, John Staroba, Tim Farnam, and one other guy. Everyone was either a professional or a cat 2. So that was really cool for me to be in it. We descended down to ride along the California coast of Hwy 1. It was crazy to be in a race with Levi, like riding by him, then taking a pull up front and then getting on his wheel. It was just kind of weird. I was taking some good pulls up front but never too hard to save myself for the later obstacles to come. That was one fun ride down the coast. We took the left hand bend to face Marshall Wall. Not too far into the climb I lost contact with Scott, Levi, and Tim. The first part of the climb I was just out of it, the I just peddled faster and got into this great tempo caught John who was trying to bridge back up to the three guys up the climb, he jumped on my wheel and we continued this hard fast pace to the top of the climb, where we eased up a bit for Jonathan to rejoin us and we quickly descended down.
Marshall-Petaluma Rd. is a rolling road where we set a fast tempo and caught a guy who got dropped from the Scott-Levi group. Now there was four of up to take on the upcoming Wilson Hill and the always constant head wind on Chileno Valley. Nearing the top of Wilson Hill I was thrilled to see my injured team mate Ethan on top to cheer me on, that was pretty cool of him to drive out to help his teammate. The head wind out was tough but we got through it to turn on Petaluma-Tomalas Rd. in which we could actually see the Scott-Levi group up ahead. They weren’t all that far away. We road across the valley to Bloomfield which we eventually turned on to Burnside, I was starting too feel it now, all the way up this climb Jonathan pushed me too keep going. There was no doubt in my mind to not, but it sure did help to have him there. That was awesome of him. At this point John Staroba, and another guy got away from us. So Jonathan and I descended down and after a Clif Bar, and a Clif Shot I had a new sudden burst of energy and gave my turn up front some strength. Jonathan and I reached the final short climb to the finish on top in Downtown Occidental I pulled all the way to the top and Jonathan and I crossed the finish line with our hands around each others shoulders that was a good moment. What a day so Levi won and I came in shortly after him in 6th place.
Ryan Eastman

Lindsay Myers
Grasshopper Race
March 28, 2008

The Grasshopper race was going to be a good one; I had been looking forward to it all week. The day started out good, too. I left for the race an hour early to ensure I would be there in plenty of time. I had an hour drive to Occidental, where it started. After an unintentionally long stop at the local coffee stop, I was on my way. Around 20 minutes into my drive, my car started making this “knocking” sound. This was a recurring problem. I have missed rides and races before due to this familiar sound, so I was not about to miss this one. I popped the hood, just because it’s what you’re supposed to do when your car breaks down. Once open, I just started at it, not really knowing what to do. I checked the oil, and it was a little low, so I added more. Hoping that was the only problem, after adding the oil I turned the car on only to hear a louder knocking.
My new plan was to find the next car with a bike rack on and flag them down. Before I had a chance to do this, a truck pulled up behind me. He had seen me with my hazard lights on and turned around to see if I was alright. The car had conveniently died the only stretch of the road where there was no cell service. He told me he would drive me to where I had service. I threw my bike in the back of his truck and grabbed all my gear. Once he started driving me toward Santa Rosa, he said he would take me all the way to Laura’s house, a good hour out of his way. I was really lucky to have been picked up by such a nice guy. He dropped me off and wouldn’t take any money for the inconvenience or gas. I walked into Laura’s house, and without explaining much of what happened, we got changed and rolled out. Although I wasn’t stranded anymore, I still was not sure I was going to make it to the race in time. It was at least an hour ride to Occidental, and we were pushing it. We high-tailed it to Occidental and rolled up with a good 15 minutes to spare. It wasn’t the relaxing morning I had planned, but it worked.
There were 170 people total. I didn’t know that much about the “race” and was surprised to see so many spandex-clad people. Levi Leipheimer and Scott Nydam were there…I had no idea the “celebrities” were going to show up. After chatting for awhile, and some announcements, we were starting down a super cold descent. Everybody stayed together until we hit the first short climb. The first climb really hurt, but I knew if I wanted any chance at doing well, I was going to have to stay towards the front.
I got off the first climb in a group about 20 strong. I stayed with those guys through the rollers along the coast. It was a nice view and I was feeling good, sprinting up all the short hills. By the time we got to the main climb, Marshall Wall, the group split up and I was getting more tired. I ate a gel and stayed with the guys at the back. I figured as long as I had someone to work with, I would be alright. At the top of the climb, there were 5 of us together. We took turns pulling and caught up to a couple more riders who latched onto us. There were about 10 of us who stayed together through Coleman Valley. We were going pretty slowly because of the crosswinds. I was feeling alright, then we turned on to Burnside Road—I felt the burn. Making it over that climb, I knew there was only a few miles left, finishing with a short climb.
I should have eaten something at that point. I was tired, barely hanging onto the wheel in front of me. I slowly made my way up the last climb and was the first woman to finish. Although I was happy about being the first woman, I was not happy with how I died coming up the last climb. I needed to eat something but didn’t pay attention and bonked. It was a fun race overall and I’m looking forward to doing more grasshopper races.
-Lindsay

Results:
http://gianni.cycling.googlepages.com/grasshopper


Grasshopper Adventure Series 2008: #2 Chileno

Rider Time Place
Levi Leipheimer 2:59 1
Tim Farnham 3:00 2
Scott Nydam 3:00 3
Chris Sneddon 3:04 4
John Staroba 3:04 5
Ryan Eastman 3:08 6
Jonathan Lee 3:08 7
Bing Knight 3:11 8
Ted Simpkins 3:11 9
Rich Thurman 3:11 10
Giampaolo 3:11 11

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Ashlyn Gerber
Webster-Roubaix Road Race
March22, 2008
Age: 15
8th Place, Senior Women Pro, 1,2,3

This past weekend was the Webster-Roubaix Road Race. It is a 66 mi road race over a 10 mile loop with a 3 mile section on a dirt road. I did the women pro, 1, 2, 3’s and we raced with the masters 35+. We had about 15 women in our race and 35 men. I felt great and was very excited to get out and test my legs.
The start was neutral until the last rider was off the dirt, which was about 2 miles from the start line. Once we got the go ahead to race the men picked up the speed. I felt great. I was about mid field and was just getting sucked along in the draft. I was in the field for the entire lap and my legs felt good. When we turned onto the dirt one of the first riders slid out and most of the group was slowed down. I was not ready for this and wasn’t able to bridge back up to the main field. There was a group of riders just in front of me but I was unable to close the gap. Once I had turned back onto the pavement they had already picked up the speed. I was with another girl but we didn’t work well together and I could see the group slowly pull away from us.
During this lap my little group grew to about 10 riders, but we still weren’t working together. I did a hard pull through the front and ended up just dangling off the front by maybe 40 meters. I held my gap for about 3 miles but let up after my feed on the dirt section when I saw the gap had closed down. When I got back into the group we were finally able to get a steady pace line going and I was content to just stay in the group.
For the next 3 laps our little group stayed together. I had given up the hope of catching the group in front of us and had turned my thoughts to how I was going to work the sprint out. Our group consisted of 5 women; me, two ladies from Team Naples Cyclery and two from Herbal Life, along with 3 master 35+ men. I knew all the women and have been racing with them since we were all category 4’s. I didn’t know how the sprint would go down but I was excited for it.
We were still together with 3 laps to go. Then I started trying to conserve more energy and let my legs recover. This lap went without anything exciting happen. On our sixth lap we lost 2 women. They were teammates so the race was down to me and the two Herbal Life riders.
Half way through the last lap we got caught by the pro men. We were passed by the field and the official in the follow car told us to not mix in with the other field. They were going relatively slow, so the official then decided to allow us to sit on the back. About 3 miles from the finish the pros picked up the speed and one of the ladies popped off the back. About a half mile later I and my remaining competition dropped. As we made the right turn onto the dirt I slowed up and let her pull. I could tell she wanted to be on my wheel but I didn’t want to pull through. About 100 meters away from the finish I could just see the start/finish banner. I kept waiting until about 50 meters away then I drilled it. I nearly crashed while sprinting on the dirt but I help it upright and won the sprint. I ended up 8th overall.
It was a great race and I was really happy with my result. I’m continuing to improve from race to race and hope to get my first win of the season in the near future.
Ride Hard,
Ashlyn
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Nick Kinney
Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic: The Weekend Epic
17-18 year old Junior, Cat 4

We (meaning Coach Laura, Lindsay and myself) left Laura’s house around 5 in the evening the Friday before the races in the Van. We picked up Ryan on the way and spent the trip talking about getting Tyler onto the World Championships team. Traffic wasn’t bad and Laura’s excellent driving skills got us to Merced that mush faster and we checked in, unloaded and met with Nathan Miller and Duke Schimmer to get some burrito’s at Victoria’s, (were Duke proceeded to order a burrito with French fries in it, yep a wholesome, healthy meal before race day) Then upon returning to the aptly named Vagabond Inn we hit the sack to recharge for the next day of racing.

Waking up on Saturday at 5:45, Ryan ate his hardboiled eggs and cold sausage while I munched on applesauce and bagels. After trading turns in the shower and figuring out that the toilet did indeed flush (the trick is to hold down the lever for 10 minutes) Ryan and I rode with Lindsay, who was staying in the room next to us, to the race course. Getting signed in took a lot longer than it should have and the consequences of getting my numbers pinned on late really showed as soon as the Juniors Crit started.

Nick Kinney
17-18 Juniors Crit
20th ish

With only one lap of warm-up in before the race started I did some stretching while Laura was talking strategy. Then Laura scared me by saying that a race official told her that one of our riders had failed roll-out, which I had just passed, but then it turns out it wasn’t me. With a blow of the whistle the race began and, juniors being juniors, the race started fast. Immediately splits began to form between the back of the pack and the front. I pushed my way up as far as I could but after 2 laps of hard pace and trying to vent the junk out of my legs I fell off the pack’s pace. After that it could only get better for me and jumping between small groups and riding by myself I managed to stay out of the pack’s way and was the last person to finish the race who wasn’t pulled off course by the race officials. Both Tyler and Ryan did very well in the finish, and though I missed out on it, I was glad they were able to do something with one of the smaller teams in the race. (Tieni Duro had like 10 guys line up)

Nick Kinney
Cat 4 Crit
No idea were I finished

So originally the plan was to not do the 4’s but the opportunity arose and I got a number a few minutes before the race. After Laura finished the Cat 3/4 women’s event a few laps before the finish as a mentor she pinned them on for me. I can’t remember all that well but I think I did roll out, and therefore ended up at the back of the pack before the start. The pack was full, around 100 riders and so the race referees warned that anyone dropping off the pace would be pulled off. Again the pace was fast from the gun and with one race in my legs already I felt better. However, the course played a more pivotal part in the 4’s race with the larger field and the chicane right after turn 2, coupled with rough roads, made the race even more dangerous. Within the first few laps I could tell I didn’t want to be part of the bumping and pushing which was happening all around me in the race. So my first cat 4 race ended prematurely with the race official telling me to pull off the course about 6 laps in. A bit disappointing but in retrospect it is probably better that I avoided the crashes that happened during the day on that chicane. Even Duke went down.


We ate dinner that night at De Angelo’s with Gavin Chilcott, Scott Nydam, Nathan Miller and Brent Bookwalter from BMC. I sat next to Scotty and had Gavin on the end of the table with Laura across from me. Laura started giving Scotty a hard time and Scotty ended up balling up his napkin and throwing it at her. The best part was when the food arrived seconds later, Nydam asked Laura for it back, commenting that he had thrown it because it was soft and wouldn’t have hurt. At that point I choked a little on my salad getting laughs from Gavin and Scotty. Words to the wise: Know what you order, because I ordered what I thought was pasta which turned out to be salad. We all ate joking and laughing for about an hour and when it seemed to me that we might be getting ready to go the pasta finally arrived. No pasta for me though but nonetheless it was a lot of fun.

At the Vagabond, we worked out some interesting sleeping arrangements, grabbing an extra towel (and getting more questions from the manager, we watched some Old School and Jimmy Kimmel Live on the telly, with no “clicker” to change the channel.. Again we woke up around 5:45 for the Road Race and after showers all around and breakfast we set out on the road with Laura talking race tactics and the course. I was on the waiting list and I couldn’t get my number until after 9:05. However I got it in time for Lindsay (who’s race was at noon) to pin me up and to get to the line. We didn’t start until around 9:40. As is expected for a bike race delays happen, all the time, but the 4’s eventually got underway.

Nick Kinney
Cat 4 Road Race
Hey all that matters is I finished

In all honesty I was shaking at the start with nervousness. I had no idea how it was going to work out, but I was hoping for the best. Merco is quite a hard way to start your cat 4 RR career, keeping in mind the only road races I did last year were at the Gold Nugget Junior Stage race, which can’t possibly count since I was one of 17 guys to start, combined, of all categories. The course was 24 miles of rollers and flats the hardest section being in the final 6 k’s. The rollers made my legs burn a bit, but for the first 8 miles or so I was comfortable, in the pack. Then we hit one of four big direction shifts, the ones Laura had warned about and with teams hitting the front to string it out I found myself in my hardest gear spinning off the back. After about 15 minutes of hard chasing I sat up and regrouped with a couple others who had been dropped. Looking around the race became about finishing. I saw Greg Schubert of Colavita fall back a little before I had so I knew it wasn’t only me, among the juniors who was spinning in their highest gear and for a while our group grew from 2 to 3 then to 4 on the final 6 miles of the course one guy hit the front hard and stretched it out dropping all 3 of us in the group, the 3 of us who were dropped found solace in the fact that he was now flapping in the wind for the next few miles and our aggressive group member was soon swallowed up by the master 35+ along with us. The race referee on the moto at the back of the Masters pack said that we could tag along but not get in the way as we started the second lap. Greg had also been swept up. Again the race strung out on the first big turn of the course but this time it stayed together, just barely. Later on that stretch was a right then a quick left which had the pack serpentine along the road over a few hundred meters. That unhinged me again, this time it was the bad position (all the dropped 4’s stayed in the back) and fatigue from a fruitless chase one lap before that broke me and I resolved to riding with a few of the masters, one other 4 and a Specialized Junior who was riding a lap for training. 6 k’s to go signaled the last few rollers of the course and on the first one I hit rock bottom, out of energy immediately I sucked down a shot and water but the damage was done and I finished alone.

I am glad I went as hard as I did because it gave me the opportunity to help out. Lindsay, whose race started minutes after I finished, had her leg warmers that she didn’t want to haul around 2 laps of the course. I was happy I could return the favor since she helped me get my number on. While Lindsay was out of course Ryan finished the 3’s and did well while Coach took 4th in the Pro women’s race. Now THAT is a race report I want to see. Later I stood in the feed zone with water and Mango Clif Shots as Lindsay’s Cat ¾ race passed. I was stoked to see Lindsay at the front, looking comfortable. She finished well too.

And thus ended the Merco weekend marathon. Around 6pm, after getting rid of Ryan, we unpacked and parted ways. Personally I pulled a lot of good experiences from the weekend. From the highs of eating with BMC and watching Ryan, Tyler, Lindsay and Coach doing well to the lows of bonking 6 k’s to go it was truly a blast and I can’t complain. And so until next time I bid you a fond adieu, thank you for reading this way-to-long race report (for if you have gotten this far you must be as tired as I), and can’t wait to see you at the races.

Nick
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Coach Laura’s Merco Race Report
4th Place, Women’s Pro, I, II Road Race

Merco Criterium: With all the events leading up to the Tour of California I was a bit behind in doing any speed work. So I decided it would be best not to do the criterium this year which was a bummer. This criterium is one of my favorites with all the corners, a chicane and good crowds. I enjoy mentoring the Category 4 women’s race to help keep it safe and to also see who is some of the up and coming riders. Team Swift graduate, Lindsay Myers, is riding on Dewar’s U23 Women’s Team (another development program that I am working with as an extension of my Dewar’s Masters Team. The race went fast and there were no crashes. Afterwards Lindsay and I cooled down and helped Tyler, Ryan, Nick and Duke get ready for their races. They all raced super hard in both their junior and senior criterium’s. Tyler finished 4th in the 17-18 year olds and Ryan 2nd in the 15-16 year olds.
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Alumni Reports

Lindsay Myers
Merco Credit Criterium
Dewar’s Racing Team
Category 3-4
March 1, 2008

Laura, members of Team Swift and I headed over to Merced on Friday afternoon. I was so excited for the weekend to start. The criterium was on Saturday, the road race on Sunday. After a high-quality burrito, I headed to bed dreading the early morning. I planned on riding to the race with the juniors at 6:30 in time for their early start.
Got some coffee, did my warm up and I was ready to race. Coach Laura was going to ride in my race as a mentor. The “bang” came and we were rolling. It was faster than I expected…a lot faster. I almost got dropped before the first lap finished. Laura came up and told me to get to the front on the next straight away. Right after we rounded the corner, I moved up on the left side just a couple wheels off the front. There was a major headwind going down the finishing stretch. My legs didn’t feel strong and I was just trying to keep a good draft in order to not get dropped.
I hung on throughout the criterium, sprinted to the front a couple times, but didn’t win any primes. I stayed with the field, came across the finish line in the middle of the pack. I was disappointed with how I raced. I didn’t ride aggressively at all. I warmed down for 30 minutes, and then talked to my coach Laura. She told me what I did well and what I needed to work on. She wanted me to ride at the front just to get the experience, try to break away even if it doesn’t stick. Fortunately there was a road race the next day, and I wanted to fix what I did wrong at the crit. This criterium was a learning opportunity, and at least I didn’t get dropped.

Lindsay Myers
Merco Credit Road Race
Dewar’s Racing Team
15th place women’s category 3-4
March 2, 2008

It was another early morning. I woke up at 6:00, rolled out of bed, and soon enough, I heard Coach Laura come into the parking lot honking the horn. We loaded up the bikes and gear and we were off. The wind had died down since Saturday, but it was still cold. I was glad my race didn’t leave until noon; there was plenty of time for it to warm up.
After being disappointed with my result in the Saturday crit, I wanted to do better and fix what I did wrong the day before. I wanted to race, not just ride. I was familiar with the course from the Snelling RR the previous weekend. I knew it would be windy and Laura talked with me beforehand telling me how to use the wind to my advantage in initiating, or chasing a break. My goal of the race was not necessarily to win, but to ride aggressively and take some chances.
With the 4th place finish of Laura in the pro race, you could say I was feeling motivated to do well myself. The field was big, I think around 70 women total, category 3 and 4. I was towards the back at the line waiting to go. With a slow start, we were off, 2 laps to go. I moved to the front of the field immediately. There were 3 women from the Wells Fargo team who I had raced with the weekend before. I knew they were good, and I anticipated they might initiate a break, or at least if there was a break, they would chase it down. They stayed towards the front, and I took their wheel, that’s where I wanted to be anyways. The first stretch of the race had several rollers. I stayed at the front up going over the hills. It was sketchy riding in the middle of the pack over the rollers, because some of the women slow down incredibly. We rounded the first corner and I moved back enough to catch a draft and recover. When I started to move up again, I saw someone about 200m ahead of the pack. I could’ve sworn it was a woman from my category who broke away. I sprinted up the left side of the field as hard as I could, reaching the “woman” and I sat in behind “her”. About 2 seconds later, when I looked up to see who it was, I realized I just sprinted up to someone from the men’s field that got dropped. So I gave myself kudos for bridging the gap, then I dropped back a bit and rode by myself for a few minutes. The field caught up, but didn’t pass me. I sprinted up every roller creating a small gap over each one.
We turned another corner, and this stretch was flat with a small headwind. My legs were feeling it a little, so I moved back to catch a good draft. The field slowed down until about 2 miles before the finish line where the rollers started again. I knew when we crossed the finish line it would be my only chance to see the finish. With some hard efforts over the hills, we crossed the line. Only one lap to go.
After the neutral feed zone, it picked up immediately; one of the strongest riders in the pack, Kristy Gough, was trying to get away. There were about 10 of us who chased her down. We caught her and had a small gap off the front. We tried to get an organized pace line going, but the main field caught back up. I sprinted up the next roller, and Kristy followed me up. She passed me and I caught her draft, but several women were behind her. The next 10 miles was the same—attacks that didn’t stick.
I felt good after the rollers going into the flat section. I hung out at the back for awhile. It was going slow and I was bored. So I went to the front and took the lead. I stayed there until we turned the corner again. Nobody came in front of me. I could see in the shadow behind me the field was single file and the girl behind me kept slipping back. When I saw her slipping, I would push just a little harder and she would eventually catch up. Nobody else seemed to want to pull, so I just stayed there.
When the rollers came again, we were just a couple miles off the finish. I almost got dropped when the field passed me going over the hills. I held on and tried to recover on the back. I knew that if I wanted a chance at doing good overall, I had to make my way towards the front. More by luck than anything, I was able to get towards the front. Kristy Gough sprinted up one of the rollers just before the finish. Nobody chased her. I was dying over the last hill—then it was finally the semi-downhill finish. I managed to stay towards the front, didn’t get passed by many people, and didn’t pass many people either. I came across 15th overall. Even though I didn’t win, I was really happy with my race, because I actually raced. I learned a lot about being in the front, attacking and counterattacking. The whole weekend was a blast and I can’t wait for more races and for the chance to learn more tactics.

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Mountain Bike Reports

Tyler Brandt
Junior 17-18 year old
6th Place Grants Ranch Mountain Bike Race Varsity Division
This was an opportunity race, my chance to finally hold the coveted leaders jersey. Been 4 years that I have been racing in the high school mountain bike league and I have yet to don that jersey...time is running out. It was the perfect opportunity. A race that suited me, more of a road race then a mountain bike. I had gotten 2nd at the race last year in a sprint, and if I beat Nate Byrom, the current leader, by 2 spots then I would hold the jersey.

It was not exactly the perfect run up of a week into the race. I had a sore, inflamed hip that had been messed up in a time trial on the 15th of March and further damaged during a hard Copperopolis road race. A massage on the Monday led to easy rides and rest days. Saturday was the first day that I got to open up the legs a little and it felt good. I was optimistic. This would be my race.

It was an early start to the day. Luckily I had an awesome father willing to chauffeur me to the race while I slept lounge chair style sitting on two pillows and resting my head against another. I got to the race and went for a pre-ride of the course. The grass was still wet and the chill in the air was not to my liking, as the early devoured food burned my throat. Not exactly a comfortable pre-ride, but I continued with optimism. We were at the race site at around 8 and my race was not until 1, so I had a lot of time. I returned to the car for a nice nap, followed by some bread and nutella, a banana and some clif bloks- the perfect pre race food. A good warm up and some sprints with teammates led to the starting line.

We began and finished on a stretch of bumpy grass. It was not an enjoyable ride on this section and this year it was even more than last year. Last year the finishing stretch had a chicane, but this year it was a dead straight sprint. I had utilized the chicane last year to make my move, but this year I had to make it earlier.

With all of these thoughts on my mind, we were off. I got the hole shot so to say. We went into the climb, with Nate and I riding the front. He seemed content to ride slow and I didn’t have many other ideas for the first lap. So we rode, it was like no mountain bike race that I had ridden before. Slow on the climb and then even slower on the flats. Finally, a rider from Marin Academy, by the name of Daniel Boyes, took charge and drilled it for the remainder of the flat section. We hit the hill and I went to the front and drilled it. At the top of the climb I was with 1 other rider with 3 at about 15 seconds back. I asked the rider if he wanted to work together. He declined with a defiant NO! So I sat up and sat back at the edge of the pack as I wondered if my legs would begin to feel better. Now, as I sit here, I wish that I had just gone for it then and tried to solo it. At least it would have been more of a race. This race was just getting boring.

Once again we rolled along the flats and then we hit the hill and I went to the front. This time I didn’t drill it as hard, but mixed in some harder jumps, its not very easy to jump on a mountain bike, at least its not the same as a road bike jump, but nonetheless it was fun and I got the group down to about 5 again, as many other riders had caught back on along the flats.

Then we hit the hill for the last time. I hit it hard at the beginning of the hill and then a rider from San Rafael, Will Curtis, continued to drill it. My legs began to die at that point, but as I looked behind me I could see the leader fading. We were dropping him. This was my shot. I gave it my all and surged at the front. I paid for it at the steep rollers that were still left, but I made it over them all. I sat in the back of the pack, trying to regroup for the sprint. Then Nate caught back on and it became apparent that I would need to win the sprint. My attacks on the climb were what I had planned, but with no one else willing to play they did not break up the pack as much as I had hoped.

Along the flats a Los Gatos rider drilled it and I was suffering near the back, chilling in the draft. Then I realized that we were getting close to the end and I needed to get up to 2nd wheel at least. So I went for it on the left of Nate. He was having none of it and decided to shove me into a gate and I fearing the gate, gave him a shove right back. Then we were riding in a ditch. He was out first and then I, trying to regain speed in my big ring. Then it was over. The closest rider behind me was about a minute. So I rolled across the line devastated. The Jersey would not be mine today. After a quick spin I felt content. I raced hard, I gave it my all and then at the end it was just bike race. TBR. There were a few choices that I made that could have been different and maybe going solo was a choice I could have gone for. I doubt that I would have made it, but at least it would have made for a more exciting race. The way that my legs were feeling though, I think that I made the right choices.