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8th Oct 2003
Update
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SOULCRAFT has been making
great performance Bikes with Soul.Their hand-making Bikes
are reflected by good player's using. So SOULCRAFT has
the racing team. We "Panaracer" also support
theí@SOULCRAFT team.
The boys and girls of the SOULCRAFT team continue to snatch
up podium spots at just about every race. 23 wins along
with 62 top ten places! The important thing is that they
are having fun while doing it, and to those at these events,
they show the friendly and fun attitude they are all known
for!
Some very special wins this year include:
Nikki Garza - 2003 Arizona State Mountain Bike Champion
Rand Miller - 2003 NorCal High School Mountain Bike Champion
Lee Heckman - 2003 24hours of Adrenalin Single Speed Solo
National Champion. Our product Fire
XC Pro & Trailblaster
contributed to their good results.
California State Championship Series #8 - Northstar at
Tahoe, CA
After dominating all season, Tim Olson only had to finish
10th to clinch the State Title with one race still left
to go. Tim bided his time during the race making sure
he conserved energy and raced smart with no crashes to
end his day. He still finished second in the race, on
the podium.í@He chose Trailblaster
26x1.95. Now, SOULCRAFT has another State Champion
in it's ranks!
Tim Olson - 2nd Semi Pro, clinched 2003 Semi Pro California
State Champion
CA State Champ Series #6 - Northstar, CAí@í@Tim Olson
- 1st Semi Pro**
CA State Champ Series #5 - Big Bear, CAí@í@Tim Olson -
1st Semi Pro**
Downieville Classic - Downieville, CA
This is porbably the one race that all NorCal mountain
bike competitors look forward to every year. A fun, party
atmosphere attached to a very hard race means toothy grins.
What a day SOULCRAFT had....Yuri cleaned up with a Single
Speed win ending up 17th overall also with using Trailblaster
26x2.10. Tim and Duncan both were on the Pro podium
that evening. The highlight, though was the one and only
race appearances for SOULCRAFT partner/framebuilder Sean
"Big Perm" Walling and the SOULCRAFT designated
commuter/moving billboard, Big Steve P. Sean raced his
single speed, of course, and narrowly beat some guy with
sandals on, while Big Steve claimed official DFL status,
making all Clydesdales proud(?).
Yuri Hauswald - Single Speed Champion
Tim Olson - 4th Pro
Duncan Meyers - 5th Pro
More information about SOULCRAFT. Visit their Page!
<http://www.soulcraftbikes.com> |
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17th Sep
2003 Update
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On 01 September at San Francisco,
Helene Drumm got 1st place and Kristin Drumm did 3rd place
in Women 1/2/3 of Giro de San Francisco/District Criterium
Championships.In a blistering race marked by attack after
attack, Team Spine worked together to reel in dangerous
moves by members of the Clif Bar and Palo Alto teams;
still it all came down to the Drumm sisters dragging
to the line. In a wall-to-wall spring, Helene edged out
the competition and Kristin came in a solid 3d place for
Team Spine to dominate the NorCal/Nevada District Championships
for the second year in a row.
On the same day, in the race of Men 45+ Mrak Caldwell
finished 3rd place.
About a week later, Justin England got 1st place in Pro
1/2 of Mt.Shasta Hill Climb. Here's Justin's report from
the historic race: "I had a good ride setting a solid
pace from the bottom. After about 15 minutes of climbing
I had dropped everyone and was away solo for the rest
of the climb. Beforehand they offered up a Chris King
headset to anyone who could break an hour and with about
5k to go it was possible. With 1k, I had 2:40 left and
I started going all out. But with about 400m to go the
distance and altitude(7600ft) got to me. I rolled across
in ~60:20. New course record by a minute or so and my
first win since moving up to the 2's. And a good feeler
for Mt Tam and Mt Diablo to come."
Panaracer supports Team Spine with high performance tires
to be winning in future. We're confident in producing
for nice bicycle life.
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22th Aug
2003 Update
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Durango, CO (August 16-17,
2003) - RLX Ralph Lauren riders wrapped up the US racing
season this past weekend earning one overall title and
two National Championships. Indeed, all four RLX bike
racers finished the domestic season on the overall podium
in the Cross Country (XC) discipline.
In spite of battling an illness contracted in the Dominican
Republic, Jimena Florit finished 8th place in the XC,
earning the overall NORBA Championship Series title for
the second consecutive year. "It was one of the hardest
races I have ever done," she said afterwards. "I
was a little scared before the start because I was having
trouble breathing. Between the altitude, the difficulty
of the course and me not being 100%, I suffered so much!
Luckily, Chrissy (Redden Subaru/Gary Fisher, second in
points) suffered just as much and I was able to mark her
throughout the race."
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (JHK) easily defended his 2002
XC title finishing the race a strong 3rd. He hasn't missed
a NORBA NCS XC podium in two years. Additionally, Willow
Koerber's 4th place effort earned her two more trips to
the podium: one for the race and one for the overall standings,
where she ended up 4th. Carl Swenson's gritty 7th place
ride earned him 5th overall for the series. And just because
he could, in one of the most exciting race finishes ever,
JHK added the title of 2003 Short Track National Champion
to his growing list of accomplishments on fat tires, becoming
the first man to earn both the XC and Short Track titles
in the same season.
Going into the Short Track, Jeremy held a slim lead in
the overall standings on skinny Canadian strongman Seamus
McGrath (Haro/Lee Dungarees). The series was decided on,
what was without a doubt, the best Short Track course
of the season. With a good amount of elevation gain per
lap, the circuit was not only tough going up, but also
sketchy fast going down. Rain before the start made it
harder and even more dangerous. Between slick off-camber
turns, a long set of fast stairs, and numerous places
where rider's handlebars were scant millimeters from clipping
barriers at high speed, competitors were in for an intense
test of skill and suffering. The spectators jammed the
course to witness what was the wildest lap ever ridden
in Short Track history.
Within the first minute of racing it was apparent that
the race was between JHK and Canada. The top five places
consisted of Jeremy and four Canadians: McGrath, Ryder
Hesjedal (Subaru/Gary Fisher), Geoff Kabush (Kona), and
McGrath's teammate Chris Sheppard. Fast friends off the
bike, it was clear where the allegiance stood while holding
handlebars. As McGrath attacked, the Canuks took turns
working Jeremy over, alternating between sitting on him
and attacking him. At the halfway point, McGrath was clear
of the chase by 10 seconds with Hesjedal alone in between.
Hesjedal looked fresh, as if at any time he decided he
could simply put on the gas, bridge up to and ride right
past his countryman. But with nothing personal on the
line in the overall, the winner of Saturday's XC just
rode as McGrath's distant shadow, ensuring him of 1st
place points, so long as he stayed in front.
If McGrath could hang on to win, the stage was set: JHK
had to get 3rd to take the overall title and with one
lap to go he was in 5th with both Sheppard and Kabush
a few seconds ahead of him - which in Short Track is a
substantial gap. Team Director Dave Wiens, who was waiting
in the finishing area recalled, "With one to go,
Jeremy was in 5th and the three of them (Sheppard and
Kabush) were kind of strung out. I didn't think he'd be
able to get back up to 3rd on that last lap because he
had worked so hard during the race and was having some
stomach problems left over from the DR (Pan Am Games in
the Dominican Republic)."
A short two minutes later the tenacity of the young rider
would prove him wrong. Dave added, "At that point,
I couldn't see but the last 15 seconds of the course.
I had no idea until they came into view that he had passed
Shep and come right up on Geoff's wheel! The second-to-last
turn was a fast, slippery fall-away left, and he tried
but just didn't quite get around there • and the final
turn? There was only one line. Only one guy in a thousand
would try to pass there. Jeremy didn't even flinch. It
was the most intense finish I've ever seen in mountain
bike racing!"
He clipped the inside barrier at full-speed searching
for a line that wasn't quite there. The impact spun him
around and he slammed headlong into the barriers on the
other side of the course, not 20 meters from the finish
line. He picked up his bike and hobbled across the line
on foot losing two spots to finish 6th, giving up the
overall to McGrath but still earning the title of National
Champion. "I knew I had to get 3rd to win the series
outright. I was on autopilot that last lap; I couldn't
feel a thing. I was absolutely focused on getting 3rd.
I just came up a little bit short. My hat's off to Seamus
- he earned it. He's a worthy champion and a great competitor,"
Jeremy recounted in the finishing area after offering
a hearty congratulations to McGrath and a warm handshake
to Kabush.
The RLX Team now begins preparation for a European swing
that includes the Swiss Cup Finals, the UCI World Championships
in Lugano, Switzerland, and the UCI World Cup Finals in
Kaprun, Austria.
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I got to Sandpoint, ID early,
since I was planning to come earlier anyway, I avoided
the extra day of traveling and I headed to Schweitzer
straight from Vancouver, after the World Cup in Grouse.
I got there and I settled down on this cute studio until
my teammates arrived a week later. I was a happy camper.I
had plenty of things to do during the week, besides having
all the fun riding my Ti-Revolver, I also had more serious
things such radio station interview, local newspaper,
meeting several people for the Fund raising ride for Hospice
that we had planned for the next week, etc.All part of
being a professional athlete and taking responsibility
of representing my team RLX Ralph Lauren and the sport
of MTBiking at all times, which I love to do.I met many
nice new friends who invited me to join them to watch
the Tour on OLN. Of course I did not pass.
I was alerted by the locals to be careful with the bears
and moose.I am not that comfortable with the idea of riding
alone in bear country, having never encountered one of
these beasts on the wild, I was very nervous. Especially
knowing that my first wild sight seeing was not until
I was about 20 years old."Sing, Sing very loud..."
suggested this local woman who was sensitive enough to
perceive my nervousness.Here I come, down the trails,
singing along, any song I could remember. When I forget
the lyrics, I would start over.Eventually I needed to
breath since after all, I was training on my bike, so
I would take a short bake from my musical therapy. Back
to the songs, I came by a group of people on horses, who
were wondering who this crazy chick was...I did not stop
singing, that would have been silly to do so, I just squeezed
a "Hello!" in between.The next day, I was out
there with my bear bell and bear pepper spray, hoping
not that have to pull it off my pocket.
The course was a long 10 miler loop, not seriously technical,
but not to many soft landing options.
The dust was the word of mouth.
"Dirt Report: Fresh Power day"
In contrary of what means to our friends skiers, for us
MTBikers, Powder Day means trouble.Imagine flying down
a trail, and suddenly someone turns the lights off, loosing
total sense of direction...well, that was the picture
for each rider from 2nd to last position. I am not exaggerating.
Luxury was just for the leader. And of course, this is
not a complaint, this is MTBiking and part of the sport
is dealing with the elements. Lucky me, I had made a great
tire choice with the Panaracer Fire Pro 2.1, which game
me the right support and control in the front, and traction
in the back.
The start was nothing terrible fast, but even so, I was
nowhere near the front, approaching the trail in about
10th-15th position. Being not easy to move up due to lack
of visibility I decided to stay calm, and wait until open
areas where the dust wasn't that bad.So I finished the
first lap somewhere in 9th-10th place, and lost about
2 minutes to the leader Chrissy Redden.She took the chance
and paid off: Chrissy was somewhat forced to take the
lead since no one would, not knowing if she would pay
the price later in the race.
Starting the 2nd (and last) lap, Chrissy had 2 minutes
on me and there were 7 women between her and I. I was
in serious chasing mode, putting my equipment to the limit,
my Rock Shox performed beautifully, and I was looking
only forward. I could see at least 5 of them ahead of
me on the open climb and put the hammer down. During a
fast DH section, I got stung by a bee in my forehead,
but soon the burning sensation was diluted by the gallons
of adrenaline in my body. That was not a happy bee, I
think the collision with my forehead killed it before
he realized was going to die anyway...I took a moment
of silence for the bee.
I passed the 2nd feed zone almost at the top of the climb
and I was breathing HARD. Took a flat coke (thanks Alex
and Ben) and continued the chase.I moved up to 4th place
to realize I had Shonny-Van in sight, who was also closing
in to Alison Sydor. OK, I got podium locked in, now keep
going. Kids on the side of the course were talking about
weird things, all I could hear was a smuching conversation
refering to me as the "George Foreman Grill Girl"...yep,
that's me...I got one, a fancy pink one, to cook my steak
and french toast at the races....
Just about the last woods section, I got around Shonny-Van
opening a small but enough gap, and caught Alison who
was just about starting the last climb to the finish area.
I gave every ounce I had left, and never looked back.
By the time I crossed the line, I was in 2nd and had closed
the gap to Chrissy down to 40". Shonny also was able
to pass Alison and finished 3rd, possible earning a National
Team spot for world's. Congratulations Shonny!Dara Marks
came in on 5th closing the door of the podium, her first
XC podium (she was at a STXC podium before).
My teammate Willow, was not having the best ride, but
still finishing strong in 11th. Not bad for an "off
day."
Next day, was the short track, where my teammate JHK,
put in the bag his 2nd STXC win for the season, increasing
his lead in the series. No other American has been in
the lead for the overall title for several years! This
is huge.Going back to the kids on the side of the road,
here was JHK, warming up for his Short Track, when a kid
comes out of the woods, looks at him and says: "You
are gonna win today..." creepy!!!!!!He was right,
and I am glad....but those things scare me mannn!...
I am now at home getting ready to go for the GOLD Medal
in PanAm Games, in Dominican Republic, alias D.R, representing
the "Blue & White," Argentina.JHK is also
coming to represent the US.
Stay tunned for those reports!
happy hugs,
Jimena Florit
RLX-Ralph Lauren Team
2002 NORBA XC Champion
Here is the her result so far.
OVERALL STANDINGS Î CROSS COUNTRY : 1st
-- SHORT TRACK : 5th
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í`Her way of riding at Mount Saint Anneí`
I just got off the plane,
arriving from a trip of 3 weeks of racing. My legs are
still really stiff thanks to those small spaces between
seats in economy.Not even mention about the gourmet food
(chips and peanuts). Well,lucky me, I was seated in economy-plus,
some kind of "status" to make us feel special,
but the plus is not more than a little extra leg room.
No, we don't travel in 1st class, like some people think
we do, unless we brake into the mileage plus account and
give up several thousand of well earned miles, in exchange
for royal treatment. Anyway, during this 3 week trip,
I earned quite a few miles, so my next trip, I might upgrade
on the way back home.
The past weekend(yesterday) we closed this trip, reaching
mid-season point , although I still feel I just started
it... The race was the # 3 World Cup, in Mont Sainte Anne,
Canada. We drove from Mount Snow, Vermont, up north to
the Province of Quebec, just after the NORBA race. As
we got further North, the temperature kept getting higher,
and the air more and more humid. To close the picture
down to the detail, in our rental van, the A/C did not
work. So, windows were open from top to bottom, allowing
air to come IN, but my music going out, taking away the
"disco" effect...
During the week, days were long and the heat very high.
The temperature in my watch reached 106 degrees and my
double-layer was working fine as a pre-race adaptation.
After our training rides, Willow and I, kept jumping into
the "black whole", a secret creek that everyone
knows about (so much for "our" secret..). The
water was SO cold, that you could only be in for a mere
15 seconds. I did not have the guts to jump in the first
day, so the 2nd day, Willow walked me through, giving
me mental supportí@.Thanks teammate!
After a few down-to-the-wire Scrabble games, we were ready
to give it all in the race. Sometimes I wonder of Dave
(Wiensy) tells my teammates to let me win,í@just to keep
me happy....
All the European riders in the top 30 seemed to be present.
Only 1-2 decided to stay home. The fight for podium-top-ten
was going to be a real battle. The course, the shortest
we raced so far this year, was so dry, that the speeds
were very high. During training we (women) were doing
it at about 24-25 minutes, knowing that at race pace,
we could shave off about 3-4 minutes. And the race pace
did not dissappoint anybody. We were up for 5 laps, and
as always, the start was ON TIME. Pace was hectic, like
all the WC starts, with such unnecessary aggression. Like
the whole race is to the top of the first climb. Silly.
I had number plate 9, so my call up was to the 2nd roll.
Good position to be in. We started under a hot day again,
and soon enough, people were down hitting the grown hard.
With bad visibility because of the dust, my breathing
was really limited. I also lost many spots that I started
to recover as soon as we hit the first climb. But I was
still too far back, in company of with Alison Sydor that
had suffered like me, the result of the unnecessary crash
at the start.
We both were riding somewhere in the 30's, that's my guess,
when we slowly moved forward passing people at any opportunity
there was. In the woods is the hardest to pass, due to
the limited room in the single track, but once we passed
a girl, we were able to open a gap and look for the next
one, and the next one...After 1 lap, I came by the start
finish in 14th place. I Lost counting of people, and I
couldn't even see the leaders anymore: I had lost 2.5
minutes in just 1 lap. I was super motivated passing people
everywhere and I finally started seeing familiar faces.
I came by the 2nd lap in 8th place and started to think
I could finish near the podium. I then saw my teammate
Willow, on her way to a top ten finish and I was hoping
we could do some work together to catch the podium girls
to switch spots with them. But Sue Haywood was still in
my wheel and I did not wanted to bring her to Willow.
But sometimes it doesn't matter how much you shake it...Sue
was still there. I then decided to do a little climb attack
(another shake) and not look back. I got a gap! Thank
God, I could breath a little and take a sip to refresh.
By the end of the 3rd lap, I was already in 7th, with
Chrissy Redden in sight. I rode steady up to her, and
again, attacked by the climb, and worked again! I was
then in 6th place, with 1 lap to go, chasing that always
appealing podium spot. But I knew I had a hard tusk, local
favorite Marie Helen Premont was having the ride of her
life, riding in a podium position for the entire race,
she was SO motivated, and I was feeling the effect of
the long chase. I did not manage to catch her, but I did
have the fastest last lap of all the racers. So, I finished
a very happy 6th place,still going strong, at about 3:30
off the winner's pace, earned valuable points and got
some little cash for pizza.
We packed after the race, and drove back to the US to
catch an early flight out of Burlington, VT in the AM.
I am now back to the heat, this time dry, at home in San
Diego, for a few local rides, and leave again next week
to Vancouver.
I want to thank to my entire team RLX-Ralph Lauren, for
being the best teammates in the world.
happy hugs,
Jimena Florit
RLX-Ralph Lauren Team
2002 NORBA XC Champion
happy hugs,
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West Dover, VT - RLX
Ralph Lauren Mountain Bike Team riders pedaled to consistent
finishes here this weekend earning five podiums. First
year RLX rider, Willow Koerber rode to her first ever
top five finish, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski took the overall
series lead in Short Track, and Jimena Florit maintained
her commanding overall lead in the XC.
RLX RIDERS EXCEL IN DEMANDING XC
Riders were greeted at Mt. Snow
by the most demanding XC course yet in the 2003 NORBA
National Series. Never satisfied, the course designers
added gravel to notoriously boggy sections as well as
to certain steep climbs that become unrideable when wet.
That, combined with a new, long, technical descent through
the woods makes this course among the best on the planet.
Wet and slippery in the woods, other sections out in the
open were dry.
The women completed three laps with Jimena Florit leading
most of the first. She was haunted by three other riders,
including teammate Willow Koerber. The podium was all
but determined early in the race, with each ending up
in the top four. Regarding her first lap charge, Jimena
commented, "Maybe I started a little bit too hard,
but not that much. My second lap was my slowest. I was
climbing okay but my overall energy was lower and I dropped
to third, but I could still see those guys." Alison
Sydor from Trek and Mary McConneloug from Seven Cycles
had moved into first and second.
At this point, Jimena and Willow were basically riding
together, Jimena opening a little gap on the climbs, Willow
closing it up on the long descent. Late in the second
lap, a stick lodged in Willow's drivetrain and only quick
thinking and extraction kept her from breaking her derailer.
As she caught back up to Jimena, she said to her, "I
almost broke my derailer!" The veteran RLX rider
immediately shot back, "but you didn't•.now let's
go!"
In the end, McConneloug would score her first ever NORBA
National victory. Jimena would overtake Sydor for second
and Koerber would achieve her first major podium, staying
in fourth.
At the finish, Willow said, "I finally had 'one of
those days' where I just felt great. It happens when I'm
training sometimes, I feel so strong and I'm thinking,
'I should be racing today. I'd be right up there.' I really
thought that a result like this would hurt a lot more
than it did." Jimena had nothing but praise for her
younger teammate, "Willow was climbing well today
but she was definitely one of the fastest on the descents.
Chrissy and Alison are two of the best in these conditions
and Willow was right there with them." Jimena leads
the series after three of five races by 72 points, while
Willow is in sixth overall and third American.
In the men's XC, the Canadians Roland Green (Trek/Volkswagon)
and Seamus McGrath (Haro/Lee Dungarees) blew the race
apart right from the start. The pair destroyed the field--Green
crossing the line to take the win just 13 seconds ahead
of McGrath, who was three plus minutes clear of third.
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski again gained the podium, placing
fifth, riding in that position for nearly the entire race.
"I felt really good," he said, "better
than last weekend at Snowshoe, but the top guys were just
flying. It was crazy fast on the climbs." Jeremy
holds a 58 point lead over up-and-comer Jeremiah Bishop
(Trek/JBL) for the national title and is third overall.
The same team Carl is sixth overall and third American.
HORGAN-KOBELSKI MOVES INTO NATIONAL SERIES LEAD IN
SHORT TRACK
While Seamus McGrath rode away for his first major
win in the men's short track Sunday, Jeremy gained the
overall lead by rounding out the podium, finishing in
fifth. As usual, the men's race featured numerous attacks
and lead changes. Two different riders from the Kona squad
tried their legs by going off the front solo early on,
only to be reeled in and spit out the back. Finally, McGrath
and Filip Meirhaeghe, the
Specialized star from Belgium, got a good gap with three
laps to go.
Having missed round two at Snowshoe, Canadian superstar
Roland Green was relegated to the nether regions of the
starting grid. He charged hard on the penultimate lap,
just making contact with the leaders, only to fall victim
of his effort straightaway and fall back off. And right
as Green made his momentary contact, McGrath launched
an effort of his own, putting a significant gap between
himself and Meirhaeghe with just over one to go.
Jeremy rode near the front the whole race, but not without
significant effort. Toward the end, he was as far back
as seventh. With one lap to go, he charged hard and earned
the final podium spot in a three-way sprint for the line.
"For whatever reason, that was way harder than last
week's race. The hill seemed so small when we were warming
up, but in the race it was a killer. There was a water
bar near the top that you had to roll through and then
the whole top was a bog that just sucked your tires into
it," remarked JHK after the race. Jeremy goes into
round four with just a 22 point lead in the overall standings
over McGrath, while maintaining a more comfortable 112
point lead over Todd Wells (Mongoose/Hyundi) for the US
National title. Carl is 6th overall.
In the women's race, the weekend's third new winner of
a NORBA National was crowned as Luna Chix Katerina Hanusova
of the Czech Republic made a late attack stick and rode
alone to victory. Jimena and Willow rode near the front
the whole race and finished in 5th and 6th. "At first,
I was just happy to survive the first corner. It was crazy!
Then I'm thinking, 'okay, just race now.' But I only had
one speed and that's not good enough to win a short track.
I just survived," remarked Jimena afterwards. Willow
concurred, "It seemed like Jimena and I were going
the same speed, giving it everything, but not quite strong
enough to be at the front racing. I know one of these
races we're both going to be strong and get in there and
mix it up at the front." Jimena is fifth overall,
while Willow is seventh.
The team travels straightaway to Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec
for the third round of the UCI World Cup Series this weekend.
Scorching heat and humidity are supposed to descend into
the Valley of the St. Lawrence River this week. Temperatures
upward of 90 degrees are expected. That will make riders
hot & exciting.
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Snowshoe, WV - RLX Ralph
Lauren MTB team rider Jimena Florit returned to her winning
ways in the XC at Snowshoe on Saturday, taking the win
in the mud by nearly a minute and half. Meanwhile, teammate
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski broke the stranglehold that the
foreigners have held on NORBA National victories since
the early part of 2000. Their performances rendered Tomac
Bikes their first and second major victories nearly back
to back.
Unlike most courses, the course at Snowshoe is upside
down. This is because the Snowshoe ski area is the reverse
of most mountains -- with the facilities on top and the
only way to go• down. In the winter, this means skiing
and snowboarding straightaway from the lodge and parking
lot. For mountain bike racing, it means a sketchy downhill
start and a long climb back up to the finish. The course
alternates between classic rock and root-infested Appalachian
singletrack and wide-graveled access roads.
Torrential rains in the days leading up to the race made
numerous sections of the course unrideable for all but
the most skilled riders. One section in particular that,
before the rains came was a nice technical, traversing
trail through the woods, became a slog of more than a
mile with knee deep bogs. This meant running, pushing,
getting on now and then for short sections and hopping
back off for more running. The ladies and men would both
do two laps.
By the time the ladies got to the long running section
toward the end of their first lap, a selection had been
made and five riders were away. On the climb back up to
the start/finish, Alison Dunlap had opened up a gap with
teammate Katerina Hanusova, but Jimena just kept riding
steady. "I might have picked it up a little, but
I felt like my pace was good and we still had an entire
lap to go•" she said.
Early in the final lap on an exposed climb, Jimena was
able to see both riders in front of her and could tell
she was bringing them back. Just minutes later, on a short,
gravel road descent, Dunlap crashed hard on a water bar,
suffering a shoulder injury that put her out of the race.
With Dunlap out, Jimena quickly gobbled up Hanusova and
motored the rest of the lap for the victory.
"I felt completely comfortable with the course, even
with all the rain that fell on Friday" Jimena said.
Having arrived at Snowshoe early in the week, by the time
the race rolled around, she had logged several laps and
was confident in the course, if not in her chances of
winning. "I really didn't think I was going to win.
I've been feeling okay, but not the way I really want
to. I just haven't been feeling super powerful. I am very
happy to win but I am sad for Alison. I hope she can make
a quick recovery and be racing with us again soon."
In the men's XC race, Jeremy charged the start and was
leading after the first descent when, during a running
section, his pedal tangled with a root and immediately
put a stop to his forward progress. By the time he untangled
it, he was back in fourth. "It was just one of those
things that happens to everyone in a race like this. You
don't even really think about it. In these conditions
just about anything can happen -- and does," he offered.
The men at the front stayed close for one but then started
to unravel on the final lap. JHK dropped the Kiwi - Kashi
Leuchs, fellow yank - Todd Wells, and Aussie veteran -
Paul Rowney as he tried to bring back Hesjedal. "Ryder
was riding a lot of the long section where we all ran.
He looked pretty smooth. I gave it everything I had climbing
back up to the finish, but I just couldn't catch him."
He finished a scant twelve seconds behind the lanky Canadian.
As happy as he was with his XC race, Sunday's Short Track
race proved to be even better for JHK. A steady rain began
mid morning and continued through the men's and ladies'
races. Both Jeremy and Carl were in the mix throughout
the race. Different riders tried their luck off the front,
only to be brought back. With five laps to go, JHK's training
partner and close friend, Travis Brown, took a flyer.
He too was only away briefly and, with three to go, was
brought back.
As soon as the chasers caught Travis, JHK attacked, leaving
Brown between him and the rest of the lead group. As if
on que, the Trek rider sat up. The others scrambled to
get around him but it was too late, Jeremy had about a
five second gap. Now all he had to do was hold it for
three laps - about 3 minutes. And hold it he did, convincingly
winning his first career NORBA National race by 4 seconds.
"This is just incredible! You don't know how many
of these things I've been this close to winning. To finally
win one! It's just a great feeling," said the clearly
stoked Horgan-Kobelski.
Carl was looking at a solid top ten as he was feeling
good on the last lap but went into one of the tricky,
slippery corners just a tad hot and laid it down. "I
had something left at the end and I tried kind of an aggressive
pass. I would have passed two guys but I went down and
ended up with some stitches instead," said the unflappable
Swenson. Finally he finished in 11th.
In the women's Short Track, Jimena was taken out not a
minute into the race and relegated to dead last. She valiantly
fought her way up, turning faster laps than the leaders
and overtaking 40 women to finish in 11th.
While Jimena was working her way back toward the front,
Willow Koerber stayed right at the front in second or
third, looking comfortable. She tried her fitness off
the front with about five laps to go but couldn't make
it stick. "Looking back, I probably should have just
stayed where I was, on someone's wheel. Once I got caught
after that effort, they really picked it up and I was
worked," said the continually-improving rider from
North Carolina. "I'm still really happy with my result
and it was fun today to be mixing it up at the front of
the race instead of just trying to hang on." She
crossed the line in 7th place.
This coming weekend will likely be a repeat of the muck
and mud as the NORBA Nationals move on to stop number
three at the classic Mount Snow venue in Vermont. The
competition will be even tougher as some of the top Europeans
will be on the line there getting primed for the Canadian
World Cups that follow.
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April, 4, 2003
Welcome to a new season of bicycle
racing. The SOULCRAFT Bicycle Racing Team has trained
hard this winter, gained some important and generous new
sponsors and the results are showing for all of this time
and energy we put in to the sport. We have a strong Pro/SemiPro/Expert
presence at all West Coast races, as well as strong Category
3 road results. One of the most recognizable teams on
the West Coast, the familiar Light Blue, Red and Grey
is much enhanced this year with the fine race kits provided
by Squadra. At the races, you won't even have to look
very long for us, you will be hard pressed not to notice. |
We
are excited to announce the 2003 lineup of sponsors: SOULCRAFT,
American Home Renewal, Fi'zi:k, Ho'omana Restorative Therapies,
Lee's Body Shop, Taco Jane's, Panaracer, Bell Helmets,
Mountain Hardwear, Pearl Izumi Shoes, Gu Energy Gel, Zeal
Optics, K&W Sales, Barflies bicycle streamers and
Six-Nine Design, amongst other friends and family... please
check out the "Team Page" at www.soulcraftbikes.com
<http://www.soulcraftbikes.com> for the lowdown
on these great supporters.
Sea Otter Classic - Monterey, CA April 10-14
We had a large presence at this
huge, opening season race. This is the event where you
can predict who is going to be who for the rest of the
season and SOULCRAFT was in among the names on top of
the list. Aren Timmel was the revelation of the weekend
as he took an excellent Victory on Saturday in the Semi-Pro
Short Track event and then followed up Sunday with 6th
in the tough Cross Country against deep fields. Rich Thurman
raced every day of the event and took some bookend top
finishes with 6th in the Master 1/2/3 road event on Thursday
and 7th in the Semi-Pro Cross Country on the final day.
Rand Miller stood on the podium as did Dawn White in their
Expert Cross Country age groups. Duncan Meyers showed
good form with some great racing in the Pro Mountain Bike
Stage Race fairing well in the Fat Boy Criterium and then
following up with a 21st in the Pro Short Track. Throughout
the weekend, SOULCRAFT team members were easily the most
recognizable at the very crowded event, as the pictures
attached will show.
Check out these results:
| Duncan
Meyers |
(Pro
Mountain) 69th Time Trial, 63rd Fat Boy Crit, 21st
Short Track |
| Aren
Timmel |
(Semi
Pro) 1st Short Track, 6th Cross Country |
| Rich
Thurman |
(Semi
Pro) 7th Short Track, 7th Cross Country, 6th Master
1/2/3 Road Race |
| Shane
Bresnyan |
(Semi
Pro) 9th Short Track, 10th Cross Country |
| Yuri
Hauswald |
(Semi
Pro) 12th Short Track, 38th Cross Country |
| Tim
Olson |
(Semi
Pro) 21st Cross Country |
| Dawn
White |
(Expert
Women) 2nd Cross Country |
| Rand
Miller |
(Junior
Expert) 12th Short Track, 5th Cross Country |
| Jason
Matthies |
(Expert)
21st Cross Country, 67th Cat 3 Road Race |
| Tony
Leal |
(Cat
3) 15th Cat 3 Road Race |
| Matt
Nyiri |
(Expert)
66th Cat 3 Road Race |
| Nathan
Garrett |
(Expert)
54th Cross Country |
| Jason
Clymer |
8th
Master 4/5 Road Race |
Here are some initial season opening
warm-up races, with some excellent results in all....
Nova Desert Classic - Phoenix, AZ
SOULCRAFT had a good weekend here.
All were hoping that the training would show in this bigger
"start" to the season and all were pleased and
except for a few mechanicals, the team faired well. Shane
Bresnyan had a breakout in SemiPro and Duncan hung with
the big boys in Pro Class!
| Shane
Bresnyan |
8th
Overall SemiPro (6TT, 9ST, 12CC) |
| Duncan
Meyers |
20th
Pro Cross Country |
| Yuri
Hauswald |
22nd
Overall SemiPro (29TT, 21CC) |
| Leslie
Gilmore |
28th
Overall Pro W ( 27TT, 28ST, 30CC) |
TBF Challenge #2 - Sacramento, CA
New kid on the SOULCRAFT Block,
Rand really showed his LightBlue and Grey colors with
a win in the NorCal High School Series.
| Rand
Miller |
1st
Junior Expert * |
Arizona State Championship Series #3
Nikki notches another win in her
quest for the Arizona State Championship Title.
Nikki Garza - 1st Pro Women*
Central Coast MTB Series #1 - Fort
Ord, CA
A warmup series that is laid back and good fun. Yuri toyed
with the singlespeed field. Jason comes out after laying
concrete all week and pops a great result. The big contingent
of SOULCRAFT team members resplendent in thier new team
kits made all eyes turn.
| Yuri
Hauswald |
1st
Single Speed* |
| Duncan
Meyers |
6th
Pro |
| Jason
Matthies |
5th
Expert |
| Shane
Bresnyan |
10th
pro |
| Jeff
Cleary |
11th
Expert |
| Matt
Nyiri |
15th
Expert |
24 hours of Old Pueblo - AZ
Nikki joined a group of Junior
Expert guys from Team Nova, a junior development team
in Arizona that she mentors. Of course, with her horsepower
added, they win a big 24 hour title.
| Nikki
Garza |
1st
5-person Age Group* |
TBF Challenge - Sacramento, CA
First off-road race of the season
for the California SOULCRAFT crew and all goes well as
the boys notch soem top tens. Duncan shows his form is
good, Miguel is fresh from a vacation in Hawaii and Rand
battles the flat tire demons.
| Duncan
Meyers |
3rd
Pro* |
| Miguel
Crawford |
7th
Pro |
| Rand
Miller |
9th
Junior Expert |
Arizona State Championship Series #2
Tough competition at the second
round, but the SOULCRAFT AZ girls hold their positions
with strong podium finishes.
| Nikki
Garza |
3rd
Pro Women* |
| Leslie
Gilmore |
5th
Pro Women* |
Arizona State Championship Series #1
One-Two, what more can you do...Nikki
starts her run for the AZ State Champ Title.
| Nikki
Garza |
1st
Pro Women** |
| Leslie
Gilmore |
2nd
Pro Women* |
Snelling Road Race
The sun was shining, the race was
fairly flat and the sprint group was big. Trying to untangle
the mess that is the official result was hard, so....let's
just say all SOULCRAFT Team Members made the selection
and sprinted their best.
| Jeff
Cleary |
19th
Cat 3 |
| Yuri
Hauswald |
24th
Cat 3 |
| Shane
Bresnyan |
Cat
3 |
| Matt
Nyiri |
Cat
3 |
| Jason
Matthies |
Cat
3 |
Grasshopper Adventure Series #1
A brutal, on/offorad event that
typically, "goes from the word Go!" Shane does
SOULCRAFT proud and wins the sprint for the win against
some tough local guys for Sonoma County bragging rights.
| Shane
Bresnyan |
1st** |
| Tim
Olson |
7th |
| Miguel
Crawford |
9th |
| Jason
Matthies |
10th |
| Yuri
Hauswald |
11th |
Patterson Road Race
A February training is a good way
to blow off some steam built up from miles of Long, slow
distance. Matt makes the front selection only to pinch
flat on the big descent, but Jeff and Yuri show thier
power on the flats to roar back for some good finishes.
| Yuri
Hauswald |
12th
Cat 3 |
| Jeff
Cleary |
13th
Cat 3 |
| Matt
Nyiri |
22nd
Cat 3 |
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AMadera Stage Raceí@ Madera, CAíi15-16
Mar 2003íj
Women 3: 1st Place, Liz Canning
This was Liz's first race in a
combined field with the 1/2 Women (though the 3s were
scored separately) and she came through with flying colors.
Despite a morning of storms, the skies and roads cleared
in time for the Women's opening stage, a wide-open criterium.
Staying up near the front, Liz kept in contact with her
more experience competitors and came in 1st on the stage
for the 3s, netting her a 20-second time bonus. Losing
just over 30 seconds in the second stage, an individual
time trial, Liz knew what she had to do and did it, jumping
in on a last-lap escape not far from the finish, accumulating
over a minute gain to nab not only the Cat 3 stage win
but the GC.
Women 4: 8th Place, Beverly Harper
In her first stage race ever, Bev
showed true grit, hanging in a tough field for 5th in
the TT and 8th overall.
Men 5: 1st, Aaron Kenney
Aaron braved a soaking course early
in the morning for the opening criterium... but he must
have known where all the deep puddles were, as he found
a clear line for third. He suffered a setback in the TT,
taking only 4th place. However, in the next day's road
race, Aaron out-dueled his nearest competitor on the tough
closing hills of the course, outlasting him and snatching
the GC win.
Men 3: 7th, Justin England (1st in the RR)
Justin came to the opening TT straight
from work, with no aero' gear... toughing it out into
pressing headwinds but only making it to 11th place overall.
A field sprint in the second-stage crit (reversed from
other fields for venue timing purposes) kept things the
same overall.
Though team tactics tried to squelch any movement in the
next day's road race, Justin sparked a last-lap breakaway
with a handful of other riders, whom he soon left behind
him, soloing in only seconds ahead of a regrouped peloton.
This moved Justin up to 7th overall -- and gave him enough
points to race as a Cat 2.
Remember, this is Justin's first year of racing.
Master 35+ 1/2/3: Clint Gaver, 3d (1st in TT)
With the Pro/1/2 category cancelled,
the older but bigger guns had one alternative and the
competition was brutal. With primes for TT time bonuses,
the go was from the gun, with Spine's Steve Cherry and
Bill Strachan powering through. Soon that group split,
was swallowed up, and attacks kept coming. However, the
team's tactics of conserving for the more important stages
paid off, with Clint Gaver comfortably in 5th and Matt
Moon at 11th.
True to his triathlon roots, Clint destroyed the competition
in the TT stage, coming in over half a minute faster than
the second-place rider. Dan Plummer also came in 8th on
the stage, setting him up on the GC board.
In the road race, a few mishaps took out three Spine riders,
leaving Clint not as well supported as possible. In addition,
Steve Cherry had managed an early two-man breakaway that
would hold for the whole race (Steve would take 4th on
the day and 11th on GC). Clint's main competitor, Brian
McGuire, was also duped by the full-force Morgan Stanley
squad, which slipped off a few lower-placed riders into
the windy course; the break stuck.
McClane Pacific Road Raceíi23 Mar 2003íj
Master 35+ 1/2/3: John Ford, 3rd; Sean Whalen, 9th
Cold. Wet. Soaking. Ugly. You just
had to say: epic. It was also long-- over 90 miles for
the semi-old guys. Though the field often surged, it was
generally content to huddle together for warmth. Still,
the pace was high, the competition tough. And John and
Sean came together, placing two Spines in the top 10 after
a long day.
Master 45+: Mark Caldwell, 3rd; Stan Urban, 7th
Conditions were the same, yet the
field soldiered through. Mark, usually a short-race specialist,
saw a bit of daylight at the finish, with Stan helping
clear the way. An unpleasant day but a good one for the
hard men.
Pilarcitos Stage Raceíi29-30 Mar 2003íj
Master 45+: Stan Urban, 1st; Steve Cherry, 2d
It was almost a clean sweep of
the weekend for the older Spiners. In the first-stage
mountain time trial, Stan took a solid second (after nearly
overcooking a 100-degree downhill turn) and Steve came
in right behind him, despite shifting problems.
In the second stage, a rolling TT, Stan cleared out the
competition -- with only Steve near him, and Spine's patron,
Dr. Rick Derby, powering in to a 3rd place finish. Looks
good on the podium.
The last stage, a technical criterium, was a question
of managing danger. Fortunately, there were no crashes
and Steve worked with Stan, leading him out to take most
of the bonus primes and a second-place finish -- and the
GC win!
Women 4: Beverly Harper, 3rd
Bev used her new-found stage-racing
experience and persevered over a shaky field of 35 women.
In the opening hill-climb TT she came in a solid 2d place,
took 4th in the second TT and dominated most of the closing
crit. It was perhaps her inexperience that let her work
too hard early on, so that she finished 4th on the day...
and 3rd overall.
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TPomona Valley Stage Raceíi6-9 Mar
2003íj
Senior 2: 9th Place, Dario Fredrick
A great effort placed Dario Fredrick
in 9th place after the first stage, a 2100-foot climb
in 8.3 miles; Dario's time was less than two minutes off
the course record. Teammates Sean Whalen nabbed a tight
25th with Dan Plummer coming in at 37th. Peter Brandelius,
just off a plane from snowy training in Spain and heavily
jet-lagged, paused at a photo point to smile for the cameras
but still managed to finish in the top half. The team's
work was cut out for it: Keep Dario safe and move him
up in GC.
The next stage, a fast and squirrely circuit race, proved
that the "keeping safe" part was the order of
the day. An average speed of 28 miles per hour and numerous
bumps and close calls made finishing in one piece a victory
in itself. Team Spine did a great job of keeping all its
members up in the field and there at the finish.í@
Unfortunately, the day's winner had been one place below
Dario and the bonus time edged him into 9th, leaving Dario
at 10th overall. But the next day promised 85 miles with
5,000 feet of climbing. Plenty of room for GC change there.
Spine's plan of monitoring a race of attrition seemed
to be paying off, with negative racing being the order
of the day. A few breaks -- with Spine covering -- went
off, but none stuck and all saw racers sitting up. On
the last 8-mile lap, Dario attacked and got clear for
a small time, while setting up a counterattack from teammate
Whalen, with Dario setting himself up to counter the counter.
Still, it pretty much came together at the end, with only
a few rider edging off the front and chaos behind. Dario
managed not to get overrun by the stampeding horde and
regained 9th place in GC.
The final stage, the San Dimas Criterium, was pure havoc.
This on top of most of the Spine contingent coming down
with food poisoning the night before (graphic details
deleted). Despite some distress of the night and morning,
the remaining Spine riders worked their way actively into
each break. However, each break was broken by individual
racers toasting themselves for primes, leaving the away
riders scattered and underpowered. With two laps to go,
Dario countered a prime attack, coming in sheltered to
the finish but with a clear sprint line. Just then, however,
another racer dove right onto Dario mid-corner; despite
Dario's bike-handling skills, the hook and the curb combined
to shatter Dario's front wheel. After picking himself
up, only mildly shaken, Dario showed the other side of
Spine and coolly explained his situation to the nearest
official, resulting in Dario being given a same-time finish
on the stage and cementing his top-10 finish in one of
the most grueling and largest stage races in the SoCal
area.
Senior 3: 1st Place, Justin England
Someone needs to handicap this boy. In his first Cat
3 race, his first time trial and his first stage race
(all begun after a long drive, after a full day of work),
Justin clocked the competition with a 1:03 win. Can't
make it much clearer than that. With no teammates in the
next day's circuit race, Justin had to cover attacks on
his own, wasting a lot of precious energy. Nevertheless,
he remained upright and still in possession of the leader's
jersey at the end of the day.
It got harder the next day, as Justin tried to stay near
the front of a 72-mile race. A ower-placed rider got away
later in the race and got mixed in with the Cat 1 pack
while the main Cat 3 field was neutralized; in an attempt
to protect his lead, Justin got to the front of the entire
field and began closing the gap in hopes that he wasn't
leaving himself too vulnerable to higher-placed racers.
The break rider moved up to 5th place after the day but
Justin was safe with the yellow jersey.
As with the Cat 2s, the closing crit was a nervous place.
Two crashes stopped the race for ambulances. Justin managed
to avoid both, which was all he had to do to come home
as the big kahuna (http://www.PhotoCrazy.com/2003/0309PSR/Psr23/PSR230004.html).
Look for him as a 2 soon.
Land Park Critíi9 Mar 2003íj
Masters 35+ 1/2/3: 5th Place, Bill Strachan
A flat course, an early-season
field... fast and furious. Breaks went and came back,
especially with five laps to go, when the Postal team
worked a rider off the front. Josh Josephson and Doug
Wilkinson quickly moved to the front of the field to bring
back the escapees. John Chiarello and Bill Strachan moved
up for the field sprint and Bill found enough daylight
to nab a solid 5th.
Women 1/2/3: 6th place, Liz Canning
As a cross-wind picked up, the
field got blown about a bit but Liz, riding solo today,
negotiated between the tactics of full-power teams Alto
Velo and Palo Alto WBT to come in at 6th in one of her
first 1/2/3 races.
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Though the squad's not up
to full strength, with some members planning a later-season
debut, Team Spine is still making its mark on the NorCal
racing scene. |
Cherry Pie
Criterium íi9 Feb 03íj
This was a wellí@-attended event,
noted in publications as far-ranging as the Aussie site
cyclingnews.com. It wasn't a bad day for Team Spine, either.
In the Masters 45+ field, which included ex-Olympians
and ex-National Team members, Spine's Joe Saunders came
in at 3d, with Mark Caldwell at 5th and Stan Urban at
7th. No other team placed three riders in the Top 10.
The Masters 55+ saw Dr. Rick Derby powering in for 3d,
too.
Pine Flat RRíi15 Feb 03íj
Remember what we said about Justin
England? After covering and initiating various attacks
through this long race, Justin rode away on the last climb.
Win: England -- and Spine.
Other standouts that day were new teammate Beverly Harper
taking 3d in the Women's Cat 4 race and Stan Urban hanging
in for 3d in the Masters 45+.
Merced Critíi23 Feb 03íj
Sr 1/2/Pro: Dario Fredrick, 11th
Place
Three laps into a 50-lap race, Spiner Dario Fredrick covered
a serious-looking attack and, sure enough, not long into
the race, his group of 11 lapped the field, cementing
those placings. Since his gang contained racers from Healthnet,
Ofoto, Saturn, Sierra Nevada and other pro teams, Dario
was in good company.
In holding on for 11th place, Dario was the second-highest
placing
amateur in this fast, well-represented race.
Monterey Circuit Raceíi1 Mar 03íj
Master 1/2/3: Stan Urban, 10th
Place
After working hard in a solo break in a previous race,
Stan hung in on this fast, hilly circuit course for a
solid 10th place in a huge, wall-to-wall downhill sprint.
Earlier, Team Spine members worked hard to pull back a
long-away break, fighting the blocking tactics of Morgan
Stanley and other teams.
Pinole Team Time Trialíi2 Mar 03íj
Cat 5
New teammate Aaron Kenney earned his
keep, nabbing 1st Place with a friend.
The 2003 season got of to an early start up here in Northern
California, with races beginning in late January. Fortunately,
the weather cooperated enough that we weren't slogging
it out in sleet, rain and high winds, as has happened
in the past.
But it wasn't luck that brought Team Spine the results.
It was hard work on the part of the riders, along with
long hours of behind-the-scenes work and planning from
Team Manager Kerri Kazala,team coach Dario Fredrick and
others. Still, it's all about the races. |
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>> News 2002-2000 |
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