STRESSFUL RACE SEES ELGART WIN AGAIN IN 65-69 MASTERS CRIT NATZ

By John McKee

I am going to write about the 2012 65-69 National Championship Criterium race because that was the race I was in but will give credit to all the Socal riders that I can that podiumed on Sunday Sept. 9th, 2012. I must digress a bit. My first National Criterium Championship was in Bakersfield in 2002 in 55-59. Very hard and fast race in blistering hot weather. I finished 26th out of 50 or so starters and next to my soon to be friend and sometimes mentor Bob Barney. That was hard. I didn't come back to Natz until I turned 60 with Fritz Tomasello. Fritz and I were born in the same year and it was also the same birth year of John Elgart. I remember in amazement seeing John Elgart solo to victory in the criterium at a Penn. motor raceway. Went off the front with one other rider who helped him and then was shed or shredded would be a better word.  Neither myself, Fritz, Steve Whitsitt, or Mike Duck finished on the podium with Fritz finishing the best.

65-65 criterium riders 10 meters from the line before the race

 I got the bug to train harder and race more and come back and do better. The next 2 years I finished 6th which was one off the podium and I thought I was within the 5 best riders but always missed the right aggressive move that would have put me where I needed to be. When I turned 63 then 64 I finished in the top 10 but never on the podium. John Elgart kept winning. Kenny finally beat JE in the criterium in Indiana when John was 64.

4 riders were called to the line- Bruce Steele, Don Kimper, myself and John Elgart the defending champ

Everyone is called to the line and Dave Towle counts down to the start

 

 Turning 65 was a boom to me but also the realization that John Elgart would always be there. We are the same age...right! I had a good year and raced without accidents or crashes in 2011. I came into Natz strong and hopeful. I wanted on the podium but really wanted to win and put on that jersey. The 2011 criterium was on a very technical and narrow course in the NW Crossing area of Bend, Or. Only small fields could race it. I didn't really like the course initially but got used to it by riding it often before the race. I rode a good race and finished near John Elgart's real wheel for a silver medal. I was pleased. My best effort. I had a chance to win but wasn't fast enough or aggressive enough to jump John before the last corner. Here comes 2012 and  my season started well. Racing with Monty Pettus, Howard Miller and John Sinz was fun. My season was set back on June 10th when I hit a cone at a CBR race and flipped on my shoulder and broke my collarbone. I came back and crashed again at Ladera Ranch in mid August when I hit my pedal down. No broken bones but lost a lot of skin.

Well known announcer Dave Towle(on the left) in the booth with his trail mix

I did the last races of the year at Ontario, Carson and Dom Hills and did ok but didn't feel like I did early in the season. My top end was good in workouts but the overall strength wasn't there. I had been fixated on Nationals since my second place finish in 2011. I wanted to come back and win. All my feedback from sources were that John Elgart was riding good as I assumed he would be. I didn't know of any major masters stars aging up in 2012. 2013 would be different with John Rubcic and Kenny Fuller moving into the 65-69 ranks.

Early action in the back of the pack

 I arrived at Bend, Or. early having thought I would do the road race as well but without the volume of training, the climbing nature of the course and the altitude I decided to bag the road race and just concentrate on the criterium. I got to Bend on Monday Labor Day and was met at the airport by my friend, Bruce Steele. Thanks, Bruce! Bruce, Monty and myself rented a house just a couple of miles from the criterium course and very close to downtown as well. Very nice.

Early action with Loren "Michigan" Simons leading the way

I started riding the criterium course on Tues. and sprinted the finish after riding the TT course with Monty. I got a better feel for the course and the finish Wed. and the rest of the week. My best practice sprints  were with Monty. There was almost never any wind. Great conditions. The weather was beautiful in Bend. Low to mid 80s during the day and low to mid 40s at night. Very dry though. Our house and the crit course was around 3,600 ft. I understand the road race course got to 6,500 ft..
I woke up on Sunday Sept. 9th and the wind was blowing harder than it had any day I had been in Oregon. Bummer. Rode over to the course to warm up and saw the wind was blowing against the riders coming toward the finish line.

Again....early action

 I warmed up around the local high school where the finish of the TT and the road race was last year. Everything in the N/W Crossing area is top notch. Great area. We lined up to race around 11:15 am. They called 4 riders to the line and besides John Elgart they had to be based on the race predictor that USAC has. They had predicted myself to win and Don Kimper and Bruce Steele to do well. Bruce, Don, myself and last year's winner, John Elgart were called to the line.

The pack taking the only left hander on the course

John Elgart 2 days before won the 65-69 road race and in the same day rode a tandem race that was 50% longer than the solo road race. John and his partner didn't win that one. Even JE doesn't win every race. Elgart's legs would be tired on Sunday but would it be enough to make a difference. Probably not.
Natz announcer Dave Towle counted us down and we were off. John Elgart lead it off and went very hard. Lined it out as this is about all this course will take on most of it. Very narrow and technical course with the last curve measured at 14 feet. USAC rules require a minimum width of 7 meters or almost 22 feet. All the entrances to the residential streets were well below 7 meters. Turn 5 was coming off a downhill stretch and difficult to take at speed. Racers that do a lot of criteriums and other experienced racers shouldn't have much of a problem but as we will see it was beyond the skill set of some riders.

Riding next to the roundabout

 Bruce Steele took over for John Elgart and the pace was good. Also setting pace was Ron LeBard and Loren "Michigan" Simons. I wasn't feeling that strong so chose to race more "Richard Meeker" style and definitely not "Mark Hoffenberg" style. I watched Richard Meeker win the 50-54 category and he was always 2 to 5 in the order of riders but I never saw him at the front. Maybe he was somewhere else on the course but never near the start/finish line where I watched the race.

The pressure is on with Ron LeBard leading. Followed by Elgart and myself.

The 65-69 criterium was to be 35 laps of the 1k course. 7 laps into the race Dale Harless went down by himself at turn 5. Don't know what happened. He was in the back of the pack. Dale couldn't get up and the on site medical team put a cervical collar on him and waited for an ambulance to come from Bend. Seemed like it took a very long time. We waited between 30 and 40 minutes to get Dale off the course. Hope he is ok.

LeBard leading going into turn 2. Ron later clipped a pedal hard here with me on his wheel. Had me worried!

 After the delay the riders were brought to the line again and because there were other races to go they shortened the race from what would have been 28 laps to go to 18! 10 laps gone! 2 riders had been off the back so they had to start a number of seconds later. The field was getting smaller. This year's field was smaller than 2011 and it was faster overall in 2011 because of that. There were lulls in the pace in 2012 because of the small field and riders like myself.
I pretty much stayed near John Elgart. Looking back I could have set some pace but I didn't want to go into oxygen debt when an attack might come from Elgart or Richard Shields. Richard attacked midway through the race in 2011 and Elgart let him go so I chased him down.
The race was quite uneventful as the laps counted down in 2012. Once we hit 9 laps to go there was to be NO FREE LAPS! Flat tire, mechanical, crash, etc. and you have to chase back on.
4 laps to go and a rider I hadn't seen all day came to the front to set pace. He was in a black and white kit that said Louisville on it. I was surprised to find out later that he is from Colo.

Turn one with Steele leading and Elgart following and then myself on JE. See a pattern here. Lol.

 He is a new rider and you can tell that from his license number which was 363xxx. His name is Drew Clark. He set a decent pace and since the laps were winding down, no one else wanted to shoot forward. Drew was followed in a lineup by Ron LeBard, John Elgart, myself and then Richard Shields. After we got the 3 to go Drew rounded turn 5 (remember this is the bad one) and Drew went down. Didn't look like he over cooked it. He went sliding and Ron LeBard went down with him. John Elgart was the next in line and also went down. After all the crashes I have done this year, I wasn't looking to go down again. I knew turn 5 was tricky and also knew with a right turn that the right side would be the bail out area. Everyone would be sliding to the left and into or near the left curb. When I saw all this I swerved to the right and missed Elgart sliding on the ground. Richard Shields who was behind me also piled into the group on the ground.
When all the dust settled there were 4 riders up and together. The few other remaining riders were gapped off by the crash. The 4 riders were Bruce Steele, Don Kimper, Loren "Michigan" Simons and myself. I sized this up quickly and the 3 Socal riders were going to be on the podium and I had a very good chance to win. Bad deal for the guys on the ground. 3 of the best riders were down but that is racing sometimes.
The 4 pack of riders rounded the last corner and were going to get 2 to go but as I looked down the street the chief ref/judge was waving his arms. Another neutral. Damn they figured that out fast. The lead rider that crashed could not get up so they stopped the race again. John Elgart had gotten up quickly and was chasing but if we hadn't gotten waved down, he wouldn't have caught us. Not with Bruce pegging it at the front which he would have done.
There was another long delay. Drew Clark also had a cervical collar put on and we waited another 30 to 40 minutes to start again. I also hope Drew was not seriously injured. How were the officials going to do the restart. I gave my 2 cents worth of opinion to the chief judge. The 4 guys that were away should start solo. No free laps inside 9 right. The 4 guys had a gap and shouldn't be penalized because a rider couldn't get up. The riders that went down and the other gapped riders shouldn't get to start with the lead riders. This is my opinion anyway as you can tell. The chief judge didn't agree with me and everyone except the riders off the back were going to start together and there was going to be 5 laps to go.
Off again. Bruce Steele did some pacing. This time Ron LeBard who had some pretty bad wounds on his arms was on John Elgart and I was following Ron. Going into one lap to go Richard Shields jumped to the front just like he did in 2011. Almost the same lineup as well except LeBard was between Elgart and myself. Rounding turn 2 we could see a rider laying in the street and someone waving their arms. Another crash. The guy was laying right in the middle of the street. I immediately took my foot off the gas. Looked like another delay. There was another guy there near the downed rider and he was waving riders by. Once by the downed rider the racers sped up and it looked like there was going to be a finish???? I was already way pissed and way back. This can't be. Coming to the line everyone was called off.
What had happened was 2 or 3 of the riders that were off the back were given a finish and were warming down. They got there wheels tangled and the rider from Bend, Or. that rides for a Southern Cal. team by the name of Win Team went down. The guy is a doctor and figured he broke his collarbone so he laid there. He was taken off the course much sooner than the other 2.
Now we all came to the line and the chief judge not really knowing what to do threw out a number for the restart. 2 to go? No one said anything so it was 2 to go. I just wanted to get this over with. All the anxiety and stress.
We got going again and this time I had Elgart's wheel. A few other guys wanted it and Ron LeBard wasn't one of them. He was on my wheel but anyway I wasn't giving Elgart's wheel up to anyone at this point. Earn your stripes. Put your time in grade. Place at the national level and you will get more respect from me.
The last lap came and Bruce Steele went to the whip. Bruce picked it up and John Elgart got his wheel. John was followed by myself and then Ron LeBard. Before the race Monty Pettus said I should take the "hole shot". Dive for the last corner but you had to be the first to the last corner.
I thought about that after we rounded turn 6 and coming to the roundabout. I hesitated like I often do and then felt I couldn't make it past Bruce. If I made it next to Elgart and Bruce went wide I would have the "man" trapped and would be the first to sprint for home but if Bruce turned next to the right curb I could be  chopped and crash or have to brake. Bruce did turn tight to the right corner. I didn't want to do either so I waited until we rounded the last corner. I had overlapped John Elgart's wheel to the left and he started his sprint. I started as well and felt good to begin with but about half way down toward the finish line Elgart was pulling away. John Elgart came across the line for another victory. Dave Towle saw it coming and was announcing Elgart as the 2012 National Champion as he crossed the line! I still don't like the judge's decision but in the end the strongest and fastest rider won. As they always say... there is next year!
I kept rolling to the line but not full gas and almost got pipped at the line by Ron LeBard but held on for 2nd place. I was further behind John this year. Ron  was 3rd. Jerry Shaffer was 4th, Loren Simons was 5th, Richard Shields 6th, Don Kimper was 7th and Bruce Steele was 8th.
The overall title in 65-69 was up for grabs and Shields and Steele tied at 38 points but since Richard beat Bruce in the last race, he won the glass for overall champion.
It was a really strange race with the course being so technical that it was beyond some riders ability to ride safely. My suggestion to USAC is to not turn right at turn 5 but go down one more street to NW Crossing and then turn right. NW Crossing is a slightly wider street and would be safer to turn into to. NW Crossing would take everyone to the roundabout and back to where we were. More homeowners would have to sign off on this idea.
Earlier in 70-74 action, Socal's Dan Wulbert placed 4th in the 70-74 criterium and took the overall in his category. Robert Paganini placed 3rd in 75-79. In the race that started after the 65-69 criterium, John Rubcic placed 2nd. John was in a 4 man break in 60-64 and lost the wheel of the eventually winner on the last lap. Good race by John. He will be moving up to 65-69 next year. Socal's Mike Marotta crashed at turn 5. He went over another rider that was down. Mike broke his collarbone and chipped a bone in his hip. Mike had a great season but this accident will put him off his bike for 3 or 4 months. Very sorry to hear this. Best wishes to a speedy recovery. Socal's Patricia Kimper won the women's 65-69 criterium. Nice going girl! Also long time Socal racer Cindy Morgan finished 2nd in a very close race in women 60-64. All the results are below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

John Rubcic on the podium in the 60-64 category with the winner where???

Post podium recreation 65-69- McKee, Elgart and Simon.

Dan Wulbert was 4th in the criterium. Notice how fit all the 70+ guys look. All younger racers take notice.

Robert Paganini- 3rd place on the right

Patricia Kimper wins the women's 65-69 category.

Socal's Cindy Morgan(2nd from the left) placed 2nd in women 60-64. The winner was Kristine Johnson(wife of the USAC president, Steve Johnson.

Men - Master - 60--64
	Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	USAC #	Bib	Team
	1	250.14	Wayne Watson	Denver, CO	1:23:39	50623	130	Natural Grocers Cycling Team
	2	274.57	John Rubcic	Hemet, CA	1:23:41	48760	154	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	3	299.00	Thomas Officer	Litchfield, CT	1:23:41	45751	118	Cycle Fitness Cycling Club
	4	323.43	Brad Swope	Louisville, KY	1:23:43	47984	156	Kentucky Flyers Cycling Inc
	5	347.86	George Heagerty	San Antonio, TX	1:23:53	72892	162	Geri Atrix
	6	372.29	David Hixson	Knoxville, TN	1:23:53	16327	141	Team Gran Fondo/Gran Fondo Racing
	7	396.72	Ken Louder	Salt Lake City, UT	1:23:54	179491	115	Velosport Racing
	8	421.15	Gordon Paulson	Cottage Grove, WI	1:23:54	176866	119	Trek Midwest Team
	9	445.58	John Wagenaar	La Mesa, CA	1:23:54	61193	157	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	10	470.01	Gregory Pautsch	Chippewa Falls, WI	1:23:55	180532	163	Planet Bike
	11	494.44	Michael Burdo	Kirkland, WA	1:24:09	48373	135	Team Steam
	12	518.87	Barry Messmer	Fort Collins, CO	0:00:00	51850	149	Boulder Orthopedics
	13	543.30	Steven Borer	San Diego, CA	0:00:00	245777	160	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	14	567.73	Dale Allen	Bend, OR	0:00:00	160097	159
	DNS		Kenny Fuller	Corona Del Mar, CA	0:00:00	46765	109	Team Simple Green/Bike Religion/Cycles Veloce
	DNS		Thomas Zoumaras	Kirksville, MO	0:00:00	65996	158	Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Racing Team/Michelob Ultra - Big Shark Racing
	DNF		James Thompson	Bonners Ferry	0:00:00	188816	164
	DNF		Bob Guglielmelli	San Luis Obispo, CA	0:00:00	14374	161	Central Coast Tire CCT
	DNF		Douglas Lindsay	Truckee, CA	0:00:00	21257	146	Truckee Bicycle Team
	DNF		Douglas Knox	Santa Barbara, CA	0:00:00	45552	165	Time Factory Team
	DNF		Dwight Hibdon	Park City, UT	0:00:00	16081	140	FFKR Architects Racing/Velosport Racing
	DNF		Mike Marotta	Bakersfield, CA	0:00:00	72880	116	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team/Swami's Cycling Club
	DNF		Morgan Caldwell	Lafayette, CA	0:00:00	55374	136	Morgan Stanley Cycling Team
	DNF		Mike Ambrozewicz	Fair Oaks, CA	0:00:00	358707	102
	DNF		Leo Pettus	Yorba Linda, CA	0:00:00	219074	121	Paramount Racing/OCW/Paramount Racing
Men - Master - 65--69
	Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	USAC #	Bib	Team
	1	299.78	John Elgart	Sacramento, CA	1:57:48	45071	75	Webcor/Alto Velo/Alto Velo Racing Club
	2	322.10	John McKee	Westminster, CA	1:57:49	180386	89	Paramount Racing/OCW/Paramount Racing
	3	344.42	Ron LeBard	Grass Valley, CA	1:57:49	125445	79	Victory Velo Racing
	4	366.74	Jerry Shafer	Seattle, WA	1:57:49	54693	91	Slalom Consulting Racing
	5	389.06	Loren Simons	St Johns, MI	1:57:49	47936	83	Team Priority Health
	6	411.38	Richard Shields	Fremont, CA	1:57:50	140693	56	Hammer Nutrition/Team Hammer Nutrition
	7	433.70	Donald Kimper	Solana Beach, CA	1:57:50	195498	78	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	8	456.02	Bruce Steele	Redondo Beach, CA	1:57:50	236498	58	South Bay Wheelmen
	9	478.34	Robert Fernandez	Mount Pleasant, SC	1:57:50	58378	77	Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Regional/Cleveland Clinic Sports Health - RGF pb
	10	500.66	Gary Simmons	Layton, UT	1:57:51	199407	57	Bountiful Mazda Cycling Team
	11	522.98	Danny Pierce	Aspen, CO	1:57:52	357836	53
	12	545.30	Frank Sahlman	Olympic Valley, CA	1:57:53	350176	55
	13	567.62	Donald Coker	Bend, OR	1:59:49	50869	88	WIN-TEAM RACING/Win-Team Racing
	14	589.94	Michael McKinney	Huntington Beach, CA	1:59:50	99906	90	Pinnaclife Racing Team/Radsport Cycling Team
	DNS		P Fred Storti	Stillwater, MN	0:00:00	59577	84	St Paul Bicycle Racing Club
	DNS		Gary Westerfield	Orange, CA	0:00:00	48245	87	Cycles Veloce
	DNS		Whitney Fanning	Waco, TX	0:00:00	89401	76	Bicycles Outback p/b Jubilee Mitsubishi
	DNS		Jack Kelso	Pleasanton, CA	0:00:00	202171	50	Hammer Nutrition/Team Hammer Nutrition
	DNF		Robert Phillips	Baltimore, MD	0:00:00	45795	80	Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team
	DNF		Drew Clark	Erie, CO	0:00:00	363986	74	Louisville Velo Club/ Team Louisville Cyclery
	DNF		Dale Harless	Bellevue, WA	0:00:00	57571	47	Cycle U
Men - Master - 70-74
	Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	USAC #	Bib	Team
	1	500.76	Michael Patterson	Old Lyme, CT	57:45:00	180955	28
	2	511.91	Leonard Pettyjohn	Boulder, CO	57:45:00	235722	40	Boulder Orthopedics
	3	523.06	Lavon Wiseman	Sioux Falls	57:45:00	251647	35
	4	534.21	Daniel Wulbert	Cardiff, CA	57:46:00	46904	36	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	5	545.36	S Durward Higgins	Chattanooga, TN	57:46:00	46705	22	Scenic City Velo
	6	556.51	Fran Scannell	Englewood, CO	58:47:00	51612	29	Schwab Cycles Racing Team
	7	567.66	William Fallis	San Mateo, CA	58:52:00	45315	37	Peninsula Velo Racing/Peninsula Velo Cycling Club
	8	578.81	Michael Freeman	Martinez, CA	0:00:00	12357	62	Team Hammer Nutrition
	9	589.96	Joseph Kapp	La Quinta , CA	0:00:00	194019	24
	DNS		Scott Tucker	Golden, CO	0:00:00	71040	32	Schwab Cycles Racing Team
	DNS		Dan Taylor	Alamo, CA	0:00:00	306272	31	Taleo Racing/Lamorinda Cycling Club
	DNS		Thomas Neary	New Meadows, ID	0:00:00	280339	27	Treasure Coast Cycling Association
	DNS		William Chambers	Park City, UT	0:00:00	297698	20
	DNS		Edward Camarena	Yorba Linda, CA	0:00:00	99513	18	Veloce Santiago
	DNS		Jim Turner	Menlo Park, CA	0:00:00	63449	33	Webcor/Alto Velo/Alto Velo Racing Club
Men - Master - 75--79
	Place	Points	Name	City, State	Time	USAC #	Bib	Team
	1	441.89	Frederic Schmid	Waco, TX	57:59:00	109257	14
	2	489.16	William Meyers	Oak Creek, CO	58:14:00	53368	9	Schwab Cycles Racing Team
	3	536.43	Robert Paganini	Los Angeles, CA	58:29:00	45763	63	PAA/REMAX
	4	583.70	Larry Slotta	Alta, WY	58:44:00	66507	15
	DNS		Nikola Farats	Santa Rosa, CA	0:00:00	384510	6
	DNS		Richard Reynolds	Tucson, AZ	0:00:00	186922	12	Summit Velo
	DNS		James Sadilek	Carson City, NV	0:00:00	243469	73	Alta Alpina Cycling Club
	DNS		Franz Hammer	Oro Valley, AZ	0:00:00	45423	7	Team Green Choice/Team RPM/Airpark Bikes

SOCAL GETS 2ND AND 4TH IN 2012 55-59 MASTERS NATZ CRITERIUM

By John McKee

This is the 2nd year that Masters National Championships have been in Bend, Or. The area is quite nice and the 1st year was a success though the criterium courses(2 of them) came under attack from the riders that raced them. The course for the 35 to 55s was downtown and a boring rectangle that had a rather narrow 3rd leg that looked dangerous and I heard it was dangerous. USAC designed a new course and it looked from the side lines to be pretty cool. The low down from the riders was that many of the corners were rough and the area where there was a chicane had many crashes throughout Saturday, Sept. 8th, 2012. The 55-59 age group was to go off at 11:45 am. Many riders from Socal were in attendance. Swami's, Sho Air, Breakaway From Cancer, and UC Cyclery had many riders ready to race. Malcolm Hill was returning for Breakaway From Cancer after a great race in 2011 where he placed 2nd from a 2 man break. Malcolm had former pro Wayne Stetina to back him and help as he could.

Kal Szkalak and Danny Nicolette

Mark Hoffenberg has been the strongest rider this year in 55+ in Socal with his teammate Danny Nicolette showing really good form late in the race season. Kind of a Kenny Fuller approach. Build your form though the year and peak at the end of the race season and hit Natz in top form and with your lowest weight.

In the background you can see Mike Mueller, Malcolm Hill and Rick Swanson

I assumed and saw it early in the race how the teams were going to race. Sho Air was going to rip it early and build speed and encourage other top riders to do the same. It looked like that was working as I saw the riders go by. Lap after lap. Swami's approach was there standard. Dale Luedtke to sit in the back and save energy. Mike Birditt was to cruise near the front and still sit in. Rick Swanson was to sit in and see what he could do. UC Cyclery had a good group of riders with the assumed goal to get and keep Kal Szkalak near the front. Kal didn't race at all at the end of the season so I had no idea what kind of form he would have.

This is pic is out of order but too lazy to move it...ONE TO GO..ONE TO GO

 Malcolm Hill was active at and near the front as well early in the race. There was one crash about 7 or 8 laps into the race. There was about 6 to 8 riders down including Dale Luedtke. Dale wasn't hurt bad and rode back to the officials tent for a restart. Riders got 2 free laps up to 9 laps to go. Dale got going again. Mike Birditt got caught out by the crash and had to chase back on with another rider. Mike made it back but seemed a little gun shy when he got back.

Aubrey Gordon second from the front. Mike Birditt rounding wide

 There were some minor break attempts but most of them were twosomes and solo riders and none of the riders got very far away. There were too many good riders available and willing to chase.
Riders started to fall off the pace and in the end 16 riders left the race as DNF(Did Not Finish). 5 of them were from Socal. It was hard out there. Never got an accurate assessment of the pace or average speed from the riders but it did look fast.

Mark Hoffenberg making it hard...again??

I believe the race was 40K or 25 miles and the peleton did it in 55:50 which is 26.8 mph. That is fast for this course. About 1 mph faster than our fastest races in Socal. That's why 16 riders couldn't keep up and I assume a few of the 16 were a result of the crash.

The race hit the 9 to go and everyone was together. Chris Black would go to the front and push as hard as he could to keep the pace up like he would do when he raced with us in Socal. Chris is from Nor Cal. Chris would use what looked like a 53 x 11 on the flats. A real gear masher.

Hoffy near the front again

It didn't look like any of the favorites were going to try and jump for glory in the last number of laps. At least where I was standing. The pace looked fast. Lined out most of the time. A few respites but not many. Mouths open and tongues hanging out. It was hard staying near the front because many of the top riders had the same idea. Can't sprint for glory unless you are in good position. Mike Birditt was moving up a little but still hanging back. Mark, Danny, Malcolm all seemed to be working it near the front. Race favorite per the new USAC race predictor was Aubrey Gordon. Aubrey doesn't look as cut and fit as some of the racers like Malcolm or the "new" Mark Hoffenberg but has shown great results this year and for many years.

Danny Nicolette on Aubrey Gordon's wheel

 The bell like came and it was chaos out there. Chris Black was drilling it. Danny Nicolette and Mark Caldwell were "vying" for Aubrey Gordon's wheel. Hoffy had to engage in some kind of circus act the last half of the lap to get himself near the front.

Hoffy followed by Malcolm Hill

Coming into the last corner it's Aubrey Gordon with Hoffy right there. Who had the best sprint or maybe enough juice left to unlease one's best effort. They are flying toward the finish line on one of the main downtown streets. Dave Towle the famous announcer was giving his best sprint description. Gordon, Hoffenberg.... Hoffenberg, Gordon... who would it be. They have a small gap to 3rd and 4th. IT'S GORDON by half a wheel. Mark gave it his best shot but the "doughboy" pulled it off with his vicious and fast sprint. 

Wayne Stetina leading the pack

 Wow! What a race. The USAC race predictor got it right. Aubrey Gordon 1st and Mark Hoffenberg 2nd. Mark rode his heart out and gave it everything he had . Silver at the National level is something to be quite proud of with this kind of a field and the speed they were doing. There are no more silvers then there are gold medals.

Danny Nicolette following Chris Black's wheel

 Robert Downs of Madison, Wi was 3rd with Mark's teammate at Sho Air Danny Nicolette finishing a very respectable 4th place. Danny didn't even know after the race that he was getting a medal or that he would be on the podium. He seemed disappointed afterward but perked up when he got this news. The last podium spot went to Glenn Schneider of Florida. Locals Kal Szkalak placed 8th, Mike Birditt finally moved up on the last lap and placed 12th. Daniel Swietlik  of Hollywood, Ca. was a real revelation in the race. Dan had been a mid pack finisher in the Socal circuit when he raced but had the race of his life and showed great potential with a 17th place finish at Nationals. Good job, Dan. I know we will see you a lot more in Socal next year.
Mark Huffman was 21 and Mike Mueller was 22. Mark says maybe he likes criteriums after all. Of course Mark is moving into the 60+ category next year with Kal and Pablo also of UC Cyclery. They are going to be killer. Rick Swanson was 24th and Alex Collins was 28th. Finishing with this crowd was doing quite good. Great race. There was a bad crash in the 55-59 race as there would be through the day like in the 35+ category. That was brutal. Socal riders Jamie  Paolinetti won the 45-49 category and Orange County's and Coffee Crew's Richard Meeker won the 50-54 category. Richard was first to the last corner. He wrote a very good story published in Cycling Illustrated. The one thing he didn't mention as I saw it was how close he was to crashing out coming out of the last corner. Richard was flying into the last corner free wheeling it. It looks like he may not get control of his bike before he hit the barrier on the other side of the street. Richard did get control of his bike but had to scrub some speed and I wasn't sure he could hold on but he did. Great win and the last for Socal in the criterium. 55 2nd, 60 2nd, 65 2nd, 70 4th and 75 3rd. Not bad but each of those riders would have loved to have moved up a slot or two. I know that for a fact since I was one of them. More on that in a later story. Full results below. That's all for now folks! Train hard and race safe!

1	145.73	Aubrey Gordon	Reading, PA	55:50:00	45388	222	Liberty Cycle
	2	154.91	Mark Hoffenberg	Santa Rosa Ca	55:50:00	45461	228	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road/Team Velosport Club
	3	164.09	Robert Downs	Madison, WI	55:50:00	9947	185	Planet Bike
	4	173.27	Daniel Nicolette	Los Alamitos, CA	55:50:00	26090	239	Sho-air/Rock 'n Road/Team Velosport Club
	5	182.45	Glenn Schneider	Lake Worth, FL	55:51:00	31697	247	GS Palm Beach
	6	191.63	Charles Holbrook	Oconomowoc, WI	55:51:00	16496	229	Lakes Area Physical Therapy/LAPT CC
	7	200.81	Kevin Willitts	S Lake Tahoe, CA	55:51:00	192774	259	Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada/Team Bicycles Plus
	8	209.99	Kalman Szkalak	Capistrano Beach, CA	55:51:00	54522	254	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	9	219.17	Mark Sommers	Washington, DC	55:51:00	149858	274	Clean Currents p/b Beyer Kia/DC Velo Limited
	10	228.35	Bill Crum	Eagle, ID	55:51:00	52372	265	Boise Cycling Club
	11	237.53	Stan Urban	San Rafael, CA	55:51:00	178098	210	Morgan Stanley /Specialized/Morgan Stanley Cycling Team
	12	246.71	Michael Birditt	Escondido, CA	55:52:00	47255	261	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team/Swami's Cycling Club
	13	255.89	Christofer deHahn	Belchertown, MA	55:52:00	334414	266	Northampton Cycling Club
	14	265.07	Charles Townsend	Mendota Heights, MN	55:52:00	46011	366	Bianchi/Grand Performance/St Paul Bicycle Racing Club
	15	274.25	Mark Caldwell	Moraga, CA	55:52:00	40039	216	Morgan Stanley /Specialized/Morgan Stanley Cycling Team
	16	283.43	Steve Matson	Tacoma, WA	55:52:00	171544	270	Old Town Bicycle (OTB)
	17	292.61	Daniel Swietlik	Hollywood, CA	55:53:00	60602	209	OTR Racing
	18	301.79	Thomas Gates	Franklin, TN	55:53:00	45364	220	MOAB Masters Racing/Moab/Middle Tennessee Velo
	19	310.97	Robert Pinkerton	Denver, CO	55:53:00	81796	272	Natural Grocers Cycling Team
	20	320.15	Jonathan Sek	San Jose, CA	55:53:00	45922	249	SJBC/San Jose Bicycle Club
	21	329.33	Mark Huffman	Encinitas, CA	55:54:00	59572	191	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	22	338.51	Michael Mueller	El Cajon, CA	55:54:00	46688	238	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	23	347.69	Michael Newsome	Westminster, CO	55:54:00	50692	204	Boulder Orthopedics
	24	356.87	Rick Swanson	Corona, CA	55:55:00	34753	275	Spy-Swami's Cycling Team/Swami's Cycling Club
	25	366.05	Tom Hackleman	Tacoma, WA	55:55:00	58115	223	Old Town Bicycle (OTB)
	26	375.23	Dirk Cowley	Salt Lake City, UT	55:56:00	7974	218	Velosport Racing
	27	384.41	Chris Black	San Luis Obispo, CA	55:56:00	3814	262	Morgan Stanley /Specialized/Morgan Stanley Cycling Team
	28	393.59	Alex Collins	Orange, CA	55:57:00	46255	183	UC Cyclery/JW Floors/Sun Coast Velo
	29	402.77	Tom Potter	Browns Point, WA	55:57:00	206784	244	Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Cycling T/CBC Racing
	30	411.95	Craig Hammond	Mercer Island, WA	55:58:00	264726	224	Bikesale.com/Union Bay Cycling/Bikesale.com
	31	421.13	Joseph Brubaker	Saltlakecity, UT	55:58:00	303618	181	Ski Utah Cycling Team/Utah Premier-Ski Utah Cycling Team
	32	430.31	Geoffrey Baynes	Olivenhain, CA	55:59:00	48257	175	Celo Pacific
	33	439.49	Jim Gentes	Soquel, CA	56:00:00	13042	186
	34	448.67	Malcolm Hill	Westlake Village, CA	56:02:00	156650	227	Breakaway from Cancer Masters