Cat's Hill Classic

Cat’s Hill Classic Criterium - Words by Kortney Parman

It was early in the race season when one of my brothers, Brock, told me he wanted to come see me race my bike- his first time. I was really excited to learn he would be coming west from Atlanta, and looked at the race calendar- I wanted to choose a race which would be spectator friendly with a good turnout. Cat’s Hill is sponsored by Mikes Bikes and is a team race, so I knew it was on my schedule. I’d never raced it before, but I knew that as a crit, it would be spectator friendly.

I did some course recon the morning of, watching my boyfriend race the Cat 3 field, explaining to Brock the race basics and tactics. I lined up with the field, assessing who was there.  I was riding without teammates this race, and I decided who I needed to pay attention to, including the NCNCA Cat 3 Woman leader, Jennifer Wilson of Razzle Dazzle. The race was off and I settled in. The first part of the course is a false flat to approach the famous Cat’s Hill, which was the unknown for me as I’d never ridden it. I shifted into any easy gear and got out of the saddle to take the climb. It’s not an easy effort, but just short enough that I still felt I could punch it.

Early in the race a strong rider from Specialized Muscle Milk, Jamie Erickson, picked up the pace and invited me to join- her goal was to see if she could cause some separation in the field. I pushed with her, but the field stayed together pretty well. Then she had a mechanical, which ended up taking her out of the race.

Haley Nielsen of SheSpoke is a strong sprinter and she went for early primes, which was fine with me as I didn’t want to burn too many matches early on. But in the middle of the race, when I realized that no matter where I was positioned in the peloton at the base of the climb I was capable of summiting Cat’s Hill with the front riders, I decided to put some pressure on the field and pushed the pace a few times, even maintaining a break for half a lap with a few laps to go. I took two mid-race primes.

On the last lap, I was first up Cat’s Hill. My plan was to push really hard on the descent and subsequent small hill, trying to get as much of a gap as I could, and then prepare for the final sprint. Arielle Little of SunPower crested just behind me and then made a well-played attack, which I followed. I felt as long as I stayed with her and was at least 3rd wheel going into the final stretch, I was doing okay. As she, Jennifer, and I came around the final turn, I sprinted. Thankfully I was able to hold my pace to the end and crossed the line first. It was my first win of the season, and I was so thankful for Brock to have been present for it. If he didn’t appreciate my crazy cycling before, I think he does now.

TMBW Early Season Round Up

Words by Melanie Wong

I’m never quite sure how it happens, but time seems to be something that constantly escapes me. It’s like a slow leak - you wake up every morning with a firm grip on the road, but throughout the day you start getting flat to the point where it’s time for bed and you’re still desperately trying to make it to the finish on a ruined rim. Okay - maybe that was a little over-dramatic - but in an effort to make up for lost time, here’s a recap of Team Mikes Bikes Women’s racing.

Land Park Criterium - In which Diana executes to perfection

The field at Land Park was stacked with some of the fastest ladies in Norcal, including sprinters from JL Velo, Jakroo and Specialized Cyclesport. From the gun, it was active with Jakroo raining down attacks and Specialized countering. We wanted to make sure we had a representative in each likely move, but didn’t want to consume too much energy until we had the right composition. Diana and Kortney did an amazing job reading the race and putting in the effort when it really counted. On the final lap, Diana put in a perfectly timed attack to keep the pace high and I muscled my way into 3rd wheel. Rounding the last corner, I popped the clutch and sprinted around for the win.

Bariani Road Race - In which I test the waters

With a new course that included a few short climbs and a field stacked with three riders from Cyclesport Specialized, I knew Bariani was going to be a tough race. Early in the first lap Diana got a flat, so I was left to my own devices, along with a smattering of strong single riders including Ellie Velez, Marissa Axell and Casey Myers. Leading up to the first hill, the Cyclesport Specialized riders started to attack leaving me with no other option but to jump and chase. With the hill approaching I chose to counter-attack one of their moves, which ended up dropping two of the Cyclesport riders and leaving only one rider left from each team - a much more level playing field. All 5 riders worked together for the next couple of laps, pushing to keep the pace up. On the final hill, Ellie jumped and I followed. As we approached the crest of the hill, I attacked around her and pushed through the downhill. With no one on my wheel, I gunned it and finished solo, followed by Ellie and Casey who battled it out for second and third.

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium - In which Kortney attacks and it starts to hail

Santa Cruz is another one of those classics that is on my “must do” list for the season. With a kicker hill and a tight 180 turn, it is a course that has a lot to do with good timing. Although we had clear weather all day at the startline the heavens opened up and it started to rain - no matter, we are made of tougher stuff.  As usual, the Jakroo girls started firing attacks fast and early. My hope was to reserve some energy for the latter half of the race, and Kortney and Diana did a good job covering - even throwing down an attack or two themselves. It started to hail (no really - it was crazy!) and the race went on. By the mid point we had shed about half of the group and I was taking pulls with the remaining single riders. I knew positioning into the final hill would make or break the race so on the final corner I took the inside line and was the first to power up the hill and jumped into the sprint. I could see Evie from Jakroo coming on my outside so I kicked a gear harder and gave it everything I had to power across the line first.

Copperopolis Road Race - In which I practice time trialing

Before this year, I’d only done Copperopolis road race once before in my first year of racing...and I absolutely hated it. With little fitness and less than stellar bike handling skills, I remember getting dropped on the first hill and barely making it across the finish line without crying. While I’ve grown as a rider since then, I showed up to the race expecting a tough day - especially since I don’t really count myself as a climber. On the first hill, Ellie Velez put in a strong attack, which I countered. The field split, but even with 4 riders it was clear there wasn’t much motivation to work together this early in the race, so we regrouped. On lap two, Diana put in a surprise attack on the first hill, which I once again countered. I drilled it to the top of the climb and was surprised to see no one with me. As I started to descend I resolved to keep pressure on the pedals and ride a strong tempo, secretly hoping someone would bridge to join me. However, as the miles wore on - particularly with all the turns and bends in the course - it started to become clear that I needed to settle into time trial mode and prepare for the long haul. I knew if I could reach the final hill solo, I would be in good shape to finish by myself. The miles ticked on and I ate all the food I had, drank copious amounts of water and chased rabbits until I crested the final hill. Rolling across the finish line, I felt exhausted, but triumphant that I had turned the tables on the Copperopolis Road Race.

On the horizon is Redlands and some of my favorite epic Norcal races. See you on the road!

Red Kite Crit (E2/3)

In the photo: Travis Mceuen

Written by Travis. 

Plan: Ingmar, Travis K, Mikal and Arnaud would be the aggressors in the race and try and force a break. The main person to watch was Robert Skinner as he has solo’d the last 2 RKO’s he has been in. Tom and I would try and stay fresh if it came down to a sprint but if a move happened that we could follow we would go for it.

Race: First half had some attacks but nothing able to stay away. Shout out to Mikal and Ingmar for riding on the front and discouraging attacks. Right at the 30 min mark Robert placed a well-timed attack. I was at the front but had just been brought back from a short move and hadn’t fully recovered. Zane from Gooby followed but after a lap or so got popped. Everyone in the field knew that Robert could hold that effort.

Low and Emmitt from Terun attacked and I attempted to bridge to their move. A lap went by and I was just about to latch on when I see a pack of people coming up (I assumed it was the whole field but was actually a group of 8). We all joined together as a group of 10 or 11 and started working fairly well together. Eventually no one wanted to pull through and we stopped seeing Robert after corners…

Fast forward to 2 laps to go our chase group knew we were racing for 2 nd place. Travis K came up to me and said he would make a move and he did. He was able to put a gap on the field and force the other teams (Sun Power and Low) to chase. He was caught as we came through for the final lap and Low and Sun Power were on the front trying to lead it out. Luckily I was able to see this and slotted into third wheel and sat tight waiting for a launch. Sure enough after turn 3 Amain attacked on the right and I was able to follow putting me 2nd wheel into turn 4. I stayed on his wheel out of the turn and came around
him to win the bunch sprint.

Today we showed we were able to put a plan in place and execute. Killer work from all the boys today, especially Tom, Mikal and Ingmar who raced earlier and went 1 and 2 (Hell yeah Mikal and Tom)!

Thanks to our sponsors: Mike’s Bikes for keeping my whip game on point, Equator Coffees for waking me up in the mornings, Toyota Cycling, Capo Cycling always keeping me flossy, GU Energy for giving me ALL THE CARBS, and Absolute Black Chainrings for helping me spin efficient.

Snelling Race Report

By Melanie Wong

Snelling has always been one of those races on my “hit list” - a classic NorCal course with power climbs, windy false flats and a kicker uphill finish. I’ve been lucky enough to be within the top spots for the past couple years, so I knew the course favored my punchy riding style. However, unlike past years, I didn’t really want to go into the race with an overly formal plan. Chatting casually in the parking with Amy, we had pretty general goals: be active, race hard, conserve when appropriate and be ready to set-up the sprint if it came down to it.

This year the small women’s field had two dominant teams (5 from JL Velo and 4 from Cyclesport Specialized) along with two strong unattached riders. On lap one Sarabeth Liebert (Cyclesport Specialized), rolled away from the field while JL was tempoing at the front. Since it was so early in the race, I wasn’t overly concerned with this escapee, but as the gap widened with no response from JL Velo I became more and more nervous. The Snelling course has many turns in it. Once a rider gets “out of sight, out of mind” it can be hard to bring them back. Halfway through lap 2, with Sarabeth 1 minute up the road, I started to put in small attacks to elevate the pace. Amy countered my attacks and Megan Ruble (Cyclesport Specialized) did the same to try and break away from the field. Bit by bit we pulled back Sarabeth and by the start of lap 3, the group was together, minus 3 JL Velo riders who were dropped.

With the first signs of strain starting to show in the field, Amy threw down laps 3 and 4. When she wasn’t sharing the pacemaking with the Cyclesport Specialized riders, she was attacking the roller hills. All her hard work meant that I could sit in, recover and conserve as much energy as possible. I only countered or attacked when the composition of riders or the terrain made it particularly beneficial. By the end of lap 4 we had dropped two more riders from Cyclesport Specialized, and the remaining members of the field were preparing for the sprint.

Heading into the final, long “L” stretch stretch before the finish, riders were jockeying for position.  We knew I needed to be top 4 going into the final right hand turn, so Amy worked with Megan to keep the pace up, while I sat snugly 3rd wheel. In the final 200m before the turn, Eleanor Velez (Unattached) emerged from the left side of the group to pass Amy and be the first into the turn, taking the outside line. I jumped with her and used the inside line to my advantage to bridge up to her quickly. As I approached her rear wheel, I kicked hard and attacked through her then sprinted the rest of the way to the line.

I can’t say thanks enough to Amy for her incredible amounts of work - it was truly a team effort that out-manned and out-gunned we were still able to pull off the win and finish with sweaty faces, sore muscles, and big smiles.