Dana Point Grand Prix

This race has been a race that I've been wanting to do for a few years now and I was excited to race it this year and experience an NCC (National Criterium Calendar) race. On top of all of this excitement, the team was all looking to work for me to pull off a good result or possibly the win! With the excitement exceeding high, it was hard to stay calm and think about other things in life that could keep me away from thinking about it. I got to the race with Dana a couple hours before after flying in that morning, got registered, pinned up numbers, warmed up and before we knew it it was time to race!

The weather was a possible factor with it being about 65 degrees and mostly cloudy and rain drops looking to fall down anytime, but there was no rain drops the entirety of the race. The race started out fast which was expected so I let riders use all of their energy to attack and follow moves and by the time about 30 minutes into the race, I knew it was to come down to a field sprint with all of the team that were represented in the race (CashCall, MRI, Optum, and Smartstop). Eric was able to get a few primes throughout the race and about 60 minutes into the race (out of 90 minutes) through I told him to relax and save it for the end (lead out).

Fast forward to 5 laps to go and Daniel and I are locked onto Justin Williams's (MRI) wheel with Eric, Dana and Rainier nearby. I was working with Rainier throughout the race to help him move up in a pack of this caliber and I think he learned some valuable tips for the next race he enters :). Now it's the last lap and Dana was able to get to the front right before the last turn with Daniel and I on his wheel. Eric was a couple riders back but I didn't want to take the chance to wait for him and possibly be taken over by another team so we started our  final lead out. Dana took a beast pull for a half of a lap and then Daniel took over just before the 2nd to last turn. Between the 2nd to last and last corner I heard a crash really close to me. I look back and all I see is blue (Ken Hansen). Forget it, it's time to sprint for the finish. I come around the last turn behind Daniel as he starts his sprint to lead me out and I'm in perfect position but I made the mistake of starting my sprint slightly too early and then I had a slight mechanical in my sprint, that once I got it going again, it was too late and the top 3 guys were racing for the win. It was disappointing to have this happen on this level of racing and after I was in perfect position and that I didn't bring it home for the team but it's experiences like these that will help me learn more and get stronger. I ended up hanging on to finished 4th and Daniel finished 5th, Dana 6th, and Eric 8th!

Overall, we really gelled together as a team and successfully did what we wanted to do as a team and that's all that matters. We all learned certain things and we are all happy with how we rode. Personally, I wish a couple things didn't happen but it's part of bike racing and I'm determined for next time! A huge thank you to all of our  Sponsors to help us get to where we are and do as well as we did!! I'm looking forward to next year!

Here's a video too from the race: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5U-o499o7h4

1-2 at Wente Criterium: Race Report

by Daniel Holloway

I have always like Wente, Its a longer circuit with wide roads. Its always fast and the racing just flows. A smaller field than normal was in attendance, but still had some strong riders. Travis, James and Myself were the representatives for Team Mikes Bikes p/b Incase. Having never seen a break stick it on this course our tactic was to follow moves that only included the few danger men and teams that had numbers. About 20 minutes in to the race we did a big team effort for a prime to get a feel for the final lead out, the group gave the guys going for the prime a large buffer (3 of us). Knowing there was going to be a counter attack, I kept my awareness up. Sure enough a few guys come by, unfortunately we spent a little to much effort for the prime and couldn't latch on. After a couple laps of everyone attacking the race was in 4 groups. 2-3 guys off the front, a group of 5-6 chasing, another group of 10 or so and then the rest of us. James made a great move to be the second group and then jumping them once they were tired to make it all the way to the front. I had to do it the harder way, I leap frogged from group to group over 3 laps to finally making it up to James and the 4 guys he was with. Once in the group we rolled along smoothly with everyone doing there fair share to make the break stick. 

With 7 laps to go on the back side a couple guys started looking at each other and the gap opened with my self and Jesse Miller Smith from MarcPro. We worked well together and a few laps later lapped the field. Straight to the front, we kept working hard. Two laps later James group laps the field also, Travis and James now start to ride tempo at the front of the field to get ready for the final sprint. Travis did an amazing job on the final lap leading from the start finish all the way to 300 meters to go!! He died a thousand deaths, but a lot of encouragement he kept going and going. Super impressive. After a hard race and the fast lead out, no one was able to come around James and I for us to place first and second.

Thank you to Clif Bar for the easy to digest race food for the last minute pre race fuel. On hot days it is no fun to taste race food a second time. Thank you Osmo for keeping us hydrated on a truly hot day! I had 3 bottles in one hour!! Thank you Zipp for making incredible wheels to make spending time in the wind that much easier!

A Hard Fought Battle - Wente Road Race Report

By Adam Switters

The Wente Vineyards road race is one of my all-time favorites. It’s a great course and one of the few that has a pure hilltop finish. I was a little unsure of my form at this race. I had been involved in a bad crash at Redlands and had taken two weeks off the bike with a bum hand, but I was excited to come help the team.

Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase started off the race with a flurry of attacks. We were hoping to be well represented in the early break. Midway through the first lap, Dana and I found ourselves in a fairly large break (~12 riders) that quickly gained time. Dana and I rolled through just enough to keep our breakmates happy, but I was honestly hoping another group would be able to roll up to us later in the race.

Fast forward 50 miles and the break has around a 5 minute lead and we’re not coming back. I had actually been feeling fairly strong on the bike, but around 40 miles in I started having serious stomach problems. At one point I though I was going to have to pull over to use the bathroom, but I soldiered on. The only problem was that it was preventing m from eating anything. (I had one set Clif bar for the entire 80mi race).

Coming into one to go, Keith Wong from Lombardi attacked and got a good gap. I started sitting on the break, but the rest of the riders rode cohesively and slowly started to bring down his gap. Despite my stomach problems, I was still feeling strong, so coming to the last 3mi before the climb, Dana put in a good amount of work to finally close the gap to Keith.

Into the final climb we went and I went with the first accelerations. Suddenly, I just ran out of energy. I think this was less to do with fitness and more to do with not having ate in the last 60miles. Regardless, Tyler Brandt seemed to be on a great day. He took it all the way from the bottom of the climb and rolled in for a commanding victory.

Although Dana and I rolled in for 10^th and 11^th place respectively, we rode the race how we wanted. Sometimes, you’re just up against better riders.

Mega Sale

ms13spr_flyer_panel

Pop into your local Mike's Bikes store for some great deals on much of the equipment used by Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase.

20-40% off helmets, 20-50% off clothes and some fantastic deals on bikes.

Check out the sale catalog here - then head into your local store before the sale ends Sunday.

A Win at the Sea Otter Classic Circuit Race

by Daniel Holloway The Circuit race at Sea Otter is always difficult, you are either coasting or pedaling nearly full on. Team Mikes Bikes pb Incase plan for the race was to lay low and let the GC guys chase each other down only going into a move if it had GC riders in it and would make it to the line.

Roman and Shawn kept a look out in the early part of the race for any moves that we noted as dangerous. Eric and myself were to relax, sag climb the hill and save as much as we could for the end. Marcus may of had the hardest job of the day, he was there to shuffle around the group and get any of us four into the position we wanted to be in. It was going to be a tricky day with only a 5 man squad racing against strong 8 man teams.

The race starts off aggressive and doesn't really let up. Teams are attacking, but we stay calm and collected to not waste energy on moves that will be caught shortly after they go. Roman and Shawn did a great job representing the team in the first half of the race, actually the whole race.

They never missed a beat. After 5 laps or so a 6 man group was up the road with a 15-20 second gap. It contained two of the faster finishers in the race and a couple other strong men. One of the other larger teams missed the move which helped us as we choose not to follow that move. We kept our cool and let the others do most of the grunt work to keep the gap in check. Any time the field slowed Eric would reignite the fire and keep the peleton within distance.

Around 3 laps to go the break was absorbed back into the group. Now everyone on the team had to be switched on to not let any late race attacks go. Eric and Marcus did a great job of keeping the pace up so anyone who did attack didn't get too far and other teams could weld it back together. Somewhere in the last 3 laps Roman finds me and says "You are going to win this *expletive* race". I had to, the team worked so hard all day to make it happen. Needless to say, that got me amped up.

Going up the hill the last time as a group I was nervous, some strong guys were sitting in all day and were not looking for a field sprint. A last minute attack from a strong rider can take it to the line. Sure enough Zack Noonan let it rip up the right side and got a gap. I stayed close to Roman as he road a super smooth pace up the steep part of the climb. With my girth Its not to my advantage to go full gas up the steeper stuff. We get down off the cork screw of Laguna Seca and Zack has a sizable gap, it was going to be close. Going over the criterium hill I was out of position. I found a wheel moving up the inside around the long U-turn into the head wind. Shawn was still up front laying down the speed. Roman appeared at the perfect time to move me up to 4th wheel with 600meters to go. Going into the final right hand corner Shawn moved left and the next started his sprint way early perfect for me. As soon as I saw the window open on the right side I hit out as hard as I could. With 50meters to go I checked under my arms to see where the others were, with nothing but daylight I was able to raise my hands early and show off the Team Mikes Bikes p/b Incase jersey for a few extra meters before the line.

Thank you so much to all of my teammates for their incredibly hard work and sacrifice. Thank you to all of our team sponsors for the best products any racer wishes they had.

Read the Norcal Cylcing News report on Sea Otter here.

Red Kite Criterium Series #2 - Race Report

Arriving at the race about an hour and a half before start, I was glad to have been able to take all the time I needed to get myself ready. I was going to do both the Cat 2/3 and P/1/2 races today. I mixed a few bottles of ice water with some Organic Blackberry Osmo Active Hydration and loaded them onto my Tarmac SL4. I then proceeded by getting dressed in my Capo long sleeve skinsuit (despite the warm weather, I opted for aero) and applied some Personal Best Betwixt chamois cream. I sat around for a short while in the shade while watching another race finish, before spinning on the trainer.

The Cat 2/3 race was was really choppy. Team Specialized Racing Juniors had a handful of riders that had just raced down at Sea Otter,  and they used their numbers to dictate the proceedings of the race. Being the only one from TMB p/b Incase in the field, I decided to play this race a little more conservatively- trying to mark only moves that I saw as a serious threat. About half way through the race, Specialized had one rider in a 4-man breakaway which had about a ten second advantage on the field. The juniors were setting an easy to moderate tempo on the front of the group and were riding defensively to make sure that break stuck. I decided to bridge to that move, and did so successfully, but it was reeled back in about a lap later. For the rest of the race, I sat in.

With two laps to go, Specialized had all their riders on the front, with what looked like some sort of a lead out for Matt Valencia. I was on Matt's wheel going into the last lap, Specialized still setting the pace on the front. Everyone behind them was shouting to get them to go faster, since their junior gear restrictions had them limited to a modest 29 mph. They eventually got swarmed in the last half of the final lap. Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada had two guys attack up the gutter and on the outside of the final corner. I followed wheels from in the inside, which put me in about 5th position into the last corner.

I finished 3rd, behind the two Bicycles Plus riders. Pretty happy with this result, and with where I stand with my fitness. A big thank you to all of our sponsors who each played an important part in my achieving of this result!

The P/1/2 race was death. My allergies had been affecting my throat, nose and eyes throughout the 2/3 race, and it hadn't gotten any better before the P/1/2 race. I didn't do much, and watched a group of 9 get off the

front early. A handfull of riders lapped the field, those riders making all the action at the front of the lapped peloton with about 20 minutes remaining. Chuck set a gruesome tempo for 5 of the final 8 laps. The final lap was pretty dicey, my legs feeling pretty wrecked from the prior race. I rolled across the line in 24th.  

Sea Otter Classic Road Race Report

By Roman Kilun The Sea Otter Road race starts on the Laguna Seca Race Way before dropping into Ford Ord for 8 laps of the brutal circuit. On the last lap the course takes a different turn and climbs 4km to the finish back at the entrance to Laguna Seca. There are too main climbs on the course, one through the feed-zone and another which features the KOM.

The day started with very aggressive attacking by Cash Call and Jelly Belly who after two laps found them-selves in an anaerobic stalemate. While the two teams watched each other a move of two very strong riders went up the road only to be seen again in the closing kilometers. Shortly thereafter, Shawn and Eric joined a chase group that would spend the better half of the race in pursuit of the two leaders. Meanwhile in the field, Daniel and Marcus kept me protected and kept me in perfect position  going into the climbs.

Throughout the race the other teams took turns chasing and sucker punching each other with attacks. With about 3 laps to go I suffered a puncture and Marcus generously offered his wheel which allowed me to rejoin the bunch with little effort. As we approached the final climb, the early breakaway was in sight and all the climbers jockeyed for position at the front of the race. At this point Daniel took me straight to the front and rode a hard tempo for several minutes. The race started to blow up as the climb wore on and Kirk Carlsen made a strong attack on one of the steeper pitches. Only Alex Hagman could respond and the duo dangled in front of us by a few seconds. This forced the remaining CashCall riders to chase further shelling riders from the group.

As we hit the final 200 meters, the steepest of the climb, I was in the world of hurt and rode my own pace as the rest of my fellows sprinted for the minor placings. Ahead Alex prevailed over Kirk who would later go on to win the GC. I finished the stage in tenth at about 20 seconds back.

Sea Otter Classic TT Report

by Shawn Rosenthal There was no sitting on the couch racing Gran Turismo to prep me for this rollercourse of a time trial.  The course is a hair under 8 miles with hills reaching the 10% range and descents raising speeds to 50mph.

 Saturday's race left the legs a little heavy and being almost 5 minutes back in GC and knowing the circuit race is the following day, I was wondering why I'd try in the time trial.  Some part of me decided that I should give it a go.  I dragged around an extra bike all week, might as well give it a spin.

Studying for the GREs through the day, I was posting great scores on the quantitative section, getting every problem right.  The one equation I failed at was the time I'd need to leave at.  It takes time to get out the door?  It takes more than 5 minutes to drive 30 miles?  Nevertheless, the warmup was short.  Again, I wouldn't have gotten to my race on time had it not been for our Energizer bunny of a mechanic, Caesar.  

The first half, I rode up the hills hard & backed off the power any time the speed was over 32mph.  I coasted down a hill for 90 seconds, getting fully rested for the 2.5 minute climb.  I hit that as hard as I could.  I paid the price and in agony, fought my bike to finish the day.

Some went fast.  Others went really fast.

Kirk Carlson (Predator) and Justin Rossi (Marc Pro Strava) lit it up to finish 1st and 2nd respectively.

Roman finished 11th in 18:02, 37 seconds off the pace

I finished 14th, 42 seconds off the pace

Holloway finished 24th, 57 seconds off the pace

Sea Otter Classic Criterium Race Report

by Dana Williams The Sea Otter Classic Pro Criterium is on the Laguna Seca Race Track. It was a 60 minute race. The course is basically an elongated 'C' with two short power climbs and a 180 turn on each end. The first and shortest (75 meters) power climb is just after the start/finish line while the second (200 meters) is at the bottom of the 'C', just as you exit the 180 turn. The nature of the course definitely creates a challenging crit, favoring a powerful rider.

The teams with the strongest representation were Jelly Belly, Cash Call, CalGiant and Get Crackin'. Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase weren't too far behind with six riders; Roman Kilun, Eric Riggs, Shawn Rosenthal, Marcus Smith, Daniel Holloway and myself (Dana Williams). It wasn't long after we started that attacks began. For the most part it was CashCall and CalGiant initiating most of them. We did our best to make sure we were in most moves, and for the most part we accomplished this.

At about half way through the race, four of us (Roman, Eric, Shawn and Daniel) found ourselves in a large leading group of around 30 riders. At one point, CashCall and CalGiant had two riders up the road and Shawn did an amazing job at the front for about 3/4 of a lap to literally bring them back. From this point on, and from what I recall, no other strong moves separated themselves. As we rolled over the finish line with one lap to go, it was evident that the race would come down to a bunch sprint. Unfortunately we weren't able to get a solid lead out going for our sprinter, Daniel, but ended up placing four in the top 15 (Daniel 5th, Shawn 8th, Dana 9th and Roman 15th).

Onto stage 2 tomorrow, the road race.

Santa Cruz Classi Criterium Race Report

by Nick Newcomb I was really stoked to be racing only 5 minutes away from home on a sunny day in Santa Cruz. At the race Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase had myself (Nick), Travis Lyons, Rainier Schaefer, Dana Williams, and James Laberg (defending champion from 2012). Having five riders who were riding well, our plan was to be aggressive by making sure we were represented in all moves. If it came down to a pack sprint then we'd work to set it up for James. I was fired up right from the start and played an aggressive role; I found myself chasing down every attack I saw and spending a ton of time at the front. Luckily I was high on adrenaline from all of my friends on the sidelines and had been chugging OSMO all day!Travis, Rainier and Dana all did an awesome job pulling back attacks and keeping the group together.

About halfway through the race, Ben Jaques-Mayne (Jamis HB) took off with Tobin Ortinblad on his wheel at the one moment where we were all boxed in or recovering from chasing moves. They went up the right on the false flat after the short climb. Nobody went with them. Unfortunately we would never be able to real them back in.

After tons of pulling and following moves I was afraid that I would be blown by the end. Then Dana told me that I was going to start the lead out on the last lap so there were no time for excuses. As I was moving forward with 2 to go a Specialized kid and another guy (later found out it was Chris Phipps) put in a last minute 'Hail Mary; so it was game on! I was forced to start the lead out with 2 to go. Trading off with Rainier, we led Dana and James into the last corner where they went 1 and 2 in the sprint, earning some vital team points (being it was a Premiere series race) and cold hard cash. I wish we could have caught the break but awesome race regardless!

Redlands Stage Race: Sunset Road Race (stage 4)

by Roman Kilun Stage 4 of the Redlands Cycling Classic goes by a simple name: Sunset. In the ever changing world of US cycling, this race is a genuine classic and is universally feared and respected.  It is unique in the world of US cycling in that it is extremely hard but can be won by any type of rider from sprinter to climber. The course consists of a start on the Redlands crit course followed by a climb up to the Sunset Loop, 12 laps of the Loop, and a descent back to the crit course for 5 more laps. As usual the climb up to the circuit was fast and crazy. Everyone fights for position like it’s the end of a crit since the start of the Loop is super narrow and takes you to the base of the climb. Luckily I had Eric, Daniel and James keeping me in position all the way to the critical point.

Once on the circuit I knew the first three laps would be ballistic and they were; over half field was shelled. As if scripted, the race calmed way down for the middle laps into a steady but bearable torture.  Breakaways started and failed every lap for what seemed like half the race. Finally around the mid way point a group led by Jamis established a lead and the 5 hour boys settled into a tempo for a few laps. By tempo I mean Nate English smashed us every time up the hill.

With two laps to go Matt Cooke threw down a blistering attack which drew out the race leaders. I knew I could not follow the best climbers so I did what I could to limit the damage and ride in a good group with Tom Zirbel and Justin Rossi. We were able to rejoin the leaders just before the descent and the start of the final lap. At this point I was starting to get really excited about racing on the circuits but there was one brutal lap left. Once again Matt Cooke attacked on the climb and this time only Mancebo was able to match the pace. It seemed that Chad Haga (race leader) was faltering and chose to stay with his team who would try to limit the damage on the long descent into town.

Now, done with all of the climbing a group of roughly 35 sat glued to the Optum team as they chased in vain to catch Paco. At this point I was pretty surprised that the Jamis team did not lend a hand as they had numbers and the best sprinter in the group. Perhaps they thought they had enough time once we reached the crit laps. Once on the crit laps Jamis went all in for JJ Haedo and chased Macebo who was nursing a 20 second lead. Meanwhile I made a big push to the front and settled in behind Freddie Rodriguez. It was very difficult to maintain position as I was having to battle with teams like Elbowz and BMC who had numbers.

At the start of the final lap, Jamis ran out of guys and JJ Haedo was left solo on the front at which point he started sprinting!!! He sprinted for a full lap but did not catch Macebo, yet no one got around him so he finished 2nd. I held on to the wheels in front of me and passed a rider or two in the final corners to finish 8^th. While not a podium I am extremely proud of the result of our team that helped me achieve it.

For you geeks out there who care about data here are the basic stats:

Time: 4:00

Distance: 156km

Av Speed: 38.8km/h

Max Speed: 88.32km/h

Norm Power: 362watts

Energy: 3995

Elevation: 8,418 feet

Weight: 168lbs

Roman: Stage 1 - Individual Time Trial

Photo credits to Cyclingnews.com

Redlands Stage Race: Individual Time Trial

by Adam Switters This year, the Redlands Bicycle Classic decided to mix things up and moved their prologue from downtown Redlands up to Big Bear. The course changed from a mostly uphill battle of fitness to a flat and technical battle of altitude acclimation (The tt was at 6800 ft).

It would have been ideal to pre-ride the time trial in the days prior to the race, but no longer being professional athletes and holding down day jobs didn’t allow us to get down to the race till the afternoon before. Pre-riding the course would have been a huge advantage as it was surprisingly technical and rolling.

Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase rider Daniel HollowayThe course was only 6.8 miles long with a headwind on the outbound leg. It was imperative to go out hard, but with the altitude, that might come back to bite you in the butt. I went out a little too hard in the first mile and from there it was survival. I tried to make up some ground on the technical turns, but fell apart a bit on the way back and came in 71^st out of the 190 or so starters. Roman Kilun had a great ride and finished 26^th for the team, giving us good position for the caravan the next day.

Newcomb in the News

nicknewcomb

TMB Rider Nick Newcomb is profiled in today's Marin Independent Journal

Nick Newcomb makes smooth transition to road racing with Mike's Bikes team - read it here.

Regalado Road Race: March 24, 2013

Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase went into the race with six riders; four guys from our elite squad (Roman Kilun, Steve O’Mara, Rainier Schaefer and myself, Dana Williams) and two guys from our Masters squad (Jacob Berkman and John Barbicas). Our plan was to do our best to control the race. If there happened to be a break that we weren’t in, then we felt we had the numbers and strength to control it and bring it back when needed. This would determine whether we would lead somebody out at the finish or not.

Following a three mile neutral roll out (believe it or not, it was actually a gentle rollout, even without a neutral vehicle to control the speed), we got a few instructions from the officials and were off. It was my first time doing this course. From what I wast told, it was a fairly flat 17 mile loop with a mile-long gravel section and some rolling terrain towards the finish. That description was spot on. On side a side note, I can see how wind can play a major factor in this race, but we didn’t have to worry about that due to the 8:00 AM start.

As I recall, the rolling terrain as we finished up lap one is what caused the first split. In this break were seven riders; myself and teammate Roman, James Enright of Squadra, Chuck Hutcheson of Marc-Pro, a rider from Davis, Lombardi and Form Fitness. It wasn’t long until Chuck decided to put in a move and got up the road about 15 seconds. We decided we wouldn’t close the gap right away but instead keep Chuck within 25-30 seconds and see how things played out.

About a quarter of the way around the next lap, I look back and see two riders coming up on us. I see an arm wave, recognize the kit and realize it’s a teammate. I try to quietly mention this to Roman, but I can tell James Enright overheard me because he was soon on the front and accelerating. I gather he realized it wasn’t to his best interest to have three Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase riders in the break. Roman and I didn’t do any work, hoping our teammate would make it it up to us. A mile or two down the road, after bringing back Chuck by about 10 seconds, Rainier and a rider from Davis bridge up to us.

Chuck is reeled back in at the end of the gravel section on the second to last lap. With three teammates in the break, we decide to launch some attacks. The ‘Chulkster’ covers pretty well all of them.  On the final lap, a Davis rider rolls off the front just before the gravel section. Rainier goes to the front and keeps a good tempo to keep the gap around 5 seconds. Roman is second wheel, I’m behind him, Chuck is behind me and then Enright is behind Chuck. I’m not sure how the others were positioned. Rainier gets us to the top of a riser about 2.5 km out and drops back. Roman keeps a good tempo. Next thing I know Rainier comes by me and is back on the front (what a teammate!!). At about 1km to go, Rainier is done and Roman puts in a light acceleration to bridge up to the Davis rider, who now is only about 20 meters up the road. I let a gap open up, hopefully creating a little indecisiveness with the guys behind me. Do they stay on my wheel or try to bridge up to Roman. 250 m out and Chuck puts in a good dig, Enright’s on his wheel and I follow. Chuck slows and my momentum takes me back to the front. In retrospect, I wish I had done all I could to stay behind them.

Roman is now climbing up a riser, the first of two, between 200-125 meters from the finish line. As we crest it, I see Roman look back and see that he realizes he still has the gap. He starts to accelerate as he starts up the second and final riser, at about 75 meters from the line. I’m looking over my shoulder wondering when Chuck is going to jump. Roman is out of his saddle and digging. Chuck jumps, comes by me. I dig in and accelerate. We’re closing on Roman. 20 meters from the line and I see we’re going to pass Roman. Will I have enough to get by Chuck. We cross the line, unfortunately for me, Chuck is about a half wheel ahead. Roman is close behind in third followed by Enright.

It was a well fought battle and the ‘Chulkster’ wins this one. Riding off the front on his own for 40-45 miles, managing the countless attacks and then taking the win definitely solidifies Mr. Hutcheson is the guy to beat in NorCal (in my view).

2013 San Dimas Stage Race, Stage 3 GoPro video.

Here’s the footage of the closing laps from Stage 3 of the San Dimas Stage Race.

- Eric Riggs.

Merced Month

Team Mike's Bikes spent three consecutive weekends racing, riding, and living east of Merced, CA earlier this month. Here are some pictures.

San Dimas Stage Race Report

by Adam Switters I started making the trip down to the San Dimas stage race when I was 16, but I haven’t been back since 2010. I’ve been very busy lately with work and planning a trans-continental wedding, so I was using this race as preparation for Redlands. Joining me in the Pro/1 race would be Daniel Holloway, Eric Riggs, and Shawn Rosenthal.

Stage 1

Stage 1 was a 4.25mi uphill TT. I’ve done well here in the past, but today was not my day. Phil Gaimon crushed all-comers with a blazing 14:03 and I just barely managed to finish in the top half of the field. We were hoping for a better day in tomorrow's road race.

Stage 2

With 165 riders in the field, the RR was always going to be hectic. The race is 12 laps of a 7mi course with lots of road furniture, tight turns and roads, and a steep 800m climb. The race started off fast from the gun and it took 5 laps for the first break to establish. Eric was doing an excellent job of placing Daniel in the front before the climb every lap. With 4 laps to go, there was a fast crash down the start finish stretch that required race leader Phil Gaimon to be air-lifted off after crashing on his face (He’s ok now). With 3 laps to go I took over the job of positioning Daniel into the climb after Eric rode his legs off. With 1 lap to go, maybe 70 of the original 165 riders were left in the pack, and after fighting for position, the wheels came off the final time up the climb for Daniel and myself and we rolled in a few minutes down on the decimated field. Eric would finish a few minutes later, sneaking inside the time cut, while Shawn had a hard day with the majority of the field and unfortunately got time cut. In the end, only 80 of the original 165 riders would be classified finishers.

Stage 3

The criterium the final day has a 300m gradual climb on it every lap that wears down everybody. I was feeling pretty terrible and surfed the back of the pack with Eric for the first 70 minutes of the 90 minute race while Daniel surfed the front. With 20 minutes to go, Eric and I moved up to the front with Daniel, but with 4 laps to go I came detached from the front part of the group and just rolled in toward the back of the field. Daniel and Eric did a great job to finish 6^th and 11^th respectively.

Land Park Criterium

This winter has been one of the warmest and is one of the dryer winters in Northern California and it has really shown so far this year in the racing! Everyone is looking really strong and it looks to be a very exciting season here in Norcal! Saturday was the Landpark Criterium in downtown Sacramento where it was unseasonably warm and perfect conditions for a bike race. There were a couple emails throughout the team just days before the race saying that Eric and Rainier were interested in racing but weren't sure so I prepared for the worst by racing without teammates but luckily Eric, Rainier, and Daniel showed up ready to race. The game  plan was that we would stay attentive near the front and try to get in any dangerous breakaways and if nothing sticks, then we go for a lead out train in the last last lap. Eric wasn't feeling good this day so he made the decision to sit on the back of the pack the entire race and wait to move up until the last few laps to help us with the lead out. The race had started and guys were flying off  right right and left, making it a very fast race but if you could find the sweet spot of being near the front, yet not in the wind following the attacks, then you are golden. That's exactly what I did throughout the race with Rainier while we went for a few primes and Daniel and Eric were hanging out near the rear of the field waiting for the end. No one really got away throughout the race and it was without a doubt going to come down to a bunch sprint. I was feeling pretty good and starting looking around the my teammates in the closing laps and sure enough, with 2 laps to go Eric comes out of no where on the side of me and told me" get on my wheel!".  It's now 1 lap to go and all four of us are lined up just waiting to hit it with Eric, Rainier, myself, and Daniel on my wheel. With about 800 meters to go, I told Eric to start his lead out before any surge come over the top of us. Coming into the last turn, we were top 3 with a couple of Fremont Bank riders next to me but I couldn't find Daniel at all. I encouraged Eric with his lead out to keep going and that he's doing great, then Rainier took over and picked up the pace so that no one could come over the top of me and then I started my sprint and was able to hold everyone off for the win! Unfortunately Daniel was in the thick of fighting for my wheel behind and guys were taking too dangerous risks for him so he let them go by and sprinted around them to end up finishing 5th overall in the race.The rest of the podium consisted of Charles  Hutcheson (Marc-Pro Strava) and Josh Carling (Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada), finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

It was a great result for the team, giving us confidence going into Redlands Bicycle Classic, which is the first NRC (National Racing Calendar) race of the year in Redlands, CA April 4-7th! Thank you to all of our sponsors for everything that you do to make Team Mike's Bikes P/B Incase go faster than ever before! Thanks for reading and be sure to follow Team Mike's Bikes P/B Incase on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamMikesBikes?group_id=0

Twitter: @TMBIncase

Instagram: Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase

2013 Land Park GoPro video.

The footage and highlights of the closing laps at the 2013 Land Park Criterium.

- Eric Riggs.

Zipp Wheel Review

by Adam Switters Team Mike’s Bike p/b Incase is very lucky this year to be sponsored Zipp, the fastest wheels out there on the market. Riders are using Zipp 101 clinchers for training and Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon clinchers for racing.

Zipp 101’s

The Zipp 101’s are the perfect training wheel. My 25mm tires fit perfect on them and they are bombproof for my not-always-considered-pavement training rides. They handle superbly and aerodynamics are not compromised for the sake of durability. The extruded aluminum rims are very sturdy and I’ve had no problem with braking, even in the rain.

Zipp 404 Firecrest Clinchers

These wheels just scream fast. Coming in at a scant 1525g for the pair, these wheels are light enough for the steepest of climbs and responsive enough for the most technical criteriums. The dimpled aerodynamic profile of the wheels makes it top of the class in aero performance among other carbon clinchers. New heat resistant resin on the braking surface also dissipates spikes in heat from hard braking as seen in other carbon clinchers. I’ve raced these wheels in some of the worst racing roads in California (Snelling and Madera) and they are still as true as the day I got them.