Team Stories
Not only is Kelley Hale a total badass that does one hundred mile mountain bike rides, he keeps his fitting studio extremely organized and decorated nicely.
By Adam Switters Winters road race has always been sort of a homecoming for me. Living just down the road in Davis for 6 years while attending college, I have ridden the road race course well north of 100 times. The course brings out every type of rider, from sprinters to climbers. The final climb is just far enough that the climbers can hope to hit it hard and bring a small group to the line, but also just easy enough that sprinters are often able to make it over the top for a chance at a sprint finish. This year’s race was the 6th race of the Cal Cup series and one of the last races of Northern California’s Prestige Series.
Team Mike’s Bikes came into the race with a strong squad that included the defending champion Dana Williams. Add in Roman Kilun who was second in the NorCal Premiere Series, myself who was leading Cal Cup, and on-form riders Brandon Trafton, Nick Newcomb, Shawn Rosenthal and James Laberge. The team was coming to the race with some serious horsepower. Our goals for the race were three-fold:
Win the race
Defend Cal Cup lead
Premier Series Points
What we didn’t want to do however was forsake goal #1 for goals #2 and #3. The main objective was to win the race, and if we happened to grab some points along the way, then that was an added bonus. Joining us in our 96-mile adventure would be a strong Marc-Pro Strava team, and several strong individual riders.
From the gun, a seven-man break got up the road and quickly gained two minutes on the pack. With both Trafton and Newcomb up the road, we were able to sit pretty and relax. After 35 or so miles, Newcomb would come back with three other riders, leaving three riders still up the road, including Trafton. Now out of the break, Marc Pro put five riders on the front of the peloton to close the gap, and with 45miles to go, the race was gruppo compacto. Unlucky for us, we were now down to four riders as both Laberge and Kilun succumbed to flat tires.
The third time up the climb, I helped to push the pace, and off the descent, five riders had a gap. We worked hard to push the gap out as much as we could, but the Marc-Pro led peloton pulled us back in a few miles later. After a quick succession of attacks, Jonathan Teeter (2nd place Cascade TT in Pro 1) managed to get a 30 sec gap. Noting the TT prowess of Teeter, we put Trafton and Newcomb back on the front of the field to keep the gap in check. Despite both riders being in the early break, they rode out of their minds and were slowly bringing back Teeter.
Marc-Pro was having none of this however, and they started attacking once again to try and press their numeric advantage. Trafton managed to sneak off the front once again with perennial strong man, Chuck Hutcheson of Marc-Pro. Hutcheson would ride a tiring Trafton off his wheel coming into the final climb netting him a 30 sec advantage over a dwindling peloton. I hit it up the final climb hard hoping to split up the group, but to my surprise, twenty or so riders were able to crest the climb in the lead group leading to the biggest pack finish that I remember in Winters road race history.
With continued attacks and tactical games being played, the race became very chaotic. With 2 kilometers to go, my remaining teammate, Dana, and I, were stuck in a back group of 10 dangling about 5-6sec off the lead group. We caught them with 1k to go and Dana shot to the inside while I went around the outside hoping gaps would open. Luckily, with 250m to go, Craig Fellers (Red Peloton) jumped on the outside with Hutcheson and myself on his wheel. Hutcheson jumped with 200m to go and I came off his wheel with 125m to go and put my head down. I was able to take a clear victory and managed to miss a crash that took down its fair share of rider right behind me.
Adam Switters (Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase)
Chuck Hutcheson (Marc-Pro Strava)
Thibault Jeannes (Hennebont Cyclisme)
Full results: http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2013-3038
Thanks to Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase for their great support and Velo Promo for putting on what I always think of as the best race of the year.
Team Mike's Bikes p/b Incase relationship with Personal Best Products, makers of Betwixt Chamois Cream and Zealios Sun Barrier, has turned out to be a winning combination (literally). Be sure to stop by your local Mike's Bikes and pick up some for yourself. You'll likely get it at a special price this coming weekend during Mega Sale. Here's just a few testimonials by team members:
"The Betwixt Chamois Cream is easy to transport with the durable case and screw cap, easy to apply and mess free with the built in applicator, and makes for an easier ride with no chaffing, no pain, and a very happy butt." - Nick Newcomb
"Betwixt makes each ride a smooth happy ride. My entire team is happy and ready for a long day in the saddle. And my shorts smell like fabric softener even after a long day on them. Love it." - Steve Pelaez
"This is the first season that I have completely avoided sun burning. Thanks to Betwixt for being the first sun barrier I've used that doesn't leave oil residue while protecting me from the sun during long races." - Marcus Smith
"I love the zelios because it doesn't make my eyes sting when swear drips down. I feel well protected without looking like a zombie." - Steve Pelaez
In addition, here's a review of Zealios Sun Barrier earlier this year by team rider Adam Switters: http://www.teammikesbikes.com/what-we-use-to-protect-our-skin-zealios-sun-barrier/
by Brandon Trafton The race started out pretty cold, there was some fog that rolled in over night and being from Fresno, with consistent 100* summers, I was freezing. Rainier however, felt right at home from living in the city of San Francisco.
Right from the gun a Garmin development rider attacked the pack non stop. There was some response from the field but the split finally happened about an hour into the race. There were seven guys up the road initially. Chris HD, Greg White and I then bridged shortly after. We rotated pretty consistently for the next lap and a half. Then Chris HD started attacking the breakaway group before the start of the fourth lap. After one move, I countered and a Lombardi Sports rider followed me. We were then caught by five of the initial break about 20K later.
About 15K to go, there were a series of attacks that ended up putting Colin Joyce (Cal Giant) up the road solo, Chris HD chasing and myself chasing Chris. I didn't look behind too much but when I did, it looked as if if was every man for himself. After I caught Chris, we rotated to catch Colin, we tried to attack around him but he was able to catch on as we passed. Colin was sitting on, so as I pulled out to signal him that he had to work, Chris attacked ceasing the opportunity (craft little devil). We gave Chris a few hundred meters and that was all he needed. He turned on the after burners and stayed away whiles Colin and I reluctantly chased keeping one eye on each other. Colin got the sprint for 2nd and I came in 3rd. It was a very fun race; super active, which I enjoy. Teammate Adam Switters still holds the Cal Cup by 3 pts. I'm looking forward to next weekend in Winters and Vacaville.
by Nick Newcomb
I've always been a diehard plain water drinker when racing and riding my bike. I was never interested in sugary, food colored sports drinks when I was thirsty, but with Osmo that has all changed. Osmo was developed by Dr. Stacy Sims to get the most optimal performance when exercising. Osmo has a lower The preload mix is great for shorter efforts like time trials, short track MTB and other races where you wouldn't normally carry a bottle. It also does wonders on hot days where drinking the water day of just isn't enough. All it takes is a scoop at night and a scoop in the morning and your all set. It works so well than none other than Peter Sagan has fallen in love with it. I have used it for every time trial I have done this year and never once craved water during the race.concentration of carbohydrates than most sports drinks but a more varied concentration of electrolytes and other nutrients. Extensive testing has shown that this new and different combination does wonders to maintaining hydration and increasing power output. Osmo currently has 3 different mix styles for active hydration during rides, post ride recovery, and preride hydration. All of them have their own great characteristics.
Meanwhile, the active hydration mix is perfect for any day of riding, whether racing or just going on a spin. It tastes good, isn't overly sugary, and keeps you noticeably hydrated. Active hydration helps to maximaize performance through increased thermo-regulation, decreased cramping, and increased power. Many other sports drinks cram in all kinds of carbs and electrolytes into their kinds but Dr Sims has found that smaller amounts of more optimal nutrients is not only easier for the body to absorb but is also more efficiently used. Once starting to use Osmo, I haven't bonked a single time and my coach has noticed an increase in the power I can maintain after multiple hours. These gains have a substancial impact on training and racing.
And finally there's the recovery mix. Many people forget that the most important aspect of training is not how hard you push yourself during the ride, but how well your body can rebuild its muscles and recover afterwards. The mix looks and tastes similar to other vanilla recovery mixes but the differences are vast. Extensive research has shown that other mixes have many unnecessary minerals and vitamins, but lack some essential additions that have been put in OSMO. Most other drinks only include one type of protein, but OSMO uses two vastly different protiens that are absorbed at different rates, giving your body a wider range of time to continue recovery. In addition, Dr. Sims and other scientists have found that the small amount of caffeine in OSMO will help your muscles to absorb the protein and glycogen being taken in, and better optimize the recovery process. Using OSMO recovery mix, I feel better and more recovered after hard training days than ever before, which has been essential during hard training blocks and stage races.
In the end, OSMO tastes good, is easy to drink, and has all of the science behind it. It has worked wonders for me and I am sue it will for you too.
by Adam Switters Suisun Harbor was the 4th race of the Cal Cup series put on by Velo Promo. It’s part of a great series at end of the season races that helps keeps everyone’s motivation high well into September. Even though I was leading the series, the intention was for Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase to win the race regardless of who won. If we were able to keep the Cal Cup lead along the way, then that would just be an added bonus. Luckily, after an extended break in May/June, I’ve managed to come back into some form so I was pretty confident that I could pull off a good result for the team.
After yesterday’s first and third finish at the Dunnigan Hill’s road race, the team was flying on high spirits. We were obviously in good form and were excited to race a hard aggressive race. With Suisun’s short, technical and wind course (.5mi long), the race was ideal for a breakaway. We came up with a game plan that consisted of us racing aggressive and trying to stack any breakaways.
After starting out at the back of the pack, I quickly learned that the front of the race was the place to be. After moving up, I managed to spend a number of laps solo off the front before getting caught and countered by my flying teammate, Brandon Trafton. Brandon managed to quickly build up a 15sec gap that allowed me to follow bridge attempts. After following a few moves, we caught Brandon and I was surprised to see that 10 of us has extracted ourselves from the field and Eric had joined us to make 3 Team Mike’s Bikes riders out of 10. With 25 laps to go, our break had 15 seconds and I knew with the team represented, it was going to be hard for the peloton to pull us back.
The next 25 laps were a blur. The break maintained a fast speed not because of good cooperation, but rather because there was a constant flurry of attacks all the way to the finish. I threw in some good attacks, but with my good form, I as holding back a little and looking for the serious moves and my teammates Eric and Brandon were rock stars both attacking and covering every move that went. Much to our chagrin, the race came down to a sprint between the 10 of us. The last lap became chaotic with everyone trying to position themselves for the last corner. I stayed near the front and came through corner 3 in third wheel. Coming into the last corner, I jumped through a narrow gap between Ariel Herrman (Metromint Cycling) and my teammate Eric, managing to pull out a few bike lengths gap immediately as the gap closed. With a 200-meter tailwind finish, I was able to sit up comfortably with 50 meters to go and celebrate the win.
I definitely couldn’t have achieved this win without the selfless work of all my teammates (Eric, Brandon, James Laberge, Travis Lyons, and Rainier Schaefer). I also managed to extend my lead in the Cal Cup, which was an added bonus!
Adam Switters is a former professional cyclist and currently races for Team Mike’s Bikes p/b Incase. He is a USA Cycling Certified Coach is the owner of Switters Coaching. You can check him out at his website http://www.SwittersCoaching.com/. Feel free to comment if you have any ideas for workout or questions.
