You are here: Downtown Lodi Cyclefest M35,M45,4/5
Jul 12, 2010 Criterium, Race report
First of all let me say that 4 categories in one race is probably not a good idea… As far as the course the roads were in good shape with only a few wholes in the asphalt. The course it self was a figure 8 that was kind interesting with a long straight section on the backside, with the inner parts of the course being refered to as coblestone like (its brick). The brick sections were not slippery but they were on the inner sections of the course and they were also more narrow than the rest of the course and with the mixed group caused a lot of unneccesary slow down. So if you were not in the front you were geting left behind because of people slowing into the corners. So when racing this course be sure to stay in front 
While racing I got a flat in about the 10th lap and I recalled the announcer saying that Williams was offering neutral wheel support and Icould get into the race up until the 7th lap. So I hopped, slipped, and slided over to Williams and got a wheel put on and jump back in at the last possible second. After 1 lap as back at the front trying to find someone to work with but other seemed to be looking for someone’s wheel to hang on so I dropped back a bit and got blocked on th last lap on the long straight section and ended up pulling in 17th. I liked this course but the turns were pretty narrow and the parking stalls along the street were pretty distracting. I seen a rider get pushed of the course and bunny-hop onto the the parking stall divider and onto the sidewalk. I also wish that they would have pulled riders from the field when they were out of contention.
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Erik Camacho
Atwater “Big Creek Lumber Criterium” M35+4
Jul 6, 2010 Criterium, Race report
Race 2 of the day and some more familiar faces. The pack did not seem interested in working and Carl from IC3 decided to jump, I took off with him which we soon joined by the same TVV guy. From Lap 5 to 20 the pack never even came close. Idid not realize until after the races but I had just changed mt cleat and had broken a 3 of my mounts on my shoe on my lead leg. I knew my sprint was affected but Iwas still able to spin. We crossed the finish line unchallenged 1,2,3
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Erik Camacho
Atwater “Big Creek Lumber Criterium” E4/5
Jul 6, 2010 Criterium, Race report
This was the race that replaced the Oakland Criterium… The course was like a big track. The S/F was half way down a straight away which lead into a nice long 180 to another 200 yard staright away to 2 90 degree turns on the backside. My goal for this race was points and I talked to a few familiar faces from Tri Valley Velo. About 3 laps in a guy from Santa Cruz broke away with a Junior and no one thought they would last long. 3 laps later when it was decided that no one in the pack was interested in working a TVV jumped off the front and another TVV launched me up where I bridged up and we worked together for the rest of the race and stayed in front of the pack.
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Erik Camacho
Burlingame Crit 2010 35+ 4
Jun 28, 2010 Criterium, Race report
This was the second of two races for me. After the E4′s I grabbed a banana and some water. To keep the legs warm Erik and I did laps on city streets. Our start time was 9:30am. The 35+4′s raced right before Ryan Phua Memorial Kids’ Ride so the spectator turnout was great. It really made for a super fun atmosphere. They said we had 63 riders for this race. They extra 20 or so riders would definately make it harder to move around in the bunch. I lined up near the back with Erik and Oscar (BBC). Whistle blows and I managed a speedy clip in. Moved up towards the middle of the group and settled in. I wouldn’t say it is hard to move up on this course but it isn’t as straightforward as your standard 4 corner crit. I found I could gain a few spots through the right-left-right sequence as guys would tend to ease up in this section. On turn 5 and the #6 sweeper everyone wanted to move up as this was the most wide open area of the course. It was also the lead into the short finishing straight. The road surface had some surprises also. In the center of turn 3 there is a nice dip at the apex of the center line. It tended to launch your back wheel off the ground if you were driving hard. About halfway through the race my front wheel dropped into a seam on the road. I was able to shift my weight back in time and it didn’t grab. I had visions of a really bad outcome if it did. For the most part it was a smooth race. You always get a few knuckleheads doing stupid things but the older crowd felt safer than the E4′s. With 3 to go I decided to try and move up. Worked my way into the top 20 or so as the bell rang for the last lap. Coming out of turn 3 I’m in a train with Bill from TBS Rob from Taleo and another rider I don’t know on the front driving the pace. We are flying along at around 30 on the outside. Coming up real fast on the front. Turn 4 goes smooth and the guy on the front of our train is probably even with 4th or 5th wheel of the main bunch. We enter turn 5 flat out just hammering. I’m feeling real good slotted 4th wheel not working to hard. Liking my odds against the guys in front of me on the short sprint. Dude on the front over cooks the turn and plows into the curb at full speed. The rest of us were able to scrub off some speed and avoid stacking it. Unfortunately we lost all of our momentum and got passed by a lot of riders. I didn’t contest the sprint and finished 27th. Guess that’s racing. Erik and I talked to the guy who crashed after the race. Had some road rash on an arm and lower leg but his bike was wrecked. Snapped the seat tube on his Giant TCR. Glad he walked away though.
Mike
Burlingame Crit 2010 E4
Jun 28, 2010 Criterium, Race report
Great course, cool vibe and good weather make the Burlingame Crit one of my favorite races. For those not familiar with this event you should definately check it out next year. Race is held in downtown Burlingame. The course is 7/10ths of a mile in length with 6 turns. Pavement is fair to poor with many dips,rises and cracks to keep you on your toes. The organisers do not run a mens’s 5, women’s 4 or junior specific races. I don’t know the reasoning behind this. The course does require you to pay attention and decent bike handling skills are a must.
Pulled into the parking lot at 6:30am for a 7:00am start. Not much time at all. Warmup ended up being one recon lap of the course. I was hoping to get a few more laps in but when I came around they were already lining us up. Around 45 of us rolled out right on time. I moved up front straight away. I wanted to stay out of trouble as much as possible. It took 20 minutes or so for my legs to wake up. The racing was pretty uneventful at first as guys were behaving themselves. You would get the usual prime surge then it would settle back down to a moderate pace. Around 10 to go I see Jorge moving toward the front so I hop on his wheel and follow him up. A few laps later we get seperated. He had a good spot in the top 10 I was a farther back but not in a bad position at all. As we cross the start finish line for 6 to go 2 dudes right in front of me were getting awful close to each other. Then right before turn 1 they both try to occupy the same piece of road. Crunch, down they go with bike parts bouncing all over the place. Luckily I had backed off a bit and had enough room and time to get around them. We were neutralized for one lap and they stopped us with 4 to go. We waited for about 10 minutes as an ambulance came to the aid of one of the riders. Hope he is doing OK. On the restart we would do one lap behind the moto then 4 to go. Crap here we go again. Just like the PG&E Crit and Timpani last year. I was a bit nervous and wanted to stay out of trouble . I sat in the middle of the group for 3 laps then with one to go I moved up a bit. On th final sprint I was able to finish 14th. Not great but at least I finished upright.
Mike
Memorial Day Criterium
Jun 1, 2010 Criterium, Race report
When I arrived in Morgan Hill I was met sunny skies and some wind, which only got worse as the day went on, and a bunch of free stuff. Began warming up, and strategizing. I have been given permission to disclose my highly ingenious plan. Plan A was to get in a break but not generate it. Plan B was to sit behind the main sprinters and hope they faded in the head wind and come around them. These plans unfortunately did not work because every attack I went with was immediately chased down by Specialized. As we went on to the last lap my poor position meant that when Tieni Duro and Specialized got their trains going and gaps began forming, I was too far back for the sprint.
Cyclesports Criterium E4-5
May 30, 2010 Criterium, Race report
The course once again was great this race started at 2:40 and the wind had picked up a little more. The race itself was field with attacks and held my position in the top 10 for the duration of the race. Then going into the last turn with 1 lap to go a guy went down in front of me and I had to slow to avoid him which cost me my position, from top 10 to bottom 10 in seconds. Hopefully that guy did not get hurt too bad and I would rather end up last than crash. I potentially lost out on points, but I still have all of my skin. I raced today and I still want to ride tomorrow. Maybe I just need to learn how to bunny hop on my road bike.
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Erik Camacho
Cyclesports Criterium M35+ 3-4
May 30, 2010 Criterium, Race report
This course was one of the better laid out courses for an industrial criterium, which provided for a much smoother race. It was a windy which added a challenge and a little extra work but overall it was a safe race. The turns were big enough to keep the flow going and there were no real bot dots to contend with. The race was at a reasonable pace and I felt comfortable playing around in the pack. There were plenty of attacks that never seemed to go anywhere, I would occasionally jump to the front to bring up the pace, and I conserved for the end where I got pinched in the second to last turn and lost a little momentum for a 13th place finish.
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Erik Camacho
