Utah State Crit Champs and Bear Lake Classic

Team Excelerator p/b Pinnacle Auto Company's racing season is in full swing. This past 2 weeks has seen TE racers in the Utah State Criterium Championships and the Bear Lake Classic.

Kevan and Ben took it on the chin in the Cat 4 crit champs in downtown Salt Lake City. These 2 guys made the jump from Cat 5 to Cat 4 this year and are learning quite a bit about racing and the kind of fitness needed to compete at the next level. It looks like it will take some time to get their legs under them, but they're putting up a great effort. To fulfill the goal of at least being with the lead groups, Kevan and Ben have significantly increased their training intensity. No longer will just getting out to ride suffice, so training has become more technical and focused. The next race these 2 will be June 13th for the Utah State Road Racing Championships at Little Mountain.

Jerald Olsen contested the Bear Lake Classic and notched TE's best result of the season so far. Jerald contested a group sprint for the finish of the 50 mile lap of Bear Lake and came in 15th out of 50 riders. The finish was close as he was mere seconds off the podium. Jerald has seen continual improvement over the last 2 years and he really deserved this great result. Kevan was registered for the event but came down with pneumonia. He's assured us he hasn't been kissing any pigs, so H1N1 isn't the worry.

You'll see TE riders at the RMR crits and the Cash Crits in Ogden starting in June. Good luck to all!

East Canyon and Antelope Island Road Races

The past 2 weekends have seen TE riders in the East Canyon Road Race and Antelope Island Classic. Both races provided a great early season challenge for our riders. Of the last 7 weekends in Utah, only one has been sunny and dry. Niether of these races fell on that weekend and what were already tough races were made even tougher with cold, wind and rain.

Jerald Olsen was the lone TE rep at East Canyon. The race starts with a brutal, steep climb. It tends to seprate the group. Even with an injured back, Jerald attacked the hill with strength and held on the rest of the race to finish his first race of the season strong. Jerlad travels a lot for work, but takes his bike wherever he goes. I'm sure he puts more miles under his tires than anyone else on the team.

Kevan Steed, Greg Stuart, Todd Anderson, Blake Mason and Ben Towery all tackled the Antelope Island Classic out on the Great Salt Lake. Conditions were nothing less than epic with rain falling steadily almost the entire race.

For Kevan and Ben, who are racing up one class from last year as Cat 4's, the race was eye opening. This is a super competitive group with strong weekend warriors and aspiring prod alike. The race started on the causeway and the leaders set a blistering pace of 28 mph. With spray from the tires, finding a good line to draft was difficult. We were soaked instantly.

Once on the island, we did 3 laps of the inner loop then took a 10 out and back to the south end of Antelope. It was here that all involved needed to prove their metal. Ben and Kevan took turns pulling each other ro finish near mid pack, which was the goal for this first race.

Todd, Blake and Greg all contested the Cat 5 class in the same brutal conditions. Greg and Todd both suffered flats but got back on the horse and finished strong. I think most everyone involved were happy to have that race over with. Our clothes were balck and soaked and it took quite a while to get warm. Congrats to all involved.

Next up is the Utah State Crit Champs in downtown SLC. TE shines in the crits and we have high expectations. Hopefully our training lives up to that!