LOTOJA Success!

The 2011 LOTOJA Classic was a huge success for TBS/CFA!  We had the potential to win or podium in all 5 categories we entered and that potential was realized in a big way.

In the elite Pro Cat 1/2/3 division we were stacked with Darren Goff, Manny Cypers, Jody Harris, Denis Porter and Blake Fessler.  All 5 had high hopes and it was Darren who made it into the day's winning break.  With every leg punishing pull, Darren fought his way to a solid 4 place finish!  At LOTOJA, that's a podium finish! 

Justin Gibson repeated his winning ways this year winning the Cat 3/4 division.  His day was made all the better with his wife, Keri, also winning the Women Pro Cat 1/2/3.  They did this on their 18th anniversary!  In the process Keri took Queen of the Mountain honors as well.  Not a bad way to celebrate almost 20 years of marriage.  Trent Olsen also rounded out the Top 10 of Justin's group with his first attempt at the 206 mile classic.

We had great performances across the board.  Some bad luck hit Farrell Spackman as he took a tumble over someone who crashed in front of him ending his day.

Up next is the season ending Harvest Moon Criterium hosted by the team on September 24th in downtown Ogden.  Look for more great finishes from SMr Crit series winners Ben Towery and Darren Goff and the rest of the team.  This year's Harvest Moon will see the largest women's cash purse of the year in Utah!!  http://www.teamexcelerator.com/

Already August!?!?

Hard to believe its already August!  This season is flying by.  TBS/CFA Racing continues to make its presence known across all categories. 

The Capitol Reef Classic Stage Race was a big one on our list this year.  We sent a strong squad.  Our best place GC rider was Heather Smith with a 3rd in the Women's Cat 4.  Our men made it interesting however.  While the TT wasn't our best result, Ben Towery (me)rode to a 5th place in the short but difficult stage 2 circuit race in the Masters B category.  The next day saw Doug Olmstead in the top 10 of the road race.  Ben made a go of it as well but was gassed in the last long climb.

Trent Olsen was 6th in the circuit race after flatting.  Manny and Darren were primary aggressors in the Pro 1/2 Category with Darren placing 8th on GC.  Blake Fessler was also strong in the Cat 4 Men with a 7th on GC.

We also had a strong contingent at the Chalk Creek Road Race which doubles as the State Masters Championships.  This was another big one for us as I had high ambitions for a state championship. 

The out and back course isn't long, only 50 miles total.  But I suffered on the way up. The rolling hills were taking their toll and it took all I had to stay with the lead group.  At the turnaround I was expecting a big break away but no one really wanted to stick their nose out into the headwind coming up the canyon.  With a Gu in my mouth and a chance to sit in, I recovered well and started taking part in the action.  I was without teammates so I let the other riders with bigger teams do most of the work.  I would however mark some of the stronger looking breaks and keep things at a pace that I like.

With 5 miles to go there's one last climb.  I again thought this is where we would see a breakaway attempt but it didn't happen.  With 3 to go, I broke away but the wind held me back.  I settled into second position for the final downhill surge and made the last turn in front.  I didn't want to be caught in a crash around a turn only 1km from the finish.  With a little gap I saw the short and steep uphill finish and started my sprint.  It wasn't meant to be however and I got caught by Mike Underhill, who I have been battling all season.  He and I are both built better for sprinting than climbing and he just got me. 

Still, 2nd place ain't nothing to shake a stick at and I'm proud of the effort.

Darren and Manny tore it up at the Tour de Park City Gran Fondo going 1-2 in their age group and Darren finished 3rd overall.

We have been mixing it up at the Simply Mac Crit Series as well in Ogden.  Right now we have Keri Gibson leading the points race for the ladies, I'm ahead by 1 point in the B flight and Darren took the win last week.  He and Darren are right up there in the points chase.

Stay tuned for more!

Summer Update

We've had a great summer so far!  Manny, Ben, Heather and Keri all participated in the Road Respect (http://www.roadrespectutah.org/) bike ride from Logan to St. George.  Ben only road to SLC but the rest made it the entire way!  The campaign is geared towards drivers AND cyclists so hopefully we can all just get along. 

On June 11th we hosted the 3rd annual Powder Mountain Hillclimb.  Norm Bryner set a new record at 41 min 9 sec for the 6 mile, 3300 vertical foot climb.  The Ogden Standard Examiner has a great slideshow here:  http://www.standard.net/slideshows/2011/06/11/powder-mountain-hillclimb.

The racing has been great as well.  Manny took in the Utah Summer Games Omnium this past weekend.  Here's his report:



The games started out Thursday(cycling) at 10 am. It was a blistering 88 degrees already. The climb was 4 miles which I compared to the Divide. It was dang hot with no chance of reprieve from the sun beatin right down on us. The fastest time was laid down by the current record holder, Brian Jeppson, of 21:20 (record set at 20:30 in '06). He weighs a whopping buck forty wet.....maybe. I was fourth overall at 23:50 which was good enough for gold in the 30-34 age group. When I got within 200 meters to go, I stood up and put a good push in for the line. NOT a good idea. I immediately pulled over and threw up 3 times. Every bit of the bottle and a half I drank on the way up came out!! My head felt like it was on fire. I wasn't sick at all, just got super over heated. I knew that if I didn't replenish quick, the rest of the weekend could be a disaster. So I got to the car, popped some electrolyte stimulant tabs from Trace and started drinking like crazy. Felt better within an hour.

That evening was the ITT. A 5 mile out and back (10 miles total). There was a crazy cross/tail wind going out so I knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to go out too hard but that I needed to take advantage of the situation. I made the turn and the guy who started 1 min behind me was only 32 seconds (according to my calculations) behind at the turn. I'll admit, I was scared. I kept to my plan (avg 300 watts out, TH + 20 watts in) and pounded the 5 miles back into the finish line for a second overall, (21:16) 3 seconds behind first, and another age group gold. BTW, beating the guy who closed the 1 min start gap going out, by a minute twenty!! Thursday was by far the hardest day!

Friday came, HOT and windy again, with a noon crit start time. The crit was held in a new subdivision that has no homes because of the down economy. Pretty nice, smooth roads. It was a 3 corner coarse because one end was just a big sweeping turn. The two long lengths were head/ cross and tail/cross. I did my usual and attacked 3 times early with no success. each time the group just grabbed my wheel. About halfway through, 4 of us upped the tempo and worked together to find ourselves off the front. one lap latter it was down to me, another 30-34 dude and a 35-39 guy (the crit was 19-39 men, scored separate, raced together). I knew I needed to get rid of the other fellow age grouper so I made him pull the entire stretch into the wind then I attacked, 20 yards before we turned and he popped like a zit! The 35-39 er and I finished strong, worked well with one another and I managed to win the sprint and another age group gold.

Saturday was the last day and day of the 60 mile RR. I had my van packed and ready to go when my uncle said, "jump in with me and we'll just ride together." I didn't argue and quickly threw my bike and stuff into his car. 20 mins later, we get to the starting line and I didn't grab my nutrition bag or an extra water bottle (the race was self supported). I managed to rummage a probar, bag of shot rocks, and a bag of power blasts from my cycling bag. I asked if we'd get hand-ups at the turnaround and I was told yes so I didn't stress. For those of you who know me, I have to eat a lot on the bike or I bonk, so the lack of fuel was a worry. The race started and we rolled out nice and easy. I attacked once, 4 miles in, with no success so decided to sit in but stay towards the front. Again we were a group of 19-39 year olds. It was an out and back course up over a summit and down into New Castle so we had to climb both directions. 8 miles in, Marty, who didn't appear to be very strong, started hammering the climb and I looked back and we were only 4 again, 2 of us were the same as in the crit. We just kept goin pretty good and got into a rhythm and dropped 1 dude. At the turn around, 2 dudes made a good effort to bridge and got within 15 seconds. We turned the pace up and continued to pull away. Back tracking in my story, there was NO support at the turn!! I sucked down a bottle and a half on the way out and only had half a bottle to get back!! I was stressin to say the least. 85 degrees in the dead of the sun with only 10 ozs of H2O with 29 miles to go was not a comforting feeling!! I decided to only drink when my mouth got really dry. I kept it together and ran out with 4 miles to go. The finish was a 1 mile 8% climb, sort of like the old East Canyon. The 3 of us stayed together and I sprinted for the overall with 100 meters to go. That resulted in another stage gold and the Omnium gold. 5 gold medals total!! I am stoked!!!

Manny

Rock 'n Roll!

That's really what crit racing is all about.  There's usually a fair amount of rock 'n roll playing on the loud speakers and high intensity, close course racing will really get your blood pumping!

This past weekend TBS/CFA Racing took on the best Utah has to offer at the State Criterium Championships.  For some of our racers it was bad luck as they were taken to the pavement by crashes while others saw good results.

Heather Smith was set up for a good finish but was forced wide into a barricade and crashed.  Some cuts and scrapes and a damaged helmet but she's ok, frustrated more than anything.

Ben took a well earned 5th place in the Masters B category.  After working hard to stay up front Ben was the first to jump free on the final lap.  With half a lap to go the group started their sprint and Ben made a solid kick for 5th.  It was his best finish in 3 years!

Trent rode his first crit as a Cat 3 racer and put in some solid efforts.  On the second lap he was slowed up by a crash in front of him and had to spend 4 laps solo trying to catch back up to the pack.  He did it and made it a close race.  Positioning himself well for the sprint he was just out kicked for 7th place taking 8th by a tire width.

The Cat 1/2 group saw the most exciting racing of the day.  With a 40 plus filed of racers, it was on from lap one.  Midway through the 90 minute race and group of 5 made it free.  All five had large teams in the pack so it was up to TBS/CFA Racing to brigde.  Easier said than done however with no help.  The breakaway eventually caught back up to the group.  On the final lap, Manny worked hard for his 14th place and Darren was wiped out by a crash in front of him.  Some road rash, but he's ok.  Bummer though that this was 2 years in a row he was taken out on the last lap of the state championships.

Next up is the Bear Lake Classic on May 14th.  This is a great race taking in 1 or 2 laps of beautiful Bear Lake on the UT/ID border.  Watch for more great results from the team "eatin' mor chikin"!

Cold weather, hot racing!

The Antelope Island Classic is one of the most anticipated races of the Utah season.  The course provides plenty of challenge and opportunity for discerning racers.  And for the past 3 years, the weather has been a major factor.  This year was no different.  The roads were dry for once, but the cold was there is full force.  30 degree temps greeted the racers to the island.

The racing got underway at 8 a.m. for TBS/CFA Racing.  Blake took a hard earned 7th place in the Cat 4's to add to his upgrade point tally.  Justin Gibson was right behind on the steep uphill finish for 9th.  The Masters Men made a great showing next.  After working extremely hard to stay with the leaders on the tough power climbs on each of the 3 laps of the island, Doug Olmstead scored a season best 9th place.  Ben Towery faded back to 17th on the steep final 200 meters but made a race out of it.

The TBS/CFA ladies also had a successful outing.  Keri Gibson made the top 5 in the 1/2/3's and Heather Smith scored a 7th in the Cat 4's.

Manny Cypers finished a well earned 12th in the Pro 1/2 category and our best finish on the day went to Darren Goff who landed 3rd on the podium.

This team races as a team and the success is enjoyed by all.  The great results wouldn't happen without the help of the group.  A huge congrats to Dustin, Kevan, Jody, Denis, Danielle, Jaren and Trent for finishing strong and supporting their mates!

The busy schedule continues this week with the State Crit Champs and then the always competitive Bear Lake Classic.

So far, so good!

Even with the ridiculously cold weather, TBS/CFA Racing has been tearing it up on the racecourse! 

2 weeks ago, the team went down to Provo to check out the UVU Road Race.  We were greeted with the best weather we've seen at a race this season and were able to strip off the arm and leg warmers for the first time.  It was perfect weather for this small but very well run event.  Hats off to the guys at Utah Valley University for a great event!

Heather Smith was our only lady who raced, but she made it well worth her while placing 2nd in the Women's Cat 4. Division.

We had Manny, Jody and Darren contest the Cat 1/2/3 division.  Darren's close to upgrading so we put some emphasis on getting him to the front.  Manny was first to breakaway but his effort ended in a slippery corner and crashed.  It was then Darren's turn.  He and 2 others put 5 minutes on the group and sprinted to 2nd place!

Our Cat 4 Men really stepped it up as well.  Trent and Blake were very close to having their upgrades and so all 6 riders putting a serious team effort to put Trent on the podium.  We attacked, countered and covered making sure Trent and Blake were always safe and never had to pull.  The focus paid off and Trent took first place!  Blake followed with a 6th, Dustin 7th, Doug 8th and Ben 13th in the 38 man field.

Next up was the always difficult but popular East Canyon Road Race.  With a forecast calling for snow, we were prepared for the worst.  While it was 35 degrees, the snow stayed away.  East Canyon is a climbers race, especially this year with 2 trips up to Hogs Back.  Darren again showed his strength and took 5th in the Cat 3's and Blake scored well at 5th in the Cat 4's.  Our ladies rocked it as well with Keri Gibson taking 4th in the Women 1/2/3.  The entire team did well and scored in the top half of every cat we entered.  Great job to all!

With the season going so well, we want to thank our awesome sponsors... The Bike Shoppe, Chick-fil-a in Riverdale and Newgate Mall, Harristone, Sun Valley Mortgage, Endure Electrolytes, Trek Bikes and Jim Gilland Law Firm!

Spring Update

Its been an eventful spring, and the racing has only just begun!  We've had solid results, crashes and many enjoyable miles on the team's brand new Trek Madones.  We've finally started to creep out of the basements and off the trainers and hope for some good weather to finish spring racing.

We had solid performances across the board in St. George at the Tour del Sol.  Save for some chilly weather it was an outstanding event.  Kudos to the promoter at Spingeeks who only took over the event just a few weeks prior to the event.

A stage race consisting of a TT, crit and road race, the Tour del Sol provided an early season test for the team.  Darren Goff proved to be the strongest of the TBS/CFA squad.  He took 5th on GC in the Cat 3's.  Darren's been working hard for his Cat 2 upgrade and is almost there!

Sponsors Jody Harris (Harristone) and Denis Porter (Sun Valley Mortgage) manned up for the always tough Hell of the North.  The Utah version includes dirt roads and unpredictable weather.  The rough conditions took their toll and Denis went down.  Stitches took care of the wound but the nice staph infection afterward was uncalled for!  Denis motored to 9th in the Cat 1/2 division proving his intense winter training is paying off.

Nate Baldwin was in Houston for a half Ironman and we'll have more as we get updates.

This weekend you'll see TBS/CFA racing at the UVU Road Race and Team TT.  We will also be at the Tax Day Circuit Race in Idaho.  The team's coming out party will be the revamped East Canyon Road Race on April 23rd.

See you on the road!

And they're off!

The racing season has officially begun.  TBS/CFA Racing started the season with a bang at the RMR Crit Series two weeks ago.  Jodi Harris, Denis Porter and Manny Cypers contested the A flight.  Trent Olsen and Darren Goff fought it out in the B's and Kevan Steed and Ben Towery raced in the C flight.

Denis made a great showing sprinting for 5th place.  Our C flighters finished strong in the pack while the best finishes of the day were the B flight racers.  Darren podium'ed for 3rd place while Trent finished just behind in 4th.  We've also had Dustin Nielsen out there this past week making a strong showing.

The first UCA Points Series race of the season kicks off this weekend in St. George.  The Tour del Sol stage race will feature Manny in the Cat 2's, Darren and Nate Baldwin in the Cat 3's while Ben and Dustin will be joined by Blake Fessler and Doug Olmstead in the Cat 4 division.  This will be a great test of early season fitness and readiness. 

The 3 stage race has a time trial, criterium and road race.  Look for TBS/CFA Racing to make a strong showing.  Starting next week, look for the team in the new black and white kit!

Winding up

We are just a few weeks away from the official beginning of the 2011 race season!  Its hard to believe that its already here.  TBS/CFA Racing team will be suiting up for the RMR Crit series in March at Rocky Mountain Raceway in West Valley City.  These are popular races that typically bring out the best in each category.  It will be nice to use these as an early season tune up and shake out those winter legs. 

The first points race of the season will be on March 19th in St. George at the Tour del Sol.  This 3 stage race will be the first true test of how winter training went. 

We had planned a St. George trip this weekend, but the forecast called for snow, even down into St. George!  So its at least one more weekend on the trainer.

As we wind up for the season, we want to thank our sponsors!  The Bike Shoppe and Chick-fil-a are incredible places to buy Trek bikes and eat the original chicken sandwich.  Harristone and Sun Valley Mortgage are huge supporters of our team and they are sure to not disappoint if you're building with stone or looking for mortgage solutions.  And now that its tax time, are you in need of resolving an IRS issue?  Give Jim Gilland a call, and he'll solve it for you.  And let's not forget Endure Electrolytes!  This stuff is great.  No more cramping when you're on this product.

Until next time, see you out on the road!

Winter Training Camp

This past weekend TBS/CFA Racing Team set off for 2 days of training and bonding at our first team camp.  We traded cloudy 20 degree temps in Ogden for sun and 60 degree weather in St. George, UT.  It was the first chance that many of us have had to ride with one another.

We started the trip with delicious chicken and biscuit breakfast sandwiches from Chick-fil-a then boarded the famous "bike bus" driven by non other than our man Matt Howard of The Bike Shoppe.  Loud music, Nacho Libre and The Dark Knight kept us company as we all got to know each other on the trip down. 

We were greeted by sun and warmth in St. George and headed out for 30 miles of riding.  Many of us have been putting plenty of time on the trainer indoors but not so many miles out on the road so we had to get used to being back on bikes!  That happened quickly though and the group pushed pretty hard up the "Utah Hill" outside of St. George.

A quick ride, then it was pizza for diner and finally a team meeting, bonding and mild mischief.

Saturday was meant to be a long, mellow base building ride.  We stuck together for thee first half up to Gunlock Lake the the tiny town of Veyo, home of Veyo Pies, one of the best mid ride stops ever!  Matt and Jodi shared a banana cream pie, yes a whole pie, but it had bananas...health food, right?  The group turned around and headed back, hitting the Utah Hill one more time.  A few headed back the short way back to town but managed to hit 54.3 mph along the way!  Down hill with a tailwind will do that!

Back on the Bike Bus for the ride home, many slept, others got to know one another and Matt proved a 22 passenger bus with a trailer can be driven just as nimbly as any sports car!

Thanks to our many sponsors for the great trip!  Especially to The Bike Shoppe and Matt Howard.  We are supported by the best group of companies in the west. 

You'll see the new team at the RMR Crits in Salt Lake City and the Tour del Sol in St. George in March.  Watch for the new team kit to make its debut shortly there after.

2011 TBS/CFA Racing kit!

New year, new look, new team!

2011 is setting up to be the best yet for Team Excelerator! 

First off, note the exciting name change:  The Bike Shoppe/Chick-fil-a Racing Team.  Chick-fil-a in Riverdale, Utah and Newgate Mall in Ogden, UT along with Matt Howard at The Bike Shoppe in Ogden, are the new title sponsors for the new look team. 

Second, we have added a significant amount of depth and talent to the roster.  We'll be fielding racers in the Men Cat Pro/Cat 1/2, Cat 3, Cat 4, Masters and have also added a rockin' women's team who will be representing in the Women's Pro/Cat 1/2/3 and Cat 4 divisions. 

Third, our new look will be completed with our new team kit, set to roll out soon.

We have added some killer sponsors this year as well.  Check out the links to the right for Chick-fil-a, The Bike Shoppe, Harristone, Sun Valley Mortgage, Endure Electrolytes, Trek Bikes and Gilland Law Firm.

Watch for us to be "eatin' mor chikin" and breaking away at races all over Utah.  Follow us here, on Facebook, Twitter and of course, on the road!