The early season has been the best yet for the Chick-fil-a/Excelerator Sports ladies! We've been to a variety of races all over the state and the results have been fantastic.
After Tour del Sol, Heather Smith repeated her success with a win at the Wildcat Rally road race. At the same event, LOTOJA winner Keri Gibson also took her category with a nice sprint. We also had a great showing at East Canyon with 5 of our ladies racing. Rachelle Lyle, who is transitioning from triathlon, performed great in her road racing debut. The same weekend, Joan Meiners took 8th at the ultra competitive Sea Otter Classic in California.
The winning ways continued this past weekend at the Tax Day Circuit Race in Idaho. Heather took the surprise win in the Cat 4 women with teammate Heidi Moser also doing well.
Coming up we have the Antelope Island Classic and then on to Bear Lake. Watch for our ladies to continue tearing it up!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Tour del Sol
The 2 day, 3 stage race started with a 12 mile time trial in perfect St. George conditions...sunshine, warm temps and no wind. Payton and Heather put in solid efforts and I was able to knock almost 5 minutes off of last year's time.
After some lunch and a little rest we made our way up to the old airport for the afternoon criterium. The wind was howling. It was blowing across the bluff at 40 mph wreaking havoc on the peloton. Heather kept in contention in the 15 rider Cat 4 Women.
In the Cat 3 Men, Payton and I kept it competitive. My first Cat 3 race was eye opening for sure. The wind made the long south bound straight away a tactical nightmare. With 5 laps to go, I was pushed into the rocks and took a good 100 yards to get back on the concrete. Once back on, the wind blew me back into the rocks and I was dead last. As the group rounded the turn they lit it up with the wind. At that point I was dropped. I tried desperately to get back on but with the wind it just didn't happen. Payton however, stayed in there. He looked strong among the 37 Cat 3's and sprinted with the group.
Sunday was the road race. This course is challenging starting and finishing at Gunlock Resevoir taking in the loop that includes the infamous "wall" and the Utah Hill for the Cat 3's. I didn't fair so well. I woke up very tired and made it to the wall before being dropped like a bad habit ending my first Cat 3 race with a DNF. Payton stayed with it though and represented well. The best finish of the day however went to Heather. She rocked it taking 4th in the day and moving up to third overall on GC!! It was great weekend for Heather which saw continual improvement for the weekend, proof that never giving up can pay big dividends!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Welcome to Season 5!
Chick-fil-a/Excelerator Sports Cycling Team heads into the 2012 season with great anticipation.
2012 marks our 5th year as a team. In 2008 and 2010 we raced as Team Excelerator and in 2009 as Team Excelerator presented by Pinnacle Auto Company. 2011 we honored our title sponsors as The Bike Shoppe/Chick-fil-a Racing Team.
For 2012, Chick-fil-a at Riverdale and Newgate Mall contiue thier title sponsorship along with Excelerator Sports, LLC. The Bike Shoppe is still supporting us as well along with returning sponsors Harristone and Sun Valley Mortgage. We'd also like to welcome our new sponsors The Jersey Bag, The Joint, Blue Iguana and Cache Valley Women's Center. Without the support of our great sponsors we would not be able to do what we do! Thank you!!
Our roster shrunk a little for this year but what we lack in quantity we make up for in quality. LOTOJA winning duo Justin and Keri Gibson return along with Utah Masters Championship runner up, Ben Towery and Logan TT winner Farrell Spackman. We've also added Cat 3 powerhouses Payton Nishikawa and Jim Struglemeyer. Other returnees are our team players Kevan Steed, Jaren Ginbson, Jerald Olsen, climber Doug Olmstead and Cat 3 rider Rick Seaborn.
Our women's team has grown with the addition of triathletes Rachelle Lyle and Shay Golding, Cat 3 racer Joan Meiners and Cat 4 Heidi Moser. Crit specialist Kellie Winder returns after a year off to have a baby. They join our standouts Heather Smith, Danielle Dahlberg, Jenny Romney and Keri Gibson.
We completed our winter mini camp in St. George 2 weeks ago and look forward to our first Utah racing at the Tour del Sol March 31st-April 1st.
Here's to a great Season 5! See you on the road!
2012 marks our 5th year as a team. In 2008 and 2010 we raced as Team Excelerator and in 2009 as Team Excelerator presented by Pinnacle Auto Company. 2011 we honored our title sponsors as The Bike Shoppe/Chick-fil-a Racing Team.
For 2012, Chick-fil-a at Riverdale and Newgate Mall contiue thier title sponsorship along with Excelerator Sports, LLC. The Bike Shoppe is still supporting us as well along with returning sponsors Harristone and Sun Valley Mortgage. We'd also like to welcome our new sponsors The Jersey Bag, The Joint, Blue Iguana and Cache Valley Women's Center. Without the support of our great sponsors we would not be able to do what we do! Thank you!!
Our women's team has grown with the addition of triathletes Rachelle Lyle and Shay Golding, Cat 3 racer Joan Meiners and Cat 4 Heidi Moser. Crit specialist Kellie Winder returns after a year off to have a baby. They join our standouts Heather Smith, Danielle Dahlberg, Jenny Romney and Keri Gibson.
Here's to a great Season 5! See you on the road!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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/
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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"!
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"!
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