Winter Haven Weekend

After a week off, I was stoked to get out and race. The Winter Haven courses are some of my favorites. The road race course is a little rolling with a long uphill finish and the crit course is a very technical course with 8 turns.


I started off with the women 3/4 road race which was combined with the masters 55+ and 65+ men. We had a good sized field with 12 women and 26 masters. With masters TT champion Dave Viney in the mix, I knew it would e exciting.


Our race was 2 laps on the 14 mile course. For the first few miles we kept a steady tempo with very little excitement. About half way through the first lap the first of the big attacks started. With Dave Viney in the lead I tried to stay as close to the front as possible in hopes of a split.


As we came around to start our second lap there was some confusion at the finish line. The junior race was on course with us and was finishing up their race. As we came through the finish line there was a big split in the field. I was in the front group but the fields soon came back together.


Throughout the final lap I stayed towards the front. About 3 miles out I found my way to Dave Viney's wheel. As we rounded the final corner we could just make out the finishing line at the top of the hill. The sprinting started way out at the 1K mark. I stayed tucked in the draft. As we neared the finish I felt pretty tired. I could see a girl coming up on my right and tried to hold her off. She got me at the line by about half a wheel length. I was 2nd in the womens race and about 5th overall.


After a good warm up on Sunday I was ready to go. Right before the start my nerves were all whipped up. I was so excited and ready to race. The course was made for a break away and I wanted to be in it.


At the line the officials announced a prime on the first lap. As many girls took off I slid back to find Tina's ( Z-Motion) wheel. After the sprint for the prime I was lined up for an attack. She shot off to the right and got a little gap. I closed it down and looked back to see we had a good gap. We rotated for about 8 laps. I could see the gap getting slightly smaller and the wind was killing me. On the back stretch she attacked me and I couldnt follow. I sat up a bit and waited for the field. I got the timing right and they caught me with the tail wind. I sat in and tried to recover.


The chase lasted for a few more laps until Tina was finaly reeled in by Cathy (ASV). My legs were pretty spent but I was still ready to go. I tried to stay very attentive. In my time off the front the field had been split in half. There were plenty of other attacks but nothing was sticking. Finally with 10 min plus laps left Tina attacked with Cathy in tow. They soon had a big gap and the field instantly shut down. I didnt have the legs to follow and found myself racing for 3rd.


Our little field stayed together for the rest of the race. The break was soon out of sight. As we came around to th final lap I was pretty spent. I grabbed Elizabeth's (Z-Motion) wheel and hung on. We were soon in the front. Coming around the final turn a  rider dive bombed from  the outside and cut in front of my wheel. I hit the breaks and almost slid but managed to stay upright. My legs done and momentum gone I gave it all to the line. I managed a 5th in the field and 7th overall.

Once again a good race weekend with ups and down. I've seen some steady improvemnts and have had good legs so the season is looking up for me. I have this weekend off and then its off to Clermont to the race of the West. One of the hardest courses of the year with SugarLoaf mountian in the mix. It promises to be epic.

ciao

coming soon!!!

I have two new race reports coming soon for Winter Haven and Sugar Loaf with my first win of the year at sugarloaf! but for now: this is for you coach!

jujubees the candy of champions ;P

new blog header!

check out the new blog header ^^^ courtesy of Craig Creeden!!!

thanks Craig!! =))

"numba one asian"

So I have the most amazing little brother ever. A little history he's not really my brother but we have deemed him "little brother I never had". His family took me to the ORC circuit race on saturday and then back to their house. I was hanging out with Mollie, Zoe, and Briana when I was informed that Casey (my little bother) was washing my bike. "what? nooo...he's doing what? " I look out into the garage to see him getting my drive train perfectly clean.

So after one of the nicest things ever I thought Casey deserved a little blog shout out. "numba one asain" keep being awesome!

ORC Weekend

San Antonio was my first race of the year. It went well and I finished 3rd in the womens 3/4 who raced along with the masters 55+. I had a decent race but wasn’t terribly thrilled with how it turned out. I couldn’t wait to get out this weekend and get some good racing in.

The ORC race weekend has always been fun. The courses are great and they bring out huge fields. I get extra motivation from the fact that it in my home town.

This year they cut out the Sanford crit course and replaced it with a new circuit race out in Winter Garden.

The course was a lot of fun. About 50 meters from the finishing straight was the first of 2 left turns, then it was a downhill straight away with a wicked cross wind leading to the final sharp left. There was a gradual left hand bend as we started climbing the finishing hill. With the wind coming from the right I tried to always stay to the inside. After about 500 meters the hill leveled out leaving 200 meters of flat road to the line.

I started out with the juniors race as warm-up. After an unsatisfactory race I was pumped for the womens race. We had around 30 women at the start line. I couldn’t wait to start. I knew the wheels to follow and hoped I would be able to make it in any moves that happened.

Attacks went but nothing was sticking. It was looking like a sprint finish so I drifted to the back of the field to find the strong sprinters. I was following Cathy (ASV) as we came around the start/finish with 1 lap to go. I took a deep breath as we rounded the first corner, this was it, the final lap. Cathy and I began to move up on the left side of the field.

My least favorite sound in the world….As bikes and people hit the ground the noise is indescribable and terrifying. There was a huge pile up in the first straight away. I made it through still in touch with the front group. I refocused and got my game face back on.

I followed Cathy and Jennie (two strong riders both on ASV) up the hill. I managed an 8th place in the sprint and was pretty happy just to be able to cross the line after the crash.

The next day was a crit. It is a long course with only 3 corners and nice roads. From the final corner to the line is about 500 meters so it is more of a waiting game when you reach the sprint.

The morning of the crit I woke up to find my voice gone. I skipped the junior race and hoped it would come back by the womens race.

After a quick ride to the course I was pumped and ready to go. I finished my warm up on the trainer and got into the zone. My voice had come back a bit although it was rather husky, but my legs felt good and I was ready to race. We had another big field with about 28 ladies.

For the first 30 minutes there was nothing but attacking and primes. I managed to get into every big move but the field pulled all of them back. I slid to the back of the field and jumped onto Tina (Z-Motion) and Julie's (unattached) wheels. Sure enough 1 lap later they attacked. The field was strung out but the break was pulled back. I felt a little tired so I slid back mid field. Tina countered her own move and was quickly followed by Cathy (ASV). The field soon shut down and I could see them slip away.

Down to laps: I began to look for the strong wheels. I managed to get Julie’s wheel and was just hanging on till the sprints. With 2 laps to go, just before the final corner, there was another crash. I kept looking forward. I had good positioning for the sprint. I was ready to go. As we passes the site of the crash in our final lap there was another crash.

The field was chaos. I followed Julie's wheel through the turn as she opened up her sprint. I was tucked in and shielded from the wind. I got 3rd in the field sprint and 5th overall.

I was pretty happy with my racing this weekend. It had ups and downs but I felt more like the old sprinter I used to be.

This next weekend I have off from racing and then it’s off to Winter Haven for the Chain of Lakes Cycling Classic.

Ciao

chilling in the field

the field

sprint finish

following julie

me and mo

my mom and craig creeden future tour de france star and future mrs olympia!

me and my daddy

2010!!!

Well its 2010..2009 flew by really fast! Its been so long since I last posted anything so a quick recap of the off season....

I've been training alot, hitting up the gym, logging in the miles.

Back in November I rode the Horrible Hundred which is Florida's biggest baddest century ride (organized by the Florida Freewheelers they do a great job) with all the hardest hills in Florida.

In the past couple months there I've been in the Drew Landing Practice Crit series. Its a really fun crit put on by Craig Creeden and his family. I got a 4th and 5th place finish as my highlights.

I've been getting in great rides with my training buddies Crag Creeden and Casey Braga. We've been tackling the hills of Clermont at the brutal Windermere ride and getting in classics like errol estates and the mount dora ride.

Now the race season is closing in. My season starts in 2 weeks at Dade City. I'm really excited and cannot wait to get out and race. I was scheduled to start this weekend but an untimely cold made me put it off. Hopefully in two weeks ill be healthy and ready to go.



PEACE! Windermere ride



After Errol "Worlds" 4th in the field sprint



Drew Landing crit...Final Corner



Frozen Orange Trees on our Mount Dore ride



The Crew: Casey Braga, Craig Creeden and I




Windermere ride after Buck Hill



Craig and I on the Mount Dora loop



the lake on the mount dora loop



the crew

Nationals

This year has really flown by. Junior nationals is my biggest targeted event every year. It is exciting as racers around the country pack up their bikes and converge into one town to race for glory.

The road race was on Tuesday followed by two days off and then the TT on Friday and the crit Saturday.

The road race course was really cool. It wasn't insanely hilly but it had a good climb in it. It started in a local high school parking lot and headed out to the 3.5 mi loop. The loop started by going up 1 mile to the feed zone. Then it was a quick descent, a sharp left, and up another little kicker. After that it was pretty much downhill to the next lap.

The field was a little different this year. There were some of the favorites but there were also alot of new faces.

I was stoked to race. At the start they called myself and 5 other riders to the line ahead of the field. I have seen it done it the tour de France or pro races but had never experienced it myself so that was cool.

It was a neutral rolling start for the first couple kilometers. The first lap was slow. We spun up the hills and everyone was just trying to feel out the race.

The race wasn't super fast. All of the favorites stayed together and there were only a few attacks. Roughly every other lap I got a cold bottle from my dad and a nice dousing of water from Mr. Eddie Braga.

As we came around to two laps to go Alexis Ryan began an attacking frenzy. I knew she was strong and followed every move she made. We made it safely around the right hand corner into the last 3k of the course. We all looked at each other and started jogging for position.

ATTACK!! someone went hard on the left but it was quickly chased down. The group swarmed as we reached 1k to go. I messed myself up and was tucked into the middle of the field. I came through the final corner around 9th but managed to move up to 5th. I made podium but knew I could do better.

My teammates also did well with Tommy Lucas 8th (10-12) Stanley Goto 24th, Ryan Grant 38th, and Phil Kinney 43rd (13-14) and John Piasta 18th and Christopher Flanagan 4th (15-16). Nate Geoffrion, Sam Basseti, and Nick Kinney race later and finished 11th, 7th, and 83rd.

All juniors 15-16 and under had 2 days off before the TT. My little sister was sick and I was resting up for my next races so we spent most of our time chilling at home.

The TT course was 12K up a hill and then 12K back down. I had gone out and pre rode the course the day before but had underestimated the distance and was surprised to find that the TT course went 2k down a hill to the turn around.

I had pretty good legs for the TT. I started near the end of our field and I was stoked to go. I had started out feeling pretty good. I caught a few riders but was also caught by 1 rider. I knew I wasn't going to win but I felt like my time would be decent.

The way back was super fast (30+ the entire way). I felt like I died a little on the way out but I really regained my legs on the way back in. My time was 44min and some second in change. My time was good enough for 5th but unfortunately it got messed up and I received a different time and officially 8th place.

Another good All Sport/Team Swift showing with high placing throughout all categories ( we had 11 swifties out at the TT!!!!!!)

I was out for vengeance in the crit. Coach and I both knew my previous races hadn't really shown the type of rider that I am and I was ready to get out and race the crit. With a good race plan and good legs I was ready to go. I was happily surprised to get called to the front of the field again at the line. I was in the zone.

The race was either going 5 or 30 miles per hour. I raced at the front and followed all the moves. I was feeling pretty good but I knew that these girls were fast. As we reached 5 laps to go I began to get antsy. I was ready to go. I took a deep breath and sat in for the ride.

1 to go, 1 to go, 1 lap to go! I could see some people coming up my left. I made sure to stay ahead of them through the first corner. Attack up the hill. Summersby Jenkins attacked hard on the right followed by Grace Alexander. I followed the train and was 5th wheel. I was able to pass 1 girl but we were flying. The entire last lap was around 34 mph.

As we came around to sprint I was tired but I kept hearing coach Laura "grab the bars and GO!" so I went. I finished 4th.

Team Swift went on to get several top 20es in the junior mens field that were 60+ riders strong.

All in all it wasn't my most impressive nationals on paper but I gained alot from it. I have come away super motivated and ready to go. I have my new goals set and within reach.

Not only was the racing experience great but so was the team experience. For the most part it was a group of total strangers to me yet they welcomed me in with open arm and it showed that All Sport/Team Swift really is a very special organization and it made me feel very blessed to be involved with Coach Laura and the team.

Also I want to acknowledge the sponsors who made everything possible (ALL Sport, BMC, Squadra, Sidi, and Mavic) along with my parents, family and friends who supported me through the entire season leading up to and during nationals.

Thanks to everyone!

The Florida fall season is right around the bend. I am looking forward to racing hard and getting my cat up points to reach category 2. I don't have any races for the rest of this month but my mom has body building shows and my little sister has gymnastics competitions. Competing is in our blood!

I'll have some pictures up soon!

ciao