From Jason...

For me, a surprising 6th place in the GC . . . my first BAR/BAT points for DBC this season. I had hoped to do better, though. More below: Madera was an A race for me and I knew the race rested on the time trial. I've been ramping up my time trial through the Winter and got a 22:39 on the Folsom South Canal (also 10 miles) about 3 weeks before the race. I felt I was going to be faster and stronger by Madera. Crit was uneventful and came and went . . . pack finish, I stayed safe, and didn't burn any real matches to stay with the field. As a group, we tried to set up Mark H for the sprint and Bowlus and Mark got pinched on the inside of the last turn. Note for future Madera runs, the outside line was faster, exposed to the wind in the finishing stretch, but faster. The time trial for me didn't go as planned. I came across at 24:10 and I discovered a front brake rub at the finish. I have no idea where it happened, but trying to recreate jostling or turning of the cables, it appeared that it was probably jostling in the first 3 mile section. Anyway, I was pretty bummed and moved on the next day to the road race. Not having a comfortable time in the TT changed my road race strategy however. Bowlus was 2nd DBC'er in the TT, ~1 second behind me. Road Race -- I kept off the front for the first of three laps, measuring the course. Second lap, I moved towards the front. From there, I did medium work, helping to keep the tempo high and also motivating other riders to help too. I also reeled in or helped to reel in breaks that looked like they were starting to stick. Third lap -- I do end up on the front, but the pace ends up painfully slow. I am soft pedaling at 155 bpm, on or near the front . . . no matches burned. The moto comes up and tells us that we're going to be neutralized to let the womans field go through. I take this as an opportunity to drop the hammer and start my push a little early. I didn't want to end up in a cluster eff at the finish or on the cobbles/rough. We get to the rough with me towards the front and I try to play it a little safe, back off a little and I get stuck on the right with nowhere to go. DBC and Rio organize on the left and launch Bob and a Rio guy off the front. Both teams go to the front and slow the pace. I'm still stuck in noman's land. Bob gets caught but the Rio guy is still going strong. I work to get to the front on the rollers and actually get pushed off the road by the guy who I've been trying to get past for the previous 4 miles. We are within 1k of the finish. I go hard early . .. I get nipped by a bunch of riders just before the finish. The Rio guy outlasts the field by maybe 100m. Rio was the best team today. They kept the tempo high and launched 2 man breaks off the front all day. They won the race EXACTLY how we had discussed as a team (but DBC) the night prior. Their guy (Rio) had the legs and outlasted the field to the finish . . . I did my best not to let him get away, once I had runway, but didn't have enough room. Lessons Learned: -- Go to the ouside of the final turn at the Madera crit and DRILL IT off the turn for the win. Generally, the ouside of turn 1 and 4 are faster on the outside. Others were fine/mellow. -- Check your freakin' brakes on your TT bike, twice . . . the fixing bolt, not just the alignment :) -- Good section to launch on the RR is mid-way through the cobbles. Hats off to Robin who rallied with Rio to get 2 guys out front and then DBC and Rio slowed the field down. It was the only organized break of the day. Other fliers were single riders, two unorganized riders, but also 2 regular Rio guys -- What worked for Rio -- keep the tempo high and send 2 man breaks off regularly. Organize with another team and get the other team's horse (Bob) to do a lot of work (Bob . . . was that Rio guy doing his share on the break?? . . . just curious, because he's the same guy who rallied me to pull the field ahead of the woman . . . good team stuff, for Rio anyway). -- For me -- make sure I have the right position in the final 5-10 miles. Measure the field (look back left, back right) when I go early and back off and take advantage of riders countering . . . get on their wheel and come back around in 200m. -(lesson) Give Rio more credit. I was surprised & didn't think they had it in them. I should have taken more note based on the strong fliers they kept sending off. They deserved and earned the road race win. I'm not sure if organizing with us (DBC) was part of their plan after their breaks didn't stick, but that is EXACTLY how you win races . . . organize with another team, send your horses off the front, and slow the field . . . expecially when the field is field is HATING the rough road and isn't really paying attention.