Lets see...AJ's got a water polo tournament in Moraga and his games are
at 1:15, 3:30, and 5:25...I can catch his 1st game and make it over to
Albany for the crit and be back to catch most of is last game no
problem!
After his game I stayed for a bit talking it over with AJ, got him a
bite to eat, then motored over to the race. Got there with plenty of
time. Was able to watch the 3's while I got in a brief warm up. Took a
quick run around the course before lining up with the guys and was glad
I did. I didn't realize that it was such a quick course.
I've got an announcement to make..."My name is Jason Snovel, and I'm a
premature pedaler!" I must have left about 20-30 grams of carbon from
my right pedal out there in turns 1 and 4...and maybe a little in turns
2 and 3 as well...after scraping about a half a dozen times, if not
more, I finally came to realize this fact about myself and thought I'd
share it with the rest of you so there'd be no guessing, no whispering
behind closed doors, no rumors. I've no history of prematurity in any
"other" aspect of my life, so this is a new experience that I'm doing
my best to deal with...I'll need as much support as you all can give to
help me through this trying time in my life... :0P
We all lined up and were wondering where Karl was when he pulled up. I
too wish we would have had more of a plan, but the simple truth is is
that we're all so gracious that I think it hinders us when the time
comes to pick "The One," we're so ready and willing to work for each
other that we don't speak up.
So, as Karl said, it was "Whoever feels good at the end, say so!" and
off we went. I remember receiving an email from Karl in the weeks prior
to the race stating that we, as a team, were going to find out when the
last prime was and attack right after with about 4 of us and try to
make it stick. The first 5 laps were nothing special. Just getting to
know the course. It was good to see Mark (The Matador) H. out there. He
looked strong and was right with John and I about 10 - 15 spots back
just hovering, but holding strong. The bell rings for I think the 2nd
Prime and there goes John off the front for the easy win. He got such a
huge gap on the field that I decided to bridge up to him hitting it
hard to the inside after turn 3 from about 10 spots back making sure no
one was with me to see if he was up for a break. Having raced earlier
in the day, I didn't think he would, but, then again, he is
Staggell...This is where we missed Fred or Jason or Robin or Chad or
Allan or EOB or...I could go on, to yell at our teammates to get to
the front and block for us. They reeled us back in and after a few more
laps the bell rings for the final Prime.
I've already told you about the email...with that in the back of my
mind, John rides up on my left side and says, "Get on my wheel" and off
we go. We hit the hill and hammer to the front. Into turn 3 we go and
have already gapped the field by about 30 meters or so. John drops the
hammer hard...I see his cinder block calves flex as he cranks the
pedals and sails into turn 4 with the fluidity and grace of
Barishnikov and the ferocity of a young Mike Tyson with me glued to
his wheel. I pull through after the start/finish and continue all the
way through to turn 3 when John says, much to my surprise, "Lets let
'em catch us, I don't have it"...he is human after all. What I didn't
know, and what he later told me is that he wanted me to pull around him
for the prime...something that's easier said than done.
Some time during the latter part of the race Rod (The Cuban Missle)
jumped to the front for a few laps and reeled in a solo break...looking
strong and preping for Folsom.
5 laps to go and, of course, there comes Karl right to 3rd wheel and
ready to pounce. 2 laps to go and John jumps to the front like we've
all seen him do so many times before. So hard that I begin to question
riders I'm passing how many laps are left..."2" they say. I'm about 5th
wheel going into turn 3 and see John telling Karl to go! We all sit up
momentarily when another rider cranks up the hill and Karl jumps on his
wheel with me 2 wheels back. We're looking pretty good going into turn
1. I notice a guy to my right trying to shoot the gap and cut the
corner. I crank hard and shut the door hard. He almost takes out half
the field behind me..."Idiot!" We crank out of turn 1, were nails
through turn 2 and crank it up the hill one last time. I'm right on
Karl's wheel as he enters turn 3. He takes it a little tight and has a
moment of prematurity of his own. He scrapes hard and pops his rear
about 2 feet to the left and into my wheel. I thought we were done for
sure...I've no idea how we didn't go down, nice recovery Karl. I
seriously thought I was having a acute myocardial infarction right then
and there. I don't know how accurate my Polar HR monitor is, but my
average for the race was 160 with a spike at 219! WTF!?! I lose Karl's
wheel as about 4 riders scream by me.
I take the outside line coming out of turn 4 and give it everything
I've got. A Synergy rider pops about 20 meters from the line and I've
got the maneuver around him just missing his wheel for a 5th place
finish to Karl's 4th. I was wondering how the rest of the team did and
thanks to the awesome pics from Janice, who was there the whole time
cheering us on, it looks as though we were all in the top 20! Awesome
job fellas, and thanks Janice...you rock! There's a great one showing
Rod and "Newbie" Big Brian H along with Mark in the pack laying it down
for the sprint.
Talking to Fred and the guys this evening at Jamba after the RR, I was
explaining to him that it's awesome seeing all of us improve our
fitness and getting stronger as a team. We'll get the tactics figured
out soon enough...in the mean time...I swear I'm having a "KICK A$$
TIME MAN!"
AJ's team won the last 2 games in their final tune up before heading to
Irvine this weekend for the Junior Olympics...That's my boy!
~ J
Jason Snovel, Albany Crit
Janice Pfeiff, Albany Crit
For my first crit, I learned A LOT. First lesson: Don't be so nervous that
you are late to the lineup because you are talking to yourself in the porta
potty and cursing the three cups of coffee you had in the morning. OK, not a
good start. I never heard the "directions" from the guy that talks to you at
the beginning of the race..uhhh..I hope there was nothing important. As soon
as I lined up in the BACK, the whistle blew and we were off, or more
appropriately, the other women were off, and I was still trying to get
clipped in. The first turn scared the crap out of me, and next thing I know,
I have been spit off the back of the pack. Lovely. Second lesson: Ask
someone how to warm up, because it was obvious my 20 minutes spinning on the
rollers was not enough. Now I am cursing myself, my lungs are spasoming, and
my ego is really hurting since I am now looking at riding around a square
for 40 minutes by myself. As I finish the first lap, hit the now not so
scary first turn, I hear my name being yelled. Now a big thank you to E'O.B.
and Chad. Those boys have some pipes on them! Those guys yelled at me on
every lap. Chad has a way of yelling my name that makes it into 3 syllables,
not just two. How can I quit now? Thankfully, I saw another rider ahead of
me that got shelled off the pack as well. O.K. now my world became
manageable since there was a goal in sight. My mantra became "GET THAT
WHEEL!" After a few laps, I finally got her, and then we worked together. At
least now I wasn't alone. That was at 17 minutes. The two of us held off
the pack for awhile, but eventually we did get lapped with around 6 laps to
go (I suppose it could have been 5 or 7, but I was hypoxic and can't quite
remember). Third lesson: JMP is stronger than she thinks. Now that I am back
in the pack, suddenly I can breathe again, and I can hold my own just fine
and stay with them, even on the fastest couple of laps. Weird! Now, I
realize most of my problems are the start of races and warming up, because
it just wasn't that hard with a bunch of people around me. As we cross the
finish line, I am still going hard trying to get ahead of the two other
women that were shelled off in the beginning like me. "I can do this" I tell
myself, and at least take those two on the last lap. After I hit the first
corner again, I hear from behind me, "Hey Davis, the race is over."
Uhhhh..OK, I wish I knew a crit worked like that, I thought I still had
another lap. I feel like the dumb kid now! Fourth lesson: Don't get dropped!
It is a lot easier in the pack. Hopefully I can remember the lessons learned
at Albany in Santa Clara in a couple of weeks.
Jeff Needham, Albany Crit
Just a quick report on the Crit today. The 45 race was quite fast. JS and I rode a strong race, but in the end.....no bananas. Way to hang John. The 35+ race was FAST! Most trips up the "hill" were 28mph. So, unless you could ramp it up to 30+ up that hill, it was next to impossible to move up. All the DBC guys rode a competitive race. Stefan kept himself close to the front and out of trouble for most of the race. With 3 or 4 to go, there was a crash that help up Chad and Eric. With one to go, I had intentions of getting Stefan up the hill and toward the front for the sprint. The wind was a crossing headwind from the right, so I was sure the leadout would gutter the field on the left side of the rode. We made the second turn and stated jamming up the right side...only to have the field move completely right and shut us down. With only two turns to go and too far back now to really matter, I eased up (and almost stacked
Stefan) . Sorry about that one bud. All in all, the day was a success. Everyone (at least to my knowledge) went home with all their skin and their bones...and bikes intact. Strong racing masters.
jn