Michael David Winery

Mikes Bikes Cat’s Hill Classic
May 5, 2012
Los Gatos, CA

Now in its fourth decade, the Cat’s Hill Classic has become one of the most prestigious cycling event throughout the nation. Past participants read as a who’s who in the cycling world: Wayne Stetina, Greg Lemond, Eric Heiden, and Davis Phinney just to name a few.

The one mile long criterium on rough pavement has five 90 degree left turns, one 90 degree right turn, and one very steep climb at 23%! This requires a combination of skill, speed, strength, and stamina.

“…The next few laps were pretty fast with Phipps doing 80% of the work. The pack came close a couple of times, but we never slowed down and the gap grew to 20 sec or so. Lap cards kept coming down and with three to go I knew we were going to stick this one. Now its time to think how I am going to win this thing. Simple….just wait till the last lap…. attack the last section of the descent before the last 90 right degree turn and win the race… so this is what I did… I kept my third position in the break, opened a little gap on the descent to make sure I would come up with more speed than the other two riders and hit it… by the time I made the last turn I had 5 meters or so on Walker… from there I just kept on going and never looked back.. took the win by two or three bike lengths…”
Andres Gil
Mens 35+ 1,2,3
1st Place

“This is a must do race for anyone who lives and races in nor-cal. First off, Los Gatos is a very cool and classy place. Second, it’s pretty awesome to be racing through a fancy old neighborhood where homeowners are BBQ’ing and enjoying the race in their front yard. Third, there’s this thing called “Cat’s Hill”…The list goes on.

I rode well the whole race just sitting in and holding back. I don’t normally race this way but decided to try something new. I was too far back on the last lap and could not move up on the hill. Unfortunately, someone let a gap open so rather than passing guys I was closing a gap coming to the last corner. I was basically last in the bunch sprint (18th).”
Nano Christensen
Mens Pro, 1,2
18th Place

Results
Mens Pro, 1/2
Nano Christensen – 18th place
Andres Gil – 13th place

Men’s 35+ 1,2,3
Andres Gil – 1st place
Doug Hall – 18th place

Photo credits:
Paul Doran
Dale H. Lewis
Thomas Preisler

May 6, 2012
Wildflower Olympic Triathlon
(Lake San Antonio – Bradley, CA)

Damian Gonzalez
6th Overall

More Wildflower Photos

XTERRA New Zealand Championship April 14, 2012
Rotorua, NZ

David Miller
Div: 25-29, 2nd

XTERRA West Championship April 14, 2012
Las Vegas, NV

Damian Gonzalez
Div: Pro, 14th

more photos by Nils Nelson

Wente Vineyards Classic
Livermore, CA
April 29, 2012
Criterium

Under mild temps in the 80′s with a light breeze that picked up, the Wente Crit lived up to it’s reputation of a sketchy course w/ lot’s of speed, fast action, crazy moves and a lot more…

“Sunday morning I woke up and my legs felt like garbage. they were sore and within the first lap I could tell I wasn’t going to have the burst that I usually have…the plan going in was for Trevor to sit on my wheel and I’d take care of him and see if we couldn’t get some upgrade points for him. so knowing I was working for him I would chase and sit on any attack off the front…well maybe half the attacks.

The last lap of the race two guys went for a break right in front of me so I stuck to their wheels and came around the last turn with them. Luckily for me nobody slowed up waiting for somebody else to do the work, so with my position I easily jumped outside and sprinted around a handful of riders and took the win. it’s crazy how on the days you least expect to win, you end up pulling it out.”
-Brandon Borth
Mens Cat 3

“…Early in the race I had a weird feeling that I was going to get caught up in a crash. Riders were all over the place and were having a good time cursing at each other. Twelve minutes in it happens, about 15 riders from the front someone decides to stand up and attack from the middle of the field. He clips a wheel and goes down, taking a number of riders with him. I narrowly avoided the pileup, but stuffed my pedal into someone’s ribs and almost went over the bars. A neutral lap came after the crash followed by a complete reset of the race. The next 45 minutes I didn’t feel safe, but did what I needed to do to stay towards the front. Coming into the final lap I was two wheels back from Brandon, but several of us ended up getting pushed by a large rider in the middle of the field. I went back 10 wheels and wasn’t able to make up enough ground in time for the sprint. Finished 20th.”
-Trevor Gomes
Mens Cat 3

Thrilled to start my first flat Crit this year! Whistle blows, I clip in, take 3 pedal strokes, and 2 riders are off the front. One rider was from Lange Twin Winery, David Albrecht, whose team was well represented. I went through turn 1 and punched it, got clear and bridged up. We went a few laps together and the 3rd rider was in trouble. He was struggling to stay on after pulls, then skipped a pull. After I took a pull on the backside, I rotated through, and it was just me and David.

The lap cards come out which was the biggest relief. We come through he final turn with 4 to go, I check on the main group, and for the first time, they were nowhere to be seen. And for the first time, I had no doubt we were sticking this. Now to plan the end game. Final lap, David had been taking pulls into turn 4 and was struggling in the headwind. Between the turn and the slower speed, I decided that was my place to dump him. It was a long way out, but I felt good about it. Just before the turn I created a little space to to wind it up and pass him with speed. I jumped, gapped him off, and drilled it. I checked under my shoulder and was holding the gap and maintaining speed. With about 300 to go, he was crawling back. David got back on my wheel with 200 to go and came around. I was back on his wheel and tried to jump again. Oops, nothing. Game over. 2nd place. Still pretty happy with the result. A 50 minute breakaway is just great fun and great suffering...
-Doug Hall
Mens Cat 1,2,3

“…bike’s knicked up, but I think ok. I’m sore, dent in the helmet some good road rash. We were going 28mph. Two guys ahead got squirely and swerved. Guy in front of me swerved and took my front wheel out instantly! Then I got ran over by Doug Hall and almost Josh…”
– Mike Ricks
Mens 1,2

Results
Mens Cat 1,2
Josh Carling – 20th
Nano Christensen – 36th
Doug Hall – 54th

Mens Cat 1,2,3 35*
Doug Hall – 2nd
Mike Ricks – 7th

Mens Cat 1,2,3 45*
Erim Taser – 30th
Ron Meskis – 37th

Mens Cat 3
Brandon Borth – 1st
Trevor Gomes – 20th

photos courtesy of Paul Doran

25th Annual Wente Vineyards Classic
Livermore, CA
April 28, 2012
Road Race

The weather for racing on Saturday was about as perfect as it can get in Livermore…sunny, little wind, 60’s at start mid 70’s at finish

The course consists of three climbs and a flat section that is usually very windy. The steep climb on Carroll Rd. is the main obstacle of this course. But the fun doesn’t stop there. After crossing I-580 on North Flynn Rd. you go through a long false flat section for about two miles. Then descending down South Flynn Rd, There are a couple of pretty tight turns that you can come into with WAY too much speed if you’re not careful.
On to Patterson Pass and Cross Rd. you’ll find more false flat sections along with a few short, but steep rollers. Finally you get to start downhill again and then into the flats on Tesla Rd. Watch for a possible cross wind on Tesla Rd. Then over to Greenville Rd and into a headwind.
After several laps, the finish is on the steep climb on top of Carroll Road.

Taking his second series win of the season, Andres Gil continues his superb record for the 2012 NCNCA Bikereg.com Premier Series. “It was pretty smooth [early], nothing really happened. I attacked on the backside and then went clear for a lap and a half.” said Gil, “Then I was caught by three guys [and] we were caught on the last lap. Everybody came together at the end and it was just a dash for the finish.”

Gil took won the sprint by a good margin.

…Lots of digs on the flat section again, Andres and I were in a little break, but it was not meant to be. We were all together coming into the hill. Regrettably I stayed at the back of the group. On the steep part, the group split in half as we passed the 3′s. I picked my way through the carnage and got clear of my group. On the false flat portion I picked up speed and was closing in on the leaders (no hope to catch) and held my ground on the last rise. I ended up 11th. I think I could have done much better if I had been at the front on the steep part. I need some climbing confidence, but between Copperopolis and Wente this year, I think I’ve got it.
– Doug Hall
Master 35* 1,2,3

“…I accelerated slightly, starting to feel maxed. A rider caught and passed me-a man(I can tell because they catch me so fast) I peeked under my arm, there was a rider back there but I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Another rider came by, also male. As I passed the Taleo crew they were cheering loudly. That’s not for me I was thinking. There had been 2 Taleo riders in our group. Shortly there was a rider on my flank- a woman- and she was out to pass me! She was gaining steadily at 100m to go! Oh no you don’t! I thought, no way am I going to let her pass me! I will die first or kill my self trying. I sped up, so did she, back and forth we went. Her front wheel was in sight nearly adjacent to mine. I thought I was going to pass out. I was gasping for air, but I wasn’t going to let her beat me. I didn’t think I could pedal harder, but I did. As the line came up I remembered Mike Ricks about lunging with the bike. I could see I had her by a couple inches, but I wanted to be sure, so as we came to the line I shoved my bike forward…”
-Lauren Liden
Womens Cat 4

…66 miles and 5 times up the feed zone climb put the hurt on a lot of guys including myself. First time up the climb I didn’t think I would survive, but I attribute that to not completing a proper warmup. From then on I felt much better. Decided to just sit in and conserve energy for the punchy climbs and the feed zone climbs. Stayed with the lead group coming into the last lap and decided to take a bottle. By the way, THANK YOU SO MUCH to Ben, Debbie, Alicia and Jim for putting together an awesome feed zone/motivation crew. You guys were awesome! As we were half way up the feed zone climb the moto neutralized a masters field, but our field was pretty strung out and the masters mixed back into the middle of our field, something I didn’t realize until I saw a group of 3′s moving away. I couldn’t get around the masters field until the bottom of the descent. Ended up soloing the last lap trying to catch the lead group, but wasn’t successful. Finished 39th out of 75.
-Trevor Gomes
Mens Cat 3

Results:
Men Cat 1,2
Josh Carling – 18th

Men Cat 35* 1,2,3
Andres Gil – 1st
Doug Hall – 11th

Men 45* 1,2,3
Sean McDonald – 8th

Men Cat 3
Trevor Gomes – 39th
Brandon Borth – 44th

Men Cat 4/5 45*
Robert Martinez – 20th

Men Cat 4/5 55*
Russ Haswell – 20th

Men Cat 5 35*
Ward Covert – 27th

Women Cat 4
Lauren Liden – 8th

El Dorado Hills Town Center Crit
El Dorado Hills, CA
April 22, 2012

Under the first peek of summer in 90+ degrees, the Folsom Bike/Von Housen Town Center Criterium took place on a flat course in the serene El Dorado Hills Town Center.

Racers ride counter clockwise, flying through three 90-degree corners entering and exiting Town Center Blvd, connected by a horseshoe shaped Vine & Post Streets that rose slightly. Heat definitely was a factor.

In the Mens Pro/1/2, Josh Carling held his own with four others sprinting to a 3rd place finish well ahead of the chasing peloton.

Sea Otter Classic
Laguna Seca Rec Area
April 19-22, 2012

What started out 22 years ago as a mountain bike race with 350 participants, now features multiple mountain bike diciplines (cross country, short track cross country, dual slalom and downhill). Add this to road racing, crits, time trials, and cyclo-cross, it makes for a busy four days of cycling. And then there are exhibitions, demos and the one of the largest cycling expositions in North America. The Sea Otter Classic is home to more than 300 cycling vendors, showcasing the newest lines of bikes, wheels and other cycling gear and attire.

…Neither one of us was giving up. We traded the lead back and forth. Most of the middle of the race is a blur. .. I went down the long sandpit downhill in good form, actually riding it this time, where-as in my pre-ride i had been dabbing all the way.

Somewhere out here the first rider got away from me, then another rider caught me. I tried to stay with her, but ultimately couldn’t do it. There’s a nice shady singletrack section after the water point. In here I rode with all I had, wanting to catch up, passing slower riders. When I felt icky and like I might throw up I realized a was pretty much doing all I could at that time. Every area of fire road, and where ever I could i kept pushing. I couldn’t see the women in front of me, but I didn’t think they could be that far out. On the fire road at the end with less than 2 miles to go, I thought i saw one of them. I couldn’t catch up, but I certainly tried! Ultimately I finished third, 18 seconds behind the second place. But 2 minutes behind the winner!
– Lauren Liden
Women – Cat 2 – Masters – 50-99 – 3rd Place