CRRC announces the 89er State Championship Road Race and Crit

CRRC is putting on the 89er Race Weekend June 7 and 8. Saturday starts with the Oklahoma State Championship Road Race at Lake Draper, followed Sunday by the 89er Criterium held in downtown Norman.

Hell's Kitchen, 3/16/08 race report - by Tony Watts

The Masters 50+ and Women P-1-2-3 fields were combined for a total field of about 40 riders. At the start line, the women all crowded in front, game faces on, scowling at each other like a buncha ice queens. We AARP guys were in the back shaking hands, joking around & catching up on last season, trading grandkids pictures, etc.

The start (led by the P123's) was mellow - about 20mph, and they blocked the road so nobody could easily pass; 'tactical racing' I guess. At about mile five, Steve Vasiloff had enough and moved around and off the front, igniting fear from the men who immediately muscled the gals out of the way and got onto Steve's wheel. Tony's job was to block this grey army. Didn't work. After the hairpin turn heading for the climb, three of the age 50+ strongmen moved to the front in a paceline to try to break up the group. Tony sat in 4th place to make sure they didn't slither off the front. Steve, in 5th or 6th position, tried a couple times to soft-pedal and split the group so we could get away, but the pack was having none of it.

At the Hell’s Kitchen climb, the three leaders shattered the field. I don't think they slowed on the climb at all! The rest of us were caught by the leading group of cat 5's on the steepest part. The 5's then found out how well they could climb (or not). Because of this chaos, Steve and I couldn't tell which of the gasping climbers was in our race or were 5s or ?? - but we got together at the top and hammered trying to regain contact. Didn't happen. Steve got 12th, Tony 13th.

At the finish, I met Duke Kern, who placed 2nd. He said that at the top of the climb, there were just three together and they waited for two others to join. Then the five of them did the second lap together.

CRRC wins at Salt Creek, 3/8/08 -- report by Austin Roberts

CRRC had Brian Eads and myself in the Cat 4's at Salt Creek. It was a cold day with temperatures in the low 40's and a strong wind. The race started out pretty easy with most everybody still fat and sleepy from hibernation this winter. The pace gradually picked up around lap 2. About 25 minutes in I started looking for someone to break off with. First attempt was with a Wheelman, but he was still frosty from standing in front of the fridge so we ended up back in the pack. I sat in for another 5 minutes waiting for someone to make a move. Finally a Wheelman and a guy in a blue jersey got off the front, so I jumped on their wheels and asked them if they wanted to work together in a break; they agreed. Soon the Wheelman fell off and the blue jersey guy and I took turns pulling and put almost a minute on the pack. In the last lap the we really started putting the hurt on each other. On the last downhill I took off and tried to dump the guy but he was right there with me. Then came the last hill to the finish -- it was agonizing. The blue guy started his sprint too early at the bottom of the hill. I took a deep breath, chose my gear, grabbed the drops and gave it hell and I got the win.

Walburg Classic Road Race, 2/23/08 – report by Jay Coleman

This saturday I went down to Walburg, Texas, for the Walburg Classic. The course consisted of 22 mile circuit with an elevation profile somewhere between the BLN Tues/Thursday rides. Registration took no time at all and they were very organized and friendly. The start of the race was a slow neutral roll out that was neither slow nor neutral. Right at the very beginning one person took control of the pace and by mile 7 we had dropped half the of our 50 person group. The course’s turns drastically slowed the pace down because most of them either were steep uphill turns, similar to the switchbacks on Big Rock Road, or turned onto extremely narrow connecting sections with lots of gravel. Lots of surges occurred on the downhill sections of the course, but no one broke the pack. With about 5 miles to go the pack split into two groups of ten on a winding uphill section and stayed split for the rest of the race. Our front group stayed together at a moderate pace in two lines and at the bottom of the finishing hill (uphill finish) the sprint took off. I placed fourth. The best part of the race was by far the long straight or winding sections that were simply gorgeous.

CRRC Training Camp – report by Chad Hodges

Members from the Canadian River Racing Club (CRRC) recently completed a three day training camp (Feb 15-17) in Talihina, OK. Coach Mark TeRuki, of TeRuki Training, organized this year’s camp and led the racers through some of the best and toughest terrain Oklahoma has to offer.

On Friday, the racers departed from Norman at 9:30 in the morning and arrived at the Kiamichi Inn in Talihina around 12:30. After quickly checking in, everyone got suited up and we headed out on the nice 3.5 hour route Mark had planned. All things were going well until around the 35 mile mark, when Bryce Dorrough and another racer rubbed wheels causing Bryce to lose control and slam into the ground, just missing a road sign. Bryce separated his shoulder and had to ride the rest of the way to the hotel in the wagon. Once back at the Inn, we cleaned up and headed to the Kiamichi Kitchen for some good home cooking. I didn’t try it, but Phil Trotter drives all the way down there just for the fried catfish dinner. After dinner we all met and Mark led us in some core and stretching routines followed up by some individual goal setting and discussions of the upcoming race season.

The next morning, we were greeted with pouring rain. Everyone kept their fingers crossed and hoped for the best but there was no such luck. The weather persuaded several riders to pack their bags and end their weekend early. At 10:00, the remaining racers decided to go out and endure the weather to get some miles in. As the ride progressed the elements worsened and the rain continued to fall. Although somewhat discouraging, we pressed on through the rain and fog; it wasn’t until near the summit to the Talimena Scenic Drive that we began to question our safety. Lightning strikes increased the higher we climbed and the racers’ safety became a question of concern, so Mark asked everyone to turn back to avoid any further risk. We headed back, but due to the rain and the slick road we weren’t able to enjoy what would have been a screaming fast downhill home. Once back at the Inn we discussed the upcoming season, and watched some terrific cycling videos that Mark had brought with him. That evening we all made the trip to Pete’s Place in Krebs, OK and enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner.

Our final day was filled with one challenging climb after another, and just when you thought you were through climbing, you climbed some more. The weather was perfect climbing weather, where you were never too hot or too cold. The 60 mile route included some of the Talimena Drive and some great views. Unfortunately, this ended our weekend of nothing but cycling.

Coach TeRuki organized a wonderful weekend. The routes were great and the evening discussions were a great way to build team unity and allow everyone to get to know one another a little better. I’m already looking forward to next year’s camp.

CRRC + Ridley = A Winning Combination

Look for CRRC to be rolling on hot new frames from Ridley this season. Thanks to a frame deal worked out with the Belgian maker, many Team CRRC members will be racing new bikes with custom-painted team graphics. These bikes not only look great, but ride great, too. Models ridden by CRRC include the Damocles, Excalibur and Cheetah (TT). You should expect to see these sleek machines at the front of the pack and, hopefully, on the podium!

CRRC welcomes new sponsors for 2008

The Canadian River Racing Club welcomes Breeden Painting, GU Energy Gel, Maxxis Tires, Road ID, Sigma Sports, and Spectrum Paint as new sponsors for the 2008 season. These new sponsors, in addition to our current, long-time sponsors, will help make 2008 a breakout year for CRRC. Thank you very much!

Copperas Cove Classic (1/19/08) race report - by Chad Hodges

CRRC had three members represented in the Cat 4/5 race at Copperas Cove, TX. Josh Jewell, Jay Coleman and Chad Hodges all made the short five hour drive down to race with the Texas boys. When we arrived in Copperas Cove we were greeted with sunshine and what looked to be a beautiful day...and then we opened the car door and were hit with a bone chilling north wind.

The race started right on time and, after the neutral roll out, the pace picked up and the early flyers started. It was everyone's goal to try and sit in, finish with the pack and see what developed throughout the race. Our pre-race goal didn't last too long, however, as shortly into the race we found ourselves up front trying to mix things up a bit. We were joined by Brady Schmiedeberg of Fossil One who also was hoping to make things interesting. We attacked at least a half a dozen times, but unfortunately nothing was able to stick, and within a few minutes we were right back in the pack. It was great experience, though, and it made the CRRC presence felt.

At about 25 miles in, the road turns and narrows into a little one-way road. Jay attempted to gain some ground at this point, but unfortunately found the biggest pothole Texas has to offer. All you could hear was a loud crack as carbon littered the narrow road! Jay's secret weapon, a pair of Zipp 404's, were totally destroyed and CRRC was down to two. Josh and I continued to hold our place up towards the front of the pack for nearly the remainder of the race and attempted several more attacks that the field fought off.

With about 4 miles left in the race, the pivotal event took place. About half way up the final climb of the day, a rider went down, taking one of his teammates with him and almost taking me out, also. This little commotion allowed Stephen Riedl of the Plano Athletic Cycling Club to break away from the pack and he later soloed in for the finish. Going in to the last turn, I knew the sprint was coming up and I wasn't sure how much I had left. I was able to hang on and pull off a 10th place finish. Josh finished 35th and I think Jay was able to make friends with a nice farmer type fellow who drove him the rest of the way in.

Overall, this was a great race. TBi put on a wonderful race and it will be on my race calendar again next year. It was great to have some CRRC members out this early and willing to make the long drive. Now back to training and counting down the days until the next race.

USAC Referees Clinic - by Steve Slawson

Steve Slawson, Steve Vasiloff, David Lynch, Randy Soto, and our associate member Rich Hamerla recently attended a USAC Referees course. These guys are now one of "them" -- the men in blue, the dreaded referees! The clinic was conducted by Fred Karcher and Jack McNeal, both Category B USAC referees. The seminar certified our guys to be Category C officials. This is the first step to becoming full international UCI-certified Category A judges. As they gain experience and further their education in the rule books of the USAC and UCI, the oppurtunity exists for some great futures for the guys. This will be great for the club and new Cat 5 riders. There are a lot of things to be learned by our new and old riders, as the rule book is quite extensive in rules and procedures for race conduct. This will prove a valuable resource for all. There is a lot of race experience between these guys, and you can usually count on at least one of them at the rides, so don't feel shy about asking questions! Any of them would be happy to share what they know. Steve Slawson posted the usac rule book in the files section of the CRRC Yahoo group site so everyone can check out any questions they may have. Once again, thanks to these guys for taking their time to give back to CRRC and US Cycling as a whole.