CRRC 89er News and Results
2008 89er State Championship Road Race Results2008 89er Criterium Results
89er photos by Chris Porter
Thanks to Dirk and Brittany at Sports Base Online for all their help!
A quick view of Tulsa Tough from a lowly V - by Rob Carr
CRRC represented itself well. Friday night saw Evan crash on the last lap, but he fortunately hit the grass and only his derailleur hanger took on any damage. From what Kyle said, it later had to be put down because, being aluminum, it wouldn't so much bend back to straight and snapped. Fortunately they got a new hanger in and Evan was back to racing. There was some other carnage on Friday and some local guys hit the deck, but I don't think anyone we know has more than road rash and some bruises to speak of. He finished the race, though, and was set for Saturday and Sunday.In the slow group on Saturday (V's), I got 6th after getting pipped at the line by a guy with a stronger sprint. The course was fun and fast, and the weather was moving in so it went from a short race to a very short race. I think we only ended up racing about 20 or 25 minutes as the lightning got close. Michelle Carr (my lovely, and fast, wife), Courtney Green, Austin and Chad were all set up under the tents on trainers when it absolutely poured on downtown Tulsa. I'm talking about inches of water in the gutters and an inch in the middle of the road. At one point, there was a bicycle wheel floating along the gutter into the middle of the road. When the women's 3/4 race went off the course was in much better shape. The Tough folks did a great job of cleaning the courses after the storms. Michelle rode great for her first ever crit and came in a solid 12th. That was in the money for the field. Chad came in 4th in the 4's with our own
David (Austin) Roberts in at 12th for a solid race. The 3 race was as fast as anticipated and Evan rode in with the group after a hard day.
Sunday was set up to be a day of racing and watching people race. In the V's, I dropped a chain and rode without a big ring for most of the again shortened 20 minute sprint. (Austin, as it turned out, my front derailleur clamp was loose and the derailleur had shifted around. It wasn't the limit screws after all....heh). I worked back up and
finished 11th. Michelle was at it again after a few laps on the course settled her nerves about both the climb and the descent. By the end of the women's 3/4 race the field was spread pretty much around the whole length of the course. And, more weather was on its way. We were glad we had late check out from the hotel once we heard them announce that they would postpone the 4's race indefinitely. The rain took a junior girl out at the bottom of the descent and the ladies had their race shortened just a bit, but Michelle rode her butt off and took 11th in her second crit ever, again in the money. Both days she was in CRRC colors!
Then, all hell broke loose for a couple of hours. From our hotel room we watched buckets of rain fall and 70 mph winds blow through Tulsa, this time covering the city. A downed power line on the course meant a slight alteration in the pro women's race, and the 4's raced something like 6 laps, from what I heard. Austin took 3rd and can let
us know more about when they went off and just how short that race was. The 3's were cancelled so the schedule could be met and the rest of the day was great weather wise. And if you've never seen a domestic powerhouse absolutely own a race, it's a site for sure. Toyota United was making money at the rate of around $15,000 per hour at one point. They dominated all three races and the pros racing on
Sunday were a sight to be seen.
All in all it was a lot of fun, especially since mine and Mic's races went on. It is really a great weekend of hard racing.
Tour of Arkansas -- report by Evan Bybee
Here's how the 3's races went down....at least for me.........The first stage started with good weather conditions, sunny with minimal wind atop Mt. Magazine. The course wound around the western Arkansas countryside starting with a very long descent, 10 miles to the bottom of Mt. Magazine.......Then from there the riders headed out and about onto a fairly flat stage with only a few short climbs here and there before heading back to the 10 mile long, monsterous Mt. Magazine......The race was negated mostly by the Tyson Team from Fayetteville and the Accelerade Team, both of these teams managed to put a rider into breakaways all day long first with a seven man break that lasted about ten miles or so...........then a three man breakaway that seemed would stick but was brought back on the infamous Mt. Magazine......Once on the mountain "Il Ding Dang" Evan Bybee charged up the climb with ten miles to go causing the group to splinter......He looked strong if only he knew how long the climb actually was and inevitably was passed by a group of about ten that ended up catching the group and went on to stage glory..........He also took a wrong turn here and there....and would end up with a 13th place finish....
Th next stage was the Individual Time Trial, which was dominated by wind and heat. This Time Trial would end up being one of the longest Time Trials of the year for the Cat 3 riders, a 22 mile mile course that had a few rolling hills......Evan would go on to a 7th place finish...........
This years Celebrity Classic was a Criterium dominated by speed......With the Pro. 1 and 2's doing minute and a half laps and the Cat 3's doing minute and forty laps.........The Cat 3's criterium was dominated by attacks this year.........The first attack came in the form of a solo attack by Evan Bybee which lasted a good 20
minutes......Soon after he was caught by the main group, and within minutes he attacked once more to cause a break in the field.....this ended up being the winning break as seven riders went on to go up the road and stay clear of the main group......Then with two laps to go Evan Bybee attacked a third time.....it seemed it would stick with only two riders able to catch him as he came into traffic while
lapping the field.......It came down to a sprint finish with Evan coming in third and Phillip Snodgrass in second and young Alex Battles-Wood in first..........
So the final GC looked like this:
1. Adrian Balsara Tyson Racing
2. Alex Battles-Wood Team PowerTrain
3. Chris Weisse Accelerade Racing
4. Evan Bybee Canadian River Racing Club
5. ???