Weekend Wrap-Up - Tales from GGP, NW, and Sac

Excellent weekend of racing! I'll start with the highlight of most of the Nor-Cal scene which had to be yesterday's Pilarcitos race in Golden Gate Park. A fast, twisty, tacky course through the beautiful woods of GGP made for an excellent venue. The action was pretty hot all day long in all categories, as tales of riders scrapping for placings have been running rampant on the blogs and email group today. And the biggest winner had to be new cx racer Brian Astell, who schooled his companions (Rich Maile and myself) and the rest of A category with his impressive strength and skills (read my report here). I think we may be seeing a new CX star if Brian keeps at it, let's hope he does... In other racing, the Masters 35+ race saw another Reaney/Coates dual that saw the Cal Giant Strawberry rider (Steve Reaney) hold off Alan for the win, with Dan Harting winning a tight battle for 3rd place. Shelly Olds (HRS Rock Lobster) left her teammate Stella Carey and the rest of the Elite Women behind for an impressive solo ride to victory, with Lauren Costantini solid in 3rd. Last but not least, Jeremy Blalock (Ventana MTB's) continued his dominance in the Juniors category. Great job to the Pilarcitos and Roaring Mouse folks for an wonderful day of racing.

Up North in Washington and Oregon the USGP Finals were decided in two starkly-contrasted days of racing. At the Rad Cup in Lakewood, WA, the riders faced a fast but difficult circuit that includes the brutal "Knapp Time" run-up. Ryan Trebon was once again victorious, but Nor-Cal had a strong showing with Ben Jacques-Maynes in a superb 4th place and Barry Wicks in 6th. In the Elite Women's race, Katie Compton outsprinted Lyne Bessette for the win, with Nor-Cal riders Sarah Kerlin and Rachel Lloyd taking the last 2 spots in the top 10. In the Masters 35+ Race, Mark Noble took the win with Nor-Cal riders Todd Hoefer and Henry Kramer in 4th and 6th respectively. In Sunday's finale, Portland unleashed another epic day of racing (just look at those pictures), with Tim Johnson and Katerina Nash taking the final races in the series. Andy Jacques-Maynes hung tough in the mud for 6th in the Elite Men's race, and Rachel Lloyd showed her fine technical skills in the goop with a solid 8th place in the Elite Women's race. Gannon Myall and Todd Hoefer had great rides (4th/6th) in the Master's race.

And Finally, a brief word from the Sacramento gang:

The race went off great yesterday with every body we talked to happy with the course lay-out, and no injury’s or big crashes. Pretty good turn out with about 90 racers, and an absolutely PERFECT day to race, weather wise. The dirt was tacky & damp, so the traction was as good as you will ever find for a CX course. Results will be e-mailed to John & Linda tonight so everyone can have their series points up-dated.
Thanks again to everyone who helped and everyone who showed up to race.

Duane & Connie Strawser / Tour of Nevada City Bicycle Shop