Omnium results are here.
Congrats to the SD Cyclo-Vets club for promoting a top-notch race that seemed to go off without any problems. Everything was right on time, and there were apparently no results hassles.
Which brings me to Sea Otter...
You'll notice the conspicuous absence of Lindsay's name from the Masters 40+ 1,2,3 results despite his strong presence in the race and in the dominant break of the day. In reality Lindsay finished 3rd, after a brutal tag-team barrage by C-Walk and J-Boyer. When Lindsay noticed the error in the results, he inquired with the officials and they responded that they thought he was registered in the 50+ race! The results stand.
Every year something like that happens at Sea Otter, and a lot of people have chosen not to race there anymore because of it. I'm not sure boycotting it is the best approach, unless you have a better alternative, but you have to go there understanding that it might take a few hours to get results, and then they may or may not be correct. In the wise words of Genghis Hahn, you race your bike for your own internal satisfaction and for the relationships with your teammates and your competition, not for some token prize and results listing.
...unless you are a pro. Like Daniel Ramsey. Surely everyone knows by now that Daniel won the NRC race on Laguna Seca after two impressive breaks, the final one solo.Daniel has always done well on Laguna Seca. It's as if that course and his style of racing are a perfect match. An NRC win is a big deal for him and his team.
Check out a bunch of great pictures and video, including an interview with Daniel, on the excellent SteepHill site.
Congratulations Daniel!!!
More good local circuit-race results that I didn't mention earlier were Doyle, Dano, and Pops getting 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the 40+ 4's. Nice! And Eric Forte continued his strong performances with a 3rd in the 3's race. Echelon ladies Susie Willett and Kimberly Turner got 3rd and 7th in the competitive Women 4's race.
One guy who normally does well at Sea Otter, but this year had some difficulty, is Matt Benko (owner of SB's best Mexican-style BBQ restaurant The Santa Barbara Chicken Ranch). Matt's road race was in cold, windy, and rainy weather and he was not dresed for those conditions. To put it bluntly, he suffered. But anyone who knows Matt knows that he is a man, and has a great attitude about such things. With his permission, here is his post-race account of that day...
I felt it was important for me to clear up a few misconceptions about my "episode" during the Sea Otter Road Race. It is true that I was dropped from the lead group at the beginning of the final lap. It is also true that I was found 2 miles from the finish line laying down on the road... relaxing. This is where the story gets blown out of proportion. When the Paramedics happened upon me they decided to administer the R.A.T. or Roadside Aptitude Test. This test is notoriously biased against over 40 male caucasions. The test consisted of three questions. The first question was "What day is it?" Now there are many possible answers to this question and all could be correct. I could have said "This is the first day of the rest of my life" or I could have said " This is the last day I will ever race in the rain without a jacket" How could I have known that the answer they were looking for was...Saturday.
The second question was even more confusing. "Where are you?" Now I felt like saying "I'm 2 miles from the finish line s#@% head so give me a ride to the top of the hill!" But I managed to see through their charade and I correctly answered " I'm on Barloy Canyon Road." At this point my R.A.T. score was 50% and I was about to beat them at their own game so they whipped out the toughest question of all..."Who is the President?" They never told me which country they were thinking of and worse yet, they did not inform me that there was a time limit. Just as I was about to answer they told me that I had failed the R.A.T. test and I was going to be transported to a hospital in Salinas. This immediately made me realize the severity of my situation. The words "Hospital" and "Salinas" just don't belong together. It's an oxymoron.. like "Jumbo Shrimp" or "Head Butt". Fortunately I was able to convince my captors that they should take me to the first aid station...and that's where Dale found me. Wrapped in shiny blanket with a heater blowing up my ass and a thermometer in my mouth...or was it a heater in my mouth and a...........anyways I made it back to camp and everything returned to normal once Gabe made me a turkey sandwich.
We all had a great time and as you've already heard many Chicken Ranchers posted great results. I'm looking forward to Conquer The Canyons this weekend and Firestone next weekend. If any of you ever find yourselves in a similar situation in the future and some Parmedic wants to give you the R.A.T. test just stay calm and remember....THERE'S A TIME LIMIT!
Glad you're alright Matt!! Next time just ask Ron Takeda to go buy another rain jacket for himself, because every time he does that, it doesn't rain!
7 comments:
Sea Otter was quite an adventure--you missed an epic one. I'm still trying to purge the RR from my memory entirely, though. On to Conquer the Canyons....
Hmmm...let's see...you pounded in the road race, and then you flailed in the circuit race. Sounds like you were employing the old Labor Power "pound/flail" technique ;-)
Good job...that road race result is HUGE!
Didn't Blount get barraged by Chris Wire of the hekka-strong Norcal masters team of SAFEWAY/G.A. Communications while Walker was wandering around about 4 minutes ahead of them all?
Kimberly- Yeah, Sea Otter always has a few epic adventures, and I've had my share there. It seems to rain a lot too, and I no longer like racing in the rain. Not because of the cold and discomfort, but because I don't trust myself to be sensible. And I have a hunk of titanium in my shoulder to remind me that it is a valid worry!
Anonymous- Yes, Chris Wire rode a smart race as I'm sure all the rest of the bagboys did too. According to Lindsay, the remainder of the break was trying to chase C-Walk--but not really making any progress--and then Boyer attacked with Wire attached. Certainly a good move there. Stetina took a huge pull to get Lindsay close, and then Lindsay bridged the rest of the way. Now I think (as does Lindsay in retrospect) that he should have tried to go right on by, but instead he waited for the sprint and was able to get Boyer, but not Chris (Wire) which doesn't surprise me because Wire certainly has a good kick at the end. I wasn't disparaging the bagboys at all; in fact I've said multiple times on this blog that they are the class of the NorCal field. C-Walk however, is on another level. Suggest to the bagboys to go race the Masters at Gila, which is where the hardcore showdown will occur!
I didn't think you were trying to knock SAFEWAY, I just thought you typed "Walker" when you meant "Wire" because I had heard Walker was long gone even before the last lap! I know how strong Walker, Blount, and even Stetina are! ..........and you too. ;-)
Well, CW countered his own move when he got caught with JBoyer takin the ride, nobody in the small group of 8 choose to follow, knowing what danger lerked on CW's wheel, he has done it for years, likes ridin alone and can. LBlout powered the chase, with unstoppable work by CWire and WStetina. I helped for a couple of laps till my legs advised better if I want to stand a chance of seeing the line with these guys. JB kept his distance just at the back, allowing the chase to do what it could. The ever present visual was his inevitable move with fresh legs. CW and LB looked the strongest and WS was hanging tough, he really had some great form. Second to last time through the feed, the break sputtered and JB attacked, CW was glued to his wheel and they rocketed away. LB looked around as WS gamed me a bit and they took off up the road to link up with LB. WS stayed with LB for most of the last lap as I bummed some food to keep from going cross eyed. oh yah, it is dinner time about now.
No sense DQing LB for his great ride, I remember getting 4th there one year and they gave the place to this other guy. Ran into him the next week at Wente and asked where he finished, 4th he said,..."what, no way, I won that group sprint." He said ya, they always get it messed up. Glad I won that day!
Thanks Hank! Sounds like an epic battle. Good luck at Wente.
Post a Comment