Tour de Donuts
UCSD Cycling's annual Tour de Donuts was held on Sunday, May 31, 2009. Cyclists of all shapes and sizes braved the dreary weather to test their intestinal fortitude. The tour visited four donut shops across the City of San Diego and ended in an uphill time trial up Hillside drive in La Jolla with time deducted for each donut consumed. In the end, UCSD Cycling Senior Alex Jarman secured the title "Gluttonous Champion" by ingesting 18 donuts and making it up the rain-slickened, precipitous final climb.
2009 Tour de Donuts Champion Alex Jarman
UC Davis RR & Crit
Tammy Wildgoose and Alex Jarman qualify for Collegiate
Nationals
The Western Collegiate Conference Championships were held this past weekend in Davis, CA. Saturday’s road race was held on a 21 mile loop over rolling hills and included 5 miles per lap of dirt/gravel sections. The dirt sections offered a difficult element to every lap. Not only were the off-road sections wearing on the body, but the constant battle to keep the bike upright also wore down riders. Not unlike the one day classic road races of Europe, the Conference Championships offered a strenuous day on the bike that saw many riders start and only a few finish.
In the Women’s A race, Tammy Wildgoose struggled the first time through the dirt sections and lost contact with the main field. Fortunately, battling on and working with a UCSB rider, Tammy was able to rejoin the main field on the second lap. Subsequent gravel sections saw Tammy becoming more and more comfortable on the dirt. On the final lap of 3, Tammy sprinted for 5th place overall in the race.
In the Men’s A race, Alex Jarman, Rob Carr, and Jake Jolly took to the line. The quick pace from the gun was redoubled upon entering the first of 8 dirt sections to be traversed. Casualties were quick and many, from both crashes and flat tires. The field was greatly diminished after the first 21 mile lap and two dirt sections. Jake suffered some bad luck and flatted on the first dirt section, all but assuming his day done just 15 miles into the race. Jake began the long chase back up the main field and fortunately was able to work with teammate Rob and bring the gap down to around 20 seconds, while passing through the feedzone. Rob did solid work to bring down the gap and just prior to hitting the dirt sections on lap two, Jake was able to bridge the gap and make contact with the stragglers of the main field. Working in a chase group, Jake would complete the final two laps. Alex hung tough in the lead group and did his best to follow the barrage of attacks by a very strong UC Davis squad. Finishing in the lead group Alex placed 10th. Jake crossed the line in the first chase group, finishing 13th. After 84 miles and 20 plus miles of dirt sections, only 20 of the 40 plus riders that started had finished; undoubtedly, it was one of the most difficult road races of the season for the WCCC.
On Sunday the Conference Championship Criterium was held in downtown Davis, on an L-shaped course, with fast wide turns. Tammy Wildgoose duked it out among the women’s As and sprinted to a podium result, 3rd place. In the men’s A race, a break formed early in the race driven by the UC Davis squad. Rob Carr and Jake Jolly played a role in many of the day’s moves and did their best to bring back the 5 man lead break. The furious last laps saw Jake and Alex taking up good positioning at the front of the field; Jake leading out the field into the final few turns. Alex jumped on the first rider to attack going into the final left hander leading into a long finishing straight. Alex finished third in the field sprint, 8th overall, followed by Jake who finished 8th in the field sprint (for 13th overall) and Rob Carr in 20th. The Men’s A team finished on a strong note. While the team was unable to put a man on the podium, the team initiated many of the most ferocious moves of the day, stayed very active, and was clearly one of the strongest teams."
Stanford Road Race and Criterium
The Stanford Race weekend, held this past weekend, was two days of fast racing in unexpectedly warm weather. The Road Race, held on Saturday in Paicines (just South of Gilroy) was a difficult out and back course through rolling hills over Panoche Pass. The D and C riders endured the miles and Lincoln Lo scored a solid result. In the Woman’s A race, Tammy Wildgoose, managed to keep contact with the main field and did well in the field sprint finale. Unfortunately, she was relegated from 3rd to 7th because of a yellow line violation during the sprint, a tough break when undoubtedly she was forced over the line by other riders. The Men’s A race saw the largest UCSD A team in some years. Five UCSD riders took to the line in a field of about 35 collegiate riders for the grueling 67 mile out and back race. The pace was quickly notched up upon arriving at the first climb of the day, in the aftermath, Rob Carr, Jake Jolly, and Trevor Haag found themselves in an 8 man chase group following the lead group of 13 riders. Alex Jarman made the selection of the day and rode strong to get himself into the lead group. It was a tough day in the saddle and the heat did its damage, splintering both the lead group and the chase group of riders on the return route to the finish. At the end of a long day, Alex Jarman took 10th in the lead group, followed by Trevor Haag in 14th, Jake Jolly in 17th, and James Stout. The strenuous road race was to be followed on Sunday by a fast crit on the campus of Stanford.
Alex Jarman making a move off the front of the Men''s A field
The Campus Criterium was an exciting day of racing that brought good spectator attendance and racing action. In the Men’s C race, Greg Goodell and Oscar Carranza led the charge and were involved in all the moves of the day. Greg Goodell went on a valiant final lap attack but ran out of gas coming into the final meters. In the Woman’s A race Tammy Wildgoose gave a strong showing and placed 4th in the field sprint finale.
Tammy leading the Women's A race around the treacherous 120 degree third corner
The Men’s A race was attacking and vicious from the get go, stringing out the field quickly and giving little time to get accustomed to the course. Alex Jarman and Rob Carr were involved in solid moves off the front, but as the race was playing out it became apparent that nothing was going to get away from the field, the race was bound to end in a field sprint. In the eventual field sprint, Alex Jarman and Trevor Haag both nabbed top ten results followed by Jake Jolly and Rob Carr. With the Stanford race weekend put away in the book the Conference Championships will be held next weekend in Davis to wrap up the Western Collegiate Cycling Conference calendar.
University of Nevada, Reno Weekend
This past weekend saw a small group (4 UCSD riders) travel a great distance to compete in a Western Collegiate Cycling Conference weekend. The Reno race weekend had two days of difficult racing in store, made all the more challenging by the elevation of Reno (~4,500ft). The Red Rock Road Race was held Saturday on a mountainous course just outside of downtown Reno. The out and back course gave no time for rest and saw the peloton climbing immediately. Good weather conditions were a small consolation on a very difficult day in the saddle.
The top result of the day was Greg Goodell's 3rd place finish in the Men’s C race. Greg battled it out and fought through a strained back to roll across the line with his best result of the year.
Jake and Alex were all bundled up for the criterium
In the Men’s A race, UCSD had three riders take to the line: Alex Jarman, Rob Carr, and Jake Jolly. The intensity of the race was there from the onset and Jake was an early casualty. Thin air, steep slopes, and early attacks from both Davis and Stanford teams quickly put many racers in the pain box. Alex and Rob were riding well and covering moves, being very active. Rob reached his limit after covering some serious moves and Alex suffered a race ending mechanical, his front derailleur fell off! All in all it was not a fantastic day for the Men’s A team, but Sunday’s crit looked to be an opportunity for redemption.
Rob and Jake work together during the fast, strung-out crit
Sunday’s Reno Crit brought harsh winds and frigid temperatures on a fast and technical course with a climb to the finish. Greg was unable to take to the line in the Men’s C race because of his strained back, but is recovering well and should be back in action soon. In the Men’s A race, a furious event was at hand. From the gun, Rob attacked and went off the front with a Berkeley rider for the first few laps. It was apparent early on in the race that moves off the front were destined to fail because of the high winds and fast descent on the back side of the course which made reeling in moves all the more easy. The race developed into a race of attrition, the wind literally blowing riders off the back of the peloton and seriously reducing the numbers in the field. But the UCSD team battled throughout, Alex, after borrowing a derailleur from the Race Promoter had constant chain issues throughout the race, dropping his chain twice (and one water bottle), but he hung in nonetheless. Jake and Rob had no such mechanical difficulty and only had to deal with the wind and staying with moves off the front. In the end, after 60 long and difficult minutes of racing, the peloton ended in more or less a field sprint, although the field had been dramatically diminished over the course of the race. In the sprint Alex took 7th, followed by Rob and Jake in 9th and 10th respectively. Three of the top ten spots went to UCSD, not a bad result after a long and strenuous crit. While the team would have liked to been able to place a rider on the podium, the overall team result was a good one, and the team rode well together.
Strong UCSB Weekend
The Santa Barbara race weekend saw warm temperatures, clear skies, and a large group of the UCSD Cycling team in full force. On Saturday, UCSB hosted the Island View Classic Criterium, a fast .65 mile course near Isla Vista. The Tritons, for the first time this year had representation in all the collegiate categories and there was solid racing to be seen throughout the day.
In the Men’s D category, the Tritons fielded a strong squad, including George Gutierrez, who placed 8th in the field sprint finale, and Matt Li, who placed 15th, in a large field of 40+ riders. The Men’s C race saw the Tritons being very aggressive and in all the moves of the day. Led by Tyler Kraus, Oscar Carranza, and Greg Goodell, the C’s team was clearly the strongest team in the field (nabbing a multiple field primes), unfortunately, Oscar and Tyler got stuck behind a crash nearing the final laps, which made getting back to the front all but impossible.
Oscar Carranza attacked and won a prime | Photo: Ryon Graf
The Men’s B crit was another strong performance from Trevor Haag, who is quickly finding his form and showing he is one of the strongest B riders in the field. On Saturday, Trevor was in a three man breakaway for the better part of the race. They were caught by the field on the final lap, but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.
Trevor Haag bridging up to the break | Photo: Ryon Graf
In the Collegiate A races, Tammy Wildgoose was riding well in the women’s race, but suffered some bad luck when she flatted mid-race, and had to abandon. Jake Jolly was active in the Men’s A race, grabbing an early field prime by going solo off the front. In the final field sprint, Jake rolled across the line in a respectable 13th place in the largest A’s field of the year, 40+ riders.
Jake Jolly facing off with the big guns in the Men's A race
On Sunday, UCSB hosted the Sisquoc Road Race, an 11 mile loop through
rolling hills near Santa Maria. The conditions for the race could not
have been better, and the Team’s results were strong. Tammy Wildgoose got
her revenge from flatting out on Saturday and took 2nd in the Woman’s A
race, while Jake Jolly finished 5th in the field sprint, for 11th overall
in the Men’s A race. Trevor Haag battled it out among the B field for a
solid 4th place result. The D’s and C’s races were marred by crashes on
some of the more technical parts of the course, fortunately, none of the
team got the worst of it. However, UCSD riders got stuck behind crashes
which in turn made placing high on the results all the more difficult.
The Santa Barbara Race weekend saw the Tritons well represented in all the
collegiate categories. The team was aggressive and ready to race, taking
part in breakaways and constantly going for race primes! The UCSD Cycling
team had arguably the strongest all around team weekend of the year and
will look to build upon this momentum in the second half of the season.
CPSLO Circuit Race: Tammy wins!
Tammy Wildgoose unleashed her sprint at just the right moment.
On Saturday, Tammy won in the Women's A field on the tricky surface of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo circuit race. Working in a break and then taking the sprint finish with an unrelenting maximum effort, her win is UCSD Cycling's first in 2009.
The men's A race was a grueler, flying around the dusty, cut-up pavement at high speed. For the sprint finish, an unwitting RV driver became stranded just before the racers came through, blocking the road entirely! As racers practiced their cyclocross skills off-road, Jake managed 16th place. The men's B racers didn't charge the corners with the same bravado as the As and a breakaway of 5 lasted until the finish. Trevor took 3rd in the field sprint for 8th overall. Greg came to the line strong in the men's D race but was DQed after he crossed the centerline to avoid a terrific crash.
Sunday's crit challenged bike handling over a steep, narrow course that one racer described as "chutes and ladders". As the fields became strung out and broke apart, Tammy stayed in the women's A race for a 4th place finish. As riders hammered single file up the short and steep climb, Trevor and Jake both ended up getting seperated from the leaders of their races and finished 9th and 13th, respectively. Greg managed to avoid the hay bales in the men's D race and finished unscathed.
Boulevard '09: One to remember
UCSD's annual road race held just outside Boulevard, California yesterday is one few will soon forget. Unpredictable weather and great feats of endurance by the riders despite it were unprecedented in the race's history.
The day began with Collegiate Men's B enduring 35 degree weather with light to moderate rain. Soon thereafter, Juniors, Collegiate Men C & D, Women Collegiate C, B, 3/4 & 35+ all tried their legs on the treacherously wet, frigid course. During the Women 1/2/3, Collegiate A and Men's 4 & 5 races, the sun peeked through the clouds amid the relentless rainfall to seemingly taunt the dripping racers.
As the previous races completed their final laps, temperatures plummeted and snow began to fall on racers as they climbed up Old Highway 80 to the finish. The Pro/1/2 field started in this intensifying snow followed soon by Men's 3, Masters 35+ & 45+, and Collegiate A. The harsh weather took a measurable toll on the racers; after the first lap as much as half of these fields had pulled out due to hypothermia.
Racers endured wet, cold weather while climbing the final 1K to the finish
UCSD's Robert Carr and Alex Jarman earned 4th and 5th place, respectively, in the Collegiate Men's A race. In a race where maximal exercise intensity was necessary just to stave off hypothermia, their completion of over three hours of racing while braving the worst of these conditions is impressive in its own right. Greg Goodell, Oscar Carranza, Brian White, Matt Li and Daniel Quan all managed strong showings in the Men's D race, while George Gutierrez suffered the misfortune of a flat tire.
As shivering racers huddled around the roaring fireplace at the Live Oak Springs Resort, spirits livened and the shared experience of their hardship made Boulevard 2009 simply unforgettable.
