Team Results & News – FEB 2013

February 26, 2013 | Filed under: 2013 Season,Race Reports,Racing | Posted by: Anthony Morrow

Everett leading the charge at Rosena

Ruben Meza takes 2nd at Rosena Ranch Circuit Race – 23 FEB 2013

Ruben Meza takes 2nd at Rosena Ranch Circuit Race – 23 FEB 2013

Masters 35+

Rosena Ranch Circuit Race #1 – Feb. 23, 2013

Ruben Meza takes 2nd! The team had a great race with contributions by Bennett, Brown, Meza, Morrow, Onkels, and Ramirez. The stacked field included current and former national and state champions and teams from Mexico. More than a flat crit, Rosena has some elevation to overcome. It was also windy out, which made it difficult for everyone. The team did well to race aggressively and cover moves throughout the race. No breaks stuck and it was a field sprint to the line, but unlike a flat crit, it was harder for any team to take charge. Ruben found the right path and had the right legs and came across the line 3rd – upgraded to a 2nd place finish after the first rider across was disqualified for a rules violation.

Masters 55+

Coming soon…

Masters 45+

Coming soon…

Cat 3s

The team has been active this February mixing and matching roles to find the best combinations of all our new team members. Results have been consistent during this time.

Paul Chia – 12^th Roger Milikan Crit
Sean Ekins – 9^th UCLA Road Race
Sean Ekins - 9^th Rosena Ranch Circuit
Ernie Sanchez - 13^th Rosena Ranch Circuit

At the beginning of March we saw a breakout performance by 2 of our members with strong support from the team in both efforts:

Sal M. joined the 35+ team in Costa Mesa and rode aggressively to 5th place. He’s only on loan 35+ team!!

In a fast and technical 1 hr race at the Merco two day classic, Sean Ekins rode a strong, smart race, riding the front and taking 4th place. But he wasn’t satisfied and followed it up with a 3rd place finish in the next days 72 mile RR. Well done Sean!!

Cat 4s & 5s

The 4s and 5s had a busy month racing in February. The first race was the fast and tight course of Red Trolley in the 4s. The team was unable to gain any momentum in this race and five out of the original eight that entered the race survived with a pack finish. Roger Millikan and the UCLA Road Race were two other races that a few of the Cat 4s tackled but again survived with pack finishes.

Several members of the Cat 4 and 5 squads came out in force to Rosena Ranch to do several races. Travis Roberson tackled the 5 race by himself and finished 14th. Everett finished 3rd, Eric Wright finished 23rd, and the rest of the team finished with the pack for the 30+ 4/5 race which had a full field of 75. The rest of the 4s tackled the Cat 4 race in the afternoon which had a 90 racers. Due to crash at the last lap, several of 4s were split off from the main field. The 4s finished with David O’Brien in 19th, Michael Cleveland in 27th, Rich Mendez 31st, followed by Charles Sutphin and Eric Jones.

Everett leading the charge at Rosena

The team came back to windy Ontario the next day to do more racing. The extremely windy conditions caused for very difficult and hazardous racing. This proved true when the full field Cat 4 race had two crashes with less than 5 laps to go, both happening next to several members of the team. Luckily, none of the 4s crashed, but unfortunately several members were taken out of contention. Michael managed to avoid the carnage by finishing 14th, followed by Rich at 23rd, Heith Masters at 26th, Eric Wright 28th, and the rest of the group with the pack. Several members came back to race another full field of the 30+ 4/5. The race was smoother but definitely faster due to several fresh legs and the relentless attacks by SC Velo. The team was able to stay together and close to the front and finished better with two top ten, and two top20 finishes. They were Heith at 7th, David 8th, Charles 11th, Eric Wright 15th, and the rest of the team finished with the pack.