2-28-09 Saturday Road Race
The men’s A team woke up early and drove down to Camp San Luis Obispo for a bright and early 8am start. The course was 11 laps of a 5 mile course around the base, with a small riser, lots of corners and some interesting pavement conditions [sectional concrete galore!]. The course was a little bit confusing- even to the officials. After a flurry of Davis led attacking, the lead moto got lost on the first lap and the first two laps of the race were neutralized. After we got back on course the attacking continued, spurred on by a Stanford rider who commented that the race was organized by a “state school.” Not a smart move by a rider surrounded by cyclists from state schools. A few moves tried to get off the front and finally one stuck with Harmen and three other riders. Davis decided that this was a good move and Phil, Nils and Will controlled the pack to let the break establish the gap. Once the break was safely up the road, Phil attacked and took Nick Martinez (UCSB) with him. Will then attacked solo. Harmen ended up 4th in the sprint, Phil beat Nick for 5th, and Will held off the field for 7th. One the last lap a RV blocked the road about 100m from the finish and Nils, wily to the end, scooted around the RV to grab 9th.

3-1-09 Sunday Criterium
After a relaxing morning cheering on their teammates, the men’s A team took to the course under perfect racing conditions. The team’s goal was to be aggressive from the start and keep the rubber side down on the technical course. The course had a small, steep hill and two fast downhill turns. Davis attacked early and often. Phil attacked near the top of the climb on the third lap and drew Nick Martinez, Joe (CPSLO omnium) and Fred Stamm (CPSLO) with him. Phil pushed the pace in the break and nabbed a few early primes. Will then attacked and spent about 40min bridging to the break. Phil used his top rate negotiating skills to control things up the road until Will bridged to the break. After a short truce, Will attacked and forced the other riders to chase while Phil sat on. Phil then attacked with two laps to go, and held a small gap to the line. Will rolled across for 5th out of the break, while Harmen sprinted for 8th and Nils came in for 9th after controlling the field for most of the race. Their incessant attacks whittled the pack down to a handful of the strongest riders in the WCCC. All in all it was a good weekend for UC Davis. Go Aggies!

Will