Gary wins the jersy!!!
SCPS #12 – District Championships
Written by Platinum rider Gary Douville
What a great day for racing! The venue and scenery was awesome bringing out lots of spectators and local SB peeps. The course was fun with a few technical corners and a triple barrier run/ride-up after a hard punchy climb, as well as a lot of fast grassy sections.
I don’t have all of the Platinum race results but I know that Amanda, Bobby Sr, Andy, Doug, Mark, Jon Miller, Silva, Bill Lupo, and Zack Walker all raced. Amanda knocked out a top 5 in the 3/4 Women’s race and continues to improve after just a few weeks of partaking in the silliness. Bobby Sr pulled off a 50-54 District Championship title after decimating the field and winning by over a minute. No pressure for Nationals Senior!
Thanks also to Seth and his wife, Steve Bertrand, the Luke’s, Lupo, and Amanda for hanging around to watch the Elite Men’s race in the afternoon.
I have to admit that I was feeling a little pressure since I had a handful of my friends and fellow competitors tell me that “today was my day”. The expected heavy hitters came out to battle – 10 time defending champ Brent P, Sid Taberlay, mountain bike legend Ned Overend, Brandon Gritters, Jason First, Mark and Chance Noble, the Bailey duo, and others. The start was fast and I hit the first corner in 4th place. I knew that it would be a fast and tactical race and my plan was to always stay in the top 3 so that I could respond when the inevitable attacks came. Behrens, Brent, Sid, Jason, and I took turns on the front for the first few laps and successfully whittled our group down to less than 10. Attacks by Brent, Sid, and later Ned further reduced the group to the 6 of us that would stay together until the last lap – Brent, Sid, Ned, Mark Noble, Gritters, and me. I knew that a brutal attack would come from either Brent or Sid on the last lap. Sid and I were both able to ride the triple barrier on the hill and that provided very little advantage, but Sid was riding the large barriers and was able to accelerate away from us in previous laps. I suspected this would be where Sid would make his move and I hit the last lap sitting on Sid’s wheel planning on staying there as long as I could. Noble bobbled in the corner before the barriers and slowed down Brent and Ned just as Sid attacked. I countered, but couldn’t quite hold on yet created a gap between myself and the rest of the group. I was suffering but knew if I hit the uphill barriers in front of Brent, Gritters and the others that I could take them to the line and take the District Championships (Sid as an Australian citizen wasn’t eligible for the title). Sid won, I got second (and the District Championship), Brent finished third, followed by Gritters, Ned Overend, Mark Noble, Chance Noble, and Jason First.
SCPS #10 Race Report-
By Platinum rider Gary Douville
Zach Attack Walker and I hit up the action in SLO this past weekend for round 10 of the SoCal Prestige Series. Series Leader Brent Prenzlow and strongmen Sid Taberlay and Brandon Gritters were on a scheduled rest week with Districts and Nationals coming up and Brent’s email to me on Friday night suggested that it was my turn to pull off a “W”. The course in SLO was flat and fast with long straightaways, 4 separate dismount sections per lap, and quite a bit of wind. I figured that Mark Noble and the Bailey Bikes duo John and John would be the power riders making the race. The race started fast with John Behrens setting the pace off the start with me and Mark on his wheel. I set a fast pace for a full lap and when Behrens came around and attacked I couldn’t respond. Noble and I ended up taking pulls with Bailey playing good teammate and sitting in. I knew that Noble would probably out sprint me at the end and we weren’t making progress in pulling back Behrens so I surged solo to try to bridge up. I started making some time but couldn’t make it across the gap and finished 2nd to Behrens with Bailey in 3rd and Mark Noble in 4th.
Looking forward to what is sure to be a challenging and intense round next weekend!
The Elite series results through the races last weekend in Bakersfield are as follows.
| 1 Brent Prenzlow – Celo Pacific / B+L |
197 |
| 2 Gary Douville – Platinum Performance |
167 |
| 3 John Bailey – Bailey Bikes |
144 |
| 4 John Behrens – Bailey Bikes |
133 |
| 5 Brandon Gritters – Rock N Road Cyclery |
The Big Sur Half marathon 2009
by Platinum rider Todd Booth
Off the subject of cycling….many of you know my other big passion off the bike is running. I’ve been competing in the running scene from 5K to Half Marathons for some time now. Last June I turned forty, which qualifies you into the Master’s Open division. This division is very competitive in the large foot races with cash payouts. In mtn biking that’s rarely heard of in the amateur races. For a long time now, I’ve been on the older end of the spectrum. I’ve been taking my licks from the “young whipper snappers”. The beauty of turning forty is now I’m the “young whipper snapper” for the Masters. The window is small for excelling in this division. Age is not kind on run times. It is rare to see a runner in his upper forties be competitive in this division.
My objective is to compete at some of the larger half marathons, meaning with 5,000 runners or more. It’s a rush having that many people at one event with everyone participating. My first target was the Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey. This race is large (5,000 runners) and well organized. My main goal is to win the Master’s Open division. This year was sold out and had a very competitive elite and master’s field. Coming off a diaphragm tear injury two weeks prior put me into a state of panic for preparation. After missing a valuable week of training and the need for a quick recovery, my training was condensed to a final weekend. Like cramming for a test the night before. In my mind, it was not possible to miss this race. This has been a focus of mine for three months now. I knew going into this weekend it was going to be a rush job. My son had a soccer game down in Simi Valley on Sat until 12pm. We drove straight up to Monterey nonstop. I did have Jim Adams pick up my race packet…which notched my stress level down a point. Thanks Jim..I would never have made the time frame for pick up. I drove part of the course in the dark and hid a few wattle bottles in the bushes. 7am was the starting time…painful! That meant waking up at 5am. The temperature was a bone chilling 42 degrees. In running, you tend on wearing the bare minimum. Shorts and a thin shirt. Not knowing the course or the competition meant only one game plan. Run as hard as possible and try to stay with the elite runners as long as I could. On the first mile that’s what I did….unfortunitly…these guys (top ten) are fast! We clocked a 4:50min/mile time on the first mile! The 1st place guy went on to win the race running that time the entire 13.2 miles!! Holy sh***!!! After mile one I found myself running alone, in no man’s land. I was in 12th position and had a gap in front and behind me. This is never good in a long race. Just like cycling, running is easier with drafting and someone to work with. I knew the next 12 miles were going to hurt. The course turned out tough. I have run the SB Half many times and that course is supposed to be hilly, but the Big Sur hurt me more. Tons of rolly hills with a tough climb out of Cannery Row, plus a nice little head wind on the way back. Don’t get me wrong, this course had stunning ocean views, but my vision was skewed from the lack of O2 to my brain. In the end, I held my 12th position overall out of 5,000 runners which put my time 2nd in the Master’s open division. The Master’s course record was shattered by Idaho “stud” Kevin Sheehy who ran a 1:10:29. My 1:14:22 time broke the prior M40-44 course record but was no match to Sheehy’s time. I can’t wait until next year!
Results:
Todd Booth 12th overall 2nd Master’s Open
Steve Bertrand 449 overall 27th M50-54
Full results:
Amanda getting the hang of Cross!
SCPS#9A/9B, Hart Park, Bakersfield CA
Written by Platinum rider, Amanda Schaper
I took my second venture into cross racing this past weekend in the only California town that rivals Santa Barbara in both its beauty and class: Bakersfield. Races were held in Hart Park on both Saturday and Sunday, using the same course each day, only run in the opposite direction on the second day. I opted to do the Sunday race. The course was conducive to mountain bikers as it had steep descents, loose and twisty turns through trees, and some tricky climbs. I took a practice lap right before my race started and despite taking a good spill trying to remount the bike, I felt pretty good about everything. To me, nothing seemed too technical, and I’ve come to accept the fact that I simply won’t look graceful as I launch myself on and off the bike. Grace will come, but it hasn’t yet.
We Cat 3/4 girls get fairly chatty on the start line. Since we’re all new at this cross thing, I think we’re all equally terrified and looking for some moral support. I’ve seen the Elite guys start, and they aren’t complimenting their competitor’s pink knee-high socks or talking about how scared they are for the sandy sections or steep descents. This chatter always makes me feel a little bit more confident because it makes me realize that while I might not have the cross technique figured out yet, I at least have the bike handling skills from mountain biking….and the fashion sense to not rock pink knee-highs. Anyway, the race started and we were off. I stumbled a little bit on the start and entered the first singletrack section with only one or two other people behind me. Because of this, I got stuck behind some slower riders as the lead group rode away. I hoped that this time I could stick with the faster group as long as I could, but it looks like I need to add starting to my list of things to work on. I focused on riding my race and passed a few girls in the process. Despite a humbling crash as I dismounted the bike on one of my last laps, I managed to finish in 5th (admittedly, this also qualified as mid-pack).
As I crossed the finish line, I actually had no idea that I was, in fact, finished (apparently “2 laps remaining” becomes “1 lap remaining” after a guy from another class laps you…who knew?). So while I could have waved to the crowd as I finished in my 5th place glory, I instead charged out for another lap. Talk about dedication. Thanks to Coach Douville for chasing me down and letting me know that I could get off the bike. Without him, I might still be riding in circles up in beautiful Bakersfield.
Gary on the gas!!!!
Gary putting the hurt on the Australian Champ!
Speaking of Gary, that guy had two very studly Elite 2nd place finishes over the weekend. On Saturday, Brent Prenzlow took off pretty quickly looking for his 101st Elite win, but Gary worked with the chase group to reel him in. Gary’s group bridged the gap after Brent flatted and needed a bike change. Brent attacked towards the end of the last lap and finished in 1st, but Gary was very close behind in 2nd. Sunday’s race was even more impressive. The field was stacked with the likes of Brent, Sid Taberlay (5 time Australian National MTB Champ), and Mark and Chance Noble. It definitely was going to make for an interesting race. As soon as the race started, Sid and Gary were off the front like it was their mission, and they never relented. Thanks to their smooth technical riding and their ability to bunny hop a massive curb, the gap they formed on the chase group grew by almost 10 seconds each lap, reaching as much as a minute at one point. They were neck in neck until the last straightaway, when Sid unleashed about a 300-yard sprint. Gary hung on the best he could, but couldn’t quite match Sid’s sprint. He ended up finishing about 10 feet behind this world class racer. Not bad. Watching these two races was exciting to say the least. From the looks of it, Gary’s about the only guy capable of stopping Brent and Sid. It must be all of those Organic Living lunches he’s been eating…
Showing his skills….
Results:
SCPS #9A
Gary Douville 2nd Elite
Jon Miller 1st Mens 55+
SCPS #9B
Gary Douville 2nd Elite
Amanda Schaper 5th Womens 3/4
A few of the Platinum riders posing six years ago for a pic.
The year the dynasty began…..
Sunday November 1st – SCPS #8
Written by Platinum’s Gary Douville
The “Storm the Beach” ‘cross race was held along the Pacific Ocean at Camp Pendelton. Lots of sand, running, and fast hard packed dirt sections made for a fast and tactical race. Brent got away after 3 laps and went on to win his 100th Elite ‘cross race! I was having a pretty good race despite my concerns with the amount of running. The speeds on the flat jeep roads approached 30mph at times which made for a fast and interesting race. A chase group disintegrated and reformed several times due to the pace over the course of the race and I was able to match the efforts or bridge up if I lost contact. In the end, I hit the last section of the last lap leading the chase group consisting of 2nd through 5th and couldn’t match Sid’s attack off the beach or Behren’s stellar running. Finished 4th. Pleased.
Here are the Elite series standings at the season’s mid point:
1 Brent Prenzlow – Celo Pacific / B+L
158
2 Brandon Gritters – Rock N Road Cyclery
131
3 Gary Douville – Platinum Performance
127
4 John Bailey – Bailey Bikes
113
5 John Behrens – Bailey Bikes
108
