Marc Pro - Strava

Our Elite 1/2 team is off to an incredible start this season and is currently ranked #2!

Elite 1/2 Team Points

1. California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized 233
2. Marc Pro - Strava 186
3. Webcor/Alto Velo 108
4. Chico Corsa Cycling Team 63
5. Metromint Cycling 51
6. Team Specialized Racing Masters 41
7. Fremont Bank Cycling Team 29
8. Squadra Ovest Cycling 25
9. Davis Bike Club Race Team 12
10. SJBC 12
11. IronDataThirstyBearCycling.com 10
12. Taleo Racing 10
13. Audi 8
14. Momentum Racing California 8
15. SAFEWAY/PureRed Creative/Bicycles Plus 7
16. Team Specialized Racing Juniors 6
17. Fusion Sport USA 5
18. Great Basin Imaging Cycling Team 4
19. Dolce Vita Cycling 3
20. Los Gatos 3
21. Team Bicycles Plus/Sierra Nevada 3
22. Bicycle Planet 2
23. Michael David Winery Cycling Team 2
24. Berkeley Bicycle Club (BBC) 1

http://norcalcyclingnews.com/2011/03/30/thefireman/

Exercise Physiology Geeks Gone Wild . . . This post is from Brian at the Wattage forum/Google Group.  No doubt some dope is being produced to spoof the bodies protective system, enabling you to product L7 power for 3 minutes at the end of a race and probably win, at the cost of frying your muscles/body at some terrifying level. Post: A few points that may help in visualizing glycolysis (not requiring oxygen) and oxidative metabolism (kerbs and electron transport chain). Glycolysis has relatively fast enzyme kinetics (Km) compared with PDH

and down stream kinetics. When energy demands are higher than

oxidative metabolism can provide ATP, glycolysis is still running

"fast", with an increase in lactate via pyruvate that is in "excess"

of what can enter the oxidative downstream component. There is some

thought that the drop in pH causes fatugue by inhibiting

phosphofructokinase 2 (control step in glycolysis), which reduces the

abilty to produce ATP, thus lowering energy production (as a feed back

to protect the muscle).Pyruvate from glucose converted to acetyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA from fat

breakdown (beta-ox) are "competing" for citrate synthase. That is why

citrate synthase is used as a marker of increased abitliy to oxidaze

fat (and increased OBLA) because more can get past that step. Think of each system as its own complete loop or chain, but remember

that almost of the substrates can leave/enter the cycle at some

point. And that each control step is regulated by substrates and/or

pH.

And relating back to substrate use during exercise, fasted/fed state

and compostion of the meal/food change metabolism as well.

--

Andy Scott | 140 Proof | http://140proof.com | mobile: 415-509-5915 | @andyscott999

The Marc Pro-Strava crew rolled into San Dimas on Thursday night looking to test their fitness against some of the toughest competition in the U.S. After a solid pre-race spin and dinner at Applebee's the crew was ready to attack stage one Friday afternoon of the San Dimas Stage Race, the Glendora Mountain Road Hill Climb. The winding 3.8 mile climb gains just over 1,000 ft. on smooth roads that averaged about 5%. The team was both excited and slightly nervous to take on an NRC quality field and there's always that little subconscious alarm that goes off when you're about to put yourself deep in the pain cave.

After a good one hour warm up I was ready to destroy myself. The weather was actually really nice for a hard effort, about 60 degrees and overcast. Sitting in the start house I had the typical butterflies in my stomach that I've actually come to appreciate, they usually mean I'm ready to go. Out on the course I had the usual over zealous power surges early on but after about a half mile I settled into a rhythm and I was actually enjoying the smooth roads and sharp switch backs. Before I knew it I was almost to the top so I just put my head down and tried to suffer as much as possible. I think I did a decent job of suffering because my time was respectable at 13:53 ( 31st place) about 1 minute off the winner, world class Ben Day who has now won the hill climb and the overall at San Dimas 3 years in a row.

As the results came in it was great to see the whole Marc Pro-Strava team with very solid results on the hill climb especially considering the level of competition. It was a good start to the race so the team celebrated by gorging ourselves on Thai food and ice cream.

That is not Tahoe -- that is Washoe Lake in the Carson Valley south of Reno.

Most seasons offer a window or two of cold storms that open up Eastside/Euro ski possibilities in terms of long 5k+ feet of fall line skiing on quality snow.  Tahoe is great, but the relief just isn't there (Tahoe is at 6200', peaks are 9ish, math is easy).   The window is decidely slammed shut right now with the recent hot storms -- but just last weekend we were skiing 5k foot pow runs to Reno. Cold storms set it up, a little motivation and figuring your game out puts you in position.  No treasure map here, just treasure. That is Tahoe, visible from the starting zone high in the Carson Range

See, it was cold. Where are we Wyoming!

The most popular shots are  gobbled up by 431 highway shoppers and Mt. Rose Ski Area refugees.  But as always, emptiness and untracked are right there given requisite experience, skills, and willingness to "see what's over there" -- oh yeah and the mind/body/gear to climb the f out if things go sideways (I am not advocating dropping in when you don't know what is up as a general rule, and am advocating if you do drop in when you don't know make sure you are prepared to get out from whence you came!).  Fortunately the skier population that possesses this mind/skill set is still about .00003%, talk about "all the people in the BC" be damned.  I call that "all the people at road side attractions and well-known tick list descents".  Oh, to rant and rave!

Mellow pow turns . . .

Then a fun cliffy/rock band exploration . . .

And that was only the first 2k feet!

We started the morning in Truckee, drove to the top of Mt. Rose Highway, climbed maybe 750 feet, dropped 3k towards Reno, climbed 1.5k to lap a zone that had to be skied twice, then dropped the rest of the way to Reno, got in a car and cracked a beer at 11am and was back at my car before sunday school let out.   7000k of untracked bluebird hero pow for 2k of climbing?  I think I climbed for an hour, which was about the wait for a ride on KT over the same weekend for 25% of the vert and 13,000 times the people competing for a fresh line.

Like this.  (Friend of friend who actually makes tele turns and shuttled from Reno.  Thanks!  I predict AT within 2 years based on gear/face plant issues he experienced later in the day.  Happens.)

rotated_84.avi Watch on Posterous

Madera is Spanish for wood which is funny or maybe its just plain sad, (I'm still debating on which word to choose), because I didn't see a stand of timber, a lot of trees, or wood of any sort while racing in  Madera, CA this past weekend? For this simple reason, Cow shit must be synonymous with LSD and the Madera city founders must of eaten a lot of it.  Either that or the trees have all been chopped, reaped from the ground, and or are currently for sale in the lumber department at Home depot.

At any rate the Mardera County Sage race presented by Velo Promo and all their ambiguous Re-neck-er-y  is a bright pink circle on my yearly racing calendar. The race has a hill climb tt with cows, a flat tt with bees, a crit with railroad tracks, and a road race with organic pavement imported fresh from the obliterated streets of post European WWII.  Soft crosswinds were available to caress our freshly shaved legs throughout the rolling country side and neutral feed zones satiated our endless thirst as we quenched out gullets with soapy plastic water from re-used, under rinsed water bottles.  Truly, I love this race!

MarcPro- Strava made up for its lack of numbers with the brute force of Justin Rossi's calves, Dustins Hann's unique style, and my cracked ribs. Our bright green and pink Jerseys abducted the fields presence and Dustin's yellow Mavic shoes helped hypnotize riders into the gutter where they belong.  Needless to say we were well represented and packing heavy artillery.
Day #1
Ben Hur uphill individual tt, (Ben HURT). 10 miles total with 6 miles rolling 4 miles uphill...shit pavement was plentiful.

I brought my freshly busted torso, a skin suit, a fancy carbon bike, and to cap it all off a dumbo helmet. Rossi did the same minus the ribs.  Rossi is my teammate and obvious nemesis and I plan to crush him throughout the season, just as I crushed him by 12 seconds today.  Mr Hahn decided to limit his shifter to only one gear by clamping his aero extensions on top of his cables and busted it single speed style for a top 20 seating...just wait till he has all his gears.  The wind was especially brutal this year and times were appropriately much slower.  Boo Hoo!

• Lunner 6th 33:12
• Rossi 10th 33:24
• Dustin 19th 34:37

Day #2
Sharon TT ,10.4 miles flat and breezy.

I was stung by a bee, Justin got his power meter to work.....and it worked......he crushed it and won.  Dustin brought his Wal-mart base layer skin suit complete with see through nipple windows.  We all had fun.

• Justin 1rst  21:22
• Lunner 8th  21:56
• Dustin 13th 22:24

Day #2
afternoon criterium, complete with railroad tracks and safety cones.

We had a plan.......wait 30-40 min and then be aggressive.......... attack simultaneously and sail off into the sunset for the win.  Well we got away together.......tore some legs off and then sat back in for the group finish saving some fight for the next day since the sunset in Madera is not really all that noteworthy.  Of note, however, was that I broke off the front with 10 min left, noticed the legendary Eric Wohlberg fighting to grab my wheel........I held up, let him grab it, and pulled around the corner. Then the fucker just countered me and bridged up to the escape group alone and won.  Last time I wait for him..........sneaky little shit, guess he's in it for the money.
Day #3
Daulton RR, 85 miles.

5 laps with a roller-coaster finish, 4 to 5 miles of death pavement per lap, and a heaping garnish of crosswind. Still no Wood. However erratic boulders left over from the last glacial ice-age or maybe unearthed from the bedrock, (who knows I'm no geologist), peppered the rolling hills. The cows and almond trees congregating around the boulders combined with the green grasses flourishing in the overly bovine fecal fields and glistening in the morning light made for the utmost beautiful course ever.  Game on.

We lined up for the start, with Justin in 4th in the General Classifications, myself in 8th, and Dusting dangling but still in the mix.  The plan...let Cal Giant do all the work to protect their overall.  It worked great, until on the end of the 4th lap Dustin asked me if it would be Ok to "start attacking."  I said "yes." Then he attacked immediately.  I should have been more clear that its "Ok to attack when we have a good opportunity to do so...not just right now because I said yes." After Dustins attack the field went buzzerk and we just didn't have enough riders to cover attacks......duh!  And Little Vinny Owens got himself up the road with race leader Evan Huffman of Cal Giant.

Now we have the race leader and 13 place up the road with a few unknown riders left over from the days break.  This spelled Danger for our GC hopes! So, instead of pulling the whole field I did what I do best....pick a good moment and blast myself up the road....solo.  I was reeled in after a hard chase by the bunch.  Then I literally rejoiced to the gods as Rossi blasted immediately off the front countering my move.  He dug hard, but after another strained effort by the field he was pulled back...so I gunned it again and this time I was gone. Two riders bridged up with another in route....We we're sailing away less than 40 seconds from the leaders and then........Psstsss!!!!!........Flat!.... WTF!....this is the smoothest part to the entire course. "Madera!"

After a wheel change and a gallant chase with Dustin crushing it like a super domestique.... I was back to the group...Crisis averted...Opportunity gone.....screw that!....the field was sitting still and the break was gaining time.  "We can't have this" I said to myself, so as soon as I caught on I went directly off the front...and we started the process over again no bullshit style.  We continued attacking and then halfway through the rough section I gave it all I had.  Cal Giant chased me in vein and then gave up.  I kept going but then someone else drug the remnants of the group up to me.  Gasping for air, I looked back hoping to see Justin and Dustin countering...and to the dismay of my slurred profanity they were no where to be seen...Uh Oh!  They F..ing flatted as I was attacking, that's just sweet I had no Idea.  Now I'm roasted and these guys are all racing to the finish which is only 2-3 miles away.  I wanted to puke but I had no choice other than to dig in, latch on to the back, and calm down.  I had to regain myself for the finish.  I knew Justin's hopes were over.  It was up to me to preserve our top 10 in the GC.

I took 5th in the field sprint while Rossi time trialed it in with Dustin.  Hearty time bonuses were available at the finish and thus Vince jumped from 13th to 2nd overall with some of the other breakaway riders leap frogging up in the standings as well.  I stayed in 8th, Rossi fell to 11th, and Dustin 24th.  The end.

We had some bad luck. Surely without the demons of the forgotten madera woodlands, we would have had at least one podium, maybe two but regardless, I left this race in good spirits.  As the saying goes "that's bike racing" and I couldn't be happier with the way we rode our bicycles.  I had these sensations that we were a super power on the last lap and a force to be reckoned with....I think the highlight for me was Rossi countering my move and riders just scrambling to get on his wheel as if he were that Ben guy from that Bissel team?  It was the perfect 1-2-3....with my next attack sticking.  Perfect teamwork.  When the whole is united and starts riding like this we will have so much fun...wait that was fun.....we'll just have more fun.

Look Out!

With a strong Marc Pro-Strava contingent in Madera for the weekend, Art Rand, Keith Hillier and I decided to head south to give ourselves a go at the Central Coast Circuit race. Our plan was the same thing we've been doing all season; be aggressive and get in moves.

Attacks started pretty early and didn't stop until Art got away somewhere on the first lap. Keith soon bridge up while I sat in the peloton, content with having two teammates in the 7-man breakaway. I was able to get a free ride the next few laps, letting the other riders in the chase wear themselves out. Just as we crested a small roller, as the gap had reached 1 minute, I gassed it across the flats dropping all but Robbie Franscioni (Bay Bikes). After one lap of chasing, I dropped the Franscioni and continued my bridge. Finally, two laps later I made it onto the back of the break; just as we got the card for two laps to go.

Soon after I rolled onto the back, I was greeted by Rand Miller (Webcor/Alto Velo) who said, "Come on, let's go. I know if you just rode across to us you can ride off again. Let's go." I responded with the first thing that came to mind, "That would just insulting if I just rode across that gap and then win the race." The next two laps were spent with Art and Keith attacking and counter-attacking, and the three of us getting heckled by Rand (which seriously makes bike racing WAY more fun.) Between his on-the-bike comments and his blogging, the guy has some serious creative skills.

With about 1 km to go, Art launched an attack, forcing others to chase. I rode up to Keith and told him to get on my wheel. I jumped on Elliot Jaramillo's (McGuide Cycling Team) and let him lead out the sprint. I came around him at 200 meters with the plan to lead out Keith, but lucky for me, he (and no one else) ever came around. Keith rolled in second with Rand Miller taking third.

Thanks to CCCX for putting on a great event. Relaxed, organized promoters and fast results.

After a solid three days of racing, we entered Sunday's 190km Almond Blossom Road Race with Justin Rossi (Marc Pro - Strava) sitting 12th overall. Being new to riding with teammates, I was really excited to be able to ride to protect our GC leader.

I spent the night before the race, recovering with my Marc Pro, eating like a horse, and "previewing" the course on Strava (http://app.strava.com/segments/553921). We happened to check the weather forecast which called for rain, which had a few of the guys a little unhappy. Since I hate riding my trainer so much, I do most of my winter training in the rain. This left me secretly hoping for the most brutal conditions mother nature could throw at us; I knew I could handle them without missing a beat.

We had a solid breakfast (belgian waffles seemed appropriate for the weather and farm roads) and had a good pre-race team discussion as we lather our legs with minty-scented embrocation. The goal of our day was to ride near the front, help Justin in any way possible, and watch for the splits in the crosswinds. The last thing I remember from our discsussion was someone saying, "None of us should go with the early move, I don't think any of us can hang out there for 100 miles." Everyone pretty much agreed, or at least I did. There was no way in hell I'd last off the front all day.

The first half lap was pretty tranquil. A few guys made some moves but nothing got away. About 25 km into the 190 km race, a group of about 10 riders containing at least one guy from each of the strong teams slipped off the front. I saw no Marc Pro-Strava representation, so I jumped out of the peloton and bridged up, surprisingly not taking anyone with me. We were only away for about 1 minute when we entered a 90 degree left-hander. Evan Huffman (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized) lead through the turn, with me second. The guy third wheel slid out, momentarily causing the rest of the break to sit up. Before I knew it, Evan and I were off the front on our own.

My first thought was, "Awesome, I'm in the move." Shortly followed by, "Oh sh*t, I can't last out here all day." I asked Even if we should wait for the rest of the break and he said, "Nah, lets keep it rolling." We put our heads down, traded pulls and when I looked back at the top of the next rise, the peloton was nowhere in sight. Before we knew it we were the break du jour.

We kept it rolling smooth and fast the first few laps, splitting the Hot Sprints and trading solid pulls. Our gap eventually grew out to 11 minutes with two laps to go. I knew BISSELL would be chasing hard, but there was nothing we could do but continue to press on. With one lap to go, our gap was down to 6 minutes. The winds were really picking up, and I knew a motivated BISSELL team didn't want to let us win the race. We continued our solid pace, working hard into the headwinds, doing everything we could to stay out front. We started to get some more frequent time gaps; the gap was coming down faster than I could have imaged. With 170 km in our legs, the gap shrank down to 2 minutes. Evan said he was done, so I decided to go off on my own. I put my head down and tried to time trial my way to the finish line (imagine a slow version of Jens Voigt...) With 5 km to go, I looked back and could see a group in the distance; they were coming at me like a freight train. I gave it everything I could to make it over the last roller; hoping I would be able to either stay away to the line or worst-case get caught on the downhill, giving me a chance to latch on the back. I was finally caught with 4 km to go, just at the top of the roller.

As the peloton was passing all I wanted to see was Justin. Finally, as the last few riders passed me, I saw Justin looking strong and it gave me the motivation to jump onto the back of the dwindled down peloton which was now only about 35 riders. Justin and I rolled in safe to the finish in the front group; totally stoked at our week's effort and that he was able to make the split of the day. His smart and powerful riding was able to move him up to 10th overall on GC. Between Justin's TT and GC results, Keith Hillier bumping elbows with the BISSELL dudes in the crit, my hardman breakaway effort, and Jesse Miller-Smith, Nate Freed and Dustin Hahn's all-around strong riding throughout the weekend, I think we seriously earned Marc Pro-Strava some respect. We will be closely watched from here on out.

I was lucky to have a solid breakaway companion in Evan Huffman. This was the first break I had even been in, so he basically coached me along throughout of 3.75 hours together. We also had a great support crew in the feedzone; making sure we all stayed well hydrated throughout the race was critical. The week of racing was a great experience for all of us. We faced a lot of different challenges, but we handled them all pretty darn well. I'm looking forward to some more competitive and hard racing the rest of the season.

Merco Cycling Classic Downtown Grand Prix was a day I wasn't looking forward to. Construction in Merced forced the course to be changed and to have a hairpin corner. Everyone knew it was going to hurt. 50 laps were on order and 50 sprints out of the hairpin. Bissell Pro Cycling basically had call ups for their entire team to the starting line. So that allowed Bissell put all 9 of there guys on the front and control the race. It was challenging to get past the entire bissell team but a few riders including myself made attempts. Only to have bissell up their pace and pull everything back. The hairpin was tricky because you'd have to slam on your brakes, track stand around the corner and sprint down the finishing straight away. With bissell chopping wheels, elbowing and yelling at riders that were disrupting their train. After trying to stay near the front the whole race to stay out of trouble. It came down to the final laps to see who had the fitness. Frank Spiteri was pulling Justin Rossi to the line. I jumped in and followed Frank to the line with Justin close behind. Everyone finished safety on the team and Ricky Escuela of Full Circle Sports stole the W from Bissell.

March 4th was a day I circled on my calendar a few months back.  It would be this years first Time Trial and a chance to mix it up with some of the best amatures and domestic pros on the west coast.

After missing out on stage 1's break of the day, I had some work to move up into the GC standings.  The course was fitting for my ability... It was an out and back 12 mile power course with about 400 ft of low % gradient climbing.  There is not a creative way to describe a time trial... I rolled into the start house, set my computer, put my head down and throttledup.  This would be my first chance at riding a TT with a power meter so I set a number in my head that was feasible to hold.  I forced myself to hold back during the first 4 miles, which was all uphill.  I was approaching half way and feeling strong when I caught my 1 minute man (not to be named) at the turnaround and had a little laugh to myself.  It was the same kid that yelled at me the day before for letting a 5 ft gap open on a 35 mph descent... ha ha close this gap I'm about to open.  The ride back to the finish was fun but also painful and frightening.  I have no bar tape on my aero bars and my hands were sweating...a little slippery at 38mph.  I ramped up the power for the last 5k and left it all out on the course.  Good enough for 8th overall and to move myself into 14th in the GC.

Nate Freed and I left my house in Truckee at 5am and drove through a blizzard in order to get to beautiful Merced in time for the start of the first stage of Merco. As the sun was rising over the central valley we were stoked to see clear skies and dry roads and we both commented that the weather was perfect for a hard norcal P1/2 road race. We met Justin Rossi, Dustin Hahn, Kris Lunning, Keith Hillier, and Frank Spiteri in the parking lot, handed out the brand new kits which turned out pretty sick in my humble opinion, and got ready for what would turn out to be a very long, hard day in the saddle. We also found out on our arrival that we were already down one rider because Chris Turner's car broke down on the way to the race, BUMMER!

Once we were all kitted up I could feel some excitement amoungst the guys to finally be racing together and actually look like a team. We had a quick tactics discussion before the race and we all decided that we needed to get guys in the break which would most certainly include several Bissell riders whom stacked the field. On the first lap of the race the team quickly discovered that the main climb was no joke, it was about 1,000 feet of 7% and it was clear that the feature would probably decide how the race would shake out. Personally, even with my lack of form and health I was feeling great and had the typical over zealous power surges I tend to get in big races when I'm riding like a jackass. These power surges on the main climb resulted in no success getting in a break and by the third lap (35 miles into the race) I felt like dog crap. Coincidentally, the third lap was when the break finally went with 11 riders going up the road which included 5 Bissell riders and several other NorCal hammers, that break was not coming back. I tried to settle into the main field with Justin, Keith, and Frank whom didn't look or feel nearly as bad as I did. They all rode strong in the group and tried with little help from other teams to bring the break back while I sat in whimpering like a beaten down puppy. Basically that was the race for the next 35 miles until the second to last climb where I got dropped like a bad habit and the rest of my teammates in the main field held themselves together nicely while waiting for the climb to the finish. I was obviously not in the picture but from what I gather the main field would blow up on the final climb with our guys doing quite well, Justin finished towards the front of that group while Keith and Frank finished in the middle, all three were now about 7-8 minutes down in the GC while I lost about 15 minutes.

It turns out the Bissell guys went 1-2-3 with John Bennett (Cal-Giant) finishing a very strong 4th. We then got the full story on Lunner's first lap crash and were really glad to hear he had no serious injuries but were definitely bummed to find out he was done for the weekend, one more strong rider out. Nate and Dustin both finished safely behind me a few minutes in a medium sized group of strong nor cal riders whom didn't quite make it over the climb with the main group.

All in all it wasn't the best or the worst day for Marc Pro-Strava. Three of the guys had good days and decent results which would set them up for good all around showings later in the weekend and I know we all gained plenty of fitness from the difficult stage.

The Wheelmen have just released their Race Schedule for the 2011 season. The famous Fernley course will be returning, so prepare for unlimited wind, suffering and a worthy drive to get out there. Races marked with an * are points series events.

• 03/27/11 - Cold Springs Time Trial (Free Weekend, 10AM Start)
• 04/12/11 - Franktown* Time Trial
• 04/19/11 - Aircenter Criterium
• 04/26/11 - Boca* Road Race
• 05/03/11 - Geiger* Hill Climb TT
• 05/10/11 - Fernley Circuit
• 05/17/11 - Aircenter* Criterium
• 05/24/11 - Boca Road Race
• 05/31/11 - Cold Springs Time Trial UNR Stage Race
• 06/01/11 - Boca Road Race UNR Stage Race
• 06/02/11 - Aircenter Criterium UNR Stage Race
• 06/07/11 - Fernley* Circuit
• 06/16/11 - Alta Alpina hosts TBD
• 06/21/11 - Cold Springs TTT Time Trial
• 06/28/11 - Boca Road Race
• 07/05/11 - Aircenter* Criterium
• 07/12/11 - Fernley Circuit
• 07/19/11 - Aircenter Criterium
• 07/26/11 - Boca* Road Race
• 08/02/11 - Aircenter* Criterium
• 08/11/11 - Alta Alpina hosts TBD
• 08/16/11 - Franktown Stage Race TT TT Championship
• 08/17/11 - Boca Stage Race RR
• 08/18/11 - Aircenter Stage Race Crit
• 08/23/11 - Boca Road Race Road Race Championship
• 08/30/11 - Air Center Criterium Criterium Championship

There were not any photos posted of this race, so I'll try to do my best to adequately describe it. There was a lot of construction in downtown Merced, so Velo Promo had to change the course last minute. On the race info. page, the road conditions were described as "fair to good". BS. In Velo Promo - speak this means the roads are gonna suck, and they did. The course was fast and technical. Cal Giant brought their entire squad to the race, so of course they controlled it. Attacks started from the beginning, and from the beginning, the field was strung out mostly single file around the entire course. Since I was the only Marc Pro - Strava representative, I had to play it pretty conservative and just did my best to hang near the front without doing too much work. I tried to get into a couple different moves that looked promising, but nothing stuck.  Nothing really happened until about 20 mins. left to go in the race. A few guys snuck off the front, and got up the road, and Cal Giant pulled a Yahoo(circa 2010) by placing all of their guys on the front of the field and just sitting up. That was the race. I tried a couple more bridge efforts, but the break was long gone. The sprint was for like 8th place, and I didn't have too much of a concern with fighting for that... Top 15 or 20.

On a positive note, this was the first time that I got to ride my new Felt frame, and it rides nice.