By Dan Vinson
The first annual Los Angeles County Cycling Classic (presented by CBR) consisted of three days of racing to include a fast and flat time trial, a super challenging road race, and the familiar Dominguez Hills criterium. It was a windy Easter weekend but luckily we were able to stay dry and even warm by Sunday's race. Being the holiday weekend, the fields were a little smaller - probably about 55-60 riders for the Pro 1, 2's - but they definitely weren't slower! Teams represented included Monex, Successfuliving.com, Labor Power and Helens. Additionally, there were several other rift raft like myself who was the only guy out there for Kahala LaGrange.
Stage 1 - Lancaster Time Trial (20 kilometers/12.4 miles):
The stage was a flat out and back course, on pretty good roads, in the desert just outside the town of Lancaster. The weather was cold, windy, and on the verge of drizzling but the roads stayed dry as we all headed out to the start. We were the last category to go and heard that there was a strong headwind out and a fast tailwind where you hit 40 mph on the way back. The wind apparently died down a little for our race although it was still a tough first half of the time trial. I was the third rider off - set a solid pace and was able to catch one of the guys ahead of me before the turn-around. The way back was in fact faster, but I definitely wasn't hitting 40 mph. I couldn't quite get the real big gear to turn over but kept a fairly steady pace on the return to finish in a time of 26:40 for 4th place. Gordon McCauley (Monex) won with a blistering time of 25:12. Scott Martin (Ranchos) was 2nd and Daniel Ramsey (Successfuliving.com) came in 3rd.
Stage 2 - Devil's Punchbowl Road Race (80 miles/7500' climbing):
The next stage of the competition was located in Pearblossom, right across the San Andreas fault line. The Devil's Punchbowl Road Race is one of the more difficult courses, in terms of climbing, in southern California. We were scheduled to do five laps with 1500 feet of climbing per lap. The 16 mile course starts with a gradual climb. Then, the course turns left onto another long difficult climb, and then right turn onto a stair-step climb to the high point of the race. Next, we had a crazy fast descent at over 50 mph to the low point of the course. Then, a false flat/gradual climb with a crosswind that took you to a short descent, a sharp right hander and the final climb to the finish. As if the climbs weren't enough, the tough winds made everything even more difficult. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there have been shifts along the San Andreas fault line which have caused all of the climbs to get steeper and longer over the past couple years. The race started out comfortable - for the first mile anyways. Then Chris Walker (Labor Power) went to the front on the climb and picked up the pace again and again until there were only about 25 riders in the lead group only five miles into the race. We slowed the last section of the climb and several riders chased back on. The speed was high the rest of the first lap with many accelerations coming from Monex who had dominating numbers in the field. Not surprisingly, Monex always seemed to have a couple riders in any breakaway. There was no rest for the weary on lap 2 as again we sped up the climbs. This time, the field was cut down to about 20 riders and the damage was too great for anybody to chase back on. At some point a solo Monex rider went up the road but was eventually brought back. Karl Bordine (Labor Power) attacked and I went with him, but we were quickly brought back into the fold.
Gordon McCauley (Monex) attacked solo and went up the road by himself but was eventually brought back. There were counter attacks as we started lap 3 and Ryan Yee (Successfuliving.com) got into a breakaway with a couple Monex riders. I got into a chase group with a few other riders and we got a decent gap. However, we were caught towards the top of the climb and Chris Walker attacked. A counter attack from Monex allowed two more of them to go up the road. On lap 4 we tore up the climb and by the time we hit the descent we were down to about 12 or so riders with about 6 guys still up the road. We flew on the descent to the point that I could not get any more speed out of the bike. We formed an echelon in the crosswind and went into full on chase mode with heads buried into our stems to bring back the six man break. We dropped a few more riders in the process. After a hard effort, we caught the break and it was all together - well there were 11 of us all together - that's all that were left at this point. There were soon more attacks and counter-attacks though, and the speed was on as we approached one lap to go. Once again, the attacks broke up what was left of us and I ended up in a chase group with Dan Ramsey (Successfuliving.com) and Sergio Hernandez (Veloworx). Eight riders went up the rode which broke into two four man groups. I heard that McCauley again attacked solo but was caught. At first our group chased but then just set tempo for the rest of the final lap. Up ahead, McCauley and Valenzuela (Monex), Yee (Successfuliving.com) and Bordine (Labor Power) made the front group. McCauley went ahead to take his second victory in two days. Yee jumped with about 500 meters to go.
Bordine went with him but cramped - still managing to walk his bike across the line for 4th place. Yee took 2nd, Valenzuela 3rd. I crossed the line 10th place. The G.C. after two stages: 1st - McCauley (42 points); 2nd - Bordine (33 points); 3rd - Yee (32 points). I was 6th - not far behind with 28 points. Stage 3 - Dominguez Hills Criterium (90 minutes): Most racers know this course - .9 miles with four corners and an uphill finish. It took a couple laps to get up to speed but once we did, it didn't really slow down. There were several early attacks and I went with one of the moves that saw about 8 of us ride up the road. The speed was fierce as some riders got dropped and others bridged across. One rider who made it across was Gordon McCauley (Monex) and as soon as he did, his troops in the break went to the front and drilled it further. Once the break was settled in and we had a good gap, there were 11 riders who made the move - and 2nd through 5th G.C. were not there. Even though there were 4 Monex and 2 Helens riders in the group, I had much to gain from this break staying away and so I worked the front with Monex to keep the speed high. Once we had a large advantage, I conserved a bit. It wasn't long before we saw the tail end of the peleton up ahead. As we got close McCauley attacked and flew by the field. Pat Caro (Helens/Cannondale) went with him and I made it across as well. The others in the break and the field latched on and we were one big happy family again. However, the other G.C. guys including Bordine, Yee, Ramsey, and Walker weren't there - they were chasing. Monex put all of their 8 riders on the front and did a team time trial. Successfuliving.com sat on hoping their chasing riders wouldn't be caught. Helens sat behind them waiting for the sprint. I was tucked in not far behind the Helens riders. Slowly but surely they reeled back all of the chase groups until every rider was lapped.
The speed was high the final few laps of the race, but Monex remained in control. On the final lap, a lot of riders jumped to get better position. I was patient and didn't go until just before the final turn. I shot around the final turn about 15th wheel but slingshot myself past several riders until crossing the line in 3rd place - just running out of real estate. Rudy Napolitano (Helens/Cannondale) took the victory with Gordon McCauley in 2nd.
The final G.C. of the event: 1st - Gordon McCauley (Monex), 2nd - Dan Vinson (Kahala LaGrange); 3rd - Karl Bordine (Labor Power); 4th - Ryan Yee (Successfuliving.com); 5th - Rudy Napolitano (Helens/Cannondale). Most agreed that all the courses were great and that the first annual L.A. County Cycling Classic was a success. It's an event that I hope continues well into the future. Until the next race. . .
