The 2009 season of racing is now in
the record books. The Ocala State
Road Race days were brutally hot. We
learned just how difficult it is to
get the hydration and nutrition just
right under these circumstances.
Jimmy, Doug and Chuck raced in their
respective age groups. The plus 35
an 45 age groups were just about to
finish when Jim and I got there.
There was a nasty crash in the plus
35 group which left Doug with some
road rash and a very sore shoulder.
This crash held up the plus 45 group
who were coming up just minutes
behind the crash site. They had to
wait for over 45 minutes for the
medics to clear the road. Their race
would have finished on that lap, but
they ran them around one more time
so they could get a clear sprint
finish. I haven't found race results
posted yet. Jims race started late
at around 2:00. He was ok for most
of the race, then did an awful lot
of work on the last lap, and
pullling late in the lap before . He
pulled off to take the rear at one
point and no one would take the
front! They all just pulled off
behind him, and then attacked at the
top of the hill.He rolled in way
behind, a very disapointed guy.
Turned out that more than half of
his field quit earliler in the
race.He ended up with a surprising
3rd place! Sunday was cooler only
because they raced earlier in the
day. Doug did not race due to his
sore shoulder. Jim Raced in Cat 3
with some of his USF teammates.
looked good throughout the 50 mile
race. Coming up to the finish he was
near the front hoping to move up
when two or three guys in front of
him just sat up an quit pedaling!
Naturally scores of people just
whipped around the slowed riders and
Jim finished somewhere in the
pack.Chuck was also in this race but
the finish, with one person wrecked
accross the line, was so chaotic I
have no idea where he placed.Ed
Collins raced in Cat 4. He finished
within the peloton, with no horror
stories to tell. Cliff Holstein and
Scott Reinhard raced in the Cat 5
group. We were so tired we did not
stay to see their finish.I hope
everyone finished safely. Citrus
Cycling ended the season in 5th
place out of more than 60 registered
teams! Congratulations on all the
hard work!
Gwinnett Bike Fest
The race on Day One was held on the
Road Atlanta track in Braselton,
Georgia. It definitely looked
strange to see bicycle racing on a
track that motorcycles and cars use.
I want to start off by saying that
racing in Georgia does not include
any flat courses. This one was no
exception. There were several
notable rolling hills throughout the
course. Scott's race was first - he
was racing the Cat 4/5 Under 35
class. As a beginner racer with just
one race under his belt it was not
an easy undertaking to be racing
with such a strong field. He was
able to hold on the first couple of
laps and then the field started to
slowly shred away with many pulling
out and not finishing. Scott came up
on a few stragglers but they were
not able to hang with him and he
kept going. He finished strong and
was happy that he got through it. He
ended up with 23rd place.
The next race was Doug, Chuck, and
Jimmy's with Doug and Chuck
competing in the Masters 40+ field
and Jimmy competing as a Cat 3.
Today's race was combined (scored
separately) so you can imagine how
large the field was. Early on, there
were a few breakaways that were able
to stick. Many chase groups tried to
form and Jimmy got in one that
looked like it might stay away.
After a while they were reeled in
and the race ended in a field sprint
for our Citrus guys. Jimmy got 8th,
Doug got 7th, and Chuck got 8th.
There were no Women's racing until
Day Three, so alas, I did not get to
ride on Road Atlanta.
2009 Gwinnett Bike Fest Day 1
2009 Gwinnett Bike Fest Day 2
Hi everyone! Another Webster Roubaix
Race is in the history books. It was
another dry dusty day this past
Saturday. Every rider came off the
course completely caked with sweat
and dirt(and quite a few with
serious road rash), as 2.5 miles of
every 9 mile lap took them through
loose sand and gravel. While we did
not get to see Julie, Chris or Chuck
race the dynamic results have them
finishing 14th in the 55+ class for
Chris Bald, I think 7th for Julie
Pitts in the womens 4 race and Doug
told us that Crash er' I mean Chuck
went down in the deep sand section
and dropped on the 5th lap for 33rd.
We did get to see Doug and Jimmy
race in Cat 3 which ran with the Cat
4 bunch. 74 riders in all! How Doug
even raced at all after being sick
most of the previous week is a
mystery to me. He held on for the
entire 105 km cramping badly on the
last couple of laps.He finished the
whole race. Jimmy Page managed to
get in an early break of about 10
riders. The group was whittled down
to six riders by the next to last
lap.Thank goodness they were close
to two minutes ahead of the pack
because the front riders came around
and only the first four came across
with no Jimmy. Then here he came by
himself still ahead of what was left
of the peleton, 5th overall and 4th
in Cat 3. Great job everyone for
what is by far the toughest race of
the year.
Thats all!
Bertie
2008 Race Report
Cat 4 State Championship Team
When the final team results for the
2008 racing season were released,
Citrus Cycling was ranked number one
in the men's CAT 4 category.
Congratulations for a great season
and thanks to Jimmie Page, Doug
Pitts and Chuck Holstein for
propelling the team to it's first
top finish.
Cat 4 State Champion
Steve Severance (TimeTrial)
Two Cat 5 State Champions
Jimmie Page(35&Under)
Dr. Bob Brockett(35&Older)
Citrus Cycling finishing at the top
of state events, this is getting to
be a habit... First, it's
Bob Brocket and Jimmy Page
and now Steve Severance.
Last Saturday, June 16th in the
State Time Trials, Severance took
first place in the Cat. 4 category.
This little club is putting out some
elite riders. Congratulations,
Steve for an outstanding
performance.
Current Racing Calendar
The calendar for the next season of
races has been released. Some of
these are tentative but it gives us
a good idea anyway. Also, there is
now a Team Time Trial championship
as well! Citrus Cycling Team Members
could do VERY WELL in Cat 4.
Use the following link to see the
calendar on FloridaCycling.com
13 Hours of Santos Mountain Bike
Race
The 13 Hours of Santos Mountain Bike
Race held on Sunday September 2nd -
Hein DeBeer competed in the 6 Hour
solo division on a fixed gear hard
tail moutain bike (just call him
iron man) and completed 7 laps
placing him in 16th place out of 90
competitors. I (Turbo) competed in
the 13 hour team event with three
riders from Gainesville who I'd
never met nor ridden with before.
The team finished 8 laps and
finished 13th out of 21 teams in the
beginners division with lap times
ranging from 42-51minutes. Each lap
was 8.5 miles long with one mile of
very technical riding. Heins laps
ranged from 41 minutes to 53 minutes
- very impressive for being out
there by himself again on a fixed
gear hard tail. The fastest lap
times were in the 33minute range by
the teams in the Open Money Expert
division. As for other local teams
the Ocala Bike Shop team finished
2nd in the beginner division while
the Santos Bike Shop finished 3rd
thus giving the Ocala Bike Shop
bragging rights for the bicycle
shops in Ocala. . The Ocala Bike
Shop also fielded a team in the Coed
division and finished 6th.
Crystal River Sprint
Triathlon Series
September 1st, 2007 - Congrats to
our club members that competed in
the Crystal River Sprint Triathlon
Series that finished up this past
Saturday. There were 162 competitors
for the last race. Dr. Brockett
finished 17th overall
Sat.,1st in his age group, and 1st
overall for the series in his age
group. Thom Neil finished 16th
overall, 1st in his age group, and
1st overall for his age group. Berty
Page took 2nd in her age group and
took 1st in over 40 Female Masters
for the series. Jimmy Page finished
6th overall Sat., 2nd in his class,
and 1st overall for the series in
his class. Francis Endryck finished
7th in the Clydesdale class with
out any training beforehand. Nice
results for these guys. Jack
Anderson would have taken a podium
position in his age group but was
nowhere to be found...probably was
worried about bumping into a mullet
on the swim. Hope I didn't miss
anybody. - Dave Page
Paris-Brest-Paris
This year several of our
club members are
participating in
Paris-Brest-Paris. First run
in 1891, the 1200-kilometer
Paris-Brest-Paris, or "PBP"
as it is commonly called, is
a grueling test of human
endurance and cycling
ability. Organized every
four years by the host Audax
Club Parisien, the
Paris-Brest-Paris
Randonneurs is the
oldest bicycling event still
run on a regular basis on
the open road. Beginning on
the southern side of the
French capital, it travels
west 600 kilometers to the
port city of Brest on the
Atlantic Ocean and returns
along the same route.
Today's randonneur
cyclists, while no longer
riding the primitive
machines used a hundred
years ago over dirt roads or
cobblestones, still have to
face up to rough weather,
endless hills, and pedaling
around the clock. A 90-hour
time limit ensures that only
the hardiest randonneurs
earn the prestigious PBP
finisher's medal and have
their name entered into the
event's "Great Book" along
with every other finisher
going back to the very first
PBP. To become a PBP
ancien (or ancienne
for the ladies) is to join a
very elite group of cyclists
who have successfully
endured this mighty
challenge. No longer a
contest for professional
racing cyclists (whose entry
is now forbidden), PBP
evolved into a timed
randonnée or brevet
for hard-riding amateurs
during the middle part of
the 20th century. The event
is held in August every four
years.
The riders from our
area to watch include:
4850 STEVENS
DANNY
4851 STEVENS ROBERT
1989 STEVENS JR
DANNY
4664 RIGOULOT KEITH
4724 CARRILLO
RODOLFO
We have got some great news from
the racing this weekend. We will be
riding in the presence of some
greatness in the coming year, but
I’ll start at the beginning. On
Saturday Doug raced with the Masters
35+ class which was filled with
around 20 Pros and multiple Cat 1 &
2 guys. The field was split by a bad
crash about ¾ mile before the finish
and Doug was caught in the second
group but still finished in a VERY
respectable 12th place,
(I think that’s what he told me but
I’m a little senile today so it may
have been 11th or 13th).
No matter, they averaged over 25mph
through lots of hills, wind and heat
for 54 miles. Congratulations to
Doug!
Dr. Brockett then went off with the
45+ group which he thought would be
filled with old guys who get fat in
the winter. Wrong…it also was full
of old pros and after a couple laps
Doc decided to save himself for
later and eased off to finish with
the second pack. Still a great ride
considering the quality of the
field. Again, congrats to the Doc
but more on him in a minute.
We saw Jodie out on course on
Saturday but I never could find out
if she raced and if so how she did.
Jodie, if you read this please fill
us in on how it went.
Sunday dawned HOT and HUMID! I
raced the Cat 4 race at 1pm (Who
decides to start a race at 1 in the
afternoon in mid June in
Florida?). We covered 42.6
miles at about 24 mph with what
started out as a really large field
of around a hundred riders. I was
again taught that strength has
nothing to do with winning when I
was caught out on the finish stretch
by the double yellow line rule. I
did not cross it and when everyone
else did the road was choked and I
had no place to go. I finished 31st
and very frustrated because I
watched the sprint go away and knew
I could have out gunned most of what
I saw…I should mention that the
sprint was for 3rd
however. Two guys broke away on lap
3 and rode off the entire field by
themselves. Rumor has it they are
Cuban nationals who defected and
were national champs down there, but
USA cycling is making them
work their way back up. Shouldn’t
take too long the way they rode
today.
My
computer showed ridiculous temps
coming off the asphalt. During the
Cat 4 race the lowest temp was 103f,
the average was 109f, and the high
was a sweltering 121 degrees! It was
not possible to stay hydrated and
many fell off and became ill.
Now for some good news, we were
really well represented in the Cat 5
race. Brit Cotrell,
Jimmy Page,
Dr. Bob Brockett and
Chuck Holstein were all in the field. The
temps were still horrible as the
field rolled off at 3pm. The Cat 5s
were split into under 35 & 35 and
over. Both fields raced together and
they went 6 laps for a total of 31 ½
miles in the heat. Brit attempted to
bridge a breakaway on lap 3 or 4 and
while he caught them too much gas
was used up and he dropped off and
the real bummer was that the break
was caught by the peloton the next
lap. That left us with 3 in the
group and as they came around for
the final lap everyone was in decent
position. On the long downhill
finish stretch a pileup happened
about 3/10 mile from the finish and
when things cleared up and the
sprint came into sight we were
thrilled to see Brockett and Jimmie
come around everyone and fish 1st
and 2nd! However, since
the Championship was broken down
into the age groups that made Jimmie
1st in his age group so
we ended up with TWO STATE
CHAMPIONS!
Chuck finished safely in the field
after getting very crampy but he did
avoid the crash so we all got
through the weekend safely.
Please make sure to give them both
along with Doug, Chuck, Brit and
Jodie a big pat on the back. The
very best in the Sate were all in
attendance and we rode with them and
came away with some great results
and lots of smiles.
In other news, we have a sponsor
for the race team already. The
honorable, esteemed, highly
regarded, and just plain likeable
Dr. Brockett has agreed to sponsor
our club. The only stipulation was
that he gets to choose the name so
prepare to see some “Broke Jaw
racing” jerseys soon. The meeting is
still on the 21st so lets
all plan on a fun evening together.
That’s it for now so everyone ride
safe and we’ll see you on Tuesday.
