Cascade Classic Stage 6

Road Race, 83 miles, average speed of winner: 26 mph

The final stage of the Cascade Classic is a tough circuit race comprised of a 17-mile loop ridden five times. The circuit has two significant climbs. The first is a gentle 1km rise to a false flat, and the second is known as "the wall." Needless to say "the Wall" is a ridiculously steep piece of road that is made even more absurd with every progressive lap. Temperatures in the 90's and five prior days of racing in the legs made this a grueling race for sure.

Things started off sketchy with two crashes in the first ten miles. Everyone was weary and touchy. Up the Wall the first time was chaos. The second time hurt. By the fifth ascent it was just one of those slow-motion dreams when you can't run away fast enough. We started the day with 142 racers. 45 of those didn't finish. On the second lap both Lunner and Turner succumbed to the unrelenting abuse of the course and they pulled the plug. Tuttle made it around with the dwindling group until the final climb up the wall when the whole race just came apart at the seams. Tuttle finished 63rd on the day which put him 77th overall for the week.

Of 191 starters at the Cascade Classic, only 97 finished the entire race. This was one difficult stage race. Mostly we're all just beaten down and looking forward to recuperation. Racing against teams flown in from Spain, former tour de france finishers, and the country's most talented pro teams was an eye-opener. It made the norcal scene seem tame. In a sport that takes years to master, getting utterly smashed every once in a while is a good horizon expander. We'll get some more stories and pictures up soon, but for now it's time to put the feet up for a little bit!

Cascade Classic Stage 5

Criterium, 90 minutes

Downtown insanity. Field was strung out from the gun and all three of us stayed in till the last twenty minutes. Made the time cut and ate some cheeseburgers to recover for the final road race on Sunday.

Cascade Classic Stage 4

Road Race, 84 miles. Average speed of winner: 25.5 mph

Another long hot day. This stage started with a 15 mile, 3,500 foot climb, followed by a long fast descent, then gentle rollers until the final climb up to Mt Bachelor ski resort. The first climb seemed easy enough at the base, but the pace was unrelenting and by the summit the pack of 154 riders had shattered into many smaller groups. Lunning and Tuttle made it over close enough to the front to rejoin the leaders on the descent. The pace was steady 30mph all the way to the final climb, where it exploded again. Lunning made it to the finish about a minute behind the winner, and Tuttle was about 2 minutes back in another group. Turner struggled over the first climb and ended up riding the rest of the day with one other rider working hard to limit his time loss, finishing about 25 minutes back, but still in the race.

Cascade Classic Stage 3

Time Trial -- 16 miles, avg speed of winner: 29.24 mph

Individual Time Trial today. Out and back with a climb on the way up and descent after the turnaround. Tom Zirbel of Bissell won it with a time of 32:50. ACR's standings:

Tuttle 36:39, 72nd place
Turner 37:19, 101st place
Lunning 38:15, 138th place

Race recap and full standings are here on cyclingnews.

Cascade Classic Stage 2

Road Race, 80 miles, average speed of winner: 27.54 mph

TOUGH! Super fast with no chances to rest, and very hot. The stage was basically flat until the final 10 mile climb to the finish, but attacks were incessant and the pace was pretty mind-boggling. Turner stayed in great form throughout the day and hit the climb hard, finishing in a fast group a bit behind the winners. Tuttle and Lunning both suffered in the heat and lost some time but are still kicking. Results, photos, and recap are here on cyclingnews.com.

Cascade Classic Stage 1

Road Race, 71 miles. Avg speed of winner: 29.78 mph

We all finished in the main group, 4'49" off a break of about 20 guys. This was a fast, flat stage and we played it conservatively. Tomorrow finishes on a long climb. The standings should be very different tomorrow afternoon.

Also, 191 people started... that's the biggest field any of us has been in.

Mid-season Reflection

Caught in the thick of the training and racing cycle it’s easy to get tunnel vision. Tuesday through Friday: train hard. Saturday and Sunday: race hard. Monday: rest hard. You can barely get your bike clean after last weekend’s mayhem before it’s time to slobber and sweat all over it again this weekend.

Tuttle in the cat III's, Spring 2008

So let’s pause a moment and reflect on where we are and what we’ve done. This is especially fun for me, team captain of Above Category Racing, because a season ago there was no Above Category Racing. Last spring ACR was one guy in the cat III’s. Tomorrow ACR starts one of the biggest stage races in the country with three racers in the Pro/1 field and three in the Cat II field, while another of us races SuperWeek in the Midwest.

Lunner attacks in the Tour of the Gila Crit, Pro/1, Spring 2009

The past season and a half: a look at the numbers…

188 – number of days raced by the team collectively, February 2008 to July 2009
1 – number of ACR racers in Spring, 2008
7 – number of ACR racers in Summer, 2009
41 – number of top-10 finishes for the team
2,708 – number of hours ridden collectively, January 2009 to July 2009
19 – number of bike fits by Craig Upton for ACR
2 – number of chili-cheese omelets consumed at Waffle House by ACR racers
1 – number of sponsors, 2008
6 – number of sponsors, 2009
104 – number of mix CD’s burned for roadtrips (approximate)
50,000 – number of miles ridden collectively, January 2009 to July 2009
53 – number of tires worn through in 2009
0 – number of chili-cheese omelets that will be consumed in the future by ACR racers
92 – number of motel room nights, 2009
2 – number of ACR racers currently in their very first year of racing

Looking over these numbers brings up an important point. None of this could be possible without the enormous support and commitment of our sponsors. Racing at the top level costs each racer a mindboggling amount of time and money. The only way we can do what we do is with the generous support of our sponsors. So THANK YOU to the following:

Above Category – Chad Nordwall owns this Mill Valley, CA bike shop that gives us our name. Chad has given so much of his time, expertise, attention, and equipment that I can’t even begin to list it all. Woody and Kalara have also given tremendous support throughout the season. And let’s not forget Kris Lunning, who does double-duty as cat 1 racer and team mechanic.


Pegoretti – Based in Caldonazzo, Italy, Dario Pegoretti furnished the team with our world-class race bikes this season. Fans and racers alike are awed by our beautiful and powerful machines. After racing a Pegoretti it will be heartbreaking to race anything else. Metal bike frames in the pro peloton? Yes, please!



Edge Composites – The guys at Edge in Ogden, Utah, keep us rolling on the world’s finest carbon wheels, forks, and handlebars. After throttling our equipment in some of the nation’s roughest races (potholes and dirt at Copperopolis, Tour of Battenkill, Leesville Gap), and some of the fastest (epic descents at Tour of the Gila and Ironhorse Classic), we can say with confidence and respect that Edge products are best in class.



Greg Norris Insurance, Inc – Greg Norris Insurance has generously supported the team with a racing, travel, and equipment budget. It’s an expensive sport and financial backing is absolutely mandatory. We couldn’t train, travel, and race properly without it.



Performance Labs, HC – Craig Upton’s mentoring, backed by years of racing wisdom and experience earned the hard way, is worth way more than its weight in gold. He also keeps us fit and fast with superlative coaching, periodic blood-lactate testing, and wind-tunnel tested bike-fitting service.



Speedplay Pedals – All those hours on the road translate to over a quarter billion pedal revolutions for the team just this year. And every single one of those is on Speedplay pedals. We’re grateful to Speedplay for sponsoring the team with Titanium Zero pedals and cleats.



Our friends and Families – Behind every bike racer is an entire cast of supporters. From handing up water bottles to pinning race numbers, from notes of encouragement to a bed to crash in while on the road, our friends and our families provide invaluable behind-the-scenes support.

Johnson in the Pro/I/II's, Spring 2009

And one final comment... No discussion of the ACR team is complete without mentioning the scary-strong junior team. They are independently directed and managed, but their commitment and results rival and, truth be told, sometimes surpass (the AC junior team's Spence Peterson has just been crowned mtn bike junior national champion...), the elite team's. We can't wait to see what these guys are doing in a couple more years....

San Rafael Twilight Criterium

Saturday, July 11th, we raced in downtown San Rafael. It was fast and fun, 75 minutes on a four-corner course with big crowds, loud music, and good safe racing. We had Lunning, Turner, Tuttle, and Harless in the mix, and we put some good time up front but it came down to a bunch sprint and with two national crit champions and some legendary track riders in the group, ACR was a touch outclassed in the dash to the line. All photos can be seen full size by clicking on them, and please see the bottom of the post for credits.

The sun sets behind the group.
Turner at his usual place on the front, trying for a breakaway.
Turn 4 sweeps back down into the finishing stretch.
A rainbow arced over the race halfway through.Bahati in his nat'l champs jersey.Turner, moving up, again.Lunner peeps his line through the third corner.
Turner with a gap, looking for reinforcements.The sprint, won by Ken Hanson (Type 1), was cloooooose!

kwc.org photos by Ken Hansen:

http://kwc.org/cycling/photos/local/san-rafael-twilight-2009/
Lyne Lamoureux photos by Lyne Lamoureux, Podium Insight, with full recap:
http://www.podiuminsight.com/2009/07/13/rivera-and-hanson-win-san-rafael-twilight-crit/

Tour of Mt Nebo

This past Saturday, AC's Chris Johnson and Milan Sopic traveled to Lancaster County, PA for the ominous Tour of Mt. Nebo. Velonews Riders Guide named the Tour of Mt. Nebo one of the must do races in 2009 and Ride Magazine ranked it as one of the top ten best races. With a history that speaks for itself, AC was proud to be participating in such an epic race.

AC had a strong presence in the feed zone thanks to the help of Brian and his beautiful girlfriend Becky

Johnson loved the over 1000 ft of climbing per lap while Milan wondered why he had signed up for such a hilly race. In the 1/2 race, selections were made on every lap. Going into the bell lap there were 2 riders off the front with the lead group containing 6. With about 5 miles to go the 2 riders were still off the front but the lead group was now down to just 3 riders as the pace quickened. With about 2 miles to go the threesome caught one of the riders who was off the front. At that point Johnson made his move and got a gap leading into the final climb. He held that gap and finished 2nd on the day!

Milan meanwhile spent the day trying to figure out how he could get even with Johnson for talking him into doing such a hilly race. He finished in the pack and was just happy to survive such a hilly course. He said he now knows how Cavendish feels in the Alps!

Milan before the start

Johnson powering up the final climb to finish 2nd

Special thanks to the AC pit crew: Brian, Becky and Papa Johnson (who was out visiting from San Francisco!)

Davis 4th of July Crit

Davis is a 30-some-odd year old classic crit held annually on July the 4th. Hot weather, raucous crowds, and a downtown college atmosphere make for some wild, rowdy, dangerous racing. Everyone wants to win it, no one really wants to race it.

Harless and Turner lined up for a 75 minute barn burner on a flat, six corner, L-shaped course riddled with potholes, brick to asphalt sections, not to mention BBQ and beer. A field of nearly 100 that included the likes of Daniel Ramsey (Team Mt. Kakhis), Chad Gerlach (Amore & Vita), and not to mention National Pro Crit champ Rahsaan Bahati, insured a heavily contested event.

Harless follows Turner down one of the straight stretches

Attacks came thick and fast right from the gun with Turner initiating several break attempts. However, the nervous nature of the course, paired with many teams content to sit in and try their turn of speed in the field kick against Bahhati, resulted in a bit of negative racing. Discouraged, but not down and out, Turner bid his time until the 50th minute when he launched his last haymaker attack.

Turner on the prowl for a gap off the front

All but lighting his entire matchbook on fire, Turner escaped the clutches of the field and opened up a 12 second gap to the screaming of a heat-crazed crowd. Breathing out of his eyeballs, a quick look under his arm revealed break-away specialist Chad Gerlach briding up with a Lombardi rider in tow.

Joining Turner, the trio rolled hard, but never really became cohesive, and as a result, only managed to push the gap out an additional 3 seconds. The bunch was having none of a strongman, 3 deep, Gerlach breakaway, and the escapees were caught with 7 to go.Avoiding any additional monkey-business, Turner and Harless finished safely in the group as Bahati easily bested the field in the final dash to the line.
(Thanks to C. Turner for the Recap!)

Photos are all by Veronkia Lenzi: http://www.veronikalenzi.com/DavisCritProMen070409-6.php