March 24 – Cateye RR
Mother Nature delivered rain and 40 degree temperatures for the Cat Eye Road Race held Saturday, March 24th. The nine mile circuit featured 2 dirt sections and on a normal day these dirt roads, which are tilted up, would put the sting in the legs of most racers. On this day however, the roads quickly turned to mud making for an epic day of road racing for those who braved the conditions. The 45+ men's race consisted of 5 laps and with 2 to go VC's Bill Kellagher pulled away from his breakaway compatriots to solo in for the win. Vic Williams, who has won many national titles for the Vitamin Cottage squad and a recent "graduate" to the 45+ group, was instrumental in helping launch Kellagher up the road and ultimately placed 3rd on the day.
Special thanks to Deirdre Moynihan for the photos - click here to see the whole gallery
The Elite men's race was scheduled to complete 8 laps of the course but due to worsening conditions was cut back to 6 laps. VC's Jonathan Baker also soloed for 4 laps in the miserable conditions to win the Elite Men's race with VC's Dirk Friel placing 2nd. VC took 5 of the top 11 spots in the race.
Special thanks to Deirdre Moynihan for the photos - click here to see the whole gallery
March 17,18 - CU Weekend
Dirk Friel has put together quite an impressive early season, as the only amateur racer to make the final break in numerous races. In fact, Dirk has only finished outside the top 10 in one race out of about 7 so far this season.
The CU weekend included a Time Trial, Criterium and Road Race with racers not having to compete in all three. Most chose the Criterium and the Road Race. In the criterium, Friel together with Jason Donald of Team Slipstream and Karl Menzies and Tim Johnson, both of Healthnet, formed a four-man breakaway that would eventually lap the field. Showing their post Tour of California form, Menzies and Donald went first and second, with Friel finishing 3rd ahead of Tim Johnson. VC riders Jon Tarkington and Christian McCarthy finished 6th and 8th respectively.
In the road race, which included the famous "feed hill" from the Coors Classic Morgul Bismark course, Friel again made the final selection. This time he was joined by Karl Menzies (Healthnet), Andy Bajadali (Jelly Belly), Kevin Nicol (Tokyo Joe’s) and by VC teammate and up-and-comer Peter Horn. Menzies again took the win ahead of Bajadali and Friel. Peter Horn, Jon Baker, and Jon Tarkington finished 5th, 6th, and 7th.