Following are race reports by Jon Baker.
Vail Hillclimb:
Raced on the same day as the Mike Horgan hillclimb in Boulder, which I unfortunately would miss, the Vail Hillclimb promoted by Teva Mountain Games, and sponsored by Backcountry.com, offered a generous prize fund; but only 4 deep. This was the first race in my upcoming 5 week road trip, so I was motivated to earn a bit of money. Checking out the start list on the morning of the race revealed some heavy hitters, including Ned Overend (winner of the past 2 years), Mike Carter, Drew Miller, Stefano Barberi, Corey Collier (Health Net), and the Toyota duo of Ben Day and Chris Baldwin (both current or former national TT champions). I knew I would have to be on my "A" game for this one.
When I won this event 3 years ago, I raced on a full TT setup; this year, I used my road bike with clip-on bars. The course is half flat/rolling, with the 2nd half an uphill grade of 7%. With a ripping tailwind, times were super-fast, with both Day and Baldwin breaking the former course record (held by Andy Hampsten!). I was able to slot in 3rd place, about 20 seconds off the old record time. See http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jun08/jun10news for a snippet on the race.
Folsom Criterium:
I raced a criterium in Folsom, CA as a warmup for my favorite race of the year, the Nevada City Classic. After lapping the field with a large group of 13, I mustered a fifth place in the sprint.
Nevada City Classic:
Held in my home town of Nevada City, CA, this race serves as a good reason to travel out to California, and see my family for Fathers Day. Oh yeah, and the race is pretty cool too. As the oldest race on the west coast, it has an impressive history and list of former winners (see www.ncclassic.com). I've dreamed of winning this race ever since I started competing, and always arrive super motivated. This year saw a list of the usual suspects for the difficult circuit that climbs 150 feet per lap for 40 laps. Scott Nydam, Justin England, Burke Swindlehurst, Steven Cozza, Matt Cooke, and Ned Overend were among the top contenders. As expected, attrition was the rule of the day, and by the midpoint the front group was down to a dozen or so riders. First Nydam, then England went up the road, and as I was going through a bad patch, I was unable to respond. The remaining seven or eight guys I was with set a good tempo, and we stayed within striking distance as I recovered a bit. As the race wound down, it became obvious that we would only be able to contest the final podium spot. I launched a late attack on the last lap, but was overtaken in the last 200 meters by Graham Howard (Bissell) and Eric Wohlberg (Symmetrics), to arrive 5th on the day. I was pleased with the result nonetheless, as it equaled my previous best in this notoriously difficult event.
Tour De Nez:
The Tour De Nez was back to it's former glory as a multi-day NRC stage race this year. Held at altitude in and around the Reno / Tahoe area, this event is tailor-made for Coloradans. VC brought a 4 man team including, Randy Reichardt, Joey Pinkerton, Dirk Friel, and me. From the Team Presentation on the Grand Stage at the Grand Sierra Casino, to the Post-Event party with gourmet catered food and an open bar, the organization was top-notch. We were treated to complimentary hotel rooms, as well as 2 meals / day for the Reno portion of the event, and with Northstar Mountain Resort's commitment for the next 3 years, I was told that teams would be given rooms there as well next year.
I've realized that at the NRC level, if I just sit in and wait for the finale, I'm a bit behind the top riders. With that in mind, I was determined to "race" all stages this year, looking to be opportunistic and get in breakaways. That strategy panned out, as I was able to make the break on stage 2, finishing 2nd, and again on the final day, only missing the top step by about 6 inches! Overall, the stage results were much better than my anonymous 12th place overall, justifying my race strategy. As result of my two second places, I also was second in the Points competition, adding another $500 to the coffers. I was very happy I was able to get this result for the Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team pb XP Companies as we were due another national level result.