Elite Team News

Baker races to a top-10 at CrossVegas

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:50:00 GMT

Vitamin Cottage cyclocross racer Jonathan Baker posted an impressive 10th place at the UCI C1 CrossVegas race held on September 24th. Baker raced with the front group which contained all of the domestic 'cross stars, along with several international standouts such as Thomas Frischneckt and Christoph Sauser. Although mildly disappointed with his final placing, partially due to some drivetrain issues, Jon was optimistic afterwards that his fitness would lead to some big results in the future.

Press Release - Jon Baker's Cyclocross Plans

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:05:00 GMT

Jonathan Baker is preparing for national UCI circuit after winning all of the elite men's races in Colorado so far this season, including:

9/13 Pikes Peak Supercross #1 in Colorado Springs

9/14 Brecktobercross in Breckenridge

9/21 Mammoth 'Cross #1 in Golden

This Wednesday he travels to Las Vegas for the UCI C1 Race 'Cross Vegas (this race is sponsored by our own Denver/Boulder Couriers) to compete against the best in the nation. ‘Cross Vegas kicks off a circuit that will include UCI Racing in Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, Delaware, Pennsylvania culminating in the national championships to be held in Kansas City, Missouri in mid-December. After that it is on to the World Cup circuit, with races mainly held in Belgium and The Netherlands. This racing will serve as preparation for a bid at World Championships, held at Hoogeheide, NL, in early February.

Contact Jonathan:

720-323-6712

jbaker.beasys@gmail.com

Jon Baker Wins CO Cross Races - Readies for Cross Vegas

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:48:00 GMT

In the 2008 road racing season, the Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team pb XP Companies took Colorado's Best All Around Team Competition in the men's pro-1-2 category for the fifth year running. With that title now in the books, attention turns to cyclocross.

Jon Baker notched a pair of wins to open up his cyclocross account for the Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team pb XP Companies. In prior years, Baker has had different team arrangements during the cyclocross season but will be racing in the familiar orange and purple in 2008.

Saturday, Sep 13 saw Bear Creak Park in Colorado Springs as the venue. Baker lapped all but second and third place on his way to victory in the men's elite race. Sunday, Sep. 14 provided some high-altitude cross in Breckenridge Colorado. Baker had to come back from a mid race mechanical problem but was still able to pull off the victory.

Next up its Cross Vegas for Baker and a team of special guests, including former VC rider and current Successful Living Pro Chuck Coyle. Cross Vegas is held in Las Vegas during the interbike trade show. Last year Baker held is own in the lead group of domestic and international cross stars and finished 7th on the day. Stay tuned for a race report.

August 19 update - Baker, McCarthy, Pinkerton and more

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Baker wins Tour of Colorado, Gateway and Boulder Roubaix – Jon Baker continues to have a strong 2008 campaign. This past Saturday, Baker took out one of Colorado’s most prestigious races by winning a wet and muddy edition of Boulder Roubaix. The win was a sweet one due to the teamwork involved. Jon Tarkington went in a very early move with Alan Krughoff (Team Rio Grande) and put pressure on the field. When Tarkington was caught late in the race, Christian McCarthy took off on a solo move. Sheldon Taylor (Team Rio Grande) bridged up to McCarthy with only Baker in tow. Upon Taylor’s arrival at the McCarthy rear wheel, Baker launched a textbook attack and held it to the line for the win. McCarthy would finish third. Derek Strong continued a string of solid performances by finishing 6^th and Dirk Friel took 7^th. Tarkington hung on for 10^th.

Baker finished 5^th the following day at another Colorado Classic – the North Boulder Park Criterium. With that placing, Baker clinched the Tour of Colorado. In taking that title, Baker won a pair of climbing road races the prior weekend in Grand Junction, CO.

In women’s racing, Anne Lannan took 2^nd in the North Boulder Park Criterium with VC teammates Renee Eastman, Lisa Strong and Jenna Allen taking 6^th and 9^th and 10^th, respectively.

McCarthy racks up silvers – in other race news, VC strongman Christian McCarthy notched three-in-row second places in recent weekend races. In all three instances, McCarthy was second to some solid professional riders. McCarthy took second to Heath Blackgrove (Toyota United), Chris Baldwin (Toyota United) and Jason Donald (Garmin-Chipotle) at the Federal Center Circuit Race (Aug 2), Bannock Criterium (Aug 3) and Vic’s Prospect Criterium (Aug 9).

Pinkerton wins Nevada Masters State Championship – VC team manager and long time rider Bob Pinkerton recently took the Northern California/Northern Nevada State Criterium Championship in the 50+ Division at the Carson Valley Classic Criterium.

Kellagher, Barrowclough and Mapes – The Vitamin Cottage pb XP Companies team snagged a few recent victories of note. Bill Kellagher won the 45+ and James Mapes the Category 3 Boulder Roubaix race. Mathew Barrowclough won the Salida Criterium.

McCormack takes 2008 CO State Criterium Championship

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:29:00 GMT

McCormack takes the win (photo by Lewis Geyer/Timescall.com)

Alan McCormack won the 2008 CO State Criterium Championship in a dramatic finish. While Dirk Friel's presence in a long breakaway looked promising for him to repeat as the state crit champ, with three laps to go, Friel was the last rider away after his three breakaway companions were swallowed up by the field. Friel held a narrow margin over the field, but with half a lap to go was caught. Never fear, as McCormack along with teammates Randy Reichardt and Christian McCarthy were well positioned for the sprint. McCormack took a close sprint over Reichardt in second with McCarthy finishing in sixth. Reichardt's second was impressive given that he crashed hard just 15 minutes earlier. For a full report, check out the Longmont news article from the timescall.com.

In Saturday's Rocky Mounts Criterium, Dirk Friel took second to team THF's Dan Schmatz.

The 08 State Crit podium (Byron Nix, Alan McCormack and Randy Reichardt)

Jon Baker's race reports (Vail HC, Folsom Crit, Nevada City and Nez)

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:07:00 GMT

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.

Baker second in final Tour de Nez stage

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:52:00 GMT

The Tour de Nez wrapped up this past weekend with the Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team pb XP Companies turning some heads. Jon Baker stepped on the podium again (click here for photo and gallery) after another second place finish on the difficult final stage. Baker finished 2nd earlier in the week in the Truckee Criterium and ended up 12th overall. The team received great photographic and press coverage on both Cyclingnews.com and Velonews.Com.

Following is a race report from Dirk Friel for the final stage:

Tour de Nez Final Stage, Northstar Village, CA.

The final stage of the Tour de Nez was yet again an up and down affair. Even though the "Nez's" stages are relatively short they are far from easy. There was not one minute of recovery in the entire 4-day, 5-stage, event.

The final race on Saturday consisted of 22 laps of a hilly, 2-mile technical circuit. The field was down to about 56 starters and my goal was to hopefully move up a few spots in order to finish top 30 overall.

Bang! The starters pistol was shot and 56 riders went sprinting out of the start line as if we were starting a criterium. We quickly descended the downhill portion of the course and within a minute hit the first short hill and cobble section through the Northstar Village.

The cobbles added a European feel to the race and yet again took away any chance of recovery on what otherwise would have been the easiest section of the course. I must say I was suffering like a dog but rather enjoyed the atmosphere of racing through a ski village. Million dollar penthouse condos loomed four stories above and spectators lounged in comfy leather couches sipping coffee and beer. What could be better.

About five laps into the race I was able to help my Vitamin Cottage/XP Companies teammate Jon Baker leap off the front of the group and bridge to a small breakaway. Having helped Jon as best I could I quickly went back to survival mode and tried to stay hidden within the second group and conserve precious energy.

Half way through the race the break with Baker was about 30 seconds off the front and I found myself still in the 2nd group with the GC leaders. Our group was down to about 19 riders and I was pleased with my efforts. However, I knew it was going to be short lived. With 9 laps to go I popped off the back of the 2nd group and found myself chasing solo. Luckily I caught two riders and we put our heads down and worked well together to the finish.

Somehow the results got messed up as I finished with two riders yet the results show me as finishing alone. Oh well, in the end I rode a solid race and moved from 33rd overall to 28th place in the final general classification. This is certainly not a great result in the grand scheme of things, but for a guy who trains about 10hrs/week and hasn't raced an NRC stage race since 2002 I'm really happy with 28th. I'm even happier for my team though since Jon Baker finished 2nd on the final stage which was his second, 2nd place of the week. With just a tad more luck Jon could have won two NRC races last week.

Stage Details:

1:36

305 avg watts

359 NP

*This race also produced my second highest Normalized CP 20 of the year at 398w.

It is now time to recover and think about the next local Colorado race which is the Niwot Criterium in a few weeks. I may also do the local Wednesday time trial series this week.

Thanks for reading,

Dirk

Tarkington wins Glenwood Criterium

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:37:00 GMT

After a tough day in Saturday’s Glenwood Springs Rock the River Road Race, the VC men’s p-1-2 team redeemed itself with a 1-2 finish on a challenging Glenwood Criterium course. The weekend races saw two great new venues on the Colorado racing Calendar. The road race course provided scenic views along the Colorado River and served up a demanding route with lots of rolling climbs and a stiff wind. To make a long story short, the team missed the days winning breakaway of four and the chaotic field sprint didn’t provide any consolation.

Sunday’s Criterium course, however, provided the opportunity for redemption. On a technical course that included several tight turns and a fair bit of climbing, Jon Tarkington delivered a commanding solo performance eventually lapping almost the entire field for the win. Christian McCarthy provided the exclamation point by rolling across the line alone for second on a day that saw the field completely shattered.

Team highlights from the women's races this weekend included Carol Hutton's fourth-place finish in the road race and Renee Eastman's second place finish in the criterium.

Tarkington on his way to a solo victory

May 24 Race Update

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:24:00 GMT

The racing season is easing into gear here in Colorado. With a break in the action on the Front Range this weekend, here's a look back at the last couple of weeks.

Dirk Friel leads Jon Tarkington at the Coal Miner's Classic

WHEELS OF THUNDER & COAL MINERS - Last weekend the Wheel's of Thunder (WOT) Classic took place on Saturday and Sunday was the Coal Miner's Classic, both on new courses. Renee Eastman pulled off a pair of 4th places in the women's Pro-1-2 races. In the men's WOT race, Dirk Friel and new teammate Randy Reichardt found themselves as the only team with two in a breakaway initiated by Henk Vogel's (Toyota-United). Before Dirk and Randy could turn the situation to their advantage, the break split and they found themselves on defense, which ultimately resulted in 7th and 8th place finishes, respectively. Zak Grabowski (THF Cycling) took the win ahead of some very experienced riders.

Friel turned it around in Sunday's Coal Miners classic, finishing on the podium in second place behind winner Henk Vogels. Friel's breakaway companion and teammate Jon Tarkington took 4th.

SUNSHINE HILLCLIMB - Jon Baker finished 2nd behind Phil Zaijeck (Healthnet Maxxis) and ahead of 3rd place and former VC rider Scott Tietzel, who now rides for the Jelly Belly Professional Cycling Team. The course takes place on a 9 mile climb starting at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and climbs over 3000 ft.

RABBIT MOUNTAIN TIME TRIAL - The VC men's and women's team took the Rabbit Mountain team time trial (full disclosure - VC was the only team to enter the men's event). In the individual Time Trial held on the same day, first-year VC rider Carol Hutton took the win with Renee Eastman taking second. Speaking of time trials, Jon Baker took the following Wednesday Boulder Time Trial Series win with teammate Dirk Friel taking second on a super windy night.

Jon Baker's Tour of Arkansas Recap

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sat, 24 May 2008 04:15:00 GMT

Here's a recap of the Tour of Arkansas...

Stage 0: The hardest part can be getting there, and Arkansas was no exception. A 2 hour delay in Dallas meant I arrived at my host house at 1AM. 6 hours later I was up and eating breakfast for stage 1.

Stage 1: A tricky stage to judge; over 10,000 ft of climbing over 110 miles, but no climb more than 2 miles long. This meant a constant up and down, with a battle for position at the front for the each punchy climb; a bit like an Ardennes Classic, this one. After a valiant battle, I made the front group of 30, but was unfortunately gapped off a bit on the final rise before the line, losing 12 seconds.

Stage 2: 97 miles, finishing with the infamous 3 mile climb up Mt. Nebo, with steady grades of 18%. Yes, this climb is steeper than Magnolia. I had a 27 tooth cassette for the occasion, and needed every gear inch of it. After a steady pace on the run in, where I had to battle again with the bigger teams for a spot a the front (I didn't make any friends this race, for sure), we hit the finishing climb hard. I rode up at my own pace, and wound up 15th for the day, @ 1min 40 from the race winner.

Stage 3: Another near 100-miler, this time finishing on a more steady 10 mile climb of around 2500 ft elevation gain. At this point I started to realize that the head cold I'd been trying to ignore had moved a bit into my lungs; I was determined to give it a go regardless, as my legs were feeling good. Abound halfway up the final climb, Frank Pipp put in a strong attack, drawing 10 guys out from the field; I was a bit indecisive at that moment and found myself in the 2nd group. I eventually attacked out of that group with Mark Walters, but we were not quite able to bridge to the front. I finished 12th on the day.

Stage 4: Downtown Criterium in Van Buren, Arkansas. Not necessarily my favorite event, but I was determined to make the most of it and ride at the front. By the time I got there at 3 laps in, the race-winning break had already gone, and the team of the GC leader (Team Type 1), was content to ride a steady (read; leg-busting) tempo to keep it in check. I tried an attack with 5 to go, trying to steal a few seconds and move up a spot on GC, but the pace on the field brought me back.

I finished a reasonable 15th on GC, not quite what I had hoped for, but a great training effect should be achieved nonetheless. Tour of Arkansas is a solid 4-stage race, and one I would like to come back in the future.