Masters Team News

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.

Vitamin Cottage wins at Salida, Federal Center and Bannock

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 07:36:00 GMT

A familiar scene - Fisk wins Bannock!

Vitamin Cottage riders have been busy stepping on and off the podium over the past couple of weeks. First up over the July 27 weekend was the the Salida Omnium, a three-stage race with a time trial, road race and criterium. Beth Fisk took a dominating victory in the overall pro-1-2 women's omnium. To do so, she won the time trial, took fourth in a demanding hilly road race, and won the criterium. Other notable VC women's results included the time trial: Renee Eastman (6th); Criterium: Anne Lannan (7th); Omnium Overall: Renee Eastman (8th). In the men's master 45+ omnium, Vitmain Cottage rider Jimi Gibson took the road race stage, which was also the state road race championship. If the men's pro-1-2 omnium was a golf tournament, Vitamin Cottage shot well over par. However, Jon Tarkington managed a respectable 9th in the time trial, 6th in the road race and 9th overall.

The men's team reconciled it's Salida performance by taking 1st and 2nd in the Federal Center circuit race and second in a hotly contested Bannock Criterium. At the Federal Center Vitamin Cottage riders Jon Tarkington, Dirk Friel, and Joe Pinkerton were part of an 8-man breakaway in the final 15 minutes of the race. The break of strong riders consisted of Kevin Nicol (Tokyo Joe's), Timmy Duggan (Team Slipstream), Colby Pearce (USA Cycling); Zak Grabowski (VMG racing); and Taylor Phinney (5280). With half a lap to go, Tarkington sacrificied his own chances and took a long pull delivering Dirk Friel and Joe Pinkerton to the line for a 1-2 finish. Tarkington hung on for 6th and once again the elite squad worked to perfection as a team.

Dirk Friel takes the win at the Federal Center

In the women's version of the Federal Center Circuit, Vitamin Cottage matched its earlier performance by the men's team. Syrae Weikle took the victory with Beth Fisk in second. In Sunday's Bannock Criterium, Beth Fisk took the win for Vitamin Cottage. The men's Bannock race was a national caliber field. Vitamin Cottage was in the mix of every serious break the entire race. With 15 minutes left, Dirk Friel integrated a 4 man break. Unfortunately for three of them, the break included BMC sprinter Dan Schmatz. As expected, Schmatz took the win, but Dirk Friel was right behind in second. Friel has made the podium in almost every race he's entered this season.

The breakaway works together at Bannock

With only a few races remaining, the Vitamin Cottage men's and women's pro-1-2 teams and the men's 45+ team hold commanding leads in the season-long best all around team competition. Interestingly, both pro-1-2 teams and the 45 + team focus on winning races as a team as their first priority. In so doing, the points competition takes care of itself.

VC State Champions!! - Beth Fisk and Dirk Friel

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 05:42:00 GMT

Vitamin Cottage riders Beth Fisk and Dirk Friel are newly crowned 2007 State Criterium Champions. The races were contested in 90 degree plus temperatutes in downtown Longmont on Sunday, July 15.

The two VC stars went about it in different ways. First up was the men's race in which Friel took off with Timmy Duggan (Slipstream Chipotle) and Kevin Nicol (Tokyo Joe's) 10 minutes into a 90 minute criterium. To its demise, the field decided to play “I'm not chasing, you chase“, which was a bad idea given the collective horsepower of the three breakaway riders. With a strong Vitamin Cottage team marking any of the serious moves from the field, the break stuck until the end and Friel took a photo finish victory with a dramatic bike throw.

L to R: Timmy Duggan, Dirk Friel, and Kevin Nicol Photo Courtesy of Chuck Bolden

In the women's race, the pressure was on Fisk and her Vitamin Cottage teammates as the odds-on favorite for victory. And deliver they did. With the whole team lined up on the front in the final laps, Fisk took a field sprint finish victory to score state championship number two on the day. The Vitamin Cottage supporting cast in Anne Lannan, Renee Eastman, Lisa Matlock and Syrae Weikle are to be commended for their role and sacrifice in the Vitamin Cottage victory.

L to R: Renee Eastman, Lisa Matlock, Syrae Weikle, Anne Lannan and Beth Fisk Photo Courtesy of Chuck Bolden

The Boulder Daily Camera did a feature article describing Friel's and Fisk's victories in its Monday Sports page. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/jul/16/friel-heats-up-to-collect-win/

To put a little more polish on the day, the VC masters 45+ team also took a victory with Bill Kellagher. Though the masters state championship was contested at City Park earlier in the year, the victory was sweet nonetheless for a team that has really gelled together in 2007..

Dead Dog Classic Report - Vitamin Cottage adds to 2007 Victory Tally

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:46:00 GMT

Baker's celebrates his Road Race Victory (copyright Pelotonphoto.com)

Racers were treated to spectacular weather and a well-organized race in Laramie Wyoming this weekend. The Dead Dog stage race consisted of a mountainous road race, a downtown criterium and a high-altitude time trial. The road race required racers to climb over a 10,000 foot pass once or twice depending on race category. Vitamin Cottage riders Jon Baker and Christian Mcarthy picked up respective wins in the pro-1-2 road race and criterium. Beth Fisk added to her Women's pro-1-2 tally with a criterium victory and Masters 45+ rider Jimi Gibson won the road race and general classification. A summary of Vitamin Cottage rider's results is as follows:

Road Race

1st - Jon Baker (Men Pro-1-2)
5th - Jon Tarkington (Men Pro-1-2)
2nd - Lisa Matlock (Women Pro-1-2)
5th - Beth Fisk (Women Pro-1-2)
10th - Anne Lanna (women Pro-1-2)
1st - Jimi Gibson (Masters 45+)
7th - Bob Pinkerton (Masters 45+)
9th - Jeff Ray (Masters 45+)
10th - Martin Guess (Cat 3)

Criterium

1st - Christian McCarthy (Men Pro-1-2)
8th - Jon Tarkington (Men Pro-1-2)
1st - Beth Fisk (Women Pro-1-2)
7th - Anne Lannan (Women Pro-1-2)
8th - Lisa Matlock (Women Pro-1-2)
2nd - Bill Kellagher (Masters 45+)
3rd - Bill Herwig (Masters 45+)
4th - Bob Pinkerton (Masters 45+)
7th - Jimi Gibson (Masters 45+)
6th - Martin Guess (Cat 3)

Time Trial

4th - Jon Baker (Men Pro-1-2)
10th - Jon Tarkington (Men Pro-1-2)
3rd - Beth Fisk (Women Pro-1-2)
6th - Renee Eastman (Women Pro-1-2)
4th - Jimi Gibson (Masters 45+)
8th - Bill Kellagher (Masters 45+)

General Classification

3rd - Jon Baker (Men Pro-1-2)
4th - Jon Tarkington (Men Pro-1-2)
2nd - Beth Fisk (Women Pro-1-2)
3rd - Lisa Matlock (Women Pro-1-2)
10th - Anne Lannan (Women Pro-1-2)
1st - Jimi Gibson (Masters 45+)
6th - Bill Kellagher (Masters 45+)
9th - Bob Pinkerton (Masters 45+)
10th - Jeff Ray (Masters 45+)
10th - Martin Guess (Cat 3)

See www.pelotonphoto.com for a full gallery of race images.

Watson, McCormack, Gibson and Kellagher win, Eastman 3peats

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:12:00 GMT

As the weather has heated up here in Colorado, so has the racing calendar. At the front end of June, Vitamin Cottage’s Wayne Watson won the State 55+ Time Trial with a time of 52:58 over the 38 K course. Watson’s nearest competitor was 49 seconds slower.

The past couple of weekends we have seen some great classic races develop in the Front Range of Colorado. On June 9 and 10th a couple of newly paired races in Fort Collins showed up on the calendar. In the Colorado Cycling Festival Road Race Jon Baker did a stellar ride to finish 2nd place in this soon to be epic classic that featured a 12-mile climb and harrowing descents. That performance was matched on the women’s side as Beth Fisk also finished 2nd. The Vitamin Cottage 45+ men’s squad garnered first and second in the Road Race. Old guy climbing sensation, Jimi Gibson, ripped the legs off of everyone to solo away on the long Rist Canyon climb then kept his head down for the remaining 40 miles for the win. Vitamin Cottage’s Bill Kellagher came to the line second, about a minute behind Gibson. Other notables to make the top ten in the Road Race were Dirk Friel and Jon Tarkington on the men’s side and Lisa Matlock for the women.

In the Fort Collins Criterium the following day, the ageless Alan McCormack took a well fought win for the team, while Jon Tarkington followed in 4th place. On the women’s side, Lisa Matlock and Beth Fisk took 5th and 6th respectively.

The next weekend featured the early summer classic Rocky Mountain Omnium. This event pairs the US Paralympic National Championships with road racing events to allow a venue for greater exposure for our Paralympic athletes. On the women’s side, Beth Fisk ripped through the time trial to take 2nd, while Renee Eastman and Lisa Matlock also placed in the top ten. The following day’s road race saw a remarkable feat by teammate Renee Eastman as she took her 3rd win in as many tries at the Hugo Road Race. With Beth and SyRae finishing 4th and 6th, the team was in great position for the final day of the weekend Omnium.

Both Beth and Renee were tied for 2nd on points after day 2, and that meant there would be a tactical race in the criterium on the final day. Although the team worked hard for the goal of the overall, they came up a bit short in the end. Lisa rode fantastically in the break that day and took a well deserved 2nd place, while Beth and Renee rode aggressively to try to take the overall title and both finished in the top ten. Although they weren't able to take the overall, the two Vitamin Cottage riders still landed on the final podium for 2nd and 3rd. With Lisa also ending up in the top 10 for the omnium, the women certainly had a great weekend of racing.

On the men’s side, they dealt with a limited squad for the omnium weekend, but still managed to place riders in the top ten for both the road race and criterium. While Jon Tarkington finished 7th in the road race, Christian McCarthy and Alan McCormack finished 4th and 5th respectively in the criterium.

In very similar fashion to the prior week's road race, the 45+ mens team went first and second at the Hugo road race. A small group of 6 which included Vitamin Cottage’s Bill Kellagher and Bob Pinkerton formed on the second leg of this 80 mile rolling hill rectangle course. No sooner did the break form when Bill Kellagher attacked the group and was out of sight in a matter of minutes. Kellagher’s 45 mile solo effort nailed the win for the team. The chase group of 5 approached the line a little over a minute back with Pinkerton taking the group sprint for second. Pinkerton ultimately placed second in the overall omnium results by finishing a solid 3rd in the Curtis Park Criterium the following day.

Up next for the team is the Dead Dog Classic in Laramie, Wyoming.

Deer Trail Road Race - Vitamin Cottage Hat Trick

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 01 May 2007 08:06:00 GMT

Vitamin Cottage gathered three victories this past weekend at the Deer Trail Road Race east of Denver. VC took the men's and women's pro-1-2 category races along with the master's 45+ race.

In the men's 77-mile pro-1-2 race, Vitamin Cottage won for the third consecutive year. Just a few miles in, an early breakaway formed with Curt Chesney (Timex), Jeff Harmann (Big Shark), Carlos Casali (HART) and Vitamin Cottage lifer Joe Taddeucci. Chesney, a triathlete with a number of Iron Man top 10 finishes, was not intimidated by the long breakaway and helped motor the break to nearly a 4 minute lead. Approximately 5 miles from the finish, a small group including VC's Jon Tarkington and Christian McCarthy joined the break. After a series of attacks initiated by Vitamin Cottage, Tarkington hit the group hard and maintained a small gap all the way to the finish. As the chasing group began to tire, McCarthy launched and bridged up to Tarkington. The two crossed the line together with both riders completely disinterested in taking the individaul victory. The judges ruled McCarthy the winner with Tarkington second. The remnants of the field roled in shortly after with Baker taking the field sprint in 10th.

In the women's race, VC rider Beth Fisk and former Vitamin Cottage teammate Sharon Allpress (Value Act Capital) rode away from the field with 20 miles to go and finished first and second, respectively. Fisk, who has been no stranger to the top step of the podium, scored Vitamin Cottage victory number two on the day.

The men's 45+ race also unfolded with an early breakaway represented by VC's Bob Pinkerton, Vic Williams and Jeff Ray. In the closing miles, Vitamin Cottage newcomer Bill Kellagher stormed by the two survivors of the early break, Bob Pinkerton and Randy Culver (Pikes Peak Velo), and held it all the way to the line to complete the VC hat trick. A small group rolled in just behind Kellagher with VC's Brett Wade sprinting for second and Bob Pinkerton hanging on for fourth after being off the front for nearly the whole race.

Vitamin Cottage will be back in action this weekend with the team split between the Tour of Gila and locally the Lookout Mountain Hillclimb and Rocky Mounts/Izzy Criterium.

Recent Races - Sea Otter, Nebraska, Golden, Masters and more...

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:22:00 GMT

Jon Baker put together a nice string of results over the last couple of weekends. The good run started with a win at the Sea Otter 30+ Road Race, a race Baker used as a warmup for the following days’ NRC races. In the first stage of the NRC race, Baker finished among the leaders for 9^th, though he was not officially placed due to a chip timing error.

This past weekend, Baker followed up his successful California trip with an overall victory in the Haystack Mountain Time Trial, held just north of Boulder, Colorado. Baker also captained the 2^nd fastest team of the day a few hours later in the team time trial. A composite team consisting of former Vitamin Cottage stars and current pros Andy Bajadali (Jelly Belly) and Chuck Coyle (Successful Living) along with Dominique Perras (Kelly Benefit Strategies-Medifast) finished ahead of the Vitamin Cottage boys.

In Sunday’s Golden Spring Criterium, Baker quickly lapped the field with Chuck Coyle and Michael Carter (Echelon Elite / Denver Spoke). Baker would finish 2^nd on the day after repeated attempts by Carter and Baker failed to shake Coyle, who was the stronger sprinter of the three. Coyle stamped his authority in the sprint by not only beating his three breakaway and field lapping partners, but also being first across the line in the entire field.

Vitamin Cottage newcomer, Syrae Weikle capitalized on a strong leadout from teammate Beth Fisk to take a sprint finish victory in the Golden Spring women’s pro-1-2 race.

Meanwhile, across the border in Nebraska, Jon Tarkington took second place overall in the Linclon Plating Classic Stage Race. Tarkington finished just behind Randy Reichart (HART). VC youngster and recent Cat 1 upgrade Scott Tietzel finished a respectable 8^th overall in Nebraska following his previous weekend’s hard fought 5^th in the annual Boulder Roubaix and 7^th in the USAFA Road Race. Tietzel and VC teammate Peter Horn, also a recent Cat 1 upgrade, continue to make their presence felt in the spring races.

In master’s racing, the Vitamin Cottage 45+ men dominated the Haystack individual time trial owning the top 3 spots. Wayne Watson, the 55+ Master National Time Trial silver medalist in 2006, won with a time of 30:04, 30 seconds over 2nd place rider Vic Williams of Vitamin Cottage. Vitamin Cottage TT specialist Mike Brewer rounded out the podium in 3rd place.

Vic Williams delivered the second win of the weekend for the Vitamin Cottage 45+ men. Vic attacked his breakaway partner on the bell lap of the Golden Spring Criterium to post the win. Bill Herwig proved that he is still the best sprinter of the 45+ bunch by taking the field sprint for 3rd place.

Vitamin Cottage 45+ men win back to back spring classics

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:56:00 GMT

Vitamin Cottage’s Jimi Gibson recorded back to back wins in Colorado at the Koppenberg Circuit Race and the Boulder Roubaix Road Race. Both races bring out the hard men of spring to conquer the dirt roads of Boulder County, Colorado.

The Koppenberg Circuit Race featured 6 laps of a demanding course with each lap requiring a trip up the 17% grade of the Koppenberg climb. With 3 laps to go Gibson followed an attack from a former pro, Bruce Whitesel, on the dirt leading up to the Koppenberg climb. Within a few minutes of establishing a small lead over the group, Gibson attacked Whitesel and soloed in for the win by almost a minute. On the final lap, Vitamin Cottage’s Bill Kellagher attacked the dwindling front group on the plateau above the final climb and stayed away to take second place.

The Boulder Roubaix Road Race was run on a beautiful day over 5 laps of the 9 mile course, 75% of which is hard packed rolling dirt roads. Vitamin Cottage’s “Hard Man” Jim Everett went out on the first lap to establish the early breakaway and 4 others joined him from the field. By the start of the second lap Everett’s breakaway partners were cooked and drifting back to the peloton. Everett continued on alone to put pressure on the other teams. The Vitamin Cottage team’s plan was to sit back and wait for the 3rd lap where a series of attacks were to be launched to spring Jimi Gibson and Bill Kellagher free. The plan came off perfectly. Vitamin Cottage’s Steve Young started off with an attack on Nelson Rd and continued forcing the pace onto the dirt. Then Vitamin Cottage’s Bret Wade hit it hard on the next rollers. The field was strung out single file when Gibson and Kellagher went clear. In tow was Jim Dickerson from the Great Divide team, the only non-Vitamin Cottage rider able to withstand the attacks. The Gibson group bridged up to Everett and built up a 3+ minute lead. Kellagher flatted with a half lap to go but had enough time under his belt to change out the tube and still ride in for 4th place ahead of the charging field. On the finishing straight Dickerson tried to shake the Vitamin Cottage men from his wheel but to no avail. Gibson came around Dickerson with 50 meters to go for the win with Everett finishing 3^rd.

Cateye RR / CU Weekend Race Reports

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:31:00 GMT

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.

Ft Morgan Wins, Cascade, Nat's Medals and more...

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 05:14:00 GMT

Fort Morgan Victories, July 15 – Christian McCarthy finished off a strong team performance to take the pro-1-2 win at the 22nd edition of the Festival in the Park Criterium located in Fort Morgan, CO. Following a flurry of attacks that always had a Vitamin Cottage rider, McCarthy and teammate Alan McCormack broke away from the field. After an unsuccessful attempt to drop his breakaway companions on the start of the last lap, McCarthy came around Will Frischkorn (TIAA-CREF) at the line for the victory.

McCarthy in action at North Boulder Park (Copyright - pelotonphoto.com)

McCormack took 4th on the day. In the women’s pro-1-2 race, Vitamin Cottage Riders Beth Fisk and Sharon Allpress rode off the front most of the race, trading attacks and pulls with Catherine Powers (Aaron's Women's Professional Cycling Team). Allpress out sprinted Powers for the win. Beth Fisk came in shortly behind the front two for second with the only remaining Vitamin Cottage rider, Anne Lannan, winning the field sprint for fourth.

Sharon Allpress (Copyright - pelotonphoto.com)

Cascade Classic – Jonathon Baker leveraged consistent rides in all stages to score a 20th overall place in the NRC Cascade Classic held in Bend Oregon, July 12-16, 2006.
National Championship Medals - Wayne Watson took a pair of silver medals in the Masters National Cycling Championships this past week in Silver Springs, PA. His first silver came in the mens's 55-59 time trial where he had a solid ride finishing only 10 seconds away from first. His second silver came in the road race. See the article on USA cycling’s website for more information.
Injury Update - A quick update on last week's injury report - Dean Mason and Jon Tarkington are continuing to recover nicely at home. Vic Williams, meanwhile, is out of the ICU and in a regular hospital room. He is regaining his strength and undergoing rehabilitation. He has made great improvement over the 2 weeks since the crash
Upgrades – Ross Berger recently earned an upgrade from Category 3 to a 2 and Lance Loehding earned an upgrade from a Category 4 to a 3.