2005 Team Carina Race Reports

By Mike Anderson / 06-12-2005

Hey boys and girls...It's that time again...The team has been doing incredible as far as wins and overall standings go...basically we have been kicking some serious butt on the racing scene...trust me when I say that everyone knows who Team Carina is!!!!!

In this issue (which will take us up to May 15th) we have added four more wins to our overall tally, thanks to Ryan Jarrell (2 wins) at both Ontario Crits. Chris Hansel (1 win) at the Chuck Pontius Crit, and Jeremy Bauck (1win) at the San Clemente Challenge...Good Job guys!!!!. That will take us up to 14 Wins so far this Season.

Also in this issue we have seven more upgrades thanks to:
Chris Hansel, Cat 2 upgrade
Chris Carlson, Cat 2 upgrade
Ryan Jarrell, Cat 3 upgrade
Chris Hoyte, Cat 3 upgrade
Keely Brooks, Cat 3 upgrade
Chris Gagne, Cat 4 upgrade
Josh Underwood, Semi Pro MTB upgrade

What else can you say, but awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One last note...I am noticing as I scroll through the race results that a lot of you are still putting down Vegas Velo Racing Team as your team... We want to be recognized as Team Carina... Vegas Velo is our USCF Club name, not the Team name. Make sure you update this on all of the internet registration sites when you sign up for a race...all of those sites have update personal info areas.

The team is rocking, keep up the good work...Your editor, Chicky.

Team Carina Wins: 14 as of 05/15/05
Team Carina Top 5 Podiums:36
Team Carina Top 10 Stage Race:10

Michael Anderson...Chicky
2nd...Stg 1 TT...Nelson's Landing SR..35+
3rd...Stg 2..RR...Nelson's Landing SR..35+
3rd overall...Nelson's Landing SR..35+

Peter Anderson...Moose Hog
1st...Red Trolley Classic...ro 1,2
2nd...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro 1,2
3rd...Stg 1 TT...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro 1,2
4th...Boulevard RR..Pro 1,2
4th...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...ro 1,2 6th...overall...Valley of the Sun SR...Pro 1

Jeremy Bauck
1st...San Clemente Challenge...Cat 3
1st overall...NEC Omnium...Yuma...Cat 3
1st...Stg 2 RR...NEC Omnium...Yuma...Cat 3
2nd...Stg 1 Crit...NEC Omnium...Yuma...Cat 3
3rd...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
3rd overall.Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3

Keely Brooks
1st...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...Women 4
2nd...Underground TT...Women Open
4th...Stg 1 TT...Nelson's Landing SR...Women Open
4th...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Women Open
4th overall..Valley of the Sun SR...Women 4
5th...Stg 2 RR...Valley of the Sun SR...Women 4

Andy Brown...Mr. Perfect
4th...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SRPro 1,2
5th...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR.Pro 1

Chris Carlson...Jr
1st...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
1st overall...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
2nd...Stg 2 RR...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
2nd...Stg 2 RR...Valley of the Sun SR... Jr Men
3rd...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...Jr Men
3rd...Stg 1 TT...Valley of the Sun SRJr Men
3rd overall...Valley of the Sun SR...Jr Men
5th...Barrio Logan Crit...Cat 3

Chris Hansel...Team Boss
1st...Chuck Pontius Crit...40+ 3,4,5
1st...Underground TT...35+
1st...Stg 1 TT...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
2nd overall…Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
5th...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3
5th...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...Cat 3

Dave Herbst...Rico Suave
3rd...El Cajon Crit...Pro 1,2
5th...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro 1,2

Chuck Jenkins...The Jester
3rd...Stg 2 RR...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro 1,2
4th overall..Nelson's Landing SR...Pro 1,2

Jason Lilje...El Diablo
1st...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...35+
2nd...Stg 2 RR...Nelson's Landing SR...35+
2nd overall..Nelson's Landing SR...35+
4th...Stg 1 TT...Nelson's Landing SR…35+

Anthony Luna...Team Boss
2nd...Underground TT...Pro 1,2
3rd...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...35+
4th...Stg 2 RR...Nelson's Landing SR…35+
4th overall...Nelson's Landing SR…35+
5th...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...35+

Kat Patterson
1st...Underground TT...Women Open
1st...Stg 3 Crit...Nelson's Landing SR...Women Open
5th...L.A. Circuit Race...Elite Women

Jimmy Robbins...The Wingman
3rd...Red Trolley Classic...Cat 3
4th...Stg 2 RR...NEC Omnium...Yuma...Cat 3
4th overall...Nec Omnium ...Yuma…Cat 3
7th overall...Nelson's Landing SR...Cat 3

Scott Wingo...Wingnut
3rd...Mclane Pacifica RR...Men 2
5th...Stg 2 RR...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro1,2
5th overall...Nelson's Landing SR...Pro1,2

Chris Hoyt
1st..CBR Ride it like you Stole it Crit...Men 4
2nd...Stg 2 RR...NEC Omnium...Yuma…Men 4
3rd overall...NEC Omnium...Yuma…Men 4
4th...Stg 1 Crit...NEC Omnium...Yuma...Men 4

Ryan Jarrell
1st...Ontario Spring Classic...30+ 4,5
1st...Onterio Mid Season Crit ...30+ 4,5
2nd...Stg 3 Crit...Valley of the Sun SR...Men 4

Todd Cirata
4th...Ontario Mid Season Crit...40+

Lance Cobern...Popeye
4th...Chuck Pontius Crit...35+

By Jason Lilje (Diablo) / 06-07-2005

Well I finally got settled up in Nor Cal and decided to fly the Carina colors at a race up north. The new bike is put together and ready to roll and I had done a few km's on it so I thought, what the hell lets see what these guys got up here. I thought only to sign up for the masters crit since I had not turned a peddle in anger since Valley of the Sun.

In the field was none other than Bubba Melcher masters national champ 40-45 and Michael Hernandez 3rd over all pro 1/2 Nelsons Landing Stage race. When I saw those two line up I thought well I'll just hang on as long as I can.

Right from the gun my legs felt pretty good so good infact I thought I would go with a bread or two. First break, three laps in, Hernandez, one Lombardy Sport, and one Safeway rider shoot off the front almost as they all planned it. With a split second I was Safeway's wheel and we were off. We only stayed out for two laps, but I thought I felt pretty good and thought I would have a go again later.

About three quarters into this thing I see Bubba (Captain America) moving toward the front. Now I have raced this guy since I have been on the bike so I knew what he was planning....... Move up to third or forth wheel, come out of a corner and attack hard to the opposit side of the road. Well almost true to form he separates himself from the group and moves to the opposite side of the road and sizes up the field. Almost instantly he looks at me an mouths "lets go". So I am thinking to myself. Am I actually riding pretty well or do I have him fooled? Either or, I am not going to turn down this opportunity. He goes full blast and I had to chase a little. Some lucky bastard grabbed my wheel as I chased and the three of us were off. Only problem... Hernandez was still in the group. Well we were off for about a lap and a half and I look back to see Hernandez pulling the entire field back to us. You can't let Captain America ride away. Especially with that new guy from Carina Homes with him.

Well with two to go the field started to turn it up. I found myself somewhere near the middle of the field and thought, damn I feel to good I need to be at the front. Luckily some rider from Lombardy Sport comes up my left side and I latch on! Good enough I am sitting top ten with one to go. Half a lap to go Captain America does his trademark attack, only this one I wasn't the only one to react. About eight riders go with him including Hernandez and myself. Coming out of the last corner I am eighth with Hernandez on my wheel. About 300m to go Lombardy Sport jumps and is gone, reminded me of Nothstein at El Cajon this year, we were not going to catch him. Four others try to chase including myself in now, last wheel. Still feeling good, I give it the "click" and end up sprinting in for third!

Pretty good for lack of time on bike and riding the brand new rig.

More reports to come. God I miss racing with you all.

By Jim Robbins / 06-07-2005

Hey Gang,

It was a Holiday weekend and some of our newly upgraded Cat III's decided to show up and test themselves against the competition in their new category. We had myself, Chris Hansel, Ryan Jarrell, and Chris Hoyt lined up to contest a very fast Warner Center Crit. From the gun the pace was high and the course was a little narrow through the corners. Not much to comment on during the bulk of the race. On this course there was not going to be a break that got away. Chris and I both won a prime and than got ready to go for the finish. With a lap to go Chris took a flyer off of the front. It was a suicide move but sometimes luck is on your side. He got caught just before the next to last corner when a huge pile up in this corner allowed Chris to get through with the whole field piled up behind him. He managed to hang on for 6th place. Hoyt unfortunately got his first lesson in riding Cat III crits. He went with the outside line on the corner and was taken out in the crash. I managed to dive inside and avoid the crash and drag home for 8th place. Good racing all around and more upgrade points for Chris.

By Andy Brown / 06-06-2005

Wanted to pass on some good news from this weekend.

We have a new Masters State Champion for 35+. Peter Anderson soloed the last few miles of the race to take the title and did it with no teammates.

In the 30+ division we were looking good with Brown, Wingo, Herbst and Trusty in the field but an error cost us the title. We had Wingo in the early move of 5 and it looked like it would be locked up as Wingo could out sprint all his break members. However, on the 2nd lap we got caught sleeping and Karl Bordine went up the road and joined the break. We knew Wingo would have a hard time beating Karl in a sprint so we sent Trusty and Herbst to the front to see if we could get some other teams to help chase it down but we had to leave it to Wingo for the win. Unfortunately he came up just short as Karl soloed in for the win and Wingo took 2nd. Trusty kept what remained of the field together for me for the sprint and I ended up 7th.

In the Elite race, we put Peter and Wingo in the move that went literally from the gun in the 109 mile race. They got a gap of about 5 min. into the second of three laps as our team protected the front of the peleton in hopes that the break could gain some more time. Chris Walker, Bordine and Thurlow were getting ansy as the miles ticked away and the gap kept growing. The winds were getting more ridiculous as the day went on and once we made the turn around on the 2nd lap, Bordine sent his RPM teammate to the front to reel as much of the 5 min. gap as possible back. Well, with the tailwind we were lined out along the centerline with RPM pulling at 40 mph for about 25min. straight and brought back the break to within 1 min. That's all the big threats needed and they completely shattered what remained of the group and bridged to the break that had been out already for about 2.5 hrs. Thanks to the strong men, Peter and Wingo, we were able to finish off a great day of racing and came in 5th and 6th on the day to cap off a great weekend at the State Championships.

By Ryan Jerrel / 05-25-2005

The latest and greatest from 4’s is some of the 4’s aren’t 4’s anymore. Yes, Chris Hoyt and I have upgraded to Cat 3 this past weekend.

After the crash at Redlands in April we both decided to take some time off and rest and heal up. So after six weeks and progressive training we thought we would make a run at the upgrades thinking we only needed 7 points for me. Well we show up at Ontario with Chris Gagne with the mindset of winning the 30+ 4/5 race and did just that win the race. Chris Hoyt stayed off the back for most of the race and I think even got a preme for being the last guy in the race. Anyway, Gagne did a great job staying close to front, while I stayed about 20 riders back. When we had five laps to go Chris H. pulls up to my right and says “are you ready to go?” and we go to the front just behind the Jelly Belly Team’s lead out sitting about 6th or 7th. With 2 laps to go Jelly Belly is done and the So Cal Cycling Team takes over with Six guys and Chris H and I cover with Gagne behind me. On the last lap going into turn 3 I see another wave coming and tell Chris H., “it’s time to go” and we jump the field into turn 3. Hoyt, threw it down so hard I had trouble staying on his wheel through turns 3 and 4 heading towards the finish. Into the finish one of the guys from So Cal Cycling is on my wheel and jumps me. From 200 yards or so it’s on just me and him for the sprint. With 30 to 50 yards to go I put half a wheel on him and win, while hangs on to 6th. Later that day Gagne grabbed 8th in the 4/5 race and got one step closer to a Cat 4 upgrade.

Well, Hoyt and I thought that’s all we needed for the upgrades, but that was not the case. The USCF rejected Hoyt’s upgrade, saying he needed two more points or a Top 10. Well CBR was last weekend and that’s where we ended up. The mindset was to get Chris to the finish in the top 3 and that’s just what we did. Hoyt, got 2nd place last weekend at CBR and a really cool prize (DVD of PRO and America Flyers) much better then the shitty free style watch for 1st place. The race was pretty much the same, except Chris almost ripped some guys head off for pulling on him because the guy wanted my wheel 3 laps into the race. Other then that, I lead Hoyt out into turn 3 and the wave was coming and he had to go, so he jumped the field going into turn 4 and had one guy on his wheel that grabbed the win at the finish. So, Chris got 5 points and was awarded his upgrade on Monday.

Chris and I want to thank the team for all their support and really look forward to racing in the 3’s.

By Keely Lachniet / 05-23-2005

Just wanted to send a big THANKS to Sara DiGrazia and Bill Corey for their help in the feed zones in Flagstaff this weekend. I know that without them I wouldn’t have been able to finish any of the road stages. It was very hot! Bill saved me by giving me an extra feed on the 13-mile climb on Saturday. I think I would have passed out from heat stress otherwise!

Congratulations to Team Carina and to the entire Vegas contingency that competed (and helped) at Summit Center! We had a great showing. Here are some of the results:

Chris Carlson (Carina) took 2nd overall in Cat 3s! Bill Wolf and Joel Davis suffered through to help where they could.

Matt Lachniet (Carina, my hubby) got 8th overall in the 5s. Nice Job Mateo.

I put in a big effort yesterday and came away with 3rd and 2nd. I was really happy to finish 4th overall.

Good Job Las Vegans!

By Jim Robbins / 05-17-2005

Hey Gang,

I have not had a chance to while the latest until now so I have a couple of them for you so here you go.

Chuck Pontius Crit

This was a nice wide four corner drag race kind of Crit. Just the way I like it. In this race we had Kenny Sweet Legs, Pokie Houtz, Chris the Hammer, and myself. I was a little under the weather and coughing up lung cookies so I told the guys that I am worker bee and off we went. The pace was fast and numerous attacks went off the front. We put Ken into a nice break after we brought back a move. The break looked good and we were on the front blocking and screwing up the chasers rhythm. One of the teams in the break started chasing their own man and we brought the break back with 5 to go. We lined up with all four of us in a row with 5 to go. As we tried to hold it together the field started to surge around us and it was every man for themselves. I got boxed towards the middle and with one lap to go I fought my way out and went to the front to help Chris have a strong finish. Chris picked up 11th and I got 13th. A little disappointing that we were not in the money but good racing and everyone was looking strong. Notes: Kenny looked strong in his break and Pokie gets the Tenacious D award for working his butt of for his team mates in both races today. Your efforts to help your teammates is not going unnoticed.

Bario Logan Crit

Once again it was me and Garter Snake out to represent. Bario Logan is a great event with a L shaped course and fast corners with a rise on the finishing end. I had crashed in the previous Masters race that day and I am sure I made a few people uncomfortable showing up on the line bandaged up like a war veteran. Chris was looking strong and we really did not have any kind of plan for this race. I was not sure how I would ride with my shoulder killing me and I could not pull up on the bars. At the half way point Chris made a nice move on the rise to start a break. I could not let Jr have all the glory so I went with him. We took some monster pulls at the beginning to make sure we got a good gap and our group of 6 was off and running. Chris scored a sock prime while we were drag racing around the course. A guy from Bosch just rode away from our break to solo for the win and Chris and I ended up 5th and 6th to take home some money and some upgrade points. Two Carinas in the race, two Carinas in the break, and two Carinas in the placing.

Notes: Chris Jr is getting more race savvy every time we race. He started this move and was huge in making it stay away. Keep riding like this Chris and good things are coming. Tenacious D award goes out to myself for racing with hideous road rash from previous crash and getting some upgrade points. Man that hurt!!!

San Luis Rey Road Race

This race is a death march for fat guys like me but we had a few climbers on hand to test themselves against a strong field. Josh the mountain goat Underwood, Mr Freeze, Garter Snake, and myself showed up to represent. Chris Jr had a flat at the start line and the damn official would not hold up the field to let him complete his wheel change so I hung back to pace him back to the field. Of course they drilled it going up the first climb and I dragged Jr back to the field. I did not quite make it back on the climb and had to chase all the way through the canyon. By the time I got back on, the field started climbing again and my day in the field was done. I spent the rest of the day solo but finished all five with my wounds bugging the hell out of me. I did not get to witness the finish but Josh stayed in the main group and we are fairly certain he finished with a tenth. This a great result as this race course is very challenging and Josh has been consistently climbing well all year. Nice job Josh. You are now ordained the Mountain Goat of the Cat III team.

Notes: Glad to see Mr Freeze on the comeback trail. Keep racing and you will be at the front soon. Tenacious D award goes to Chris Jr. He had to chase to get back on at the start and later in the race was dropped about 5 times and chased back on all 5 times. He told me that he knew he did not have it today but did not want to let Josh down and help him as much as he could. I LOVE THAT!!! I can not stand guys that only race when they think they are in form. Get out to the races and help your team mates that are going well. That is why we call this a team.

By Jim Robbins / 04-25-2005

Hey Gang,

BIG NEWS!!! Team Carina Cat III's take home another W.

Myself and the dominator Jeremy showed up to a very tough circuit race around the hills of San Clemente. The course had a slight uphill finish after a nice descent from the climb on the back side of the course. We had a large field of 100 riders on a challenging course. With only two of us in the race we decided the strategy would be to just see what happens and cover any danger moves to go for a win. Jeremy and myself rode strong at the front and most of the race was kept in check. With about 20 minutes to go the rider from Cytomax that won Bario Logan started to go up the road and Jeremy bridged right away and we had a break. I stayed up at the front to block. On the last lap up the climb I was trying to set myself up for the field sprint and was drilling it on the climb. I started to bring the break back so sat up a little to make sure they got to the downhill before anyone could bridge up. Jeremy was doing a lot of work in the break and getting ready to drill it for the finish. The break made the descent with a gap and I attacked again. I was in no mans land between and the field caught me on the last corner and I got 4th in the field sprint. Disappointing for me but the great news was Jeremy took it to the break and sprinted hard on the uphill finish to take the win. Awesome win Jeremy. He rode really smart and than used his strength to beat a very good field. With only two guys in the race we took 1st and 14th.

Cat III report for Ontario

In this race we had myself, and Joel Davis. This was the four corner crit course in Ontario. Very fast with a slight downhill finish into a headwind. We started off a little slow and than the fireworks began. I tried to set up a break with the guy from Cytomax that has been placing in the last couple of races. This guy has been hammering lately. We tried to get away but the field was marking us and anytime we jumped they would cover. On a prime lap this guy launched for the prime and again rode away from the field on his own. I tried to get the field to chase but there was not enough organization to bring him back and I did not want to burn another match to go after him once he got too big of a gap. Very disappointing to not have any teammates in the race to pull back one guy. I started to get ready for the sprint for 2nd. Joel came up to the front and I picked up his wheel. This was on three laps to go and a little early to be right at front so we came back to get some wind when disaster struck. The rider off the front lapped the field so per USCF ruled they changed the lap count from 2 to go to 1 to go for the field. All of the sprinters were caught off guard and I suddenly found myself way out of position with one lap to go. I moved up from 40 back on the back side and managed to sprint to 11th place. Bad luck struck me down but the legs are good. We will see what happens this week.

Notes:

It would be nice to have more than one teammate in the race.

Jeremy, nice tactics and way to use your strength to pull out another great win.

Joel, way to get up there and mix it up at the front.

By Scott Wingo / 05-13-2005

Hello all,

Well, another Sea Otter has come and gone and many great memories were dawned! This is personally one of my favorite race venues for all the spectators, excitement and great environment in the hills of Monterey CA. We had a strong team to represent with Gus, Peter, Andy, Nick, Myself and our 'borrowed' teammate Karl... otherwise known as big K. With a bad flu and cold that has got a grip on us all in the past weeks, we showed up to give all the hell we could muster up!! The weather was good for this race (no rain). So with all of us in good spirits we had a great weekend bonding as a team! Starting from the great smelling waitress each morning, Starbucks, to rolling '50 cent' down downtown Monterey in Andy's sweet truck! Now how could you have a better trip than that... I personally had a really good time with the boys!

"Sea Otter's Wild Ride!"

Friday we started with the TT prologue that took us from the top of the corkscrew on the Laguna Seca race track, down to the finish. The course was about 3k with the fast decent and a few FAST corners. Overall a very fast track and with the gusty winds was a handful on a TT bike. I personally went with the TT bike and was shocked as to the amazing speed it covered the course! So fast, I lost my nerve being blown to the tracks edges and over breaking the corners at well over 35mph. I think I looked like a deer in the headlights at the finish...Scary! Oh, and by the way I was beat or tied by the guys on the team running road bikes...humm

All said the results were...Peter tied for 20th at 2:58, Andy and Karl tied for 25th, Gus and I in the 50's and Trusty some seconds from there. Team ranked 5th... Nice for the opener...

"The Merry Go Round Circuit Race"

Saturday started the real work to be done!! With 27 laps slated to be done on the Laguna Seca race track we were sure to be 'dizzy' by races end!! With 350ft elevation gain per lap we were in for more than 9,000ft of climbing in the 60 miles!

So yes, we were all dizzy in the end but from the hard efforts not the 27 circles....who would have thought... LOL

"The Wall"

With the third and final day of racing at hand, we knew it was the race to define the standings for the overall. The hardest was saved for last...

The road race consisted of 105 miles and close to 10,000 ft of climbing by the time it would be all said and done. We dropped down to the Fort Ord road course for 9 stiff laps and then climb back out to the Laguna Seca circuit for 2 1/2 laps!! Whew!! If anyone has done the Fort Ord course before, then they knew what was on tap for the days effort! This would also include 9 laps up the 'wall,' which bets were made as to the steepness of the pitch. It is probably only around 15-18% but feels much steeper with all the effort put out up this tough pitch.

As the race started the pack was brisk to see who was to get a break going early. After some fast attacks and chases the first break was off. We quickly passed the women's race and had to leap frog them for the first couple of laps. This turned out to be helpful to the breakaway as we ended up getting neutralized for some time to get out of the way of the women's breakaway. The gap soon went to 4 minutes and the alarm bells were ringing. There were now multiple teams trying to launch counter attacks for another break. Big Karl launched up the road chasing and was brought back later. Unfortunate for us Andy got a flat on the second lap when we were in a huge push for speed and had no chance getting back on, even after chasing for over one lap! (so we took him to La Mirada the next day where he got 6th place!) With the pace sometimes just unbearable we lost Gus. Peter, Nick and myself were hanging tough in what was the remainder of the field of about 25 guys. There were three different breaks up the road so we all were just doing the 'dead push' to the finish to complete the almost 5 hour journey of hammering! We entered the final climb out and all that was left in the legs was put down by all the riders left. Nick had dropped his chain in the final corner entering the climb and never could regain contact, with Peter back to help pace him up. As we entered the last finishing top the field had now started to split as guys attacked at the top for the run in to the finish. I had made my way to the front of the group and had to bridge across to the lead group as we entered the circuit. We came rolling in to the finish and I slipped up though the group to grab 30th place. Peter and Nick came in a couple of minutes later. This was one long and hard race!!!

So congrats to the team for all their hard efforts and hanging tough! And of course a thanks to Simo and all his terrific help and positive support!!! If you didn't make it...you just plain missed out! Keep an eye out for some great team result to come...

By Jim Robbins / 03-25-2005

Hey Gang,

We had a strong line up for this crit. Myself, the Wolfman, The Hammer Hansel, Joel Davis, Mike (Pokie) Houtz, and Kenny (Sweet Legs) Bingham showed up for a technical 45 minutes of cornering and avoiding the usual Cat III crash fest. We wanted to send Bill Wolf into orbit on this course and pay him back for some fine work he did for the team in Yuma. Early we were firing guys off of the front to get a break going. Ken went with a nice move and Bill bridged to a couple of moves but there was no staying away today with a motivated field. We had a strong presence at the front and kept the field honest. Hansel tried to kill me and Kenny by blowing a tire and doing his best impression of a Cirque Du Solei acrobat on the hairpin corner. He was able to get a neutral wheel and get back in the field. Nice save Chris!!!! When they called out 5 to go myself, Wolfman, Pokie, and the Hammer set up a team train to keep the pace high and put one of us in good position to sprint for the win. We controlled the front until the last corner and Chris and Wolfman came out of the last corner second and third. They had a slight miscue on the finish and we ended up placing Bill in 15th. That was a disappointment but sometimes sprint do not go the way you plan.

Observations:

We were very strong at the end of the race which was good but we have got to nail the last lap so we may want to start the train a little later.

Nice job for those of you that came to the front at the end of the race and put it on the line

Hope to see all of you at the next big race!

It's a kids' Classic

By DAVID JAMES HEISS
Staff Writer
The full story... SBSUN.COM Sports

REDLANDS Local kids dominated the Pool Gel Redlands Bicycle Classic's public races Saturday morning. Despite the fact that spring break has just started at some public schools, nearly 150 youngsters participated in the public races, riding tricycles to BMX bikes with training wheels.

Hans Hansel, riding a custom-made road bike fit just for him, won his heat in the 7-year-olds race.

Hans' family competed in various races as part of Team Carina of Henderson, Nev., including his father, Chris, 9-year-old brother Paul, and mother Kathy, who was the family's official photographer.

Kid racers face fierce competition

By Irma Lemus
Staff Writer
The full story... SBSUN.COM News

REDLANDS - They may be young, but they're serious about racing. Hundreds of children took over the Redlands Bicycle Classic course Saturday morning.

Some dressed in bright cycling suits, others wore bumblebee and Dora the Explorer helmets, but many outfits weren't complete without sleek dark sunglasses.

As proud parents and spectators stood in the morning heat, children ages 3 to 17 raced in their age groups. As the children reached the finish line, parents seemed to take an endless number of pictures.

Seven-year-old Hans Hansel said his motivation for taking gold was his father, Chris Hansel of Henderson, Nev. Hansel also competed in the Classic.

By Mike Anderson / 03-25-2005

Valley Of the Sun Stage Race, Phoenix, AZ

What's up my pretties. Hey boys and girls, it's time for another dose of how bad ass this team is doing…… As you will see the team racked up a few more wins to add to the total, thanks to Chris Hoyt who got 1st in the CBR Ride like you Stole it Crit ( a wonderful lead out from Ryan Jarrell) and Keely who scored a fine 1st at the Valley of the Sun Crit…….Plus Jeremy Bauck Winning the Yuma RR and taking 1st overall for the Omnium. Also, if you noticed the "Moose hog" Peter Anderson was leading the So Cal Cup in the Pro 1,2……….wow, with Scott "Wingnut" Wingo in the top 10 also…..nice.

Getting back to the VOS stage race……Peter Anderson placed 8th in the TT, 10th in the RR, 4th in the Crit and a absolutely stunning 6th overall….Stupid!!!

Nick "big hands" Trusty was headed for a top 10 overall until a nasty crash with 2 laps to go spoiled that incredible result……I believe Nicky also got 7th in the RR.

Andy "Mr. Perfect" Brown got a fantastic 5th place also in the VOS Crit….nice guys…

For the cat 3's it was Chris Hansel doing real well and getting 7th in the RR, 5th in the Crit, thanks to Jimmy "Wingman" Robbins fast lead out, and a sweet 13th overall GC…..Good weekend boys.

Back to Keely again….She scored 5th in the RR, 1st in the Crit and a beautifull 4th overall in the woman's cat 4……sweet.

Ryan Jarrell took a well deserved 2nd in the VOS Crit, with help from Chris Hoyt…..these two are working real well together.

As far as Chris "Jr" Carlson goes, he smacked the Juniors with a 3rd in the TT, 2nd in the RR, 3rd in the Crit and a hard fought 3rd overall GC……That's my boy…….and that wraps up Valley of the sun.

Next up, the North End Classic in Yuma, AZ

We'll Kick things off with the men's cat 3 races…….One word….."domination." Jeremy Bauck took 2nd in the Crit, 1st in the RR and 1st overall……I'm gonna Puke….. Chris Hansel took 6th in the Crit and Jimmy took 9th , plus a fine 4th place in the RR……The teamwork you guys displayed was incredible………very nice boys.

In the cat 4 men's race, the dynamic duo of Ryan and Chris did it again with Ryan setting up Chris for 4th in the Crit, 2nd in the RR and 3rd overall GC……..My butt cheeks are quivering.

And for the chicken: I took 7th in the Pro 1,2 Crit with a lot of help from some friends on the sidelines of the course…….Oh, plus poor old Wingnut……Ouch…..what a man.

San Dimas Stage Race, San Dima, CA

And Just this last week at the San Dimas SR, Anthony Luna showed his sprinting legs again and took 3rd in the Master's 35+ Crit…..Good Job Bro.

And good job to Josh in the Men's cat 3's at San Dimas for getting 10th in the RR and getting into 10th overall GC……If not for that flat bro ?????……

Well, that should get us caught up…..If I have left you out of your well deserved placing……Wins….Top 5 podium…..or Top 10 Stage race overall placings, please let me know…………Love ya ……..your editor……Chicky.

The Wall of Fame

Michael Anderson……..Chicky
2nd…….Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+
3rd…….Stg 2..RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+
3rd overall………………………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+

Peter Anderson……..Moose Hog
1st……..Red Trolley Classic………………………………………………………Pro 1,2
2nd…….Stg 3 Crit………………Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
3rd…….Stg 1 TT………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
4th…….Boulevard RR………………………………………………………………..Pro 1,2
4th…….Stg 3 Crit…………….…Valley of the Sun SR……………….…Pro 1,2
6th….overall…………………….Valley of the Sun SR…………….…….Pro 1

Jeremy Bauck
1st overall…………………NEC Omnium…..Yuma………………………….Cat 3
1st….Stg 2 RR……...….NEC Omnium….Yuma…………………………..Cat 3
2nd….Stg 1 Crit………..NEC Omnium….Yuma…………………….…….Cat 3
3rd….Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………..…...….…….Cat 3
3rd overall…………………….Nelson's Landing SR………….....….….….Cat 3

Keely Brooks
1st…..Stg 3 Crit…………….Valley of the Sun SR…………….…Women 4
2nd……………………………....….Underground TT…………….………Women Open
4th…..Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR………………Women Open
4th…..Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………Women Open
4th overall……………………..Valley of the Sun SR………………..Women 4
5th…..Stg 2 RR……………..Valley of the Sun SR………………..Women 4

Andy Brown…………Mr. Perfect
4th…….Stg 3 Crit………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………Pro 1,2
5th…….Stg 3 Crit………….Valley of the Sun SR…………………….Pro 1

Chris Carlson………Jr
1st…….Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3
1st overall……………………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3
2nd……Stg 2 RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR…………………..Cat 3
2nd……Stg 2 RR……………..Valley of the Sun SR………………….. Jr Men
3rd……Stg 3 Crit……………..Valley of the Sun SR…………………..Jr Men
3rd……Stg 1 TT……………….Valley of the Sun SR……………………Jr Men
3rd overall……………………….Valley of the Sun SR…………………..Jr Men

Chris Hansel……..Team Boss
1st…………………………………...Underground TT………………………....35+
1st……Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3
2nd overall………………………Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3
5th.….Stg 3 Crit………….….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3
5th…..Stg 3 Crit……………..Valley of the Sun SR…………………..Cat 3

Dave Herbst……..Rico Suave
3rd…………………………..El Cajon Crit…………………………………………...Pro 1,2
5th……Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR…………………..Pro 1,2

Chuck Jenkins……….The Jester
3rd……Stg 2 RR…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
4th overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2

Jason Lilje………….El Diablo
1st…..Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR…………..…………35+
2nd…..Stg 2 RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR……………..………35+
2nd overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR…………..…………35+
4th……Stg 1 TT…….………Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+

Anthony Luna………..Team Boss
2nd……………………………..….Underground TT………………………..…….Pro 1,2
3rd…..Stg 3 Crit…………..Valley of the Sun SR………………………..35+
4th……Stg 2 RR…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+
4th overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+
5th……Stg 3 Crit…………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………….35+

Kat Patterson 1st ……………………………….Underground TT…………………………Women Open
1st …..Stg 3 Crit……………….Nelson's Landing SR……………Women Open

Jimmy Robbins…………The Wingman
3rd…………………….………..Red Trolley Classic…………………………….Cat 3
4th….Stg 2 RR………….NEC Omnium….Yuma……………………….Cat 3
4th overall ………………..Nec Omnium ….Yuma………………………Cat 3
7th overall…………………Nelson's Landing SR…………………………Cat 3

Scott Wingo………………Wingnut
3rd……………………..……….Mclane Pacifica RR…………………….……Men 2
5th…..Stg 2 RR………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………….Pro1,2
5th overall………………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………….Pro1,2

Chris Hoyt
1st……………………..CBR Ride it like you Stole it Crit……………..Men 4
2nd….Stg 2 RR………….NEC Omnium….Yuma………………………Men 4
3rd overall…………………NEC Omnium….Yuma………………………Men 4
4th….Stg 1 Crit…………NEC Omnium….Yuma……………….……..Men 4

Ryan Jarrell
2nd….Stg 3 Crit…………Valley of the Sun SR………………………..Men 4

By Jeremy Bauck / 03-23-2005

I just wanted to take a moment to give some kudos to my fellow III's for their efforts at the North End Classic. Our success came from the selflessness of all involved!

Hansel, incredible job in the crit! I know that the hill was killing you and not one of your strong points, but my hat goes off to you for your efforts. During the last few laps, as I recovered from my near death diversion from the course, you became the smoothest and strongest person in the break to allow me to recover. Awesome job and way to dig deep! As for the rest of the group, thanks for allowing Chris and I to get off of the front and keeping us there. It is amazing to think that of 60 participants only 22 finished and our entire team remained. On top of that, we took 2nd, 6th, and 9th and 3 of 4 primes ($50 to Carlson, 2@$35 to myself, and I'm sorry I let the $50 fourth get away...but I was truly run off of the course).

As far as Sunday, I wanted to put some pain into the legs of our competition and make them chase before the final sprint. I did not expect to stay away; however, I did expect to be recovered for the sprint. My hat goes off to the guy in light blue that joined me on my attack and helped me open a gap only to suffer from a minor nuclear explosion close to the line.

Excellent racing, excellent teamwork, excellent weekend! Thanks again!

As a final note...from what I have seen, Carlson has been the most selfless of us all. You're riding smooth, aggressive, smart, and are laying the foundation for incredible success in the future; yet you are fully supporting us over-the-hill guys in our endeavors. What are your goals for this season? Let me know how I can help out.

Well put and your efforts to set the team up for the sprint in the road race was very selfless as well. Everyone is doing a great job of helping each other and I can see we will all be upgrading soon with that kind of spirit. Check out the race report I gave to Chris on San Dimas and you can see that spirit continuing. I like that we had a chance to ride for another team mate this weekend and Josh did a great job of rising to the occasion and putting in a great performance.

By Jim Robbins / 03-21-2005

Hey Gang,

San Dimas Stage Race ended up being an epic ride in bad conditions. With the rain and the course it actually felt like a spring classic in Europe. Here is how it went down:

The first stage uphill time trial was the first test to sort out the GC. Josh Underwood did an awesome job to make himself the GC leader for this race with a well earned 13th in the TT. Hansel and Carlson had a good time in really bad conditions to get 19th and 20th. Myself and Mike Houtz did are usual snails pace up the climb. Oh well, worker bees again. The TT was all uphill in the pouring rain and cold. Not exactly ideal conditions but the whole field had the same so we were a little disappointed to not have a top 5. We will just have to make it up in the road race.

The Road Race was 9 laps in the rain with a tough little KOM climb about 2 miles before the finish. Veloworx had 1 and 3rd place on the road and they were super motivated to keep the field together. My job was to pace Josh up to the bottom of the climb each lap and keep him in the front group. No breaks got away but this was a hard race in really bad conditions. The attrition started right away and the front group got smaller and smaller each lap. We did a great job of keeping Josh safe and he rose to the occasion and raced smart. Carlson crashed with three laps to go on the approach to the climb. Besides some minor bike repairs and some wounded pride he was ok. He got back on and finished the race a couple of minutes behind the field to make the TC so he could race the next day. On the last lap I went to the front before the climb and drilled it to hold Josh in position at the front. Him and Chris Hansel went over the top with the front group and Josh raced his ass off to get tenth in the road race. Chris Hansel finished just behind in the same group. I finished 28 sec back after doing all that work in the wind and Carlson was about 2 min after that. Mike Houtz was an iron man and finished the distance on his own most of the day. I am glad to see that he finished the race and did his miles. He did not make the TC but I am very proud of his efforts to do his time so he will be there in the next one.

At the Crit we found out that Chris Hansel had moved up to 16th on GC and Josh was in 10th. The plan was to set me up for the win and keep Josh safe. Carlson wanted to hunt primes and Hansel was going to freelance and help with the lead out at the end. We rode the crit strong and stayed at the front of the race the whole day. Josh flatted on the second to last lap and was not able to finish the race. This was very disappointing as we would lose our top ten position. Unfortunately that is racing. With 2 to go Hansel came to the front and did an awesome job of leading out the field so I could keep position. It was a little early but he gave it his all. When he started to get tired in the wind Carlson took over and kept the pace high. As we came into last corner I was sitting perfect about 5th wheel for a long sprint when bad luck struck again. A rider from Racelab lost it in the corner and took me out into the snow fencing. I was not able to finish and I am really disappointed because a placing was assured at this point. That is racing. The guys did an awesome job of taking control of the last couple of laps and riding at the front. We need to start a little later on such a long course or have a couple of more guys but great job in general.

I do not know the final GC placings but I know Hansel was 16th or better. I hope the race organizer will give Josh the same finishing time as it sucks that a flat would take away his GC. We will have to wait and see where they have him.

My tenacious D award for this weekend is split between Mike Houtz and Chris Carlson. Chris was a man to get up after a crash get a wheel and stay in the race to make the TC so he could help his teammates the next day. His help in the Crit was awesome. Mike toughed out a long day. I can not tell you how much respect I have for a guy that will do the miles in bad conditions and tough it out by himself so he will be better in the next race. YEAH!!!!!! A lot of guys use getting dropped as an excuse to pack it in and go home. My thoughts on this matter is if you are racing and you do not have the fitness to stay with the field you should punish yourself and do the race to get that fitness. Mike, all that riding will pay off, keep it up.

Josh, nice job of rising to the occasion and pulling out a great result. You rode tough in the road race and top ten in that field is great. It was a pleasure riding for you this weekend.

Chris Hansel was a super worker bee and still ended up in the top 15 on GC. That is how we pay each other back and the lead out was awesome. Your effort will not go unnoticed.

See you guys at the next one.

By Scott Wingo / 03-16-2005

Hey all!

I have been putting off writing my report as to think about how to approach this most crazy weekend for me! Thank you all for your thoughts and concerns for my health! I really do hope I didn't scare you all too bad, who actually witnessed the horrible sight......

I actually remember someone saying..."i can't wait to read your race report!"

Yuma Criterium

"THE $50 YARD SALE AT THE CORNER OF MADISON AND 2ND STREET"

Saturday afternoon the weather is hot! About 90 degrees and dry out. A tough crit with a good power climb on 2nd street to really make this a non-sprinters flat course.So the power climbers lick their chops..... As the weather is hot the race starts off sizzling!! We are all out hammering from the gun to stretch out the field and weed out the sprinters! I spend the first 15min working to slide up through the pack. This was no easy feat as the pace stayed absolutely crushing! Before you know it 3 guys pop off the front and I am 25 back just able to watch it go. With all the hard work being done to move up, I need a breather......as if on cue, Chicken attacks off the front! "Oh thank goodness", I said to myself as I got to relax.

I soon realized in this race, that it seems it is the first for many in the field! A lot of braking in the corners and in result a lot of guys going down.....one here, two there......

After I see a rider go down and get run over by two more, I have to cover a gap. Then another rider slides out behind me and I find out it is our own, on the next lap. Anthony Luna is out.....

The pack pulls back Chicken after almost 2 laps out on his own!! Seeing that he is going great I need to get busy to not be out done.....Chicken is flying!!!

So I go next....off the front for a lap but with no helpers as I had wanted. The three off the front had now been joined by the "Vampire" and I needed some help to get across. The gap had now reached 25 seconds..... As I was on my own, I was wasting effort by myself. I sat up to drop back and coax some others to either chase with me or go up the road with me. I crossed the start area and hear.."$50 prime for the leader in the field on the next lap", my ears perked with curiosity....

At the top of the next climb I allowed 1 rider to slide past and I jumped on his wheel. He was my perfect lead out, or so I thought. As we entered the finish line strait he jumped on the corner and got a gap of about 20 feet. As I watched him, his head went down half way to the line. AH-HA! He is mine!! I bolted to action and was going with all power.....he sees me and realizes he needs to go again if he is going to get that fifty bucks. We both hit the line swinging and throw our bikes at the line........

"Whew that was close as I am not sure who got it", I thought. Then as I mentally disengage I sit down and look up.......

A small voice enters my head that says...."Houston, we have a problem!" I immediately start reaching for the 'eject' button, but there is none......

The first corner is upon me and I have no way of making the turn. A combination of too much speed and way to shallow entering the turn, means only one thing......

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday......we are coming in for an emergency landing, repeat.......emergency landing!" With landing gear deployed....(my left foot) and thrusters on full reverse....(brakes skidding), I continue into the turn looking for a good/safe place to"put this baby down!" As a beacon in the night....(actually a bright glow in the hot sun), I spot the landing area. Hay bails!!!...and I was locked in on them as a magnet to iron.

"Everyone, brace for impact!!"

As the dust, or should I say straw cleared, it was time to take inventory......

THE YARD SALE HAS BEGUN!!!

Now, I am new to this yard sale stuff at a race but I thought I had it all right.....let me explain. This particular corner had a lot of people at it. Good right? This way I will get a lot of exposure for what I am selling...

And as expected I got a lot of interested buyers.... Immediately! They were really intent on what was being sold here! Lots of oh's and ah's.....along with picking up my stuff and handling it as to buy. A lot of lookers and 'window' shoppers but no real buyers.....but let me tell you I had good stuff for sale here! Only the best!

A very nice Specialized frame....S-Works even, and some very trick and custom top tube 'shaping work' done to it. Also a fine front fork that is practically new and 'lightly used' available, yet may need a little ' fixer up-er' work to get it back together. But no big deal....probably just a bit of super glue would do the trick. Oh and some very sweet and dear to my heart, Reynolds Carbon tubular wheels!! Great condition with brand new tires just mounted and perfect......just may need a slight adjustment from Reynolds themselves, and a simple rebuild of the whole thing....no biggie!

Now here is the thing I can't figure out....i had a brand new B/L clear bottle that was just sitting in the frame last I checked, that disappeared! I don't know who took it but I want it back!!! I was hoping to get some very good coin for that sucker!!!

So if you are interested......i have all the stuff listed here STILL for sale! Please don't hesitate to contact me about purchasing any of these fine products......

Oh......and if you didn't know already.......no I didn't get the $50 prime, so I figure I would probably let this stuff all go to a good home for the 50 dollars I had put it all up for.......LOL!!!!

P.S. ....Don't try this at home......professionals only!!!

Wellton Road Race

It is Sunday and I am really wanting to race! Yet I am missing a very important part.....A BIKE!!! (mine is for 'sale' remember....)

Well, it is hard to get excited to race if the future of your making the start is still in question. I go in optimistic and smile real big to a super guy that lends me his personal bike! Dan Plummer, the Wheels on Wheels neutral support. Not only his own personal bike but some very trick deep dish Cane Creek tubular wheels!!! ( I think he felt bad about me not selling anything at the 'Yard Sale' the day before....ha ha ha)....with a Javelin aluminum/carbon frame and trick wheels I was back in business baby!!!

The course was changed to smaller laps of 12 miles. So we got to do 7 of them.....try not to lose track of counting.

The race started pretty chilling. Nothing too fast just going through the motions of rolling out the miles. It became apparent real fast that everyone was ONLY reacting to a few key guys there. The "Vampire", Nathan Mitchell, and Todd Wells. Unless the flinched, the pack would let just about anyone slide off the front. So the race came down to surging efforts as these riders would attack or decide to pull back any moves. As the race developed, 10 boys were out front for 2 laps and were brought back in at the start/finish area. One of the guys kept the pace, and slide back off the front with two jumping with him. A bit later 1 then 2 guys punched it......they grouped with the others....now there were six.

We now were looking at a 1min plus gap. I personally was trying furiously to get a couple of the 'key' guys to go up the road and bridge. I must have attacked and dangled in the front of the group more than a handful of times, but to get no help!

Last lap and Todd Wells was done messing around!! He single handily went to the front and pulled the break back to approximately 15-20 seconds just after the feed. Now only 3 had survived as the break had attacked each other and they came back to the pack one by one.

Now we needed the teams that had a rider in the break to come to the front and drill the remaining gap back! Because of course, they just sat in all day with their riders out in the break.......no one did anything but look around.....

As we came into the final stretch the 3 riders stayed off and we were 10 wide coming into the sprint finish.....very nervous stuff!!!! Since I had only one life left of my nine from the previous day, and a borrowed bike, I was careful but ready to go.

Todd Wells flinched as we started to bolt, that caused me to bounce off of Jeff "Zaffro" Meyer, and I were in the dirt unclipped again! (it seems like I was just doing this). Back to the pedals and the sprint was on!!! I jumped through the obstacle course as other team riders were sitting up to block out any unwanted 'come from behind' sprinters........as I swept through I was waiting for a big jump by someone.....but as we came to the line we just maintained our speed and kind of 'floated' to the line. I grabbed the 4th spot in the field sprint!! No too bad for a bad previous day and being on a borrowed bike!!

All the boys rode very well for the days work......congrats to "chicken", Jeff "zaffro" Meyer, and Anthony Luna, who impressed me in the crit the day before!!!

Another weekend of racing and many stories from it.......which leads me to my final thoughts. I have learned why setting up a "Yard Sale' at a crit is bad......

TOP 10 REASONS FOR NOT PUTTING UP A 'YARD SALE' AT A CRIT

1) You get a lot of lookers but not many buyers of your stuff. For some reason, they think it is all junk.....
2) After you set up your location, people look at you perplexed.
3) People there wonder where you came from, "you were not there a second ago?"
4) You get questions like.."what were you thinking?"
5) Other questions like...."was it worth it?"
6) It can cost you multiple lives, out of your nine! I lost 8!!
7) People there will grade you on a point system.....i got a 10!
8) You murmur the words..."my precious!", as you pack up your brand new bike and accessories, that is now for 'Sale'!
9) You are labeled a "pole dancer".
10) Once your fellow racers learn about your 'pole dancing', they lose all respect for you, especially when using some of your 'moves' in the next race!!

Thank you for laughing along with me....

By Jim Robbins / 03-14-2005

That about sums it up gang. With a team performance that was awesome we secured the omnium for the weekend and won the road race. Here is how it went down.

The Crit was a technical circuit with lots of corners and a 4% sprinters grade hill on each lap. We had a strong team present with the Wolfman, myself, Chris the Hammer Hansel, Josh (I dont have a nickname yet) Underwood, Chris the Garter Snake Carlson, and Jeremy strong as hell Bauck. The plan was to cover breaks early and send the Wolfman on a counter at the half way point. Jeremy and Hansel got in a break early that was set up by Carlson and myself letting the gap grow. Jeremy and Chris worked hard in the break and kept a constant gap while Wolf, Carlson and Josh did an awesome job of blocking behind to keep them away. No chance to bridge and no reason too unless the other teams brought it back since we had two already in the break. The break stayed away and we started to set up for the sprint. Carlson took a 50$ prime and Jeremy took two 35$ primes. Jeremy ended up 2nd and Chris was 6th. I took third in the field sprint and ended up 9th. Our team literally dominated this race and controlled every aspect of the move including taking the primes. Awesome job. The teamwork by the guys blocking was incredible. I am most proud that out of 65 starters only 22 finished and all of our guys finished in the front groups. Can it get any better than that?

The road race was a 12.2 mile loop on completely flat terrain except for the small rise by the feedzone towards the end of each lap. Our plan was to be extremely active as we were the strongest team and make the race hard. Josh and Bill were very active early trying to get a break started. We were definitely marked by the other teams and nothing was going to stick without the right combination. Carlson gave it a go and was off the front for an entire lap with his teammates disrupting the paceline, but again it was not to be as it was a little too early and tough to make it stick with only one person. Hansel flatted and with no wheel in the truck he was done for the day. We regrouped and Jeremy offered to take a flier on the last lap to take pressure off of us so we could set up for the inevitable field sprint behind the chasers. Since Jeremy was second in the omnium, we thought the field would chase him down and we would set up for the sprint. This had to have been the dumbest group of III's I have ever ridden against as they hesitated way too long and Jeremy was able to pull it out in the end and finished just in front of a hard charging field. He won the road race and this should have locked him up for the winner of the Omnium. Carlson sacrificed himself for me and did a great job of stringing out the field at the end so I could get into the sprint. I ended up fighting my way out to get third in the sprint for fourth overall. Awesome job guys. I do not think we could have been any better than that and this is good for the race coming up to be on target.

Observations:

Everyone looks really strong and I am very proud of the composure we showed as a team to allow breaks and moves to develop to our advantage.

Any one of our riders could have been in the break and made it stick, great job guys.

Wolfman, lets get together this weekend and get you some results, there is something for everyone in San Dimas.

Carlson, Josh, and Wolfman did an incredible job in the crit of slowing the field and keeping cool under a lot of pressure to not panic and start chasing.

Again, a great team effort and all the money will be divided up as we get it in.

How funny was it to see teams with 8 guys in the race get slapped around by us and than throw down challenges after we had won the race and the omnium, OK we WILL see you in San Dimas, hope you like the view of the back of our kits, Barry is getting a lot exposure this year.

By Chris Hoyt / 03-10-2005

The boys in 4's took 1st place at CBR last weekend by 40-50 feet. No Really! Thanks Ryan for the support and wind break! The Carina name was huge that morning and we're definitely marked for good...but that's good right?

Also, my good friend James who rode with everyone during the training ride in Redlands will be out to ride support for Ryan and myself in the Yuma event. Wish us luck! See you all there.

By Keely Brooks / 03-08-2005

To those that do not know already!

Jeff Whitehead and Karen Lasko went to New Zealand last week to compete in the world-class 2005 Bonita Ironman. For those of you who don’t know an ironman consists of a 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, and a full marathon run (26.2 mi). I don’t know about you, but I can’t friggin’ imagine racing one of those distances individually, let alone all together! They both trained for this, their first Ironman, for months (a year even?) and were looking good going into it. I think it was Jeff’s first triathlon even!

Its quite an accomplishment for them to even finish this grueling race! And both did so with style.

Jeff finished in the top 100 for his division with a time of 12:49:51. He had a great swim time of 1:01:34, his bike time was 6:46:34, and his run time was 4:47:00.

Karen stunned everyone when she came in FIRST in her age group!!! Her tremendous achievement has qualified her for the most well known Ironman challenge in the world! Karen gets to look forward to do this same feet again in Kona, Hawaii in the fall!

When you see Karen and Jeff, be sure to congratulate them on their amazing race!

PS- they also had a great support team, consisting of Barry Lasko and Leslie Whitehead and their boat load of kids!

By Scott Wingo / 03-08-2005

I figure I had better pipe in to the racing stories as to how it goes down.......I don’t want to be looked at as if I have no views, actually the contrary, probably some of you tired of hearing my sorry excuses of insight to my racing.....LOL....ha ha ha......oh well I am sure I can amuse a few of you who don’t have to listen to me all the time.

First of all......I have to say a huge THANK YOU to SIMO!!! You are such an amazing support and are so very much a very huge help!! All the racing so far and you are ALWAYS there for us......your effort does not go unnoticed. Thank you!

Well this year has been great! I personally am so impressed with all the support and positive racing atmosphere with all the people on the team.......amazing! Lance keep up the great positive attitude, it does help us all out! This year has been a blast so far in going for it in every race......this is going to pay off huge this year.

So let’s get to the racing.....

McClane Pacific:

Saturday the race went off from the gun!! Right away I was impressed with the speed being put down by the pack, 34 mph in the strait away! I started to work to the front to stay away from trouble. About 10 minutes into the race a couple of us slip off the front for a leg tester, only to be attacked by one of the three of us in the break. Well, that did not sit well with me and I was now relegated to biding my time for a later move......when the pace slowed. The pace never slowed! This was now the fastest cat 2's race I have been in and realized I was going to have to go big and spend a lot of bullets....

About 45 min into the race it all started to happen......from fatigued riders, to tires blowing off, we had two very large pile ups. When the wheel pit had more riders coming onto the course than what was already in I was a bit worried. Yet, figured these guys were just called on there shifty moves and would settle down......boy was I wrong! Guys now in the race that had asphalt black backs and shorts with skin showing through were back at the 100% hammer mode!

Now I realized I had to let it all hang out to get a result because these guys were not going down with out a fight!!! (pun intended!)

5 laps to go and the race is on! I would come out into the wind, sprint at full speed to the front five and slide back in. Then every section of corners I would lose 20 spots to the 'swarm'. Again I would sprint at full speed out around to the front. I sprinted 4 times in the last 3 laps to stay toward the front.......last lap I came into the last corner letting up to not lead out the train. But was not the thing to do as I could not regain the speed for the final sprint and only came around a couple of riders to get 6th place. A good result but feeling a bit bummed I left some results on the table.......this was NOT going to happen on Sunday!!

Sunday road race......well the course was beautiful. I caught myself checking out the creeks and such along the great scenery! A good power course with some rollers and some slight winds.

As we rolled out for our 99 miles we had some surges for a break, only to be swallowed quickly by the 'twitchy' cat 2's. A bit of snapping and 10 guys rolled off the front. I watched and realized I might need to get up in that just in case......well I went solo for 10 min only to not make it to the break . It was a good leg stretch and I got to sit cozy in the pack all day. We would continue to let the break dangle about a minute ahead only to slow and keep it hanging out in front of us. We had a very stiff pace in this race pack and the racing was very 'positive' . Considering the NRC level of racers, this was good to see! This field was strong!

As the race played out we caught the break at the start of the third lap and the race was in full mode again.....we then caught the Pro field only to wave to Chicky and the boys and make comments as to how we were now faster...ha ha ha! (Yes, they did decide to race and the Pro field passed us back at the end.)

We got to the last rollers and as expected the fireworks went off!! I made my way to the front on the climb and tapped out some good work to be 4th wheel over the top of the final decent to the hard left off the 'Paris Roubaix' cobble sections that left many with flat tires and crashes. I realized I had a slow leak in the front 'tubbie' and was crossing my fingers it would all hold together!

We came into the downhill corner HOT! Guys are now cart wheeling into the ditch as the guy in front of me swerved and tapped the breaks. We were all now off line to make the corner cleanly....I some how unclipped my inside foot slid it about 20 ft to correct my bike into a strait line as I entered the dirt shoulder. Now 2 feet into the dirt I am strait and clipped back in still rolling. I peddled through the dirt about 30 ft, jumped back onto the road and got right back onto the remaining train. Every one takes a moment to do a check on who has made it and the attacks begin. With only a few miles left and a couple of rollers a rider attacks that I go with and we are now leading up the road. I sit tight as a few more come up to pull hard up the road. We approach the final incline with nothing but downhill to the finish.

As for this day I was not to be denied a full on effort to the finish as I had the day before! As we approached the point I realized I had to bury myself to the finish. I came out of the pack about 4th wheel and went big! I never looked back and all the while, towed 2 boys to the line and was piped by both. Finishing 3rd and happy with the great result at an NRC race!!!

A great weekend and happy to finally get the results I am capable of for the team! It is nice to have all my skin and be healthy!

Oh, and Chicky.......I am almost there to your racing level.....not quite there yet, but working hard to be there with you brother......someday.....he he he.

By Jim Robbins / 03-07-2005

Once again it is Monday and another awesome weekend of racing. Let me first say that if you guys miss this race next year you are nuts. This was one of the best put on races I have done in a long time. Did I mention this was a NRC race and every bad ass in the country was there. My props go out to the event promoter for a great venue and race.

The crit is held in downtown Merced with large McClane semi trucks blocking the roads so the course is completely closed and fenced off. They have a festival going on during the race with lots of spectators. Once again only two of us were out for the race. The fatman and Jr (Chris Carlson) said to hell with it and decided to dominate the race without the benefit of our teammates. The course is technical with lots of corners and a nice chicane on the back side. Speeds were high with a full field of 120 NorCal riders. After lap one we went straight to the front and stayed there the rest of the day. Chris took a couple of fliers but no one was getting away on this course with a stacked field motivated to sprint. I tested the legs on a prime and won a set of Michelin Pro Race tires by a couple of bike lengths. With a lap to go I was sitting in fourth position ready to tear it up. In the last corner the rider to my left blew like an atom bomb and took me into the curb. I lost position and after cussing out the moron I tried to get back into the sprint and ended up in 20th at the line. My legs are golden and I am looking forward to the next two races to get some placings and points. Chris did a much better job of holding position at the front and besides getting a little nervous at the finish, he did a great job.

The road race was 72 miles in rolling farm country. This is a sprinters road race with a few power rollers but nothing that is too steep and all big ring rolling hills. The course is a 24 mile loop that was completely closed to traffic so we had the whole road, both sides to race on. What a great course and how nice to actually race on a closed course. After going around for almost the whole first lap Chris decided to launch on one of the hills. Two guys went with him and we had a break up the road. I went right to the front and started blocking like a mother. My blocking was damn good. I even had a couple of idiots coaxing me to pull threw and give me encouragement because they thought I was part of the chase and did not realize I was messing up there rhythm on each pull. I spent the entire lap pissing of the chasers and Chris got up to a 50 second lead. Unfortunately the pack could see far ahead and kept the trio in sight and eventually brought them back just before the feedzone and the start of the last lap. At this point we started the last lap. The plan was for Chris to attack on the last set of rollers before the finish and I was going to set up for the sprint behind his chasers. Everything went awesome, Chris attacked on cue and I was right in position, right up until I hit the pothole and flatted with 2.5 miles left to go. Chris was left to fend for himself and I was changing a tube out. Chris ended up top 15 and that is damn good considering he was giving it up for the sprint for me. We really had our way with this top notch field and except for some bad luck I am certain we would have had two placings this weekend in an NRC RR and Crit.

Observations:

Chris did an awesome job in both races and his learning curve is getting easier. He was great in the road race and I could not have asked for a better set up from only one team mate. Great Job CHRIS!!!

The few SoCal racers that were there are again taking notice of our strength so I am very excited to have more teammates registered for the next two races. Every one needs to come prepared to rock as I have every intention of this team dominating Yuma and San Dimas.

Funniest moment:

Chicken warming down with the HealthNet Team after the Pro I race and than thanking them for riding with him. I laughed my ass off. He actually waived at Ivan Dominguez and said "Thanks for riding with me guys" as he rode off into the sunset.

By Lance Couburn / 02-22-2005

You guys are awesome, and this team is on the rise. Thanks for all of your hard work and intelligent racing. I'd say it is unbelievable, except that I've believed all along that this is the style of racing you all are capable of consistently producing. This thing is just starting. We are all working very well together, and that will only improve. I understand all of you rode very well in support of Nick and Peter, and that is greatly appreciated. Peter, you are the man! Plain and simple. Nick, don't worry about the crit, there are plenty of others for a little payback. And you can count on all of our support in getting it. Andy, your day is quickly approaching, as your solid riding and placings this year indicate. Chicky (the ONLY man to have the cameras on him when he was at the front!) way to hang tough. I know what you're capable of and I know you will come around when it is your time. Gus, you're so damn strong I'm just gonna wait for your legs to do the talking.

At full strength, and with the level of teamwork and commitment to each other that is now being demonstrated, we can take the race to anyone. Well done, guys!

By Joel Gilmore / 02-21-2005

Hey guys-

Just wanted to fill you in on a few highlights from VOS last weekend.

The weather was awful the first two days. After driving in rain for nearly five hours Thursday night, Friday morning was no different. The TT started under overcast skies and finished in wet, soggy rain. Chris Hoyt led things out for Team Carina, with a time of 28:45. A very respectable time, but more than two minutes off the winning time of 25:52. Ryan Jerrel and I were further back in the pack, but in position to help.

Saturday's RR was an early start, again in the rain. It seemed if it wasn't raining from above, the spray from other riders' wheels was just as bad. 200 yards into the start, Chris Hoyt had a front tire blow out, but quickly got a spare and rejoined the group on nothing but his own guts and determination. Chris and Ryan worked the peloton thought the wet, while I got blown out on the first climb. 41 miles later, Chris found himself in a select group on the last climb, possibly in a position to go for the sprint.

A finish safe in the peloton was was the better option on the wet roads. Ryan lost a little time on the final climb, while I finished further down.

Sunday finally saw a break in the rain. The pace was high right out from the start and a crash on the second lap saw four riders go down in the middle of the pack. One rider broke a leg, the others got away with road rash. Thankfully no Carina riders were involved. The final lap saw Ryan and Chris shaking things up, with Chris putting Ryan in a prime position for the final sprint. Coming around the last corner, Ryan came in second on the day, with Chris rounding out the top ten.

The weekend was a good indicator of things to come from the Cat4 team. Hope to see you all at the next one.

By Ryan Jerrel / 02-21-2005

Before I say anything and I mean anything! I just want give a huge thank you to Chris Hoyt. Chris Hoyt you are the man! Your lead out was the shit. This guy was the team player of the weekend for the 4's at VOS and we wouldn't have had any kind of results without him. Chris, don't worry about the gloves I got it and Magnus will be in Yuma.

Anyway, the TT on Friday went well as we could expected. Chris had the best time of the 3 of us with a 28:30 (I believe), I (Ryan that is) came in just under 30:00 and Joel was not that far back from me considering he was not feeling that great. All in all we were happy with what we put out there, but still wanted to know who did a sub 26:00 min. split.

The next day are plan was to stay with the group the first lap and see if we could get Chris in a break away maybe on the second lap. On the inside, I knew it was going to be tuff for me to be there in the end for Chris. So, my goal was to make it through the second lap and keep Chris in a good position for the final climb. That didn't work out. As most of you know I can't climb to save my life. Sorry, Chris it's a work in progress.

What really happened was Chris pulled off a 19th all on his own. First, Chris flatted within the first 300 yards of the race and got back on before the climb, all on his own. Then Joel got poped by the start on the 2nd lap as well as myself getting blown out the back by the second climb of the second lap. So, Chris finished well considering and all three us were looking forward to Sunday no matter rain or shine.

Ah Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The plan was simple. Chris was going to lead me out on the last lap and Joel needed to ride his ass off for as long as he could. All of us really wanted a good result here because the crit was are best chance to shine. So, I really didn't want to let anybody down and didn't. I finished in 2nd place in the end by wining the group sprit with a great lead out from Chris Hoyt. Throughout the whole race he either rode with a untrue rear wheel, pulled me around, made sure I was on his wheel or make the right move at the right time for the finish. So I tip hat to the Big Man from Big Bear and hope I can ride as well for him in the coming weeks as he did for me this past weekend at VOS.

I also wanted to thank Team Carina for the support over the last two years. Some of you out there know where I started from and I am very thankful for all of the support you have given me. Lance, Chicken, Kat, Anthony, Chris Hansel, and Jimmy you guys are the best.

By Jim Robbins / 02-21-2005

Another Monday morning and my legs are feeling the effects of another good weekend of racing. I want to open by first telling you how proud I am of the unsung heroes of the weekend. The team effort for this stage race was excellent and I was pleased that many of the other teams in our race made a point to comment to me on our performance and aggressiveness. Now to the news.

The Thursday drive down to Phoenix was not good when the rain started to pour and was a forecast of things to come. Friday was the Time Trial and the conditions were wet and flats were in the forecast. Chris the hammer Hansel pulled out his usual excellent time to start us off with a 17th on GC. Mike Houtz, Joel, and the Wolfman had good times and improved over last year. Myself and poor Mr. Freeze both had to contend with flats knocking us well out of GC contention. The good news is before I flatted I had good legs and had actually caught my 30 second man and minute man. Of course that's racing so on to the next day.

The Road Race was going to be 77 miles in the pouring rain. Again conditions not suited to us desert folk, but what the hell, I love racing when it is pissing rain. We had a plan to keep Chris safe and go for the time bonus on the second lap to see if we could move up on GC. We had decided not to burn too many bullets early as this is a long race in bad conditions so we decided to not go for breaks until after the midpoint in the race. 9 miles into the first lap after the climb, damn if I did not get a flat. Mike Houtz stopped with me to give up a wheel. I decided to wait for a wheel for him from the wheel truck so we could both make it back to the field. After a slow ass wheel change, the chase was on. We hauled ass back and both made it back to the field. Mike did an awesome job of helping me get back to the field and I can not thank him enough. I am usually the one doing the wingman routine to help a team mate and it was nice to be on the other end of it. I went straight to the front as we were rapidly approaching the time bonus climb and I wanted to help Chris pace up the climb. I did as much pace work as I could but I was a little spent from chasing to get back on. Joel helped out and Chris ended up getting 5th on the KOM. Not enough to get the time bonus but we gave it a hell of a try. The third lap was quiet except for retarded Cat III's crashing on the climb. How stupid to be bumping for position on a climb that meant nothing at this point in the race.

We all took a feed and I was happy to say that we were all still in the main field. After the third climb, Chris and I started to mix it up to get in a break. Every time Chris bridged to a break they would chase him down. I finally bridged up to two guys and started to work. The Veloworx guy refused to pull through so I threatened to take him into the desert if he did not help out. He started to work and off we went. One more rider joined us and we got the gap up to a minute. At this point we started up the climb. Again I am sure that Simo could not believe his eyes when he saw the fat man in another break in a road race. Once we crested the climb I thought we may have a chance to stay clear but it was not to be. The field was chasing hard and once we were caught it was time for the wingman to go to work again setting up Chris for the finish at the top of the climb. Mike came to the front with Joel and the pace making was being done by Carina for the approach to the climb. I took over at the base and took Chris as far as I could until he had to fend for himself for the finish. The finish is on a false flat and Chris did an awesome job to get 7th on the day.

Thoughts on the road race:

This was a class field and the 7th place was definitely earned. Awesome job guys.

I like that we were aggressive and the only break of the day was driven by our team.

My Tenacious D award goes out to Mike Houtz, way to bring me back to the field and than have enough left over to help Chris in the finish.

I am damn proud that all of the Cat III finished with the main field and no one got dropped. This is very significant considering Wolfman has been fighting a bug and Joel and Mike do not have a lot of racing miles in the legs yet. Great Job!!!!

Sunday was the Crit. Chris had moved up to 15th on GC in the road race and if we could win the Crit he would be able to move up a couple of more spots. Not so much for the money but more for the pride we wanted that time. Again we agreed to settle in early and be active at the end of the race. Wolfman was active early and Joel and Mike were doing a good hob of keeping position at the front of the field. This is a very technical course with lots of corners and bad pavement. I could not get my engine warmed up early on and did not move up to the front until the second half of the race. Once I was warmed up I was Golden and the legs felt awesome. I moved up the front and Carina pretty much dominated the race after that. Chris was glued to the wingman's wheel and I gave him a lesson in Crit 101. There was numerous Primes but since the overall was the goal we kept it in check. It was hard not to go for that 100$$ prime because as usual, I need the money but the finish was the real prize so we just got ready to let it rip. With two laps to go the Wolfman came up to join the party and strung out the field so we could all keep position. On the last lap going down the back stretch I took the lead position. There were two guys off of the front and i caught them on the corner and used them to take away the inside line from any other teams and me and Chris came out of the last corner 1 and 2. Picture perfect. I sprinted up the straightaway and Chris went on to take a fine 5th place finish. A rider form Landis dropped a chain in front of him which took him off line a little bit, barring that we probably would have won the day. A few lessons learned but still a damn good performance.

With a little luck, Chris moved up into 13th overall on GC. With this and his 5th he was able to secure some upgrade points and our Cat III team reputation is growing.

Closing Thoughts:

Our team is starting to get a reputation and other teams are reacting to our moves. If we are going to continue this, we need everybody working on their form and get out to the races.

Again, the teamwork this weekend was awesome. This is how we win races and will continue to do so.

The Wolfman has indicated to me that Yuma is a primary race for him, my response is OK, show up ready to rock because you have my services. My goal for this team is we all get placings and we all get better and move up. With that spirit I am throwing out the challenge, get stronger, show up to races, help your teammates, and we will help you.

As always this is my view of the race so if you have something to add, feel free to chime in and great job guys, see you at the next one.

By Mike Anderson / 02-11-2005

What's up my pretties. It's that time again, a new year and a hell of a good team. My little column is just one of about 10 you will get from other sources on the team, but my main focus in the racing news updates that I will give you, will be on the Wall of Fame.

The Wall will be a little harder to get on this year. It is broken down into three categories. Team wins…..Team Podiums, 1st-5th and Top 5 placings for stage race results, under your name and in your own little section, alphabetically.Let us not forget about the other team players who have helped you get on the Wall, so that in the future you may be able to repay them.

That being said, lets begin.Team Carina is rocking!!. We kicked but in Nelson's Landing by sweeping the podium in the cat 3's, with Chris Jr, Chris Hansel and Jeremy Bauck and in the following week at the Red Trolley Classic with our first ever win in the Pro 1,2 field with Peter Anderson taking the victory. I must say that in both races the two respective teams did a very good job in delivering the winners to a beautiful victory.

So, it is with great pride that I give you the first names to appear on The Wall of fame P.S. If I left you off the wall, let me know... Chicky

The Wall of Fame

Team Carina Wins: 6 as of 2/12/05
Team Carina Podiums: 12
Team Carina Stage Race Podiums: 5

Michael Anderson……..Chicky
2nd…….Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+
3rd…….Stg 2..RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+
3rd overall………………………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………..35+

Peter Anderson……..The Pimpster
1st……..Red Trolley Classic………………………………………………………Pro 1,2
2nd…….Stg 3 Crit………………Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
3rd…….Stg 1 TT………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
4th…….Boulevard RR………………………………………………………………..Pro 1,2

Jeremy Bauck
3rd……Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's
3rd overall……………………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's

Keely Brooks
2nd………………………….Underground TT………………………………Women Open
4th…..Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR………………Women Open
4th…..Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………Women Open

Andy Brown…………Mr. Perfect
4th…….Stg 3 Crit………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………Pro 1,2

Chris Carlson………Jr
1st…….Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's
1st overall……………………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's
2nd……Stg 2 RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR…………………..Cat 3's

Chris Hansel……..Team Boss
1st……………………..Underground TT………………………………………..35+
1st……Stg 1 TT……………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's 5th
2nd overall………………………Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's
5th.….Stg 3 Crit………….….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Cat 3's

Dave Herbst……..Rico Suave
5th……Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR…………………..Pro 1,2

Chuck Jenkins……….The Jester
3rd……Stg 2 RR…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2
4th overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………….Pro 1,2

Jason Lilje………….El Diablo
1st…..Stg 3 Crit…………….Nelson's Landing SR…………..…………35+
2nd…..Stg 2 RR……………..Nelson's Landing SR……………..………35+
2nd overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR…………..…………35+
4th……Stg 1 TT…….………Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+

Anthony Luna………..Team Boss
2nd……………………….Underground TT………………………………..…….Pro 1,2
4th……Stg 2 RR…………….Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+
4th overall……………………..Nelson's Landing SR………………………35+
5th……Stg 3 Crit…………..Nelson's Landing SR……………………….35+

Kat Patterson
1st ……………………………….Underground TT…………………………Women Open
1st …..Stg 3 Crit……………….Nelson's Landing SR……………Women Open

Jimmy Robbins…………The Wingman
3rd………………..Red Trolley Classic……………………………………………Cat 3's

Scott Wingo………………Wingnut
5th…..Stg 2 RR………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………….Pro1,2
5th overall………………….Nelson's Landing SR……………………….Pro1,2

By David Gustafson / 02-07-2005

Boulevard Road race on 2/5:

It was great to see so many Vegas guys make the trip out to the event. Carina seemed to be well represented in the masters and the Sr. 3's categories. Everyone looked good in the 2005 kits and were ready to race. I know it is early in the season, hopefully we will be able to maintain this type of enthusiasm throughout the course of the year.

We had four guys line up for the Elite event. 90 miles at 3000' elevation. Representatives from the US National development team were on hand along with a field of significant domestic pros. Also in attendance was our favorite Elite national champion Chris Walker. The reason I mention all of this is simply to give you an idea of the field that Carina Homes upended by attacking from the gun. Peter Anderson and Scott Wingo opened it up from the whistle and never looked back. Nick Trusty and I stayed in the field to watch the fireworks that the break would cause. Trusty and I hung on for 3 of the four laps, and had to pull the plug. Trusty had some serious cassette problems leading to mandatory heavy gearing making already difficult climbs nearly impossible. I pulled the cord purely as a result of being utterly destroyed. The Moose-Hogg (Peter Anderson) ended up having the ride of his life to earn a killer 4th place. Scott Wingo sailed in for an impressive 12th. Ridiculous. Both these guys were off the front the entire race!

Red Trolley Crit on 2/6:

San Diego got a C+ in the weather category for today. Due to the showers I spent my warm up testing out Andy Brown's new audio system listening to Fear Factory (good music for pre race or any time) safely tucked away in his truck. The rain lifted a bit and we decided to give it a go. Apparently the Carina race philosophy is "go from the gun" and "go in pairs" so Jason and I gave it a whirl. A great way to get a warm up in. When we came back, additional Carina riders were flying off the front either covering and or initiating breaks. Eventually the Moose-Hogg (P.A.) got into a well balanced break that would stick till the end. On the last lap Anderson floored it and left the handful of pros looking around at each other trying to figure out who was going to chase. As often is the case they waited a hair too long and Peter was on his way to solo across the line. The first Win of the year came on the second crit of the year. Insane! Dave Herbst brought the Carina colors across the line taking second in the field sprint for an 8th overall. It was great to see everyone riding with purpose and with a plan. The entire S.D. crew was solid. It was great to have additional teammates. Everywhere I looked I saw Carina. Jason was putting in a ton of work. Lance was always at the front, and I even saw a chicken! Hey Chick, Herbst says thanks for pulling the entire last lap!

By Lance Coburn / 02-07-2005

Pride is the overwhelming emotion that highlighted this weekend for me.

Here's why:

1) After the first victory for this team in a Pro 1/2 race, some of the first words I heard from the team concerned Jeff's unbelievable performance. While we were busy deservedly patting ourselves on the back for the team committment and aggressiveness that resulted in Peter's win, many thoughts were dedicated to praising the unreal resilience and resolve that Jeff showed in coming back so quickly to the point where he is once again making appearances at the front of very aggressive Pro 1/2 races. Unbelievable performance by Zafro, and inspiring strength of character demonstrated by his friends -- old and new -- in acknowledging his comeback. You guys rock.

2) Team Attack! Peter and Wingo started it on Saturday, and this team never let the pressure off all weekend. On the first lap, Jay and Gus let it rip on Sunday. Keep racing like this, and there are many more victories to come. I don't think I've ever seen a race in SoCal so dominated by one team's constant attacks and covering. This is an awesome start from all perspectives, and I was elated to see that that team is truly following the sentiments that Gus shared with us in an email last month. Here are his words:

"My philosophy is to race hard all year, and have no problem racing for whomever is riding strongest at the moment. My race specific goal for the year is to get Carina riders into as many podium finishes as possible. The ultimate dream goal would be a W (in a USCF Pro1 or Pro1,2 race) for someone on our team. I think if a little luck rolls our way it just may happen in 2005."

It happened in first real race weekend of the season because everyone on Team Carina raced true to Gus' words. We are now on the map, and teams will be gunning for us. Seasilver, Monex, RPM . . . And just like this weekend, guys, if they are going to beat us, they are going to have to catch us, because we're not waiting for someone else to make the race. Well done, guys.

And Jimmy and Junior, you guys were great in the III's as well. Jimmy finally raced like he was truly looking for a result and podiumed. Awesome. Chris Junior, very nice support! You guys are off to a tremendous start as well, and we look forward to you joining us in the Pro 1,2 field. Out.

By Jim Robbins / 02-07-2005

Hey Gang,

Another weekend of traveling and once again Team Carina shines. I am only going to comment on the races I was involved in but I have to spend a second to mark a historic occasion. Team Carina rocked the Pro 1-2 field this weekend with a strong 4th at the Boulevard road race and I will be damned if the same guy that got fourth in the road race showed up at the crit next day and won the race outright. I will let others elaborate on the performance but let me take a second to say Peter, you the man.

On to the III's. Josh Underwood, Chris (the garter snake) Carlson, and myself showed up at the Boulevard road race and let it rip. For only having three guys in the race we put on a little show. The plan was to sit tight and protect Chris and Josh for the finish. As the field got warmed up I found myself on the front after moving Chris up in the field. With only a couple of miles into the race I took a little flier off of the front to take pressure off of my climbers. I ended up soloing away for 33 miles by myself. You should of seen the look on Simo's face as the fat man came through the feed zone solo. They eventually caught me at the base of the second climb and I dragged my butt around to finish behind the main field. Josh and Chris held tight in the field and both finished very strong with a 10th overall by Chris and Josh right behind with a 13th. This was a damn hard race and they both raced very strong to get a top ten placing. Good job boys. Chris, a little advice from the old man. This race paid to 9 so next time know the placing and get us some money. I am sure you could of passed one more to get us that 5 bucks.

The next day was the Red Trolley Crit. It was cloudy and rainy with a nice sprinters hill going into a head wind for the finish. I was not sure about the legs going into this after a long day out in the wind the day before. Chris and myself were the only Carina guys in this race so we decided I would save it for the field sprint and Carlson would look for a break and spend time at the front until the finish. Chris showed a lot of wisdom for his age in this race and once again with just two riders we pretty much had our way with it. Chris went up the road several times and ended up picking up several primes including some handlebars and a 140$$ pair of sunglasses. I stayed at the front and out of the wind to keep the legs fresh. The field stayed together and with three laps to go we were at the front ready to sprint. The clouds opened up and it started to pour. As we came around the last corner Chris kept the field strung out and I launched off of his wheel and took an inside line and let it rip. I ended up in third place and was still accelerating when I crossed the line. If I had started the sprint a little earlier we would have won it. My hats off to Chris for giving it up for me. he did a great job. My pitiful 30$ for third did not equate to the haul of primes he brought in but I need the upgrade points and it was nice to see other teams pointing at me and Chris before the road race and the crit warning their guys that Carina is a force to be reckoned with. Two races into the season and Carina is rockin. See you guys next weekend.

Special Thanks,

Simo and Momma, you guys are the best!!!! Having you in the feed zone is huge and all the works on the bike. I can not thank you enough.

Noteables:

Jay aka Grandpa, same apology.

Chicken, damn good job being a wingman this weekend.

Lance, the sugar daddy, your weight is coming off, you will be there soon.

Pre race movie: Napolean Dynamite, a must see before any big race.

By Lance Coburn / 02-01-2005

Let me add a word of praise for TeamCarina's effort in the Pro I/II race...

Chuck Jenkins, Scott Wingo, Andy Brown, Peter Anderson and Davey Herbst (now known as "the San Diego Express") flew the team colors prominently at the front of a small but very select field of top level racers. I'm sorry I don't have the time to engage you with witty stories from the bowels of the peleton -- Chicky and El Diablo will carry that load in thier WEEKLY installments of the TCRN -- but let me just say this about our latest acquisitions: these guys ride hard and very aggressively! I have a tremendous amount of respect for those willing to attack like these guys do. Just quickly, our team strategy was to attack Walker (current national road champion) and Team Monex, rather than sit back and wait for the inevitable beating. Andy and Chuck drew the short straws on Saturday and screamed off the front as soon as gun sounded -- to the great dismay of the field. Scott and Peter sat and waited for the unenviable task of going with the counter sure to be launched by Walker and Monex -- a painful task. Chuck and Andy suffered well off the front, while Scott and Peter hung on to Walker as long as they could. In the end, Walker would not be denied and showed that he will once again be the man to beat this year. However, I am extremely proud of the way our guys went down swinging. If there was any doubt about this team's willingness to race hard, Sunday's crit cleared up any misunderstandings. As many of you witnessed, within the first 2 laps Peter was off the front, punishing the sorry saps that chose to go with him. One by one they fell off and it was down to Peter and one Monex leech who refused to pull (we'll give him a free pass for team tactics). TeamCarina sat at the front to allow Peter to build a lead the went up to a minute, then Walker came to the front and chased like the mad man he is. The race turned into a pursuit -- Walker v. Anderson ... you saw the result. Peter's a stud. Plain and simple.

Our team motto is simple this year, and was demonstrated very well this weekend by Andy, Chuck, Scott, Peter and Davey. ATTACK!

By Jim Robbins / 01-31-2005

Hey Gang,

Just wanted to take a moments to pat a few people on the back. Since I was not involved in any other races than the Cat III I will stick to that.

It was very nice to go into the road race as the team to beat with Chris Hansel putting together an excellent TT and starting off first on GC. Other notables were Jeremy (fuzzy legs), Bill (the wolfman), and Chris (there is a garder snake in my leg) Carlson. Way to rock the TT and put us in a good position in the road race.

Going into the road race we put together a nice plan to keep Chris Hansel towards the front to protect his GC standing and give Chris Carlson free run to go with any strong attacks because he is climbing like a damn billy goat. I was not in the mix on the climbs so I can not comment on the performance but Carlson went with a strong rider from Jelly Belly and ended up dropping a rival from Pro Cyclery to take 2nd in the road race and first on GC. Jeremy had a strong road race to move into fourth on GC and Chris Hansel finished strong to secure 2nd on GC. I wanted to point out the nice bit of work by the guys that are not good climbers to help keep our guys towards the front on the approach to the first descent. It is important to know that if you can not be strong on the climb to help out GC guys on the parts that you can.

Going into the Crit we had 1st and 2nd locked up. There were three possible time bonuses and if Jeremy could win 2 and keep a rival who was in third from winning any of them, we would secure 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on GC. We put together a nice plan to lead out Jeremy for the primes. Carlson was told after the 2nd prime there would be a counter and to go with it to take the pressure off of the team for the finale. The plan worked to perfection. We secured our time bonus to sweep the GC and Carlson won the crit in a move that stayed away after the 2nd preem. We also swept the field sprint with Chris in 3rd, myself in 4th, and Jeremy in 5th. Damn good job boys.

I want special props to go out to the unsung heros of the day.

Joe, nice job monitoring the front and taking direction to bring back danger moves.

Kenny, strong ass pulls and set up the initial lead out for both bonus sprints and the final. That is how you work!!!!

Wolfman, road at the front and also rocked on the first preem.

Joel, nice job keeping tabs on the front and keeping our guys out of the wind and rested. I love to see you working up front.

Those of you that placed, no need to mention you by name, but you should all be giving special thanks to your team mates that made it happen.

Now that you all feel damn good about dominating this race, I want to bring you back to reality. This was just practice for the real deal. Keep in mind that our plan worked but we had the deck stacked against the others in the race. In the big races and crits in AZ and CA, the other teams will be as big and strong as us and the intensity will be a lot higher. I can not wait but I want to caution all of you to enjoy the win, but keep working on your form. If we are going to keep this up we are going to need everybody training and focused so we can kick ass in the big races. See you at Boulevard and feel free to add your comments to this note.

By Jim Robbins / 11-24-2004

Hey Gang,

Just a taste of good things to come but I wanted to take a moment and say a few words about Team Carina's performance at Tour De Tucson. If you have never been the Tour is supposed to be a fun ride but the first part is ran like a race and many of the pros around the country show up to test their legs. Let me tell you that this is as much a race as any other race I have been in and it is a 108 miles of speed work.

We were well represented with Chicken, myself, Jay the arctic squirrel, and Kenny (I GOT SWEET LEGS)Bingham. The pace started hot like usual and we all got position at the front right away. Everyone made it through the first wash OK and the race was on. Poor Jay flatted about 20 miles into the race and had to drag his skinny (and looking very fit) ass home on his own. He still finished sub 5 hours and was probably in the top 100 guys. Damn good considering his bad luck. Chicken and Kenny had awesome position going through the second wash and Chicken was in the first main group with Kenny and myself not far behind in chase groups. Little did the Chicken know that a small group including Jamie Carney had snuk out of the wash ahead of him and that was the winning move.

Kenny and I regrouped on the climb and than swept up Chicken's group shortly after that. We spent the rest of the 60 miles marking various postal guys and getting ready for a strong finish. Kenny looked solid all day and I could always see him monitoring the front with Chicken doing an exceptional job hiding his pathetic skinny body from the wind. About 10 miles from the finish I chased down a postal rider and brought him back and started to set up for the sprint with Kenny riding herd at the front of the field. I was little worried about my legs cramping and Chicken looked golden. With about a mile to go I went to the front and ramped up the pace so Chicken and Kenny could hold position. We pretty much took control of the last mile and Chicken had a fine finish in the field sprint. He was 5th in the sprint and ended up 13th over all. Kenny had his best finish ever at 39th which is awesome considering how much time he spent at the front.

The best thing is we had 4 postal guys in the main break including Glenn Henshaw and Wayne Stetina. We punked all of them and not one of these guys from this power house team could come around us in the finish and Mike finished in front of their entire team. Damn good day!!!!! Be looking for some more of these reports as we get into season. Hope to see all of you stepping up. Chris, please pass this on to the team and lets get going on planning training camp!!!

PS: The fastest man in Nevada title is safe in the hands of Team Carina for another year. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED