The Willow Springs Stage for the HomeMade Pizza Co. Chicago Time Trail Series will be run on August 24th starting at 9 am.
The course is set almost entirely within Forest Preserve property and therefore provides the most scenic race you will do this year. Right out of the start you will hit the 6% 1.5K climb that will determine the KoM for the day. On the back side of the climb riders can hit 40mph on the straight downhill run towards 107th St. Mix in some brand new pavement and a few rolling sections and this course will bring out the best in everyone.
Race day registration opens at 7:00 am and closes at 9:30, with the first rider going of at 9:00 sharp. Once again, the earlier you register, the earlier you race!
For more info check out the Series Homepage
or drop us a line.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Major Announcement Coming Soon!
Check back soon as a major announcement will be coming regarding the team and its involvement in the sport of cycling!
Monday, July 28, 2008
An important message from El Presidente: AKA: El Capitan
I would like to take a moment to reflect on our team and how far we have come. Last year around this time the team was just a thought. We did not have enough riders to field a team. Tony and I were brainstorming with the Beverly Bike shop to come with team structure and basic mechanics of the team. Damon then stepped up and it started shaping up nicely. I remembered racing against Paul Morrison and asking him if he would be interested in joining the team. As it turned out, he also represented VeePak Inc. which turned out to be the co-sponsor of the team. We started getting to work and making connections and soon we had Spinergy, SRAM, and of course Cannondale.
We were on our way and to get things started we kicked off our season with a cyclocross training ride. It was the coldest day of the year negative 10 degrees below zero but we all showed up to participate and promote it which gave us the first sign that our team was tight.
The next big race was the Hillsboro Roubaix. Once again the team came together and headed down state to kick off our first race together. The team was unified and becoming stronger. Our team was officially baptized by finishing a challenging course and realizing the amount of training that still needed to be accomplished.
As a team we have had some highlighted moments. Who can remember my surprise finish at Vernon Hills? How about Joe’s podium finish for coming in fourth at the ABR Crit Nationals in Winfield and Sergio’s 6th place finish just barely missing the podium. Tony’s 3rd place finish at Olympia Fields and his 1st place win at Bensenville. We all have seen Jorge’s consistent hard work. Damon has provided a lot of information about the team on his insightful blog and also providing the team to host a leg of the Chicago Time Trial series. Danny’s excellent mechanic skills and his positive attitude. Paul feeling “ready to race again”. Rich and Fat Tony’s return to the team and Jim’s steady riding. How about Clark’s half lap lead at Olympia Fields and then his crash due to a screw missing from his shoe. We have our team mechanic Clark, and you work for the Bike shop. And our newest member Bob our time trial expert. These are just a few of our moments, there are still more to come.
I would personally like to thank every member of our team that has made this season successful so far. I sincerely appreciate your hard work and training, your loyalty and devotion and the sacrifices you and your families make. It has not gone unnoticed. And remember You Guys are the team and I am proud to ride, train and race with all of you. Let’s start getting ready for CYCLOCROSS.
We were on our way and to get things started we kicked off our season with a cyclocross training ride. It was the coldest day of the year negative 10 degrees below zero but we all showed up to participate and promote it which gave us the first sign that our team was tight.
The next big race was the Hillsboro Roubaix. Once again the team came together and headed down state to kick off our first race together. The team was unified and becoming stronger. Our team was officially baptized by finishing a challenging course and realizing the amount of training that still needed to be accomplished.
As a team we have had some highlighted moments. Who can remember my surprise finish at Vernon Hills? How about Joe’s podium finish for coming in fourth at the ABR Crit Nationals in Winfield and Sergio’s 6th place finish just barely missing the podium. Tony’s 3rd place finish at Olympia Fields and his 1st place win at Bensenville. We all have seen Jorge’s consistent hard work. Damon has provided a lot of information about the team on his insightful blog and also providing the team to host a leg of the Chicago Time Trial series. Danny’s excellent mechanic skills and his positive attitude. Paul feeling “ready to race again”. Rich and Fat Tony’s return to the team and Jim’s steady riding. How about Clark’s half lap lead at Olympia Fields and then his crash due to a screw missing from his shoe. We have our team mechanic Clark, and you work for the Bike shop. And our newest member Bob our time trial expert. These are just a few of our moments, there are still more to come.
I would personally like to thank every member of our team that has made this season successful so far. I sincerely appreciate your hard work and training, your loyalty and devotion and the sacrifices you and your families make. It has not gone unnoticed. And remember You Guys are the team and I am proud to ride, train and race with all of you. Let’s start getting ready for CYCLOCROSS.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Chicago Criterium Yields Great Results
The inaugural edition of the Chicago Criterium we extremely well for us as a team. We started 8 riders in 3 different reaces. While I'm not sure on every one's results I do know that we placed top twenty in each race including an 11th place finish for Sergio in the second heat of the 5's race.
Having only seen the Masters 4/5 race I will only comment on that for ow until I can recieve some updates from the guys that did the first two races. The race started out quick as usual with the field being stretched to its breaking point after just the first lap. Turn two which was supposed to be the worst corner on the course remained incident free for the duration of the 40 minute race.
Elvis, Tony and Jim managed to keep themselves out of trouble for the first half of the race, while Jorge and Dan were working further back in the field in two smaller groups. Tony was feeling feisty and managed to take a $100 prime, the first of his career. After snatching the prize, Tony planned on sitting up and rejoining the field however he had such a large gap that he gave another dig to try and separate himself even further. The field was having none of this after last week's victory in Bensenville and quickly brought things back together.
With about six laps remaining Tony and Elvis found themselves sitting in the top 10-15 places and things looking good for another possible victory. It was about this time that any one that was not with the main group was pulled from the race, whether they posed any sort of threat to the safety of the race or not. Having been there many times myself, I am always frustrated when officials do this. As riders we not pay a lot of money to race, but we earn a certain satisfaction for having completed a race, no matter where we may have placed.
With just a few laps to go in the race Tony made a move on the backside of the course that I happened to catch on the Jumbotron just as he jumped. However, that side of the course also had a headwind that would occasionally kick up and Tony didn't stand a chance by himself with a hard charging field behind him. He came around turn 3 still in the lead, but the rise over the bridge proved too much and he was brought back into the field. When it came down to the sprint Elvis still had a fresh pair of legs and snatched 13th place.
Congratulations to everyone that raced well today. The Chicago Criterium was a great venue to hold a bicycle race and I for one can't wait until next year to have another try at it.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Evanston Recap
Sunday was by far the most technical course that we have ridden so far this year. We were greeted with a six corner course that was still a bit wet when our race was supposed to start. The start was delayed over half an hour and at one point after having us lined up told us to take another lap which reshuffled every one's original position.
After clearing the course of emergency vehicles we were finally off, better late than never. The pace from the gun was fast and sketchy. Some of the corners were taken 5-6 riders wide with little care for the consequences. As the laps progressed we managed to coalesce into a 6 man team time trial. The team was really starting to steamroll the course and were picking up plenty of places until the race was stopped with 8 to go. After the riders were peeled off the pavement in the infamous BK Stacker, the race was lined up for a third time. The break was given back their 20 second time gap and then the field was let loose to chase the rabbit.
Our plan going into the second half of the race was to continue the time trial and keep picking off riders as we settled into a comfortable working group. This was not to come to fruition however. I set the tempo for the first half lap, then when I looked over my shoulder for a bit of help, noticed our group had been infiltrated by several other teams. Our group eventually consisted of Joe, Sergio, Paul, Clark, Jorge and myself with a few Triple X'ers mixed in. Joe and I took the lion share's of the work while Sergio briefly bridged to a group ahead of us. At this point we aggressively attacked the course as we learned the best line through each corner. Coming down the final straight Joe found himself on the front with his nose in the wind. I sat on the wheels of the X'ers in the group and waited for their jump. With only about a block to go no one was really winding up their sprint yet, so I took the opportunity to get a jump on the group. My sprint went well and I only had one X'er come past me, I believe Joe came in next followed by Sergio, Clark, Jorge and Paul. While we finished mid pack we still managed to ride a good strong race and personally I am satisfied with my results.
The next race saw more of the same action as ours. Big Jim was our only rider in the race and he paid the price of having no help. Once again the race was stopped after Jeff Holland (xXx) took turn 4 a bit too wide and made contact with a barrier. Due to time constraints, the race was restarted with only 5 laps to go, and the pace proved to high for our man Jim. The field was splintered from the five lap drag race and Skip Fotland (NorthBranch Cycling) easily took the win, Jim being content to finish mid pack.
While our results weren't great, we lived to race another day and managed to avoid all the mayhem out on the course. Next stop, Whitnall Road Race on Wednesday
After clearing the course of emergency vehicles we were finally off, better late than never. The pace from the gun was fast and sketchy. Some of the corners were taken 5-6 riders wide with little care for the consequences. As the laps progressed we managed to coalesce into a 6 man team time trial. The team was really starting to steamroll the course and were picking up plenty of places until the race was stopped with 8 to go. After the riders were peeled off the pavement in the infamous BK Stacker, the race was lined up for a third time. The break was given back their 20 second time gap and then the field was let loose to chase the rabbit.
Our plan going into the second half of the race was to continue the time trial and keep picking off riders as we settled into a comfortable working group. This was not to come to fruition however. I set the tempo for the first half lap, then when I looked over my shoulder for a bit of help, noticed our group had been infiltrated by several other teams. Our group eventually consisted of Joe, Sergio, Paul, Clark, Jorge and myself with a few Triple X'ers mixed in. Joe and I took the lion share's of the work while Sergio briefly bridged to a group ahead of us. At this point we aggressively attacked the course as we learned the best line through each corner. Coming down the final straight Joe found himself on the front with his nose in the wind. I sat on the wheels of the X'ers in the group and waited for their jump. With only about a block to go no one was really winding up their sprint yet, so I took the opportunity to get a jump on the group. My sprint went well and I only had one X'er come past me, I believe Joe came in next followed by Sergio, Clark, Jorge and Paul. While we finished mid pack we still managed to ride a good strong race and personally I am satisfied with my results.
The next race saw more of the same action as ours. Big Jim was our only rider in the race and he paid the price of having no help. Once again the race was stopped after Jeff Holland (xXx) took turn 4 a bit too wide and made contact with a barrier. Due to time constraints, the race was restarted with only 5 laps to go, and the pace proved to high for our man Jim. The field was splintered from the five lap drag race and Skip Fotland (NorthBranch Cycling) easily took the win, Jim being content to finish mid pack.
While our results weren't great, we lived to race another day and managed to avoid all the mayhem out on the course. Next stop, Whitnall Road Race on Wednesday
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