Snelling... The long version

I said earlier that the boys did well...

We won the 13/14 and the 15/16 races, but I haven't had a chance to chat with the victorious warriors yet. Shouldn't be too long before you can read all about their exploits on 45x12. Check it out...

I do know that Kelbster did battle with the wind in the 13/14 contest and finished strong. I tried to get all of the details out of him in the car on the way home, but he was out like a light before we even made it to highway 99. Guess that's what happens when you are twelve years old and stay up too late playing x-box the night before...

We had four starters in the 15/16 group. Robby, AJ, and the Tapinator succumbed to the wind and the speed of the lead group, but stuck it out to gain valuable experience. Robby did most of the race on a single speed because the mechanical monster jumped up and grabbed his rear derailleur. According to D-Tap our fast finisher rode away from the rest of the lead group in the finale'. Gotta like it.

PtotheArker was the only DBCJRT starter in the 17/18 group. A valiant effort by the kidlet earned him a fifth or sixth place finish (we think) Bummer thing is, PtotheArker couldn't stick around long enough to fetch his t-shirt.

Three of the kidlets raced their adult categories... El Gigante and Staz in the 3's and TK in the p/1/2 race.

The three's saw a break go away early that contained Staz. El Gigante stayed with the peloton letting the break go free... T'was not to be though. Staz ended up blowing chunks on the side of the road and had to withdraw. By that time the break was well clear and El Gigante was left with no choice but to ride out the miles... a dropped chain on the final lap put him in the grupetto which he lead home for 'round about half a lap. A quick note on grupetto etiquette... DON'T SPRINT at the end... especially if you are sprinting around somebody who dragged your sorry butt all the way home. You want to have friends in the peloton, not enemies. (editors note: to be grammatically correct, "one" should be used in place of "you" but in this case, "you" is appropriate because the comment is directed at one or two individuals who know who they are, but shall remain nameless)

The days show case race was a complete six lap sufferfest that included pros from BMC, Rock Racing, VMG Felt, Kelly Benefits, and Symetrics... not to mention 13 riders from Cal-Giant rounding out the 100 rider field... Giant took control of the race and whittled down the field to about 20 or so contenders with two laps to go... TK managed to make the lead group along with his Elite Team compatriot, Judd Van Sickle. The final lap saw attacks go off which formed a group of four up the road... TK made the bridge to make five just as Symetric's Wohlberg attacked out of the break. TK, getting a little more savvy, forced Cal-Giant to chase Wohlberg before he launched his attack that allowed him to solo in for the second step on the podium... not bad for a kidlet.