Piru 40K TT

Piru 40K TT

Written by Platinum rider Andres Malovas

With the district time trial coming up in a couple weeks it was time to dial in the TT bike, and head on down to the Piru 40k TT. This was my first 40K time trial, and first time on the Piru course. Fellow Platinum Performance team member Tom Anhalt had given me some pointers since I had never metered an effort on the TT bike for that duration, or on that course. With very nearly perfect conditions I set out, and did my best to pace myself like Tom had said. The wind kicked up considerably for the second lap and I was very happy that I didn't go too hard the first 20k, and had something in the tank while fighting the wind. I gave everything I had on the return with the tail wind helping me, and finished the 40k in 57:30. I was happy to meet my goal in posting a sub 1 hour 40k TT, and quite happy it was not only fastest in my category, but fastest of the day as well. 

Panoche Road Race

Panoche Road race  5/5/13

Written by Platinum rider John Echeveste

Arriving at the course for Panoche, the first thing I noticed was the absolutely relentless wind.  I've never raced in winds anywhere near this before, so it was to be an adventure.  The group of 25-30 Cat 3's kicked off late in the day, and the first part of the course was directly into the wind.  I sat on the back, content to let people try to escape and others to chase them down. We made it out to the turnaround together, but immediately afterwards had to fight a climb with a furious wind blowing straight down on us.  We lost about half the group making it to the top, then cruised back inwards while some of the riders that were dropped caught back on.  My legs were feeling flat, so I knew I couldn't burn any matches before the flat sprint finish.  With the remaining climbs and rolling hills two riders managed to get off the front, and more riders were dropped.  At 1km to go we had about 12 people left in my group, so I made my way into position. With the line finally in sight, I let the rider in front of me lead it out. I hesitated for a second while trying to get a clean line to pass him, just enough time for a rider on the left to surge ahead.  Though I managed to close the gap to him, I didn't have enough road left to pull ahead, and claimed my 4th place spot.

Sycamore Sizzle!

US Cup #5 Riverside  4/28/13

The fifth stop on the US Cup/ California State Series brought the riders to Riverside, Ca.  The temperature was classic inland valley style, very hot in the mid 90's.  In fact, with the number of medical emergencies during the Cat 2 race held earlier that day, the race organizers shorten the race to three laps instead of four.  None of the racers complained with the change.  The course features sweeping fast singletrack sections with punchy climbs.  The terrain was covered by rock and soft sandy dirt which challenged the riders on the high speed turns.  The Platinum Performance-Sho Air Team had fifteen riders present.  With a solid lead in the team series, many of the riders wanted to solidify the lead going into the last few races.

Steve Silva racing to a 3rd place finish in the Cat 1 50-54 class.

Francisco Vidal put in a strong ride for a 3rd place finish in the Cat 1 50-54 division.

Alex Teno battles it out for 3rd place in the Cat 1 45-49 class.

A solid ride for Todd Booth puts him on the 2nd place podium step.

Jon Miller is unstoppable in the Cat 1 60-64 division.

Dermott Carroll put in a hard effort with a 2nd place finish in the very competitive Cat 1 50-54 class.

Adam Poytress rode to a very respectable 2nd place finish in the Cat 1 30-34 class.

John Biron dug in deep for his 4th place finish in the Cat 1 50-54 race.

Craig Sisino rode well in the Cat 1 Singlespeed race for a 4th place finish.

Dean Swank ripped it up for his 2nd place finish in the Cat 1 55-59 class.

Andy Osburn gets stronger every week with this 6th place finish in the Cat 1 50-54 race.

"Strong Man" Tim Sparks took a 2nd in the Cat 1 Singlespeed division.

Photos by Roxanne Moore

Swank Stomps The TT!

Santiago TT  4/21/13

Dean Swank finished the TT season with a 1st place at the Santiago Canyon TT this past Sunday while the rest of the team was at Sea Otter.  Swank made it 10 wins in 10 starts. The So Cal TT series was the best 10 out 18 races. Therefore, Swank takes the 55+ Masters overall title.  Swank is looking forward to the State Time Trial Championships in May. 

Sea Otter Success!

Sea Otter Classic  4/18- 4/21/13

The Sea Otter Classic is one of the largest cycling events in North America.  With over 10,000 rider participants and 50,000 spectators throughout the venue over a four day period... it was a busy weekend!  The Classic has XC, DH, Dual Slalom, Short Track and a handful of road racing events.  The venue was flowing with booth's from companies excited to launch their new products.  The weather was perfect!  In fact, warm for Monterey standards in the mid seventies.  The XC course, which the Platinum Performance- Sho Air Team focused on was a 21 mile loop in the hills of Fort Ord.  The Cat 1 racers had to complete two loops, which is longer than most XC races.  The course had tons of fun singletrack.  The climbs consisted of steep singletrack grunts along with long exposed fireroad ascents. 

 

The team was represented by sixteen riders... thirteen Cat 1's and three Cat 2's.  The team has been on a roll lately with dominant results in the US Cup/California Series.  The Sea Otter event is the closest thing to a National Championship race with riders throughout the US giving it a go for the top step.

Adam Poytress ripping up the singletrack to a 7th place finish in the Cat 1 30-34 class.

Jon Miller hitting the bridge on his way to winning the Cat 1 60-64 race.

John Biron pulled off a 2nd in the Cat 1 50-54.

Todd Booth had a solid race in the Cat 1 40-44 division with a 4th place finish.

Alex Teno rode solid for a 6th place finish in the Cat 1 45-49 race.

"NorCal boy" Bob Nisbet stays focused in the Cat 1 45-49 race.

Andy Osburn and Francisco Vidal suffered through the dust in the Cat 1 50-54 class.  Vidal rode to a 3rd place finish.

Ted Williams brought home a 6th place finish in the Cat 1 55-59 class.

"Strong man" Tim Sparks put in a valent effort in the Cat 1 Singlespeed race for a 6th place finish.

Roger "007" Moore rode to a 24th place finish in the Cat 1 45-49 race.

Photos by Roxanne Moore