Elite Track Team

RENEE EASTMAN NATIONAL CHAMPION ON THE TRACK

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:26:00 GMT

The masters national track cycling championships were held during the week of August 17 in Colorado Springs, CO. Renee Eastman (Natural Grocers pb XP Companies) won the 2 kilometer individual pursuit and the 3k team pursuit. She was also third in the points race capping a solid week on the track. The individual pursuit was a bit of a surprise to Eastman as she hadn’t been training specifically for the highly technical event. In winning the individual pursuit, she set the fastest time for all the women in all age groups. Her time was 2:39:5, and she won by two tenths of a second.

The team pursuit is a three-woman event, three-kilometers in length. Eastman teamed up with Kate Gracheck (Team Kenda), who was second to Eastman in the individual pursuit, and Ingrid Alongi. Their winning time was 4:00:5 which set a national record.

Renee Eastman stands on the individual pursuit podium in her new Nat'l Champ jersey

Eastman atop the team pursuit podium

Renee Eastman (top right) - Masters National Pursuit Race

Natural Grocers wrap up successful weekend with Nevada City

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:20:00 GMT

Natural Grocers pb XP Companies riders Dirk Friel, Joe Pinkerton and Jon Baker

The NGXP team capped a succesful weekend with Jon Baker finishing sixth in the Nevada City Bicycle Classic, a race that in 2009 included Astana teammates Chris Horner, Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong. The Astana trio was using the race as part of their final tuneup for the Tour De France, which starts in July. In front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Armstrong took the victory ahead of Ben Jacques-Maynes (Bissell Pro Cycling) and Levi Leipheimer. The Nevada City Classic is the second oldest race in the US, and past winners include the likes of Greg Lemond. The race takes place on a tight hilly criterium course. With or without the pro-tour riders, the race typically shatters early into small groups. The 2009 edition was no different with only one third of starting field finishing the race. All four NGXP riders (Jon Baker, Dirk Friel, Joe Pinkerton and Randy Reichardt) had solid races and did not look at all out of place racing against the worlds and the nations best.

Sunday's Nevada City Classic followed on the heels of the Tour De Nez, which took place on three stages over the same weekend. The team rode well in support of Jon Baker. Baker's second place in Friday's Truckee criterium along with his overall win of the sprinters jersey (not bad for a climber) were the highlights of the weekend. Other noteable performances included Friel, Reichardt and Pinkerton all finishing in the top five of the field sprint in the Reno Criterium (stage 2), a stage in which Baker finished 10th. See race reports and photos for the weekend on cyclingnews.com (nevada city classic, tour de nez) and pezcyclingnews.com. Also check out Dirk's SRM power file from Nevada City at trainingpeaks.com. Dirk's peak 5 minutes was 409 watts and he held 307 watts for 90 minutes.

Lance Armstrong leads Ben Jaques-Maynes, Jon Baker and Chad Gerlach at Nevada City

Jon Baker gets a starting line callup at Nevada City

Riders at the start of the Nevada City Classic - Joe Pinkerton (Natural Grocers) starts near Armstrong

Karl Erickson's Track Report - American Velodrome Challenge

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:53:00 GMT

Following is Karl Erickson's race report from the .

Keirin - I sat up with 1.5 laps to go when the lead rider swung dangerously up track, sandwiching several riders together and pushing one rider into the boards. Riding safe was far more important to me than qualifying for the repechage round.

Miss-and-out - I was safely tucked away in the lane for the first 1/3 of the race and had an easy time as riders were eliminated one by one. Then with about 20 laps to go, I found myself in the back with a fast-moving pack that filled the entire width of the track.

The first evening was a little disappointing but I was still looking forward to the scratch and points races on Saturday.

15k scratch race - I was active right from the start, participating in three different break-aways. The first two breaks were short-lived (although I did pick up a bottle of wine for a prime at 35 laps to go) but the third break gathered some real muscle and looked promising. The pack recognized the danger and went full-throttle to catch us. We were then countered by a solo rider who took over three quarters of a lap before the pack went into chase mode again and brought everything together. In the end I was boxed in while the bulk of the pack came over the top.

20k points race - The points race started with a slightly more reserved pace than the scratch race. I began around 10th wheel and was up to 2nd wheel by the 3rd lap. I decided to try my luck and took a solo flier with 57 laps to go. The pack didn't really react, so I settled in, hoping to stay away until the points at 50 to go. The pack allowed the gap to grow to about half a lap before they started accelerating for the sprint. Giddeon Massie (2008 olympic team sprinter) took the 2nd place points with a hard-charging pack in tow. I continued working to see if it would be possible to capitalize on a post-sprint breather. It turned out that the pack's easy pace was around 30 mph, so my break only lasted another two laps before I was swallowed up by the pack. For the next 15 laps, I sat tucked in the pack recovering and trying to find another opportunity to snatch some points. With 32 laps to go, the opportunity presented itself. The pack was stretched out with some gaps between groups of riders and the sprinters lane was open with the lead riders sitting up. I shot through the opening and built up about a 2-3 bike length lead before anyone reacted. At the line Giddeon Massie nipped me for first place points and then the pack came roaring through so there was little time to rest before we started hammering again. In the last 20 laps, I rode defense, working to prevent anyone from taking a lap or any single break from eating up too many points. In the end, the two scoring laps put me in 3rd overall behind Kenny Williams (1st Rate Mortgage) and Daniel Holloway (Garmin Chipotle). Giddeon Massie lost a lap on the field but came back about 20 minutes later to win the flying lap record attempt.

Race Report - Baker Second at Tour de Nez criterium in Truckee, CA.

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:41:00 GMT

The Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team pb XP Companies made a huge splash in the national calendar waters last night in the Tour De Nez, Truckee Criterium. To start things out, Dirk Friel was away for a long time in break with Alex Candelario (Kelly Benefits). Dirk took second to Candelario in an intermediate points sprint. Jon Baker countered the Friel/Candelario move. Roman Kilun (Health Net) and Justin England (Toyota United) bridged up to Baker and they stayed away to the finish. Baker was 2nd in front of a huge crowd. Kilun won with England 3rd.

The team received huge props throughout the race from rock star announcer Dave Towle. Tomorrow is the hardest stage with tons of climbing with Jon Baker sitting in 9th on GC. Baker will rely heavily on teammates Friel, Joe Pinkerton and Randy Riechardt, all of whom are having a great race so far.

See pictures and a race report on the cyclingnews tour de nez coverage.

5-18-08 Track Report by Karl Erickson

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sat, 24 May 2008 04:13:00 GMT

2-mile:

At the beginning of the 2-mile, Vitamin Cottage rider Karl Erickson rode to the front to whip up the pace. The speed held steady until about three laps to go when the field ballooned up and Karl moved closer to the front, anticipating that someone would attack. With two and a half laps to go, a Fort Lewis College rider attacked resulting in a few bike lengths gap. A Spike rider initiated the chase and Karl latched onto that wheel. On the back straight before seeing one lap to go, Karl bridged up to the FLC rider, and then came around on the last lap to take the win.

5-mile:

The pack held a quick but steady pace for the first 15 laps of the 5-mile. With 9 laps to go, Karl rotated onto the front and accelerated hard for one lap, breaking the pack into a couple smaller groups. He was joined by two other riders. The three leaders worked well together until Karl attacked with just over one lap to go and held on for the win.

Track Report by Karl Erickson

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:32:00 GMT

Following is Karl Erickson's race report from the first track race of the year at the Colorado Springs Velodrome.

1-mile scratch race:

The one mile started with me riding to the front on the neutral lap and then whipping up the pace on the first half-lap of racing. John Teal let me drop back in mid-pack after the initial pull. Withthree laps to go, the pack ballooned while things slowed down and I moved up near the front and into perfect position to follow a hard attack that went with two to go. On the last lap, coming out of turn two I came around into the lead and held on for the win.

5-mile scratch race:

The 5-mile started with Jayson Middlemiss initiating an early solo move. I started the chase to make sure that he did not get into field-lapping position. We let him dangle for about four laps before he sat up and came back to the pack. From there, the pack was fairly cooperative with everyone taking reasonable pulls until about 5 laps to go. With three to go, I covered an attack, and then initiated my sprint with two to go. The rider whose wheel I had followed in the 1-mile came with me, and the two of us gapped the pack. With a moderate acceleration on the last lap, I held on for another win.

3-lap scratch race:

The first lap of the race saw a CU Boulder rider take off going full out over the top of the pack which was still ballooned from the neutral lap. I started the chase and closed the gap by the end of the first lap. On the second lap, I pulled through with two riders on my wheel and opened a gap to the rest of the pack. Going through turns 3 and 4 on the final lap, one of the riders came around and the other rode even with me, so the lack of a finish line camera left some doubt about whether I finished 3rd or 2nd.

Points race:

I felt tired going into the points race and decided to ride conservatively for the first half of the 30-lap event. Just after the 2nd point lap, another rider and I opened up a gap and were joined by a third breakaway companion. We cooperated well and were making progress on lapping the pack, which had split into two smaller groups. Then with the sprint at 15-to-go, one of the other breakaway riders attacked and all cooperation ended. We were caught by the pack within the next lap and a half. From there, I sat in until the finishing lap and sprinted with one to go to take the 5 points at the end. I did not see any official results, but suspect that I came in 4th place.

Track Team Pulls Down 7 State Master Titles

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:59:00 GMT

The 2006 Colorado Velodrome Master Districts Championships were competed on July 22nd and 23rd at the 7-11 Olympic Velodrome in Colorado Springs Colorado. Brent Hanlin won Gold medals in the 35-39 year old division in the Points, Keirin and Kilo. Brent’s Kilo time of 1:09.37 was a Personal Record for that event. Jeff Paul brought home gold in the 45-49 year old Points, Kilo and Keirin events. Bruce Hitchcock won his gold medal in the 40-44 year old Scratch race.

Next up Master Nationals to be held August 9-13 in Colorado Springs.

Track Team sitting on Top at the Seasons Half Way Point

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:47:00 GMT

Vitamin Cottage Trackies Brent Hanlin and, new to the team, Mike Cubison are currently sitting 1st and 2nd in the Colorado Velodrome Associations “Best All Around Rider” competition through the seasons mid way point. Brent is also #1 in the Masters BAR competition for riders over 30 years old. In the Madison Cup the story remains consistent with Brent again sitting in first place with his Excel Sports teammate George Hertner.

During the Independence Day Grand Prix UCI Event held in Colorado Springs Brent and Mike were again showing that they can compete with the fastest in the country. Mike had the best finish at the international event winding up 2^nd in the Scratch race while Brent finished 6^th. Brent also finished a hard fought 7^th in the Points race.

The Team's focus over the coming weeks will be Master Districts July 22-23, Master Nationals August 9-13, Elite Districts August 19-20 and the Fred Cappy UCI Event September 13-14. All events will be held at the 7-11 Olympic Training Center Velodrome in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

For more information: http://colorado-velodrome.org/

Early Success for Track Team

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 16:16:00 GMT

With six races completed in 2006, the VC Track Team has recorded 4 wins racing in the newly formed Grade “A” Racing Category. The core of the team remains the same from last year, returning Vic Williams, Brent Hanlin, Bruce Hitchcock and Jeff Paul. At Tuesday’s venue the team was firing on all cylinders resulting in 3 wins in 3 races. In the 5 lap scratch race all four riders found themselves in the same qualifying heat. Bruce went to the front and rode tempo, Jeff lead out with 500 meters to go and Vic and Brent went through to the finals. Vic did the leading out in the finals with Brent easily taking the sprint for the win. In the Tempo race Jeff did the attacking to take the early points, Vic countered to ride away for the win with Jeff holding on for 3^rd. The session ended with the first Madison of the year. Brent took the win riding as a free agent with Bruce and Jeff taking 4^th.

See what Fixed Gear Fever has to report. http://www.fixedgearfever.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=368

The team will continue it’s racing progress on Tuesday and Thursday nights with major targets at the 4^th of July UCI Gran Prix, Elite and Master District events, Master Nationals, the Fred Cappy UCI Gran Prix and the Master World Championships in Manchester England. Please visit the CVA website at http://colorado-velodrome.org/ for more Track Racing information.

The Track Season Has Begun, Riders to the Rail!

Vitamin Cottage Cycling Team — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 05:42:00 GMT

The Colorado Velodrome Association (CVA) kicked off the 2006 season on June 1^st with the first of 28 nights of racing. Also on the calendar for the 2006 season are two UCI events, two district championships, Master Nationals and many other weekend events. The CVA has also established a long list of track racing schools for the beginners and specialized learning such as Madison and Keirin Clinics. The association is supporting the Colorado Springs Youth Cycling League on Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons throughout the summer. So if you have a young cyclist, 10 years and older, who is ready to learn the skills and experience the excitement of track racing bring them on down. The 7-11 Velodrome Manager, John Cotton, is in for a long hard but fun summer.

A couple of significant changes to the racing venue have been the establishment of A/B/C categories displacing the previous Elite Racing one night and Master racing the other. This allows for the P/1/2 racers, who are fortunate enough to be under the age of 30, to race each and every night. The most exciting change at the velodrome is that the lights have returned. That’s right, racing under the lights, has returned to the Springs.

Visit the website at http://colorado-velodrome.org/ for all the details on racing, training, clinics and all other aspects of riding the fastest track in America.

For details on the Youth Cycling League go to http://www.csycl.org/ for all the details.