Paul Lennon Race Report – 1/15/2012

Bill, Jordan, Brandon and myself raced the ride on race at Boomtown today.  Due to the fact that Brandon has been so fast lately, Jarret had him start at the back.  On the second corner, Brandon crashed somehow (not sure how it happened because we haven’t talked to him).  His parents took him to get an X-ray on his arm and we saw on Facebook that his wrist is broken. Big bummer. We are sorry this happened to you Brandon. Get well soon.

 The race went as follows:

I stopped at the start of the second lap to check on Brandon and then started to chase the lead guys. Jordan was out in front, followed by Fast Fred then Bill. Bill and I were having a nice little race with Jordan out in front and Fred right behind him. But then about 4 or so laps into it Jordan started to fade and Fred got a pretty good gap on him. Then Bill and I figured we cant let a non Owens guy win this race so we ramped it up. We caught Jordan, then I was slowly able to bridge up to Fred. It wasn’t easy though. I did get passed him and I ended up winning. Fred was second, Bill was third and Jordan was fourth. Jed also raced after being sick the last couple days and ended up 6th. Good job everyone.

Brandon Dillard’s Race Report – 12/17/2011

I went to Santa Rosa over the weekend to do a cross race. It was the last race of a series they had. I raced the open A”s. There were 21 guy”s and i was on the last row for the start but by the first corner I was in 5th. I just sat there for a few laps but and fell back to 7th. Thats where I finished, and also that was the best I felt all year so I was really happy with my finish! see you all soon!  – Brandon

Brandon Dillard’s Race Report – 12/10/2011

Went to Forward park this weekend and did the 5th cx race in the series. There was a small field this time only 8 in the A”s.I just went out and set the pace and took off from there. I ended up wining and had a great time! Look forward to seeing you all Wednesday    

- Brandon

Paul Lennon’s Race Report - 12/11/2011

Day 2, a little colder, a little further back in the grid, 5th row.

Had another good start and first 2 laps, sitting in 7th not far back from the leaders, had a bobble on a steep short climb and lost 2 spots, then a while later rolled the tire and had to CO2 it and lost a minute, ended up 18th.

Great course, great town, time to buy tubulars.

Paul Lennon’s Race Report – 12/10/2011

Cold but dry morning here in Bend, 56 guys in the 45+ race, no call up for me, started 4 row back. I had a great start went to the inside of the first corner and was around 15th, had a good first lap, 7th place. Had a few guys pass be before the end, finished 12th, pretty happy for not riding as much as I should be.

Jordan Anderson’s Race Report – 12/5/2010

Paul, Mike, Brandon Jed and I raced at Caldwell park yesterday for the cross race. The A’s had I think 13 riders so a decent turnout. The coarse was almost all grass but it had a decent flow to it but there was a lot of holes in the grass which made for a bumpy ride. Off the start Brandon set the pace followed by Mike, Paul and I brought up the rear of the blue train. At the end of the first lap Mike had mechanical issues which put Paul and I in 2nd and 3rd, Brandon was out of site. Then I passed Paul and he patiently waited  until we had 3 laps to go then he hammered it and went by me. I stayed on his pace for almost the rest of the race and finished 3rd. Brandon 1st, Paul 2nd, I didn’t hear Mikes place and Jed got 6th. Fun race.

Brandon’s Race Report

Results from Whiskeytown mtb race.  I got 5th over all in the expert race and 1st in my age group. I sure can tell I have been off the bike for three weeks. Also awsome job to Adam’s son Paul

Paul’s Race Report

 Jordan and I just finished up a three day MTB stage race, the Folsom cyclebration. Good results by both of us.

Stage one was a 5.4 mile TT with mostly singletrack and some pavement, Jordan was 3rd after a wrong turn slowed him down I took 1st in 40+ expert, felt good and took almost 45 seconds off last year time.

Stage 2 was a short track race, 8 laps 1.4 miles per lap. The start included 40+, 17 under, 50+ , and women, all expert. Nick Price and Jordan got the hole shot with me behind, I moved to the front before the swoopy section. By the end of the first lap there were just 4 of us in the lead all 40+, about the 3rd lap this slim fit guy came to the front and I was the only one able to hang on. He continued pulling the rest of the race with me feeling like I always do when Jonz starts killing it.

The last 1/2 lap he drilled it on the climb and left me.

2nd place for me, and Jordan battled with Nick with Nick taking the win with a inch at the line.

Stage 3 a 4 lap cross country course 21 miles long They started the classes in 30sec waves with 20+ followed by 30+ , and then my class had another good start with some carnage in the first technical section. Part way thru lap one we had bridged up in to the 2 groups ahead of us. The rest of the race went well until 1/2 a lap to go when Jon, the guy that beat me the day before came by the group I was in and left me again. Finished 3rd in 40+ and 5th overall. Jordan took a 3rd.

Stage result were a 2nd for both Joran and I.

This would make a good team event next year, there’s also a road race stage race and a cyclocross race.

Jordan’s Race Report

As you all know paul and I raced the Folsom cyclebration this weekend, heres the details of my races.

So the first race the TT i thought I was off to good start until I realized I went the wrong way loosing 30+ seconds allowing nick price to pass me. I did eventually catch up to him and pass him but couldn’t get rid of him because he was on my wheel. Then the start of the last leg of the coarse I was in too high of gear and my bike didnt down shift so I had to get off and run while nick passed me again for the win. He actually had me beat the whole time because it was a TT and i lost time on the wrong turn. i ended up getting 3rd for time.

Then the next race, the 8 lap, 1.4 miles each, they started all categories of the expert men at once and nick grabbed the holeshot with me and paul following. Paul and his group pulled ahead while nick and I took turns drafting all 8 laps until the final sprint where nick won by .8 seconds. I got 2nd.

Then the final race, the 4 lap xc race, 21 miles total, we started in our categories, I was expert men 17&under, nick again grabbed the holeshot with me following all the way until the first climb where one of the other 17&under racers passed both of us and I couldn’t hold on while nick and him pulled up the hill. I was by myself for the remainder of the race taking 3rd. Overall i got 2nd place for the weekend. And I agree with Paul as far as making it a team race.

Congrats to Brandon Dillard who placed 16th in the Cat 1 XC 15-16!!!

Even though I was positioned well at the start, it was also critical to maintain it since the first half of the first lap was supposedly neutral. I have never been in a neutral lap where I had to push 330 watts to maintain position, today I did. I knew at that point I was going to surpass my pain threshold for the next 55 minutes.

When the race was finally on, I was in the top 20. I was fairly comfortable with that position so I maintained it for about 5 laps. Guys were popping off with each lap but I was feeling good so I knew today was going to go fairly well for me. With each lap the top 5 guys were accelerating at the bottom of the hill which was placing pressure on the guys behind them such as me. However, I thought I was in a good position to stay with the lead group. On the 7th lap, I was on Larry Nolan’s wheel at the bottom of the climb. I thought that was fairly safe since we had a lot of time race. I thought Larry would be fairly fresh and could hang on. I should have known better since he is as big as a linebacker and is known for his sprinting and track abilities not climbing. At the base of the last climb the group accelerated hard but Larry couldn’t hang-on. I tried coming around him but I missed the opportunity. I was bummed and had visions of not finishing the race once again like the two times in the past. I was a little deflated mentally but physically I felt very good.

I soldiered on for another lap on my own and then noticed that another group was coming up. This was the first chase group which contained about 8 guys including Larry Nolan and Bubba Melcher. I was in the race again albeit in the first chase group. I integrated right in and we started to work well together. The group had some strong and experienced riders so I felt comfortable flying downhill and I felt like I was one of the strongest climbers in the group. By the way, Dave Albrecht was shed from the lead group and he joined our group. I realized at that point that I was going to finish the race.

With two laps to go I knew what I was going to do to win the sprint out of this group. On the last lap at about the half way mark on the climb I was going to accelerate very hard. I knew I would have to do this in order to beat Larry in the sprint. My hope was to drop them quickly so they could not respond in time. This would give me plenty of time to complete the rest of the lap and come across the line in the lead of this group.

On the last lap I was positioned about third wheel coming out the second turn. We were climbing pretty hard but not at max effort. As we neared the halfway mark, I was ready to launch like Jonz does at the Redding City limits signs on the Wednesday ride. I downshifted, stood up and accelerated. People were cheering me on and I felt like my plan was going to work. As we neared the top of the hill, I had a pretty good gap and I thought it was going to stick. However, as I mentioned before there were some strong guys in the group including Larry. With about 50 meters to go I look over and see good ole Larry and two others in tow passing me. I finished 4th in the first chase group and 18th in the 35+ field.

Even though I didn’t finish as well as I could of, I achieved my goal of finishing the race. Moreover, my confidence level increased significantly. Next year I will be in the front group racing for 1st place. By the way, Matt Ream finished in second place overall.