Photos from Santa Cruz

Photos from the Santa Cruz Criterium

As you can see, things were a little wet for the start of the Santa Cruz Criterium. I think SCCC/Cupertino Bikes' Gene Raphaelian pretty much summed up the conditions by saying, "The far side of the course, its like Belgium back there." And while Santa Cruz isn't exactly Het Volk, it still had its moments. Like the very quotable Gene, also the photogenic Gene going through the hairpin during the Masters 4/5 race.

Geno managed a 5th place finish. Lee Kendall, Velo XS/Apple, took the top spot acting on Larry Nolan's, USPS, advice. "Larry told me to take off with one lap to go." Which is exactly what Lee did, launching himself at the bell he built up a tremendous gap and held onto it for the finish.

The Senior 3s race was a show put on by Jeff Colbeck who took the podium, and the entire West Coast, (or is it San Jose BC?) Junior squad. Its now early March, and these juniors came to race, and were in serious shape. The photo (left or upper) is a shot of Jeff going off very early, though they were quickly swallowed by the pack despite the best efforts of the other juniors who were constantly at the front.

Some of the older, perhaps "wiser" riders in the pack like SCCC's Steve Nash had this to say about the race, "At first I had my glasses on, but with all the spray I had to take them off. Then all the road grit got in my eyes. I just couldn't see. Coming up the back side we were all bumping into each other, and half the time I didn't know where anyone was." You can just see Steve in the right (or lower) photo, he's the second rider in from the left during a part of the field sprint. I think the rider at the "front" is JT Burke but I'm not sure.

Womens 4s racing is like a box of choc ... err, like a Chistmas present from Aunt Edna, errr, like a ... anyway, you never know what you're going to get. At Santa Cruz Jennifer Wong, Husky Racing basically rode this race solo as the field fragmented right from the start. From what I understand she's a strong collegate 'A' racer who hasn't been doing many USCF events. What Jennifer needs is an upgrade!

The one good photo I managed to get was of Amanda Burke, LGBRC/Easton, in the red on the left. Lisa Tonello, Team Tailwinds on the right and Lisa Greene just behind. Lisa Tonello won the "field sprint" for second.

Is it me, or are the Masters 1/2/3s flying this year? Santa Cruz, like most Masters races was a good, fast, smart race. A breakaway made up of Tyler Heerwagen, Olympic Club, Jim Mollerus, Alto Velo/Xerox, Steve Kromer, East Bay, and Larry Nolan, USPS formed early on. Working well together they built up a substantial lead. With about three or four laps to go, well after the free lap rule had lapsed, Larry Nolan flatted but was able to make it in for a wheel change. Tyler had this to say about that moment, "I suggested to the guys in the break that we wait for Larry, but once someone went on the hill, there was no looking back ..."

Larry got back in the race in the no man's land between the breakaway group and the field. SCCC's Bob Ward who was in the main field at the time said, "We could just see Larry as we came out of the last corner." The now three man breakaway stayed away, and Tyler Heerwagen took the top spot in a pretty sprint. Larry Nolan managed to hold off the field and rolled in for 4th. Brian McGuire, Olympic Club won the field sprint for 5th. The photo (left) is of Larry Nolan, USPS, and Steve Kromer, East Bay as they round the hairpin.

By the womens Pro/1/2/3 race the pavement had dried out, clearing away most of the Belgian like atmosphere! Though this race was as exciting as ever.

The neat thing about womens racing in Northern California is that it is just about as good as it gets. With the men, you have to concede that a second rate domestique from Gan or Banesto would pretty much put the hurt on the field. With the women, it is a different story.

Los Gatos has put together quite a womens team for 1996, this despite some off-season problems including the resignation of the club's coach. Even so Sunday's race was a Los Gatos show, with Tara Spangler and Sonia Ross taking the top two spots in a flat out feast for the sprinters.

Virginia Richardson can be seen leading the pack, with Lauren Smith, Twin Peaks, following closely behind. Cynthia Mommsen, Olympic Club, who was last years Overall Points Leader is the rider all the way to the right. I did happen to catch Tara chatting with, dear gawd, a member of the REAL press after the race. Does this mean that there might in fact be some cycling coverage in a Northern California newspaper?

Where are the Pro/1/2 photos you ask? Well, this non-reporter, non-photographer had to head for home and do those mundane things like buy food and run this roll of film to the developer. I'm hoping someone out there can send me a write up of the Pro/1/2 race, I'll be happy to post it here.

Complete results of the Santa Cruz Criterium are available here. Information on the Overall Results for 1995 can be found here. Sorry, I'm not a big fan of littering text with hyper-links.

aaronson@ncnca.org