Mar. 7 , 2010
BIG FIELD AND CLEAR SKIES FOR MERCO CREDIT FOOTHILLS ROAD RACE
Masters 1/2/3, ~72miles
Zenn Racing Team: Rob Cady, Scott Fonseca, Rich Mader, Chris Ott, Tom Skiles
Merced, CA -
The Merco Credit Union Foothills Road Race, in years past known as the McLane Pacific Classic Road Race, consists of 3 laps of roughly 24 miles per lap, totaling 72 miles. The course uses some of the same roads as the previous week's Snelling Road Race course through the rolling hills of Central Valley farm roads. What a difference a week makes... at Snelling road race, heavy rains caused standing water on the roads of nearly 9" deep, which created conditions more suited for kayaks than bicycles. Today in contrast, with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid sixties, and only slight winds, the roads were dry and the Merco Credit Union Road Race enjoyed ideal race conditions.
120 rides lined up for the race, which included 5 riders represented by the Zenn Racing Team: Rob Cady, Scott Fonseca, Rich Mader, Chris Ott, and Tom Skiles. Both Scott and Rob were still feeling the effects of lingering illness and both would need to suffer through this 72-mile event. This left the Zenn Racing Team's hopes with Rich, Tom, and Chris for a result. Chris, feeling better after fully recovering from illness the previous week as well, was excited to get things going and decided to stretch his legs right at the beginning by rolling off the front of the pack with a Team Helen's rider along with a SJBC rider. Sometimes these early moves can be successful. But, with so many fresh riders, and a larger than normal field size for this race, the early move really didn't have much of a chance. Chris was brought back into the fold within a few miles and the race quickly settled into a regular pattern of attacks and counter attacks. The
Team Helen's riders seemed to be in force with nearly 10 riders represented from their squad. Team Safeway seemed to be keying off and "shadowing" specific riders, namely Chad Gerlach and Mike Sayers.
As the race unfolded, on the second lap, a group consisting of about 15 riders split from the front of the pack. Zenn rider Scott Fonseca attempted to get across, but was not feeling well due to his nagging illness and had to resign back to the pack. Sensing danger, Scott felt this was a key move in the race going up the road. However, the Zenn Team remained calm, conserving energy in the pack, knowing the group off the front was only 5 seconds ahead and not working together well, and would surely be reeled in by the charging pack. Knowing that counter attacks typically happen immediately when an attack like this is caught, Chris and Tom moved to the front and positioned themselves in each of the next several significant attacks.
Rich Mader suffered a mechanical incident as his seat post dropped into his bicycle frame. After the race, Rich would be consoled by several riders on suggestions for carbon bonding solutions and drilling bolts through the frame to prevent this from happening in future events. Despite the mechanical mishap, Rich remained in good spirits and finished the race.
As the race came into the closing miles, many attacks were being launched and all covered. It was Safeway's Nick Theobald and a few other riders who were able to distance themselves from the pack by around 30 seconds as an ambulance seemed to temporarily neutralize the pack's chase efforts. With 5km to the finish, Scott launched a powerful attack with another rider. This was a brave effort on his part, as he clearly was suffering to get through the race feeling ill. As the pack hit the final hills to the finish, the pace heated up and overtook Scott. On the hill, the pack stretched out with Tom, Rob, and Chris near the front end. Tom was overcome with cramps, but was still able to help his teammates with positioning. In the final kilometers there were 3 riders clear of the front of the pack. As the chaos unfolded for the sprint, several riders blew up (abruptly losing effort and dramatically decreasing speed). This caused the front end of the pack to
zigzag across the road, leaving Rob caught behind slowing riders, ending his chances for a high placing in the sprint. Chris was able to fair only slightly better through the mayhem and managed to get 11th in the field sprint, giving him 14th place in the race, as the 3 riders off the front secured the race victory. The rest of the Zenn Racing Team rolled in with the pack.
All told, another fun day of racing for the Zenn Racing Team. The team will be in the hunt for more podium finishes in the weeks to come, as all of the riders regain their health and form.
