Apr. 24 , 2010
THE LONG BREAKAWAY
Zenn Racing Team: Scott Fonseca, Chris Ott
Livermore, CA - More than 60 riders showed up on the start line for the hilly Wente Road Race in ideal weather conditions. Of the top teams present, most of the usual protagonists were there: Morgan Stanley with several strong riders including last year's winner and pre-race favorite Chris Phipps, Team Specialized, Safeway, and the always strong Art's Cyclery led by Matt Carino and Craig Nunes. Representing Zenn were Chris Ott and Scott Fonseca fresh from a strong showing at the Santa Cruz Criterium the previous Sunday.
In the Wente Road Race's history of more than 25 years it has developed a reputation as being one of the tougher courses on the Northern California race calendar. The course combines many challenging elements such as climbs, false flats, technical descents, and of course strong winds. It consists of 4 laps of more than 15 miles each for a total of nearly 65 miles. Each lap consists of two primary climbs, the first up Carrol road being the steepest, as well as serving as the finish line at the summit.
As the race rolled out of Livermore, the peleton meandered up Altamont Pass Road towards the first ascention of Carrol Road. In no hurry to begin the aggression, the pack maintained a moderate pace up the steepest parts of the climb. As the group crested the top and began the cross-wind section of the the Flynn Road climb, attacks began. A small group already started to open up some ground on the peleton. After the technical descent, Scott Fonseca put in a hard effort to get across. Several riders followed and the pace was ignited by the moves. As the race turned on Greenville Road, it had all come back together. Sensing an opportune moment, Chris Ott launched an attack with Morgan Stanley's Greg Anderson. Soon several more riders would join up including another Morgan Stanley rider, and a rider from Specialized. Although still on the first lap and earlier than Chris would have liked to be expending energy, Chris knew this was a sizable group of 7 and might have a chance.
On the climb, one rider was immediately left behind and they were down to 6. The break was not opening up a significant gap over the hard charging pack and was being kept between :30 - 1 minute. Chris recalled that he "burned some matches" in the early laps trying to help push the pace.
On the next lap the breakaway was joined by Team Williams' Andres Gil who added additional horsepower to the lead group. The gap was now opening up as the next lap ticked by. Unfortunately, disorganization in the breakaway started to hinder the progress, with riders trying to make efforts alone instead of working together for the good of the breakaway. This hampered the work that had been done to build out a lead, and with a hard charging pack led by Safeway, Art's Cyclery, and Morgan Stanley (chasing even though they had riders in the break), the breakaway would be caught on the final lap by the remaining pack of about 12 riders.
As the group hit the base of the finish climb up Carrol Road, Ott's legs had little power left from a long day in the breakaway. As Chris Phipps launched the expected attack for victory with Art's Cyclery Matt Carino close behind, Chris Ott watched as the top places pulled away. Chris Ott would finish in 14th place, but happy with the effort, riding aggressively throughout the race. After the race Ott stated "I'm happy with how my form is progressing. Each of these early season races is another building block towards my fitness. Everything is about August, with the primary objectives being the Districts, National, and World Championships. I'll be ready."
