To keep our races safe we must make sure that park users know the rules of the road. Some really good signs are the best way to do this.

The park is becoming increasingly crowded. Many park users are not familiar with our races and don’t know to move into the rec lane. By the end of some races, rec cyclists and roller bladers are scattered across the roadway.
Part of the problem is making sure marshals blow their whistles, so everyone knows the race is coming. Another part of the problem is making sure everyone knows what to do.

Last year we made some signs that graphically told park users to get into the rec lane when they hear the whistles. The signs were good except you had to be pretty close to get the message. The club would like help in modifying the design so that it meets specifications for visibility from a few hundred yards. We’re wondering if anyone in the club has or knows someone who has some expertise in highway sign visibility who can help with this project. Contact president[at]crca.net if you can help.

Full Results

By Gavi Epstein

Today we rode as well as we could in the Mengoni GP, arguably one of the most important races in Central Park all year. From the gun a break including Ken Harris of team Adler got a large gap of about 1 minute. After about 2 laps of the field chasing and slowing, chasing and slowing I decided to try my luck at attacking. Going up Harlem Hill with 5 laps to go I unleashed a hard attack, I was soon pulled back on the decent but had caused the field to string out quite a bit and Lisban quickly counter attacked causing further damage to the field through the rollers on the upper west side. His group too was brought back by the field but I could tell the rubber band was stretching so I hit the field again going up the hill to Tavern. This time I had successfully caused a split of about 13 to 15 riders. Within a lap we had brought back the break with Ken H. in it. Now we were quite a big group, with 3 Adler riders, 2 Mengoni, 2 WS United plus a few more.

I knew my chanced in a big group were not as favourable. With 4 just after Tavern Ken H. and his team mate Tony Hall rolled off the front of the group due to too many riders not wanting to do their share of the pulling. I quickly realized this and jumped across to the two of them with Rafael Mera coming across just behind me. We quickly got into a rotation and built up a sizeable lead of about a minute or so. With 2 laps remaining Ken H. I think started to feel the pain of being away in a break for the entire race and fell off the pace leaving just the 3 of us. With the high pace we kept the entire race I couldn’t really find the right point to try to attack away from my break away companions.

Coming in to Cats Paw the Adler rider started his sprint just a little too early. I tried to capitalize on Rafael being on the right side of Tony’s rear wheel so I jumped hard on the left to start my sprint. Rafael was able to come back up to me and we were neck and neck until the final 50 feet or so where he just started to pull away from me to take the win and I ended up in 2nd just behind him and the Adler rider rode in 3 seconds later. Lisban was able to take 4th place in the field sprint today to take 7th place and Gavin finished right outside the top 10 in 11th.

This was an excellent result for me, especially after getting the CRCA Club Champ last weekend. To be able to be consistent and ride well again this weekend was very satisfying for me.

Montecci Bikes Co is a developing bicycle brand from New York City focused on the growing and education of the cycing community in the tri–state area. Montecci was started in 2008 by some cyclist friends that wanted to make the transition from alloy to carbon without spending a lot of money but with the quality and standards of the famous bike brands around the world.
The company has grown every year in developing new frames and a line of bicycles for all people and ages. The little company that started at an apartment with the idea of some friends, now has 4 different designs of carbon frames, wheels, hybrid bikes and a folding bicycle.
The vision of the company is to grow a solid cycling community; the year 2011 is a target to fullfill this goal by bringing the Montecci Performing Team, developing new talent for the bike scene at New York City. Sponsoring clubs and races is a key goal for our company as well.

Gustavo “ Henry” Francisco
Manager.

Jerseys designed by Tracy Wargo

August 25

Finally got back last night………unfortunately. And guess what they LOST my bag, well my bike box THIS time. When i flew to Belgium they lost my luggage full of clothing, now flying back they lost my bike box. But its alright because I’m not really prepping for any race soon. But besides that I had tons of fun in Belgium, it was a great experience as a person and as a racer.

Racing in Belgium is was AMAZING, it’s also just on another level compared to the US races that i’ve done. Kids there just never ever say quit, if there is a break up the road, the peloton chases with an incredible effort. If they happen not to be able to chase the break down, they will try to shatter the peloton once again and again and again and again. I was told there was a race this year where only two, TWO people finished out of 240 because they were in a break and the rest of the racers couldnt chase them down. The race organizers had to pull them out because they have to keep the back of the race and the front of the race within a five minute gap and they exceeded it.

One way of describing Kermesses in Belgium is by saying its a long crit, on circuits that are just as narrow as the bike path you ride on. An example is the west side highway bike path, i couldnt remember a circuit that had wider roads then that. Despite the narrow roads, the racers in Belgium can handle there bike extremely well due to the fact that most of them race cyclocross in the winter, that’ll sharpen up your skills. Don’t get me wrong there were bumping and shoving going on but thats just racing, if you can’t deal with that then i highly suggest you get used to it.

While in Belgium i was able to take in the culture and style of living there as well, its a lot more laid back. It’s peaceful, even in the big towns, you’ll usually see locals outside of a cafe sipping on there morning cup of coffee, just enjoying life. And they hardly ever work, my goodness. Their work schedule is Sunday and Monday off and 9am-12am, then they take a two hour break and get back to work until 5/6. That sounds like quite the schedule if you’d asked me.

In the US, well at least in nyc its always go,go,go, i have to do this, i have to do that. It’s quite the opposite, i dont know about you but i prefer the euro style of living. That’s why come next march/april and summer, ill be spending my time in Belgium once again!. I cannot wait. I miss Belgium already.

Anyway ill end this blog by saying, I LOVE CRCA, the whole club, for all their support because without the board of directors and JR. DEVELOPMENT team. I don’t know what i would have done this year, i got into this sport after i saw the first stage of the Tour de France last year, seeing how fast these guys were riding, i wanted to do the same. So i started riding a road bike and was introduced to CRCA by a bike shop in the city, NYCVELO. The staff there called Ken Harris one day and told him that i should be on the team, i was ecstatic when i was invited to the team meeting in the winter. I said to myself, where will i be in 6 months? Is this sport really for me? Anyways im just ranting now, thanks to everyone who’s been reading this and thank you for your time.

Wei

August 22

5 Euros. 5 euros is what i won today, this is the highlight of my trip so far. I was so happy to see that white envelope. Todays race was on a 5 km,17 lap circuit. The registration was at a bar/cafe as usual, as we register for our races, the locals sip on there beer. Probably gossiping about “the americans”(us). Racing today was BRUTAL, there was once again a cobble stoned section that robbed you of massive watts. Right off the bat, there was an attack, that attack ended up creating a 11 man breakaway that stayed away all race. Soon after that attack the peloton consistently attacked one another (i remember this being incredibly annoying at one point) not to mention painful as hell. Eventually the peloton just shattered, completely. Only 30 people finished the race today, the narrow roads that were open to crosswinds cracked us all. Today was a true strong mans race. If you didn’t have the acceleration, the mental toughness and power to hang in there, you were simply not going to finish. Im fatigued just laying here on the couch and typing this, this update had officially cause me to bonk.

Wei

August 21

1st day of weekend racing here in Belgium wasn’t too spectacular after some bad luck. A teammate and i were in the front after the second lap of nine because of all the constant attacks, our plan was to follow each one and possibly get into a break without burning too many “matches”. Eventually there was a break that my teammate and i were in, we had a good split from the peloton but was caught several moments later. After the 4th lap i saw my teammate attack on the right, my initial reaction was to go but when i saw the peloton wasn’t committed to following, as i saw the gap continue to grow i saw it as an opportunity for my teammate to be in a break. Several moments later some bad luck swung my way and a piece of newspaper gets stuck under my fork. As i finick with it i get swarmed by the peloton and next thing i know, im on the back with a gap growing but as i accelerate it almost feels as if im hitting my brakes while sprinting. Then as i look up theres a gap and im unable to close it. Eventually i pulled out knowing theres no way i would catch back on. But the attack by my teammate ended up being the critical move of the race, he wounded up 11 out of a 12 man break with a 2 minute gap on the field. So all in all it was a good day, tomorrows another day.

August 20

So, today was a rest day nothing to crazy as far as training goes, spun around for awhile in preparation for the weekend races. Today was quite nice actually, the weather was perfect and pretty warm in Belgium. The house had the chance to actually see the Eneco tour that is taking place right now, we saw a couple guys in the break with a 7 minute gap, break included Andre Griepel. The peloton passed right by our house, this trip has been a great experience already and i look forward to the coming days. Updates on the races to come.

Wei
August 18

Finally got a taste of european racing, it was all that i’ve expected, fast and harder then anything i’ve done. Todays race took place in Mere, the kermesses was a figure 8 like course(11 laps), it included one section of cobbles with tons of technical turns, it was pretty intense if you’d asked me. The race pace was extremely high the whole race and there were attacks going constantly. Eventually one stuck and they ended up 20-25 seconds ahead of the peloton. All i can remember about the race was the immense amount of pain i was going through after about the 9th lap, being towards the back of the peloton wasn’t helpful at all, the constant slowing down and sprinting out of every corner took its toll on me. I ended up finishing with the main peloton with about 60-70 guys, the race started with about 130 people and only about 70 guys finished, everyone else dropped out. Im actually pretty proud of myself given that i was the only guy that finished on the team, my teammates had their mishaps, flats and fatigue issues. Next race is on saturday, tomorrow everyone is going to the bike museum and tour around town. That’s all for now, will keep you updated.

Wei

August 17

Finally settled down and relaxed after yesterday, got to know the guys and girls here. The house is full of cyclist from all over the world, people from Israel, Canada, US, England, and etc. Today was a nice easy 60km ride to a bike shop by the infamous Muur. We went all the way up to the top where there a little tower. It was pretty surreal riding on roads that many pros and legends have ridden on.

The scenery is amazing, despite the constant drizzle here and there but its nothing unbearable, after all this is Belgium. My first race is tomorrow, then saturday and sunday. Monday we are going site seeing in a bike museum. I’ve attached some of the pictures i’ve taken so far, ill take some more.

Wei

August 16

The bike actually made it here to Belgium, don’t know what happened to the luggage though. Suppose to send it to me asap.

August 15

Unbelievable, checked my bike box, one luggage, and one carry on in yesterday, prior to the flight. I took my carry on the plane, full of bike stuff such as shoes, helmet and kits. All the rest of my clothing is in the luggage. My flight was to go from JFK to Heathrow, London and then the following day it would be from London to Brussels(today). I was given the impression that when they checked my bags in that it would automatically transfer onto the next plane flight but that wasn’t the case.

Now they can’t find my bags, saying “it possibly may not have gotten on the plane because had it come your luggages should be right there(corner of the baggage pick up area)”, i was pissed beyond belief and still am. Now my trip is all f***ed up because of this. So i gave them my address to the place im staying in Belgium and they’re trying to locate it and ship it to me “asap”. What a nightmare it has been so far. Ill keep you updated as to what happens.

Wei

Masters
1 37 Karl Rahn AXA Equitable
2 152 Frank Arroyo CRCA
3 20 Rob Lattanzi Sid’s Bikes
4 804 Raymond Newton Foundation
5 150 Steve Hylton Foundation
6 Anthony Taylor David Jordan Coaching/Zephyr Graffitti 50+ winner
7 148 Paul Carbonara Axis
8 373 Lance Sniadowski Organic Athlete
9 193 Marcos Gratereaux Mija Shoji
10 131 Jose Collado Global Locate
8 Pascal Sauvayre BH/Garneau 50+ second place
369 Bill Anderson Sid’s Bikes 60+ winner
20:43 14:03 13:59 13:56 14:08 13:41

B Field
1 283 Jimmy Andrello Foundation
2 282 Samuel Schaeffer Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
3 359 Andrew Dunn NY Athletic Club
4 301 Bryan Fried NY Velocity
5 376 Rod Millot Foundation
6 508 Eric Linenberg CRCA
7 456 Leonard Galati NY Velocity
8 203 Robert Weitzner Foundation
9 289 Carlos Martinez Luzzo’s Coal Fired Pizza

21:46 14:37 14:46 15:21 14:34

C Field

1 540 Maurcio Sanchez Exist in Balance
2 461 Bobby Kennnedy CRCA
3 455 Richard Scudney CRCA
4 419 Jonathan Giahn CRCA
5 600 Jayson Jacobs CRCA
6 466 Micheal Parkes CRCA
7 ???? ??? NY Velocity
8 778 Fred Kao CRCA
9 526 Marten Hoekstra CRCA
23:00 16:08 14:07

Women’s 3/4

1 616 Kristin Lotito Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
2 717 Anneliese Haines Radical Media
3 604 Cindy Ma Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
4 704 Jennifer Saunders NY Velocity
5 622 Stephanie Busloff CRCA
6 708 Lindsey Paluska Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
7 618 Colleen Conway Fuoriclasse/Discover Chiropractic
8 703 Renee Engelhardt NY Velocity
9 615 Virginia Solomon Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
10 706 Stacy Jargowsky CRCA
25:36:00 16:38 16:52 16:34

Sarah Sauvayre, Comedy Central and Gavi Epstein, Foundation are the CRCA 2010 Club Champions.

Sarah hung on in a finishing sprint to edge out defending Club Champ, Ann Marie Miller. On the men’s side Gavi Epstein kept away for most of the race in a two man break with John Loehner. After the break was caught Gavi made a strong move and won clearly ahead of the rest of the field. Jeff Ingraham took second and Dan Zmolik third. Gavi has been having a great year helping Foundation contend for the USACrits title.

Arthur Roulac won the B race which was marred by a crash that sent 5 people to the hospital.

James Nord won the C race.

A 1 10 Gavriel Epstien Foundation
2 67 Jeffrey Ingraham Jonathan Adler
3 159 Danel Zmolik Axa Equitable Cycling Team
4 49 Euri Madera Foundation
5 182 Colin Prensky Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
6 23 Lisban Quintero Foundation
7 ??? Foundation
Lap Times 14:51 13:19 13:05 13:57 13:31 13:26 13:01

B 1 287 Arthur Roulac Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
2 264 Ryan McGarrity NY Velocity
3 359 Andrew Dunn NY Athletic Club
4 470 Robert Rakowitz Sids Bikes NYC
5 203 Robert Weitzner Foundation
6 376 Rod Millot Foundation
7 316 Erik Baker Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
Lap Times 15:18 13:50 13:00 15:00 14:14 14:05

C 1 595 James Nord NY Velocity
2 466 Michael Parkes CRCA
3 511 Corey Morenz NY Velocity
4 457 Chris Gaulin CRCA
5 ??? ????
6 483 Seth Bruno CRCA
7 418 Jay Goldwein CRCA
8 778 Fre Kao CRCA

Lap Times 16:00 14:40 14:23 14:09

W 1 621 Sarah Sauvayre Comedy Central – Sid’s
2 601 Ann Marie Miller Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
3 614 Ashley Prine Radical Media
4 717 Anneliese Haines NY Velocity
5 616 Kristin Lotito Houlihan-Lokey/Sanchez
6 703 Renee Engelhardt NY Velocity
7 612 Maria Quiroga Radical Media
Lap Times 16:25 16:27 16:16 16:14 15:49

The extreme heat and humidity had taken its toll on racers all week, with temperatures hovering near 100 degrees every day. Thunderstorms Wednesday night and Thursday morning brought some relief from the heat, although they left wet, slippery roads to play havoc with the races.

My mom, my sister Jane Blevins, my niece Jessica Blevins, and my boyfriend Tim Snell accompanied me to my Road Race, which was 6 laps of a 5 mile circuit in Cherokee Park. As I was prepping for my race, the skies were overcast, and there was a light shower, which made me cautious about wet, slimy road surfaces. We were warned at the start that there had been several crashes in the morning races due to slick roads.

There were several formidable riders in my field, Ariette Clauss, who had won the Time Trial two day earlier, as well as Betty Tyrell, a multi-time Masters’ National Champion from New Jersey, and Margaret Thompson, also a former Master’ National Champion from upstate New York. Plus there were several riders I did not recognize, and you never know what really strong riders may show up.

Right at the start, one of the riders I didn’t know attacked and the field was strung out. I wasn’t eager to start off at top-speed without the chance to see how slick the roads were. Lees than a mile from the start, there is a nasty S-curve descent, where the pavement is rough and there are longitudinal cracks. I approached the S-curve cautiously, as a couple of women kept hammering into the turn. One of them almost slid out as she hit the cracks in the pavement, and I hoped she would not crash in front of me. I decided to go to the front to avoid any sketchy riders.

The first time up the biggest hill on the course, which is about 1.5 miles form the finish, I was at the front, and could tell I was stringing out the field. I stayed near the front as we started the second lap, and as we passed through the S-curve descent, I heard a crash behind me. I was happy I decided to go to the front and other came forward to join me.

The second time up the big hill I pushed the pace a little harder and saw I had a slight gap on the other riders. My original plan was to attack on the hill on the 5th lap, and if I couldn’t get a break, attack on that hill on the final lap to break things up before the finish climb.

On the third lap, the field was pretty quiet, and there were a lot of riders just sitting on. I decided to push it a little more o the big hill to try to shed some riders. I started up the big hill at my own pace, and b the top, only the Time Trial winner, Ariette Clauss, and I were left. We immediately started working together, but I knew the others were chasing, so I told Ariette we should try to gun it on the feed zone/finishing hill. I took off up the hill, thinking she was on my wheel, but when I got to the top, she was no where in sight, so I thought, “Gotta go now”, and I accelerated again.

Just a few hundred meters into the 4th lap, I was passing riders who had been dropped by the 50-54 field that started 5 minutes before my field. I was going so fast, I almost passed the lead moto for my field, and I yelled at him to go faster, that I was in the field he was supposed to be leading. I think he thought I was part of the other field.

I just kept my head down and went into Time Trail mode, glancing back frequently to see if Ariette or anyone else was closing in on me, but I saw no one.

At the start of the 5th lap, the moto drew next to me to tell me I had over a minute lead on one solo chaser, with the field over 1:30 back. That news gave me hope that I could hold my lead, and I kept going. Later in that lap, the moto said I had a 40 second lead on the chaser, and 2 minutes on the field, so I drilled it even harder. The last thing I wanted was to get caught right before the finish.

As I came through the finish line for the start of the bell lap, my sister, niece and boyfriend were screaming to urge me on, and I felt like I could hold off the rest of the field. Early I the bell lap, the moto dropped back to find out the gap to the next rider. I plowed on alone, and when he returned, he said I was up to over a minute on the lone chaser. I figured with less then 3 miles to go, there was no way she could overcome that much time, but I didn’t want to get over-confident, so I settled into a steady tempo. I glanced back as I started up the big hill the last time, and seeing no one behind me, poured it on as hard as I could.

When I got to the final climb I was passing what was left of the peleton form the previous race, and I picked my way around them as I charged toward the finish I could hear my niece screaming to me all the way up the hill. I sprinted for the line, and won solo.

Ariette Clauss was second, with Barbara Grabowski edging out Betty Tyrell for third in the field sprint. I was thrilled my family had come along to support me, and was ecstatic to repeat as National Masters’ champion for the Road Race.

Ann Marie Miller