"Get out of her way!"
Team Rambuski Law's Emily Thurston dominates the technical course at California State University at Monterey Bay on her way to winning the CCCX Series Race #4 Women's Elite division.
Junior sensation Tobin Ortenblad(California Giant Inc./Specialized) put it all together in the deep sand of Monterey Bay and earned his first Elite CCCX victory on Sunday. Ortenblad represented the USA at last years UCI World Championships in Belgium. His experience gained from racing against the top Junior riders from Europe payed off in fine fashion enabling him to best Scott Chapin(Bicycle Blue Book/HRS/Rock Lobster), Walter Brush(Mash SF), Mitchell Trux(Sterling Sports Group), and Don Myrah(Ibis/Buy-Cell.com)...
shown in podium pic below...
Winners from the Sacramento Series race at Condon Park in Grass Valey were-
Men A- Brandon Dillard
Women A- Marja-Liisa Magnuson
Masters 35+ Men A- Dan Garcia
Masters 45+ Men A- Dan Sovereign
Junior A- Alec Seivert
Men B- Stosh Bankston
Master 35+ Men B- Sean Lollar
Masters 45+ Men B- Rusk Whipps
Men 55+- Paul Falvey
Junior B- Jack Hargrove
Men C- Connor Ellison
Masters 35+ Men C- Justin Madison
Masters 45+ Men C- Erik Week
55+ Men C- Chris Burgeson
Masters 35+ Women A- Lauren Liden
Women B- Julie Barton
Women C- Michelle Fruit
Junior Women- Jocelyn Vides
Single Speed A- Ron Shevock
Single Speed B- Mark Henry
Winners from the very technical CCCX Series race at California State University at Monterey Bay were-
Elite Men- Tobin Ortenblad(Cal Giant/Specialized)
Elite Women- Emily Thurston(Team Rambuski Law)
Single Speed A- Cesar Chavez(Ibis/Buy-Cell.com)
Masters Men 35+ A- Brock Dickie(Ibis/Buy-Cell.com)
Masters Men 45+ A- Tim Lydon(SJBC)
Men 55+- Jeff Townsend(Plus3 Network)
Masters Women 35+- Janie Dalton(Mising Link)
Masters Women 45+- Soni Andreini-Poulsen(Velo Bella)
Men B- Matthew Garcia(Bicycle Blue Book/HRS/Rock Lobster)
Masters 35+ Men B- Kevin Mchugh(Los Gatos)
Masters 45+ Men B- Benoit Dunbuisson(B.B.B./HRS/Rock Lobster)
Single Speed B- Chris Neher(Off The Chain)
Women C- Cybil Silberman(Early Birds Womens Team)
Junior 10-14- Joshua Vahlberg(Brisbane)
Junior 15-18- Chance Tiner(SCJC)
Junior Women- Isabella Myrah(Ibis/Buy-Cell.com)
Mastes Men 35+ C- Greg Ostrin(Strava/NPS
Men C- Chris Neher(Off The Chain)
UCI World Masters Champion Don Myrah ripped through the super loose & steep drop in section at CSUMB. This section ended up completely blown out by the end of the day and made for some great photos as riders battled the
extra deep soft sand of the steep downhill trail...
Future star Owen Myall(Cal. Giant Inc.) displays confidence and skill in his Cross move over the boards. Myall propels himself forward by pushing off the top step of the plank thus increasing his speed before re-mount. Many European riders used this technique in the early 1980's...
Janie Dalton(Missing Link) and Colleen Wanty(Dolore Grotta) put on the best race of the day in the Womens 35+ division. These two extremely talented and spunky Cross racers went at it with attack after attack during the 42 minute CCCX race. First, Wanty would attack in the technical sand sections. Then, Dalton would hit out on the fire road sections and try and gap Wanty, who had already raced the B Men division. Wanty was facing major leg cramps, while Dalton was using a borrowed helmet that the promoter tracked down for her before the start, as she forgot her original lid at home. The borrowed helmet was a size too large and continued to block Dalton's view when she attacked. In the end it came down to a sprint for the finish line- pictured below...
You make the call???
One rider has her head up looking to the win, the other head down in major suffer mode...
The race of the day. Congratulations!
CSUMB- California State University at Monterey Bay is made for Cyclocross. Sandy conditions over the past two races at this venue delivered the best test of skill and strength Nor-cal Cyclocross has on the calendar. No other venue in Nor-Cal has this type of deep sand in such large quantities. Many sections start out hard packed in the morning, but by the afternoon sections were so blown out,
that only the strong and best bike handlers could make the riding
look smooth and effortless.
Rain would only make this course better!
Some of the most technical sections at CSUMB produced major chaos and carnage as riders came flying into pockets of sand and dust where only the perfect line could maintain speed. Some of the smartest riders would simply dismount and run, while other brave riders pedaled on... hoping to gain advantage on the exit side of the natural obstacle if navigation was completed perfectly and precise. These type of difficult sections will only make Nor-Cal Cross racers
more complete and skilled over time.
Mark Howland(Bicycle Blue Book/HRS/Rock Lobster), Norm Kreiss(Cal. Giant Inc.), and Eric Bustos(Cal. Giant Inc.) race three wide into a one lane section of course! This portion of the race route provided riders with many options of how to navigate. When riders would charge into this section full speed in a group chaos was the name of the game and only the strongest survived.
Skill and power come into play when bunny hopping over boards. Below two of the very best technical riders in America, Tobin Ortenblad & Keith DeFiebre(Cycles FANATIC) show how it is done. This is a move that should never be attempted first on race day! Practice makes perfect, and if you are not used to hitting major jumps or getting big air on your bicycle, then stick to dismounts over boards. Bunny hop moves like these shown below are developed over time, and can very much give advantage to those who perfect the move.
Tobin Ortenblad
Keith DeFiebre
