Saturday, June 21, 2008

Messilla Valley Circuit Race.......


Hi Everyone! So, we had a great turn-out for the Messilla Valley Circuit Race this morning with 32 riders taking part, and another few coming out to watch the racing action! It was great seeing everyone. The earlier start made for some lower temperatures this time around, but the winds were picking up a bit at the start. In addition, we were able to raise a total of $400 for the American Red Cross and the Butte Creek Canyon Volunteer Fire Department!! Thank you ALL for donating to this worthy cause after the devastating Humboldt Fire - we really really appreciate your donation - Thank You!!

Okay, the racing action - We had 16 riders in the "B" Category and 16 riders in the "A" Category. The A race saw a two-man breakaway get off the front very early on with Rich Thurman and James Plummer. As it turns out, this would be a decisive move in the race. By the end, it was Rich Thurman soloing in for the victory in 1 hour 37 minutes 30 seconds. He was followed about 40 seconds later by Kevin Speacht........and a short time later, Mike Ricks rolled in for 3rd place.

The B Category was quite the race - A first lap break consisted of Bill Brent, Mike Crumm and Jeff Ochs. Like the A race, this would prove to be a decisive move......for the Mens side of the B Category. As it turns out, Bill and Mike stayed out front together the whole race(Jeff decided I needed some help in the officiating, so he pulled over to help me out - thanks Jeff!). In the end, it came down to an uphill sprint finish with Mike Crumm taking the victory. On the womens side, it was none other than Elizabeth Brent soloing away for another Messilla Valley Circuit Race victory! A chase group consisting of Kim Agur, Sue Kamrar, Sandra Barton and Jenn Gruber tried desperately to chase her down - but couldn't quite catch her. It was an exciting race.......to watch!

Chico Corsa would like to thank North Rim Adventure Sports for donating 2 $20 Gift Cards for our post-race raffle. 1 winner was chosen from Category A and 1 from Category B. As it turns out, the raffle winners were a father/son team out there racing today - Mike Crumm(B Race) and his son Weston Crumm(A Race) - Congratulations to both of you!!

And finally......before the results.......a HUGE thank you goes out to James Plummer for organizing and working on the donations for this race - his help was HUGE in making this little cycling get-together a very worthwhile venture for the American Red Cross and the Butte Creek Canyon Volunteer Fire Department! Thank you James! And - a BIG thank you goes out to Jeff Ochs for coming out to the course early to sweep up all the glass on the course - your help was tremendously appreciated by everyone(well......except Tyler, who flatted!!). Another BIG thank you goes out to Susan Plummer, Pre, Dave Klein and Brian Ray for working the feed zone/water bottle station on the race course!! And finally, to all the riders who came out - thank you all, and thank you for donating to this worthy cause!

Okay, below are the Preliminary Results:

Category A:

1. Rich Thurman 1:37:30
2. Kevin Speacht
3. Mike Ricks
4. Jeff Galland
5. Evan Carroll
6. Mike Thorpe
7. Josh Bullock
8. Weston Crumm
9. Ryan Olson
10. Rob Bishop
11. Preben Nielsen
DNP - Tim Creswell, Tyler Honeyman, James Plummer, Mike Trowbridge, Sean Dugan

Category B - Men:

1. Mike Crumm
2. Bill Brent
3. Kris Blee
4. Bill Bergmann
DNP - Jeff Ochs

Category B - Women:

1. Elizabeth Brent
2. Sandra Barton
3. Kim Agur
4. Jamie Batha
5. Jenn Gruber
6. Sue Kamrar
7. Grace Twedt
8. Christine Bergmann
9. Margaret Bomberg
DNP - Katy Luallen, Dani Dowden