Credits for the following ride report go to Steve Stewart of BayAreaRider.com....
Another amazing ride and hosted event. Fletch really goes all out on this one. Hat's off to him and his family, he didn't win it, but without their excellent preparation it wouldn't have happened. This was my first time contesting the ride and it certainly lived up to my expectations. Major action, narly course, and very well organized and hosted.
We had a roster of about 7 riders who were expected at this event. Of course, it's an invitational, so only VERY select riders make the start list. In this case, the defending champ, Feel Good (aka: Jon Simms), of course, was the first to be called up to the start line, Second place finisher from 2005, Switch (aka: Mark Jongsma) was second for the call up, etc.
Surprisingly, a few riders chose to avoid this ride or could not get kitchen passes--weenies!
That being the case, the field was still a very select group of serious hammer-boys:
STAGE 1 (Willow Springs KOM):
The field rolled off around 8:30 AM under overcast skies and cool temps. The first serious effort of the day would be the vicious climb up the eastern slope of Willow Springs Rd. This KOM was worth 3-4 points and would was expected to be a good indicator of who was going well. About a mile or two into the stage, Fletch decided to take a flyer and broke from the field with a gap of about 30 seconds. Fletch maintained this gap for sometime as the main field seemed to be content with their chances of bridging the gap, which had grown to almost 45 seconds at the base of the climb. Willow Springs is a tough climb with an average gradient of approx 6% with pitches in the 10 to 11% range.
The peloton, realizing that Fletch had a serious gap, decided to chase at about the 3/4 mark of the climb. Fletch was clearly surprised that he had been able to maintain his gap at such a late stage in the climb. Not known as a climber, Fletch was clearly on a mission and was determined to take the first KOM points of the day. There was clearly a lot of discussion and posturing in the peloton as the chase picked up momentum. At the 100m mark, the chase group had reduced Fletch's advantage from 30sec to a mere 2-3sec gap. Fletch nearly lost his bid for the KOM lead as he hesitated very close to the summit thinking he had been caught. Switch and Hammerschlagen had closed the gap, but were struggling to make contact with Fletch as he launched his final effort. Fletch managed to hold onto his momentum and rolled across the line just a few feet ahead of the chasing pair, taking the first KOM of the day with the peloton very close and together right on his wheel.
STAGE 2: (Uvas Sprint Points #1):
After a fast and furious pace down the Willow Springs descent, the field split a bit but regrouped at McKean Rd and Chesboro to begin the climb into the Uvas Valley. The next contest would be a sprint somewhere between Chesboro Rd and Uvas Dam. The field maintained a fairly steady tempo as the sprinters moved to the front to setup for the impending sprint. For many riders, it was fairly difficult to gauge where the KOM's and sprint points were. This sprint would be a classic example of chaos and miscues. About a half mile from the sprint line, Fletch moved to the front and begin setting the pace. Hammerschlagen must have thought that the sprint banner was close and immediately launched an attack. Thinking the sprint points were close and just up a slight rise in the road, Hammerschlagen launched a serious effort only to realized that Fletch had suckered him. The real sprint line was well up the road but slighty down the hill. The pace quickly exploded as Switch, Feel Good, and Hammerschlagen set their sites on the sprint sign about 200 yards up the road. You could have thrown a blanket over the three riders as they flung their bikes across the line. Hammerschlagen edged out the two MVV riders by a very close margin and took the first sprint points of the day.
STAGE 3 (KOM 2 Somewhere in the mountains):
This stage went failry easy from the spint line on Uvas Rd to Watsonville Rd then the turn onto a road I'd never been on. It quickly turned into a beast of a climb. Feel Good launched the first attack here with Hammerschlagen and Switch close on his wheel. The climb wasn't real long but it was very steep. The trio stayed very close together all the way up to the top. Feel Good and Hammerschlagen got a slight gap on Switch but neither seemed to know where the KOM marker was. Suddenly, Feel Good spotted the marker and launched a vicious attack. Hammerschlagen must have seen the marker just a millisecond later, but could not match Feel Good's effort. Feel Good rolled over the top taking the second KOM of the day. Switch was close but would later say he "didn't have good legs at that point and didn't see the marker."
STAGE 4 (Cebada Flat):
The KOM in Stage 2 was brutal but there was still a fair amount of climbing after the KOM marker. The peloton regrouped and made its way down the mountains into the San Martin Valley and across highway 101. The next climb and KOM would be the Cebada Flat pass, which turned out to be a very hard climb for all of the riders, including the eventual KOM winner.
With a long flat but windy ride to the base of the climb, the peloton quickly split into two as Switch and Feel Good begin to accelerate as the road turned upward. It was very evident early on that Hammerschlagen was struggling to maintain contact as the two MVV riders set a blistering pace up the initial stages of the climb. Hammerschlagen dug deep to maintain a slight gap on Feel Good but Switch had managed to open a good gap of about 100m on the pair. Much to Hammerschlagen's delight, Feel Good's machine begin to have trouble staying in the right gear (no relation to the fact that HS is FG's mechanic). Feel Good was clearly getting frustrated and begin to slow. That was all Hammerschalgen needed to get back on his wheel and stay in tow.
This climb had two stages so when the road flattened, the powerful Feel Good was able to close the gap on Switch to less than 5 seconds at the base of the final ascent. Hammerschlagen had managed to stay on Feel Good's wheel and launched an attack at the base of the final climb. Switch could clearly see that the two had closed the gap dramatically and turned up the screws to the bright-red zone. Hammerschlagen had managed to put a good gap on Feel Good at this point but couldn't get into striking distance on Switch as they hammered the climb at a lung-busting pace.
In the end, Switch was able to maintain a good gap on Hammerschlagen and rolled under the KOM banner over 60m ahead. Feel Good had lost contact with the two as they crossed the line but was close enough to capture valuable KOM points with his effort.
STAGE 5 (Can(y)ada Road KOM):
This stage was clearly the turning point of the ride. Feel Good had 3 KOM points, Switch had collected 5 KOM points for the hardest climb of the day, and Hammerschlagen only had one sprint point. HS had to take the next KOM or his day was virtually over. Of course, Feel Good also had to try to regain some KOM points or his day could very well be over, too.
The Canada Rd stage wasn't at all a hard climb, but was a lot like Calaveras Rd, steady uphill, lots of rollers, and seamingly never-ending. Fletch had gotten a wasp in his jersey about half way up the road and wanted to stop at a fire station to get things squared away. Of course, Feel Good and Switch wanted none of that and blew by the fire station and headed for the fourth KOM of the ride. Having stopped at the fire station with Flecth, Jon-Bon and Fletch would lose a lot of time as the three hammers begin there assault up to the KOM marker.
The road wasn't at all steep but clearly it was a nice grade. It's not clear who launched the first attack, but it wasn't HS. Feel Good and Switch seemed to know where the top was on this one and begin a furious pace. HS could just hang onto their wheel as they set a blistering pace up the mountain. This was a gradual, not steep climb, so the speed was very high. HS would later say that's he's "never had to worry about cornering clearance going up hill before.) The pace was blistering and HS was clearly just trying to maintain contact as the trio raged up the road.
This was clearly the decisive stage and all of them knew it. As Switch and Feel Good diced with each other, HS could only maintain a gap of about 10m. He was clearly trying to stay close enough to launch a desperate attack as soon as he could see the KOM marker. Unfortunately no KOM marker was seen and the trio rolled over the top of the climb still attacking each other. It wasn't until about a 1/4 of a mile down the backside that they realized someone had already taken the points.
Since HS had never taken the lead, he was clearly not the man. It was later decided by the officials that Switch had crossed the KOM line first, giving the KOM jersey and the overall GC lead, both had swapped the lead several times as they crested each rise looking for the marker.
STAGE 6 (Day Road Sprint):
At the start of Stage 6 the officials and the peloton sorted out the points standings. Switch has taking two key KOM's and was the leader on the road. Feel Good was close in second and still had a good shot at the overall. He needed to win this stage and the final KOM to win. Hammerschlagen had earned extra points for his two second place finishes in the KOM's and the first sprint win. However, his chances for the overall were virtually over.
Stage 6 was essentially a flat stage with one sprint to contest, which was on a flat and straight road. Feel Good launched the attack as the peloton geared up for the final sprint points of the day. Hammerschlagen grabbed Feel Good's wheel and the two put a pretty good gap on the field. As Feel Good raised his arms and declared the sprint win, Hammerschlagen looked around as if he wasn't sure of the sprint line. As it turned out, Feel Good had mistakenly sat up and celebrated. Switch rolled by, nearly soft pedaling, to take the final sprint points while HS and Feel Good stared in disbelief. Hammerschlagen was in a good position, but didn't see the marker and therefore never came around Feel Good for the win. As Switch rolled by and pointed to the marker just 10 0r 15m past where Feel Good and HS thought the marker was, they both realized they had been outdone by Switch and the ride was essentially in Switch's bag.
Instead of a regroup after the sprint, Switch decided to keep the pace up and kept rolling with Feel Good in tow. Hammerschlagen, realizing that the party was over, took chase but quickly conceded that he was not going to catch back onto the pair and settled into his own tempo to finish the ride solo.
Stage 7 (Llagas Rd KOM):
The road to the final KOM was narrow and very hilly. Of course, lined with screaming spectators and Oakland Raider fans who couldn't afford the gas to get to Sunday's game (but who needed to vent their intellect by screaming at cyclists on Monday). The gap Feel Good and Switch opened up on Hammerschlagen was sufficient enough to know that the final KOM was going to be between the two MVV riders. With no possibility of the media or team cars being able to stay in contact, the two battled it out up the last 10 miles of rollers and steep but short climbs to the base of Llagas Rd, which is a nasty but well shaded climb of about 3/4 of a mile.
It was evident early in the initial phases of the climb that Switch wanted to not only win the overall, he wanted to do it in dominant fashion. Feel Good, of course known for his late ride attacks and never-say-die attitude, wasn't about to give up. In the end, Feel Good maintained a very small gap, but could not match Switch's effort on the final pitch of the climb succumbed to the brutal effort of Switch. Hammerschlagen rolled over the summit of Llagas well behind the two hammerboys while Fletch and Jon-Bon missed the time cut and were forced to take a shorter route to the finish.
STAGE 8 (Victory Lap)
With no points remaining to contest and the overall decided, the remnants of of the peloton rode together to the finish through downtown Morgan Hill crowds cheering for the new MHC champion and yellow jersey. Truly a great ride for Switch. Complete domination in the KOM competition, a sprint stage win, and the overall! Feel Good was always close but didn't seem to have the form he had in 2005. Close at every sprint or KOM battle, he was a major factor in the event and always forced the pace. Fletch finished in a respectabe fourth place and had his share of great pulls and flyers that kept the peloton guessing. Jon-Bon rode extremely well finishing a close fifth place with a couple fourth place KOMs. A few mechanical issues plagued him throughout the ride robbing him of valuable time in key stages. Having built his bike the night before without the assistance of his faithful mechanic, he could only only say he "would never do that again. :) Hammerschlagen was satisfied with a 3rd place finish but refused to speak with journalists until after formal drug testing results are posted. :)
Pictures and other details to follow the official results.
Fletch hosted an outstanding ride and all finishers look forward to the 2007 MHC. The riders are hopeful that next year he'll hire a banner and marker staff that know's which direction the peloton is traveling. :)
OK, Shut up and ride!!
Another amazing ride and hosted event. Fletch really goes all out on this one. Hat's off to him and his family, he didn't win it, but without their excellent preparation it wouldn't have happened. This was my first time contesting the ride and it certainly lived up to my expectations. Major action, narly course, and very well organized and hosted.
We had a roster of about 7 riders who were expected at this event. Of course, it's an invitational, so only VERY select riders make the start list. In this case, the defending champ, Feel Good (aka: Jon Simms), of course, was the first to be called up to the start line, Second place finisher from 2005, Switch (aka: Mark Jongsma) was second for the call up, etc.
Surprisingly, a few riders chose to avoid this ride or could not get kitchen passes--weenies!
That being the case, the field was still a very select group of serious hammer-boys:
- Feel Good (J. Simms), Bib #1, Trek/MVV
- Switch (M. Jongsma), Bib #2, Trek/MVV
- Jon-Bon (J. Null), LiteSpeed/Buhla Racing
- Fletch (M. Fischer), Trek/MVV/MHC Promotions
- Hammerschlagen (S. Stewart), LiteSpeed/LGBRC
STAGE 1 (Willow Springs KOM):
The field rolled off around 8:30 AM under overcast skies and cool temps. The first serious effort of the day would be the vicious climb up the eastern slope of Willow Springs Rd. This KOM was worth 3-4 points and would was expected to be a good indicator of who was going well. About a mile or two into the stage, Fletch decided to take a flyer and broke from the field with a gap of about 30 seconds. Fletch maintained this gap for sometime as the main field seemed to be content with their chances of bridging the gap, which had grown to almost 45 seconds at the base of the climb. Willow Springs is a tough climb with an average gradient of approx 6% with pitches in the 10 to 11% range.
The peloton, realizing that Fletch had a serious gap, decided to chase at about the 3/4 mark of the climb. Fletch was clearly surprised that he had been able to maintain his gap at such a late stage in the climb. Not known as a climber, Fletch was clearly on a mission and was determined to take the first KOM points of the day. There was clearly a lot of discussion and posturing in the peloton as the chase picked up momentum. At the 100m mark, the chase group had reduced Fletch's advantage from 30sec to a mere 2-3sec gap. Fletch nearly lost his bid for the KOM lead as he hesitated very close to the summit thinking he had been caught. Switch and Hammerschlagen had closed the gap, but were struggling to make contact with Fletch as he launched his final effort. Fletch managed to hold onto his momentum and rolled across the line just a few feet ahead of the chasing pair, taking the first KOM of the day with the peloton very close and together right on his wheel.
STAGE 2: (Uvas Sprint Points #1):
After a fast and furious pace down the Willow Springs descent, the field split a bit but regrouped at McKean Rd and Chesboro to begin the climb into the Uvas Valley. The next contest would be a sprint somewhere between Chesboro Rd and Uvas Dam. The field maintained a fairly steady tempo as the sprinters moved to the front to setup for the impending sprint. For many riders, it was fairly difficult to gauge where the KOM's and sprint points were. This sprint would be a classic example of chaos and miscues. About a half mile from the sprint line, Fletch moved to the front and begin setting the pace. Hammerschlagen must have thought that the sprint banner was close and immediately launched an attack. Thinking the sprint points were close and just up a slight rise in the road, Hammerschlagen launched a serious effort only to realized that Fletch had suckered him. The real sprint line was well up the road but slighty down the hill. The pace quickly exploded as Switch, Feel Good, and Hammerschlagen set their sites on the sprint sign about 200 yards up the road. You could have thrown a blanket over the three riders as they flung their bikes across the line. Hammerschlagen edged out the two MVV riders by a very close margin and took the first sprint points of the day.
STAGE 3 (KOM 2 Somewhere in the mountains):
This stage went failry easy from the spint line on Uvas Rd to Watsonville Rd then the turn onto a road I'd never been on. It quickly turned into a beast of a climb. Feel Good launched the first attack here with Hammerschlagen and Switch close on his wheel. The climb wasn't real long but it was very steep. The trio stayed very close together all the way up to the top. Feel Good and Hammerschlagen got a slight gap on Switch but neither seemed to know where the KOM marker was. Suddenly, Feel Good spotted the marker and launched a vicious attack. Hammerschlagen must have seen the marker just a millisecond later, but could not match Feel Good's effort. Feel Good rolled over the top taking the second KOM of the day. Switch was close but would later say he "didn't have good legs at that point and didn't see the marker."
STAGE 4 (Cebada Flat):
The KOM in Stage 2 was brutal but there was still a fair amount of climbing after the KOM marker. The peloton regrouped and made its way down the mountains into the San Martin Valley and across highway 101. The next climb and KOM would be the Cebada Flat pass, which turned out to be a very hard climb for all of the riders, including the eventual KOM winner.
With a long flat but windy ride to the base of the climb, the peloton quickly split into two as Switch and Feel Good begin to accelerate as the road turned upward. It was very evident early on that Hammerschlagen was struggling to maintain contact as the two MVV riders set a blistering pace up the initial stages of the climb. Hammerschlagen dug deep to maintain a slight gap on Feel Good but Switch had managed to open a good gap of about 100m on the pair. Much to Hammerschlagen's delight, Feel Good's machine begin to have trouble staying in the right gear (no relation to the fact that HS is FG's mechanic). Feel Good was clearly getting frustrated and begin to slow. That was all Hammerschalgen needed to get back on his wheel and stay in tow.
This climb had two stages so when the road flattened, the powerful Feel Good was able to close the gap on Switch to less than 5 seconds at the base of the final ascent. Hammerschlagen had managed to stay on Feel Good's wheel and launched an attack at the base of the final climb. Switch could clearly see that the two had closed the gap dramatically and turned up the screws to the bright-red zone. Hammerschlagen had managed to put a good gap on Feel Good at this point but couldn't get into striking distance on Switch as they hammered the climb at a lung-busting pace.
In the end, Switch was able to maintain a good gap on Hammerschlagen and rolled under the KOM banner over 60m ahead. Feel Good had lost contact with the two as they crossed the line but was close enough to capture valuable KOM points with his effort.
STAGE 5 (Can(y)ada Road KOM):
This stage was clearly the turning point of the ride. Feel Good had 3 KOM points, Switch had collected 5 KOM points for the hardest climb of the day, and Hammerschlagen only had one sprint point. HS had to take the next KOM or his day was virtually over. Of course, Feel Good also had to try to regain some KOM points or his day could very well be over, too.
The Canada Rd stage wasn't at all a hard climb, but was a lot like Calaveras Rd, steady uphill, lots of rollers, and seamingly never-ending. Fletch had gotten a wasp in his jersey about half way up the road and wanted to stop at a fire station to get things squared away. Of course, Feel Good and Switch wanted none of that and blew by the fire station and headed for the fourth KOM of the ride. Having stopped at the fire station with Flecth, Jon-Bon and Fletch would lose a lot of time as the three hammers begin there assault up to the KOM marker.
The road wasn't at all steep but clearly it was a nice grade. It's not clear who launched the first attack, but it wasn't HS. Feel Good and Switch seemed to know where the top was on this one and begin a furious pace. HS could just hang onto their wheel as they set a blistering pace up the mountain. This was a gradual, not steep climb, so the speed was very high. HS would later say that's he's "never had to worry about cornering clearance going up hill before.) The pace was blistering and HS was clearly just trying to maintain contact as the trio raged up the road.
This was clearly the decisive stage and all of them knew it. As Switch and Feel Good diced with each other, HS could only maintain a gap of about 10m. He was clearly trying to stay close enough to launch a desperate attack as soon as he could see the KOM marker. Unfortunately no KOM marker was seen and the trio rolled over the top of the climb still attacking each other. It wasn't until about a 1/4 of a mile down the backside that they realized someone had already taken the points.
Since HS had never taken the lead, he was clearly not the man. It was later decided by the officials that Switch had crossed the KOM line first, giving the KOM jersey and the overall GC lead, both had swapped the lead several times as they crested each rise looking for the marker.
STAGE 6 (Day Road Sprint):
At the start of Stage 6 the officials and the peloton sorted out the points standings. Switch has taking two key KOM's and was the leader on the road. Feel Good was close in second and still had a good shot at the overall. He needed to win this stage and the final KOM to win. Hammerschlagen had earned extra points for his two second place finishes in the KOM's and the first sprint win. However, his chances for the overall were virtually over.
Stage 6 was essentially a flat stage with one sprint to contest, which was on a flat and straight road. Feel Good launched the attack as the peloton geared up for the final sprint points of the day. Hammerschlagen grabbed Feel Good's wheel and the two put a pretty good gap on the field. As Feel Good raised his arms and declared the sprint win, Hammerschlagen looked around as if he wasn't sure of the sprint line. As it turned out, Feel Good had mistakenly sat up and celebrated. Switch rolled by, nearly soft pedaling, to take the final sprint points while HS and Feel Good stared in disbelief. Hammerschlagen was in a good position, but didn't see the marker and therefore never came around Feel Good for the win. As Switch rolled by and pointed to the marker just 10 0r 15m past where Feel Good and HS thought the marker was, they both realized they had been outdone by Switch and the ride was essentially in Switch's bag.
Instead of a regroup after the sprint, Switch decided to keep the pace up and kept rolling with Feel Good in tow. Hammerschlagen, realizing that the party was over, took chase but quickly conceded that he was not going to catch back onto the pair and settled into his own tempo to finish the ride solo.
Stage 7 (Llagas Rd KOM):
The road to the final KOM was narrow and very hilly. Of course, lined with screaming spectators and Oakland Raider fans who couldn't afford the gas to get to Sunday's game (but who needed to vent their intellect by screaming at cyclists on Monday). The gap Feel Good and Switch opened up on Hammerschlagen was sufficient enough to know that the final KOM was going to be between the two MVV riders. With no possibility of the media or team cars being able to stay in contact, the two battled it out up the last 10 miles of rollers and steep but short climbs to the base of Llagas Rd, which is a nasty but well shaded climb of about 3/4 of a mile.
It was evident early in the initial phases of the climb that Switch wanted to not only win the overall, he wanted to do it in dominant fashion. Feel Good, of course known for his late ride attacks and never-say-die attitude, wasn't about to give up. In the end, Feel Good maintained a very small gap, but could not match Switch's effort on the final pitch of the climb succumbed to the brutal effort of Switch. Hammerschlagen rolled over the summit of Llagas well behind the two hammerboys while Fletch and Jon-Bon missed the time cut and were forced to take a shorter route to the finish.
STAGE 8 (Victory Lap)
With no points remaining to contest and the overall decided, the remnants of of the peloton rode together to the finish through downtown Morgan Hill crowds cheering for the new MHC champion and yellow jersey. Truly a great ride for Switch. Complete domination in the KOM competition, a sprint stage win, and the overall! Feel Good was always close but didn't seem to have the form he had in 2005. Close at every sprint or KOM battle, he was a major factor in the event and always forced the pace. Fletch finished in a respectabe fourth place and had his share of great pulls and flyers that kept the peloton guessing. Jon-Bon rode extremely well finishing a close fifth place with a couple fourth place KOMs. A few mechanical issues plagued him throughout the ride robbing him of valuable time in key stages. Having built his bike the night before without the assistance of his faithful mechanic, he could only only say he "would never do that again. :) Hammerschlagen was satisfied with a 3rd place finish but refused to speak with journalists until after formal drug testing results are posted. :)
Pictures and other details to follow the official results.
Fletch hosted an outstanding ride and all finishers look forward to the 2007 MHC. The riders are hopeful that next year he'll hire a banner and marker staff that know's which direction the peloton is traveling. :)
OK, Shut up and ride!!
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