Cobbs Hill Cyclocross - October 9, 2011

The weather for today's race was beautiful, with conditions more like June than October. Jochen started his first cross race ever, and with a new bike had a great time navigating the tough course at Cobb's Hill. Brent raced the Masters event and was able to make the podium with a 2nd place in the 55+ age group. All-in-all a great day of racing for Team Dorschel.

Jochen

Jochen, navigating the maze

Brent, crushing the downhill

Masters 55 Podium

8/23- Chili

one week after the crash and the blog...the cat fours took to the course in chili. the night started with an attack by jeff g, twin line, and myself. we made it to the small hill on the back side before being swallowed up. in an attempt to make the racing aggressive, primes we set for laps one and seven. things got hot on the first prime but everything was brought back together. almost every lapon the turn to the road that had been stone chipped, brent would carry past the peloton in an attempt to get away, but he couldnt get any help here. the race pretty much was status quo until lap seven when a good size group was able to walk away from the field on the long stretch thru the woods. brent was up the road in the break so i was only going to attempt to bridge if i could do it alone. we the field hit the hill the pace was mellow, so halfway up i had worked my way up the side and made my move using everything i had left to catch the break. by the time i got to the top the break was splitting up, brent and macfive frank were dangling off the back and a group of five or six was still up the road. from somewhere i got the strength to swallow up brent and frank and get us back to the group just before the long straightaway. the peloton was coming on strong but i knew we would not get caught. with three cnb in the break we made the last turn and it ended up with hoag, mike c, myself, kevin, and dave m ready for the final climb. about halfway up mike c broke for the line and i went after him, he proved to strong for me but may have left to soon as kevin was able to chase him down and get him at the line. even though p hoag did most of the final work, he almost got me at the line as i was barely able to hang on for third. it was a race with some attacks and strategic timing...well done cat fours.

8/9 - Wheatland

The rain clouds cleared just in time for the racing to begin. It was a small peloton that seemed ripe for a breakaway. However, nothing stuck - it seemed that everyone was too busy marking each other so no one was able to get away. The group was strung out for the finish sprint and I placed myself in 7th or 8th wheel - just where I wanted to be. But the lead riders never faded as is typical for the long sprint at Wheatland. Luckily, Chris (ROG) found a crease on the shoulder of the road and made a mad dash for the line. I grabbed his wheel and came around him just before the finish line. I wasn't able to track down the winner (Dave, CNB) but was able to get second place.
See you at Victor next week.

New York State Time Trial Championships

The conditions were windy and hot on the 40 km championship course hosted by the Tioga Velo Club. Fortunately, I was able to secure the bronze for the Dorschel.com/Swain Sports 2 team. It was great to see so many GVCC riders putting in solid rides and representing the club.

I'd like to thank TVC and Jeff Poulin for putting on an exceptionally good race. This is the way these events should be run!

Brent

6/27 - Wheatland

Sunny skies and warm temperatures led to the decision to make it a long night - 45 miles of racing (5 laps). Half way through the first lap and Rick (SBR) and Deats (Dick Ide) had already launched off the front. Knowing their strength, I made an attempt to bridge up to them on the gradual uphill section. However, they proved too strong and I sat up after a few miles. As I was being caught, Brent counterattacked and took a few riders with him. The mix of riders looked promising, but the cooperation never fully materialized and they were brought back. A few miles later and Scott took off on a solo attack. He looked strong out on his own for half a lap, but the windy conditions and determined peloton spelled doom. Coming up to the prime on lap 2, Brent was aggressive at the front of the group and helped to stretch things out. Michel offered to lead out the sprint for me and hopped on Pete Hoag's (RUUD) wheel - a wise choice. Pete pulled a few of us off the front and ended up taking the points. I couldn't come around Michel and he held on for second. The prime split up the group and I soon noticed Burri (CNB) and Coyle (Nalgene) flying past me. I hopped on their wheel and Pete joined us. The four of us worked well together, and it was apparent that Pete and Burri are stong TT'ers. The gap was tenuous for the next couple of laps but we continued to work a paceline. We rotated through on the lap 4 prime without a sprint - we were all determined to make the break stick. We could see the peloton closing at the end of lap 5 and so we held off on the cat and mouse games until after the final hills. Knowing the break had some strong sprinters I tried to surprise them with an early attack. It didn't work and I was unable to catch back on. Pete took a well deserved win, Coyle was second, and Burri rounded off the podium. The group came in soon after with Michel showing some good form by taking the group sprint. All in all, a fantastic night of racing for Team Dorschel. See you on Parish Hill next week!

Full Moon Vista Grand Prix

The Dorschel.com Cycling Team hit the streets of Rochester this weekend at multiple races throughout Monroe County. Friday night saw Michel and Scott finish 9th and 12th respectively, on the technical crit course at Genesee Valley Park. Brent was able to hang with some of the top masters in the northeast through most of the 35 lap race and finished 3rd in his age group.

Geoff tackled the hills around Powder Mills Park on Saturday. The wet roads, combined with some twisty, high speed descents put some riders on the ground, but Geoff was able to keep it upright and make it to the line with the lead pack. Still feeling the effects of his Tuesday night win, he finished 9th in the sprint on a tight, narrow finale.

Sunday saw Scott racing early at the Durand Eastman circuit course. A large field of 48 category 4/5 riders started, but potholes, dirt sections, tight turns, crashes and an uphill finish left only 22 riders crossing the finish line. Too many riders and not enough road made the uphill sprint a challenge, but Scott was able to finish 11th. A smaller field of masters riders took to the course for the 28 mile race. Brian Cardona (Nalgene) made the early break while his team controlled the pace. Brent was pulled from the field with 3 to go, but managed another 3rd in his age group.

This was a great race weekend to support the Rochester race scene and get maximum exposure for our sponsors. Thanks to Full Moon Vista and GVCC for a great event.

5/31 - Rush

Teamwork nets Dorschel it's first W of the year!
90 degree temps promised some tough racing on Tuesday. A small group of A riders brought another surprise as the two groups merged to race together. The results were to be kept separate, so additional strategy would be involved. The A riders helped keep the pace high for the first couple of laps. The second time up the backside hill brought difficulty as I dropped my chain and went from fifth wheel to standing in the middle of the road. I finally got the chain on and looked up to see a sizable gap to the field and figured my night was over. Then I saw Brent waiting to pace me back on. We joined up at the top of the hill and I was safely back in the group by the north end of the course. That effort put an end to Brent's night and I knew I had to make it worthwhile. As the laps wore on, the field slowly whittled. With 3 laps to go a marshal held up the flag and the field was split in two. Unfortunately, I was not in the first group and found myself chasing again. A group of chasers started bridging the gap a lap later, thanks mainly to Jack's (FMV) efforts on the backside hill. By the main hill, the gap was almost closed. Over the next half lap, one by one, three of us (Jack, myself, and SBR rider Adam) managed to bridge to the front group - only half a lap remained. It was a mad sprint up the hill that saw Adam and Jack pull free. I knew this was my chance - if I could bridge up without any other Cat 4 riders, I would have the race won. I clawed my way up and immediately went to the front to prevent any other riders from joining us. I led out the sprint not caring about winning the sprint, just trying to maintain our gap. I finished third, but managed to be the first Cat 4 across the line. Thanks to Brent for keeping me in the race! Good luck to all taking part in FMV's races this weekend.

5/24 - Riga

Finally some beautiful weather for riding. CNB animated the beginning of the race with a couple attacks from the gun. Dorschel bridged to both, the second of which managed to hold for the entire race (2 1/2 out of the 3 laps) as it contained members of most of the teams. Jim Q. successfully took both primes while Dorschel grabbed second both times. By the end of the race the break had whittled down from 7 members to 5. Jeff (Park Ave) and Jeff (Twin Line) had a photo finish for first place in the sprint. Unfortunately there were no cameras and it was left to a coin toss. Dorschel managed third place to end a successful night.

5/17 - Fishers Crit

Well, it's not Tuesday if it's not raining. A hardy crew showed up for the Fishers Crit in drizzling weather. I was looking for some good racing after the Chili sabotage last week. I was soon off the front with Phil (SBR) for a handful of laps until the prime arrived and we got pulled back with the line in sight. Unfortunately we had lost half our team by that time as Brent flatted and Michel wasn't feeling it. The pack was hesitant to let anything off the front, although the juniors survived for a few laps in front and continue to look stronger each week. As the next prime arrived Coyle (Nalgene) took a solo flyer for a lap. Brent (after a quick wheel change) delivered a great leadout and I was able to snag second place. Scott then took off and tried to pull a group of 3 away but the cooperation wasn't there. The pace remained high until 5 laps remained. Phil took off and held a tenuous gap but there were too many determined to wait for a sprint. Brent did some more great work at front but Park Ave delivered the goods with Doug in first and Jeff in second. I grabbed third and Scott finished fast in sixth. For such miserable weather, perhaps the best part was that there were no crashes to speak of. Hopefully the sun will shine next week...

5/7/2011 New York State road race championship, Bristol, NY

High expectations were dashed today with a flat tire nine miles into the race. I hit a pothole while tucked into the pack. This caused a pinch flat with a slow leak. The tire was completely flat by the top of Egypt hill and my race was over. That's racing.

Thanks to Mrs. Davis for the ride back to the parking lot.

Thanks also to Mark and Mike at Swain Sports for the Dura Ace cassette to help get me up the hills.

-Brent

5/3 Mendon

Geoff's description of the Parish North race would describe this race as well. Wet, cold weather, early attacks, and a broken apart race characterized tonight's action. After some early breaks were brought back, groups of one and two pried away from the pack and formed into a gang of seven, leaving the peloton out of sight and racing for scraps. Jim Quadrini flatted out of the break with two miles to go. Sad, since he initiated the action. Geoff took a prime and finished third behind Doug and Phil. Great job, especially considering he was shivering before he got on the bike and all the way back to the parking lot. I'm not sure he was ever warm during the race either.

4/19 - North Parish

Tuesday was a race for the hard men - 45 degrees and raining. I guess that's spring racing in Rochester. The attacks started from the gun. I wasn't even clicked in by the time the first break was up the road. The aggressiveness continued all night with few chances for recovery - an excellent night of racing as the group was scattered all over the course. Congrats to all the aggressors. My legs just didn't have the snap I needed and try as I did, I wasn't able to bridge the gaps. I snuck away on TLV's wheel to grab a top 10, but my lungs didn't recover until several hours later. See you at the TTT next week...

We would like to welcome Michel Bermudez to the Dorschel.com Cycling Team.