News from December 2007« November 2007 | News archive | March 2008 » 19. December 2007 Cross season is almost over. We wrapped up the Seattle Series on a snowy day at Kelly Creek. Results will be posted soon. Check out our photos page to see more of the action! Kringle Kross is coming up Dec. 30th. Happy Holidays! 19. December 2007 It's Here! The 2007 Track Recap 2007 at the Group Health Velodrome: Cat 1,2: To start the season, Joe Bar had one lone rider in the Cat 1,2 ranks: Brendan Sharpe. Brendan was a late season upgrade in 2006. So, Brendan was slugging it out with the likes of Kenny "the Cash Register" Williams, James Stangeland and Grant Boursaw. Fast doesn't describe these three! They battled all season long, while the rest of the Cat 1,2s suffered for it. Brendan held on for a number of top 10s throughout the season, which is no small feat. Consider the final race of the season, a long scratch race, where only 7-8 of 25 riders finished the race! Congrats, Brendan! Cat 3: With Brendan's upgrade, Shawn Larson was left to fend for himself in the Cat 3 field. He started the season with zero upgrade points and lots of determination. Shawn spread out a couple of wins over the season. However, his biggest accomplishment was consistency, finishing in the top 5 in about 85% of his races. And that, folks, is how you take the Cat 3 season title. With 2 weeks left of racing, and a Cat 2 upgrade in sight, Shawn laid it all on the line, seemingly tailgating his closest competition in the Season Race. By the end of the night, he had upgraded to Cat 2 and accumulated enough season points to take the Cat 3 prize. Congrats, Shawn! For his efforts, Shawn was awarded season ending prize $$ and a spot in the final night's Cat 1,2 field, where he made quite an impression, holding on for 7th in that killer Scratch race. Cat 4: By far, Joe Bar's biggest showing this season. Peter Stocker, Ben Ulness, David James, Charlie Bartlett and Brian Vander Stoep comprised the team. These 5 were never able to start a race together though, due to field splits on Wednesday nights. But, a few times, team tactics came into play, chasing and blocking their way to a number of podium spots throughout the season. The coveted Cat 3 upgrade was in sight for Peter and Brian on the final night of racing. Fortunately for these two, David and Ben were ready and willing to work. Brian lucked out in the first race, a short Scratch, and pulled away in the final sprint, taking the win. In the 2nd race of the night, a 10 lap Point a Lap, Peter took some mid-race points and forced the field to chase. This gave Brian the opportunity to sneak away with 3 laps to go. Strategically placed, Ben and David moved to the front of the field and throttled down, blocking the way and allowing Brian to stay away. In race #3, Brian's upgrade secure, all of the focus went to Peter and his need for a few more points. Unfortunately, the field was pretty darn sick of the Joe Bar bunnies' having their way. The race was fast from the start, and Peter, the only one on Team Green with the legs to stay in the front. Brian, David and Ben were struggling to hold on. In the end, Peter snagged 2nd place in the race, just enough to move on up to Cat 3 in 2008. Congrats to all! Here's the final night write-up: So, I hate to toot my own horn (not really), but here goes. Last night was the final night at the track. With 18 upgrade pts. for me So, the plan was this: Race #1- 10 lap scratch. Peter will heat up the pace early, hoping to break Race #2- 10 lap point a lap. I will lead out Peter with 3 laps to go as Race#3- 4x4 points. Hoping to help Peter nab the race, we planned to chase End of the night, I have enough to upgrade and Peter is within "begging" In the Cat 1,2 ranks, Shawn and Brendan enjoyed suffer-fest all night long. Great season all around! It was a blast racing with y'all! Can't wait for bv |
