|
Stage Race Results, DM, CC, HB & ES Posted, and 141 CTC Winners
|
Chuck Bramwell
|
Jun 15, 2007 05:58 PDT
|
Hi ...
Welcome to the California Triple Crown Newsletter of 6/14/07
Contents:
1. STAGE RACE RESULTS SO FAR
2. DEVIL MOUNTAIN, CENTRAL COAST, HEARTBREAK, AND EASTERN SIERRA DOUBLE
RESULTS POSTED
3. CONGRATULATIONS TO 141 CALIFORNIA TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS IN 2007
ALREADY!!
4. ALTIMETER STUDY: WE NEED YOUR HELP
5. DOUBLE CENTURY REPORT
6. THE HAND ON HIS LOWER BACK
*******************************
1. STAGE RACE RESULTS SO FAR
The Preliminary 2007 California Triple Crown Stage Race Results are up
at http://www.caltriplecrown.org ¡K click on 2007 ¡K then Stage Race
Winners which will take you to
http://www.caltriplecrown.org/2007/2007FinishersbyName.asp?Action=StageRace&Action2=All&ClubID=
Results are in from the Mulholland Double held 4/14/07 and the Devil
Mountain Double held 4/28/07. The report shows the "Leader Board" of
those riders who completed the first two of the three Stages of the
Stage Race, ranked by Total Overall Time.
This is how the Stage Race works: Riders have to complete Three Of The
Most Difficult Doubles in the California Triple Crown: Mulholland, Devil
Mountain, and the Terrible Two. The Total Elapsed Time from each of
these grueling Doubles is then added together and the rider with the
fastest overall time for all Three Doubles wins the Stage Race.
WARNING: These rides are NOT for the inexperienced or occasional rider.
On the Schedule Page at http://www.caltriplecrown.com/schedule.htm , you
will notice that the Difficulty Rating for each of these rides is:
Extremely High. Do not make any of these rides your first Double
Century -- because if you do, you may not want to do another one!!
However, if you are in the best shape of your life and you are looking
for the ultimate one day tests of your physical and mental fitness, then
these rides are for you!!
How hard are these rides? Brutally hard. Hard beyond description!!
In 2007, the Mulholland Double was a true challenge of over 16,400 Feet
of Climbing. Only 91 Riders Started this brutally hard ride and only 76
Finished ... 15 Riders Did Not Finish this First Stage of the Stage
Race!! There was plenty of front wheel lift off on the epic climbs of
Potrero, Balcolm Canyon, Decker Canyon, and Stunt Road.
In 2007, the Devil Mountain Double was more than a tough challenge with
18,800 Feet of Climbing but made much worse with a Thermonuclear
meltdown consisting of over 90 degrees on Mines Road and over 95 degrees
on the Mt. Hamilton climb. No one knew where the heat came from and
very few were ready for it. Personally, I saw the grim reaper about a
dozen times and he almost nailed me on Sierra Road. ļ I was glad I
brought my Camelbak. Only 126 riders completed this Second Stage of the
2007 California Triple Crown Stage Race ¡K over 50 Riders Did Not Finish
it.
Phil Hornig leads the competition so far by 27 minutes over Robert Choi
in Second Place then Marc Moons trails by just 17 more minutes!!
In the Women's Division, Kitty Goursolle leads the competition followed
by Kerin Huber then Lyresa Pleskovitch.
This year there aren¡¦t any tandems who have completed the first two
Stages of the Stage Race.
There is one final, little matter: the Third Stage in the Stage Race is
the Terrible Two to be held this Saturday, 6/16/07.
The Terrible Two has a reputation of being the most difficult Double
Century around. Although the route has varied in small ways over the
years, its defining features have always been its four big climbs (and
the steep, twisting descents that follow): Trinity Grade, the Geysers,
Skaggs Springs, and Fort Ross. Numerous smaller but pesky hills add to
the overall challenge. Trinity, the Geysers, and Fort Ross are all
double-summit climbs, while Skaggs Springs is a long series of climbs
and descents. Few gradients on the course exceed 15%, but many climbs
stay in the 8-12% range for long distances. The Terrible Two Web Site
has an excellent Elevation Chart at http://www.srcc.com/ttmap.html which
graphically shows just how brutal this course with over 16,000 Feet of
Climbing really is!!
You don't have to do anything special to sign up for the Stage Race: In
2007, all you have to do is to sign up for and ride your heart out on
the 3 Doubles in the Stage Race!! Of course, that's much easier said
than done!! Also, if you ride any Stage on a tandem, you must ride all
three Stages on a tandem with the same partner.
The California Triple Crown lays down this challenge: be among the
select few who are able to finish the Stage Race!!
Stay tuned for all of the results!!
P.S. The guy way down in 33rd place is looking for a new, improved,
bigger, faster, and better engine because that's all the horsepower he
can produce with his current drive train!! ļ
*******************************
2. DEVIL MOUNTAIN, CENTRAL COAST, HEARTBREAK, AND EASTERN SIERRA DOUBLE
RESULTS POSTED
The 2007 Double Century Season is now in full swing! Congrats to all
who have already finished a Double this year!
Thanks to the California Triple Crown Data Guy, Frank Neal, the results
of the Devil Mountain, Central Coast, Heartbreak, and Eastern Sierra
Doubles are posted to the 2007 CalTripleCrown Data Base at
http://www.CalTripleCrown.org We are waiting for the results from the
Davis Double.
You can view the 2007 Potential California Triple Crown Winners Report
at any time at http://www.CalTripleCrown.org ¡K Just click directly on
"2007". From there you can pick any of the assortment of links in the
header to see specific 2007 CTC Reports that are available to view.
It¡¦s easy to enter or update your own information ¡K just go to
http://www.CalTripleCrown.org then ¡§Update your information or buy CTC
Products¡¨.
*******************************
3. CONGRATULATIONS TO 141 CALIFORNIA TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS IN 2007
ALREADY!!
Amazingly, there are already 141 riders who have completed the 2007
California Triple Crown this year by completing three of the Doubles
that have been posted to the CalTripleCrown.org Data Base!!
These can be seen on the 2007 Winners Report at
http://www.caltriplecrown.org
Just click on 2007 then on Winners.
Congratulations to All of these early season Triple Crown Winners!!
*******************************
4. ALTIMETER STUDY: WE NEED YOUR HELP
We need your help with the Altimeter study. In particular, we are
looking for more Altimeter readings from the Heartbreak Double because
we have very few data points.
We want to add data from any year ¡K this year or any past year.
Please send:
Your Name
The Double Name
Double Date with Year
Total Miles
Elevation Gain (Feet of Climbing)
Is the Elevation Gain from "DISPLAY" or "DOWNLOAD"?
Your Computer Manufacturer
Your Computer Model
Did you ride the course as listed on the routeslip?
If you rode this same event previously, did the route change?
Send to Frank Neal, the California Triple Crown Altimeter Guy at
Cycl-@bigplanet.com and he'll add them to the Altimeter Study. The
Altimeter Study can be always be found by going to
http://www.CalTripleCrown.com ¡K down to the Table of Contents ¡K and
clicking on ¡§Altimeter Study of Elevation Gain on California Triple
Crown Double Centuries¡¨.
*******************************
5. DOUBLE CENTURY REPORT
Frank Neal wrote the following excellent article recapping the recent
Double Centuries.
¡§The California Triple Crown (CTC) Double Century Series for 2007
continued in May with Central Coast, Davis, Heartbreak, and Eastern
Sierra Double Centuries.
5/12/07: Central Coast Double. This awesome Paso Robles course travels
through Cambria, along the Pacific Coast Highway, and then climbs to
Lake Nacimiento. It is one of the tougher CTC Doubles with just over
14,000ft. of total elevation gain! This year the weather was ideal.
The morning was overcast, the coastal headwinds were not excessive, and
the valley heat never reached over 84*. Congratulations to all who
completed this very difficult Double!
5/19/07: Davis Double. One of the oldest Doubles in California, this
Event is still the most popular Double on the CTC Schedule. The course
has changed many times over the years. Due to the closing of Big
Canyon, it now climbs the tougher Mt. Cobb pass. Once considered to be
one of the easiest Doubles for beginning Double Century Riders, its
current course with 8,400ft. of gain now borders on "High Difficulty".
The weather can be unpredictable this time of year. This year, a
forest fire caused EVERYTHING to change without notice! The Davis Crew
did ONE UNBELIEVEABLE JOB changing the course at the last minute to make
2007 another successful Event for the riders! Congratulations to the
Finishers.
5/26/07: Heartbreak. This Event is a challenge under any conditions!
With over 15,000ft. of total elevation gain, this beautiful course
meanders (climbs!) through some of the best So. Cal. back roads and
scenery. How about climbing the Grapevine (from Palmdale), to Gorman,
through Frazier Park, up and over Apache Saddle? This year the weather
had the normal high temperatures with little air movement during the
Heartbreak climb. Congratulations to those who are AWESOME for
completing this "Radically Difficult" Double!
6/2/07: Eastern Sierra. Starting in Bishop and traveling up through
Mammoth Lakes and June Lakes, this is my personal favorite Double.
Riders find little traffic, few signals, and awesome scenery! There is
no air to breathe up there; but, it is such a great course that the high
altitude just doesn't matter! This year the weather was overcast in the
morning making the early climbs very tolerable. After lunch it got
warm, but not hot. Then came the challenge! The last 25 miles were met
with stiff, in-your-face, headwinds! Great job to all who Finished!
Special Congratulations to our Members who have already completed three
CTC Double Centuries to capture their 2007 Triple Crown Awards!
Additional Recognition to those who have already completed five Doubles
this year to achieve the Thousand Mile Award! That is 1,000 miles in
five days!
Special Kudos' to our GOLD Thousand Mile Award Winners! This Award goes
to a rider that, in one calendar year, Finishes five CTC Doubles and
volunteers (or provides a volunteer) for at least one CTC Event.
Congratulations!
The California Triple Crown started in 1990, consisting of only four
Double Centuries. That first year there were 42 Riders who
participated. 32 of those earned their Triple Crown Awards. Between
all of the Riders, they Finished 115 Doubles.
In 1992, Chuck Bramwell took the helm as Executive Director of the CTC.
He remains the Executive Director today and has built the CTC into an
unbelievably huge success!
Compare the current stats to 1990: In 2006 there were 18 Double
Centuries. 1,477 Riders participated and 513 were awarded the Triple
Crown. Their total Finishes were an amazing 3,382 Doubles! The CTC
boasts that 8,900 different Riders have completed, at least, one CTC
Double Century since 1990.¡¨
*******************************
6. THE HAND ON HIS LOWER BACK
Recently there was a very cool article by Ben Delaney in Velonews about
the Tour of California and the perspective of the domestic guys going
backwards. I believe the very first climb of Stage 1 was on the Mt. Tam
Double route.
¡§The 22 year old Sheldon Deeny couldn¡¦t cut the pace Discovery Channel
set on stage 1¡¦s very first climb, and was going backward off the
peloton until he felt a hand on his lower back. That hand belonged to
world road champion Paolo Bettini, who quickly returned Deeny to the
pack like a shepherd herding a wayward sheep.¡¨
Can you imagine the World Champion lending you a hand like that?
Chuck Bramwell
California Triple Crown Guy
Frank Neal
California Triple Crown Data Guy
Charlie Irwin
California Triple Crown Software Guy
http://www.CalTripleCrown.com
|
|
 |
|
