SDBC Spring Recap from Coach Taylor
With Tour de Murrieta wrapped up this past weekend, race season in SoCal is in full affect! For the rest of the country, racing may just be starting up but out here in California we are just about at our midway point in the season. Working with SDBC this Spring has been a pleasure. My introduction to the team in earnest came during team camp, where the SDBC crew spent three days out in Borrego Springs, not only honing fitness for the upcoming season but getting to know each other on a deeper level. Following team camp, Source Endurance attended several key team races which included the first Fiesta Island Time Trial (FITT) of the year, the Roger Milikan Criterium and the Tour de Murrieta.
Starting the year off at team camp is always a blast. Team camp is an annual ritual where you try really hard to drop your closest friends and teammates. All joking aside, team camp sets the tone for the upcoming race season. It’s fun to escape town and toss your normal riding routine aside to try some new roads, meet new teammates, rekindle relationships with old teammates and get three days of great training in. Bad weather loomed over San Diego the weekend of team camp, but fortunately in Borrego Springs the worst of the weather was avoided. Camp started off with a short first day, where pace lining was relearned and emphasized. The second day of camp took riders up the infamous Montezuma climb, where riders could test their early season thresholds. In addition to the hour + long climb, the team worked on chase drills to further dial in pace lining and working together as a unit. The final day of camp emphasized on the bike skills, where the team practiced cornering and mock race scenarios before making the return trip back to San Diego. In addition to the training, Source Endurance presented a lecture series to ensure team members were adequately prepared with the right tools for training, nutrition and race tactics.
Just two weeks after team camp, SDBC’s first key event of the year kicked things off with the first Fiesta Island time trial of the series. The Fiesta Island time trial offers categories for riders looking to race either a 40km or 20km race against the clock. Team time trials as well as Merkcx (non-aero) style time trials are on offer as well. SDBC had a fine showing, putting riders on the top step in the women’s 20km team time trial, the master’s 35+ category (David Garcia) as well as the 1st (Jason Ryan) and 2nd (Doug Small) in the master’s 45+ category. Fiesta Island is a great series not only because it takes place in our own backyard in Mission Bay but it also serves as a great fitness check. The FITTs are placed strategically throughout the year so you never have to do a power test in training.
Next stop on the calendar landed on Super Bowl Sunday, at the Roger Milikan Memorial Criterium. SDBC has solid representation across categories with the highest participation coming in the men’s cat 4 race and the master’s 50+ categories. Roger Milikan is essentially only a three-corner crit, with some sweeping curves and a long uphill kicker to the finish line. With most races on the day coming down to a big bunch finish, David Morrison was able to break the mold in the 50+ race. After counter attacking one of the day’s prime sprints, David found himself in a strong 4 rider breakaway that eventually would stick the move to the line. After exuding patience and superb timing, David was able to launch his race winning sprint and clinch an awe-inspiring victory, foreshadowing the Morrison’s brothers early season success.
After Roger Milikan, there was a bit of a break in the SDBC calendar. This allowed riders to fine tune their training, while other riders continued to compete in local events such as the CBR series. Several SDBC members traveled across state lines to take part in the Valley of the Sun stage race in Phoenix, Arizona, as well as the Tuscon Bicycle Classic, in Tuscon Arizona. Coming into April, SDBC tackled their next key event at the Tour de Murrieta, a two-day omnium. The Tour de Murrieta offers a criterium on day 1, followed by a challenging circuit on day 2. While stage races are time based, the Tour de Murrieta is a points-based omnium that favors a savvy, heads up sprinter. Again, SDBC had excellent representation in the men’s category 4 field, the master’s 35+ 1-3, master’s 35+ 3-4, and master’s 50+. During Saturday’s criterium, David Garcia secured an epic win in the master’s 35+ 1-3 field, sprinting out of a 3 man break that narrowly escaped the clutches of the field. Wrapping up the circuit race saw SDBC members Conrad Hindert lock up 5th overall in the master’s 35+ 3-4 omnium and David Morrison continued the Morrison brothers hot streak by clinching a 4th overall in the master’s 50+ omnium.
As the season chugs along SDBC is really hitting their stride and finding success across multiple categories. Coming into the 2nd half of the 2023 SoCal season, the team is sitting 2nd overall in the master’s 50+ team competition and hungry to move up to the top step. The next targets on the calendar are the infamous Boulevard road race at the end of April, the Hunte Parkway circuit race in mid May and the club’s own race, the Barrio Logan crit on June 10th.
Thanks for reading.