Before I go recapping about how our race went and what we should have or shouldn’t have done. We’ll start off a week and a bit back.

On a Thursday morning I woke with a Hollywood sign on my mind and with a spontaneous urge to see it. Telling no one what I was doing I’ve headed out early in the morning. It was not until 208km and seven hours later would the guys back at the house find out where I’ve been. Going to the Hollywood was not the only interesting thing along this ride. Stopping in Malibu at a random gas station I ran into a pretty well known cycling name on the North American circuit.

Ivan Dominguez

On this ride I ventured through Beverly Hills singing to myself. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_WvOly7mY

Living in Beverly Hills!

I also stopped at Hollywood Blvd. to see the stars!!

Finally I’ve had hit the famous HOLLYWOOD sign!!! I can now check this off my bucket list. I’ve been there and seen it.

Starting my solo trip back home going through the rich part of Beverly Hills making sure I went past the Man’s dream House. The one and only PLAYBOY house.

Thinking to myself now only if I could get in there some how!!! Hmm…

On the racing action, Sunday was the second race of the season and the first race in quite while for myself. Oh man the emotions were all over the place. Super nervous and excited to be racing again. JetFuel Coffee/ Norco Bicycles was probably a very unknown team to most people on start line of the Chuck Pontius Crit, but we showed we didn’t just come all the way down to California to just mess around in the races. We were going to be an aggressive force to be reckon with!

Starting this crit we were out numbered big time with KHS and Hincapie with eight guys each. Anton and I thought we had to be active and attentive to the breaks of right numbers of KHS and Hincapie guys represented, since that would make the race winning move. We did just that. Every major split and breakaway ether Anton or myself would be present. We were in a number of really good looking moves but it would not stick mainly due to Hincapie team unhappy with the number of their guys present in the breaks.

One of the many breaks in the race.

Anton making the what would have been the last minute winning break with two other Hincapie riders, but unfortunately he got 1-2’ed by them and then over worked by being forced to chase solo the last 5 of laps for third, but he got caught with half a lap to go. It then came down to myself to try and sprint for third place. A little wrong judgement on which sprint train to follow I found myself trying to make up positions were I shouldn’t have been. I still manged to roll in for 14th which I guess at the end of the day isn’t terrible.

There will surely be more races to get my revenge soon with San Dimas on the horizon this week, stay tune for another blog soon.

 The sprint finish Video and Results:

http://cyclingillustrated.com/sprint-video-chuck-pontius-crit/

http://cyclingillustrated.com/results-chuck-pontius-grand-criterium/