It was where (among others), Bjorn and Isaiah participated in a very tough Junior crit race, and some other guys (Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, Ben Jacques Maynes, Chris Horner, etc.) did the Pro race.
Jeff Taylor:
What a race it was - Armstrong, Levi, and Ben Jaques Maynes led from the gun until Lance attacked with 5 laps to go and blew it apart to take the win!
15,000 people and we had the killer spot at the top of the climb. AWESOME!
Lance broke away with five laps to go to win it. They were high-fiving the spectators on their victory lap!
Tom Fox:
Unfortunately there were some nasty crashes in the Junior race. Bjorn and Isaiah were well positioned from the start. Then one of the older kids came into The Turn going to fast, panicked, grabbed the front brake and went OTHB.
The course marshall didn't know what to do so on the next lap another racer (specialized) running wide slid the rear and went into the first guy. The first guy was taken away by the ambulance. The official neutralized the race for at least one lap before they finally stopped and restarted the race.
After the restart Isaiah was in the lead group for a long time doing a brilliant race hanging with the bigger boys. Towards the end of the race his handle bar was accidentally caught in the hay and he went down, luckily he managed to escape with scrapes and bruises.
Isaiah and Bjorn enjoying the post-race festivities
Amazingly both AC Jr's finished in the top half of the 26 racers 15-16 category.
Isaiah Rapko:
Following up on Jeff's report, Bjorn and I raced 15-16s at Nevada City. Both of us qualified for the USA cycling regional development camp run by Larry Nolan, and this race is where the coaches observe the riders (the camp started that night).
If you haven't been to race, the course is extremely demanding and technical. The finish is on a steep downhill which leads into two tight turns. After a few laps, we went by a rider laying on the ground being attended to by medics. At first, I thought it was Bjorn, who later said he thought it was me, but luckily it was neither of us. I still don't know who it was but he broke his arm in two places. The crash was videotaped by Damian Gonzalez.
Later on, a group was established containing most of the heavy hitters in the 15-16s. I was there and Bjorn was a bit off the back. Sadly, I didn't get to duke it out because I crashed with 2 laps to go on one of the highspeed corners. Bjorn got 6th and I finished with a healthy dose of road rash in 11th. -- Isaiah
The course marshall didn't know what to do so on the next lap another racer (specialized) running wide slid the rear and went into the first guy. The first guy was taken away by the ambulance. The official neutralized the race for at least one lap before they finally stopped and restarted the race.
After the restart Isaiah was in the lead group for a long time doing a brilliant race hanging with the bigger boys. Towards the end of the race his handle bar was accidentally caught in the hay and he went down, luckily he managed to escape with scrapes and bruises.
Isaiah and Bjorn enjoying the post-race festivitiesAmazingly both AC Jr's finished in the top half of the 26 racers 15-16 category.
Isaiah Rapko:
Following up on Jeff's report, Bjorn and I raced 15-16s at Nevada City. Both of us qualified for the USA cycling regional development camp run by Larry Nolan, and this race is where the coaches observe the riders (the camp started that night).
The junior field was massive with around 50 riders starting at the same time. A good number of Socal riders who were attending the development camp showed up and made our field more competitive.
If you haven't been to race, the course is extremely demanding and technical. The finish is on a steep downhill which leads into two tight turns. After a few laps, we went by a rider laying on the ground being attended to by medics. At first, I thought it was Bjorn, who later said he thought it was me, but luckily it was neither of us. I still don't know who it was but he broke his arm in two places. The crash was videotaped by Damian Gonzalez.
Later on, a group was established containing most of the heavy hitters in the 15-16s. I was there and Bjorn was a bit off the back. Sadly, I didn't get to duke it out because I crashed with 2 laps to go on one of the highspeed corners. Bjorn got 6th and I finished with a healthy dose of road rash in 11th. -- Isaiah
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