Pound for Pound - AC Juniors Rule Cyclocross! BASP #3 - Sierra Point

Team AC - Alex, Skyler, Jack, Chad, Bob, Spence, and Scott

Sunday was another big success story for the ACJR and Master racers - three First Place finishes and strong performances by all the riders. More AC uniforms out there than almost any other team, major attention over the PA system, and two dozen family and friends out there supporting the team big time.

Sierra Point is the third in the BASP series, and more importantly, the night race - fantastic spectator event with great visibility of the entire course, all under the lights.

The afternoon started off well - Skyler Taylor and Jack Keane raced the Junior 15-18 race, with Skyler taking a strong First Place and Jack coming in a solid Fourth Place. Skyler put on a really strong performance, holding the lead the whole way, and taking the win after a long hard battle with Cody (?) from the Davis team. Jack continues to hone his 'cross skills, over a tough, bumpy and technical course, and it was just the first of two races for him!

Matthew Valencia was the picture of grit and determination - he took the Under 14 race from the start, but in the first lap managed to cut his knee on the stairs - very badly, as it turned out. But he stayed on his race the whole, way, won the race decisively, and then his parents took him first to the medic, and then to the ER to stitch up a giant hole in his knee. When asked how many stitches he got, Matt could only answer "I stopped counting" - he came back to watch and root for the rest of the team and stayed till very late. I'm sure he felt it the next day, and will be off the bike for awhile, but he definitely has the spirit of cyclocross - press on, regardless!

Matthew returned from the ER to get his podium picture

Next up was the big race of the day - about 150 Men B racers, including the ACJR's - Spence, Bob, Alex, and Jack, plus Scott Harrington, fresh off his recent victory in Santa Rosa, threw down against the men, and against Isaiah Rapko, who was gunning for his third victory in the series.

After a huge start, a number of crashes on the course, and lots of moving up through the pack, the race settled down for 45 minutes of excitement - Isaiah and Spence took control from the first turn, and held the race the whole time.

From the start, the lead was all about Spence and Isaiah

Alex and Bob were running strong, passing people right and left, with bike handling skills fine tuned over the past years of mountain biking. Spence and Bob were really enjoying the great Edge wheels provided by Chad at Above Category, and Alex was on the deluxe Focus Mares Expert - so equipment was not holding them back!

Alex chasing down another "old guy" in the Men's B's

Bob pushing hard - passing throughout the race

Jack held his own in his second race of the day - in the big field of B's

Blair mixing it up with the other Singlespeed B's

Scott continued to build his cyclocross record - really strong performance!

Lap after lap, the announcer was describing the ongoing progress of the two racers whose age didn't exceed 30 years old - he was as excited as the rest of us, I think! Finally, on the last lap, Isaiah and Spence hammered down the back straight, through the U-turn and up the finish straight. Just a couple of feet separated them, but Isaiah managed to pull away and take the win with Spence right behind - one of the most exciting finishes of the entire day (maybe the season) of racing.

Isaiah (1st), Spence (2nd) after a grueling 45 minutes of dicing with Spence

Spence and Isaiah on the hardest fought podium of the night

Alex, Scott, Bob and Jack all kept the pressure on and took a good chunk out of the top third of the finish roster. Final results were a bit muddled, so we're not sure of exact finish standings yet.

Blair did a double-header, with back-to-back races first in the Men's B singlespeed race, then in the Men's 45+ A race, and did amazingly well given the high level of competition. Some great passes and charging through the pass gave him solid finishes in both races, and he seemed as strong in the second race as during the first. Amazing endurance in these intense full-bore sprint races!

Blair continuing on his second race of the day - in Men's A's no less!

Meanwhile, Alex, Spence and Bob raced in the Singlespeed A's race

All in all, it was a super solid day of racing, spectating, eating and drinking - thanks to Meg and Julia for the great sausages, desserts, and drinks (regular and with alcohol), to our great friend Jack French for his incredible photography - these are truly pro-level shots, to Chad for the loan of the top-tier wheels and bikes, which clearly made a difference, and to all the parents, friends and other AC supporters who came out to cheer the team - we probably had one of the largest and loudest groups of supporters of any team!



Photos of the race are here but the best ones are Jack French's photos on Facebook - better make him your friend soon!

Next Races:
Saturday, November 21 - Cross Palace - indoor cyclocross at the Cow Palace!

Sunday, November 22 - Discovery Park - Sacramento CX #3

Sunday, November 29 - Golden Gate Park NCNCA Finals - BASP #4