2008 Zimmerman MS Bike Ride

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Race Report - Lake Mary Crit

Talk about large fields... Both of the Master's fields had 60-70 racers on the start line and the Pro 1,2 field was close to 90 racers. The race course itself was pretty mild after the last few technical races we have had, and almost every race ended in a field sprint. The final sprint is LOOONG and fast and some people were hitting almost 40 mph. Talk about rocket boots.



ZMotion had representation in almost every category and even had people race on Sunday that didn't race on Saturday. The day was cool but clear and a good time was had by all. A big shout out to Hector for finishing 4th in a very fast Pro 1,2 finish.



A summary of our Top 20 placings include:

Cat-5 35+ - Brad in 3rd, Mark in 9th, Randy in 13th, Chris Le. in 16th
Cat-5 U35 – Adam in 4th, Chris La. in 10th
Cat 4 - Joe in 5th, Chris in 8th, Shaun in 9th, Alex Y in 16th
Cat 3 - Patrick in 10th, Karl in 14th
35+ - Julio in 10th, Chris in 13th, Joe in 16th
45+ - Shaun in 8th, Raife in 12th, Chuck in 13th
Pro 1,2 - Hector in 4th, Flaco in 17th
Women 4 - Shannon in 6th



We have a few weekends till our next FPS race, but anybody that feels the need for speed can race at Rosewood on March 8th.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Race Report - Sanford Crit

The Sanford Crit with it's six turns and some narrow roads is one of Florida's more technical courses. A special thanks to Joleen for these great pictures!



Zmotion brought a full squad today and came out to play. We had racers in 45+, 35+, Women's, Cat 3, Cat 4 and Pro 1,2.



In the women's, new racer Shannon continues to ride well with a 4th place. In both Master's races the fields were strung out in a long line from the gun. All of the Master's must have been getting a lot of iron in their diet because they are as tough as nails.



In the 35+, Zmotion was seen at the front a lot, especially in the form of Jody. At the end Julio was the big finisher with a hot 3rd place.



Our newest recruit, Patrick Sansbury just moved up to Cat three and in his first Cat 3 race came in fourth. I think we will be hearing more from this guy.



In the Pro 1,2 race there ended up being a five man race but our very own Hector powered through the field sprint to come in 7th.



Finally in the Cat 4 race, Chris seemed to be enjoying the front as he launched attack after attack but it came down to a field sprint where Joe snagged 2nd. Do I smell upgrade? Come on, Patrick is lonely.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Race Report - Dade City Crit



Just like the San Antonio RR this race was Hard! This is a very technical course with 6 turns, cobbles and a small hill.

The Master's 45+ started crazy fast and strung the field out for lap after lap. Zmotion was represented by Raife, Mark and Tim. Mark attemped to be in a series of (ultimately futile) breaks. With 4 laps to go Tim took a flyer that was reeled in and the race ended in a field sprint.



The Master's 35+ showcased our best teamwork to date. The race was also strung out from the gun. Julio was involved in some early race breakaways and snagged one of the two available primes. Jody was chasing lots of breaks. Pedro then got in a breakaway with Adam Baskin while Chris acted as the "rolling wall" letting them stay away for countless laps. Finally with just four laps to go their break was reeled in. Then continuing the Zmotion assault, Julio (now pronounced jewel-ee-o) launched what looked like the winning move, but he was going sooo fast he cooked the second to last turn and crashed. Then plan B took over and Jeff continued to show why he is the Captain as he drag raced Phil Eliot and came in second by mere inches. Chris then came in 9th to cap a great day of racing.



The Pro 1,2 race, as always, was raced at lightning speed and by the finish the field was probably half of it's original size, but ZMotion still had a strong presence at the end. As you can see by the pictures, ZMotion had no problems riding at the front of this fast field.



Saturday, February 14, 2009

Race Report - Dade Road Race



They were not kidding when they said this was one of Florida's hardest races. Hill after hill with one lap being 17 miles and beautiful weather to boot.



Zmotion had solid showings with Lisa Frink coming in 3rd in Women's Cat 4. In the Master's 45+ Steve Griffith helped power the winning break and came in 4th with Raife again doing an excellent job blocking.



Master's 35+ provided lots of excitement with our 10 person team making things happen. Pedro did an early race break to help get things going. Then Julio took up attack duties on both the first and second laps. Half way through lap 2 (of 3) a breakaway group of 5 starts slipping away and Captain Jeff bridges up and they are Gone! Half way through the last lap, Mark and Doug (from Dent Wizard) broke away and Chris shut down the field to allow them to stay away. Coming into the finish Jeff snags third (there is a story behind that) and Mark gets 7th. Back in the field Karl leads Julio off the front but they get swallowed up by the hard charging field. Joe drag races for the line coming in 2nd in field sprint for 10th overall with Chris coming in 14th. We should be well placed as a team in FPS after today.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Race Report - Gainsville TT and Crit

ZMotion had a small presence at Gainsville this last weekend but a large amount of fun. David (the General), Raife and Mark went up to represent. Saturday was cold in the morning (38 degrees) but it warmed up nicely in time for the Time Trial. It seemed like the wind was both coming and going on the 9.8 mile out and back loop.

On Sunday, we all combined forces to race the 45+ crit. There were several attempts at a breakaway but it all came down to a field sprint in the end (we missed you Jeff). Mark narrowly avoided a crash just after the final turn to come in 8th with Raife at 18th and David finishing safely in the pack.

I just found out that in the Pro 1,2 Crit on Sunday our very own Winston David rode extremely well to place 5th in a very fast bunch of boys. Congrats!!

Also, the Florida Points Series (FPS) results just got published with our top placed people being Raife in 5th for Masters 45+, Amir in 8th for Masters 35+, Joe in 27th for Cat 4 and David Winston in 9th for Pro 1,2.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Race Report - Deland Road Race



Another great day of racing for ZMotion in Deland. The Masters team combined forces to field 17 guys in the 35+ race. We raced the seven mile loop eight times and for over five of those laps had total coverage of every single break. Karl spent almost two laps solo off the front between laps three and four.

Then we saw a break form with 11 people and 5 of them some of our ZMotion strongmen. We immediately got up front and totally shut down any attempt to bridge up. Special props go out to Raife as he was constantly blocking.

Up in the break ZMotion was doing the lions share of the work. On the final lap Julio took a flyer but with a guy on his wheel he sacrificed for the team and shut it down. Then Jeff grabbed some wheels and when he went around he never looked back to get win number two.

Julio was temporarily boxed in but got out in time to snag 3rd with Amir, Chuck and Shaun coming in 5th, 6th and 7th. Another Masters domination.

The Pro 1,2 race was again blazing fast with a race length of 63 miles and a decisive late break that stuck. Flaco was involved in some breaks and race rumos said that Wayne, Tiago and Chris all did some good work out there.

This just in from Randy on the Cat 5 race...

Wanted to give you an update of what happened in the Cat 5 - 35+ race. I left with a second breakaway group with 2 other riders (G2 & Orlando something) and we tried to catch the first first breakaway group of 3. We worked well and held off everyone else but were not able to catch them. At 200 meters I took of and sprinted for 4th. But alas it wasn't to be. Unknown to most of us, 2 riders has snuck out early and stayed away for 1st and 2nd so my wonderful sprint only netted me 6th. Next time.