SoCal collegiate teams head to Antelope Valley

By Chris Stein

In the Western Collegiate Cycling Conference’s only split race weekend, Southern California teams did battle in the windswept Antelope Valley at UCLA’s road race and time trials.

Since the Northern California teams, including powerhouses UC Davis and Stanford, were at the University of Nevada’s race weekend in Reno, the fields were significantly smaller and, with only two races left until conference championships, all competitors knew this weekend would be a key opportunity to advance themselves or their team in omnium standings. UCLA seized the home field advantage with several field victories, reinforcing their second-place standing in the team omnium, while strong showings by UC San Diego and third-place team Cal Poly SLO threatened to further shake up the team placing.

Punishment in Pearblossom

Abandoning their cosmopolitan Los Angeles neighborhood, the UCLA team chose the folksy town of Pearblossom for their road race, subjecting riders to multiple rounds of a 12.5-mile course that featured 1,500 feet of climbing per lap.

Buffeted by brutal headwinds, the men’s A field broke apart on the first lap, separating further with each uphill pedal stroke until the pack essentially disintegrated, leaving riders to finish the race alone or in groups of two or three. This separation didn’t seem to bother Cal Poly SLO teammates John Bennett and Menso de Jong, who took turns pulling each other around the course before taking first and second, respectively, while Jonathan Baskin (UCLA) showed his climbing prowess by riding alone to his third-place finish. At the end of the first lap of the men’s B race, a break formed consisting of Dan Findley (SDSU), Kristian Oftedal (UCSD) and Kwan Luu (UCLA), with Mackenzie Champlin (UCLA) trailing behind. Findley and Oftedal finished first and second, respectively, while Champlin bridged up to the pack and took third, leaving his teammate Luu to place in fourth. Meanwhile in the men’s C race, Vsevolod Soloviev (CSULA), Victor Ebken (UCLA) and Youssef Azzazy (UCSD) broke away from the pack, finishing in first, second and third, respectively.

Though Benjamin Ostrander (UCSD) outsprinted Jeff Svoboda (UC Santa Barbara) and Tom Zhou (UCSD), he found himself relegated by chief referee Greg Aden and his 20 points transferred to second-place finisher Svoboda. According to Aden, Ostrander broke the USA Cycling rules by stopping off during the race and urinating in a private driveway, necessitating the relegation.

Much like the men’s A field, the women’s A field quickly broke apart, and reigning omnium champion Courtney O’Donnell (UCLA) seized the opportunity to solo her way around the course to victory. Sara Painter (UCLA) and Tammy Wildgoose (UCSD) trailed behind, finishing second and third, respectively. The pack split almost immediately in the combined women’s B and C race, with Jelena Tomic (UCLA), Lauren Cantwell (Claremont Colleges) and Soquel Schafer (Cal Poly SLO) leading the field. On the final climb, Tomic broke away and took the victory, while Cantwell and Schafer took second and third, respectively.

Time Trial Turbulence

The individual and team time trials took place on the flat Antelope Valley floor outside of the city Lancaster, where gusty winds ensured that no racers finished the 12-mile race without suffering immensely.

Only three schools competed in the men’s A time trial: UCLA, Cal Poly SLO and UCSB. In their sub-half hour times, UCLA beat Cal Poly SLO by six seconds, while UCSB, hobbled by a slow leak on team member Daniel Katz’s front wheel, finished third, two seconds behind Cal Poly SLO. Seeking redemption, Cal Poly SLO won the men’s B time trial by nine seconds over UCLA, while the UCSB team finished in third place, 32 seconds behind second place.

Cal Poly SLO showed their pervasive time trial dominance by also winning the men’s C race, beating UCLA by 40 seconds. As the only competitor in the men’s D field, UCSD simultaneously took first and last.

Racers enjoyed no reprieve from the brutal headwind in the individual time trial, but that didn’t stop men’s A Danny Heeley (UCSB) from going faster than the winning time trial team by 19 seconds in his victorious race. Mackenzie Champlin (UCLA) took the victory in the men’s B time trial by 20 seconds, while Kelsey Judd (UCSB) won the men’s C race by 41 seconds. In the men’s D time trial, Colin Ng (UCSD) won by more than three minutes over second place finisher Svoboda (UCSB).

Repeating her victory from the day before, O’Donnell beat the nearest women’s A finisher by 50 seconds. In the women’s B field, Schafer finished first by two minutes over Jessica Gasiorek (UCSB), while in women’s C Lisa Mueller (UCLA) took the victory by more than five minutes over Anabelle Lau (UCSD).

The WCCC will reunite next weekend at the California State University- San Marcos road race and criterium held in San Diego County.

Chris Stein races mountain and road bikes for UC Santa Barbara Cycling

FILED UNDER: Collegiate / Race Report