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RACING NEWS:
RACE REPORT: Nick Gillock rolls the VoS Stage Race
RACING NEWS:
Please welcome Renée Fox to the LG Board
RECAP: The LA Firecracker Ride
The February LG50 is this Saturday
IN THE NEWS:
COMMUNITY: We Are: L39ION Cycling Documentary
Enjoy ALL of our wonderful partners
RACING NEWS
RACE REPORT: Nick Gillock @ the VoS Stage Race
By Nick Gillock
Valley of the Sun Stage Race, Arizona, Masters 55+
I was the only racer from LG who was able to attend this race so I pooled resources and traveled with a Big Orange friend Andrew Nuckles in the Big Orange Van. We left LA around 9 am on Thursday and arrived for number pickup at Landis Cyclery in Tempe for number pickup at around 5 pm. We bumped into Landis racer Jimmi Woodburne in the parking lot and he filled us in that one of our (48) 55+ competitors would be none other than Norman Alvis (former 7-Eleven and Motorola team pro, 1x Tour de France and 3x Giro finisher, former USA and World Master Hour record holder, etc.). Oh Boy! After a really good dinner at an Italian Restaurant, I was back in the hotel for race prep and a good night’s sleep.
Time Trial – 10 miles, flat, out-and-back course (new course for 2023). I do try to prepare and research these things but I somehow got my brain wires crossed and thought this was a 15-mile event, whereas it actually was only 15K! This made for a bit of a surprise for me at the turn-around and left me feeling I could have gone out a bit harder. Nevertheless, I had a decent ride clocking a time of 23:36 (7th place) and losing 1:24 to the TT winner (Norman Alvis).
Road Race – 47 miles, 3-laps with a 2-mile finishing climb. I had a good plan for this one but somehow messed up the execution. I planned to try to keep an eye on the GC leader and stick to his wheel. Felt good with the race pace on the first lap but missed the fact that a few (maybe 3?) racers had gotten into a break. I was comfortably marking the GC leader the 2nd time up the hill but then I went for a hot-spot time bonus (not knowing there was a break). That left me a little gassed and soon after Mr. Alvis shot past me on the right with 4-5 guys immediately taking chase. I chased super-hard (had a 1-min power of 452w in there) but could not make the bridge. Riding the final lap in the main pack, I finished the last lap in 12th place, 4:10 back from the winner, and 3rd out of the pack. This dropped me to 11th on the GC. Interestingly the GC changed hands also, luck favored the bold with one of the early breakaway riders (Jimmi Woodburne) taking over the GC with Norm Alvis dropping to 3rd place.
Criterium – 30 minutes. This is a flat, fast 5-corner race in the governmental area of downtown Phoenix. At this point in the stage race, there were about (35) 55+ racers remaining. I felt good warming up and was hoping to ride well enough to overcome the guy in front of me on the GC and move up to 10th place. I felt great at the beginning of the race and stayed comfortably in the thinning main group while a chase group began forming. Then with about half of the race to go two riders got tangled up in front of me and crashed in the first corner. I stayed upright and came to a full stop while I watched the front pack charge up the course. As it turned out my friend Andrew Nuckles was also caught up in it and we set to work chasing. My power for the next 15:49 was 323w ave / 327w normalized but that was only enough to keep the two of us in no man’s land getting maybe within 20secs of the front group and holding off the chasers finishing 25th. Norman Alvis won the Crit. Jimmi Woodburne won the GC.
RESULTS
Time Trial – 7th
Road Race – 12th
Criterium – 25th
GC (Final) - 13th
Thanks for reading!
Rudy Project La Grange Team Gear
We all know Rudy Project makes killer cycling gear. They are high quality, Italian-made, and Pro Tour-proven. So you can imagine how proud our La Grange race team is to sport RP Helmets and Glasses. This year LG is wearing the brand new Egos Helmet in white and Black Matte Spinshields with the Multilaser Red Lenses. These top-of-the-line helmets protect your noggin with dual-density EPS technology and the super light Spinshields provide panoramic vision and non-slip compression fit. Plus, all LG members get great deals courtesy of our club sponsorship deal. Order your team gear today.
CLUB NEWS
Please welcome Renée Fox to the LG Board
As already announced, La Grange is proud to introduce Renée Fox as a new LG Board Member. Renée is a teacher and an award-winning artist and muralist as well as an avid cyclist. She is now part of our 2024 LG kit design committee so we are excited to see what they come up with her onboard. We thank Renée for helping La Grange be the best we can be. We are fortunate to have her. Learn more about Renée here.
RECAP: The L.A. Firecracker Run/Ride
By Jan Datomi
On February 18th, I participated in the annual L.A. Firecracker Run / Ride in Chinatown. The Firecracker featured 20 and 40-mile bike rides, 5 and 10k runs/walks, a kiddie run, and a dog walk. The event drew about 800 cyclists and 7,000 runners. One of the main organizers of the event is our own La Grange Board of Directors, Lisa Goldfarb.
The stated mission of the event is “to promote health and fitness, education, cultural awareness, and community involvement”. It was a fun and fast bike ride through Chinatown, Pasadena, and other local communities. The event was really well run and I got the opportunity to do something different out on the bike. One of the things I love about Los Angeles is opportunities like this to experience other cultures. This event fit the bill with its wonderful opening ceremonies featuring a Lion Dance and lighting of the firecrackers to bring good luck for the Chinese New Year.
Thank you Lisa for inviting me to this amazing event and for everything you do for the cycling community!
RESCHEDULED: The February LG50 this Saturday
We are getting a brief reprieve from our much-needed rain this weekend. Joins us for our monthly LG50 (54?) ride. It will be a beautiful and challenging route and we will have plenty of regroups so no one gets left behind. We’ll enjoy amazing roads and great company, with a nice rest stop at a lovely little park. Come on out!
February’s LG50 ride will be led by Dan Mitnick with SAG by Robert Yates
SATURDAY, MARCH 4th
7:30 AM - Coffee, courtesy of Caffe Luxxe, & Snacks
8 AM - Roll from SVO
Post-ride libations TBD
The route can be found here:
https://www.strava.com/routes/3060434667033341180
IN THE NEWS
COMMUNITY:
WE ARE — L39ION of Los Angeles
Homegrown and world-renowned, Legion of Los Angeles continues to disrupt the pro-cycling status quo. Watch as the crew takes on their first UCI stage race of the year, the Joe Martin UCI Stage Race. Anchored by stunning cinematography and a killer soundtrack, take a look inside one of America’s most exciting race teams.
The 2023 Membership Cards are here!
Your 2023 La Grange membership cards are now available. You will want one of these to take advantage of the great offers and discounts from our sponsors such as Bike Improve, Caffe Luxxe, Gilbert’s El Indio, and VeloFix.
They can be found at the following sponsor locations or ask your Board members the next time you see them:
Enjoy ALL of our wonderful partners!
2023 La Grange Partners
La Grange is incredibly lucky to have such awesome partners! With our partners, you can satisfy virtually every aspect of cycling: Apparel, Accessories, Bikes, Repair, and nutrition. We also have partners to assist you when you have to live your non-bike life: Dining, Legal, Real Estate, and Engineering. Log into the La Grange website and check out your member-only benefits.
SOS—Support Our Sponsors
Gilbert’s El Indio
We are thrilled to have family-owned Gilbert’s on board with us this year. Drop by and enjoy some awesome Mexican food and a free soft drink. Tell them LG sent you!
Contact Gilbert’s El Indio…
Canyon Bikes
Start your season right with great savings on mountain bikes, E-mountain bikes, and gear with The Trail Sale. Save up to 30% on in-stock MTB and E-MTBs.
Check it out…
New and Returning Members
Please say hello to our new members who joined in February 2023!
Miguel S., Michael P., Amanda W., and Randall W.
Welcome, everyone!
And in case you were wondering, we don’t include last names here to protect everyone’s online privacy.
LG Event Calendar for March
This calendar is where you’ll find all of our upcoming events IN ONE PLACE. You’ll find both LG On-Bike and Off-Bike events as well as non-LG events. Check it out and bookmark it! Here is the schedule for March. Bold events are LG Team Targeted Events.
March 4 — February LG50 Ride
March 8 — LG Board of Directors Meeting
March 19 — CBR #3
March 24–26 — Victorville Stage Race
March 25 — March LG50 Ride
March 31–Apr. 2 — Tour de Murrieta
Have an event you would like to add? Send a request to Jaycee at jaycee.cary@lagrange.org
