The season has begun and as always it is a mix of our team members doing some group training rides (slams) on various terrain and of course starting to test their fitness in early season races. One of the rides that have a mix of road and gravel is the yearly Hell of Hunterdon.

Andreas did this for the first time this year and had a great time. He rolled in first over the line in what he described as being a well-organized ride with variable and changeable terrain (82 miles with 5,000 feet of climbing, 15 miles of gravel sections). Attendance was substantial as about 900 riders showed up. Road races can only dream about such attendance these days. Beards , gravel and Craft Beers Rule.

Roger@FinKraft

www.finkraftcoaching.com

This past weekend Finley lined up with the big girls and took 5th in the open cat 2 women. Turned out to be a really long race at XC speeds and was definitely a solid day on the bike for anyone.

Dad placed 2nd in the 45+ race after a good battle to the line.

Sierra’s race report:

This weekend, March 17th, marked the beginning of my racing season. I raced at the Frank G. Bonelli park in San Dimas, California. The days leading up to the race I was feeling slightly nervous but on race day I was excited and ready for the race. I lined up next to only one other girl in my category 3 under 14 race. Thankfully there were other women that started at the same time as me so I could race more than one person. Right from the get go I noticed something was a little fishy. After the whistle blew I started my race fast like I always do but once I reached the first climb which was not too far, I saw that nobody else was with me. I maintained my first place position throughout the race and even passed some people from the men’s race. The views on the ride were so beautiful that I felt like I was in a Trip Advisor commercial. There weren’t many technical sections of the course but there were a lot of long steep climbs. Upon my return to the venue my dad confessed that he had made a mistake when registering me into the race. A few months ago I was upgraded to category 2 racing but my dad must have forgot so he put me in the category 3 race. In the end I am looking forward to racing next weekend in Temecula, California and being in the correct category.

Sierra

On Saturday, March 9th, Frank Jr made the trip to Manhattan to race the Grant’s Tomb crit. It was only the 2nd time ever racing on the road bike and his first crit race. Frank was pretty excited no doubt. At the start line he lined up with all the junior categories ranging from 11-12 all the way to 17-18 with some pretty fast guys. Considering the race is only 35 minutes long it’s best to stay close to the front. Frank looked for an early break, but the attacks did not start happening until in the last few laps. As the older category tried to pull away Frank was able to bridge up to them. By that point in the race there was only half a lap to go until the sprint. Coming into the last turn, the rest of the pack caught back up and it came down to a massive field sprint. Frank was still able to come across the line first in his age class.

Quite a debut in crit and road racing for Frank and more to come of course this season. Frank will soon hit the dirt too and start the season full gas. Awesome day for our junior rider.

P.S Frank’s dad Frank O’Reilly Sr. also raced and took 9th place in the Masters 40+ category.

Roger@FinKraft

www.finkraftcoaching.com

3 hours of Santos, Florida MTB festival

Al Blanchard and Karen & Jeff Tripp all made the RV Camping trip down to FL and took part in the Santos MTB festival/race. Al and Karen both podiumed (both 3rd) and Jeff was 7th. All three did the 3-hour MTB race on the beautiful Santos trails. Good times on and off the bike.

Karen is no stranger to winning a National Championship. She has won in CX and MTB before and medaled on the road as well. Karen had a perfect race, stuck to the plan and rode her own race. Karen also had a great build up & preparation for this race throughout the whole. Definitely one of her main goals this CX season and she was ready to execute. We arrived early to Louisville and we had plenty of time to get comfortable with the course layout and equipment prep, so you can say she had the course dialed. On race day conditions were challenging, but with smooth bike changes and 100% focus Karen dominated the race from start to finish.

Our FinKraft Team is super proud of Karen taking home the Stars & Stripes.

In Louisville, KY Cyclocross Nationals most races were on slippery or muddy conditions, but on Friday when the 50-54 category were on the course it miraculously was pretty dry and tacky. Roger had a front row start and pretty much was charging at the front of the race then entire time, dueling with multiple time National and World Champion Don Myrah. Race was wire to wire all the way to the last climb of the course where the race pretty much was decided. Roger and Don both knew who ever crested the top of the hill first would win. Some lapped traffic might have affected the outcome, but that’s racing and whoever crosses the line first wins. Don got the better of Roger this time, but one of the most exciting races all week no doubt.

Frank O’Reilly also raced in the 45-49 category on Friday, but even just minutes after Roger’s race the rain started and the course turned into mud and slop immediately. Todd Peterson lined up in the Single Speed race the following day and conditions were epic to say the least.