WARNERVILLE 2009

Warnerville Road Race an Epic day!
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The Inaugural Warnerville Road Race took place this last Sunday. This race had it all... • Howling 20+ mile an hour winds• A grueling 1.3 mile rutted gravel section with rocks and potholes• Two railroad crossings• An oil slick• Fast descent section• Uphill finish This race will become a classic that everyone will circle on their calendars. With the features listed above, it was truly an epic day. But, to top it all off... This race marked the day the peloton saw the return of DBC Master's great teammate, Jason Eiserich. After taking a year off, Jason was making his debut back to competitive racing. As you know, Jason suffered some wrecks that would have stopped the average person from racing again. Back to back broken collar bones with surgery to mend the wounds were, to say the least, an awful experience. Yes, it was great day of racing, but having Jason along side us made it an epic day! Jason, the DBC Masters welcome you back to racing and look forward to riding with you this season. I know I speak for the entire team when I say we missed you.
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Warnerville was a great Race! Thank you Velo Promo! We look forward to hopefully seeing this Race again next year...

Thanks to all that came out today... Rod
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We're from Davis... Seems like a light breeze to me! What 30/40mph winds.

Trust me the wind is there... Argghhhh!

Our DBC Masters favorite... HTFU'n

What the DBC Masters are all about... The very best Teammates!

In addition to Rod's report on DBC Masters good showing at Warnerville.

Below is a report from one our newest Team Member, and his thoughts about Racing and Riding with the DBC Masters... Enjoy

Hey team, Bariani was my first race and I thought that was a good test of my new racing skills. Warnerville being my second race ever and now with a combined group of 4/5s, I really only had a goal of finishing with a group or not very far back. Well I did end up finishing on my own but I will get to that later.

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The race started with a 3 mile neutral start with the wind at our backs. DBC broke into two small groups within the pack with one group at the front and me in the second a hand full of riders back. Once we turned onto Warnerville Road, I was trying to get my bearings in the pack and keep track of the other DBC riders. The first few miles were a right cross/head wind that was pretty strong and I was trying to stay on the left side of the pack. Towards the first turn I crept to the front of the pack meeting up with other DBC riders. After the first turn we got a bit of tail wind and Rod, Nelson and Derek wanted (I believe) to drive the pack through the next few turns in order to keep it strung out somewhat. Once we got into the long straight away before the unpaved section, we let up on the pace. The tailwind and rollers felt good and I was getting used to the riders around me. Then we hit the unpaved section. All I wanted to do through this section was to survive. We had a few DBC towards the front going in. I slide back some places through this section, staying somewhat away from most riders. After coming out of this section, I thought it was hard drudging through it, but I found a good line and would stick to it through the other two laps. We finally came up tothe turn onto Warnerville Road (W.R.) and hit the wind again.

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I felt the second lap was pretty sweet. Again I found myself towards the front of the pack keeping my eye out for other DBC guys. At one point I saw that a DBC rider was up the road with two other guys. I think this was towards the end of W.R. And I found myself with Derek and Rod at the front of the main pack. Rod was great in his direction through the next few miles. We tried to control the pack in order to allow Nelson to get a bigger gap. Rod and I would chase down riders who wanted to bridge the gap. At one point two Z-Team riders tried to organize and catch the break. I broke out in front and quickly started to soft pedal slowing them down. I tried to stay in between them as they were trying to switch off. I thought I was successful in breaking their rhythm to the point that they gave up. Somewhere down the road I drifted back a few places on the right side of the pack. I looked left and drifted ever so slightly as a rider came up the right side. It was almost the end of the race for me because he hit me. I stayed up, but he rode his bike through the ditch and eventually back up onto the road. He had some good handling skills. Right before the unpaved section I found myself towards the front getting a draft off of a big guy.We turned onto the road with a slight head wind. I decided it was best to drift back in the pack a little getting some draft and conserving energy over the dirt. Again I found my line and survived it.

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Coming out of the unpaved section, the break didn't survive. I guess a guy flatted and Nelson and the third guy couldn't keep the pace. We absorbed them and it was good to see a DBC guy in the pack. I was concentrating so hard that I didn't realize we lost a substantial portion of the pack in unpaved section and the rest of the DBC riders. A Z-Team rider was organizing the pack to echelon to separate us from the chase group. At certain points there were about half dozen guys working a echelon but it never got super organized. I guess enough to keep us out front. I was just trying to survive this 5.5 mile stretch in the wind with this group. At times I thought I was burning the match at both ends and soon I would pop. We made the last turn off of W.R. And got the tailwind. I knew this was good because I could finally get some rest for my legs. At certain points Nelson and myself were driving the train. At one point I told him that I wasn't sure I could drag myself through the unpaved with the group. We made that final turn into the unpaved section and I did as before. I was at the front and then drifted back 6-12 guys getting a draft and conserving energy. I found my line and stuck to it. I ended up making it through with the front group. I tried to get some drafts to recover from the dirt. The pace was slow at first, 11mph at one point I think.

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The pace started picking up and I found myself on the left turning onto W.R. And a strong cross/head wind. After a bit of this I decided to drive up front and saw Nelson driving it. I got in next to him to protect him from the wind and give him a rest. From there we tried to drive it home, trading on and off being in the wind. I really didn't know it until the end but we broke 15-20 riders into two groups of 7 and 8-13. We crested the last hill and Nelson said he would lead me out. I thought I felt good but as soon as we hit the last uphill to the finish, I went over some rough road, shifted a few gears lower and thought my legs were going to give out. I wanted to finish with the pack but they were driving it, Nelson looked back and I could only shake my head that I wasn't going to make it up with those six guys. It may have been psychological (being the second race) or fatigue. I drifted back and looked to see how much of a gap I had on the other riders. It was a good gap and I wasn't going to let them over take me. I finished by myself but in seventh place and ahead of that group. Rod also tells me that I probably finished 1st amongst the Cat 5's. Good race guys and thanks for the support.

Lessons Learned:

1. I am strong enough to ride with 4s.

2. I need better climbing legs for uphill finishes into the wind.

3. I need to leave my guts on the road at the finish. (Personal comment... I like that one)

4. DBC is a "GREAT" group of guys to ride with.