Dork from Ork Visits Mt. Hamilton

A sneak preview of the results is here.

Devyani Kamdar Qualifies for Worlds

Temecula, CA -- Tam Cycling's Devyani Kamdar took a convincing win in the Women 45-49 category over C. Jane Harman of Los Angeles at last Sunday's Nissan EXterra West Championships.

XTerra races are like triathlons, but in the dirt, consisting of a 1.5K swim, 30K mountain bike ride and 10K trail run.

Harman was first out of the water followed by Linda Kessman of Trabuco Canyon, but it was Kamdar who set the pace with the fastest bike leg by over 13 minutes. Kamdar finished the race in 3:51:44, over twenty minutes in front of Harman.

This result qualifies her for the EXterra World Championships.

Kambar's next race is the EXterra Italy Championships coming up this June 2 in Sardinia, Italy.

Jacob "Jake" West Violich Mecklenburg

This just in from Julia:

Another cyclist (verified since I had to deal with his kicking over the last five months) has been brought into the world.

Otherwise known as Jake the Snake or "Hollywood", born May 23rd via C-section at 8lb, 6 oz (that means big for little Mama Vee).

Mom and baby are great and hanging at home in the garden (I broke free from the hospital after two days). Jake is eating and pooping well; Mom is a size D (and digging it).

Thanks for all your support.

Timmy K. is Back!

From our Tam Cycling newswire:

Napa, CA -- Timmy K. is back... and he is bad. After a disappointing Lemurian race last month, Timmy Koehler has redeemed himself... BIG TIME! He crushed his opponents at last Sunday's Skyline Park Mountain Bike Race, taking 1st in Sport Men 27-34 (and 2nd overall for the entire Sport class).

In the Sport Men 35-44 division, James Puckett raced to third, narrowly escaping fourth place finisher Yohann Smit.

Back from Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA -- A total of one Tam Cyclist made the trek down to the lush yellow and hot hills outside of Bakersfield last weekend for the Kern County Women's Stage Race hosted by VeloPromo for its tenth year.

The race consists of four stages in three days: a time trial and hill climb on day one; a hilly road race north of Oildale on day two; and then on Sunday, day three, a circuit roadrace around a cemetery in the Tehachapi Hills, just north of Caliente, CA, population 1091.

A full report is scheduled to appear as soon as our Pack Fill Reporter Katie Kelly regains consciousness. So far, we know that she finished 9th overall in the General Classification, four seconds behind California Road Club's Bridgette Lery. Her weekend's best was a 6th place in Sunday's Cemetery Road Race.

However, it was during Stage Three, the Iron Mountain Road Race, that Kelly discovered her sprinters' legs, not from a courageous sprint finish but to dodge a lost and frightened cow.

More to come, maybe.

Many thanks to Bridgette and all the gals from Squadra Ovest for all the laughs and the leadout that never was (but it was fun talking about it!)
Photos provided by Bridgette Lery and Olaf Vanderhoot.

CAT'Stastrophy

Los Gatos, CA -- Only the brilliant result of Joaquim Neto at Berkeley Hills could have washed away the disappointment that was the 2006 CAT's Hill Classic last Saturday. Three out of four DNF's were the numbers of the day with Tom Rosencrantz pulling through with a top twenty finish in the Men's 35+ 4/5 race. Tom overcame his car being broken into, his mountain being stolen and an unruly race official that would not let him start the Elite 4 race. Pete Billington reports.

Nicole Freedman Retires: A Tam Cycling News Special Report

Fort Cronkhite, CA -- It was a bittersweet day yesterday as former Olympian and two-time National Champion Nicole Freedman made her announcement of retirement from the sport of cycling. Newly joined Tam Cyclist Melissa Mooney hosted her retirement party yesterday on the beach at Fort Cronkhite. Tam Cycling News was there.

Olivier Bock Takes Podium at NMBS #1

Fontana, CA -- Friend of Tam Cycling Olivier Bock (Motion Based)took third overall in the Semi-Pro Category at the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series #1 last Friday. The series consists of seven races in all, culminating in the Finals to be held in Snowmass Village, CO, this August.

By earning this podium spot, Olivier has now qualified to race in the pro ranks.

The course was gruelling. Says Olivier:

It was one of the hardest races I've ever done. Hot, dry, no shade, dusty, windy. The course was technical and it took me two laps just to figure out the lines. Mandatory, steep ruts on the descents were uncomfortable on every lap but I managed to stay upright.

Despite an ill-fated flat on lap three (out of four), Olivier managed to finish only two minutes and thirty seconds behind overall winner Manuel Prado (Sho-Air).

Bush Bounces Back at Boggs

Boggs Mountain, CA -- Coming back after some might call a disappointing Wente Road Race, part-time Tam Racer Patrick Bush (Clifbar) took home first place overall by winning the Pro/Expert division at last Saturday's Bogg's Mountain cross country race. He set a course record in the process (2:22).

...it was a bit of an emotional day, knowing that this would be the last time I would race Boggs at the top of my game. I certainly made sure I enjoyed the ride regardless of the results on paper, but victory sure is sweet. Hopefully this is not my last...

You can read Pat's full report here.

Krage Olrich Shines at Shasta Lemurian

This report just in from our Tam Racing newswire:

Whiskeytown Lake, CA -- Krage Olrich won one of the hardest cross country races in Northern California last Saturday, taking first place in the Expert Men 40-44 category at this year's 19th annual Shasta Lemurian cross-country mountain bike race. He finished the 26 mile course in just 2:34.

He was followed in hot pursuit by fellow Tam Cyclist Tom Rosencratz who finished second with a time of 2:48.

Jon Ardell also stepped it up with a fifth place finish in the Expert Men 35-39 category with a 2:42. In the same category was Alex McSwain earning the tenth place spot at 3:04. Chris Mann was 17th at 3:37.

In the Single Speed race, Doug Gadow rocked with a 3:21 time. And our boy Olivier Bock secured a fine fifth spot in the Pro field with a time of 2:18.

Complete results available here.