Youth and Juniors Train and Race for Free at Encino
3/29/06 - The Encino Velodrome is pleased to announce that the Encino Velo Cycling Club (EVCC) is sponsoring junior and youth training and racing for the entire 2006 season. Licensed (Juniors) and unlicensed (Youth) riders with racing ages 18 and under pay NO velodrome fees for training and race in their respective categories absolutely free throughout 2006 (only the Junior State Championships will have an entry fee). And that includes bike rentals, too! This is a fabulous opportunity to grow participation levels among Juniors and Youth. And don't forget, Thursday is Youth night and a great way to introduce your youngster to riding on the velodrome. Bring your kids out, tell your friends with kids and lets grow the sport we all love.

The San Clemente Challenge - Great Racing and a Great Cause
3/28/06 - The San Clemente Challenge returns on May 21, 2006. The Challenge takes place on a 2.3 mile closed loop in the beautiful Talega Resort. Elite and amateur racers from up and down the West Coast will compete for an $8,000 prize list. All proceeds from race will be donated toward the building of a long needed community swimming pool in San Clemente. more >

Redlands Classic Stage Race, Stage 2 & 3 Report - By Dan Vinson
3/28/06 - Beaver Medical Group Criterium (90 minutes): The course was a technical nine corner criterium with a slight uphill finishing straight. Typically, by the time the Classic criterium rolls around, there are around 100 to 140 riders left in contention. more >

O'Neill and Neben Take the Overall at the Redlands Classic
3/27/06 - Nathan O’Neill of the Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis entered the final 142 km stage of the Redlands Classic with the same 12-second advantage over Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United) he had after the opening prologue. And that’s where it ended, but not before Baldwin and his teammates made an effort of it. Fast man JJ Haedo (Toyota-United) won the final stage. On the women's side, Amber Neben, riding as a composite rider for local team SC Velo, won the prologue by 3 seconds over Kristin Armstrong (TEAm Lipton). The next day in the crit, TEAm Lipton worked hard to set up Armstrong for the time bonuses moving her into the lead. Sunday's Sunset Road Race was the final stage and last chance for Neben to regain her lead. The second time up the climb, she attacked solo leaving the remaining 9 riders in the lead group behind finishing 2:15 ahead of the pack and moving herself back into the lead for the overall win.

Landis to Skip the Giro
3/26/06 - Recent Tour of California winner, Floyd Landis, will not be competing in this year's Giro d' Italia as originally planned. Floyd and the Phonak management have decided that it would be best to sit out the Giro in order to prepare for the Tour and the yellow jersey.

Current US Time Trial Champion, Chris Baldwin (Toyota-United)
took 2nd place in the Redlands Classic Time Trial.

The First Annual Ventura County Classic Kicks Off April 1st
3/23/06 - Amgen Cycling Club is hosting it's first event in Thousand Oaks on Saturday April 1st. Called the Ventura County Classic, the event is a one-day criterium on a 1.5 mile closed course that consists of mostly flat road with one small climb and good pavement. The course uses part of the Amgen Tour of California Thousand Oaks Circuit Race. The Ventura County Classic is being held the day before the Garrett Lemire Memorial Grand Prix in Ojai, and will add to a weekend of great racing in Ventura County. The First Annual Ventura County Classic will feature a cash purse of $11,000, custom trophies for the winners, and will feature “The Zone” for all spectators to participate in. For more information on the event, go to www.velogen.org.

Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Starts This Saturday, March 25th
3/23/06 - The Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Track Race Series begins this Saturday, March 25th. Four award types (best overall, best sprinter, best endurance racer and most aggressive) will be given on the basis of points acquired during Bob Hansing Memorial Cup Series designated Omniums at the Encino Velodrome in each of five competitive categories: 1/2/3, Masters 40+, Women, 4/5, and Juniors. more >

Chris DeMarchi (SoCalCycling.com) wins the Cat 2 Crit
at SDSR with a powerful sprint. photo © SoCalCycling.com

San Dimas Stage Race Report - By Dan Vinson
3/22/06 - The 7th annual San Dimas Stage Race, held from March 17-19, 2006, was a sold out show for most categories, including the "Pro 1's" who had 125 riders to contest an uphill time trial, a challenging road race, and a technical criterium over three days of racing. About half the field were professionals, including riders from Toyota-United Pro, Heath Net, Jittery Joes, Navigators, Successfulliving.com, and Kodak Gallery.com, among others. more >

Conquer the Canyons Westlake Village Stage Race, April 22-23
3/20/06 - The folks at MESP have ventured into the sport of road racing and will be putting on the Conquer the Canyons Westlake Village Stage Race, April 22-23. The event will be comprised of three stages: a time trial, a circuit race and a road race, with a $7,500 cash purse. MESP has increased the Road Race distances and is offering a $10 Discount to all USCF Racers before April 5th. I have competed in several MESP events, including a Mountain Bike race at Castaic Lake and was on a Celebrity Relay Team at the Nautica Malibu Triathlon several years in a row, with Ellen K from KIIS FM and Eva from Bay Watch. They put on top notch events and are always alot of fun.

Worldwide Race Coverage on VeloNewsTV
3/17/06 - Have you ever wanted to check out the Euro Race Coverage, but don't have OLN? Well, now you can. VeloNews has launched VeloNewsTV, which shows race highlights featured in a profesionally edited format. The Paris-Nice version shows each stage, including Floyd dropping the hammer and taking the lead. Phil Ligget's other half, Paul Sherwin provides the voice. SoCalCycling.com gives it two thumbs up. Way up! more >

Torrance Criterium this Sunday
3/17/06 - For all of you that aren't racing the San Dimas Stage Race this weekend, the Torrance Criterium is going on this Sunday. This also gives those riders that may not make the time cut or have a mechanical at SDSR a second chance to get some good racing in.

San Dimas Stage Race Gearing Up for This Weekend
3/16/06 - We were out doing our usual ride at Bonelli Park last evening, when we came across the SC Velo crew working hard getting the road course ready for all of the racers this weekend. This race offers some great courses and a good quality field. If you ever want to see what its like to ride the Bonelli course hard and fast, then come try the Buds Ride starting next month after the time change.

Tour de Murrieta

Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team Podiums at the Central Valley Classic
3/14/06 - Unprecedented cold weather, snow, and grueling winds at the Central Valley Classic forced race directors to change the course of Friday's Time Trial on March 10th, but it still resulted in a win for Toyota-United's (TUT) former New Zealand National Time Trial Champion Heath Blackgrove. The new 17.1-mile course was mastered by Blackgrove who completed the ride in 36 minutes and 41 seconds. TUT's Tony Cruz finished close behind capturing third place, with Jose Manuel “Chepe” Garcia, also among the top 10 finishers. more >

Floyd Landis Wins Paris-Nice and is the First Leader of the ProTour
3/12/06 - Our boy, Floyd (Phonak) is off to a great start this season after winning the Tour of California two weeks ago and now winning Paris-Nice. His Phonak Team helped him defend his slim 9 second lead in the final hilly stage and clinch the Overall GC. This win also gave him enough points to become the leader of the ProTour. Recently, Eddy Merckx said he thinks Floyd has what it takes to win the Tour de France and so do we. Check out Floyd looking like Kid Rock with his podium shades on.

Floyd Landis Takes the Lead in Paris-Nice
3/8/06 - Fresh off of his Amgen Tour of California win, Floyd Landis (Phonak), crushed the competition in the hilly 168.5km third stage of Paris-Nice, taking the overall leader's jersey from Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic). more >

Roulston & Bausch Take the McLane Pacific Foothills Road Race
3/6/06 - Day two of the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic featured the Foothills Road Race, which is held on the outskirts of Merced. There are not any major climbs, but the course is challenging due to the winding roads, rolling hills and cold crosswinds on the 24 mile loop. In the women's race, most of the major teams, including T-Mobile, TEAm Lipton, Colavita/Cooking Light, Victory Brewing, Webcor, and McGuire were represented in a break that saw So Cal's Dotsie Bausch (Colavita/Cooking Light) take the win with a solo attack with 1 k to go. In '98, I watched my Ralphs/Klein teammate, Joan Wilson, win this race the same way with 1 k to go, as we blocked. On the men's side, Hayden Roulston (Health Net/Maxxis) took a solo flyer from a group of 12 taking the win ahead of Ivan Dominguez (Toyota-United) and Mark McCormack (Colavita-Sutter Home).

Jones and Charameda Win at the McLane Pacific Downtown Crit
3/6/06 - This weekend, Merced was host to the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic, an NRC event, which brought out all of the top teams ready to get the season underway. Mike Jones (Health Net PB Maxxis) soloed ahead of Jackson Stewart (Kodakgallery.com-Sierra Nevada) and Mark McCormack (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home) in the McLane Pacific Downtown Crit. In the women's race, old school speedster Laura Charameda (McGuire) outprinted Laura Yoisten (Victory Brewing) and German Christina Becker (T-Mobile) for the win.

Mike Jones (Health Net PB Maxxis) tops the podium.
photo © Jason Kent

Thanks to our friends at Protech Skincare for including SoCalCycling.com in the Go Levi Mobile Village at all of the Tour of California Stages!