With rain looming overhead, riders looking for upgrade points before the “real” race season gets underway competed in the final “Upgrade Race” at the Off Season Crit Upgrade Point Series in Ontario last Sunday. Both CBR and Majestic Cycling each put on an Upgrade Series which consisted of three races each during the off season. This gave the riders a good opportunity to earn upgrade points, practice their skills and keep racing during the Fall months, which are traditionally spent cross training, logging in base miles or racing cyclocross and mountain bike events.
The Off Season Crit Upgrade Point Series which was held on a four corner rectangle course made for some long stretches, as the riders wore more clothing than normal by SoCal standards due to the cold weather.
In the Cat 2/3 race, with a few laps remaining, Rock Sports Racing had Tim Woo on the front to bring back a lone attack from a Team Redlands rider only to find himself off the front of the race with Nicholas Tarrant who had tagged on to his wheel. The two tried to evade a hard charging field, but Team Simple Green/Bike Religion’s John Van Dyke took the win fairly easily by a bike length.
Racers will soon get a chance to hunt for points again when the race season kicks off on January 13th at the Ontario Series Grand Prix. For more info on upcoming events, please check out SoCalCycling.com’s Race Calendar.
Photo © Frank Sarate / SoCalCycling.com
