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Copperopolis 2009 - Race Report

Bad Road = Great Race

The 29th annual Copperopolis race took place April 11, 2009 on the traditional 21 miles of bone jarring, tire pinching, carbon crunching roads. Hundreds made the faithful journey to Milton, California with tranquil farms, lazy cows and small county roads. However, on this day, the strategic placement of the porta-potties and VeloPromo tents suggest something very special was about to happen.

Scott and Levi getting ready

One treat this year was none other than Levi Leipheimer of Astana who showed up with his friend Scott Nydam of the BMC Pro Cycling Team. They even pre-registered. The local amateur racers had a chance to "race" against Levi. How fun. Last time he came (2007) wearing stealth black kit, he soloed to victory leaving many wondering just how big is the chasm between an amateur and a real pro. As for Levi, he can't win all the time. This year's title went to Ben Jacques-Maynes of Bissell Pro Cycling Team. Congratulations.

On a side note, the organizers said they were not able to renew the permit this year until last Wednesday due to prior year's naughty behaviors (peeing on the road and such). The officials cleared the permit only as result of Levi signing up for this race. Thank you Levi. Shame on pee pee racers. This is one more lesson for all racers to follow the rules of the race organizers and not take these events for granted. For starters, no public urination and don't throw garbage on the road.

Race just got harder

Lance Armstrong may say, "It's not about the bike", but the racers who come to Copperopolis may say, "It's not about the prize money". The stellar prize list range from $250 to $0 per category (some of the $ prize is paid out with T-shirts currency). No matter, hundreds flock to this event every year and pay their $24 entry fee in exchange for a number pinned to their back. Officials herd the racers for start and good hard fun begins.

If not the prize money, then the course is the real attraction with patchy pavement, 2 hills and "hold on to your teeth" downhill. There were plenty of pinch flats with riders stranded (part of the experience). Potholes and pot bumps were plenty to throw off the riders off their bike and some ending the race early. Finishing racers were worked over pretty good and few even swore never to do it again but they will be back.

Here are some pictures from the event and the official result.

Masters 35+ Category 1, 2, 3
by Brian Choi

Legs cramping...

The master's category was 63 mile (3 laps) started with about 60 racers sprinkled with the usual few "old guys who should be racing pro/1/2". The crisp morning temperature and certain amount of respect for this race made me tense in the beginning. The first lap was bit stressful dodging potholes and racers who were dropping back on the first hill. I should be at the front but instead rode at the very back. I made to the top of the first hill and noticed a quite large group had split at the front indicating that I was definitely on the wrong end of the pack. I figured we raced less than 10 miles at this point so no panic. Then a rider (Joel Robertson of Sierra Pacific) yanks a hard right maneuver down a small ditch and up the bank into a 3 barbed wire fence planting his body in an upside down position. I can only guess he was dodging a pothole or something. Right about this time, a good friend of mine Greg Gambetta of Safeway team apparently hit a large pothole that resulted in a flat tire ending his day early. Too bad because Greg is riding very strong and this is the kind of hard course he would have done well.

After regrouping, I moved to the front and started to pay attention. Beginning of 2nd lap was much faster through the feed zone but I still got my bottle from Sue (wife). She's so good at this feed zone business. At the front, Mike Sayers (formally BMC Pro 2008) rode hard up the main hill causing a major heart ache for the peloton. By my powermeter, this was the hardest 10 minutes of the race at 370 watts overlapped at the end by 5 minutes of 389 watts. By the top, the carnage netted only about 13 riders still hanging on. But the tenacious old guys were not giving up this day as another 20 riders caught back on the flats.

LESSON: Any ex-pro retired within last 12 months can still ride like a pro.

Going into the final third lap, I was mentally preparing for a good dosage of pain. Kevin Metcalf of Specialized Racing Team had even better idea and rolled off the front just as hill started. The pack hesitated for a bit and Kevin never looked back. I was glued to Mike Sayer's wheel as he charged up the hill again. At the top, we had 8 left with Kevin still off the front. The rest of the flat was bit of torment for me debating working to try to catch Kevin or save myself for the final push. I don't like the idea of racing for 2nd place. I kind of worked but noticed that not everyone was working so I skipped several times. Mike Sayer, on the other hand, kept pulling like a real pro. The final hill came upon us and Mike attacked with Kevin still 30 seconds ahead. Rest of us scrambled but Mike was gone. Remaining 4 of us punched ourselves to the top and came down together. Final was everyone for themselves with Kevin Metcalf (Team Specialized Racing) , Mike Sayer (Amgen/Giant Masters Cycing Team), Brian Bosch (Sierra Pacific Racing), Richard Del Valle (Morgan Stanley), Norman Zellers (VOS-Cycles Gladiator), then finally me (Brian Choi) to round out the top 6. You can see the snapshot of the result here

All in all, this was really fun day for me. The first time I raced this in 2007, I finished 50th out of 52 finishers with much agony. In 2008, I finished 13th and this year 6th. Hard work does pay off and seeing the results improve is fun.

Here are the geeky SRM details:

Time: 2 hrs 56 min (official time 22:36)
Average Power: 261W
Normalize Power: 303W
Average Speed: 22.05 mph
Distance: 63.5 miles

Brian's WKO Power File

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