USGP #3 pics

Here are some pics of the Mecer cup.

Last weekend me and my brother and father traveled to Trenton New Jersey. It was the third USGP race we went to that year but this one was gonna be really muddy. We decided not to go to the course on friday to look at it because it was a little drizzling and it was really windy, so we went to our host house right away. The next morning when we got to our race you could see already that it was really muddy which I was excited about. Me and my brother looked at the course how and where we should ride it. We looked at it 2 or 3 times then we gave our bikes to the mechanics to clean them and that we could go warm up. We went on the road to warm up. We were pushing each other to go harder at the warm up so that we would get a good start. When it was time to line up we went down to the starting area. I was able to start in the first row because I picked a good number. When the gun went off then i was shooting out of my starting position and just sprinted as hard as I could. I got the hole shot plus I had a little gap to the other people into the dirt section. When I got onto the mud I gave them some more meters. I kept on hammering the hole time. I switcher my bikes like every half lap because it was so muddy and the bike would get heavier if you wouldn't change. One time when I cam in the pit my dad was holding a green, whitish bike, then I looked down at my bike and first said to myself that the bike my dad is holding isn't my bike. So I yelled at him that it isn't my bike in german. So at the time I got to him he hadn't switched it yet, s just threw my bike down and waited till he got my bike. It didn't take to long but the Jeffery Bahnson who was in second was closing down a lot, but when I got my bike I took of again and opened the gap up again. So I crossed the finish line in first place.1.Yannick Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
2.Jeffrey Bahnson (Thule / Van Dessel)3.Cody Kaiser (California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized)
4.Skyler Trujillo (Niner)
5.Robin Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
6.Matthew Spinks (Team Metra / Wendy’S P/B Cycles 54)
7.Jesse Keough (Clnoonan/Kam/Coast To Coast)
8.Gunnar Bergey (C3- Athletes Seving Athletes)
9.Joshua Lehmann (Sunapee/S&W/Continental Paving Racing Team)
10.Andrew Bennett (Team Redline)
11.David Kessler (Clif Bar Development Team)
12.Jeremiah Dyer (Hudz-Subaru Jr-Development Cx)
13.Jacob Arnold (Pioneer Racing)14.Chris Wallace (Kccx/Navigators Insurance/Verge)
15.Stuart Wight (Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team)
16.Kolben Preble (Hammer Velo)17.Cam Mancuso (Death Row Velo)
The second day was just an awesome day as the first. I started in the second row and i didn't get off the start as good as I did the day before. I was like in 8th or so. Then when we started going into the dirt I was starting to pass a lot of people. Then when I got to the front i just kept on hammering and nobody could hold my will at the beginning. jeffery Bahnson caught me again and then I just attacked again and got a gap again. The next lap again he was on my wheel again and then i just attack one more time and i was gone for the rest of the race. The race wasn't as muddy as before, it was just harder mud, so some section by running was faster. So i crossed the finish line in first with a nice gap to second.Also this time nothing went wrong in the pit either which was good but it wasn't as much switching bikes because the mud was drying out.
1.Yannic[Photo]k Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)2.Jeffrey Bahnson (Thule / Van Dessel)
3.Stuart Wight (Hot Tubes Development Cycling Team)
4.Robin Eckmann (Clif Bar Development Cross Team)
5.Chris Wallace (KCCX/Navigators Insurance/Verge)
6.Cody Kaiser (California Giant Strawberries/Specialize)
7.Skyler Trujillo (NINER)
8.Matthew Spinks (Team Metra / Wendy’s p/b Cycles 54)
9.Jesse Keough (CLNoonan/KAM/Coast to Coast)
10.Andrew Bennett (Team Redline)
11.Joshua Lehmann (Sunapee/S&W/Continental Paving Racing Team)
12.Kolben Preble (hammer velo)
13.Gunnar Bergey (C3- Athletes Seving Athletes)
14.Jeremiah Dyer (HUDZ-Subaru Jr-Development CX)
15.Benjamin Wolfe (Mystic Velo Juniors)
16.Paul Lynch (CL Noonan/Coast to Coast/KAM)

I want to say a thank you to my Dad and to TJ who helped me out in the pit. I couldn't have done it with out them.

Yannick Eckmann Sweeps USGP Weekend, Takes Series Lead

Middle School 'Cross - 2009

Hello Everyone!!

This last week, many of the kids in the Boulder Valley School District, and other districts too, had no school on Wednesday due to Veterans Day. So our very own Ben Turner and the founder of Middle 'Cross Mike Eubank decided that on a day off, what's not better than having a 'cross race? With that being said, they organized a fun-filled non-competitive race at a local Middle School for kid’s grades six through eight. The Clif Bar Team was a supporter, so Yannick, Robin, Brady, Zane and myself decided to go and help out. I arrived right as the races were beginning and saw a "jaw dropping" seventy middle schoolers out on 'cross bikes! The event started out with a couple of warm-up laps and then some "hot laps" consisting of six racers followed one of the Clif Bar team members. Shortly there after, the real racing began. The race organizers created two groups of racer's; girls, and the boys. As the 6-7 racers approached the line the tension felt the same as a regular weekend race. Kids were shedding of their sweatshirts, making sure their shoes were tied, and putting their bikes in a viable starting gear. "BOOM!", the gun sounded, and the kids were off to the races. The starting straight was a 50-yard long grass field, followed by cornering around trees, riding through mini sandpits, and of course having to dismount for barriers! As the day went on, it seemed like the kids started having more and more fun. After the races, they would go around to the "Evol" burrito tent to gain some energy, head over to the Boulder Cycle Sport tent to get their bike tuned up, and of course, collecting stickers from all the sponsors. In the end, I talked to a lot of the kids at the end and they all said they had a great time and love cycling. At the end of the day, it's not who wins, or who's the best, it all comes down to having a passion for the sport and having fun!

Cheers,
Zack Gould

Photos Courtesy of Brandon Dwight

Cycle-Smart International

This past weekend, Nate, Mitchell, and I all raced at the Cycle-Smart International, rounds 9 and 10 of the NECCS. Day 1 was sunny and dry and FAST. From the start, the race broke apart. While Nate had some trouble behind, I jumped into the second chase group. At the end, the chase group split apart. I sprinted in for 3rd behind 2 Canadian dudes and Nate came in 8th. Later that day was the Elite/ U23 race, Mitchell's race. Not 100 meters after the start, a huge pile up took down half the race. Mitchell was only heald up. Mitchell rode his way back up to 17th in the Elite race and 4th in the U23s.

The next day was the exact conditions. Again, the race broke apart fast. Nate and I were in the second chase group. Nate rode a beautiful race and snagged 3rd. I rode in for a 4th place. In the Elite/ U23 race, another pile up accured 25 meters after the start. Mitchell, again, had to work his way back into the race. Mitchell worked his way back up to 5th in the U23s and 23rd in the Elites.

All in all, it's been a great weekend for Clif Bar!

A special thanks to the guys at Pedro's! They were a great help to Nate, Mitchell, and me.

Boulder Cup Zero Waste

Not only was the Boulder Cup race an important race for us due to that it was a UCI race so close to home, we also had the zero waste stations set up again. Our team took on the goal to make the Boulder Cup as environmental friendly as we could. The team once again set up the Trash, Recycling, and Compost stations threw out the venue. Everyone on the team helped out threw out the day monitoring these stations and helping people sort out what they may have thrown away and put them into the right bins. By the end of the day the recycling and compost bins had to be emteyd numerous times, while the trash bin stayed extremely empty. Here are some of the figures that came out of the Boulder cup race.

We recovered:
1,264 pounds of material threw recycling and composting
Which was 85% of all the stuff discarded that day

We Saved:
37 gallons of Gasoline in energy Savings
3,866 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

We avoided:
7.1 pounds of air pollution
1.8 pounds of water pollution
3.5 pounds of toxic herbicides(that threaten plants, wildlife, humans and our food system)
1,417 pounds of substances that threaten human health(including carcinogens, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds)

We also need to give a huge thanks to Eco-Cycle for helping us out with this and making it all possible.

Valmont Bike Park Zero Waste

A few weekends ago fellow teammate David Kessler and I took part in heading up the Zero Waste program at the Valmont Cylo-Cross race. For those unfamiliar with this program, its main mission is to reduce the amount of waste that goes into landfills. This is accomplished by placing different stations around a venue. There are 3 bins; Trash, Recyclables, and Biodegradable objects.

We set the stations up bright and early before any race started to maximize the amount of savings. People were using them wisely and helping to make this Earth a better place. By the end of the day, all the bags were pretty full except the trash. It amazes me how much is wasted day to day.

Here are some statistics from the event:

-851.76 pounds of materials through recycling and compost which was 77% of all the materials collected.

-We saved 35 gallons of gas in energy savings

-1,838 pounds of greenhouse gases eliminated

-Our event saved:

-3.6 pounds of air pollution

-1.7 pounds of water pollution

-1.6 pounds of toxic herbicides that threaten plants, wildlife,

humans and our food systems

-387 pounds of substances that threaten human health,

including carcinogens, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds

Imagine the savings on a global scale!

Blue Sky velo cup/ Boulder Cup

Last Weekend was the Blue Sky Velo Cup and the Boulder cup. I started in the junior 15-18 elite field that started 2 minutes behind the Cat.3 field. The first race was out near Longmont. It was a really muddy race. When we started my brother Robin got the whole shot and I was in 6th place. Then i started to move up when it went down the back side of the course. Before it went back up to the sand pit I took over the lead. I had pretty good tires on so I had a good grip and basically took of there from the other people. At the top of the hill then I caught the first cat.3 riders. I picked the cat.3 riders up one by one, sometimes in packs. Going into the 2 lap then I was only 26 seconds behind the leader of the 3's. I rode as fast as I could to catch the leader of the 3's. Before the barriers at the top I was on his back wheel and past him after the barriers then. After I passed him then I decided not to play around and slow down I kept a nice hard pace up. One lap to go then I just watched out that I wouldn't crash because I knew that I won. So I crossed the finish line in first place in the juniors field, but I also crossed the finish line in first in the cat.3 field. I don't get placed in the cat.3 field because I was starting in the junior 15-18 field. I think I also did so well because I changed my bikes like every lap so I got a new clean bike that runs fluently and smooth.

Yannick Eckmann David Kessler

Zack Gould Robin Eckman

Danny Hiller Yannick, Zane Godby

I want to give out a thank you to my awesome pit crew and all the people who came and cheered.

1st Yannick Eckmann

2nd Robin Eckmann

3rd Skyler Trujillo

4th David Kessler

5th Zack gould

The next day the race was at the Boulder Reservoir it was amazing that it wasn't muddy or anything. I raced again in the junior 17-18 filed that started 2 minutes behind the 3's again. My brother got the whole shot again and I was right behind him. I took over the lead after a U turn on the very far back side of the course, because my brother had a problem with his wheel. I got instantly a gap to all the riders in my field. I was happy that i was in first place that lap because there was a prime also in the first lap that who ever crosses the sand after the bike pit first from the field would get a prize. So I got that and also had passed some of the 3's riders. So i was chasing the 3's down once again. Both days my goal was to pass the leader of the 3's. That day I didn't catch the 3's leader so fast because the ground was dry so everybody went a bit faster and it was so difficult because there was no mud. At one point I saw a time by the finish that said how far back we were behind the leader of the 3's. The first time I looked after 2 laps was 1:40 min I knew that i had to put a lot more power in to catch the leader that day. The next lap then was 1:15 min, then 35 sec, then the next lap I saw him and it was only 15 sec left to him. I caught him 4 laps to go then. I passed him right away and I kept going just not full power anymore. I tried to have more fun then, like speeding through the sand like the elites. It felt good because all the people would like yell and all that and that made me feel like I was in the elite race. I finished in 1st place that day in the juniors and unofficially in the 3's again.

Zack, Zane, Danny, Yannick Robin Yannick

Yannick Eckmann Zane Godby enjoying the sand

David Kessler Robin Eckmann

Danny Hiller Zane Godby

Zack Gould Zane Godby, new way to get over the barriers

I want to give a thank you again for the people who were at the Boulder Reservoir cheering and watching and just for being there. It is just a great atmosphere when so many people come and watch the race. It makes me go even faster at some points.

Also a thanks to my pit crew again. Unfortunately I didn't have to change but you never knows what can happen.

1st Yannick Eckmann

2nd Robin Eckmann

3rd Skyler Trujillo

4th David Kessler

Yannick

350 around the world

Downeast 'Cross

Last Saturday and Sunday, Curtis and I raced in maine for the 7th and 8th rounds of the Verge series. The conditions were extremely muddy both days. It was freezing and rainy on Saturday. It was nice and warm on Sunday, but muddy because they just ran the previous day's course backwards. I started out well on saturday and got the hole shot with Curtis right behind. I had too big of a gear for the extremely thick mud, so I went right back to 7th place. My legs just didn't work. (This was also due to poor race preparation on my part...) Curtis was with the leaders for most of the race and finished fifth. A few of the top finishers were mountain bikers, so they had an advantage in the woods section. On sunday, I used my dad's bike because it had a 39T little ring, which was needed for the mud. Again, Curtis was second off of the start and I led. Curtis and I changed bikes every half lap, which was extremely helpful. Curtis was with the third place rider for the majority of the race. I caught up to him in the long woods section. We were going to try to catch second and third place but his gears were shifting all over the place on a climb, forcing him to run. Curtis and I both held our spots for the next two laps to finish in 4th and 5th place. I learned a good lesson on saturday. A successful weekend overall for the New England Clif squad!