Eric Kenney Wins Tour of the Gila Criterium

With the buzz of the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico surrounding Lance Armstrong and his Astana Team, there was another, lesser known, highlight that commanded a measure of attention. Horizon Organic rider, Eric Kenney won the Category II Criterium in dominating fashion.
With 12 miles to go in the 30 mile race, an attack off the front by three riders in the tailwind section looked like the winning move. And just as the peloton seemed to concede the race, Kenney’s teammate, Max Taam, charged at the front putting Kenney in prime position to bridge the 25 second gap. Once across, Kenney and his breakaway companions were clear for the win – and Kenney looked to be the freshest. “…the closer we got to the finish, the better I felt. I looked over at the others and realized that they were tired.” Kenney said.

PreRace.com Joins Horizon Organic Cycling for 2009.

PreRace.com, an online resource for competitive athletes, has joined Horizon Organic as co-sponsor for 2009 and will be known as Horizon Organic presented by PreRace.com.

Horizon Organic had a successful year in 2008 with a number of riders garnering results at the national level, but due to the economic climate some of the riders were paying their own expenses and a search for additional sponsors became necessary. Reports from the team indicate that Horizon Organic Dairy may be ending their support during this year. This is disconcerting news as the team’s existence and track record of launching young riders to the pro ranks is now in jeopardy.

GS CIAO is the host club for Horizon and is a well-known and highly regarded organization in Colorado. Chris Wherry (former USPRO Champion), Craig McCartney (Savings and Loans), Freddie Rodriguez (Rock Racing) and Andy Bajadali (Kelly’s Benefits), to name a few, have all spent time as amateurs on GS CIAO.

Team management will spend the latter part of the year looking for a replacement for Horizon Organic, and there is a chance that PreRace.com could take over the title sponsor if the start-up business is successful.

“We race most local races, but sending our younger guys to NRC events will be next to impossible if our sponsors can’t contribute.” Said Max Clauson, the team’s manager. “It’s the only way riders can get the exposure to advance their career. It doesn’t happen in office park criteriums…”

Horizon Organic p/b PreRace.com riders for 2009 are: Max Clauson, Michael Cody, Jorge Espinoza, Eric Kenney, Derek Loudermilk, Jim Mohan, Mike Mutzel, Dan Schuetz, Mike Sutter, Max Taam, Nick Traggis, and Aaron Whelan.

For more information, please contact Max Clauson of GS CIAO, maxclauson@comcast.net.

Horizon Organic at the USA Crit Series Finals in Las Vegas

Team  Horizon Organic’s road season came to a close during the 2008 Interbike tradeshow in Las Vegas as Jim Mohan rode to a respectable finish in the USA Crit Series finals.
The Finals, held at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, saw red hot Hilton Clarke of Toyota-United continue his season long dominance by winning the event. The race, however, was marred with crashes and it took a lot of skill and a little luck just to stay in contact with the leaders. This combined with a high average speed resulted with only 39 finishing out of 98 starters. Mohan finished 14th.

For additional information on the race and the series, visit: cyclingnews.com

GS CIAO would like to thank all the sponsors for their support in 2008. With 6 wins and a dozen podium finishes, Horizon Organic was one of the most successful teams in Colorado and hopes for more success in 2009.

Our sponsors can continue to rely on us to be professional and represent your company and products well. We pride ourselves on giving you an added benefit by garnering national exposure through attending and animating a handful of NRC races.

Horizon Organic Cyclist Qualifies for USA Crit Series Finals in Las Vegas

After a solid season and racking enough points on the USA Crit Series calendar, Horizon cyclist, Jim Mohan will compete in the pro invitational event next week.
The USA Crit Finals will take place at night on September 25 in Las Vegas coinciding with the annual Interbike trade show.
The Crit Series Finals will determine the best overall men’s and women’s criterium racers in the US for the 2008 season – a series which began with the Athens Twilight Criterium back in April.
This style of racing is perfect for a Las Vegas venue. With tight turns, a large field (men’s expect to reach 140), and a huge prize list, there will surely be exciting racing as riders have to negotiate a flat, six-turn enclosed course at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Jim Mohan just returned from a similar race in downtown Dallas last week in preparation for the Finals. “I had to do an event like Dallas in case I got in (to Vegas)…it’s very similar,” said Mohan. “You get used to the chaos and the dark; this way you just have to worry about your positioning and tactics.”

To see more information on the Series, visit www.usacrits.com.

Espinoza wins the famed North Boulder Criterium in Boulder, Colorado

Jorge Espinoza of the Horizon Organic team took an exciting heads up sprint against Toyota-United’s Sean Sullivan in Sunday’s North Boulder Criterium.

This race was made famous when it was part of the Coors Classic in the mid-eighties providing international professionals a chance to experience traditional bike racing on American soil. Names like Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault both tasted criterium racing on this course.

It’s new host, Excel Sports, has kept the excitement alive by making it part of this year’s Tour of Colorado – a series of races around Colorado with it’s last leg being the North Boulder Criterium.

The Horizon team looked intent on controlling much of the race with riders in every serious move. Once the breakaway of Espinoza and Sullivan was established it seemed as though it was the winning one. “I was just hoping Jorge wasn’t going to work too much and blow himself for the finish…” said Max Clauson, one of Espinoza’s teammates.

"To win here is definitely a big deal," said Jorge Espinoza, who captured the 75-minute men's professional race after sprinting away from breakaway partner Sullivan.

“It seems like those guys always beat us when they come out to the local races," conceded Espinoza. "It's great to finally get the upper hand. Pretty much everyone on our team lives around here, and we had lots of friends and family come out to root us on."

2008 JUNE RACING UPDATES ::

Race Across America, CA - MD - Tim Case

I recently got back to Colorado after having completed the Race Across America, solo. The RAAM is a 3000 mile bike race, ridden in time trial format, meaning that there is no drafting or team tactics allowed. Just one rider (me) and a race clock that starts in Oceanside, California and ends in Annapolis, Maryland.

The first thousand miles of the race, from Oceanside to Taos, New Mexico was basically a non-stop climb and descent in the heat of the desert. I started off the race behind the eight ball and lost 6 pounds of water weight in the first 50 miles of the race. After a quick stop and bag of IV fluids from my crew, I pressed east. Descending 4000 feet into the Mojave desert was like landing in an oven. We ended up 160 feet below sea level and headed out to Arizona for more climbing. The climate and pace quickly changed as we ascended through to Flagstaff and into Colorado where the climbing continued, including a massive ascent to Antonito, CO, all set at 27 degrees farenheit.

Taos to the Mississippi River was a trip, especially once the saddle sores began to reak havoc on my underside. I basically wasn’t able to soft pedal for about two days and injured my right hip flexor as I struggled to relieve pressure from my ravaged underside. My crew eventually came up with an ingenious solution for the sores which basically took a massage table face cradle, some electrical tape and my original saddle. Relief. Once I was able to focus on something other than the misery of saddle pain we pushed through the great state of Kansas, the Ozarks and Missouri, and on to the Mississippi River.

The final thousand miles of the race was the final chapter of the race, but it was not a foregone conclusion that we’d be finishing the RAAM. They say that half of the climbing in RAAM comes after Kansas and you know, they’re right. Long story short, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are damn hilly. I seemed to have used the previous 2000 miles to warm up and we really cruised up and over most of the 10-20% grades found in the Appalachian mountains.

“Turning the corner” into Maryland was a pretty incredible thing. My crew and I had endured 20-22 hours of riding the bike per day, I had struggled through dehydration, injury, crew mutiny (don’t ask), sleep deprivation, hallucinations and a diet that was about 80% liquid.

As I approached the finish line and the “other” ocean, the Annapolis Fire Department, my crew and my grandmother were all waiting for me to come in, finishing in 11th place in the “world’s toughest sporting event,” as termed by Outside Magazine.
Many kudos to my team, Horizon Organic Cycling, all of our fans, friends and supporters. Not many riders are able to be on a team that endorses a few criteriums in the spring, a 3000 mile bike race in the middle of the racing season, some late season mountain biking and road races and then cyclocross in the fall.

I’ll be back at RAAM next year, probably not in the solo category, but back in Oceanside, for sure.

Thanks again!
Tim Case

Winter Park Hill Climb Winter Park, CO

Horizon Organic Cycling got dirty this weekend at the Winter Park Hill Climb. This race is the kickoff to the Winter Park Mountain Bike Point Series and always brings a big turnout. Horizon Organic rider Nick Traggis, was in attendance to try and repeat upon his Sr Men’s Expert victory from last year.

There is nowhere to hide in this race as it a straight uphill affair from the bottom to the top of the ski resort. As always it started off super fast with a two man break going up the road from the gun. Traggis slowly reeled in the move and countered, at which point it became a see-saw battle between him and the eventual winner. The effects of these early efforts and the altitude saw Traggis fade a bit at the end but he held on for a well deserved third place finish and the final spot on the podium.

The Austin AT&T Downtown Criterium - By Jim Mohan

The Austin Criterium was an electric event this year and we were excited to be there. Most of the hype surrounded the new sponsor, Rock Racing with Michael Ball present to get the festivities started. Since the race is part of the USA Crit series, the best teams in the country had their best sprinters poised to compete for a large cash purse. And we thought we could grab a little too.

Models from Umbrella Girls were escorting the top riders to the start line which is a newly adopted tradition from SuperBike motorcycle racing. Although we didn’t get the “call up,” Max and I had good position from the gun, but Jorge had to move up during the first few laps. It didn’t take long before it was strung out over 30mph. My plan was to stay in the top twenty the whole race and wait for the sprint, but there were some dangerous moves getting clear off the front so I went with a chase group that was ten seconds behind Chris Wherry (Toyota-United) and Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing). It took a good effort for us to reel in the duo but when we did, I had a chance to sprint for a $100 prime – which I lost to Jared Barrileaux (Jittery Joes).

Jorge was finally in good position to mix it up and won a $100 prime halfway through the race. I told him to stay up front for the remainder of the race and fight for position in the final laps. All I wanted to do was have him near me at the finish. After an hour they put up the lap counter at Five to go and we knew it would be a field sprint. I was looking for either Rashaan Bahati’s wheel (Rock Racing) or Ivan Dominguez’s (Toyota-United). When Ivan came by me with three laps to go, I sprinted for his back wheel and it was incredibly hard for me to stay on it. It took all of my mental strength to stay near him at the front, but I was in perfect position for a great result. The course was pretty sketchy and got really dark as the sun went down and there were no street lights! And when your eyes started to adjust to the dark, a camera would flash and blind you for a couple of seconds. It was scary.

Coming up on two to go, a Kelly-Benefits rider (maybe Johnny Sundt?) pushed me to the outside line in the last corner (the fastest corner). It didn’t seem like a problem because I took that same line through the night with no mishaps, but a 35mph it was a different story. Before I knew it I was sliding on my side crashing into the barrier. Race over.

Bummer, but Jorge was in the money list and won a prime. And I didn’t get that hurt (although the pain was pretty bad from hitting the curb!).

View results here: http://www.velonews.com/article/78751/borrajo-wins-in-austin

The eRacing/Stigma Criterium, Austin

The inauspicious ending of the AT&T Criterium was a bad omen for Sunday’s race. With 100 degree heat and high humidity, we were less than psyched to race. “But race we shall!” We’re here, aren’t we?

Riding to the race was about 10k away from the hotel, so it would be a sufficient warmup. I planned my race around two things: wrapping injuries and dealing with the heat. My foot/ankle was ok since I iced it all night and wrapped it tightly before I put on my shoes on. And before I left I filled four Ziplock baggies with ice and shoved them in my pockets. Max and Jorge were making fun of me, but when I gave them some ice before the start, they apologized because it actually works!

Most of the big teams left early on Sunday which made for a small field (only 45), but Rock Racing was in full effect with the overbearing presence of their entire fleet of vehicles. Of course, all of Rock were heavily marked throughout the race, but they managed to get in a break of seven riders – which we missed. Jorge was in good position to make the break, but the high heat and maybe a little complacency kept him with us in the peloton. It was very hot and all my bags of ice had melted before the 30 minute mark. It was too much for Max as he bailed out with about ten laps to go. I was stealing feeds from the Rock Racing team and poured about ten bottles of water over my head during the race. The course, too, was hard... Six turns with a hairpin and Tyler Hamilton crashed in the breakaway and hit his head super hard and cracked his helmet! He was vomiting on the plane ride back to Denver, so he probably had a concussion.

Between the heat and the pain in my foot, I couldn’t do much except follow wheels and hope there were enough places left in the prize list. Half the field dropped out and if you could finish, you were guaranteed a place. Jorge didn’t realize there were any places left because a total of ten guys were off the front. With two laps to go I said, “we need to sprint because they’re paying twenty deep!” He quickly got with me up to the front with a lap to go when... PSSSST! My rear tire blew out. Race over.

All Jorge could do, besides getting 14th place, was laugh.

Many thanks to Susan Espinoza whom took the role of team logistics manager and provided excellent company!

More pics here

2008 MAY RACING UPDATES ::

The 3rd annual Downtown Aspen Criterium - Aspen, Colorado
The 3rd annual Downtown Aspen Criterium was held on a technical one mile circuit through the center of Aspen with the start/finish in front of the historic Wheeler Theater. With such a central location and stunning weather, the race was sure to draw a crowd eager for a good cycling showdown. The lone representative from the Horizon Organic team, Max Clauson, did not want to disappoint. The 60 minute event started fast with several early attacks from local heros looking to flex their high altitude lungs. Clauson quickly brought these moves under control and after only 10 minutes of racing launched a powerful solo attack. Over the next few laps, Clauson steadily built a gap to chasing field and turned the race into a personal time trial. By mid-race, the gap was 45 seconds and still growing. By the end, there was even time to “work the crowd” and get the cheering to a thunderous level for the finish. Ultimately, Clauson won the race with a solid gap of 40 seconds over a tired and frustrated peloton.

View video highlights

2008 APRIL RACING UPDATES ::

2008 Spring Cycling Classic – Lincoln, Nebraska
Eric Kenney (Horizon Organic Cycling) and the Punk Rock Cycling duo of Jane Riessen and Kelli Mente tamed the fierce Nebraska winds to claim the top spots in the 2008 Spring Cycling Classic road race and circuit race, April 12-13. The Boulder standout crossed swords with Matt Landen (UNMC-Team Kaos) both days and managed to get the better of the Omaha resident, who has blazed into the 2008 season with impressive form. Landen's teammate, Ian Gray posted two third place finishes to stamp Team Kaos' authority on the weekend, which included victories in the Men Masters races as well as the Men 5 road race.

1st Eric Kenney (Horizon Organic)
2nd Matt Landen (Nebraska Medical Center/Team Kaos)
3rd  Ian Gray (Nebraska Medical Center/Team Kaos)

Primus Mootry/DBC Criterium – Boulder, Colorado
As a late addition to the American Cycling Racing Calendar, the Primus Mootry Criterium hosted by DBC Events was well received and fairly stacked considering the Tour de Georgia was in its last day.
Phil Zajicek (HealthNet), Michael Cody (Jelly Belly), Andy Bajadali (Kelly’s Benefits), Taylor Phinney (VMG), Successful Living and THF Realty were among the professionals present for the 70 minute criterium.
Horizon Organic had a good showing with six of its top elite riders ready to contend for the win. They displayed “text-book” team work as they were in every serious move. Jorge Espinoza (Horizon Organic) initiated the biggest breakaway as it became the biggest threat of the finale. The break also included strongmen Allessandro Bazzana (Successful Living) and Kelly Ruddick.
With twenty minutes to go in the 70 minute race, the field came back together and it was evident that the race would be decided with a field sprint. With two laps to go, the Horizon Organic riders organized themselves to leadout Jim Mohan for the win. Nick Traggis and Espinoza took Mohan up the inside with 300 meters to go and Mohan sprinted to victory with Bazzana in second and Sheldon Deeny (Empire/Cervelo) in third. It was Horizon Organics first win in Colorado this year.

1st Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic)
2nd Allessandro Bazzana (Successful Living)
3rd  Sheldon Deeny (Empire)

2008 MARCH RACING UPDATES ::

UNC / Promontory Criterium – Greeley, Colorado
In questionable weather and a fairly stacked field including Frank Pipp (Healthnet), Stefano Barberi, Pete Lopinto (THF Realty), Tom Zirbel, Garrett Peltonen (Bissell) and Henk Vogels (Toyota), the Promontory Criterium was as serious as ever. Horizon Organic had only one rider present. Jim Mohan braved the weather and made it to the Greeley course by riding there and back–logging 130 miles for the day.
After the first lap in 25mph winds, the first and only break got away including Mohan, Vogels, Barberi and two UNC riders. The field tried in vain to bring the five riders back, but it was too little, too late as the breakaway lapped the field to sprint for the win.

1st Henk Vogels (Toyota United)
2nd Stefano Barberi (THF Realty)
3rd Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic)

University of Colorado Bikes/Bunnies Easter Criterium
With the empty slot on the National Racing Calendar, every professional residing in Boulder showed up to the start line on this Sunday. This brisk afternoon saw some big hitters taking the 60 minute race very seriously. The field included some Tour de France alum, and current World B Champion, Ivan Stevic (Toyota United).
The pace was full tilt from the gun when Stefano Barberi (THF), Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic), Ivan Stevic and Heath Blackgrove (Toyota United) tried to breakaway in the first lap. However, the pace from the field was too high and soon a small break was able to eek out a lead that would be the winning move. Vogels, Stevic, Ben Day, Justin England (Toyota United), Frank Pipp (Healthnet) and Mike Cody (Jelly Belly) hovered between eight and twenty seconds off the front for the remainder of the race. A small chase group formed including Max Clauson (Horizon Organic), Garrett Peltonen (Bissell) and Tom Danielson (Slipstream/Chipotle), but the determination of the breakaway was too great to allow them to bridge the gap.
Henk Vogels took the win after an hour long average of 28.9mph.

1st Henk Vogels (Toyota United)
2nd Ivan Stevic (Toyota United)
3rd Mike Cody (Jelly Belly)
10th Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic)

University of Denver City Park Criterium
The DU Criterium was the first official race on the Colorado Racing Calendar and it didn’t disappoint any bystanders as a full Toyota/United squad was present, as well as Rock Racing’s Tyler Hamilton.
The race got off to a furious start when a nine man break got off after three laps which included Hamilton, Dirk Friel (Vitamin Cottage), Justin England, Jonny Clark, Henk Vogels (Toyota/United), Pete Lopinto, Stefano Barberi, (THF Realty) Allen Krughoff (Rio Grande) and Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic). This star-studded group lapped the field after twenty minutes and was joined by the duo of Chris Baldwin (Toyota/United) and Jorge Espinoza (Horizon Organic) with 5 laps to go.
There were many attacks from this group in the latter part of the race and it seemed like Tyler Hamilton was going to win his first race since the 2007 National Championships when he and two others got a 6 second gap with two laps to go. Toyota United chased and brought it back to be decided by a field sprint. The craftiness of Pete Lopinto put him in position to win with Hamilton taking second; Jonny Clark was third and Jim Mohan just missing the podium in fourth.

1st Pete Lopinto (THF Realty)
2nd Tyler Hamilton (Rock Racing)
3rd Jonny Clark (Toyota United)
4th Jim Mohan (Horizon Organic)
6th Jorge Espinoza (Horizon Organic)

©2009 Horizon Organic Cycling