Race Report #7: Copperopolis Road Race

Steve does it again:


Milton, CA-- The Davis Bike Club Junior Race Team kicked off the Easter Weekend with a series of wins at the Copperopolis Road Race on Saturday. The team competed in 5 different categories at the race that is nicknamed the Paris-Roubaix of Northern California for its rough roads and ever present wind. DBCJRT athletes rode to podium finishes in all five races and garnered the top spot in three of them.

Blake Anton, Joe Iannarelli, and Todd Stone took the start of the 17/18 race, a sixty-three mile, three lap affair. Midway into the first lap, Anton broke away from the main field with two other riders. It didn't take long for him to ride both of his breakaway companions off his wheel. From
there on, Anton soloed to victory, riding 43 miles by himself ahead of the chasing pack to finish with a lead of over three minutes. Iannarelli was able to shake all but two of the chase group as the finish approached to claim the fourth spot on the day. Stone, racing in his first road race,
completed the third lap saying, "Those guys ride fast."

Four DBCJRT racers started in the 15/16 age group. Alex Wick, David Vuilleumier, Edan Levaton, and Kyle Paterson signed on for two laps, 43 miles, on the circuit. All four riders made the initial selection after the first climb. With four team members in the break, the odds looked good for victory. However, with the early season weighing heavy on their bodies, none of the DBCJRT riders had the legs to tear the break apart. In the finale, they had to settle for Vuilleumier's third place, Wick's fourth place, Paterson's seventh place, and Levaton's eighth place showing. When asked about the dynamics of the break, a disappointed Wick said, "We could get the group to fall apart with our atacks, but we didn't have the legs to keep it from coming back together."

The 13/14 race was 21 miles, one lap on the course. The race progressed exactly as the DBCJRT riders planned. Andreas Freund made the first group at the top of the climb and proceded to ride false tempo on the front as he waited for Zachary Wick to chase back on. With Freund blocking, Wick was able to close a nearly three minute gap over the middle section of the
race. He made contact just in time to attack the decent to the finish line. With Wick off the front, Freund sat second wheel in the chase, attacking them only when his teammate was assured of victory. Freund rolled across the line 10 meters behind an exhausted Wick for a one, two
finish. Their teammate, Cody Tapley, finished his first "hilly" road race a very respectable 21st. "It's great to see these guys developing such an awareness of tactics at their age. As they progress, tactics will become more and more important." said DBCJRT coordinator Steve Wick.

Two Davis riders started in the 10-12 age group, one in the boys division and one in the girls division. Alex Freund finished the 12 mile course in second place, finishing just meters behind the winner. Alexis Braun was the first finisher in the girls version of the same race to complete the trio of wins for DBCJRT on the day.