The 700s Present: Summer Crit Race

The kids are all right, because the kids all ride.

The 700s (or is it the Seven Hundreds) hosted a little fixed-gear criterium in Pomona this morning around a course which, quite frankly, I am surprised I haven't seen used for a race before. It was very nice, indeed. It had everything you would want for a good crit course - sun, shade, good surface, fast corners, long enough straight for a finishing sprint, since it was Sunday, there was even some gospel rock en Espanol rolling through the open door of one of those little industrial park iglesias and, since the area is a hotbed of fixed-gear riders there was a ready supply of people to sign up and fill the streets

The GLK Race Team rolled into town, from Whittier, to challenge the hometown boys including a strong bunch of Mobbin'Unknown racers. All told a good sixty riders took the start line, and though many of them may have entered with some kind of goal in mind, including some realistic hopes for a podium finish, the top step may very well have been a fore-gone conclusion considering the strength that GLK had out there. The Mobbin'Unknown crew battled on though, perhaps partly a result of the affects of a… hmmmm… late night, they eventually found themselves out of the running for the top spots. When Ronnie Toth and teammate, Manuel Barra, surged away only two questions remained: Which of the two would get the win, and who amongst the chasers would take third?

Those questions were answered when Toth proved he had just enough left in his sprint to win by a wheel. Next to come around the final turn was Jon Budinoff, of Aventon who, during the final lap had ridden clear of the group he was in, for a solo third. Several women started the race, but only Emily Ryan finished, and while she could have mostly cruised around the course, she clearly made the most of the day by pushing, not only herself, but the pace of anyone around her at the time as well. It was a good win, but there must be a way to get some challengers for her out there.

Yes. Everything finally loaded to the Flickr album. This is the link to the album; there are one-hundred forty-two photos in it. The photos are not a complete catalog, but are representative of all the others taken during the day, so if you don't see what, or who, you were looking for in the album, let me know and I will see what I can find. If you see a photo you like, feel free to download it (credit where credit due, of course). You can also contact me via email and I will gladly send a full size jpeg file of the image.

Want more? Go ahead and order your own copy of the CLR Effect racing annual. There are two editions available right now (2013 and 2014), and you can preview them by clicking the 2014 Seasons in the Sun Book Preview button near the top of the right hand column, or under the title banner at the top of the page.