2022 Manhattan Beach Grand Prix
As I walked away in search of some photogenic scenery, I hear her loud and clear, hawking that banana like it was some cure for any and all those post-race recovery issues that might need to be addressed before lining up for the next race - "Banana. Get your banana here. The cure for what ails you." Not quite those exact words, perhaps, but the sentiment was similar. I didn't hold out much hope for success, if I didn't accept the offer, why would anyone else? After all, this wasn't a baseball game, and that banana wasn't a bag o' peanuts. It had gone from ripe to very ripe during a quick ride down the coast from Marina del Rey, and was not looking its yellow best.
As you might expect, the 2022 version of Manhattan Beach Grand Prix (MBGP) was punctuated by sprints, sprints, and more sprints - sprint finishes, sprints for primes, and sprints for those rumored free L39ion tee shirts at the Lion's Den. Someone may have even seen me sprinting for the free espresso (again, at the Lion's Den) soon after I arrived at the venue (Live Oak Park). That said, and due to the way the road curves, there is always a possibility that a rider, or a group, will get away during a given race, and move far enough ahead for the "out of sight, out of mind" effect to take hold. It has happened. This year, and though there were a few significant break attempts, only one (or at least only one that I noticed) pulled the leash out to its maximum length - Henrik Rummel in the Cat 3 race - and stayed away for a few laps before the chasers decided something ought to be done about tracking him down and bringing him back to the peace and quiet of the bunch.
It was right about this time that it started to rain - pine nuts - dang squirrel up in that tree throwing half-eaten pine nuts down on me. That unexpected distraction caused me to miss a lap or more as I began to return the shelling back up into the tree in a man vs. animal battle for supremacy. Now, where was I...
Oh, yes. Both the 35+ and 40+ races were free-for-alls right up to the end with a number of teams hugely represented, most notably, the Bahati Foundation, Monster Racing, E-Voke, Stage 2 Cyclery / Bosch, Go Fast, and CFT/Axion. Typically these are some of the fastest races on any given weekend, and the two at the MBGP lived up to the reputation, with the big teams working to deliver their fastest riders to the finale, and everyone else hoping to infiltrate and pull off a surprise.
The neighborhood kids, as well as the many kids of racers, always turn out in force at MBGP for their moment to shine, a moment that came before the start of the main features, the men's and women's pro races. Few people wear a medal around their neck as well as a kid who just put everything into a fifty-meter dash. Both the pro women and the pro men races unfolded just about as anyone might have predicted, with Le39ion's Kendall Ryan and Justin Williams showing their nationwide sprinting prowess before a hometown crowd of spectators thronging the finish straight.
It had been a number of years since I last went out to Manhattan Beach for the annual Grand Prix to either race, or just spectate. It is still everything I remember it being twenty, thirty years ago. It is big, it is boisterous, a testament to the dedication of a club and a community to showcase big league racing in Southern California. Cheers!
Oh, soon after the Cat 3 race had reached its speedy conclusion, one of the racers came over to where the mrs. and I were seated in the shade - "do you still have that banana?" he asked.
like the race, still going strong
35+ Cat 3/4
Men Pro/1-2: 1st Cory Williams, 2nd Eduardo Cruz, 3rd Nigel De Sota, 4th Ignacio Prado Juarez, 5th Rahsaan Bahati, 6th Taylor Warren, 7th Carlos MacPherson, 8th Dante Young, 9th Ulises Castillo, 10th Joseph Lupien
Women Pro/1-3: 1st Kendall Ryan, 2nd Holly Breck, 3rd Colleen Gulick, 4th Hayley Bates, 5th Mary Joyce Monton, 6th Lizbeth Ureno Armas, 7th Laurel Rathburn, 8th Shelby Reynolds, 9th Darlene Krohn, 10th Heather O'Brien
Men Cat 3: 1st Alejandro Che, 2nd Mateo Diaz, 3rd Jorge Alejandro Zapata Rincon, 4th Chun-ting Liu, 5th Micah Sanchez, 6th Hans Wilhelm, 7th Kevin Barker, 8th Ian Abrahams, 9th Jacob Peraza, 10th Henrik Rummel
Men Cat 4: 1st Clifford Chan, 2nd Wei Yan, 3rd Ray Martinez, 4th Alejandro Hernandez, 5th, Matt Walton, 6th Makoto Okamoto, 7th Johann Magana, 8th Raul Quiroz, 9th Gregory Cole, 10th Brandon Lee
Men Cat 5/Novice: 1st Shahin Safae, 2nd Sven Setzer, 3rd Kyleem Harrison, 4th Jeff Briggs, 5th Lizardo Rodas, 6th Davie Ziek, 7th Adder Espinoza, 8th Matthew Grijalva, 9th Soroush Shahriari, 10th Joshua Hernandez
Men 35+ Cat 3/4: 1st Spencer Tanner, 2nd Mike McCluney, 3rd David Aldrich, 4th Ryan Gielow, 5th Jon Cunningham, 6th Peter Dorantes, 7th Carlos Franco, 8th Clifford Chan, 9th Kris Ulibarri, 10th Elijah Baker
Men 45+ Cat 1-3: 1st Charon Smith, 2nd Rahsaan Bahati, 3rd John Garbo, 4th Philip Tinstman, 5th Max Hernandez, 6th Zach Fiocca, 7th Victor Ayala, 8th Espen Kateraas, 9th William Dolan, 10th James Barnwell6
Women Cat 4: 1st Kayla Davis, 2nd Renee Hagen, 3rd Nadia Rayo, 4th Jessica Garner, 5th Sarah Merriweather, 6th Lis Garr, 7th Julie Sims, 8th Summer Alvarado, 9th Ella Sabo, 10th unknown
Women Cat 5/Novice: 1st Claire Sterling, 2nd Sofie Szigeti, 3rd Gabriela Rodriguez, 4th Julienne Logarta, 5th Aurelia Taleb-Ahmed, 6th Noemi Soto, 7th Laura Martin, 8th Deborah Juarez, 9th Angela Dowden, 10th Diana Bailey
Men 50+ Cat 1-4: 1st Albert Vinas, 2nd Bart Clifford, 3rd Christopher Wylie, 4th Espen Kateraas, 5th Saun Bagley, 6th John Slover, 7th Steve Remy, 8th Paul Chia, 9th Kevin Frederick Lewis, 10th Jorge Hernandez
Men 60+ Cat 1-4: 1st Alan Flores, 2nd Eric Baker, 3rd Fernando Lindo, 4th Daniel Funk, 5th Scott Claes, 6th unknown, 7th Michael Hines, 8th Ricky Shorts, 9th unknown, 10th Russell Delevan
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