Tag Archives: Enhance Sports

Race Report: Weekend of May 19th and NY Gran Fondo

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NJBA Team Challenge and Tour of Syracuse
Saturday, 5/12 was the NJBA Team Challenge in Trenton which is a points race with sprint points on every 4th lap. The format is for five-man teams but Scott Hodder was the only entry for our team in the 35+ race and finished an impressive 4th place. Sunday was the Tour of Syracuse, and once again Scott Hodder brought home a solid placing at 5th in the combined 35/45+ masters race.

JerseyMan Duathlon
Mikael H did his first Du of the year (2m/20m/4m format) and was once again foiled by 2 very fast 20 something year old brothers from NJ (who have beat him for something like the 10th time over a 3yr span). He was 5th after the first run and moved up to 2nd on the bike (catching one of the brothers), but being nearly twice their age, he can’t quite seem to run those sub-6 minute miles on the 2nd run! Mikael finished 3rd overall.

NY Gran Fondo
Lucia D’s experience at the Gran Fondo: Continue reading →

Reading a Race (Part 1)

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Are you new to racing and don’t have a ton of experience to draw from? No worries, step one to reading a race is as simple as using Google maps! Whether a cyclist or triathlete, know the course and all of its nuances is the first step in achieving success on race day. For the bike racer facing a new event and course, the first step is to ask your team mates who have done the event for their insight (like we did with the fabled Battenkill road race). First hand knowledge of what you can expect will help you be better prepared. Will you need different gearing for the route (as I did for Berkshire)? How are the road surfaces? Are your lightweight race wheels advisable? If a crit or circuit race, how many corners? Are any greater than 90 degrees? And how far is the finish line from the last corner? Continue reading →

Race Report: Weekend of May 12th

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There were a lot of events in our area this past weekend … Team Rockstar Games / Signature Cycles had a solid presence at most of them!

Hunter Mountain Road Race
Jeffrey Lesser and Peter Nicolardi lined up for the Cat 5 race. The race consisted of two 39 mile laps with technical descending at speed over 50mph. A stiff tempo on the last big climb shattered what was left of the field. Two riders broke away on the last descent, leaving a group of three – including Jeffrey – to sprint for the remaining places. Jeffery came through in 4th, Peter in 15th.

Luci Olewinski took 3rd in the Women’s Cat 4 field at Hunter Mountain Road race this weekend.

Orchard Beach Criterium
Continue reading →

Race Report: Weekend of May 5th

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Berkshire Classic – http://berkshirecyclingclassic.com/
Mikael H, Aaron M and Peter N made the trip to Lenox MA for this unbelievable ride. As a UCI worlds qualifier, this was not your Father’s Gran Fondo, but more of a no holds barred open category road race! It was also both most fun I have had on a bike in a long time and one of the most painful rides ever. An 81mi course with 6000ft of climbing that boasted about 350 at the start. The 1st natural selection came at a 4mi hill at mile 18, where I was dropped but caught back on thanks to some strong work by 4 guys from the Rapha team (lead group down to 100). Next selection came at 5mi climb at mile 31, where I lost contact over last 200yds and chased for 3mi with 7 others. Caught back on then puked (lead group now 30). Raced hard until some rollers at mile 70 and got spit out. Finished in 3:42 and 26th overall (4th in my division). Aaron finished in 3:54 (3rd in his division) and Peter in 4:14. Awesome ride and should be on everyone’s calendar for 2013!

Tour of Colts Neck Continue reading →

The Importance of Rest

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by Mikael Hanson, Enhance Sports

With the early arrival of spring, I have some observations to share. First, this was the earliest I can remember being able to ride outside with shorts on. Second, I logged more bike miles this January and February than ever before. Lastly, all this extra time on the bike so early in the year does take takes it toll to a body just coming off a winter break!

In my twenties recovery came easy and rest days, well those were few and far between and in my opinion for the weak minded. I used to become overcome with guilt for skipping a training day, even when I was sick and lived by the mantra that somewhere someone is training and when you meet them in competition, they will beat you. They say, with age comes wisdom. Continue reading →

Race Report: Weekend of April 7th

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Augusta Training Series – Masters Race
• Keith Hala 1st
• Joe Straub 3rd
After a rather uneventful start of the race Joe Straub dumped some serious wattage onto the pavement to close down a breakaway that had formed in the last few laps. This set up Keith Hala for some easy sprinting to grab the win. Joe, after all that effort, still managed to hang on to 3rd.

Augusta Training Series – 1,2,3 Race
• Keith Hala 4th
• Joe Straub 7th
• Glenn Babikain 8th Continue reading →

Race Report: Weekend of March 17th

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This past weekend was a tad more quiet than last. The big news out of the Bethel Series was a horrible crash in the 3-4 race that ultimately ended in very tragic news, the death of Markus Bohler. Our hearts go out to him and those he leaves behind.

In the other races during the day, Cheryl Wolf took 8th as the only Rockstar Games rider in the women’s race which had about 40 starters. In the Master’s race, Rockstar had two racers in the top 10, with Joe Straub taking 5th, Brian Wolf in 7th. I did not get any results from the Cat 5 or Cat 4 races, but heard we had riders in both events.

Training Notes: Phase 1 – Base Training

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by Mikael Hanson, Enhance Sports

With temperatures hitting the 50s and higher already in February, perhaps we are all thinking that winter has forgotten us this year as we begin to eye time in the saddle out on 9W. I have already been up to Piermont or beyond several times this year, and as much as I want to jump on that occasional train of riders flying past me at 28mph, I force myself to resist the urge, remembering that the calendar barely says February.

Sure, competing in the Sunday world championships a la the ‘Rocket Ride’ over in NJ seems like a great idea for these very non-winter like conditions, but there will be plenty of time to do that after you’ve spent some quality time in the saddle accumulating those all important BASE miles.

Continue reading →

Riding Indoors: Keeping it Fun in the Off-Season

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by Mikael Hanson of Enhance Sports

Talk of college bowl games and NFL playoffs are always a sign that winter is around the corner. We can now look forward to sub-zero temperatures, blowing winds, and frequent snow flurries – thus it is easy to get depressed when considering your winter training options (unless of course you are a skier – but that is a story for another day). Yes, there is always the gym, but for a cyclist, time on the bike is of utmost importance. However as the weather deteriorates and darkness reigns, I find that many cyclists actually dread climbing on their indoor trainer, starting that riding indoors is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Perhaps these people suffer from a lack of imagination, as I for one look forward riding indoors. For those who would class themselves in the latter category (dread), there are several things one can do to make riding indoors more enjoyable.
Continue reading →

Better with age (or just smarter?)

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By Mikael Hanson / Enhance Sports

Like a fine red wine or collectable antique car, there is another thing that can improve with age – the Endurance athlete. Whether we are talking about Lance Armstrong who left retirement to grab a spot on the podium at the Tour de France or Brett Favre throwing TD passes as a grandpa, athletes accomplish incredible things past the age of forty. Take myself: outside of bicycle racing, I’ve always been a very competitive multi-sport athlete, but I did not win my first race until I was forty-one and then did it again three more times when I was forty-two. How– By adapting my training as I got older. Continue reading →