Vista View Race Report

There is a reason that most sprinters do not even show up for the races held at Vista View Park and yesterday was no exception. Only the brave or really stupid...lol...dared to take on the course which most consider the hardest crit race in Florida. TPR had it's fair share of representation and despite the challenging course, the team did very well.

In the Masters 35+ race, Chilly Willy, had been preparing for this race for weeks and it showed throughout the race as he was the most active racer in the peloton. He broke away early, but was up against teams that were out to get him and CW was the only TPR rider in that race so he had little to no support. Another local team, EBP (European Bicycle Parts), had three guys constantly shadowing CW and in the end it was an ex TPR racer, Noe Gonzalez, that with an incredible show of strength up the back climb, rode away and came in solo. CW sprinted for a 4th place finish, but now is in FIRST place overall in the Masters 35+ Rosewood Series 1.

In the Masters 45+ race, The Sheriff, Malanga, White Wolf and Braveheart, all showed up for battle in the hills of Davie and battle they did. Early on, The Sheriff and Braveheart took to the front to string out the peloton and begin the process of elimination. Slowly racers began to drop off as there is no time to recover between the two climbs and either you had it or you were just a pretender. During the 5th lap on the sharp turn off the very quick descent, an accident took The Sheriff out of the peloton and though he did not fall was left to chase the rest of the race. This created a split which Malanga and Braveheart took full advantage of by staying in the break or near the front. In the end, the real monsters of the Pyrenees of Davie, took control and broke away from the main field. A break of three with two of the favorites in Caballo and Wills Powell were never caught. Wills Powell came in for the victory. All the TPR racers finished with Braveheart (Peter Carlos) taking 7th, Malanga (Israel Vera) in 11th, White Wolf (Danny Stauber) in 17th and The Sheriff just behind in 18th.

In the PRO 1 2 3 race, TPR was represented by Freddy Matute. This was definetely a course for Freddy that is one of the better climbers around. Freddy played it smart and maintained himself close to the front with the likes of John Durango, Ivan Franco and others, but never wasted his bullits, leaving enough for the end when it really counted. Two racers got away and were never caught and in the end, Freddy came in 6th overall and 1st in the CAT 3's. That was an impressive finish and by the way, ahead of Ivan Franco who seems to be mentoring Freddy, too well it seems and should remember that Freddy races for TPR and not Santo-Megacycle. :)

In the final race of the day, Damian, Tomas, Josh and Juan braved the course. Tomas and Juan were there for the very first time and maybe the very last time...hahaha. In the words of El Loro, "man, this was the hardest race I have ever done and wanted to quit from the very first lap", which is probably a sentiment shared by everyone doing this race. But despite himself, El Loro and the others took on the challenge and in the end experienced a great test that challenges the very best of the best. Damian finished top 10 with an 8th place finish. Congrats Killer, you are flying!

Congratulations to all the racers that participated yesterday. Keep on training and thanks for your support.

The Sheriff