Race Report: 12 Hours of Amelia 2013

Happy new year everyone! Eric G. here, excited to bring our first race report of 2013!

We were up with a change of pace here, instead of the usual XC event, we participated in the 12 Hours of Amelia as a 4-Man Base Team. The course was 8.5 miles of fast, flowing, trails with tons of berms that only the Amelia Earhart MTB trails can provide. There was a great turnout with nearly 200 racers participating in all classes from 6 hour Solo to 12 Hour Team. To minimize the madness of so many racers starting together, Gone Riding would line the racers up for a LeMans style running start.

Earlier in the week the team had decided it would be me to start off the race followed by Eric N, Julio and then Alex. Other than the running (which we all hate) we lined up everyone to be in the best position for their riding strength. Apparently my pension to start way too fast in races would be perfect for this. The plan was for me to keep up with the faster teams for 1 lap then hand it off so we could settle into a competitive pace.

Early on was pretty fun as the stage was set in the first few laps. I didn't have the best run but found some sport riders to stick with and had a pretty solid lap. Mid-lap I tangled a little with a rider that tired to make too daring of a pass (riders behind me said it was a stupid move on his part) and lost a little time but still crossed the first lap in 6th place, with Team Pro-Tech just ahead of us. I swapped in the transition with Eric and told him to keep them close. He'd also lose a little time with a tangle with another rider and they'd build almost a minute lead. We told Julio to drill it and he sure did! He went in to DIESEL MODE and reeled in Pro-Tech and came through together with them sending off Alex to keep the pressure on. He'd come through with a 30 second lead and now we were in 5th!

As it turned out we would continue to build on the gap and our consistent laps would start creeping us closer to the 4th and 3rd place teams. Attrition started to settle in to the other teams, so between losing riders and cramping, their pace was starting to slow. While it took most of the day, as the night was settling in at around 5pm, I was on my lap and passed two teams for position and we were now in 3rd!

We thought we'd probably settle in there with 2nd place more than 5 minutes ahead, but two back to back slow laps for Team Bike Street USA suddenly had us in 2nd with about 90 minutes to go! Alex's favorite time to ride is at night and his night lap was actually his 2nd fastest on the day which gave us just under a minute gap. He tagged off to me and now the pressure was on! I went as hard as I could but I fully admit I'm not as fast at night and Bike Street had their best rider on the course. He caught me about half way through the lap and I couldn't keep up. I tried to minimize damages and came through with about a 50 second deficit. They took a gamble and kept him out for a second lap and Eric Norris would be our anchor. It was up to him to bump us up a spot the podium. He ALMOST pulled it off and had a faster 2nd lap than Bike Street who slowed on the final lap, but was about 10 seconds back at the end. It was amazing the excitement of being still so close after nearly 12 hours of racing!! We finished in 3rd place on the day with 18 laps completed, exhausted, but thrilled with he podium spot. While Bike Street gave us a battle, we want to congratulate the Juniors from Team BAMF that absolutely crushed the Base class with 19 laps! Those kids are fast!! Great job guys!

It was an exciting event for everyone and Gone Riding knows how to run an event like this with no issues the entire day. We also wanted to congratulate new riders from Team Bike Tech Jennifer Moos for her 12 Hour Solo Female win and Vic and Eddie for taking 2nd in the 12 Hour 2-Man Sport class. Bike Tech was great with the support as usual and we definitely had a comfortable pit area thanks to them. We'll be back in XC action  in two weeks with CC #4 back at Amelia. Enjoy some of the pictures below and thanks for reading!

Team News: New Sponsors and Schedule Set!

Eric Norris sporting the new Team Kit during a night race

Hi Everyone!! Haven't had a major update since March, but we're excited to announce our new and continued sponsors for this year. First we're most thrilled to announce our new Title Sponsor Bike Tech, one of Miami's most complete bicycle shops with two South Florida locations. Offering the best from Specialized, Cannondale, and Scott, the team will soon have it's choice of the best weapons for the racing season. Audioworks, a South Florida based Electronics installation company, also continues as one of our major supporters for the year!

Additionally we're always thankful for our continuing sponsors, Magura, Rudy Project & Cytosport, offering us the best in brakes, glasses, helmets, and nutrition for another year!

Since March we've been in our "offseason" and while there's racing year round in Florida, we've been laying low for a bit, participating in the occasional "training race", but following training schedule mostly. However the Fall season is quickly approaching and we've got our schedule set for the rest of the year. Beginning at the end of the July we'll be present at 17 events through the end of 2012. Participating in series races for the FSC, Coconut Cup, and La Rooota, as well as endurance events like the 12 Hours of Amelia and Markham. The season the team is splitting up into three classes! Newcomer Eric Norris will be in XC3 19-29, Eric Gonzalez and Julio Rodriguez in XC3 30-39, and the team's elder statesman, Alex Serrano, moves on to XC3 40-49. It's like he gets to be a rookie again!!!

We look forward to the upcoming season and hope to keep our friends, followers, fans, and cycling family entertained with our race reports, pictures and general cycling news. See everyone on the trails!!

12 Hours of Amelia Race Report & Photos

Eric N. newest Eclipse Racing team member and blogger here for the race report from the electrifying 12 Hours of Amelia. After a week of bitter cold temps where Julio, stand-in rider Diego, and myself were training on what was with out a doubt the coldest ride of my short career just a few days prior to race day. However, we felt it was necessary for what we were getting ready to embark on. Or I suppose we just don't think things through very well sometimes. Ride first, think second?

The setting on race day couldn't have been better. High 70's to start the day, no wind, and not a cloud in the sky. OK, so the tent is up, coolers and chairs staged, ladies and gentlemen start your engines it's race time! Team drill instructor Eric G. had to unfortunately sit this one out, so Alex (after much deliberation as he was set on racing in solo class), Julio, Diego, and I were ready to rock and roll in Base 4-man class. So keeping the same theme for all endurance races there was the good ole Le Mans style start. This of course didn't bother me at all. Whatsoever. Why? Well, let's just say Alex was unanimously volunteered to start this race for us. Really at the end of the day, I think the Le Mans style race starts are for the mere entertainment of race coordinators. It really is a sight watching 100 guys in cleated shoes, tights, and odd shaped helmets run with serious intent across a gravel road.

All aging & old man jokes aside, Alex (love you Uncle) was able to get us out to a really great start! Through the first lap he found himself in the top ten alleviating a lot of unnecessary catch-up for us and pushed strong knowing the resting periods (beauty of team races) would be enough for him to keep it up throughout the day. With a total of 24 very prepared teams in our class we quickly learned we had no choice but to push it as hard as possible every opportunity we got and that's just what we did! As a team we were slightly anchored by my times even though I personally wasn't losing any spots, just hanging on for dear life not trying to let every one's efforts go to waste. Our stand-in rider Diego put up some very respectable lap times and we definitely enjoyed having him race with us in Eric G's absence. Really and truly, anyone that fills our cooler with cold adult beverages can sway us easily for a spot on the team and the all so coveted Eclipse Racing Team Jersey.

After hours of strategic planning, (sike, just trying to throw off our competition reading this) we had Julio right where we wanted him. Setting the fastest lap of the day for us, Julio was without a doubt pushing us forward and adding on to the great start Alex set-up. For most of the day we hovered around 10-12th place until our conditioning kicked in towards the end of the race. As the sun set, cooler weather set in with a slight breeze & all of our high carb drinks, gels, powders, foods seemed to kick in all at once. At that moment we had found our second wind. One of the fastest night laps in our class set by Julio gave us just what we needed to get into a comfortable 8th position. Post the thrilling night laps, there wasn't one person in our tent who wasn't volunteering to take the place of anyone not willing to go. We all agreed the night laps were some of the funnest laps we've done to date! We were able to hold on to 8th and finish the race there all holding our heads high. Quite an accomplishment considering my short time racing and with Eric G. out. This is just the beginning for 2012! Per our pact as a team, expect us to make some noise this year!