15 May 2010

WheelTime Shines in the Dark

Third Pillar Racing Team and Specialized Bicycles held its inaugural Scotts Valley Grand Prix bicycle race on May 15th, 2010, in Scotts Valley, California. The one-mile circuit criterium was a popular family-friendly spectacle whetting the appetite for the first stage of the Tour of California the next day.

The event was designed to please both cycling fans, families, visitors, and everything in between with a cycling expo, kids cycling area and pumping music to match the adrenaline and speed of the professional and amateur competitors. According to Race Director Mark Davis of Third Pillar Racing, "We wanted to build an event that provides value and entertainment to the Scotts Valley area. It was important for us to have more just than just cycling, which is why we worked hard to bring in food, drinks, and kids fun too. It worked - the noise and encouragement of the spectators created an atmosphere second to none."

The list of competitors boasted world class athletes as well as local and regional cycling stars and enthusiasts. The men's pro race included local pro Rob Evans and Santa Cruz based California Giant Strawberry Cycling Team. The women's race starred Olympians and multiple national champions from Third Pillar Racing, Team TIBCO, Peanut Butter & Co, Webcor, and Colavita Baci with local legend Shelley Evans (nee Olds) getting a rousing welcome.

To match the world-class field of competitors, Third Pillar Cycling selected and deployed the world-class chip timing system T-7 WheelTime from Times-7 Sport. "We wanted to use cutting edge technology in order to lift the level of the race and compliment the hard work of the officials," enthused Davis. "This turned out to be a stroke of genius. Our last race of the night ended in darkness so the referees could get instantaneous confirmation of the competitors as they screamed through the flood lights. Even better, the announcers kept the crowd on edge with constant updates from WheelTime on the regular position changes and the dynamic lead of the breaks."

One of the most exciting events of the night was the women's feature race. As the first ever women's race on the new course, most teams were left guessing as to whether it would boil down to a field sprint or an aggressive break away would escape for the win. According to team leader Virginia Perkins, "Initially we read the course to favor field sprints, but with some cross winds and super aggressive riding from the entire women's peloton we changed our tactic mid-race and the girls responded beautifully. It was clear that the peloton was motivated by the crowd and the prize purse to race hard and aggressively. It was very impressive women's racing tonight."

With seven laps to go an attack from Peanut Butter & Co's 2 x Irish National Champion and San Francisco resident Olivia Dillon resulted in a threatening break away including Third Pillar's Martina Patella, TIBCO's Alison Starnes and Devon Haskell, Colavita Baci's Rushlee Buchanan and Rooster's Nicky Wangsgard. After going pull for pull to establish the break, the racers began to attack and counter attack with a display of some of the most aggressive women's racing of the year. Patella came out of the corner in perfect position only to have her line taken by another racer, but still managing to finish 4th place with former National Champion and Sunny King winner Nicky Wangsgard taking line honors.

"The swooping criterium course challenged the racer's horsepower, cornering skills and pure speed," panted Third Pillar's Martina Patella who was the team's hitter for the day. "It was our home race, and we wanted to put on a show for the spectators and get serious results in a top notch field. By working as a team to cover attacks from marked competitors, we were represented in every threatening break away of the night and the crowd was going crazy! It was so close at the end."

Event promoter Mark Davis was just as enthusiastic. "We have every intention of making this an annual event that both racers and spectators can look forward to each year," says Davis, a Scotts Valley citizen. "I love the sport of cycling and I want to share that with other people in our community. We look forward to bringing this exciting event to our community for many years to come."

For further information contact:

Michael Lynch, President

michael.lynch@times-7.com

+1 415 830 3770

About Times-7 Sport
Times-7 Sport provides sports timing solutions using the most advanced sports information technologies available in the world. Times-7 Sport is the Australian distributor of IPICO Sports and Times-7 sports timing products, including Sportscore, a state of- the-art event management software solution. Our systems make event timing easy, providing accurate and reliable results every time.