Stanford University Weekend - by Larry Sussman

This weekend marked the second race of the 2015 WCCC conference, hosted by Stanford Cycling at Toro Park. Many racers camped at the nearby Laguna Seca Mazda raceway. Fun was had by all at the races and nightly activities, and the nearby CCCX ‘cross race was another event also underway at Toro Park. Under foggy skies, racers awoke on Saturday morning for the Cross Country race. Brutal heat awaited them, with 760 feet of climbing per 4.5 mile lap.

Expectations were high in the large Men’s A field, but Sam Anderson Moxley (UCSC) took first, with his teammate Sandy Floren on the podium after five laps. Racers in the Men’s B field also had quite the competitive race, with Cal Poly’s Andrew McHaney prevailing over UCSB’s Satchel Cronk and Stanford’s Matt Franklin. Noticeably large Men’s C field saw 26 riders battle it out, but when the dust had settled, UCB’s Jason Tang took the top spot over Alexander DeRoche (UCLA) and Zachary Ulissi (MIT).

Alongside the Men’s and Open categories, were some extremely fast women racing. Riders in the Women’s As also crushed the 5 lap course, with Stanford’s Mirre Stallen and AnneLaure Cuvilliez taking 1^st and 3^rd, and Megan Bradley (UCB) in second. Dominating the Women’s B field, was Cal Poly freshman Emily Passey, with Stanford’s Allison Crow and Debra Hausladen in second and third, respectively.
Over with the XC racing, riders made their way back up the hill for the Super D race, which featured the same descent as the XC course.

UCSC’s Libby Caldwell absolutely crushed most racers with her Women’s A win, followed by teammate Hanna Inman and Cal Poly’s Leah Lindwhite, in 3^rd and second, respectively. Emily Passey (Cal Poly) took her second win of the day in the Women’s Bs, closely followed by UCSB’s Carina Bilodeau and UCSC’s Amanda Moe.UCSC’s Nathaniel Pavlik took first in Men’s Cs, just 4 seconds over UNR’s David Dodd. In Men’s Bs, Andrew McHaney took his second win of the day with a 4:37, followed by teammate JP Purdom (Cal Poly) and Patrick Costa (CSUCI).The Men’s As race was a closely contested race, with UCSB’s James Lucchesi and Cal Poly’s Jeff Shen tied for 1^st with a 4:42. UCSB’s Dominik Cinka had the second fastest time with a 4:44, and UNR riders Tanner DeGiovanni and Tyler Hansen tied for third with a 4:48.

Sunday morning started off with the STXC race. Sam Anderson Moxley (UCSC) handily won the Men’s A, followed by UCSB’s Dominik Cinka and four Cal Poly racers. Stanford’s AnneLaure Cuvilliez won the Women’s A race, over Eliana Stefani (Cal Poly) and Megan Bradley (UCB). Men’s Bs was a close race ended with a sprint finish, with UNR’s Larry Sussman taking the win over UCLA’s Ray Lee and Cal Poly’s Michael Beard. Carina Bilodeau (UCSB) won Women’s Bs, followed by UCSC’s Kristina Okamoto and Heidi Maupin. Jason Tang (UCB) won the Men’s C race with Alexander DeRoche (UCLA) and Jamien Bergstrom (Davis) rounding out the podium.

Later that afternoon, it was time for the Downhill race. This track featured a fast, wide open fireroad into some tight cliffside corners, and finished with an uncharacteristic climb. The course was not shuttle-able, which saw all racers pushing their bikes up nearly 800 vertical feet.

Madison Giger and Leah Lindwhite (Cal Poly) took 1^st and 2^nd, with UCSC’s Hanna Inman rounding out the Women’s A podium. Emily Passey (Cal Poly) once again won the Women’s B race, with Stanford’s AnneLaure Cuvilliez taking second. In Men’s C, Ross Kennedy (Cal Poly) took first, followed by UCSC’s Kyle Kaminski and UNR’s David Dodd.

JP Purdom won the Men’s B race with a 2:48, good enough for third in Men’s As. UNR’s Ian Meintjes and Larry Sussman rounded out the DH podium. UCSB’s James Lucchesi backed up his SuperD win with the Men’s A downhill win, just a second faster than teammate Daniel Hacking. Humboldt State’s Bo Hellams took home third place.