2002 California Triple Crown Stage Race Results

Are you ready to test yourself in Three of the Hardest, Most Grueling Double Centuries on this planet? Are you ready for Two Hundred Miles with tons of Steep Climbing? Then a couple of weeks later, Two Hundred More Miles with more Steep Climbing? Then if you have any strength left, are you ready to tackle the Terrible Two with Two Hundred More Miles, 16,000 Feet of Climbing, White Knuckler Descents, and Temperatures over 100 Degrees?

If so, then we've got a deal for you!!

This is how the Stage Race works: Riders have to complete the Three Most Difficult Doubles in the California Triple Crown: Devil Mountain, Central Coast, and the Terrible Two. The Total Elapsed Time from each of these grueling Doubles is then added together and the rider with the fastest overall time for all Three Doubles wins the Stage Race.

WARNING: These rides are NOT for the inexperienced or occasional rider.

On the Schedule Page, you will notice that the Difficulty Rating by the "California Triple Crown" for each of these rides is: Extremely High. Do not make any of these rides your first Double Century -- because if you do, you may not want to do another one!! However, if you are in the best shape of your life and you are looking for the ultimate one day tests of your physical and mental fitness, then these rides are for you!!

How hard are these rides? Brutally hard. Hard beyond description!!

In 2002, the Devil Mountain Double was a true challenge of over 18,500 Feet of Climbing. Only 125 Riders Started this brutally hard ride and only 107 Finished ... 18 Riders Did Not Finish this First Stage of the Stage Race!!

In 2002, the Central Coast Double was a challenge as always with 210 Miles and over 13,200 Feet of Climbing!! Of the 148 Riders that Registered, 138 Started, 122 Finished and 16 Did Not Finish this Second Stage of the Stage Race.

The Terrible Two has a reputation of being the most difficult Double Century around. Although the route has varied in small ways over the years, its defining features have always been its four big climbs (and the steep, twisting descents that follow): Trinity Grade, the Geysers, Skaggs Springs, and Fort Ross. Numerous smaller but pesky hills add to the overall challenge. Trinity, the Geysers, and Fort Ross are all double-summit climbs, while Skaggs Springs is a long series of climbs and descents. Few gradients on the course exceed 15%, but many climbs stay in the 8-12% range for long distances. The Terrible Two Web Site has an excellent
Elevation Chart which graphically shows just how brutal this course with over 16,000 Feet of Climbing really is!!

In 2002, the Terrible Two wasn't too hot but it was very brutal with
200 Miles and over 16,000 Feet of Climbing!! Of the 227 Riders that Started, 194 Finished Finished and 33 Did Not Finish this Third Stage of the Stage Race.

The 2002 California Triple Crown Stage Race yielded total of over 600 Grueling Miles with over 45,200 Feet of Climbing!!

Results are in from the Devil Mountain Double held 4/27/02, the Central Coast Double held 5/11/02, and the Terrible Two held 6/22/02. The report below shows the "Leader Board" of those riders who completed all three Stages of the Stage Race, ranked by Total Overall Time. As in the Tour de France, times are listed as the Time Back from the Overall Leader.

2002 California Triple Crown Stage Race
Rank Last Name First Age City Devil
Mountain
Central
Coast
Terrible
Two
Time
Back
1 BRAUCH RUPERT 32 SAN JOSE 12:36 10:56 11:14 0:00
2 DODGE DARYN 42 DAVIS 13:05 10:56 11:29 0:44
3 CHOI ROBERT 41 ROHNERT PARK 12:52 11:05 11:38 0:49
4 OWEN KENNY 30 CASTRO VALLEY 12:52 10:56 11:55 0:57
5 ELLIS BILL 43 RIO NIDO 13:39 10:56 11:35 1:24
6 POLLOCK GRAHAM 34 CUPERTINO 13:46 10:59 11:55 1:54
7 WILSON BARNEY 41 COOL 13:39 11:53 11:42 2:28
8 FORSMAN BARLEY 30 COTATI 13:59 11:47 11:38 2:38
9 MC KENZIE PAUL 47 RICHMOND 13:52 11:47 11:55 2:48
10 BERGE CATHARINA 35 VISALIA 14:12 11:48 11:35 2:49
11 STARK PETER 44 NO HOLLYWOOD 13:54 12:00 13:04 4:12
12 STERN LAURA 40 MENLO PARK 14:40 12:19 12:16 4:29
13 ROBERTSON CRAIG 44 LOS ALTOS 14:21 12:33 12:36 4:44
14 HOLLOWAY KEN 49 SAN JOSE 15:24 12:20 12:11 5:09
15 SIMON DOUG 43 SANTA ROSA 15:00 12:16 12:56 5:26
16 STAROBA JOHN 23 SANTA ROSA 15:08 12:30 12:36 5:28
17 KNORR CHRIS 41 YUBA CITY 14:59 12:42 13:04 5:59
18 SPEAKS JOE 37 SAN FRANCISCO 14:53 12:18 13:54 6:19
19 KELLEHER JIM 40 PALO ALTO 15:42 12:52 12:43 6:31
20 PHILLIPS JENNIE 40 DANVILLE 15:23 13:22 13:11 7:10
21 SMITH REBECCA 53 PORTLAND 15:53 13:07 13:22 7:36
22 MC CAW RICHARD 50 SAN JOSE 15:23 13:22 13:48 7:47
23 HOLT DAVID 50 LAGUNA NIGUEL 16:07 13:05 13:27 7:53
24 PACK STEVE 49 RESEDA 16:58 13:00 13:37 8:49
25 BURNETT PETER 39 CHICAGO PARK 17:01 13:28 13:11 8:54
26 AURAN ED 36 SAN JOSE 16:28 13:43 13:56 9:21
27 BAHLO TOM 46 LOS ALTOS 16:25 13:10 14:35 9:24
28 GUTTENBERG PAUL 43 DAVIS 16:48 14:21 13:25 9:48
29 FELD ROLLIN 45 BOLINAS 16:48 13:25 14:24 9:51
30 TAVOIAN BRIAN 38 CEDAR CITY 15:04 14:18 15:23 9:59
31 KELLISON KATHY 45 SANTA ROSA 16:36 14:12 13:58 10:00
32 GREENE FORD 49 SAN ANSELMO 17:21 14:28 13:43 10:46
33 DICKINSON RICHARD 49 SANTA MONICA 17:05 14:37 14:44 11:40
34 MORAN SUSAN 31 COTATI 17:50 14:49 13:47 11:40
35 ZAHARIS TOM L. 39 HALF MOON BAY 17:17 15:40 15:11 13:22
36 CRAIN DAN 56 IRVINE 19:01 13:59 15:17 13:31
37 COOK KEITH 45 LOOMIS 19:01 14:25 14:52 13:32
38 DUNLAP WAYNE 40 SAN JOSE 20:04 14:28 14:22 14:08
39 COHN MERRICK
CAMARILLO 20:15 14:44 13:56 14:09
40 SOGHOMONIAN SARKIS 34 CONCORD 19:16 17:51 15:56 18:17
41 CALDWELL CHRIS 32 SAN RAFAEL 21:00 16:07 16:13 18:34

The competition was incredibly close this year. Rupert Brauch, Age 32, from San Jose came in 1st Place in the Stage Race: he was 1st on the Devil Mountain Double, tied for 1st on Central Coast, and 3rd on the Terrible Two. Rupert started riding the Double Century circuit in 2001 with Davis, Knoxville, and the Fall Death Valley. He really came on strong with his 2002 Stage Race Performances!! Congratulations to Rupert!!

In 2nd Place this year was Daryn Dodge, Age 42, from Davis. Daryn is Mr. Stage Race himself: he won the Stage Race in 1996, came in 4th in 1999, came in Second in 2000, and earned an Honorable Mention in 2001!! Congratulations to Daryn!!

In 3rd Place was Robert Choi, Age 41, from Rohnert Park, California which is South of Santa Rosa. This was Robert's first year on the Double Century Circuit!! Here's how close the competition was: Daryn Dodge only came in 2nd Place by 5 Minutes over Robert!! On the final Stage, the Terrible Two, Robert almost caught Daryn at about mile 170, but a car forced him off on a narrow road and he rode into the hillside. Robert sustained many nasty cuts and bruises, but kept going and finished just 9 minutes behind Daryn. Daryn was completely unaware that Robert was catching up and had him in his sight when the accident happened. However, Robert's preserverance brought him in ahead of Kenny Owens in 4th Place by only 8 minutes!!

An Honorable Mention is certainly in order for Kenny Owens who came in 4th Place by only 8 minutes!! After the first 2 Stages, Kenny was ahead of Daryn by a scant 4 minutes. On the final Stage, the Terrible Two, Kenny and Daryn were riding together briefly after lunch, but on a steep climb at about mile 125, Kenny ran into some cramping problems and suddenly dropped off the pace. Certainly, Kenny gave it everything he had and is to be commended for an incredibly strong race!!

In the Women's Division, 1st Place this year goes to Catharina Berge from Visalia. Catharina completed her first Double Century last year with the 2001 Tour of Two Forests Double ... but that was just a little warm up ride for her most amazing ride at the 2001 Furnace Creek 508 where she won the Women's Division and came in 2nd Overall!! Catharina is a Swedish Phd student studying at UC Davis. Her time on the Terrible Two of 11:35 broke Muffy Ritz' 1995 woman's record by a whopping 50 minutes!! Congratulations on a very impressive Stage Race, Catharina!!

In 2nd Place for the Women this year was Laura Stern from Menlo Park. Laura is certainly no stranger to long distance cycling after having a legendary ride in the 1989 Furnace Creek 508 where she took an early lead and held it for 240 miles which included leading the entire men's field!! She ended up as the 1st Woman and 3rd Overall that year. A big congratulations on a great comeback for Laura!!

In 3rd Place for the Women was Jennie Phillips from Danville. No stranger to the Double Century circuit, Jennie had completed 13 Double Centuries from 1995 to 2001!! Jennie had a fantastic Stage Race and we tip our hat to her 3 great rides in 2002!! Congratulations, Jennie!!

In the Women's Division this year, an Honorable Mention goes to Rebecca Smith from Portland. This 53 year old cyclist has had a great year: she qualified for the Race Across America with her Race Across Oregon results. It is also a great result for someone that does not reside in California. She was only 26 minutes behind the Third Place winner!!

Rich Boettner and Liz Gomez were doing so well on their Tandem after completing both the Devil Mountain Double and the Central Coast Double. However, the Terrible Two has a long history of being extremely brutal to tandems and the final Stage took it's toll on Rich and Liz's tandem. They hit a rock at about mile 85 and flatted the front tire. With the tire fixed, they continued on, but the sidewall of the tire gave out, causing a blowout. Descending at the time at 30 mph, Rich managed to keep the tandem up and stop even though they were riding on the front rim. Apparently the rock that caused the flat had also ruined the sidewall. Unfortunately, both tire and rim were beyond repair. With no spare wheel around to borrow, they decided to DNF and were very happy to have not crashed.

Everyone who completed the 2002 Stage Race is to be commended. Our hat is off to each of the 41 Finishers ... just to complete these three Extremely Difficult Rides is a major accomplishment!!

California Triple Crown Stage Race Plaques will be presented to the top 3 Men (Rupert Brauch, Daryn Dodge, and Robert Choi) and the top 3 Women (Catherina Berge, Laura Stern, and Jennie Phillips) at the Awards Breakfast to be held on 9/22/02 ... so please plan on attending so we can give you the credit you deserve. Kenny Owens will also be awarded an Honorable Mention Plaque. Unfortunately, we didn't have any Tandem finishers this year, but the top 3 Tandems teams will also receive a plaque in future years.

You don't have to do anything special to sign up for the Stage Race: In 2003, all you have to do is to sign up for and ride your heart out on the 3 Doubles in the Stage Race!! Of course, that's much easier said than done!! Also, if you ride any Stage on a tandem, you must ride all three Stages on a tandem with the same partner.

The California Triple Crown lays down this challenge: be among the select few who are able to finish the Stage Race!!

Congratulations to all Finishers in the 2002 California Triple Crown Stage Race!!

Rupert's well deserved plaque


Daryn's well deserved plaque


Robert's well deserved plaque


Kenny's well deserved plaque


Catherina's well deserved plaque


Laura's well deserved plaque


Jennie's well deserved plaque


Rebecca's well deserved plaque


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