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California Triple Crown   

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Be a California Triple Crown Stage Race Winner in 2015!!

 

2015 CALIFORNIA TRIPLE CROWN STAGE RACE ANNOUNCED

 

The California Triple Crown Stage Race was started in 1996 to add a competition to the top end of the California Triple Crown Double Century series.  This is how the Stage Race works: Riders have to complete three of the most difficult Doubles in the California Triple Crown Double Century series.  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.  If you ride any Stage on a tandem, you must ride all three Stages on a tandem with the same partner.

 

You can see the results of the 2014 California Triple Crown Stage Race at

 

http://www.caltriplecrown.org/2014/2014FinishersbyName.asp?Action=StageRace&Action2=Time&ClubID=  

 

and we tip our helmets to each of the 39 finishers who tackled the HUGE challenge of completing the Central Coast Double, the Heartbreak Double, and the Mt. Tam Double.

 

 

Have you ever thought of what it would be like to ride with the top 5 cyclists in the Stage Race?  Cal Erdman took us right there with him in his excellent ride report at

 

http://caltriplecrown.blogspot.com/2014/12/2014-california-triple-crown-stage-race.html

 

with some amazing photos.  Check out more of his breathtaking photos on the Stage Race page and at

 

https://plus.google.com/photos/114819883121339375507/albums/6044338415311907841?authkey=CMfQzbL9vKH42gE

 

 

Can you imagine riding these three most difficult rides on a tandem with the same person???  Well, we can’t either.  And in 2012 and 2013 no Tandems were able to complete the Stage Race.  But this year was different.  J

 

In the Tandem Division, Teresa Beck, 51 years old, from Torrance who rides with the Adobo Velo Club came in First Place.  She pushed her Captain, Roland Hoffman, 52 years old, from Alta Loma who also rides with the Adobo Velo Club. 

 

In the Women’s Division, Becky Berka, 51 years old, from Dublin, came in Third Place and completed these three tough rides on her Fixed Gear Bike!!  This is Becky’s 5th Consecutive Podium finish in the Stage Race!!

 

Kirsten McDaniel, 46 years old, from Campbell who rides with the Almaden Cycle Touring Club came in Second place.

 

It was an honor to award the First Place in the Women’s Division to Lori Hoechlin, 52 years old, from Costa Mesa and who rides with REV Endurance.

 

 

In the Men’s Division, Max Mehech, 53 years old, from Santa Clarita came in Third place.  He trailed the First place rider by just 75 minutes after these 3 brutally hard rides. 

 

There was an amazing battle between the 1st and 2nd Place finishers this year with just 43 minutes separating them after 600 miles and over 44,000 Feet of Climbing.  Carl Sanders, 46 years old, from Lagunitas who rides with the Santa Rosa Cycling Club Santa Clara came in Second Place.

 

Joel Sothern who is 57 years old from Thousand Oaks riding with Team Rokform came in 1st Place in the 2014 California Triple Crown Stage Race.  Overall, he was ahead of Carl by 43 minutes.  Joel also came in 1st Place in the 2012 Stage Race.

 

It was an honor to award Joel for 1st Place in the 2014 California Triple Crown Stage Race.

 

 

The California Triple Crown Stage Race rotates through some of the most difficult of the California Triple Crown Double Centuries.  This rotation provides variety in the Stage Race from year to year.  Just as the Tour de France does not go over the same tough passes every year, neither does the California Triple Crown Stage Race go over the same tough passes each year.

 

From 1996 to 2008, the Doubles in the Stage Race were rotated 3 at a time between Heartbreak, Devil Mountain, Central Coast, Mulholland, and the Terrible Two.  In 2009, we added the Mt. Tam Double to the rotation, in 2012, we added the Borrego Double Century to the rotation, and in 2013, we added the Alta Alpina 8 Pass Challenge to the rotation.

 

In 2009, Scott Halversen suggested that we have a Northern California Stage Race then a Southern California Stage Race the following year to encourage more participation with less driving to the other end of California.  With the price of gas and the economy the way it is, this made good sense.

 

In 2011, we had a California Triple Crown Stage Race consisting of Devil Mountain, Terrible Two, and Mt. Tam thereby focusing on the Northern California Doubles. 

 

In 2012, we had a California Triple Crown Stage Race consisting of Mulholland, Central Coast, and Borrego thereby focusing on the Southern California Doubles.

 

In 2013, we had a California Triple Crown Stage Race consisting of Devil Mountain, Terrible Two, and the Alta Alpina 8 Pass Challenge focusing on the Northern California Doubles.  

 

In 2014, we had a California Triple Crown Stage Race consisting of Central Coast, Heartbreak, and Mt. Tam focusing on the Southern California Doubles with Mt. Tam mixed in.

 

 

The 2015 California Triple Crown Stage Race will consist of the following very challenging Stages:

 

Stage 1: Devil Mountain Double on 4/25/15 with 18,600 Feet of Climbing.  The Devil Mountain Double will continue to be an extremely tough and full day of cycling climbing two of the highest paved peaks in the Bay Area.  Don’t forget Sierra Road, a beast of climb that you will tackle at mile 155 which shoots up a brutal 1,800 Feet in just 3.2 Miles!!

 

Stage 2: Terrible Two on 6/20/15 with 16,480 Feet of Climbing.  The Terrible Two will be celebrating it's 40th Anniversary in 2015 so this will be a special year for that event.  The Terrible Two will have special commemorative graphics to salute that fact.  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, including a tough new climb introduced with the 1995 route change.

 

Stage 3: Mt. Tam Double on 8/01/15 with 15,000 Feet of Climbing.  The Mt. Tam Double will have a small change of the course planned for next year which will add a couple of hundred feet of climbing making the total closer to 15,000!! The steepest grades are found at mile 130 on the Coleman Valley climb where grades are as high as 16%.  Great climbs & technical descents as well as redwoods, grasslands & lakes with stunning ocean views await you on the 2015 Mt. Tam Double.

 

This extremely difficult combination of Double Centuries in the Stage Race hasn’t been used since 2011 when it resulted in the 2nd Largest Number of Stage Race Finishers.  Four different options were seriously considered for the Stage Race this year before this combination was decided on.

 

The spacing between Devil Mountain and the Terrible Two will be 8 Weeks giving the riders plenty of time to recover and take their fitness to the next level.

 

The spacing between the Terrible Two and Mt. Tam will be 6 Weeks giving the riders plenty of time to recover again but requiring the riders to keep their fitness at a high level over the summer months.

 

We believe this will make for a very difficult and very popular Stage Race in 2015.

 

This group of Doubles in the Stage Race focuses on the Northern California Double Centuries.  The reality is that there are more riders who compete in the Stage Race from Northern California than Southern California each year.

 

There will be over 50,000 Feet of Climbing for the 3 Doubles in the 2015 California Triple Crown Stage Race!!

 

You don't have to do anything special to sign up for the Stage Race: In 2015, 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 issues this challenge: Be among the select few who are able to finish the Stage Race!!  Everyone who completes the 2015 Stage Race will be commended -- 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, top 3 Women, and top 3 Tandems at the California Triple Crown Awards Breakfast on 9/27/15, the day following the Knoxville Fall Classic Double in Vacaville, CA.

 

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


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Chuck Bramwell
California Triple Crown
Guy


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Frank Neal
California Triple Crown
Data Guy


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Charlie Irwin
California Triple Crown
Software Guy


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Roland Hoffman
California Triple Crown
History Guy

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Lynn Katano
California Triple Crown
Social Director


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Mike Sturgill
California Triple Crown
Assistant Data Guy

 

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Tony Musorafite
California Triple Crown
Assistant Data Guy


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