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	California Triple Crown

Peg Miller climbs Lubken Canyon Road on the 2016 Southern Inyo Double in her hard earned Red California Triple Crown Stage Race Jersey 2018 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 2017 California Triple Crown Stage Race at   http://www.caltriplecrown.org/2017/2017FinishersbyName.asp?Action=StageRace&Action2=Time&ClubID=     and we tip our helmets to each of the 10 finishers who tackled the HUGE challenge of completing the Mulholland Double, the Oceanside Double, and the Terrible Two Double.   After completing all three stages of the 2017 California Triple Crown Stage Race, the following riders were on the podiums: 2017 Overall Division: 1-Mark Christopherson 2-Kirsten McDaniel 3-Samer Rezkalla 2017 Women's Division: 1-Kirsten McDaniel 2017 Tandem Division: No Finishers 2017 Recumbent Division: No Finishers 2017 Fixed Gear Division: No Finishers In the future: 3 Overall Division Winners 3 Women's Division Winners 3 Tandem Division Winners consisting of 2 people each 3 Recumbent Division Winners 3 Fixed Gear Division Winners 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, in 2013, we added the Alta Alpina 8 Pass Challenge, in 2016, we added the White Mountain Double to the rotation, and in 2017, we added the Oceanside Double.   The 2018 California Triple Crown Stage Race will consist of the following very challenging Stages:

Stage 1: Devil Mountain Double on 4/28/18 with 20,700 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!!   Ride Organizer Scott Halversen of the Quackcyclists wrote: "It will be great to have DMD as part of the Stage Race again for 2018.  2017 was a very difficult year for many reasons, not the least of which was that there were 4 major road closures on the course.  All 4 have reopened except 1, but we have a workaround for that one and so are hoping to go back to the traditional course for 2018." Here are some photos from the Devil Mountain Double: Mount Diablo is beautiful on the Devil Mountain Double Photo by Peter Meyer Morgan Territory Patterson Pass is plenty steep There are some good climbs on the way to Lunch Mount Hamilton is a major climb for sure

Stage 2: Terrible Two on 6/16/18 with 18,500 Feet of Climbing   The EXTREMELY Difficult Terrible Two is certainly one of the toughest Double Centuries in the United States.  The route will be the same as last year, which is to say the traditional Terrible Two route with its brief transit of Napa County.  There is some fire damage along the route in a couple of spots, near the town of Glen Ellen and again north of Calistoga.  It will certainly shock the riders if they haven’t seen it before but shouldn’t otherwise affect the ride.  Ride Organizer Scot Castle of the Santa Rosa Cycling Club wrote: "It is quite obvious that things won’t quite be up to the lavishishness of past years but we’ll certainly do everything we can to put on a good TT.  I have ridden through major portions of the first 20 or so miles and the fire damage is quit stark.  Granted by ride time things will have been “cleaned up” a bit, but there will still be some shock value there.  Especially Trinity Road, which is burned from Hwy 12 all the way to the bottom in Napa. With quite a few houses lost that are visible from the road." The later miles of the event remain the same, featuring the big climbs over the Geysers, Skaggs Springs, and Fort Ross Road.  Numerous smaller but pesky hills add to the overall challenge.  The Geysers and Fort Ross are multiple-summit climbs, while Skaggs Springs is a long series of climbs and descents, including a tough new climb introduced with a 1995 route change.  The steepest gradients on the course rarely exceed 15%, but many climbs stay in the 8-12% range for long distances. Chuck Bramwell's photos and videos from the 2015 Terrible Two Double are HERE including: The Start of the 2015 Terrible Two Flying on Bennett Valley Road The climbing begins in earnest on Geysers Road Skaggs Springs Road has some steep climbs in the brutal heat The Wall is brutally steep!! The Fort Ross climb goes up and up through an awesome grove of trees!! Turn up your speakers full blast because at this point there is only One Way Out!!

Stage 3: Mt. Tam Double on 8/04/18 with 15,000 Feet of Climbing   Great climbs & technical descents as well as redwoods, grasslands & lakes with stunning ocean views await you on the 2018 Mt. Tam Double.  The steepest grades are found at mile 130 on the Coleman Valley climb where grades are as high as 16%. The Ride Organizers of the Mt. Tam Double wrote: "We have not finalized our route but it will likely be familiar to returning riders..... with stunning early morning views riding up Mt. Tam, descent into Muir Woods, grand sweeping vistas along the Pacific coast, ride by Bolinas Lagoon, through Point Reyes Station, beautiful Chileno Valley, more Pacific Ocean views before an epic climb up Coleman Valley Road.  Riders finish with one last climb up Marshall wall and a more leisurely return to the start/finish." Tim Morken's photos from the 2015 Mt. Tam Double are below: At the top of Mount Tamalpias, the San Francisco Bay is out there somewhere. Paceline on Chilleno Valley Road near Petaluma. Lunch in Petaluma. Paceline on Tomales-Petaluma Road heading towards the coast. Bodega Bay. On the coast north of Bodega Bay, near the Coleman Road Climb.

This extremely difficult combination of Double Centuries in the Stage Race hasn’t been used since 2015 when it resulted in the Largest Number of Stage Race Finishers in one year since it was started in the year 1996. The spacing between Devil Mountain and the Terrible Two will be 7 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 7 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 2018. 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 54,200 Feet of Climbing for the 3 Doubles in the 2018 California Triple Crown Stage Race!! You don't have to do anything special to sign up for the Stage Race: In 2018, 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!!  Here are the Rules: To be in the Tandem Division, the rider has to ride each of the 3 Double Centuries on a tandem with the same person. To be in the Recumbent Division, the rider has to ride each of the 3 Double Centuries on a Recumbent bike. To be in the Fixed Gear Division, the rider has to ride each of the 3 Double Centuries on a Fixed Gear bike. The Overall Division Winners can include Women, Tandems, Recumbents, or Fixed Gear Bikes if they finish in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place overall in the 3 Double Centuries. No motors of any kind are allowed on these bikes ridden in the California Triple Crown Stage Race ... each of those Double Centuries must be strictly human powered events. Any form of human-powered vehicle is acceptable but the vehicle must be powered solely by the rider. The awards for the Winners in each Division will be determined by the Organizers of the Double Centuries in the Stage Race. The California Triple Crown issues this challenge: Be among the select few who are able to finish the Stage Race!!  Everyone who completes the 2018 Stage Race will be commended and will be able to wear the coveted California Triple Crown Stage Race Jersey shown above.  Just to complete these three Extremely Difficult Rides is a MAJOR accomplishment!!   California Triple Crown Stage Race Plaques will be presented to the Winners at the California Triple Crown Awards Breakfast on 9/30/18, 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!! Wishing you a Happy Holiday as we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah from the California Triple Crown Team.

Chuck Bramwell California Triple Crown Guy	Frank Neal California Triple Crown Data Guy In Spirit	Charlie Irwin California Triple Crown Software Guy
Roland Hoffman California Triple Crown History Guy	Lynn Katano California Triple Crown Social Director	Mike Sturgill California Triple Crown Assistant Data Guy
	Tony Musorafite California Triple Crown Assistant Data Guy

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