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24 Hours of Vail Lake - NE
California, USA, April 26-27, 2008
2007 Results Results
Wheeler and O'Dea win 24-hour NPS opener
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Chuck Wheeler and Namrita O'Dea emerged as the solo winners, and series leaders, at round one of the 2008 Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series, the 24 Hours of Vail Lake, which was raced and won over a scorching weekend on April 26-27 at Vail Lake Mountain Resort in Temecula, California. This was the first win in a Suzuki 24 Hour National Point Series for both Wheeler and O'Dea.
Wheeler, a seasoned 24 hour racer, of Scottsdale, Arizona, overcame defending champion Rob Lichtenwalner, of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. to score his first victory on a scenic and hilly 10.22 mile course with 1,498 feet of climbing.
A heatwave drove temperatures well into the 90s [degrees Fahrenheit], and after pushing hard through the afternoon many riders welcomed the nightfall, but then began to feel how much extra they had put out in keeping cool during the heat of the day. Wheeler, who has a history of coming from behind, proved more consistent during the night than 2007 series champion Rob Lichtenwalner, who finished second. Wheeler completed 17 laps, compared to Lichtenwalner's 15. Eddie O'Dea finished third with 13 laps.
"I don't really have a strategy," said Wheeler, "I just go out and ride and try to stay constant. It works less frequently now that a lot of riders are getting so good."
Lichtenwalner was not making any excuses, but he said, "I'm not used to racing in those kinds of temperature." At 9:00 am on Sunday morning, Lichtenwalner made some calculations, realized that he wasn't going to catch Wheeler, and that third-placed Eddie O'Dea wasn't going to catch him, so he climbed off and went for an early sleep. "I'm happy with second place points. It gets my series title defense off to a good start," he said.
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Namrita O'Dea, Eddie's wife, won the women's solo race with 11 laps, ahead of Terri Wahlberg on Liz Baumgardt-Keys, who finished third with eight laps. 2006 Race Across America winner, Shanna Armstrong, was in contention with O'Dea for much of the first day, and looked to be the stronger climber, but after two painful falls on her left femur during the early night, Armstrong - who is using this race as training for her Badwater Ultramarathon attempt this July - decided to call herself done.
"It was very challenging with the heat. But I monitored my pace and my nutrition and hydration, and was able to remain constant through the night," said the women's winner. "Even though it was not a high mileage race, there was a lot of climbing, and with the heat it was very tough." Cyclingnews' diarist O'Dea is a nutrition student, who is planning to compete in four of the series races. "I think I have a chance for the series overall. I'm not sure who else is doing the series, but I think I have a chance," she said.
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The Duo Pro category was dominated by Colorado riders, Dean Miller, of Littleton, and Dax Massey, of Boulder, riding in the Shake and Bake team. These two led the race outright for most of the first 12 hours, but through the night the two single-speeders were overtaken by the men's expert team of Grizzly Outfitters/Continental Construction, from Big Sky, Montana. In the end Shake and Bake completed 24 laps to the Grizzly Outfitters's 25.
Also notable was the monumental struggle in the four-person men's sport category. After going hammer and tongs during the afternoon heat, The Simi Cycle Center bike shop team finally moved into the lead, ahead of the Manic Monkey Riders team as darkness fell. From there on they stretched it out all the way to the finish, and recorded a total of 24 laps. Manic Monkeys called it a race at 21 laps, and third place was claimed by the tenacious Naval Special Warfare Flyin' Frogs team, who ended the race with 20 laps.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Paul Skilbeck / www.o2sm.com
- Chris Harrison of the Pink Ladies veteran women's team rides high above the pretty Vail Lake.
- Tired but happy, Duo Pro riders Dax Massey and Dean Miller take a well-earned rest after their race.
- Eddie and Namrita O'Dea. This husband and wife team are each striving for series honors in the tough solo class.
- Race director Laird Knight interviews Boulder resident Dax Massey of the Shake and Bake team after a sizzling fast first lap.
- Rob Lichtenwalner was fast and strong early in the race, but could not sustain the pressure throughout the night.
- Robles, the other dynamo in the Simi Cycling Center team, takes a sweeping corner on the upper reaches of the 10.22 mile circuit, with 1498ft of climbing.
- Namrita O'Dea led the women's solo field from start to finish.
- The Le Mans style start used by Granny Gear Productions always tempts riders to go anaerobic before the riding has even begun.
- Chuck Wheeler approaches the summit of the first climb, a three-mile ascent to almost 2,000 feet above sea level.
- Chuck Wheeler gets really close to the summit of the first climb.
- Chuck Wheeler still enjoying it late into Sunday morning - after his rivals had ended their races.
- Starting 'em young. Laird Knight (somewhere there in the middle of it) always give a pre-race talk to the youngsters in which he stresses the need to congratulate rivals and thank them for offering up competition.
- 11-and-under age riders in the 24 Minutes of Vail Lake give each other five after a tough three laps around a 75 meter course.
- In the early laps, 2006 Race Across America winner Shanna Armstrong looked as though she could have given Namrita O'Dea a close run.
Results
Elite men solo 1 Chuck Wheeler 17 laps 2 Rob Lichtenwalner 15 3 Eddie O'Dea 13 Elite women 1 Namrita O'Dea 11 laps 2 Terri Wahlberg 10 3 Liz Baumgardt-Keys 8 Duo Pro 1 Dean Miller / Dax Massey 24 laps Men's expert 1 Grizzly Outfitters/Continental Construction 25 laps Men's sport 1 Simi Cycle Center 24 laps 2 Manic Monkeys 21 3 Naval Special Warfare Flyin' Frogs 20
