Race Schedule XC RACE SCHEDULE RACED SKIPPED WINTER SERIES FONTANA CA Round # 1 January 9 10th, 2016 OC CLASSICS March 19 Whiting Ranch Ultimate Time Trial Round # 2 January 23 24th, 2016 Round # 3 February 6 7th, 2016 Round # 4 February 20 21st, 2016 Round # 5 March 5 6th, 2016 April 23 Sept 24 Nov 12 Aliso & Wood Canyon Wilderness Park Irvine Regional & Santiago Oaks Casper s Wilderness Park KENDA CUP WEST OVER THE HUMP OC Round # 1 Vail Lake March 6th, 2016 Round # 2 Bonelli Park March 12th 13th, 2016 Round # 3 Fontana April 2nd 3rd, 2016 Round # 4 Bonelli Park April 9th 10th, 2016 Round # 5 Santa Ynez May 15th, 2016 Round # 6 Snow Summit June 5th, 2016 Round # 1 May 10 Round # 2 May 17 Round # 3 May 24 Round # 4 May 31 Round # 5 June 7 Round #6 June 14 Round # 7 July 19 Round # 8 July 26 Round #9, August 2 Round # 10 August 9 Round # 11 August 16 Round # 12 August 23 Round # 7 Snow Summit June 19th, 2016 Round # 8 State Champs July 8th 10th, 2016 Catalina Gran Fondo April 30th, 2016 NATIONAL CHAMPS Mammoth Mountain CA July 12-17th US CUP MAMMOTH KAMIKAZE GAMES Round # 1 Bonelli Park April 9th, 2016 Round # 2 Sea otter classic April 19th, 2016 Round # 3 Missoula XC June 18th, 2016 Round # 4 Boston Rebellion July 30th, 2016 Mammoth Mountain CA September 15-18th
Team Riders Nick Kneisly CAT 1 25-29 Brian Gordon CAT 1 25-29 Jeremy Kneisly CAT 1 30-34 Rory Craig CAT 2 30-34 Team Jerseys TEAM JERSEY SUMMER JERSEY OFF SEASON JERSEY
Fontana Winter Series Fontana winter series is commonly used as training and preparation for the Kenda Cup West series. The Winter Series starts in January while most of the country is drinking hot coco by the fire, Southern Californians head to Southridge park in lovely Fontana to hone their skills and fine-tune Series Recap Team TLD / Baghouse their fitness for the racing season to come. With the extra rain we got this year, and the epic local trail conditions, the team raced a few of the rounds, but opted to take advantage of the epic condition of the local trails for much of the seasons preparation.
Kenda Cup West VAIL LAKE Race Report Jeremy Kneisly JK 2nd NK 5th On the line for the first time in 2016 and more importantly our first race as CAT 1 competitors, the tension was eased by the excitement and gratitude of our supporters and friends. On the snap Jason took the top spot and drove the pack through the headwind and up the single track climb. I was happy to sit in the draft and try to conserve, as the thought of 3 laps was a heavy one. I knew Chad had put down a really good training program in preparation, and my strategy for this race was primarily to get a feel for my competition. Track conditions were epic. I felt strong and after the first two laps hammering back and forth with Jason and Chad. Crossing the finish headed to the third lap Chad latched on to another rider from the younger age group and started to pull a gap. I didn t have the gas to close the gap, and had to let them go. At this point Jason was out of sight behind, my mission was clear finish strong and take the second step on the podium. The rest of the lap was challenging. Fighting cramps I downed 2 GU packs and ½ a bottle of water. Pushed on through the quick kickers, which tend to slap your legs with the threat of locking up. Once I got over the last big kicker and on to the downhill single track. I opened it up committing to fully blowing myself up by the finish. I crossed the line only 45 seconds from first, totally worked. Leaving nothing on the track.
BONELLI PARK Kenda Cup West Race Recap Team TLD / Baghouse JK 2nd NK 6th BG 1st As the weekend approached it looked like it was going to be a sloppy mud race that cat 1 and pro s narrowly avoided at Vail Lake season opener. Nick Kneisly pushed his way around the course for the 6 lap race. Confused about number of laps, Nick made a costly mistake of pulling off the course after lap 5. After a brief lapse in mental clarity due to suffering, Nick got back on course and pushed hard through the last lap to finish 6th in Cat1 25-29. Jeremy Kneisly started with a strategy to deploy minimal effort on initial laps, then ramp up and hold it wide open for the remaining laps. Jeremy powered on to finish 2nd in Cat1 men 30-34. Brian Gordon, driving from Morgan Hill the night prior, arrived at Bonelli fully prepared to race. When the race started, Brian felt strong and found himself off the front of the Cat1 25-29. Brian would go on to lead every lap and take the checkered flag. Two races in to the Kenda Cup race series, Team TLD / Baghouse was off to a powerful start.
SOUTHRIDGE PARK Kenda Cup West JK 1st NK 6th BG 1st RC 8th Race Report Jeremy Kneisly I was Looking forward to the 3rd round at Fontana. Chad who is super strong this year dominated the first two rounds. I knew that I had a technical advantage here because of the challenging terrain and the long downhill section leading back to the finish line. Honestly though I had little hope of taking the win. Jason and I lead the group out, Chad had difficulty in the dry and slippery first corner. We attacked building a small gap. By the time we reached the asphalt climb the group had reunited. I was out front setting a manageable pace, hoping to conserve for the last lap. Once we hit the downhill, I attacked and opened up a bit of a gap. To my surprise my lead only grew, starting the final lap I knew I could win. Concentrating on the mission in front of me I charged hard, fighting off leg cramps for most of the lap. Eventually taking the win with much relief and a bit of disbelief.
BONELLI PARK Kenda Cup West Race Recap Team TLD / Baghouse BG DNF Jeremy and Nick sat this round out because of the fowl weather on the horizon. Brian had a great start, leading for most of the race until a broken wheel forced him to abandon the race.
Kenda Cup West SANTA YNEZ Race Report Nick Kneisly JK 2nd NK 4th We arrived at the track Sunday morning with little time to prepare for the race. Pre-race nerves were in full flow, and not quite enough time to pre-ride only added to the nervousness. We did a proper warm up and then made our way to the start. The countdown was at 5 seconds and my heart rate was higher than I would hope. Once the clock hit zero we hit the gas and forgot all about the nerves. The first quarter mile of the course is somewhat flat, teasing you into high intensity, right when you re sucked in the course gets steep and punchy. Course knowledge is necessary. Endurance riders were on the course and passing was challenging. We spent the first lap making our way through riders, patience was low for my class, and aggressive passes made, words exchanged. Racing. The front of cat 1 25-29 set the pace high and went off the front at the end of lap one. Course knowledge was working in their favor. Half way through the race I had to put aside the discouraging thought. I felt comfortable and powerful, but it was too late. I kept the pace high and made it to the finish line in 4th, only beating one rider who had a mechanical. Reminding me Cat 1 is no joke. Suck it up, move forward.
BIG BEAR LAKE Kenda Cup West Race Report Jeremy Kneisly JK 3rd NK 6th RC 5th This was an exciting weekend for me. I d been looking forward to the Big Bear rounds, and was fired up to be in the mountains. The race kicked off with a blistering pace, the starting group was larger than normal and as a result we had a few heavy hitters to deal with. I went off the front but found myself bringing up the rear of the 5 man lead pack before long. As we mowed through traffic on the dusty service roads it became harder to stay attached to the group. About 45 minutes in I popped off the back. needed. Just having a blast on the skyline trail. I was able to gain a bit of time back eventually passing one rider due to a mechanical, and another due to his lack of technical handling skills. All said and done I crossed the line completely depleted. I was surprised to see that I only finished about 1 minute off of first and 10 seconds off second. Super discouraged I battled negative thoughts, once I made it to the single track, that was all the motivation I
BIG BEAR LAKE Kenda Cup West Race Report Nick Kneisly JK 2nd NK 4th Back to Big Bear for the season finale of the Kenda Cup race series. My goal was to stick with the Cat 1 19-24 and allow them to push and pull me over the summit and through my warm up period. I m typically not strong in the beginning so if I could just use these riders to help me, I stood a chance of wrapping up the season in good form. As we climbed I found myself sitting comfortably with the young riders, even at times eager to go off the front. We kept this up over the top of the mountain and through the single track. The pace dropped back slightly a few times, testing my patience. Finally I noticed the pace drop more dramatically than previous, with fresh legs I took advantage. I did not look back. Digging deep to drop the group of three. In doing so I caught a group of three pro racers. Still feeling strong I worked my way past the group, picking up a nice confidence booster. As I hit Skyline trail all by myself I needed a rider to share the suffering with. One of the pro s from earlier was chasing me down. He was strong, and pushed me all the way up Skyline to the summit where we hit another group of three racers. Two option now. Stay and lose time descending in a group, or make risky passes on narrow single track in order to descend by myself and make up time. The latter. I hit Skyline hard and made it all the way to Forest Service road where the finish lay ahead... I was about to be tested. My right thigh went in to full cramp on EVERY upstroke pedal. This exact cliché literally went through my head, Pain is temporary and your not dead, suck it up. I looked back and saw the guy who pushed me up Skyline coming for me. Was he in my class? Could he catch me? Don t let it happen. Cringing and with an awkward cadence I stood up sprinted to the finish. I crossed the finish having given more than my body was physically capable of. I would pay for that in the recovery days to come. 4th place, Cat 1 is no joke.
Seaotter Classic MONTEREY CA JK 6th NK 14th BG 3rd RC 5th The Seaotter Classic is always the highlight of the year. This time around we headed out in a rented RV. With a few extra days to spare we turned hot laps in Santa Cruz before heading to Laguna Seca for the Event and the XC race.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Called to Creation PB Photo Friends & Family
Special thanks to Bill Keefe, Chad Smart, Troy Lee, Evan Warner, John Dawson, Matt Pacocha, Neil and Rita Harvey, Michael Nasco and Chris Hilton. KENDA CUP OVERALL RESULTS: Jeremy Kneisly - 2nd Nick Kneisly - 4th Brian Gordon - 7th Rory Craig - 13th Jeremy Kneisly jkneisly@troyleedesigns.com 831.818.2418 Nick Kneisly Nkneisly@troyleedesigns.com 831.818.4417 kneislybrothersracing.wordpress.com