Hoover Criterium

Team CCR went into it's first home race at Spain Park High School with the team at full strength, and the results were evident early on. Gardner Fish notched his second victory of the young season with a thrilling victory in the Junior race. Larry Stanley backed that up with a solid top 5 in a stacked CAT 5 35+race. Mike Herring(11th Master 45+) and Brian Tucker(11th Cat 5 35+) brought home 2 additional top 15's for the team. Justin, Ashley, Todd P., and Todd T. all raced incredibly hard to help get us in a position for the finishes that we had. It was a very solid effort from the team.

Marching On

CCR's racing season went into full swing in March starting with the Winter Training Race Series at Camp Sumatanga. The team made a decision to move up from the "C" races to the "B" races for 2009. Racing in the "B" races is more organized, bearing a slight resemblance to what you would see on T.V.. This year we had also decided we were going to be more active and not just sit and ride. With the second race being canceled for snow, our training efforts were shortened into 2 quick weeks. The boys rode hard in both races, and like a prize fighter, they kept jabbing at the peleton, then would tactfully drop the hammer. The team showed lots of fight and by the end of the third race, everyone knew who we were.



After completing the training series we kicked things off with the first real test at the Tour de Tuscaloosa. The crit is tabbed as the toughest Crit in the South, and not even a course change would damage that reputation. Brad and Gardner brought home top 15's for the CCR gang with each finishing a very respectable 12th. By the time we got to the road race we had lost several to sickness and sent out a skeleton crew at best. Todd Pope and Mike Herring both raced with a lot of grit and determination representing CCR well in the road races.




CCR made it through March relatively unscathed. The only incident we had was Justin's crash during the training races, which resulted in some scratches and bruises. The season really fires up in April.

Enjoy some photos: Training Races and TDT

TT Team Fish

Chalk 1 up for Gardner Fish. Our newest and youngest addition to the CCR family went out and scored his first cycling victory at the Georgia Cup TT Series in Adairsville, Ga.. Racing in the Junior's under 14 class, you would have never know it was his first race, ever. Gardner carved up the rain slicked 9.5 mile course and cruised home with an average speed of over 20 mph.



Brad, racing in the Clydesdale Class, fought of cramps to come home with a 4th and an average speed over 23mph.

Congratulations to Gardner for his first win!!

CCR Welcomes Gardner Fish

It's with great excitement that we welcome Gardner Fish to CCR. Gardner is the son of Brad "The Piranha" Fish and will be racing in the Junior classification. Go get'um Gardner, you can do it!

Also, if you haven't registered for the Hoover Cycling Festival (Criterium/Century) starting at Spain Park High School on April 4, 2009, registration is now open. Please visit www.hoovercrit.blogspot.com and register, this year is going to be even bigger than last.

Toney Time Trial

Brad Fish launched CCR's racing season with a solo time trial effort at the Toney Time Trial in Toney, AL. After taking several months off to enjoy his off season and recover from nagging injuries, he chose this as an opportunity to test his fitness level and start his racing season.

The Toney course is a fairly flat 9 mile out and back. The weather was perfect but the wind added a degree of difficulty. His first race back from his layoff brought home a solid 5th place finish in the Master's Race.

Congrats to Brad on his 1st top 5 of the season.

New Year / New Team

Well, the names are in for our 2009 roster, see right. We will be racing and riding in every cyling discipline again this year. We will be updating the rider profiles here in the next couple of weeks.

We will be riding with pretty much the same active members as last year. So, we have a strong foundation to build on.

[ 2008 Summary ]

39 - Top 5 Finishes
66 - Top 10 Finishes
80 - Top 20 Finshes
38 - Podium Finishes

We are excited about what the future holds for CCR and we are thankful for the companies, thus far, that have stepped up to sponsors us in this economy for 2009: Cahaba Cycles, Stanley Steemer, American Safety Tread and Beljum Budder.

We will also be producing two of the finest events in the Southeast, the Hoover Crit and the CCR Spring Century.

2009 is looking bright!

CCR's Army invades Cullman

The CCR Army invaded Sportsman Lake Park in Cullman Al. for the season finale of the 2008 Bamacross season. The grueling muddy conditions from the prior week had been traded in for much cooler temperatures, and yes, more mud. Sportsman Lake Park is a unique course that incorporated your standard issue man made barriers and steep run-up, but also took into account the parks unique attributes. We traversed part of the lake itself, crossed a creek and a bog, ran around a jungle gym area that was filled with pea gravel, crossed back and forth over the mini-train tracks, rode some sweet fast single track, and had a triple tree crossing. Sprinkle in Christmas decorations, cowbells, screaming fans and you have yourself a perfect cyclo-cross venue.



As has been the trend all cross season long, the team raced with guts, heart, and dogged determination. Some were racing for a podium spot, others racing for that elusive top ten finish, others for that top ten overall, and others to top their best finish this season.



The cooler temperatures brought out the hard core crossers. There were no field fillers and no one timers. Lining up at the start line, though the fields were smaller, were the hardest of the hard. You knew looking around that the faces staring back at you were familiar. They were the same faces that you had toiled with all season long. You knew in your heart that there was going to be no let up, and that you were going to have to work, probably the hardest all year to realize your dream.



At the end of the day covered in mud, extremities numbed, lungs scorched by the cold, and facing sheer exhaustion the team closed the curtain on the 2008 season. The racing had been everything we could have hoped for and more. Stacey’s momentum was not affected by her off week, and she cruised home to victory in the women’s CX 4 race. Larry had again doubled up coming home 4th in the Master 35+, and 11 in the men’s CX 3/4 races. Mike Herring also did the double and raced to an 8th in the Master 45+, and 13 in the men’s CX 3/4 race. Chris Leven went out and seized the moment getting himself a top 10 in the CX 3/4 race with an 8th place finish. Diesel ground out a 7th in the men’s CX 4/5 race, and Zach doing what he does best brought home a 2nd place finish in the juniors race.



Before we left to go home, 2 of our own took their spots on the podium to be recognized for their achievement for the season. Zach finished the season ranked second in the Junior’s class. Stacey got to go one step higher on the podium and finished 1st overall for the women’s CX 4 class. For the rest of us, we had a 2 week wait till we found out how we finished. In his second full season of cross, and racing half of the Master 35+ series, Larry finished the year 7th, and 10th in the CX 3/4 series. Chris Leven, with his gutsy finale finish, blasted into a 15th place finish for the CX 3/4 series. Mike Herring racing in his first full year, finished the year 13th in the Master 45+ series, and 23rd in the CX 3/4 series. Lastly the rookie, and destroyer of many a bike part, Mike “Diesel” Garner, held on by a mere 4 points for a 5th place finish in the men’s CX 4/5 series. As a team we finished in 6th place for the series, the highest finishing rookie team.



Please enjoy probably our best photo gallery of the season, and race reports should be forthcoming. See you next season.