Spooktacular in Tuscaloosa

It's the day after Halloween and we are racing cross bikes, and guess what? It rained. For the most part the course was dry, but the stuff that was wet really made you work. Larry fresh off the anniversary weekend took one more step closer to his goal of getting on the podium finishing 5th in the Masters 35+ race. Mike Herring not wanting to miss out on any of the fun also got a top 5 with a 4th place finish in the Masters 45+ race. Hardwick, who is making an instant impact, took the extra step on the podium this week to the top winning the 45+ race!

The "C" race field was again jam packed, but Josh and Zach charged to the front and fought hard to bring home top 5 finishes. Josh finished 5th while Zach took a step onto the podium in 3rd. Garners run of bad luck continued, but he still fought to get home in the top 25.

Stacey fresh of her State Championship victory, went back to back, winning her second race in a row.

In the "B" race Hardick took the 3 steps back up to the top of the podium winning his second race of the day! Larry scored a top 15 with an 11th place finish, and Mike Herring put in a solid effort for his second race of the day finishing 18th.

Check out some pictures of the weekend, we will see you at historic Sloss Furnace in Birmingham!

Dead Dog IX

Congratulations go out to both Larry and Hardwick for their podium efforts at this years edition of Dead Dog. Hardwick finished 2nd in the Singlespeed classification, and Larry finished second in the Sport Men's 40-49 classification. Way to go guys!

Revenge of the Beast from Cooters Pond

Finally some blue skies and dryer conditions to race in! What a welcome relief from the peanut butter thick mud that we raced in during the opening weekend. Prattville is one of the more picturesque courses that we will race in on the circuit. Lush green rolling hills painted against a backdrop that includes the Montgomery skyline and Cooters Pond itself. Thankfully, for the first time in a long time, no rain preceded the race and we had optimal conditions to race in. The icing on the cake was that this race was this years Alabama State Cyclocross Championship.

It turned out to be a great weekend for the team. We welcomed our newest teammate, Hardwick Gregg, Garner broke out a new bike, Stacey raced with us, and Larry took the weekend off to celebrate his anniversary. Things were already great before we took one pedal stroke on the course.

Hardwick and Mike Herring kicked things off in the Masters 45+ race with both earning top 10's. Hardwick ascended the steps of the podium notching a 2nd place finish in his first race with the team.

The "C" race field was big again with a starting field somewhere in the 50's. Zach and Josh charged out hard with both securing top 10 finishes. Garner and John both struggled, but put in a good solid fight.

Hardwick did the double also racing in the "B" race. He secured his second top 5 of the day with a 4th place finish.

Stacey not only moved up to the women's "A" category but she also defended her State Championship title from 08, and now has the distinction of being the women's state champion 2 years in a row. It was an awesome effort.

Enjoy some photo's of the race, and we will be back Halloween weekend in Tuscaloosa.

War at the Ward

The 2009 Bamacross season kicked off in fantastic fashion last Sunday at George Ward Park in Birmingham. The states wettest year in recent memory took what could have been a lightning quick course and turned it into a muddy mess where conditions deteriorated with each passing race. For a cross racer, this weather is stuff that we dream of. I think the only thing that would have made it better was snow. Through the days racing Larry, Zach and Josh fared better in the mud than the rest us with each posting top 10's finishes. Herring, Garner, and John Pugh fought the good fight and posted decent finishes, but the mud dampened their high hopes. In all it was a great day of racing, found some bugs that needed to be ironed out, got to see some old friends, and best of all kicked off the season in fantastic fashion. Please check out some of pictures from the race, and come on out to Prattville this Sunday Oct 18th to root the team on at this years State Championship race.

Bump N' Grind XV

Team CCR got back to it's fat tire roots by racing in the Bump N' Grind XV Mountain Bike race at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama. The trail at Oak Mountain is one of the premiere tracks in the Southeast. Since it was a "home" race it also allowed a majority of the team to come out and cheer on our racers. Larry and Mike Herring both suffered crashes during the race, but it hardly effected the final results. Larry finished 4th in his race, and Mike Herring finished 5th in his race. Justin Poland kept the streak of top 10's alive with his 6th place photo finish. Zach Davis, fresh off of graduation and a week of R&R, capped the day off with a 10th place finish. In all, 4 riders went into the race, and all 4 were in the top 10. It was a solid day of racing for the team, and we got to cap it off by watching the Pro Men's and Women's races later that day.

Enjoy our photos of the races.......

Row, Row, Row, your bike.......

The cycling Gods have not been nice to the Birmingham cycling scene this 2009, and the dreadful weekend weather continued for this years edition of the Sunny King Criterium. In what was described as being stung by the rain drops, 4 weary souls raced during the deluge that sat on Anniston, Alabama. Gardner Fish brought home another solid top 10 finish with a 6th place in the Juniors 13-14 race. Brad and Larry brought home top 15's in the Men's Cat 4/5 race finishing 14th and 15th. Doing the double Larry also backed up his first race with a 10th in the Cat 5 race. Big pats on the back went to Brad and Mike Herring who road to their limits to help bring Larry home in 10th. A HUGE thanks also goes to Laurel. She found solace in the liquid sunshine and rooted the guys on and snapped a few rain soaked pictures for us as well.

The Gods cranked up the weather tenacity for Sunday's Cheaha Challenge. This time along with the rain, came hail, wind, and tornado warnings. Luckily for us Laurel and Mike Herring road as if the storm was chasing them and were finished and in their cars by the time the bad weather struck. Kudos to them for their 88 mile effort, in the South's toughest century.

Team CCR had a busy weekend taking on the 1st edition of the Cyclisimo Criterium in downtown Birmingham and Attack on Swayback Mountain Bike race in Prattville, Al.

The weekend kicked off with the team getting to race on freshly paved streets in downtown Birmingham. The race was centered around a weekend celebration of heritage at the Birmingham International Center. Todd Pope, Todd Topeano, and Larry Stanley carried CCR's colors into battle while racing in the Cat 5 race. Larry had Lady Luck and momentum on his side, and cruised home with a hottly contested 8th place finish.

Sunday saw Larry and Justin heading down to Prattville to race in the Attack On Swayback mountain bike race. Swayback is a tight, technical trail that tests a riders endurance and bike control over the rocky and rooted 8.7 mile course. Justin was first out of the gates racing in the Men's 20+ sport class. Justin's hard off season effort paid off with an 8th place finish, and bettering his time from last year by 4 minutes. Larry did not miss a beat from Saturday and tamed the wild beast bringing home a victory in the Men's 40+ sport class.

Congratulations to Larry on his 1st victory of the season.