Labor Day 2010 once again had the privilege of hosting one of the best races in California. Riders confirmed this race as a favorite by turning out in huge numbers (several hundred raced throughout the day with 90+ person fields in several categories). While of the races were at breakneck speed, the pro men's and women's races perfectly showcased the two basic outcomes of any race - the men's winner came from a breakaway and the women's from a bunch sprint.
Starting at 1 o'clock, the women's race had the best temperatures of the day at around 80 degrees. With almost 35 riders the field was of medium size (women's races tend to be smaller than men's) and looked likely to split apart. However, despite the repeated accelerations of riders from Touchstone Climbing, Yahoo! Cycling, the Los Gatos Bicycle Racing Club, Peanut Butter & Co Twenty 12 and the sponsor's team (Metromint Cycling) the pack wouldn't give up. Tara McCormick of Team Tibco budgeted her energy the best and ended up winning the sprint in style.
The men's pro race went at full gas from the start. With 90+ starters and a lot of prestige on the line for winning there was never a chance the race would be slow. Every lap for the opening 10 laps (of the 55 lap race) there was at least one attack but riders were struggling to gain any ground on the motivated back. However, after the opening flurry of attacks a split was made with about 15 riders - and most importantly the right mix of teams. The big local teams and whatever professional teams never want to let a move go without having one of their riders represented. This breakaway had riders from Jelly Belly Pro Cycling, Bissell Pro Cycling, the Yahoo! Cycling Team, California Giant Berry Farms, Team Specialized and the McQuire Cycling team (along with several other strong riders from smaller teams.
The riders from Jelly Belly, Yahoo and Bissell drove the pace to drop any weaker riders from the break - and the number eventually dwindled to 8. These 8 riders eventually lapped the pack. For some reason the officials neutralized the main pack when they were caught by the 8 riders and so the breakaway went past and just kept riding. Towards the end, Sergio Hernandez of Jelly Belly attacked and soloed to the win - with plenty of time to raise his hands as he crossed the line. The pack sprint was won by Sterling Magnell of McGuire who was clearly attempting to make up for the fact that he had dropped out of the breakaway earlier on in the race.
All in all it was a great day of racing and the crowd that was watching all seemed to be enjoying the gorgeous San Francisco weather.
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