Zachary Hilton
Diablo, CA
Place: 61
Field: 404
Teammates: Alexander Komlik, Andy Crews
Place: 61
Field: 404
Teammates: Alexander Komlik, Andy Crews
Weather: 70 degrees avg. sunny and getting warmer as you climb, direct sun was melting me :)
Start Time: 08:30 am
Total Time: 00:56:16
Power: 244 W avg, 569 W max, 251 W NP
Power: 244 W avg, 569 W max, 251 W NP
Average Speed: 11.55 MPH, Top Speed 31.30 MPH
Average HR: 183 Max HR: 193
Elevation Ascent: 3,120 ft
Mt Diablo Challenge! First off thanks to all my donors who supported Save Mt Diablo in my name this year. This mountain represents everything cycling has offered to me, and it is who I have become today. You can see this majestic mountain all over the Bay Area. I see it on a regular basis when I ride to work from Pleasanton, and there are areas near my Fire Station where I can see it. Mt Diablo Challenge was the first race that I ever competed in. I got a time of 01:12:00 and that was in 2010. In 2014 I achieved a time of 56:16! My goal was to go sub 54 min, and that was a tough goal to meet. I got a personal record (PR) however of over 1 minute. Those seemingly little milestones are actually a foundation that you build on when trying to go faster up this mountain. It lives up to its name Diablo Challenge! You are fighting your brain and body after a few miles into this race.
I'm riding my 2009 Specialized Tarmac with the new Ultegra 6800 11 speed group set. I want the new 2015 Tarmac :) I ride a 53/39 11/28 for most races. I am also racing with my Race Rim 32 Carbon Tubulars, and Vittoria Corsa EVO CX Tubulars. My goals were to go sub 54 min, improve my time on the climb, and enjoy the life I have! I arrived early and warmed up on the trainer for around 45 minutes. Pack a bag for the top. The organizers will sag a bag to the top for you. I always pack a pair of shorts, shirt, hat, bottle, and shoes. You are at the top for over an hour eating, hanging out, and walking around. Make sure the bag is something that you can descend with after. You'll also be able to get some free items at the top. We lined up in our Waves with 15 minutes to hang out and wait. I lined up next to my teammate Alexander Komlik. Kudos to Alexander for showing up to this race. He was in a bad accident earlier this Summer on the bike. He has guts to come back from that and still climb this mountain in under an hour. As always I saw Stuart from Cushman & Wakefield! This has been a traditional good luck handshake for the past 2 year. I was planning on trying to hold Stuart's wheel in a group for as long as I could. I carried 1 bottle of Hammer Nutrition with me. It was a warm day and sure enough I needed all of it.
Wave 1 is off and we are spread all over the road. You still have to work your way around guys that sign up for Wave 1 but really aren't under an hour guys. I always stay within the top 25 riders as we make our way around some turns before we hit South Gate. Seems that most guys can handle their bikes pretty well in Wave 1. I am not sure about the other waves of riders coming through that first section. The pace was good for me this year climbing up to the pay station. As we weave around the turns there's room between us to take the momentum of the turn while staying in a draft position. I was also keeping an eye on my watts and trying to stay around 275 W. That's my FTP right now. This race is about saving as much energy as you can while not loosing time. Each time you drink, sit up, soft pedal, and etc...that is time lost overall. As we were climbing to the pay station the sun was extra hot today. That was going to play a negative factor for me. The top 15 guys started to move ahead quickly and a group started to form around me of about 15. It was a fast pace and this was the group I wanted to stay with through Rock City and hopefully to the junction. Stuart was also in this group and I after some words of encouragement from him I stayed close to him. We hit the pay station single file and strung out as we raced through Rock City. Once we started the slight downhill there were some accelerations in the front that I was ready for. We started to climb again near Curry Point and I was sitting 6th place. I was watching two Team Fremont guys pacing each other but not taking the inside line. No center line rule for this race. I tried to see if I could drop the group and get them to come on the inside. Within a 20-30 seconds they caught me. Sometimes that works but this group was moving fast. I stayed within the group until we hit the junction. I set a lot of PR's on the first 6 miles :) Time to settle in for the last 4 miles. These are the hardest and test you the most! It was hot, I was thirsty, and fighting the resistance of my brain telling me to stop. The only way out of it for me is to keep finding wheels to draft and push on. I found a small group of 3 that came along side of me, and that's who I stayed with through Devil's Elbow. Once we hit the elbow I was rejuvinated perhaps because I knew it was almost over! I didn't set any PR's from the Junction to the Summit. I made it up The Wall without falling over and finished my 4th Diablo Challenge with a personal record time of 56:16! Stoked out of my mind that I can still ride my bike the way I do while improving each season. My best bud Hanns Detelfsen of CA Technologies won the DIABLO CHALLENGE and set a PR of 00:46:22!
It's been a great year for me, and my family! My wife has taken up running and now she's racing it too. She does her first half marathon at the Nike Women's SF, in a few weeks. Kudos out to her for her accomplishments, and thank you for all the support you give me my love!
Well my off-season is officially here. I'll be competing in San Jose Bike Club's Winter Series and also the Low Key Hill Climbs. All are welcome! SJBC Race Team is also recruiting right now for the 2015 season.
Thanks for reading!
I'm riding my 2009 Specialized Tarmac with the new Ultegra 6800 11 speed group set. I want the new 2015 Tarmac :) I ride a 53/39 11/28 for most races. I am also racing with my Race Rim 32 Carbon Tubulars, and Vittoria Corsa EVO CX Tubulars. My goals were to go sub 54 min, improve my time on the climb, and enjoy the life I have! I arrived early and warmed up on the trainer for around 45 minutes. Pack a bag for the top. The organizers will sag a bag to the top for you. I always pack a pair of shorts, shirt, hat, bottle, and shoes. You are at the top for over an hour eating, hanging out, and walking around. Make sure the bag is something that you can descend with after. You'll also be able to get some free items at the top. We lined up in our Waves with 15 minutes to hang out and wait. I lined up next to my teammate Alexander Komlik. Kudos to Alexander for showing up to this race. He was in a bad accident earlier this Summer on the bike. He has guts to come back from that and still climb this mountain in under an hour. As always I saw Stuart from Cushman & Wakefield! This has been a traditional good luck handshake for the past 2 year. I was planning on trying to hold Stuart's wheel in a group for as long as I could. I carried 1 bottle of Hammer Nutrition with me. It was a warm day and sure enough I needed all of it.
Wave 1 is off and we are spread all over the road. You still have to work your way around guys that sign up for Wave 1 but really aren't under an hour guys. I always stay within the top 25 riders as we make our way around some turns before we hit South Gate. Seems that most guys can handle their bikes pretty well in Wave 1. I am not sure about the other waves of riders coming through that first section. The pace was good for me this year climbing up to the pay station. As we weave around the turns there's room between us to take the momentum of the turn while staying in a draft position. I was also keeping an eye on my watts and trying to stay around 275 W. That's my FTP right now. This race is about saving as much energy as you can while not loosing time. Each time you drink, sit up, soft pedal, and etc...that is time lost overall. As we were climbing to the pay station the sun was extra hot today. That was going to play a negative factor for me. The top 15 guys started to move ahead quickly and a group started to form around me of about 15. It was a fast pace and this was the group I wanted to stay with through Rock City and hopefully to the junction. Stuart was also in this group and I after some words of encouragement from him I stayed close to him. We hit the pay station single file and strung out as we raced through Rock City. Once we started the slight downhill there were some accelerations in the front that I was ready for. We started to climb again near Curry Point and I was sitting 6th place. I was watching two Team Fremont guys pacing each other but not taking the inside line. No center line rule for this race. I tried to see if I could drop the group and get them to come on the inside. Within a 20-30 seconds they caught me. Sometimes that works but this group was moving fast. I stayed within the group until we hit the junction. I set a lot of PR's on the first 6 miles :) Time to settle in for the last 4 miles. These are the hardest and test you the most! It was hot, I was thirsty, and fighting the resistance of my brain telling me to stop. The only way out of it for me is to keep finding wheels to draft and push on. I found a small group of 3 that came along side of me, and that's who I stayed with through Devil's Elbow. Once we hit the elbow I was rejuvinated perhaps because I knew it was almost over! I didn't set any PR's from the Junction to the Summit. I made it up The Wall without falling over and finished my 4th Diablo Challenge with a personal record time of 56:16! Stoked out of my mind that I can still ride my bike the way I do while improving each season. My best bud Hanns Detelfsen of CA Technologies won the DIABLO CHALLENGE and set a PR of 00:46:22!
It's been a great year for me, and my family! My wife has taken up running and now she's racing it too. She does her first half marathon at the Nike Women's SF, in a few weeks. Kudos out to her for her accomplishments, and thank you for all the support you give me my love!
Well my off-season is officially here. I'll be competing in San Jose Bike Club's Winter Series and also the Low Key Hill Climbs. All are welcome! SJBC Race Team is also recruiting right now for the 2015 season.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks to Race Rim Wheels!
Thanks to Hammer Nutrition!
Thanks to SJBC Race Team!
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| Winner Winner Chicken Dinner |
