Training partners set Fondo 100-mile pace

Working as a team, two Tehachapi natives on the cusp of major professional breakthroughs in the fierce world of international bicycle road racing left 172 other riders behind in the century (100-mile) Tehachapi Gran Fondo Sept. 19, 2015.

Cory Lockwood, 27, crossed the line first with a time of 4 hours, 46 minutes, 50 seconds.

Dakota Gracey, 26, finished second with a time of 4 hours, 49 minutes, 50 seconds.

"We worked as a two-man breakaway," Lockwood said. "Two is faster than one."

In road racing, a designated leader is helped by his teammates, or domestiques ("workers"), who take turns riding ahead to break through the air resistance, allowing the leader to slipstream and conserve his energy until the final breakaway.

The last two riders in the century, crossing the line together, clocked in at 9:18:10 and 9:18:11.

City Race Director Michelle Vance reminds readers that the five courses in the Fondo are not competitive races.

"It's just for fun," she said.

Lockwood placed first in the debut Fondo ride in 2014 with a time of 4:54:34. He rides for Bakersfield's Black Top Cycling team.

For Lockwood and Gracey, it is something more than fun.

"It's my third serious season of serious road racing," said Lockwood, who competed in motorcycle and mountain bike racing before focusing on road racing. Lockwood, a 2007 graduate of Tehachapi High School, worked in construction in Alaska.

Gracey, also a 2007 graduate of Tehachapi High School, lives in Long Beach and rides for Pacific Premier Bank. He has taken over the operation of his mail order family business Match Prep, which makes machines for reloading bullets for competitive shooting. His family are long-time residents of Tehachapi. His grandmother Pat Gracey is a historian who writes a column that appears in The Loop. Gracey has competed 80 times this year with his team in various western states. His goal is to ride in the Tour de France.

Lockwood and Gracey train together but neither has an official coach ("Coaches are super expensive," Lockwood said.) They gain knowledge from the internet and from books by Joe Friel and Greg LeMond.

Lockwood is 166 pounds and 6-2/2 in height. Gracey is "150 to 160 pounds," and 6-1.

They are in a good age window for road racing, as the technical skills, efficiency and muscle power integrate between the ages of 28 and 35 for maximum performance. Two weeks before the GranFondo, Lockwood underwent a VO2 Max test at the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs, with, he said, "promising results." He's keeping inquiries from major teams under wraps for now.

Nineteen of the 174 competitors in the 100-mile race were women, the top ones finishing in 7th, 9th and 16th.

In the 70-mile MedioFondo, 38 of the 183 riders were women. Crossing the line in first place was Victor Cabello, 53, of Santiago Chile, the son-in-law of Tehachapi's Eve Geisler. Cabello and family have come from Chile both years for the event.

Nine hundred people finished the five events. For full results (The 50-mile PiccoloFondo Plus event awaits correcting), see racewire.com.