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Cat's Hill Classic


history of Cat's Hill Criterium:
Mark Caldwell

A Note From Mark Caldwell:
'86, '87 Cat's Hill


LGBRC, I won your race in 1986 as a senior. I have since won the masters races a number of times. In 1989 I won the other great one-day classic of Northern California, Nevada City. Both races are brutal. The community of Los Gatos and the Cat's Hill organizers have a right to take pride in the race and its enduring quality. Any cyclist who has raced or recreationally ridden this course knows that to win is a feather in the cap of even the great champions of our sport. In 1987 my protégé Stefan Speilman of the 7-11 team competed. He managed to get a wheel caught in the infamous slot between turns 2 and 3 just before the climb. He crashed hard and took down his Olympian teammate Jeff Bradley who spoke to Stefan after as if he had done it on purpose. We can all laugh about it now after 15 years. To say the course is technical is an understatement. It is difficult to count how many times I've seen someone's race ruined by dropping their chain on the unforgiving "Cat's Hill."

Cheers,

Mark Caldwell