Top Teams Featured for Brea’s Criterium

Winter can be a frustrating time for bicyclists in much of the world. Forced off the roads by inclement weather, riders are left to spin their wheels indoors on stationary trainers.

It’s different in Southern California and that’s why many professionals relocate here in winter, taking advantage of the milder conditions. You can see the results every day on Pacific Coast Highway, a major training ground for the titanium set.

Local races also take advantage, bolstering their fields with professionals getting ready for the season. One such race, the 14th annual St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Criterium, is Sunday in Brea.

Cycling isn’t known as a spectator sport in the United States, but this event features top riders zooming at average speeds of 28 mph around a 0.7-mile, four-turn course in an industrial area.

“It’s colorful,” race director Ed Keck said, “and the action is fast with racers speeding up to 40 mph for final sprints.”

Many top domestic professional teams, including Mercury, NetZero and Jelly Belly, are expected to be represented.

The professional men will race for 75 minutes starting at 1:05 p.m. and there are 12 other races in various women’s, amateur, juniors and age group categories, starting at 8 a.m.

Novices can enter the seven-lap public race, which starts at 11:45 a.m.

Details: https://www.canyonvelo.org

BIG AIR TARA

Tara Dakides, who splits time between Mammoth Lakes and Laguna Niguel, won her second consecutive Snowboarding Big Air gold medal in the Winter X Games Sunday at Mt. Snow, Vt.

Dakides didn’t land well on her first two jumps and was out of the top 10 until she nailed her final trick, a “Rodeo 540,” an inverted jump with 1 1/2 rotations.

That earned Dakides an 89.0 out of 100 to pass Barrett Christy of Vail, Colo., who had 86.67.

Dakides, 25, was also the defending champion in the Slopestyle competition. She finished seventh. Jaime Macleod of New London, N.H., won the event.

Cara-Beth Burnside, who moved to Encinitas from Orange last year, finished eighth in the Superpipe, which was won by Shannon Dunn of Tahoe Vista, Calif.

RACE OF THE MILLENNIUM

The Race of the Millennium, the no-limits around-the-world catamaran race, enters its 41st day today and Club Med, a 110-foot French entry, continues to scream through the southern latitudes east of New Zealand, padding its wide lead. Thursday, Club Med broke the world 24-hour distance record, traveling 655.2 nautical miles and moving within 1,200 nautical miles of Cape Horn at the tip of South America, 8,100 from the finish in the Mediterranean.

PlayStation, a 125-footer designed in Newport Beach, dropped out of the race in the second week because of equipment problems, leaving Team Adventure as the only U.S. boat in the race.

Team Adventure, in third place nearly 5,000 miles behind Club Med, has had problems of its own. Last month, two crewmen were injured and the boat was damaged when it slammed into a wave, forcing an emergency stop in Cape Town, South Africa. The giant cat was repaired, but the two injured men--one suffered a compression fracture of a vertebra in his lower back--couldn’t continue and two other crewmen decided to leave the boat.

Team Adventure rejoined the race with 10 crewmen and presses on, giving its skipper Cam Lewis a chance to continue his colorful e-mail dispatches from on board.

One of his latest:

“The relentless sound of smashing water and plastic never ceases, a cacophony of noises, the roar of wind in the rigging, the waves competing, decibels on top of the chart.

“The water hits the brain in bathtub-size chunks. Luckily it only hits the drivers from the shoulders up or they would be flattened.

“Have you ever wiped out water skiing at speed? Did ya bounce? Water is damn hard. Cold too. It’s part of the job. Being a Catboy is not for the meek, no smokers here.”

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

BACKPACKING

Feb. 22

* REI’s Santa Ana store presents “How Three Geezers Walked the John Muir Trail and Lived to Talk About It.” Last July and August, Gil Thibault and two other self-described geezers hiked the 215-mile John Muir Trail. Join Thibault for a humorous slide show as he tells his story and shares experiences of life on the trail. His talk will feature their physical training program, logistical planning and tips for a successful walk. Starts at 7 p.m. Details: (714) 543-4142

BICYCLING

Feb. 18

* 2001 Ride to Remember offers a United States Cycling Federation criterium, a ride-a-thon around an 8.5-mile course at the former El Toro Marine base, a cyclocross competition and a safety rodeo for children 12 and under. Proceeds benefit Project 999, which supports families of peace officers injured or killed in the line of duty in Orange County. Details: (714) 647-4133.

EXPOSITION

Saturday

* The Orange County Fairgrounds will host a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. There will be clinics, exhibits and appearances by famous female athletes, Olympic gold medalists and star players from women’s basketball, softball and soccer and extreme sports. Among those invited to attend are soccer players Joy Fawcett and Tisha Venturini, basketball legend Ann Meyers Drysdale, volleyball players Lisa Arce and Jenny Wrobel and Olympic swimmers Kaitlin Sandeno and Cathy Ferguson. Tickets are $2 for adults, $1 for children, and parking is free. Proceeds benefit the Women In Sports Careers Foundation and Girls Inc. of Orange County. Details: (714) 848-1201.

RUNNING

Saturday

* The Great American Adventure Run offers 4.8- and 2.8-mile cross-country courses at Huntington Beach Central Park, West. Details: (714) 841-5417 or https://www.nealand.com/finishline

Feb. 18

* Brea 8K Classic benefits Brea Olinda High School clubs and organizations. Course with some rolling hills starts and finishes at Brea Mall. Details: (800) 344-5333 or https://www.brea8k.org

Feb. 24

* Race on the Base 10K and 5K runs at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base. Course includes time on the runways at the base. Proceeds will benefit U.S. Water Polo’s National Aquatic Center at the base. Details: (562) 430-1073.

March 10

* March Mayhem 5K at Concordia University in Irvine. Benefits Kids Cancer Connection and the university’s cross-country and track and field teams. Details: (949) 854-8002, ext. 1845

March 11

* Spirit Run starts at Fashion Island in Newport Beach and features a 5K and 10K run. Proceeds benefit several Newport Beach elementary schools. Details: (949) 451-4568 or https://www.kinaneevents.com

VOLLEYBALL

Ongoing

* U.S. Youth Volleyball League has begun registration for play that starts in March in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. The USYVL offers instructional leagues for children 8 to 14. The cost is $90. Details: (888) 988-7985.