Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Bridge Team November Camp

Editorial Note: Dan and Andi Smith pulled together the women of the bridge team for a small camp in November. Below is a quick write up from rider Lauren Hecht. I'll post more photos from the next few camps and races. Ted

Our first ever team training camp was based out of the always welcoming Smith household. Annie drove down from Sac-town on Thursday and we went for an afternoon ride. The short, cold ride was helped lift my final-exam fog. Rae had finals through Friday so she missed both Thursday and Friday rides but showed up breathless and hyped on caffeine at our post-ride sandwich run. We did some team bonding that afternoon while Dan talked over team tactics and some basic sprinting skills. Saturday we ate a great team breakfast and received our first Sport Velo kits and accessories. I’m sure the level of girl excitement over the new wardrobe exhausted Dan because we couldn’t wait to get out and wear them. After we put our sprinting technique education on the pavement our ride and enthusiasm was somewhat dulled by the gloomy valley weather. Sunday we joined the A-race out of Los Altos and besides my first flat of the winter and frozen feet, the ride went smoothly. The weekend was a bit of a blur but four days of Andi’s homemade bread, burritos, The Princess Bride and riding in the cold California rain couldn’t have been better!

Lauren Hecht

Monday, January 12, 2009

Bridge Team Rider Bio's

The season has begun! The Webcor/Alto Velo Women’s Bridge team riders are looking forward to getting going and are helping out with some of the Early Birds. Currently the roster includes Rae Brownsberger, Annie Malouin, and Lauren Hecht. They are currently ripping it up at team camps and daily rides so here is a little info to help you get to know them a little more.

Rae Brownsberger
• Origin: Belmont, Massachusetts
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student
• Team in 2008: Stanford Cycling Team
• 2009 Goals: In 2009, Rae plans on killing it with her teammates at local races. She'd like for the Bridge team to be one of the more respected teams in the area. She hopes to gain strength and experience by racing with the big girls at a few NRC races. She's also looking forward to competing at her first U23 Nationals this summer.

Palmares
’07 D1 Collegiate Road Nationals
’08 2nd WCCC Individual Omnium
’08 1st Collegiate National Time Trial Squad
’08 First NRC Stage Race at Fitchburg Classic

Annie Malouin
• Origin: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
• Age/Occupation: 31 / Veterinary Criticalist
• Team in 2008: Amoroso/Tri-State Velo, Philadelphia, PA
• 2009 Goals: Successful racing with the new AV Bridge team in NCNCA races, get a win in a local road race, and compete and get top 20 in an NRC Stage race. Last season, I mostly trained for triathlons. I competed in several Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races and obtained overall women podium finishes in 4/5 triathlons.

Palmares:
‘08 3rd place at Poolesville Road Race (MD)
‘08 10th in G.C. (Cat 3 field) at 2008 Fitchburg Longo Classic
‘08 5th place at Tour of Christiana Criterium (Cat 1/2/3)
‘08 7th place at the Pennsylvania State Road Race

Lauren Hecht
• Origin: Atherton, Ca
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student at Santa Clara University
• Team in 2008: Webcor/Alto Velo
• 2009 Goals: Establish and build up the new AV Bridge Team at the NCNCA races, Win U23 crit nationals, start competing at NRC stage races, go back and do some damage at Super Week.

Palmares
’08 Copperopolis - Came in first in the 3s, crossed the centerline and was DQ’d :(
’08 2nd Martinez Bay Front Crit P123
’08 1st Santa Cruz Classic Crit P123