Webcor Alto Velo Bridge Team presented by SportVelo

Dunnigan Hills

2011-08-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Dunnigan Hills Road Race

Womens 123

Team: Emily Foxman, Mary Maroon

Feild: 21

Placing: 4th

I caught up to Em around the warm up area. There were only 2 of us and 7 RED Racing. We needed a plan. Em and I decided to make it fast. Emily attacked right after the moto pulled off. When she came back together with the pack, I attacked. This was enough to set the stage for how the race was going to be. Josie Morgan went and I went again. This time I was off for quite some time. About 30 minutes. RED organized at the front and began to work to bring Webcor back. I was collected right at the base of the first climb. Em immediately attacked up the hill. 1 RED racing went with her. There were 3 RED at the front. I bridged to Em and began a rotation with her. We were away for 10 minutes before I got a flat. Em and RED kept going but got caught a few minutes later. I waited for the follow vehicle. Lucia (LGBRC) had also flatted and was pacing the follow car back. I jumped in with her with a borrowed wheel. Right as we were catching back on the pack took a nature break. We rode that finishing straight at a comfortable pace. During the second lap, RED Racing sent some girls off the front but everything came back.

Before the final climbs, I told Em that what I needed most was a little wind protection. She offered me her spot I told her to find a safe spot for herself and allow me a little room to follow. We had both worked ourselves over and were struggling the second lap. This last effort from Em made a huge difference in my ability to recover. At the final climbs, Em was done. She fell off the back and just couldn't get back on again. She rode as hard as she could during the race and even though she wasn't connected to the pack she continued to chase. At a time when most people would soft pedal in having decided that they had done enough work for the team, Em kept going. She finished alone and on the back and Webcor should be really proud of what she did for us today.

The finish was moved from last year and was tricky. The sprint finish was not well marked and very small. Velo Promo was experimenting with a different finish location. I'm confident that they will find a good way to work it out eventually. Anyway, as a result of the road closure and finish line, Webcor got a very honorable 4th place. No, it is not 1st but we did not hand over the race to chance or race reactively. We raced hard. We raced like a team.

-Mary

CCCX Road Race

2011-08-01T12:05:00.000-07:00

Race: CCCX Circuit

6 laps, 75 minutes

Teammates: Mary

Field: 15

Place: 3

Keith DeFibre loves racing so much and it really shows at his circuit

races. He marked off 5 miles of road between Sea Otter and some

Military housing with some climbs. It's a really good course that

doesn't necessarily favor a pure climber. Our field was a little on

the little side because they raced the Masters Women and the Cat 4s a

minute behind us and there was another race in Danville.

Last year I battled the race out with Laurie Fenech (MadCat). She was

here this year too. Neither one of us had official teammates but we

both had a back up plan. Laurie was talking with Jane (Yahoo) before

the race but I drove down with the Mexican National Road Champion

soooo...

The tactic that Laurie and Jane devised was pretty good considering

the field. Laurie would attack. I would jump and bridge. Jane would

try to chase me down. The rest of the field would follow. This

happened twice. On one occasion I countered Laurie and the same thing

sequence of events unfolded. It was pretty clear what was going to

happen all day. There was not going to be a break with me in it.

If you can't instigate a break and you can bridge to a break, you can

always thwart a break. Keeping a close eye on the girls who want to

attack and just going with them will keep the field together. This

plan is great and almost completely executable. The only variable is

there are other women.

I'm not going to try and control the race. It's not realistic and

philosophically speaking a little unethical to think you can make

other people do your bidding. I'm not going to just sit back and be

reactive. Letting other people determine how you race is just plain

stupid. Racing is like boiling a pot of water. All the molecules are

moving around together.

So anyway, I loose track of Laurie for 3 seconds and she pops off the

front again. For about a mile she was only a few feet in front of us.

No one chases. Then Jane, instead of putting herself at the front of

the race and sitting up, separated herself and rode on the opposite

side of the road. Most of the field followed her out of habit. Then

all of the field followed the rest of the feild. The next thing you

know, Yahoo has very passively managed to get the entire field behind

her and at sub 15mph. And Laurie rolls up the road.

Dulce, our heroine of the story and our Maxican National Champ,

doesn't know the racers and their shenanigans, doesn't know the course

but for the 2.5 laps we've been on it, and quite frankly doesn't know

she can trust me. In English, I tell her she might want to go after

the girl up the road. I'm not sure she understands what I said so I

give some hand gestures and indicate that I will block. She jumps and

starts a little TT after Laurie.

Right at that moment I overcome with contentment because I know Dulce

will make contact and win the race. I know that she has a little ways

to go before she gets there and that she'll have to work for it but I

know it will happen. It felt really good to "tell" Yahoo and MadCat

that it was fine that they wanted to play tactics with me but I was

going to counter them with something they couldn't expect. Right at

that moment Yahoo was physically trying to chase and mentally

realizing that Webcor and Touchstone were not going to let it happen.

It took Dulce 1.5 laps to catch MadCat. Dulce won the sprint by at

least 3 bike lenghts. The rest of the women's field was so proud of

her and the promoter was super stoked to have her at his race. As for

my race, I rode at the front with Yahoo on my wheel. I sat up for 2

seconds and let her lead out the sprint for 3rd.

On a day like Saturday you realize that racing is not always going to

be getting taken to the curb by Vanderkitten. Sometimes it's you and

10 of your best friends trying like hell to crush each other and being

really proud of whoever makes it to the top that day. I can't write a

race report for Dulce, my Spanish isn't that good. I know she worked

super hard to bridge and she earned a well deserved first US win. I

can tell you that I will be racing with these same world class, world

champion, tough as nails women for a long long time to come and we

will love every minute of it.

-Mary

Tour de Nez

2011-08-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

I think Webcor is now 9th in the NRC standings, and Bec and Mary should be in the top 100 individually. :-) A 5th and a 6th at an NRC race, pretty sweet! ~ Andi

Race: Tour de Nez

60 minutes

Teammates: Mary, Bec, Em

Field: 35ish

Place: 5th (Bec 6th)

I didn't take a survey with every single rider in the peloton, suffice

to say I didn't talk to anybody who didn't feel a little bit sluggish

in the heat and altitude. Martina Patella (RED Racing) actually passed

out during the race and hit a hay bale. It was that hot. Amber Pierce,

who is from Reno and won the race attacked after a field separation

and TT'd for 20 minutes for a win of 45 seconds over the field. It was

pretty incredible.

In case you don't remember, Amber Pierce used to crush the Valley ride

when she lived in the South Bay. She's on the National Team now and

changed her name from Rais via a husband. She was on Webcor, dark

brown pony tail, really professional and really classy...Now you

remember.

The current Webcor/AV Women's team had some big Diadora's to fill on

Sunday. We rose to the challenge and did our best. Our best put Webcor

in 9th place for top NRC teams.

The course was great. It was a little narrow and the corners were

tight. There was an uphill chicane and a downhill chicane. It was

great for going really fast.

The pack was together when the first Prime Bell was rung. I went for

it to feel out the finish. I actually ended up getting it and creating

some separation from the field with 3 other riders. I pulled off the

front to begin the rotation. When taking inventory of the potential of

the break I saw 1 girl who was not break riders and 2 who could be but

didn't know how or wouldn't.

The pack was only a few feet back so I sat up. This actually created

more separation. There was no one in the top 5 who were represented in

the break yet there was no one chasing. Perhaps it was clear that this

break would not stick. A few girls bridged, including Bec. Then a few

more. I had no reason to chase a break with Bec in it so I sat up and

kept an eye on anything that would encourage a regrouping or be a

threat to Bec.

Eventually the field came back together. The wind was picking up and

would definitely affect the finish. It would just be a matter of

positioning going into and coming out of the uphill chicane on the

last lap. I had been following Bec for the last 4 laps and she was

taking the corner at the top of the course perfectly. I thought that

if she could just do it one more time we would take the field sprint.

I passed her before that perfect spot on the last lap. It was a slight

miscalculation but I don't know if she knew I had been on her wheel or

that she was so perfect on that corner. We got on the back of 4 riders

before the crest. Primal were 2 of them. 1 Primal sat up and opened a

huge gap between her teammate and the rest of us. I passed her, Bec

passed her and we just tried to see how close we could get to the

three in front of us.

Our best team placing this year: 5th in an NRC race. Thanks for reading.

-Mary

Cascade Crit

2011-07-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Heya Everyone,

The day started out great. Teammates Bec, Lauren Robertson, and I went on an

easy spin in the morning to check out tomorrow's circuit race course,

got our necessary dose of caffeine and spent some time checking out

downtown Bend and did a somewhat reconnaissance walk of the crit

course for later in the day.

We didn't race until 5:45pm so the rest of the day was pretty chill.

Then we road over to the course, signed in, and I went on a hunt for

free swag, but wasn't able to find too much.

Our race started out pretty well, I felt pretty good and was moving

up, but then all hell broke loose, I'm not 100% sure what happened,

but I crashed in turn 4 pretty early on in the race. I remember

something causing my rear wheel or derailleur to lock up and then I

gloriously somersaulted over my bike and was soon run over by a

cycling BC rider. I popped back up pretty quickly and ran (well ran as

well as I could in cleats with blood streaming down my leg) over to

the neutral support. Once I arrived I was put on our spare bike, the

team's somewhat TT setup Orbea, with a massively dropped stem, adamo

saddle, and reverse brakes that were not completely even. So that

definitely made it an interesting rest of the race. I was shaking from

either adrenaline or blood loss when I was being put back on the bike,

but our awesome DS, KCM, reminded me to breathe and got me to calm down

before I was put back into the race. I was a little nervous and became

aware of the issue with the brakes on our spare bike coming into turn

two when I almost slid out again, but luckily I was able to recover.

After that I just focused on staying in the race until the end and

making the time cut and with each progressive lap the raw road rash on

my left leg where there had been skin 40 minutes before was burning

more and more so I began counting down the laps until I could get it

cleaned up. Bec also had a bit of a mishap; her tire blew out after

turn 3 later on in the race, but she was able to get in and finish

with the pack. Though we had a few issues things still worked out. I

was able to finish the race with the bunch and we all made time cut,

and I'm still stoked to keep racing tomorrow

cheers

-Em

Cascade - Stage 1

2011-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Day 2 in beautiful Bend, and after the blink and you miss it prologue yesterday, the real racing of the Cascade Classic was set to kick off today. Em and I were joined by our two super guest riders - Lauren from Texas, and Katheryn from the Bay Area, who apparently has done a bit of racing in the past.

Lining up with the 115 or so other girls, we were at a tactical advantage, being the only team with a super DS, who rides, directs and domestiques, while our mechanic Jason waited behind with his local knowledge and bottle juggling while driving skills. The 120km McKenzie Pass road race that awaited us was a whopper, cresting McKenzie Pass and The Sisters.

It started with 7 miles of neutral descending, and as with most neutral starts I've experienced, it was probably faster and more hectic than a normal race start would have been. Making it safely to the start of the race proper is an accomplishment in iteslf! We all met that first goal of the day, and while cruising downhill at around 60k/h after the commisaire car sped away, we all thankfully avoided a pretty nasty crash that ended at least 1 girl's day.

As the road rose upwards, so did the race tempo, with NOW Novaris, Tibco and Peanut Butter throwing in plenty of attacks to keep the field on its toes. Nothing could get established, so the majority of the field approached the first major climb of the day intact, but that wouldn't last long. The stick thin cycling species sensed their chance, and danced away from the rest of the field. All the major teams were represented, and to be honest, a lot of the time when attacks go on a cimb, its more about who can go, than who the field lets go. So they went at their pace, and the peleton kept it fairly steady, lead for a large part by Katheryn 'I Swear I'm Retired' Mattis. You can take the cyclist from the race, but you can't take the race out of the cyclist. And in this case she rode like she'd never left, sharing little gems of advice and encouragement along the way, to be the most useful DS you could ask for.

Cresting the first climb, there wasn't much time to relax as we strung out single file down the pedalling descent. It was just long enough to cool the legs off a bit before bringing them slamming back to reality as we hit the next climb. Nearing the top, we were met by the gnarly looking larva fields, contrasted by the beautiful snow-capped mountains in the backgrond. I had about 2 seconds to admire the scenery before it was back to business as we passed over the KOM and through the hectic feed zone, before dropping down the final long descent of the day.

As it flattened out, we tapped along at a decent rate of knots, not really aware of what the gap was to the leaders, until finally the moto informed us that they were about 2 minutes up the road. Seeing the 20km to go sign a couple riders put in a few jumps. Maybe they were practicing their sprint for the crit, or maybe they just wanted to confuse the peleton. They succeeded at the latter, as the road was long and straight, and if they had intedned to chase down the break, they were probably an hour or so late.

We bombed through the final feed zone on one of the fastest sections of the course, and I think more bottles were lost than were gained. It strung out winding through the town before the base of the final climb of the day. As we approached the final 10k and the road started to head skyward again, Katheryn was chatting away in the bunch as she had been doing a lot of the day, as if on a cruisy group ride with friends, and I hear her exclaim 'this is where I pull the pin'. Fair enough, I thought, and I started to go tempo up the climb, only to see her a minute later come streaming past, moving to the front of my little group and towing us back to the bunch in front. All this on a diet of swimming and a couple rides a week, while those of us who actually had been training for this were left chewing stem and hanging on by the skin of our teeth. So maybe there is something to be said for cross-training and recovery... or maybe there's just something to be said for being an absolute animal on the bike!

Katheryn 'monster' Mattis then promtly moved to the front and set a good tempo up the final 5k climb to the finish. Some riders were gradually tailed off, and I was praying I wouldn't get dropped by the team DS. Lauren was proving that sometimes climbing is in your blood, and you can train in Texas all year and still look comfy as on mountains in Oregon. We crossed the line about 4 minutes down on the winner, Kristin McGrath from Peanut Butter 2012, and Em rolled in with a nice sized chase group not too far back.

The plan for the week is to treat it as 6 one day races. So we can tick this one off the list and now turn our attention to the TT. The race of truth awaits!

Bec

Cascade - Prologue

2011-07-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team, presented by SportVelo made the trip up to Bend, OR for the Cascade Cycling Classic. Bec Warner and Emily Foxman were to be joined by Texas rider Lauren Robertson. Katheryn would have the pleasure of directing the girls at this race and found Jason Quade, a local, to be our mechanic.

Fortunately we arrive safely in Bend Sunday evening and were greeted by our hosts for the week, Dave and Audrey Adams who have hosted the Webcor women's team for the last two years. They fed us a wonderful dinner and we collapsed into our beds after the long day of travel.

Arriving a day early before the race allowed us to preview the TT and prologue courses and despite the looming clouds, we managed to get a good sense of them. Lauren joined us Monday night and we had a great first team meal.

Tuesday morning I (Katheryn) went to registration only to discover the only way to have a car in the caravan would be if we had 4 riders. As we only had 3, this left us in a bit of a bind… hmm… what to do. As Mary Maroon made the last minute decision not to do the race, we had the start spot; I decided, "what the heck, I'll do the prologue and then not start the road race on Wednesday". Not necessary what I was planning for but if this would help out the team so that we had a car in the caravan, I'll do it.

- fast forward -

The prologue was a short 2 mile out and back in the Old Mill District of Bend (same area as where the last 2 years of cyclocross nationals were). With the distance being so short, the effort would be full throttle from the start. The most technical part was the turn-around, which was this funky "rectangle" through a parking lot.

I was the first off as I wanted to get back to switch my helmet for my DS hat. To be honest, I have not gone that hard in a long time and as many of those who know me, short efforts like that were (and still are) not my forte.

Bec, Em and Lauren all did a great job of giving their best and Bec was our top finisher. Tara Whitten smoked the field and won over Clara Hughes and Kristin Armstrong.

Due to a suggestion by Jason, our mechanic, I decided to start the next day race as he offered to drive the follow vehicle so I could DS from the bike. Yeah… so much for retirement; let's just hope my 2-3 day a week "training" will be enough!

KCM (ret)

Wheel Kids Presentation (http://www.wheelkids.com/)

2011-07-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, in response to a request from Webcor, members of the women's team volunteered to present to the Wheel Kids about bike racing and riding. Here's Haley's report, and it sounds as if the racers had almost as much fun as the kids! Thanks, Webcor, for the opportunity!

_______________________

This last weekend Holly, Bec and I all went up to San Francisco to do a presentation to Wheel Kids (http://www.wheelkids.com/). The organization is a summer bicycle camp for kids who are in grade 1-6.

Early Friday morning we all loaded into the Webcor car with bikes, kit and even a full PowerBar bag. It felt like we were going to race but in actuality we were going to spend a couple hours with the kids at summer camp. I wish when I was in grade school there would have been something like Wheel Kids around.

When we arrived at the marina, we found the leader Tim and decided our best course of action based on the number of campers and overall skill level. We were to talk about bike racing and hopefully inspire the campers to someday give bike racing a go.

As the weather was cold and slightly rainy, we started off indoors with talking about how we got into the sport and what you need for racing. Eventually we did a 'spot the differences' quiz with Bec and myself each in varying stages of race readiness. Helmet, kit, gloves, bike, shoes, race number. Those who could tell us what we were missing were awarded with a PowerBar, which went over well.

After the indoor portion, we all went outside and practiced drills. We all would demonstrate and the campers would follow. The drills were: coming to a correct stop, cornering, side by side cornering, and feed hand offs. We used the remaining PowerBars as feed hand offs to those campers who didn't receive one before.

Everyone did a great job and we were all impressed by the campers' skills. It was fun to spend the morning with eager, well behaved campers who obviously love their bikes as much as we do.

--Haley

Davis Crit 2011

2011-07-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Testarossa Velodrome Challenge 2011

2011-07-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Burlingame Crit 2011

2011-07-01T10:36:00.001-07:00

Here's Holly's race report from Burlingame; she's turning into a crit monster!

Race Report The Parnassus Investments Burlingame Criterium, W P1/2/3
9th of 42
No teammates -- at Dairyland and Nationals
6/26/11

The Bridge Team spanned the US this weekend with Bec, Emily, Haley, Jane, and Dan in the Midwest, Mary in the South, and me holding down our fort in CA.

There was a great racing atmosphere with summer weather, a fast and fun course, and local residents out to watch. The crit circled downtown Burlingame in 0.7 miles with 5 right turns and 1 left to keep us from getting too dizzy. This marked my 4th ever crit, but intimidation and a bit of fear are being gradually replaced by love! High intensity, fast corners, and surprise primes make for an exciting game.

The pack of 42 held tight through the early laps, but just 2 in I rode over something nasty, punctured, and was sidelined to the neutral pit. I am so grateful for the speedy mechanics and the sweet wheel that I used for the rest of the race. I rejoined on lap 3 with a focus of keeping toward the front and going with attacks. I am learning to be less conservative and found myself in position to contest a prime, lead for a bit, and stay in the mix for the finishing sprint. The 40-minute race was over in a flash, and I crossed the line in 9th place.

It was another weekend with a lot of Webcor green going really fast. Good job, & I hope to see you this weekend too! Thanks for reading!

Holly

Follow the Bridge Team:
http://www.facebook.com/AVBridge
http://avbridge.blogspot.com/

Dairyland race report: Madison Crit

2011-06-30T16:17:00.001-07:00

Dairyland race report from Bec:

Madison Race Report
Teammates: Haley and Jane
Winnings: Primes!

The final day of the Tour of Dairyland was fittingly raced in the state's capital, Madison. We went in circles around the impressive Capitol Building, which kind of seems ironic, as I'm sure the politicians inside were doing the same thing, just in a different sense. It was a great place to finish the week of racing, with much appreciated clear skies and probably the best conditions of the week.

Once again it was on from the gun. Vanderkitten had returned from taking 2nd place in the Glencoe GP in Chicago the day before, and were obviosuly high on confidence and motivation, as they pushed the pace from the start. The course was a short 0.6 of a mile, heading downhill after turn one until kicking up into a long drag to the line out of the third corner, which definitely sapped the legs, and the prospect of clambering up it 50 times was slightly daunting.

Attemps at breaks were made, but they mostly just strung out the field. Everything was covered pretty quickly, and it looked like the field was keen for a bunch sprint, after the breakaway succceeding the day before at Downer. Webcor floated around the bunch, and Haley was right on her game continuing to cover moves, before getting a blow out heading into the fast 3rd turn, and expertly holding it up and playing it cool before rejoining a lap later.

I was riding soft as a marshmellow and didn't have the legs to outsprint my grandma, so decided my best chance at making something of the race was to have a crack at a prime. A $100 sprint was called, and I went hard early, hoping to psyche anyone out of coming as well. It thankfully worked and I was able to take the climb to the line all on my own. I kind of went a little hard and found myself with a much bigger gap than planned, which forced me to try and make somthing of it, so I hung of the front for the next lap or two before being swallowed up and almost spat out, just clinging to the back to recover.

The next prime was called for $20. After all the big money being thrown around during the week, expectations were high, and people had become a bit lackadaisical about a mere $20. But 20 bucks is 20 bucks right, and that kind of money can buy you a heap of cheese, or ice cream, or milk (or maybe even fireworks) in this wonderful part of the country! Haley sensed her chance, and with images of swimming in pools of Dairyland's finest custard in her head, jumped ahead and claimed the prize. I'll leave it up to your imagination to decide what we spent it on!

Coming into the final laps, the big hitters were moving to the front and really pushing the pace on the off camber corners. Webcor struggled to move up, and on the final sprint up the hill got caught behind people who suddenly sat up. Forget at least rolling to the line, just slam on the brakes right in the middle of the hill. No worries mate! Really that was our own fault though, as making a run at the line from 20th place belongs in the "What NOT To Do In A Bike Race" book. You live and learn.

All up it was a great experience. Awesome fast racing, heaps of choccy milk, good company, and fireworks. What more could you ask for?!

Thanks to all the girls, and especially to Coach Dan for putting up with us during the week.

Take it easy

Bec

Tour Of Dairyland - Fond du Lac

2011-06-28T16:28:00.001-07:00

Tour of Dairyland - Fond du Lac

Day 4 in Dairyland started with a bang - literally. We got the most pressing matters out of the way early, and stopped to stock up on fireworks on the way to the crit. Judging by the amount of explosive material heading out of that shop, these Midwesterners really know how to have a good time! With the important business dealt with, we piled back into the monster truck and trundled off to downtown Fond du Lac, where a flat and fast 4 corner, 1km circuit awaited us.

The whistle blew for the start and the field bolted like a startled rabbit towards the first turn. On a course like this, position is everything, and consequently everyone wanted THAT good position. The ends were maybe 40 metres long, with the straights being nice and long and wide, so if you were willing to stick your nose in the wind, there was plenty of room to work your way up on the straights before melding in nicely before rounding the bend and consolidating or doing it all again.

Thankfully the rain held off, but there was some blustery wind to contend with. The back straight, aided by a tailwind was super fast (think 50k/h), and plenty of attacks were made, but none got much ground. Webcor put in a few jumps, and Haley patrolled the front like an over zealous security guard high on caffeine, letting nothing escape out of arms reach. There were plenty of primes called to keep things strung out, with Team Type 1 and Mellow Mushroom sweeping the majority and laughing all the way to the bank.

With 5 to go they called a $300 prime, and Laura Van Gilder, in the leader's jersey and having dominated the week, danced across the line as if her name had already been written on the cheque, before holding position as the pace got hectic over the next couple laps and duly taking out the sprint as well, in front of no less than Cari Higgins. All at an age where she's old enough to be mother to half the field. Respect!

Haley continues to rep the green, and rode strong and aggressive the whole race, finishing the best out of the team in a credible 26th. We finished the night on a nice note with a free dinner put on by the Dairyland organisers. They're looking after the women really well and it's much appreciated. We're off to Milwaukee tomorrow for the Downer Classic, so keep your ears pricked for news of what will hopefully live up to its name and be an absolute classic.

Bec

Tour of America's Dairyland. Sheboygan Criterium.

2011-06-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

Race: Tour of America's Dairyland. Sheboygan Criterium.
Date: 6/23/11
Teammates: Jane, Bec, Emily
Placing: 17th, one spot out of the money

This race in Sheboygan was super fun. Highlights included meeting Emily's extended family, a rainy course, a woman pushing a cart getting onto the course, and beating Dan at how many times we could say "Sheboygan". Low points were an early crash that took out some girls and a result one spot out of the money.

Sheboygan is a cute little Wisconsin town that was selected by a Reader's Digest Survey as the Number One Place in the Nation to Raise a Family. The town has miles of Lake Michigan coastline. When Jane and I were warming up and talking politics along the lake, we saw a burnt out hull on display of the Steamer Phoenix that burned there in 1847. This set and eerie tone to my start of the race.

The crit was a good 4 corner course of less than a mile. The rain ceased for a bit to actually dry the pavement but girls were rightfully cautious for the first couple laps though there was an early crash. The race was fast and position was key. Attempts were made to break but nothing got away. At one point in the race along the back stretch, a woman pushing a cart decided to walk across the street in front of the oncoming pack. Luckily she picked up the pace to a quicker walk and we just barely missed her.

I finished 17th but had a good time racing.
Haley

Ripon Time Trial (Tour of the Dairyland stage 7)

2011-06-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Race: Ripon Time Trial (Tour of the Dairyland stage 7)
Teammates: Haley, Bec, Jane
places: 11th, 15th, 27th

Today we had a much earlier start for our race than yesterday, though I was not nearly as caffeinated as my previous race report.

At promptly 8am we left our hotel to drive off to Ripon from Waukesha, and I promptly fell back to sleep in the car...

After we arrives, signed in and pinned out numbers, the Bridge team (and Dan) went to ride the course as a warm-up, I was a little nervous about time and it seemed like we were kinda pushing it as I saw the first few people in our field started before I rounded the last corner of our backwards course lap, but luckily we made it back to the start with a few minutes to spare (disaster averted!)

The Bridge team started one after another and Haley and I decided that as motivation I would try to catch her and she would try to stay away from me. I was able to keep her in my sights for a good amount of time and we both passed 3 people.

The course was fun, rolling hills and lots of wind, but luckily not too much rain (I tend to like to see when I time trial), but gotta love the courses that bring on the suffering and don't know when to stop, but this did make it difficult to get into a good rhythm because the combination of hills and wind kept changing.

The bridge team finished reasonably well, with two of us in the money. Haley was 11th with a time of 38:21 and I was 15th with a time of 38:36 (I was a little disappointed with my race today, but you can't always have your best performance and I'll use it as motivation to do better next time). Jane finished 27th with a time of 39:22 and Bec was 30-something.

-Em

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Tour of Americas Dairyland, Schlitz Park Criterium

2011-06-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

Date 6/21
Race: Tour of Americas Dairyland, Schlitz Park Criterium
Category: Women's 1/2/3
Location: Ridon, Wisconsin
Teammates: Jane, Bec, Emily
Place: 16th, in the money!

Today was the Team's first race at the Tour of Americas Dairyland. The race was 4 days in out of 10 and we fresh off of racing Pescadero except for Holly, who is studying, and Mary, who is at Nationals.

The venue for the course was at the Schlitz brewing company. Historically it was once the largest producer of beer in the world. "The beer that made Milwaukee famous."

The criterium course consisted of a short flat leading to a hill of 200m with 100m of it being pretty steep. Then to a nice flat and a winding downhill. The downhill was slightly sketchy and there was only really one line to ride otherwise you would end up in a pothole, which at speed would send your rear wheel hopping sidewise.

20 minutes in, the race was halted since a huge thunderstorm was in the works. We waited under a parking structure by the van for maybe 30 minutes before we were re-started and had another 40 minutes to race. Coach Dan Smith wisely said before the re-start "Think of this as a whole new race." which helped with perspective on the next 40 minutes.

The remainder involved riders slowly coming off the main group on the hill or through the winding downhill until there was a group of 18 of us. With 3 to go on a prime lap, Kristen Lasasso, riding for Mellow Mushroom, went off the front and no one caught her. I tried to stay in position for the last lap, passing 2 on the downhill and sprint for 16th place.

The Merckx style TT is next.
"When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer!"
Haley

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Dunlap TT

2011-06-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Date 6/8
From Emily, the Dunlap TT report on weekend of dodging raindrops
Race: Dunlap Time Trial
Category: Women's Pro/1/2
Location: Davis (think lots and lots of farmland)
place: 4th

on the morning of June 5th I awoke, bright and early... well early anyway it wasn't particularly bright outside, in actuality it was pouring and I was hoping that the rain would let up for the race, I still can't really get a grasp of the whole rain the June concept, damb global climate change (angrily shakes fist at the sky) after having the mandatory dose of caffeine to get myself up and running I set out for the race and to my delight the rain had let up, though it was a little iffy as to whether it would hold through the race (but man I was glad I'm not a junior racer, getting up at the crack of dawn to be drenched is not really my cup of tea, i have this thing where I kinda like to be able to see when I'm riding, silly isn't it?)

soon after arriving I checked in and and pinned my number and in no time it was time to get warmed up. I prefer to get long warm-ups in prior to time trials, so I gave myself plenty of time to get going. To prep for the race I did my new favorite warm-up, a moderate-to-high intensity interval followed by some high cadence spints (I liked this warm-up, suggested by Karen at Redlands, so much that it has become my standard mode of getting ready to race) of course i do throw in my own flavor a bit to get me pumped to ride hard, fantasy metal! (I have kinda eclectic taste in music and today was definitely a dragonforce type of day) I arrived to line up for my start a bit early (being slightly OCD I to err on the side of early), and had a nice chat with Linda prior to my start, because let's just face it Linda is awesome :)

this year there was a start ramp for Dunlap which was something new for this race, I felt as if I was getting tilted a little too much prior to my start, but I was able to correct and there were no issues (thank goodness, it would have been totally embarrassing to face plant off the start ramp :P) I felt pretty good and I ramped up the pace and shifted into hard gears and soon was able to slip into a nice rhythm of 26-27mph, I passed my 30 second and 1 minute riders relatively early on, my 1minute 30 second person was Olivia Dillon so I didn't think I'd be able to come close to her, but I decided to make trying to see the green dot of her Irish national champion skinsuit far off in the distance a goal, I didn't but I like to give myself tough goals to work for so that I can push myself to my limits. When I hit the headwind section my speed dropped, but I didn't let it phase me and just tried to keep my speed as high as I could sustainably.

The rest of the race pretty much continued along those lines, with only the sound of my breathing in my heart and the occasional thought of checking speed and some motivational internal self talk. After turning the final corner and seeing the finishing tent in sight I put my head down and gave it all I had to try to save precious seconds and was able to increase my pace all the way to the line. After catching my breath and cooling down, I faced another challenge... waiting for results (which normally isn't so bad, but I was fighting theclock once again to try to get to a physiology study group on time because passing my classes and getting my master's degree is kinda important too, though as it should be second to bike racing :P).

After results were posted I saw that I was 4th with a time of 45minutes and 15 seconds, not bad overall, and I still made it to my study group on time though that was not nearly as fun of a race...

cheers

-Emily

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Memorial Day Crit (Win!)

2011-05-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Mt. Hamilton

2011-05-30T10:24:00.000-07:00

So Winter held off for a day, and gave us beautiful clear, Spring-like skies for the Mt Hamilton Classic. Oh wait... that would be because it actually is Spring! Oops, who would have known?! Either way it was a beautiul day, and with the 30km, 4,600 ft climb up Mt Hamilton looming over the 30 something women standing at the start line of the 100k race, it was set to live up to its name, and be an absolute classic.

The moto towed us through the neutral section to the base of the mountain, and then the race was on - and it was on like donkey kong!! Jane Despas from Yahoo put in the first attack, and within the first 3km the field had completely shattered. There were big bucks on offer for the first over the top of the mountain, but had someone forgotten to inform half the field that the climb was actually 30km, not 3?!

Flavia Oliviera floated up the road as if we were standing still, sandwiched by two Peanut Butter girls, Tayler and Alison. Others tried in vain to go with, but soon dropped off the pace. So now it was a matter of settling into a good rythym and hoping that we could keep the gap to a minimum by the top.

Tapping away with my group of four or so, suddenly out of thin air popped Flavia! I heard later that she apparently had a mechanical, but on the down low I swear I saw the remnants of some tea and scones in those bushes. So after fixing her 'mechanical' and waiting for the rest of us to catch up, she jumped back into the race, and jumped right away again, adding insult to injury and dropping us for a second time, and going on to claim the QOM bounty.
More than an hour later, which included an uphill crash and some pointless attacks from my small chase group, we crested Hamilton, and zipped up the windvests and pulled on the armwarmers to face the descent and remaining 70km journey to Livermore.

In true Norcal racing tradition, the race wouldn't be complete without some interesting course features, which today happened to be cattle grids on the fast and windy descent. Having only heard tales of this fabled descent, I approached with caution, but soon decided to let that go with the headwind that would later face us, and pushed ahead eager to make up some of the time lost on the climb. Catching 2 of Flavia's other victims, the race was now on to close the gap to the 3 leaders.

Coming off the descent, and moving on to the rollers that followed, my new chase group, consisting of Susannah from Freemont Bank and Christina from Specialized/Missing Link, got some nice turns rolling and we had them in our sights. Olivia from Peanut Butter had also joined us, but with her teammates sandwiching Flavia up the road, she could catch a free ride on our train. Once they were in our sites, Olivia decided we'd delivered her nicely to her station, and turned the after burners on and took off, now resorting to her own big TT engine. Big kudos to Susannah and Christina who played it cool and kept our little train chugging away at a nice steady pace that would eventually get us all back on. We were awesome team mates... at least for those 15 or so kilometres.

Now there was a lead group of 7 girls - almost half of which were Peanut Butter's super strong time triallers, so understandably after clearing the worst of the rollers, which were peppered by a few little attacks just to get a feel for how everyone was going, the real attacks started. By this stage the group of 7 had now become 9, with Beth from Fremont Bank and Molly from Metromint latching back on. But really apart from the two Freemont girls, it was Peanut Butter up against a heap of lonely riders, which obviously played into their hands.
One after the other the Peanut Butter girls launched off the front - so predictable, but effective all the same. When you have strength, why bother with stealth?! The first half dozen or so times, some sort of a chase was formed and they were reeled back in, but eventually it became too much, with too few people willing to risk their legs for the benefit of the group, and Olivia escaped out of sight, never to be seen again.

Molly from Metromint showed her time trialling prowess and moved to the front to tow us all to the line at a steady rate of knots, into an equally steady headwind. She kept the pace that high that no-one really attempted to get off the front in the race for 2nd place, and so we crossed the bridge with about 1.5km to go, chase group in tact.

Strung out tip to tail, it was going to be a fast finish. Sensing the need to move up, Flavia moved out of the pace line, getting out of the saddle to kick ahead, and unfortunately was bucked by her bike and came down hard. A very unfortunate end to the day for someone who had made the race up Hamilton her own.

With a bit under a k to go Starnes launched an early dash for the line, dangling off the front until the pack charged, lead by her teammate Tayler who held off Beth Newell to make it a well deserved Peanut Butter 1-2. They may have had the numbers, but you still have to pull it together and execute, and they did just that, riding a tactically impressive and powerful race.

Webcor came in 4th. We may not have quite made the podium, but to just finish that race, and say that you conquered Mt Hamilton is pretty good I reckon. Nice work to all the girls on toughing it out.
happy riding
Bec

Cats Hill

2011-05-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Cat's Hill
Women's P12
Holly, Bec, Jane, Emily, Mary, Haley

There is no way to follow an act like Karen Brems. I remember being a newly upgraded Cat3 at Catt's Hill. I did the 3/4 race, got dropped about half way through and chased until the official pulled me. Then I did the P123 an hour later with pretty similar results only I got dropped WAY sooner and pulled within a few laps. The following year I was in the wrongest gear imaginable on the first lap, got dropped, chased, then pulled. So at least I am consistent. I remember watching Karen anihilate the feild. I remember being at the bottom of corner 3 and seeing her 10 feet from the top. I remember overhearing her talking about shifting into the climb. She made me try harder. Not because I thought I'd ever beat her but because she was better.

We met for the team meeting at the top of the hill. Karen was our DS. I can only imagine how fun it would have been to race for her. She gave us the same shifting directions. She gave us all very specific jobs. Bec and I were to focus on the later part of the race. Em, Jane and Haley were to focus on the beginning. Holly was going to absorb as much as possible. Incidentally, I think Holly was a tinsy bit intimidated because she's a new upgrade but she rode really well in the pack. I think she has the ability to win Cat's Hill next year.
The very first lap I accidentally shifted onto my 34/11. I dragged up the hill. Was I going to relive my past? Was this course the Twilight Zone of racing? Hadn't I broken the spell of repeating races at Wente two weeks ago? I was pretty sure I was going to complete the entire race but a little panic did reverbrate through the team. I think Karen was shaking her head. Andi was trying to calculate how I was going to recover from the per-dicament. Dan, with the enthusiam of a grade schooler at an amusement park, was begging me to climb better. It took a few laps regain position. I found a comfortable gear. Bec was trying to make up position on the climb. I was doing the exact opposite.

The feild didn't do a whole lot of attacking. They basically used the hill and prime laps to sort things out. Bec took a prime mid race. Flavia went on a chrsuing spree and dragged the pack around for a long time. Tibco didn't really make their presence obvious. It was pretty clear they were in for the win. Susanna Breen made a really gutsy move at 4 to go. She attacked on the back side of the course and stayed away for almost two laps. Tactically speaking, this was a pretty good move for Freemont Bank. If you went with 2 or 3 to go you would just accelerate the entire race. If you went with 5 to go, you'd be out too long.
Somehow I missed the 2 to go lap count. I was just excited to still be inthe race. I was trying to invent a new mental image about the race. I was so used to getting dropped. I knew I had the ability to win the race. I wasn't stuck on an old visualization in as much as I was struggling to create a new one. I certainly saw the 1 to go card. I was mid pack at best and felt a little irritated at myself. I moved up a few spots on the flats, gained one spot on the climb, and pushed through the downhill moving myself to 4th position going into the last corner but the race was already over. An all out sprint for the line was gaining me ground on top 3 .

I can only beat myself up so much for not making the podium. I was spending mental energy figuring out how to ride the race 30lbs lighter than previous years and with WAY better equipment instead of looking at lap cards and planning tactics. I know Karen wants a win for the team but I hope that in some way she was just a tinsy bit happy with the improvement she instigated years ago.

-Mary

PG&E (Win!) and Pitt Crit

2011-05-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for the well constructed Voler clothing. I can honestly say that this is the first year that I have been very impressed with the fit and comfort. To Voler's credit it might have something to do with the fact that I am 2o lbs lighter than I was when I first tried their spandex. No amount of time in the saddle is more comfortable that it is if you weigh less than last year. Anyway I think I found some common ground with my uber endurance teamies. I spent 10 hours in the same chamois.

PG&E Tri Valley Velo Livermore Crit
Tri Valley Velo held a race in Livermore on Saturday morning. The Bridge Team was slated for Pitt Critt but I snuck out there because I am a gluten for double crit days. The feild was sub 20 deep and there was almost everybody had a teammate. Webcor didn't. It was windy but there wasn't a lot of tree stuff flying around. The course was basically a four corner crit with the exception of turn 4 which was smooshed in making the head wind sprint to the line a lot more interesting. Basically it was head wind on the start/finish. A really bad headwind for 1 block. A nice tail wind for 3 blocks and then the curve into a head wind sprint. The only reason I mention that corner is because if it had been at 90 degrees the pack would have turned directly into the wind and come to a dead stop.

Suffice to day, Webcor used the curved corner to take 2 primes and first place finish. Other Tri Valley Velo highlights include jumping in the Bounce House with Kim Fong, having a contest to see who can eat more tangellos (gawd! girls are so competitive), being awarded the biggest little check this side of the Sierras which I will most certainly "attempt" to cash and write about it later, meeting some guys who worked with my dad at PG&E before he retired, shooting the sh*USH* with with course marshalls on my favorite corner and watching Brian Bucholtz get tactically challenged and still put out an absolutely incredible sprint finish.

Pitt Crit
6:30
Haley, Bec, Jane, Myself, Ted Burns, Dan Smith
Super Windy
40 girls
3 PB
3 Touchstone
1 Specialized
4 Webcor
2 Metromint
2 Fremont
60 Vanderkittten
PB (Olivia) took the first lap hot. Webcor (Mary followed up with a speedy start to the second lap. At the first prime Webcor (Bec) made a risky early move. Mary snuck up front to manage the pack to ensure a prime win. PB (Olivia) attacked with a huge tt effort and no one wanted to chase. Webcor (Mary) pulled, Touchstone (Emily) pulled A LOT, Specialized pulled. The gap grew to 20 seconds, came back down to 13 for a long time and then slowly came down to caught. Webcor (Bec) followed with a sharp little counter into chiquane 1 . We were at about 7 laps to go.

Things settled in a bit and the head wind after turn one was really strong. With 3 to go PB went to the front and maintained position. At one to go Specialized went to the front and pulled the field through chiquane 2. PB (Olivia) was second wheel. Webcor (Mary) was 4th wheel out of the corner. Third wheel was allowing gaps to open in the final two corners. The finishing stretch was open because Specialized kept the speed up. Webcor (Mary) came around from 3rd position and was closing in on PB (Olivia) when PB (Coryn) snuck up the side with a snappy sprint. Webcor (Bec) rode the top of the field in and earned 4th.

-Mary

Berkley Hills RR (Win!)

2011-05-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the third and final stage of the 'Webcor Bridge Team Stage Race - Proudly Presented by Sportvelo'. After being taken to the Beth Newell Track School on Friday night at Hellyer, then lighting it up at the Pittsburg Twilight Crit on Saturday, we arrived at Berkley Hills Road Race with the legs well and truly warm (or almost cooked in some cases) and ready to race. Today Haley, Holly and Bec took to the start line with the 30 or so other racers, ready to tackle 115km and the fabled 'Three Bears', and defend our lead on GC.*

*It's hard to say if anyone else was actually aware of this, or the fact that there was a stage race on at all, but whos fault is that right?!

Now Berkley Hills doesn't have windmills, but I'm currently in the process of writing to the Department of Energy, COS IT SHOULD!! The wind obviously didn't bother everyone though, as after leaving the pituresque lake and rolling through the neutral section to the main road to get the official race start, Jane Despas from Yahoo jumped away, never to be seen for the next 70km! Now that's some serious TT training! Respect.

This, combined with the fact that noone else really liked having the wind in their face, meant that we were strung out tip to tail fairly early on in the race, with Fremont Bank, Metromint and Webcor the main forces in keeping the pace rolling over. Annie from Metromint and Suannah from Fremont moved to the front on the climbs and kept the pace high, stringing out the bunch, but the majority of the field was still hanging on heading into the second lap.

So I'm not 100% which climb is which 'bear', but it didn't really matter. From what I hear, bears aren't all that friendy, and these were no exception. And just like in the fairytales, to get past the bears you had to venture into their cave, which in this case was a very deep pain cave. So at the end of the first lap, the prospect of passing them another 3 times made me feel more scared than Goldilocks when the bears arrived home to find her in their beds.

The second lap was much the same, as we kept the pace rolling over in pursuit of Despas. Luckily we were being given fairly regular time gaps by the moto, otherwise I think she could have easily been forgotten altogether. Coming into the third lap, the time gap was closing and we eventually reeled Jane in. I'm thinking that if the Department for Energy don't like the idea of windmills at Berkley they should definitely entertain the idea of employing Jane and Beth as the first Human Power Stations, cos those girls can put out some power! Both are always keen to keep the pace high and willing to drive on the front.

Berkley bacame a race of attrition, with no great surges in pace but a consistent and unrelenting tempo, riders were gradually gobbled up by a hungry bear, or spat out in the wind. So we entered the final lap with a lead group of around 10, including 3 Metromint, 2 Fremont Bank and an assortment of other individual riders. Everyone was being very cautious and waiting for the team with numbers to make a move, but nothing came.

After a few unconvincing attempts at getting away were made, Beth laid it on the line and made the decisive jump on the back rolling section about 15km from the finish. Two Metromint's suddenly found their legs and made the surge to latch onto her wheel, and were eventually joined by Webcor and Missing Link who scrambled to claw onto the back of the Newell train, cos once that train gets chugging you know its not stopping till the final station.

With Metromint holding the upper hand with 2 out of 5 riders, they were eventually forced to make a move, and chose to lead us to the finish at quite the comfortable pace. Cheers. On the final downhill Webcor took the lead and was left there to lead it up Papa Bear to the long awaited finish line. Trying to stay calm and not take on Papa too early, we tapped away until rounding the corner where the finish line stood, lit up in all its glory and beauty seen through the eyes of cyclists delirious from picking a fight with a bear, not once, but 12 times! Webcor got a bit excited by this sight, and went for it, jumping away. The others were quick to react and the legs and lungs were quick to realise that it was to early, sitting down and trying to keep some kind of pace while waiting for the the dreaded counter attack. It didn't come, and at this stage with all brain cells and any rational thinking having been puffed out on the side of the road, along with half a lung, Webcor went again, this time wobbling accross the line and holding on for the win and the coveted stage race GC. Anna Barensfeld from Missing Link came in for 2nd, with Beth from Fremont finishing off the podium. Holly came in a very respectble 12th in her first cat 1/2 race.

Congrats to the whole team on a great weekend of racing.

Bec

Menlo Crit & Easter Classic Crit

2011-05-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Menlo Crit
Women 1/2/3
Place: mid-pack out of 47
Teammates: none, they were at Copperopolis

I did this race twice last year (W3 and W123) and liked it well enough, but
this year was so much better. Mostly it wasn't 45 degrees and raining, that
helped a lot. There also weren't any crashes this time around, and the race
felt very safe to me. I felt like this was a very good race for me, not
because I finished well, but because I learned some lessons and felt much
more solid cornering in a pack. Cornering has always been my weak spot in
races, but I've been working on it and I think I'm getting better and more
comfortable. Anyway, lesson #1 was don't work to bring back the break when
you don't have any teammates, especially when there are a couple of teams in
the pack that aren't represented in the break. Lesson #2 was don't bridge to
the break when the gap gets down to 6 seconds - I bridged across, but the
leaders were tired and the pack was hungry, so we got reeled in quite
quickly. Lesson #3 was move up in the pack early for the finish and stay
there - I lost position when the pack slowed with 1.5 laps to go and then
the speed picked up so I couldn't move up. Anyway, not a great result but a
good learning experience for me.

Easter Classic Crit
Women 1/2/3
Place: 10th of 14
Teammates: none today

This was a bit of an odd race, with two hairpin turns. The field was pretty
small, probably since it's a new race and a lot of people spend Easter
Sunday with family, etc. I rode over to the course for a nice 10 mile
warm-up and got there plenty early, which gave me time to watch the Masters
35+ 1/2/3 race and see just how brutal the wind was in combination with the
hairpins. I think their small pack split in two only a lap or two in, then
further splintered as the race went on, so I knew going into my race that
positioning was going to be key and no matter what, this race was going to
hurt.

Well, I may have known that positioning would be important, but
implementing that was a bit harder, and after about 15 minutes I got dropped
on a hairpin after a couple too many times around at the back of the pack
with tired legs. After not too long, Josie Morgan caught up to me, since
she'd been dropped too, and we settled into a nice long chase. For most of
the race, it looked like this: Liza Rachetto and Elis Bradshaw were off the
front widening their gap, there were 8 women in the pack, and then me and
Josie holding steady behind the pack. We went pretty hard the whole time,
not letting the pack get too far away from us, but we didn't really have a
chance of catching back on. So, we practiced our corning on the hairpins,
went hard out of every turn, and got some good training in. On the last lap
we passed another girl that had been dropped, and I beat Josie to get 10th.
At least we managed to not get lapped by the leaders, who were probably
about half a lap ahead of the pack and a quarter lap behind us by the end.

Copperopolis (Win!)

2011-04-28T10:18:00.000-07:00

So it was a hell of a day in the Hell of the North. With Easter being a little later this year, the weather kept it's end of the bargain - bringing the Spring - leaving it up to the riders to make it a Classic.

Having driven the course the week before, we left Webcor's Sportvelo team headquarters at a bright and early 5am, as prepared as one can be for a course that can be best described as sections of pothole, with a small strip of road thrown in. Bike bolts had been tightened and re-torqued. Extra wide tyres had been acquired, and the cushiest chamois selected.

The pro 1/2 field were joined by the 3s, much to our delight, as it meant Holly would be joining Haley and myself for the bone-jarring 100ks that lay ahead. Things set off at a good pace, and it was obvious that the girls had come to race, and not just leave it up to the course to pick a winner. Metromint had the numbers, and after riding tempo up the first climbing section, they used that card to their advantage and threw in some attacks and counters over the rollers. It was early in the race though, and nothing looked too dangerous at this stage. All the same, Webcor brought the green machine to the font just to keep the pace high and the break in sight, not wanting the old adage of out of sight, out of mind to come into play, and things were brought back together pretty quickly.

We crested the second climb at quite a high tempo, with everyone wanting the best view as we hit the 'cobbles' (note: they're not actually cobbles, but it sounds so much more Euro and romantic than 'crap road with giant potholes'!). Things got a bit strung out on the descent, and there was a slight split in the field, forcing the second group to multi-task, and chase at the same time as focusing on not swallowing now dislodged fillings, and regaining feeling in arms that had been tenderised more than your Easter lamb roast. It came back together comfortably as we got our first view of the rollers coming up to the finish line and passed through town to start our second lap of three.

We picked up the pace a bit over the climb this time, and by the top there was a select group of 5, with Yahoo, Fremont, Metromint and Webcor all represented. No-one was up for really pushing the pace and getting turns rolling at this stage, and with half the group taking a wrong turn into the farmhouse, the chase caught back on not too long after, and the second lap finished much the same as the first.

The Fremont girls, who had been looking strong all day, flatted on the rollers before the second climb, and after latching back on, launched a girl solo off the front heading into the deciding lap. The laps are long, and it would be hard to stay away, but this was definitely more than a half hearted teaser, and the field would have to react.

As we entered the main climb for the last time, Fremont had the advantage of getting out of sight on the many bumps and bends that peppered this section. Webcor moved to the front to push the chase, as Metromint seemed content to sit on in the hope that the climb alone would bring her back. Not wanting to take that gamble, I zeroed in on her with the intensity of a Woodside cop, and as we reached the final kicker, we'd brought her back and it was now a case of two Fremont and one Webcor - definitely not ideal, but better to be off the front and outnumbered than not there at all.

Beth launched as we entered the flat section by the lake, and it looked like I was going to be burning matches just to make it to the finish. Grabbing her wheel, I tried on a bit of Aussie charm and we agreed to pull turns to try and stay away to the finsh. As I pointed out earlier, I may not be a gambler, but I know that 1 in 3 odds are better than a bunch sprint, and thankfully the Fremont girls agreed!

We got things rolling nicely, and Beth was obviously feeling the earlier effort and dropped on a little kicker at the turn around. To my surprise (and delight!) Susannah kept rolling through, and not knowing what gap we had on the fild we kept pushing hard. Some have labelled it a bad lapse in communication on Fremont's part, but I'd like to think she chose the 1 in 2 odds and rotating at a fast pace over the risk of being caught. Chugging along in our two carriage train over the back end rollers, we we're informed by the moto that we had a handy 1:20 lead on the chase, with about 12km to ride. There was a noticeable headwind though, and still the final climb to come, so there was defintely not time to relax.

Riding the final climb at the front, my plan was to keep the pace high enough to thwart any thoughts of attacking on Susannah's part, and thankfully she didn't. Riding the pothole rollercoaster was that much easier and faster with a clear view and the knowledge that this was the last time my brain would be rattling in my skull - for today at least.

Carrying our momentum into the final climbs to the line, I followed the wheel, waiting for the cat and mouse to start, but it didn't come. It was a long drag to the line, and praying that I had the legs, and that going early would put just enough doubt in her mind to not want to come, I pulled the trigger and gave it all I had to get my hands on that t-shirt!
Holly made it a Webcor double, taking out the 3s in strong style, appearing completely in her element on a road course made for mountain bikers.

Well done to Fremont on a strong race, and all the other girls for making sure we held our end of the bargain and put the classic in Spring Classic.

Bec

Spring Schedule

2011-04-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz Crit on Sunday (pre-reg closes tomorrow)
Presentation to the Alto Velo club
Copperopolis on Saturday, April 23
Wente on Saturday, April 30
Berkeley Hills, Sunday, May 8
Cat's Hill, Saturday, May14
Scott's Valley, Sunday, May 15

Remember: our eyes are on the NCNCA Premier Series: http://ncnca.org/ncncaseries/ncnca-premier-series. Don't forget that Mt Hood Stage Race is sneaking up on us June 2.

Redlands Stages - Bec Updates:)

2011-04-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

After 'warming up' the legs yesterday, and a feast for dinner, featuring Cid's meatloaf and other homemade delights, we were ready and raring for today's stage. SoCal once again put on the good weather for us - blue skies, a nice 98 degrees (36C) and a cooling breeze.

A whopping 113 girls lined up for the stage, which comprised of 3 laps totalling 72.3 miles (about 116km). A fast and mostly flat course, with one decent section of climbing. HTC entered the stage with both aces up their sleeve, sitting pretty with 1 and 2 on GC. This therefore left it up to any other team with GC aspirations to make something out of the race. Either everyone missed the memo, or the torture TT from the day before had had a greater impact than expected, and crushed peoples will to attack along with their legs. For Webcor I think it was the latter. We had the will (aptly displayed by Haley's solo 2.5 lap TT after a mechanical) but the legs didn't quite match.

There were a few attepmted breaks, but no real threats, and HTC easily defended, driving on the front and stretching out the field whenever they felt it was necessary. Apart from this, a couple little spills, a busy feed zone and the in race game of bidon dodgeball, not much else happened, and the climb became the race deciding factor. The main field approached the climb hard on the last lap, and a lead group of about 20 was formed. The run into the finish after the climb was fast though, and the first chase group caught back on, bringing it down to a bunch sprint, which was lead out quite late, with the final little uphill drag taken out by Theresa Cliff-Ryan of Colavita.

All the Webcor girls rode well. Karen and John were kept on their toes in the support car, doing a great job, especially without a working radio, and left to rely on carrier pidgeon... or maybe it was just the race official. Haley toughed it out solo on a long, hard day in the saddle, only to be dealt the rough news of being time cut. She leaves with the dignity of no DNF though. HUGE respect coming from this direction, and I'm sure she'll be an amazing swanny!!

For now the rest of us are resting up, ready for tomorrows 60 minute crit. Keep your ears pricked for that report, should be an interesting race.

Redlands Stage 3 - Sunset Road Race
I headed into today's stage full of apprehension. Being my first time at Redlands, I had no idea what to expect, and was relying completely on the stories and legends told by riders past. This was not a good thing. Many are to scarred to talk about it. The mere mention of the name 'Sunset' in conversation with cyclists and at pre race meetings drew gasps and screams, and looks of utter dread and horror. Position would be vital. The race would be rough and fast. People would be dropped, and gaps would form right at the beginning...and this was just in the neutral start!

With a build up like that, I jumped at the gun like a startled rabbit, but my nerves settled a bit when I realised it was only half as bad as all the legends made it sound. There were only 1 or 2 crashes in the neutral section, and the main race at the start was to see who could edge the furthest in front of the neutral car without being pulled back.\par
Unfortunately Mary and Amy were caught behind the second crash, putting them on the back foot heading onto the loop for the first time, which the field hit at a ferocious pace. There was a time bonus up for grabs at the first QOM, so the climbers and GC girls gave the rest of us a lesson in climbing, and danced away up the hill, instantly shattering the pack and gaining a lead of 1:30 in what seemed like no time. All the big players had someone in the break, so that first climb pretty much set the field for the rest of the race.

If you can stop focusing on simply holding onto the wheel in front for one second, you realise that although it may be hard, Sunset is a really cool loop. It initially winds it's way to the start of the climb through the suburbs, keeping you on your toes as the road is never straight for more than 50 metres. Then the climb starts quite steep, before plateauing and kicking up again into a longer drag, where at the top the QOM points would be decided before a flase flat gives you no time to relax and clear the lactate. It then bumps along through the feed zone until flowing back over the top of the TT finish and quickly winding its way back down to start the loop all over again. Nine times!

The first three laps were pretty straight forward. Mara Abbott glued herself to the front and set the pace, and everyone else followed along, fluctuating from about 30 seconds to a minute and a half behind the leaders. When a course is like that and the break goes early with the best climbers up the road, there's not a heap you can do. Everyone climbs as fast as they can, and as long as the lead group doesn't stop pushing inbetween, they stay away.

At some point the pack behind the main chase caught back on, and on about lap 6 or 7 we caught the front group momentarily. It only took them till the next time up the climb to decide that they didn't like sharing their playground with all the other kids, and they burned us on the hill, once again shattering what was left of the race. We then rode the last lap in our splintered groups, until we finally reached the finishing circuit. It was a nice downhill and then flat detour back to the start line. With the leaders completely out of sight, and 9 laps of the legendary Sunset in the legs, everyone was fairly content to roll the last bit home without too much stress.

Put on paper, it sounds so much easier than it was. Of course there were the usual screeching of brakes and crunching of carbon on bitchumen that you dare not look back for. I'm sure there would have been a lot more happening in the front group... but I wasn't there to know. Plus I know much more happened in my part of the race that I've failed to mention or skimmed over, but to be perfectly honest, I couldn't really tell you. I didn't quite have the armchair view today, and when you're chewing stem and well inside the box, the thought process can be very limited, and concentrating on what's happening so that you can write an awesome race report doesn't even come into consideration. So think of some of the crazy and exciting things that make a good bike race and insert them in here, cos I'm sure they would have happened!

For the record, Colavita won the stage, and HTC held onto the leader's jersey and 3rd place, sandwiching a Tibco rider in between.

Well done to all the Webcor girls, it was a ripper of a weekend.

Take it easy

Bec

Redlands Prologue

2011-04-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

March 31, 2011
Place: 68th out of 113 starters
Bec 28th

This first day of the Redlands Stage Race was the Prologue which is a 3.1 mile uphill climb according to the race bible. We had Bec, Mary, Devon, and myself just off of the San Dimas Stage race last weekend. Emily met us in LA and Amy came out from Boulder.

The Uphill TT was a gradual uphill with a power hill then a nice grade past some orange trees. Then you take a right hand turn to a big hill to the top. Emily and I talked about it and divided the hill up in our minds into thirds. A steep climb that you had to redline a bit, a quieter left turn to a final 200 meters to the top. How it actually played out was a bit different.

Before the race, we found our spot right in the middle of the parking lot and set up camp with the Webcor car and SportVelo tent. John, our mechanic, had everything in order which is super awesome as we could focus on just warming up and staying hydrated.

I was third of our team to go and once I rolled off the starting platform I tried to keep an eye on the girl who started 30 seconds in front of me. The hard part here was to hold a fast pace but not go over and flood the legs for the climb. I think I gained a couple seconds when we turned onto the actually hill section. Then my focus turned to keeping my breathing steady and trying not to blow up.

Our host house mom, Cid, was at the top of the steepest part and her encouragement kept me pushing as hard as I could. The last little bit to the top I got close to my 30-second target but was caught like I was standing still by a Colavita racer. She would end up 4th so I don’t feel too bad about that.

I met up with Bec at the top and we rode down to the team base to cool down then ride home. Overall I think it was a good start and almost like a warm up for tomorrow’s 72 mile Road Race.

--Haley

Follow the team:

– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/

San Dimas SR

2011-03-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

Stage 1 of the San Dimas Stage Race: A 3.8 mile uphill TT that wound its way up Glendora Mountain Road; An amazingly picturesque setting which would have been breathtaking... if you had a single gasping breath to spare. TTs are all about pain, pain and more pain. Throw a hill into that equation, and things can get messy!

The womens' field was 100 strong, with a host of top teams and riders to make for some tough competition and great racing experience. With a dose of Coach Dan's HTFU formula for breakfast, we attacked the first stage with vigour. As long as you keep the pedals turning over, and cross that line with your legs and lungs still functioning, you've won the battle. We all won the battle and posted respectable times, having a good hit out and testing out the engines ready for the next stage.

Stage 2 was the San Dimas Community Hospital Road Race. Eight laps, totaling 56 miles (approx 90km). Any race with 100 riders is bound to be interesting. Throw in some narrow but fast sections of road, a decent climb followed by a fast decent, and a touch of wind, and the race pretty much makes itself. The race of attrition, is won by position! Sounds good and is spot on to an extent, but there's always more to it as well.

I failed miserably in the position part, so had a backrow view of the race most of the way (which is good for writing a race report, right?!). The first lap is for settling in and getting a feel for the course. With the wind blowing the way it was, it was going to be fast, so any breaks were going to be hard to start, let alone maintain. We set off at a reasonable pace, but everyone was playing it fairly cautious, and it was the hill taking its victims that split up the race on the first few laps. Early on it was definitely a race of survival. If you got gobbled up by the hill, or spat out the back, the wind was picking up and it would end up being a lonely day chasing in the hurt box.

About half way through there were a few small attacks of the front, countering the field after a prime sprint. This strung things out and we were tip to tail playing gutterball for a while. No-one likes gutterball all that much though, so we soon resumed to standard bunch racing.
The hill was hungry, and gobbling up riders left, right and centre, so the main field had almost been halved by this stage. Apparently at some point 2 riders snuck off the front. I say apparently, because even with my armchair view, they'd pulled off a Houdini and disappeared in a flash.
If the CIA is looking at recruiting any time soon, these girls should be top of the list!

With 2 laps to go a Colavita girl was still off the front. The HTC train formed at the front in an effort to pull back some time, but they obviously were confident of their hold on GC, as they never got rolling at full steam. The last time up the climb it was a matter of holding on and trying to return home with the bunch. The sprint was left quite late, but Colavita were on their game this race, and organised the lead out train to go one-two for the stage.

For the Webcor girls, we all learned a lot and showed we can mix it with the big girls.

Mary showed off her awesome bike handling skills (former BMX bandit perhaps??), by holding it up when a stray drink bottle tried to end her race prematurely. She also made the wise move of no making acquaintance with the bitumen, when a small group of girls in front of her foolishly thought they'd do just that.

Haley learned never to make fun of Coach Dan's scout boy attitude of packing the kitchen sink, and that being sponsored by Powerbar is only awesome if you actually remember to take their super energy products with you during the race! Bonking is not fun. Just ask her.

Holly floated through the bunch like a seasoned pro, and floated up the hill on the first few laps with just as much apparent ease. She definitely showed she'll be a force to be reckoned with once those upgrade points come through.

Jane got to experience the dynamics of a chase group, who the name 'chase' group sometimes doesn't actually apply. All good training for next year though, when she wont have to worry about chase group dynamics. The main field is calling.

I learned that 100 riders is a BIG field, and that although riding near the back may be good for writing a race report, it's not so great for conserving energy and smart racing.

Sunday we were off to downtown San Dimas for the final stage - a 55 minute crit on a fast L shaped circuit. The newly introduced Webcor warm-up included a good 10 minute game of marks up (note from Andi: Bec is teaching us how to play Aussie football), and then we were set to go, joining the 67 strong field at the start line. It was pretty much on from the start, and that's how it stayed. Not much to report here. I played ticket collector for the whole race and I think I rewrote the book on how NOT to ride a crit. If you ever wanna know, just ask! Thankfully I took those ticket collecting duties seriously and wasn't going to drop off and let someone else take my place, so I clung to the back by the skin of my teeth and finished with bunch time. The sprint was won by Chloe Hoskings from HTC leading it out of the last corner and holding off any challengers to the line.

So that's San Dimas done and dusted, and now we rest up for a few days before heading off to Redlands.

As much as I complain about the pain, if the following quote is true, I'll happily hurt for many more races to come...
"It never gets easier, you just go faster" - Greg LeMond

Take it easy

Bec

Madera Stage Race

2011-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

After last weekends adventure, we didn't want the girls who didn't race Merco to miss the whole central valley experience. So once again we piled into the car nice and early and headed east, this time for the Madera Stage Race. Jane had beaten her bug into submission, so was welcomed back to race pro 1/2 along with Hayley and Bec. Holly gave up valuable study time to race cat 3 in her quest for upgrade points, and Dan and Andi showed us how the experienced folk do it in the masters.

The day started with a 45 minute crit on a nice and simple four corner circuit. Conditions were perfect, and a field of 35, with no team flooding it with numbers, made for a nice hard race. The pace was good from the start, and the attacks came instantly. Coach Dan's instructions were heeded, and there was always a flash of green in any break of 2 or more. We animated the race well and put in two of the longer solo attacks of the day, giving the massive Madera crowd their moneys worth. A sneaky preme bonus win, a solid 2nd overall and all our skin in tact with zero crashes in the whole race (after the 6 or 7 last week) made for some positive vibes heading into the TT.
*note: positive vibes at the beginning of a TT are invaluable, as by the end, as you cross the line sweating spinal fluid and getting a second helping of your breakfast, it's hard to conjure any kind of vibe, let alone a positive one!

Hayley smashed it in the TT, so I'll leave it to her to spill the secrets on the race of truth.

Stage 3 was a 68 mile (thats about 108km for all those 21st century participants out there!) road race in the beautiful surrounds of Hensley Lake. It was another course stolen from the classics, with a teeth chattering back section, and a nice goup of power climbs to keep things interesting.
We rolled off on our neutral 2 mile start, but apparently neutral starts here here aren't just a chance to get the field together, but more a bunch 'getting to know you' sesh, as half the field prepared for the bumpy road ahead with a communal squat on the side of the road. No worries! If only Mary had had such a group of willing particpants to hold her hand last week! Once everyone felt suitably relieved and better aquainted, we continued on to get down to the real business.

In a short stage race like this, the TT had pretty much set the GC standings, so something big had to be done to shake things up at all. As this was the case, things on the first lap played out as one would expect. The top few on GC watched each other like hawks, while the remainder of the field peppered the race with attacks, testing out the legs, and the reaction of the field.
We approached the 'Belgian Backblocks' with some hesitation. With reports of craters, and core breaking cracks, I could be forgiven for momentarily entertaining the thought that I may have just bought a free ticket down a big black hole heading back down under. I don't want to go home just yet, so with a test of the bike skills, strength of carbon and quality of those tooth fillings we made it through the first time, to discover that it wasn't quite as life threatening as first thought, but definitely an interesting added element to the race. We continued over the rollers and got a good view of the finishing section and stretched the field out a little. After passing through the feed zone, Hayley's chain mistakenly decided it could relax after holding on through all those bumps, and dropped, dropping her chances of what was looking like a solid ride in the process.

Not far into the seond lap, a 2 rider break got away. Containing a Metromint and Missing Link girl who were both a fair way back on GC, and being so early in the race, noone was too concerned. Another Missing Link girl bridged across and they let her go. 'They' in this case are Metromint (with a rider 2nd on GC) and the leader on GC, who had the much trickier job of riding as a lone ranger. I missed this move, and as Coach Dan had pointed out the night before, the break you want to be in is the last one. This ended up being the last one! Wise words.

The rest of the race was extremely frustrating to say the least. It broke up on the rollers over the next couple laps until there was a main bunch of about 20 left. Noone wanted to let a chase group go, yet neither did they want to ride the bunch at a reasonable pace. We then got our just desserts when we were neutralised to let a mens field pass, all the while letting the break extend their time gap even further.
Everyone was obviously happy to watch GC go to the break. Going from the 2nd lap is a gutsy effort and well deserving of a win, but the field did everything short of polishing their cutlery as they handed it to them on a plate.
So now the rest of us were racing for 4th place. A Red Racing girl made a solo break and held on as she just held her gap to the line. Webcor accidently rolled off the front on the second to last climb and pushed on home for 5th just in front of the main field.

Then it was on to stage 4. The promoters had mistaknely left this penultimate stage off the program, so as the rest of the competition packed up, Webcor packed the car ready for the final race of truth. Dan and Andy may be veterans, but they raced with the speed and cunning of youth. Holly had her race face on and pulled out all the tactics in the book, and was always threatning and close on their tail in the hired Nissan (pronounced knee-saarn in your best Asian accent please). Jane and Hayley were at an unfair weight advantage and along with Ethan had possibly also missed the memo about stage 4. There's no real need to name the winners... but lets just say they were cutting all the corners, and at a definte advantage with aero helmets. That's a DQ in a road race, right??

I saw this on a t-shirt at the race today and am going to try and remind myself of this next time I'm boxing it in a time trial -

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional

Till next time, take it easy

Bec

Merco Road Race Stage 1

2011-03-03T12:57:00.000-08:00

This week we welcome Bec Werner to the States from Australia, and to the Bridge Team. She had a crazy flight on Wednesday, and then immediately started the 4-day Merco stage race and wound up in a break with Ina-Yoko Teutenberg. Here's her race report:

Stage 1 Merco - MID Road Race - 91km

At 4.30 Thursday morning, bleary eyed but excited all the same, we headed off on the 3 hour drive to our first stage race of the year (and my first race in America); Merco, and the first stage MID road race. Andi, Jane and myself drove together, meeting Mary and Emily there. Arriving at the sign on area nice and early, we did a few quick intros and then had plenty of time to warm up and get ready. The car park was a hype of activity, with a decent sized field and some pro teams well represented, including HTC, Tibco and Peanut Butter Co. With Andi scoring the number 2 spot in the caravan (move over HTC! haha) and stocking us up with supplies and some advce, we were ready and raring to go.

Under clear blue skies, hardly a hint of wind, and pretty much the best racing conditions we could have hoped for, the women's race started, heading off at a nice cruisy pace as everyone settled in and got the legs rolling over. As a team we weren't sure what to expect, as none of us knew the course. So the aim was to stay near the front, and be ready for anything that came our way. Good thing we were, as not far in we hit a climb the organisers had pulled straight out a Euro classic! It started with a narrow turn across loose gravel and continued for about the next 2k at quite a decent gradient, dodging pot holes, cow pats and rough edges. Thankfully the pace was still nice and cruisy as everyone did their best to navigate the smoothest path up. This continued over the top onto the rolling back section, and obviously Ina-Yoko Teutenberg was getting bored, as she attacked on one of the smaller inclines. This woke everyone up a bit and the pace lifted, but no real attempt at chasing her down was made. Within 10 minutes it was being reported back that she'd put almost 2 minutes into us!

Things continued much the same for the next lap, with the pace lifting slightly over the climb, as there were QOM points up for grabs. Unforunately for our team, Emily got to really appreciate the value of the granny gears, as her lever carked it and she got to do the rest of the climb (and the race) in her 11. Nothing like some impromptu SEs!! With an awesome stubborn streak, she finished the race well inside the time cut, with a small chase group. What a trooper! Also, it was at this point that Jane could no longer deceive her body into thinking it was better. Smashing it in zone 5 kind of made it obvious that "I'm totally better, I've just got a tiny bit of congestion" was a bit of a lie. So unfortunately she had to pull out, and got to watch the rest of the race, and cheer us on from the sidelines. So it was just Mary and myself left to fight it out, with Mary being an absolute champ and offering to be super-domestique for me.

Starting the third lap, the bunch was still cruising, so on the final uphill before the climb I moved to the front to try and lift the pace, and make sure I at least started the climb at the front. To my surprise no-one came with me and when I looked back I had a bit of a gap, and decided I might aswell keep going and have a crack at picking up some points. To my delight once I started the climb free of the hustle and bustle of the pack, I saw that Teutenberg was not too far in front, so I tried to just keep a steady pace, and gradually bridged across to her, taking out the QOM points at the top. Cheers Ina!

We were out of sight of the main bunch at this point so kept the power to pedal to try and maintain the gap. It was all a bit surreal for me. Never thought I'd be so excited to have my legs torn off by someone... she is such a machine! Although I don't think I helped her cause to much, she said she was happy for the company, and we swapped turns (by which I mean she tore my legs off and I made some pitiful attempts at helping out!) for the next 20k or so till the final time over the climb where we were caught by the bunch. The girls were definitely pushing harder this time over the climb, and it broke things up a bit, but it came back together over the back section, as no-one was keen to really put the hammer down just yet.

Heading into the final 10k there was a last ditch attempt at a breakaway, by what I think was a HTC rider. Peanut Butter Co. moved to the front and got orgnanised fairly quickly to shut that down. I sat in comfortably as Mary 'super-domestique' Maroon guided me through the pack protecting me from the wind. The remainder of the field was then ultimately broken apart by the course, as the climbers turned the screws that bit more heading into the 3km, predominantly uphill finish, breaking up the field and leaving a group of no more than 10 to fight it out for the win. Unforunately Ina had already eaten my legs for breakfast, and I couldn't go with. Mary had smashed herself for me, and we both joined a smattering of girls strung out, pushing to the finish to try and limit the time gap as much as possible. Amanda Miller from HTC took out the win in a well desreved result, as HTC had really made the race the whole day.

Now it's on to the time trial for the three of us, with Jane heading home for some much needed rest. Emily has a new lever, and we have a new DS, with Andi 'I told you jetlag is good for you' Smith heading home and Katheryn taking over the reins. So tomorrow is a new day, and I can't wait to pull on the Webcor jersey again.

To quote a friend -

Ride happy... and for those of you that are racing... ride like you stole it!

Bec

Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/

Snelling RR

2011-02-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Nothing went as planned for Snelling. The weather was supposed to be Artic and it was perfectly sunny and spring like. Team Tibco was supposed to flood the field but only 8 of them were there. And that was just the beginning. Team tactics, Breakaways and even results all turned out not to be what they seemed.

My teammates were at home exercising great devotion to the human race by not infecting it with flu like symptoms. I love them for their legs and even more for healthful instincts. That being said, the pre race team meeting was brief.

The head count at the start line gave us 8 Tibco, 10 Metromint, 2 Touchstone, 4 Red Racing and a whole bunch of individual riders including a girl from Boston who I rode with on the Nature Valley Pro Ride last year. If you weren't from around here, you might think that Metromint would be the team to watch. That Tibco and Metromint would have at each other all day. However, most people know that Metromint has a history of not being able to work together as a team. So the only thing a rider would really need to pay special attention to is what Tibco was planning.

Tibco controlled the race. They didn't let anything go. Even a breakaway with Webcor (me), former Webcor (Lindsay Myers), a Team Leadout and *2* Tibco couldn't stay away. It became clear that Tibco wanted to force a field sprint so they could practice a lead out train. At about 1.75 to go Tibco began to attack the pack. They were supposed to attack with the field so that the pace would increase instead of attack out of the pack and dangle off the front. A few girls attacked the way they were "supposed" to. Then 1 Tibco attacked and created separation that no one was willing to chase. It didn't appear that she didn't finesse it the right way on purpose. She just did what she thought was right. The result was that Tibco was forced to block for her and the pace slowed. We were then neutralized twice (once for the mens P12 break and later for the remainder of the mens p12 field). The neutralization' s only helped Tibco stay away.

None of the individual riders would chase because Tibco wouldn't let them go. The only thing the womens peloton could hope for was a team like Red Racing or Metromint with more than 1 racer to go to the front and rotate to chase. Then very next thing that happened shocked the womens field. Metromint organized and chased. Metromoint! We couldn't believe it. We were completely blown away. We were so proud of them. It was only 3 Mints at the front and there were still others in the pack that didn't choose to work at the front but 3 of them did some- thing that we never thought we would see. Metromint has so much horse power it's always been such a shame to watch them race defensively and without organization. I can't wait to see what else they pull off this season.

Ok, so we are coming up on the second to last turn. We get neutralized for the remainder of the mens P12 field. We are taking that second to last gravelly bumpy corner with the mens pack. After we are clear, Tibco lines up at the front and starts a lead out train. We turn the final corner and I'm 4th wheel. Two Tibco pull off and Webcor and Tibco are sprinting for the finish. Remnants of the mens field are spread across the road between us and the finish. There was no where to go. Webcor took second in the sprint and 3rd in race. At least that's what we thought.

Back at registration, an hour and 30 minutes after the race, The race results were still being tallied and refuted and tallied again. We spent our time looking at the Merced River and admiring Josie Morgan's winning Velo Promo Snelling t-shirt design. The TIbco rider that broke away was caught riding with the men's P12 break away. She was observed by a moto official and apparently DQ'd from the race. So the 3rd place moved to second. Unfortunately there were no small shirts left so I could have saved my energy for the Merced Crit and gotten 11th place.

I have no way of knowing what Tibco or Metromints tactics really were. It's sort of like predicting the weather. You can try and get close but you can't know what the real plan is. Maybe they realized that they actually were a strong competitive force and didn't have to be afraid to race their bikes or maybe they did it out of desperation but whatever happened for them was a metamorphosis that really impressed the girls that know them. I do know is that Metromint took a giant baby step forward and I'm really looking forward to racing WITH them this season. They are good girls that always bringa positive competitive attitude to the race.

Mary

Team Schedule 2011

2011-02-28T11:29:00.001-08:00

Event/Race Date
Bridge Team camp Jan 29/30
Cherry Pie Crit 6-Feb
Snelling 26-Feb
Merco stage race March 3-6
Madera March 12-13
San Dimas March 25-27
Redlands March 31-April 3
Sea Otter April 14-17
Santa Cruz Crit 17-Apr
Copperopolis 23-Apr
Wente RR 30-Apr
Berkeley Hills 8-May
Cat's Hill 14-May
Tour of California 16-May
Mt. Hamilton 29-May
Memorial Day Crit 30-May
Mt Hood SR June 2-5
District TT 12-Jun
Pescadero RR 18-Jun
Nevada City 19-Jun
Road Nats June 21-26
Burlingame 26-Jun
Leesville Gap 3-Jul
Davis 4-Jul
San Rafael 9-Jul
Cascade July 19-24
University RR 21-Aug
Vacaville Gran Prix 28-Aug
Challenge RR 3-Sep
Giro 5-Sep
Track districts August
Tour de Peninsula 7-Aug
Mt Tam 10-Sep
District Crit 25-Sep
Track Nats Sept 29-2

Folsom Crit

2011-02-16T13:03:00.001-08:00

Webcor was split up all over the Bay area this weekend. Emily was racing collegiate for Davis. Haley and Jane were riding up Old La Honda 17times. Bec was (still) in Australia and Mary was racing in the good old Folsom Crit. Those promoters (Bicycles Plus Bike Shop and Sierra Nevada Brewing) put on a good race and they do it with smiles on their faces. Excellent pavement, great weather, good tough competition, and a Jamba Juice 1 block away, Folsom is the perfect local bike race. I'm not just saying that because Sacramento is my home town, because I'm partial to the weather or because I love the people.

With no teammates in the race, the tactic was simply to be smart about expending energy. I made an attack out of turn 1 on the first lap. I wanted to see if anybody wanted to play. Rather, I wanted to get the 45 minute race started and invite someone to counter attack. Somebody did. I think it was
Ruth and then Touchstone. That pattern basically kept repeating itself until about half way through the race when Beth was warmed up.

Beth (Leadout) didn't have any teammates either. Ruth (Lombardi) had her mom. To be quite honest Ruth Winder and her mom make a pretty amazing team. Margaret Winder is probably the most tactically brilliant Cat 4 cyclist the Womens peloton will ever know. WARNING! Do not be fooled by her slight stature or race license category! She's the one in the Lombardi kit that isn't Ruth.

A little head wind had developed on the back side of the course and with only 1 complete team (Touchstone) in the pack, breakaways were doomed. A nearly perfect break formed with Touchstone, Webcor, Leadout, and Lombardi that was gaining seconds on the pack with each rotation was attacked repeated by Leadout until the pack absorbed it. Not all races have to have a break but simple mathematics tell us that 1 out if 5 gives you a 20% chance at winning which is more than 1 out of 45. When 2 of the five are Touchstone then you can pretty much guarantee that one of them will work or the other and your chances actually sort of increase for the other 3 riders.

Sprinting from a pack can be fulfilling. I did it on the bell lap and it felt amazing until I crossed the finish line. I want to blame the guy flipping the lap cards. I'd like to say that I swear that I counted down from 3 laps to go and saw the card and I sprinted and won. But I can't. I can't get mad at the lap card guy volunteering all day so that I can roll around in circles. I'm not going to be mad that I didn't win an Early Bird Crit. Even though Beth is my competitor, she's also my friends and I'm happy when she wins a bike race. All I can do is realize what is happening and try to fix it. I made it about halfway around the course when the pack caught me and I got ready to sprint again. This time I took second to a fresher pair of legs. Not a bad come back.

The 1892 Census of most popular baby girls names was the last time Beth, Mary and Ruth shared a top three together. The most recent was the Folsom Criterium.

Lesson: #1 Pay attention to lap cards. Pay extra attention to lap cards! #2 Giving you daughter a lead out will probably make her more likely not to test your authority with regard to dating and curfews. Be a cool mom when you grow up and have kids. #3 Try to support your race promoters and the folks that donate prizes. They are spending money & time and negotiating with the city & nearby businesses to close their doors to regular income flow just to grow the sport. If you need more incentive, Bicycles Plus in Folsom gave me a 15% bike racer discount on the day of the race.

-Mar

Cherry Pie

2011-02-07T00:16:00.001-08:00

Cherry Pie Crit really highlights the glamorous side of bike racing in that everybody has to sneak off to the car to wipe the PowerGel and snot on their faces to look presentable for the cool down ride. I hadn't done this race in 2 or 3 years and this was the first time I can remember such amazing weather. I also remember being 20 lbs heavier two years in a row and getting dropped like a Rashard Mendenhall fumble. It's hard to say which hair pin turn is more fun: Ronde or Cherry Pie. We should take a vote.

There was a good crowd today. Lots of super strong girls. There was this one Swiss girl that I think I've seen at Cherry Pie before. I don't know her name and she wasn't prereg'd. You could tell she was probably going to be a threat because her skin suit didn't have a collar. Europeans wear skin suits with no collar.

Tactics: Our womens team had a great race today. There were 6 of us and we all did something to make the race hard. Our attacks and counter attacks were nearly flawless. We had a great first race together. We had hoped that a break would form but the momentum just didn't build because there were a lot of individual riders. The start of the race was manageable. There were a couple early attacks by Webcor and 1 or 2 others. Swiss Miss really wanted a break and she got it. To be perfectly honest I can't really remember where she snuck away. I do remember just having come back from an effort and not being in an ideal position to chase her.

I do remember Olivia (PB2012) and Liza (Primal) and Jane (Yahoo) being on the front waiting for the other to do some thing. Webcor (Emily) threw down another attack and as she was coming back I jumped. I was hoping that one of the pro girls would come with and we could make decent separation or potentially bridge. Before I knew it I had a decent gap and just decided to go with it. I was making time on Swiss Miss but it wasn't enough. At3 to go my gap was 10 seconds. I decided to sit up and try to recover some thing for the sprint.

As soon as I got back (Webcor) attacked. This quickened the pace a little and limited the rear pack swarm. Liza (Primal) jumped hoping to solo for a second place. There was some shuffling in the pack and the final lap movement made organizing at the front difficult. I saw Liza on the hill and I knew I could catch her. I jumped to the front and basically went as hard as I could. I was trying to time Liza's pace. I think that if I had waited any longer she would have gotten second and I would either get 3rd, 4th or 5th. I jumped because I thought there was a chance I could get 2nd or 3rd. I ended up leading out Ruth Winder (officially unattached, ride in Lombardi kit) and Kirstin Drumm (Electric) and came in 4th. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have wanted Webcor tow in but I don't mind taking second to strong, smart, classy girls like Ruth and Kirstin.

Lesson:
1. Practice knowing the space between patience and perfect timing.
2.The difference between an American that wants to look Euro and an authentic European is the lack of a collar and that the sleeves on their long sleeved jerseys only go to the middle of the forearm. Beware of this.
3.Bring a summer dress, gladiator sandals, over sized sunglasses and a floppy hat for an instant post race fashion makeover that will leave you looking like a clandestine Hollywood actress instead of a war-torn athlete. Wear waterproof mascara.

See you next week!-Mary

Webcor SportVelo Women's Roster 2011

2011-01-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

Haley Juno-Galdes
Haley grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and has a B.S in Kinesiology and Applied Physiology from the University of Colorado where she also ran Cross-Country and Track. After school she raced triathlons and national-level snowshoe racing.
3rd Elite National Championships, Track Team Pursuit 2010
4thMasters National Championships, AG Criterium 2010
5th Masters National Championships, AG TT 2010
Overall Sprint Triathlon National Champion 2007
2nd US Snowshoe National Championship, 10k Open Women 2004

Jane Wolcott
Jane started racing her bike in early 2010, fresh out of undergrad at MIT where she competed for four years on the Division I Varsity Openweight Crew Team. Within five months of starting out as a Cat 4, she upgraded to Cat 2.
3rd Team Pursuit at USA Elite Track National Championships 2010
2nd Individual Pursuit at NCNCA District Track Championships 2010
2nd U23 Women District 40km TT 2010

Rebecca Werner
Bec hails from Adelaide, South Australia, an awesome city for cycling. She got into cycling in 2008 after being noticed during fitness testing for a soccer squad. She joined the Talent ID and Development Program in Australia, and 2011 will be her first year racing in the US.
3rd Individual Pursuit 2010 Oceania Track Championships
2nd Stage 3 Tour of Mersey Valley 2010
1st Bernie Scratch Race 2011

Mary Maroon
Mary began cycling as a bike messenger, and is now a local standout who converted from track to road, but kept her sprinter’s legs. She’s a strong, tactical rider with a quick finish, capable of outsprinting the field or starting a break.
1st BAR (Best All-Round rider, NCNCA)
1st Cycles Gladiator Best NCNCA Sprinter award
1st Premier Series
2nd San Rafael Twilight Criterium
5th Merco Road Race
Nature Valley Pro Ride winner
Cycle Messenger World Champion 2007

Emily Foxman
Emily Foxman is currently a physiology graduate student at the University of California Davis, working on an emphasis in exercise science. She has been cycling for 5 years, starting out with the UC Davis collegiate cycling team, which she helped take the collegiate national title in 2009.
1st U23 Women District 40K TT 2010
2nd U23 National Championships TT 2010

More Track Nationals Reports

2010-10-09T21:43:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'm very happy to report that the Bridge Team scored a bronze in the team pursuit at the Elite Track Nationals last week. Here is the podium photo:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-elite-track-championships-cn-1/day-2/photos/143736

Kudos to Haley and Jane (and Dan) for all the hard work they put in training and practicing! Thanks to Dan for driving all our bikes and equipment down to Carson and being director sportif, coach, mechanic, timer, and photographer for the week! Thanks also to Rich and Mary Ellen Allen, Leo, Jim Turner, and Eliot (did I miss any other AVers?) for supporting us in Carson! It was great to have a cheering section.

Here's Jane's report:
Elite Track National Championships

Team Pursuit 9/30/2010, teammates: Haley and Andi

Our first race was the team pursuit on Thursday: our team was Andi, me, and Haley. We had our order set, our strategy ready, and our communications agreed on. Unfortunately, it didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. The plan was for Andi to start and take one-lap pulls, followed by me taking two-lap pulls, then Haley taking one-lap pulls. Our start was okay, and I floated the second lap at 19.0 seconds, then apparently Haley and I were both feeling really good, because we went much faster than we'd planned, with me doing my second lap at 18.1 and Haley holding that pace exactly. Andi was feeling the pace a little, but she did her lap well and then I was on the front again. I'm not entirely sure how it happened after that, but sometime during my two-lap pull Haley and I gapped Andi, and I heard her say "down down down" as we'd agreed. Unfortunately, shortly after I first heard it I heard something else (it may have even been a spectator saying something), and thought that she was back on, so I kept going after a brief slowdown. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and when I pulled off for my exchange I saw Andi a little ways behind and realized my mistake. I wasn't thinking clearly though, and assumed that Haley knew that she was still off, so it took us another lap and a half for us to all come together again. I stayed on front for 3 laps to spare Andi (since she'd been in the wind going full speed for 3 laps) and Haley led us through the final lap. Despite falling apart for a few laps, we still managed to clock a 4:00, which I think is still pretty good.

There were only four teams registered, which meant that all four teams got to ride again for the finals - 1 vs 2 and 3 vs 4. We ranked 3rd. Since there weren't any other events going on that afternoon besides the Men's Team Pursuit, we only got about 30-40 minutes before we had to race again, but even though we were tired, we were glad to get a second chance. We got off to a bit of a slow start, and we were definitely tired, but we knew the other team was tired too. Coach Dan decided that since Andi had been forced to chase us for a couple of laps, she should take half-lap pulls. For the first few laps we were actually a quarter lap behind the other team, but we held it together and picked up the pace a bit, while the other team got tired and fell apart. By the end we were more than a quarter lap up on them, not far from catching them. Our time was 3:58.742, and we beat the 4th place team by nearly 8 seconds. We were all pretty thrilled to have won a bronze medal at Elite Nationals! I was lucky to have Haley and Andi on my team, they were fantastic.

--Jane

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Track Nationals: Jane Wolcott

2010-10-01T20:33:00.000-07:00

Individual Pursuit 10/1/2010

Friday afternoon was the individual pursuit, but my legs weren't feeling as good as they were the day before. I had a pretty good start, and I floated the second and third laps just like I planned. Then I thought my legs were feeling pretty good, so I upped the pace and did a couple of sub-19 laps, but unfortunately I couldn't hold it for long and ended up fading by the end, though I did still pass my opponent. I clocked a 4:01.298, which is a PR, but I had been hoping to break 4 by a few seconds (it was only my second pursuit ever). I was in the first heat, so I had to wait for everyone else to finish to find out if I'd made the finals or the podium. Unfortunately for me, another unknown showed up in the 3rd heat and beat my time by one second, then all four ladies in the last two heats beat her, so I ended up 6th. Haley and Andi both put in solid performances: Haley did her first ever Individual Pursuit (11th!), and Andi improved on her 3k time from Elite Districts.
Points Race 10/2/2010

The Points Race was on Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I had to do was race in a qualifying heat. The heat was 40 laps, with sprints every 10 laps, and the top ten qualified for the final. We only had 13 starters, so most of us would advance. My goal for the day was just to make the final. The heat started and we went fast! I think it was the fastest track race I'd ever been in, since I've pretty much only raced with the B men at Hellyer. I also found out quite quickly that although I was energetic and excited before the race, my legs were rather tired from all of the pursuiting. Fortunately I was able to get near the front on the last lap and got one point on the last sprint, which was enough to qualify me for the final. Then I got to wait 2.5-3 hours for the final, which was good actually, since my legs needed time to cool down, rest, and warm up again. It was also enough time that I could eat some food.

Since I was still feeling fairly tired, and I also have very little experience doing points races (especially in a fast field), my goals for the race were simple: don't get dropped and get at least one point. The final was 100 laps, sprints every 10 laps. The pace was fast, but it seemed less frantic than the qualifying heat, maybe because it was a longer race. I also had a bigger gear, so it may have been just as fast but I got used to it and wasn't spinning quite so fast. In any case, I was conservative for the first 50 laps, since I wasn't sure of my legs and also needed a bit of time to get comfortable racing in a pack of fast-moving women. With 50 laps to go, there was actually a crash on the home stretch, but luckily I was far enough behind that I could go up and over. I'm not sure how many people went down, but the race was soon neutralized and we were allowed to stop (and get water). Two girls were injured enough that they didn't restart, but several ladies who did go down (including Beth Newell) got back in when we restarted.

I was feeling a little less tired in the second half and started being a bit more active in the race, going with a couple of breakaway attempts, but nothing stuck for more than a lap or two. I still wasn't great at moving up through the pack, but when I did get near the front I responded to several attacks. Luck was with me in the last few laps, because when Cari Higgins and Hanan Alves-Hyde went off the front, I had the opportunity to bridge when the girl in front of me decided to go for it (otherwise I was blocked in). I made it to the front group, though we ended up with almost no separation. There ended up being five of us strung out in front of the pack, which was close behind but so strung out that they weren't about to overtake us. Cari and Hanan were taking good pulls, but the other two girls pulled off after half a second on the front, so I took a good fast half-lap pull to keep us out there. I can't remember how many laps we were out there, but with about a lap and a half to go all I remember was trying to hang onto Hanan's wheel as she and Cari accelerated. She pulled away from me very slowly and I just kept fighting to stay on her wheel, having no idea who was behind me or how far they were, just knowing that this was my last chance to win any points. Luckily, I think everyone behind me was suffering just as much and I got 3rd in that final sprint, netting myself 2 points. I got 12th in the race, which I think was pretty good for a beginner like me.

It was a great race to end the season, and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year and hopefully doing even better. Many thanks to Coach Dan for coming down to support us - he acted as Director Sportif, Coach, Mechanic, Driver, and Photographer!

--Jane

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USA Cycling National: 30-34 Criterium, TT, RR

2010-09-09T09:52:00.001-07:00

Race: Masters Nationals 30-34 Criterium
Location: Louisville, KY
Date: 08/07/2010
Place: 4th

I flew down to Kentucky after driving 3 days to Boulder Colorado to see my parents. The plan was to drive to see them, spend one night, fly to KY to race Nationals then fly back to Boulder to stay for 2 weeks.
Louisville is actually a cool town with some nice restaurants, coffee shops etc. The first day was the TT which didn't go very well do to a couple factors:
1. Driving 3 days and flying for one makes for heavy feeling legs.
2. Getting a bike fit should be done more than 2 weeks before your race.
3. Drink lots of water if the race is going to be in 100 degree heat in super humid conditions.
But I got a 5th place in the TT and learned a lot.

Second up was the Road race but both Ryan and I ate some bad macaroni salad from Wal-Mart and got food poisoning the night before. I drove to the race site the day of the race hoping I would feel better but no luck and I scratched the race. Here is what I learned:
1. Dont buy deli food from Wal-Mart ;-)
2. If you are throwing up the night before the race you probably won't be able to race at 8am.

Third day was the Criterium. It was a nice 4 corner course on the river. I got a good warm up in and the race started. It was non-stop attacks from then on. I started them off hoping I could get an early gap but as there were no teams and everyone was racing as an individual, everything was chased with gusto. Halfway through I realized it would come to a sprint so relaxed, conserved and let others chase. When the final lap came, I lined up in perfect position for the last corner and sprinted it out. I was half a bike length off the winner with two in between for 4th place. Things to take away:
1. Broken collarbones 6 weeks before the race don't bode well for strong sprints.
2. Even if you were sick a couple days before you can still have a good race.

I want that stars and stripes jersey! Next year... a bear jersey too :)

--Haley

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Gateway Cup

2010-09-08T21:29:00.001-07:00

Gateway Cup (Sept. 3-6)

During Labor Day weekend, pros and amateurs from around the nation piled into my hometown of St. Louis for the annual Gateway Cup races. The womens’ field was smaller than the previous year when it was the “Tour of Missouri” but strong nonetheless with racers Laura van Gilder, Team Colavita, Sam Sneider of TIBCO, and a few Vera Bradley girls. Friday’s race was my first twilight crit ever on the barely-lit course around the young-urban section of town called Lafayette Square. I had a blast at the twilight although wasn’t a strong contender for the sprint. Modesta of Colavita won the stage and started the next day as the omnium leader.

This was another four-corner crit around Frances Park. I attacked early on but didn’t manage to get a good gap. With 15 minutes left to go, Colavita’s Saunders went off the front and stayed off til the finish while Lauren Hall of VBF won the field sprint. The next day’s criterium was the Giro della Montagna or the race in the dominantly Italian part of the city called the Hill. I won this race last year in the 3/4s so the adrenaline was high (along with caffeine) going into it this year. A group of four went off the front about halfway through the race and when they were at 20 seconds ahead, I knew that I just missed the move. I thought that Colavita would’ve been more organized in chasing since LVG was in it and she would go on to steal the GC from Modesta. But nothing happened and again I had a bad sprint at the finale.

Then the last day of Gateway Cup 2010 came on Labor Day with a new 11-corner criterium through the Benton Park district of town going over a highway, next to the Anheuser Busch plant, and through a bohemian part of St. Louis. It was by far the most fun and hardest course of the series. The field was strung out most of the time due to the tight chicanes and constant cornering. I attacked really hard halfway to go and stayed off for about 1.5 miles while Colavita organized themselves at the front to reel me in (now you do it???). I thought they might let me leave since I was certainly no GC threat but no cigar. However, I wound up having a very good sprint at the end (for me). The sprint was hard – headwind, long, and slightly uphill. While usually I tend to lose position in the last lap because I’m afraid for my life with all the wild elbows and close corners, I decided to be aggressive for the last race of the season (hey, if I crash, I’ve got 6 months til my next race!). Anyway, I was about 10th wheel going into that last corner and I just patiently stayed in the saddle jumping from one great wheel to the next while their sprints died prematurely. I wound up coming in 5th across the line! But unfortunately, I didn’t check results before they were finalized and they put me down as 6th. So lesson learned: don’t cool down – check results! Oh well, still a great finish to a pretty decent season. I have high hopes for 2011!

--Maura

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Elite Track District Championships and National Qualifier 8/22/2010

2010-08-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Elite Track District Championships and National Qualifier 8/22/2010

For the past five weeks or so I've been training for the Individual Pursuit, and finally I got to race one at Districts. My goal was to qualify for Nationals, so I brought along some friends to race to make the field size bigger (which means more people qualify). Thanks to Mary Ellen Allen, MaryAnn Levenson and Andi Smith for coming out and racing, we ended up with 12 people racing the pursuit! I had a good warmup and then I was on the start line. I had a decent start for once and I was off. My second lap was a little fast, 25.8 seconds, but then I settled into a fairly steady pace around 27 seconds per lap. My last couple of laps were a bit slower than the first couple, but not by a whole lot, so I ended up with a final time of 4:05.32, which is a bit faster than I expected to go on my very first pursuit. I'm really happy with my time, but it was a bit frustrating that Beth Newell only beat me by 0.8 seconds - so close. Congratulations to Beth for posting a great time and winning districts, I'm happy to have gotten 2nd place and qualified for Nationals.

After the individual pursuit, Andi and I wanted to do a team pursuit. We didn't have a third person, so we recruited Margaret Jones, who I met there that morning. Margaret had never been to the track before, but she did fine in the individual pursuit, so we decided we'd give the team pursuit a shot. We didn't even get to practice beforehand, but we figured out a strategy and away we went. Andi started, then Maggie, then me. Andi and Maggie each took half-lap pulls while I took full-lap pulls, since my time was a bit faster. We did pretty well actually, especially since we didn't practice and I know that Maggie and I have never done team pursuits before at all. We finished in second place with a time of 4:09.2, only 2.8 seconds behind the first place team. Since there were four teams, we actually qualified for Nationals!

-Jane

Dunnigan Hills Road Race 8/14/2010

2010-08-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

Dunnigan Hills Road Race 8/14/2010
Category: W1/2/3
Field Size: 32
Length: 86 miles
Place: 16th

The course was very flat, probably the flattest road race I've done here since Cantua Creek. I like flat races, but this one was a little on the long side too. When we finished, my clock said something around 4 hours. We did two long laps, and the first one was fairly relaxed, since most of the attacks that were made didn't seem serious so early on. A couple of times there were a couple of people up the road, but we never let them get too far away. About twenty miles in my lower back started aching, so after that I didn't do very much work bringing breaks back or attacking myself. I just settled in and tried to keep myself properly fed and hydrated so that I'd have something left for the sprint, since it looked like no breaks were going to stick anyway.

Before the race, we'd been warned by the race officials that the centerline rule was being strictly enforced and if you were caught advancing across the yellow line, you'd be DQ'ed. Well, our motor ref took this very seriously and over the course of the race he DQ'ed five people. After the first one, I realized just how strict he was being and took care to generally stay on the right side of the pack and move up on that side. Anyway, on the second lap there was a group of three off the front for a long time, but they were never that far ahead, we kept them in our sights, and finally they were reeled back in with maybe 10 miles to go. We were all together with about two miles to go, though people kept making moves to get near the front, when we were informed that the finish line had been moved an extra two miles up the road and that we'd only have a single lane for the sprint. That messed up my plan since we were supposed to have the full road for the last half mile, so I was hoping to be able to get to a better position at that point. However, we stayed single lane right to the finish and I didn't have the energy to stay at the front since everyone was trying to do that and the pack kept churning. As a result, I was stuck in the middle when the sprint finally came, though no one had much room to sprint anyway.

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Timpani Crit

2010-08-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Race Report from Jane Wolcott from the Bridge Team

Timpani Crit 8/1/2010
Category: W1/2+3
Field Size: 26+17
Length: 55 minutes
Teammate: Ange
Place: 11th

The course was a nice flat four-corner loop going clockwise. The roads were fairly wide, and apart from a couple of bumpy bits of pavement and manhole covers, the road quality was pretty good. I met my teammate Ange for the first time the day before at her farewell BBQ, since she's flying back to Australia. I was glad to get to do at least one race with her before she goes away, and we had a pretty good race together.

The race started off at a decent pace, but not super fast. There were some attacks, and I did my part in chasing them down occasionally. Ange was up there too doing a great job staying active in the race. I know I saw her follow groups up the road a number of times making sure nothing got away from us. With about 10-15 minutes left in the race a break of 6-8 people made it off the front and got a 6-8 second gap on the field. Since neither Ange nor I made it into the break, I did my best to either bridge or chase it down with a number of attacks, but I just didn't have it in me to bring them back and the gap wasn't getting any smaller.

I made one last attack on back stretch of the last lap hoping to get away one last time, but I just didn't have it, so I rounded the last corner about 10th wheel in the pack. The road was wide open, so I decided to sprint for it anyway, and I actually had a pretty good sprint, I just started too far back to place well. Anyway, I thought it was a good race and it was great to get to finally race with Ange.

--Jane

Tour de Limousin (UCI 2.1)

2010-07-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Tour de Limousin (UCI 2.1)
Dates: July 22nd – July 25th
Team: Equipe Mixte de Limoux
Field: ~180 riders (including UCI teams like Futuroscope, Fassa Bortolo and national teams from Australia, Scotland, Russia, Switzerland and USA)

Stage 1: 118km RR. This started with 4 laps of a 10km circuit each of which had a GPM (QOM) up a 2km climb. After the climb there was a technical downhill into a rolling/false flat section. Then came another steep and technical descent into another shorter climb before hitting the GPM again. After the 4 laps we continued straight instead of turning left back onto the circuit and did one big ~70km circuit which was constantly going up or down with a few (very) false flat sections.

Stage 2: 17.3km TT. This course was VERY fun. It was mostly downhill and rolling for the first half and then the second half had a series of short climbs and technical descents. As TT courses go, this could not have been better for me (except for maybe three of the last four km which had some longer, steeper kickers).

Stage 3: 110km RR. The start of this race was a raging (and pretty technical) downhill into a ~2km high speed climb into another extremely narrow and technical descent. We then continued on to another ~2.5km climb across the finish line and into the first GPM and then continued on another up and down/rolling course for about ~30km. We then came back into the circuits, which we started on, and did that three times (which included a GPM each pass). The circuits were full of all sorts of fast descents, technical roundabouts, narrow town roads and short but heavy climbs.

Stage 4: 118km RR. This race started more or less on a climb. It was only about 1km but it was pretty steep towards the end. It was the least technical course of the stage race and had the widest roads but this made things more difficult. This course was up and down, up and down, up and down. The climbs were steeper than the last few days and the course was riddled with GPMs and sprints. The big circuit was about 60km and then we finished on 4 laps of the smaller circuit.
*each stage had 4 or more GPMs and several sprints

Now for what ACTUALLY happened...

Stage 1: Before I can explain how the first stage went I have to back up and describe the days leading up to it. We left Limoux Wednesday morning at 7:30 am to meet our DS and two other staff in Toulouse before continuing on to Limousin. For the weeks that I have been in Limoux we have had mostly intolerably hot weather. But, in a matter of four hours we managed to leave 40 degree (centigrade) weather and find ourselves in 15 degrees, pouring rain and lightning storms. Needless to say, we did not have a chance to ride after the drive. Even worse, our start the first day was the earliest of the whole weekend so we would not have a chance to ride in the morning either. Our transfer to the start was supposed to be 2 hours but that turned into nearly 2.5 getting us to the race 40 minutes before our start. After spending 20 minutes in line for one of two toilettes in the whole area, we had 20 minutes to change, sign in and line up with 180 other riders.

With 180 riders in the field, everyone’s main goal is to be at the front. Combine that with starting pretty much on a descent and you get absolute chaos mixed in with the smell of burning brake pads. Luckily I feel pretty comfortable descending and was able to make my way into the top forty or so after flat-out sprinting for what seemed like 15 minutes. Once we hit the GPM climb, though, my position started to suffer. I managed to hang on to the tail end of the group and make my way back up over the rest of the next circuit. But, since there was a GPM EVERY lap, I eventually came off and could not recover enough to catch back on the third time up. I rode in no-man’s land for a long while and then started to get caught and passed like a dead weight by girls who had gotten dropped earlier. I learned after that experience that the best thing for me to do is not kill myself to stay in sight of the caravan alone but to ease up, rest and wait for a group behind me to cling to. Lesson learned. I ended up riding alone for about 60km between groups. Eventually I got caught by two riders at 25km to go and we came in together several minutes behind the main peloton.

Stage 2: This short TT was a welcome break after the four hour slog the day before. Given my position on GC was beyond help, I decided to go hard in the TT but not to dig any holes. My main goal was to finish the next two days and if that meant sacrificing 45 seconds or so on my TT time, so be it. As it turns out, my legs felt much better for the TT and I had a great time. I went as planned, doing basically over-unders the whole time (floating the fast descents and killing the hills and staying steady in between). I had an early start time and managed to catch two riders ahead of me and keep a third in sight. This gave me the best time of the day for a glorious 30 minutes before the pros got started. It was a very fun course and a great opener and recovery for the next two days.

Stage 3: I would say this was my best day of the race. I stayed with the main group for about 40km before getting dropped 75% of the way up the first 4km GPM. I learned from the first stage and took a few moments to collect myself without panicking. Soon I was in a group of 6. As with most chase groups, there was chaos for about an hour until everyone settled in and accepted the fact that there was just no way we were going to catch the main group. We ended up picking up riders for most of the day and ended up being a group of about 25 at the finish. I focused on spinning up all the climbs and staying in the front for the technical descents (where me and another couple of Belgian and Dutch riders kept dropping the group). The pace was challenging but manageable and I wanted to save myself for the finish to practice setting up for the sprint (as directed by our DS). Luckily I had a teammate in the group with me for company. She didn’t have anything left at the finish to help me out so I set myself up. I got a little caught up by other riders and was a little far back with 500 meters to go but it was uphill so I flew up the left when I finally got an opening and finished third in the bunch. I probably could have won the sprint but the fatigue of the last few days, a lack of sugar to the brain and knowing that we were sprinting for a position on the third page of results left me slightly unmotivated. Still, I was happy to finish in the third group on the road. An improvement.

Stage 4: After a terrible night’s sleep I was feeling a little underwhelmed for today’s stage but I sucked it up and rolled around before the start to get over that first hump of pain in the legs. I managed to stay with the main group for about 40km. After getting dropped on steep climbs and catching back on twice my legs were pretty toasted. Our DS had told us, looking relieved, that today’s course was not dangerous. I beg to differ. The roads were wider than they had been any other day and while the descents were not technical, they were fast. Without any big climb or technical descent in the beginning to break things up, the group stayed together. This meant a lot of track standing and jumping starts in the middle of hills due to the yo-yo effect. All of those efforts wore on me and we finally hit a hill that broke me. I was pedaling squares and barely putting out any power, just praying for a group to come sweep me up. Alas I saw NO ONE for the next 30km until a group including one of my teammates finally caught me as we entered the final circuits. We made it around one before we actually got caught by the lead motos and were told we were done. While it would have been great to say I finished a UCI race, I was not heartbroken. I was completely trashed. I had given everything I had. I would have been stubborn and finished had it not been for the commissaries ordering us off but it would have taken ages. I took my first ride in a sweeper van with two very kind old French men and called it a day.

This was the hardest racing I have ever done in my life. I had a great team to keep me company. I may not be listed on any results but the most important thing is that I truly enjoyed myself. Thanks for reading!

Taleo Benicia ITT

2010-07-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Taleo Benicia ITT 7/25/2010
Category: W1/2
Field Size: 7
Length: 12.4 miles
Teammate: Haley (4th), Andi (2nd in W35+)
Place: 3rd

I had heard beforehand that it was a rolling course that could be windy, but that didn't
prepare me for the amount of wind we encountered on the course this morning. It was crazy
windy - I don't even know in mph how windy it was, but it was very windy with a lot of
gusts. It was so windy that Andi lent me her 404 front to use instead of my 808, but even
that ended up being a bit scary, since I've never really practiced riding in my aerobars in
super windy gusty conditions. Also the only rear wheel I had available (other than a normal
training wheel) was an 808 clincher turned into a disc using a wheel cover. If I'd thought
about it early enough and found the tools, I probably would have chosen to take the cover
off and had a much easier time, but it didn't occur to me until 2 minutes to my start time.
Oh well. I had a nice fast start, especially since there was a downhill bit almost right
away, and I settled into a good hard pace. I soon discovered that the wind was very tricky,
because it would be steady for a while, but then it would gust hard then drop off suddenly,
so I had to be careful to stay steady and not overreact. I think it was less than halfway
to the turnaround that I decided that I didn't feel safe/comfortable in my aerobars because
I was having trouble controlling my bike. So I spent the rest of the race on my bullhorns,
most of the time trying to crouch down low anyway. I felt a lot more comfortable like that,
and I was able to focus more on going hard than staying on the road, though I still had to
pay attention to where I was going. On the way back the wind wasn't quite as bad, since it
was more of a headwind than a crosswind, but I wasn't confident enough to get back in my
aerobars so I stayed up. I saw some people going the other way who weren't in their
aerobars either and that made me feel better about it, that it wasn't just me who was
uncomfortable with the wind. I had seen a couple of the ladies that started right before me
after they turned around and they were in their bars, but I don't think any of them was
riding a disc wheel so they weren't feeling the crosswind gusts quite so badly. When I
finally crossed the finish line, I think I was more relieved about not having to fight the
crosswinds anymore than I was about being about to go easy, which is quite a change from
the usual TT. I probably could have pushed myself harder physically, but I just glad to get
back in one piece.

Despite the wind, I had fun and it was a good race. I was super excited for Haley too,
because this was her first race coming back from her broken collarbone. She had a pretty
good race too, and she didn't have to fight the wind as much because she was using normal
spoked wheels. She was able to stay in her aerobars on her shiny new Leopard bike the whole
time and put in a really solid effort. Nice job Haley, it's good to have you back!

--Jane

Cascade Stage Race

2010-07-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

A summary of the Cascade Stage Race from Ange. This is her last NRC race in the US, and we are sorry to say that she is going back to Australia next week. She will be missed! Congrats, Ange, on all your racing in the US, and we hope to see you next year!
__________________________

Cascade...Down and Dusted!

Cascade Classic in Bend, OR, 6 day stage race went from the 20th-25th of July, this was to be my last NRC race in the states and was excited to give it everything. Coming off two weeks in Canada racing two three day stage races, I was hoping I had enough money in the bank to get some good performances out at Bend. Unfortunately my bank wanted to shut up shop early before the first half of my season ended and Cascade was a big struggle, however I got through it!

The Prologue was a short 3mile flat and technical course. I discovered I broke my bike before the stage, cracking the steer tube. The first road race took us over 116k with two decent burgs. The first broke the field and I found my way into the second group which became the groupetto which crossed the line 15minutes down from the girls up front. Stage 2 was a 16mile out n back TT. This was the worst TT I had ever done. I struggled the whole couldn’t find a rhythm, my legs were dead. The next road race stage 3 I didn’t expect much due to my performance the previous day. However I made it halfway up with the leaders on the last climb over the approx 115k stage. I think the mental blow of yesterday didn’t serve me well today. Stage 4 the hopes of legs coming back to me was gone out the window and I knew this from when I woke up. I just hanged on the back of the pack the whole race, milking everything from a very empty set of legs. To no surprise going into the 5 stage to be honest DNF was scrolling through my mind after last night’s down town Criterium. However my legs found me on the 51 mile circuit race containing two less than a mile steep climbs. I had the kick to go with the girls on the climb, chased a few unsuccessful breakaways, and ended up crossing the line with what was left of the front group!

Despite the bursts of hope throughout the tour I just didn’t have the legs to get the result I was chasing.

Looking forward to spending my last week in California resting up and being a tourist!

Till next time

Ange

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Cascade Stage Race: Stage 2 & 3

2010-07-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Here is Emily Foxman's race report for stages 2 & 3 of Cascade Stage Race.

Cascade Day 3: stage 2 time trial
at last it was the day for the time trial one of my favorite
disciplines and the one i thought i would get my best result in at
cascade. my race wasn't until the afternoon so i was able relax in the
morning before my time trial. I had
one of the earlier start times, but I still had a good amount of
people in front of me so I got to chase (yay! it's always more fun to
be able to catch and pass people :P) I was pretty excited for this
stage I had previously had a great result of a slightly longer version
of this course at elite nationals (in which i was 2nd of U23 women). I
started out hard since on this course the way back was mostly downhill
there wasn't much point to trying to save energy for the end. I was
feeling pretty good and passed 4 or 5 people ahead of me. I finished
with a time of 40'40" in 49th. looking back I think there were a few
places on the descent i should have gone faster, but it was also a
really strong field with a lot of pros that I look up to, and next
year i'll return for a better result!

Cascade day 4: stage 3 Cascade Lakes Road Race
well today was a lot hard than I thought it should have been,
considering it was the "easy stage" of the race. I probably should
have spent a bit more time warming-up in before and a bit less time
worrying about the race, but live and learn... The race started out
tough, there was a climb right from the gun and I think the front of
the pack was drilling it at the front to shed some of the field, or
maybe it just felt like it because I wasn't quite ready to jump from
the gun... so I started out chasing, I caught back on but I realized I
need to spend some more time working on my descending skill with a
large pack to increase my comfort level, or just think less and trust
my bike more. after the repeated bouts of chasing
back to the pack I cracked with a little less than 20k to go, which
was probably the result of me not taking in enough nutrition during
the race, which i will definitely pay more attention to in the future.
I was however, still able to finish within the time cut (sigh of
relief) and i think i am now more aware of a lot of things i need to
work on and will hopefully be better and more prepared next year!
either way I'm going to keep going as long as i can and not give up,
at least I'm still in the race!

--Emily

Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:

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– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/

Tour de White Rock, Canada

2010-07-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Tough weekend!

This weekend brought the Tour De White Rock. The tour is based just outside Vancouver Canada. Three stages; 700m hill climb, 30 laps x 1k Crit and 80k RR 8x 10k laps. My expectations of this supposedly hilly course were high and I didn’t achieve what I wanted, however, learnt a lot and had some good fun to lead me into Cascade which starts Tuesday in Bend, Organ.

Uphill TT.

I really didn’t know how to approach this one. I finished 19th. 4 seconds off the fastest time which was taken by Joelle from the Webcor professional team. The climb was very steep however not quite steep enough for the pure climbers it was more suited to people who could power climb well.

Crit

The crit was very uneventful. My attempt of trying to get a breakaway going in the first few laps represented the negatively of the race. The wind assisting everyone up the only incline of the 3 sweeping corners kept the pack together. Again Joelle’s strength and power was a step above everyone taking all bar one prime and winning the crit. I did not look at results but believe I was in the top half of the field the crossed the line.

RR

The day I had been waiting for. The race covered a tough course two decent hills and the rest either going down fast or rolling upwards. The first half of the race went fast and no real selection was made. The 5th and 6th laps is where I tried to get a group going off the front after the 2nd of two climbs however failed. There was enough flat and downhill for girls to chase back on. With the last lap resulting in 15 girls still there at the finish I tried to stay clued to Joelle’s wheel in the sprint but couldn’t hold it, coming in 9th. Disappointing. Worked hard on the hills all day but the jig-saw puzzle didn’t quite come together for a break to stay away. Too many strong girls unable to climb but could TT and not enough strength in the girls leading the climbs.

So not the weekend I was hoping for. Joelle, a friend and previous team-mate, swept the podium and rode strong all weekend.

We have both been sharing the same host house which for those who know Joelle her bubbly and flamboyant personality has kept me entertained and we have had a lot of good times! I wonder if our 4am wake-up tomorrow will see an excited Joelle!

Till Cascade

Ange

Superweek

2010-07-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Coming into Wisconsin for Superweek, I had anticipated big fields, high speeds, and crits. On my first day of racing on Thursday (7/15), I rolled up to the Start/Finish line and saw only about 20 women. The field contained strong women like Sam Schneider of TIBCO and Erica Allar of Team VBF but no teams present, just individuals. The first crit was a flat four-corners with bad pavement and was the first of the longest crits I have ever done – 100 minutes. 100 minutes that did not go by quickly. The general pace was pretty slow (21-22 mph) interrupted by a multitude of low-quality attacks that were quickly scooped back up by our small field. With many notable sprinters in the small field, I tried to get away a few times but was marked by my foreign “Webcor” jersey in the Midwest. I wound up finishing mid-pack for the field sprint so hopefully either my sprinting or attacking will get better as the week goes on…

On Friday (7/16), the criterium was a much more technical 8-corners (1 km). The weather conditions were very windy, hot and humid. I had been very frustrated with the way the day before had turned out so I decided give everything I had to one long, hard attack. During the second lap, I attacked. After a lap solo, I was quickly regretting my timing as I saw 43 laps to go on the lap-card. As I was cursing myself for foolishly, impulsively attacking too early, Jen Purcell of San Jose’s team bridged up to me and we continued to work by ourselves for another four laps. Then two more girls bridged up to us. Our group of four worked together for another 10 laps until another group with Sam, Erica, and another girl bridged up to us. Our group was sure to stay off the front with all the heavy-hitters present but I was having a really hard time recovering after my initial attack. I stopped pulling in order to recover and missed an attack by a Kenda rider. I pulled my group to try to stay up with that lead group but then Erica Allar attacked to get to that group and I all but exploded… so the break I had initiated had just dropped me. Two other girls in the group had also been gapped and were tried to work to get back up. We, however, were never able to catch them but with like 7 to go, they caught us, and so we tagged along the back of that group until the finish. Some other girls had been swept up before us but by the finish of another 100 minute crit, I was cross-eyed and finished at the back of that field sprint, not wanting to annoy to the “actual” contenders in that lead group.

(7/17) Saturday’s criterium was conveniently located only a block away from my host house. The crit was a four-corner rectangle with a significant climb on one of the long sides. Erica Allar and an ISCorp girl managed to go off the front on the second lap. Thereafter, the pace up the hill was high but manageable and I sat 1st to 3rd wheel for the whole race. And when I say the whole race, I mean up until the last 50 meters. I tried to attack with 3 laps to go up the climb but my chain wouldn’t stay in one place and jumped around a lot. Fortunately I was able to get it back to working order short after, but unfortunately my attack failed. On the last lap I attempted attacking again but wound up just being the perfect leadout for all the sprinters through the last corner. Erica had managed to lap the field even though I thought we had brought them back but that must have been a different break. I should’ve known that she was off the front but the announcer wasn’t telling us anything – gaps, breaks, nothing. After my second failed attack of the day, I wound up getting 7th. I’m pretty disappointed with how I finished because I felt really strong the whole day -- I need to learn how to be a savvier racer which will hopefully come with time.

Besides racing, I’ve been going on “Coffee shop rides” along the beach in the mornings before my late-afternoon races. To my surpirse, Milwaukee is a very cool city. Today is my rest day and I’m off to go jetskiing!

Tour De Delta, Canada

2010-07-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

A little recap. Since I left Liberty Classic in the birth place of America Philadelphia, which was my first UCI race outside nationals, I went to Boulder, Colorado. For 4 weeks I trained mostly solo with the exception of my fellow Aussie mate Will Dickerson. I suffered through the Niwot Crit and Dead Dog Classic. All with one aim in mind to get ‘good legs’ for Cascade. The next phase of finding good form was to head to Canada to compete in BC Super week. The first of my two stage races here is completed and I’m on track for Cascade.

Tour De Delta

TT- 3k flat
This course was for a power rider, smooth fast surfaces with four corners. I disappointed myself here and finished 20th 12 seconds down from the winner.

Crit – 40laps, 36k
The Crit was fun and fast. Again flat and with four corners and being the Canadian Crit Championships it was not going to be easy. The race was like a suction cup the whole way around the course, making it easy to sit in the pack however difficult for a break to last. Two of my attempts were successful in gaining time on the field, only soon to be shut down. I finished in the middle of the very nervous last lap pack. 20th.

Road Race- 11laps 88k
A hill. A last I was given an opporturunity to test my strengths on a longer stage and also the single hill in the loop. The race was clam for the first 3 laps, some girls testing their legs on the climb but nothing sticking. On lap 4 I attacked and was away with four other girls for a lap. Looking good everyone was pulling through hard, although so was the main field and the break was caught. The race saw more aggressive attacks all occurring on the hill which was a short 600m with 6-8% gradient. With two laps to go I attacked with Amy, a Canadian girl who was my host house for my time in Canada. A break formed of five riders and we were away! Pulling through hard for two laps and we stayed away! Having felt the effects of being in my previous break-away I had to be happy with 5th, taking enough time over the other riders to end up 4th on General Classification.

Next week is the second stage race of BC Superweek, Tour of White Rock. Apparently the hillier of the two Canadian Tours, which will play in my favour!

Till next week’s report

Ange

Davis Crit - 4th of July Classic

2010-07-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

Davis 4th of July Crit
Women 1/2+3
Field Size: 33 1/2s + 18 3s
Place: 10th of 33
Teammates: Emily (21st), Linda (25th)
Weather: Very hot!

The course was a fairly standard L shape, with five lefts and a right. Since the course was only about 0.7 miles per lap, there wasn't a lot of time to move up through the field on the straightaways. As soon as we got out there and started the race, I realized that I'm not used to the heat (I think it was between 100 and 110 degrees out there). Despite a good warmup, my legs felt really heavy for the first few laps, so I ended up losing position and straying towards the back of the pack. A few laps later my legs felt ok, but I realized that I had bigger problems - I was overheating, I had goosebumps, and I wasn't sweating as much as I should have been. At that point, I realized that probably all I could do was hang on and hope that somehow I would feel better by the end.

I managed to move up in the pack a couple of times, but never far enough forward to do anything. I saw Emily move up to near the front about halfway through, and she made a couple of good moves. With 10 laps to go, I finally started feeling a bit better, and at that point I figured that I could push my legs a bit harder without overheating too seriously, since the race would be over soon anyway. I slowly moved up a bit, and saw that Emily was on the front again, trying to keep the pace fast. With about 4 laps to go, I finally had the opening I'd been looking for - the pack had left an opening on the right side of the front straightaway, and I took it.

I powered up from near the back to being right near the front, somewhere in the top ten riders. Earlier in the race I'd made the mistake of letting people cut in front of me, especially on the corners, but I knew that now it was crunch time and I had to keep my position. There was a crash on turn 5 near the end, I think it was with just over two laps to go. It looked like a couple of people went down, but I didn't stop to look. I was lucky that I wasn't directly behind it so I was able to stay near the front. Through the final lap, I wasn't in as great a position as I'd hoped to be, and I think I came out of the final turn sitting around 10th place, which is how I finished. It was only my 3rd crit since upgrading to Cat 2 and it's the best finish I've ever done in a 1/2/3 crit, so I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

--Jane

U23 Nationals RR

2010-06-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Nationals Road Race
W Elite and U23 (combined fields)
Teammates: Maura Kinsella
Placing: Maura (5th U23 I think)

Course: An 18 mile circuit (4 laps total) with three short but kicker-type climbs. The hardest one Archie Briggs which has a short cork-screw steep section (maybe 250 meters) which turns into a false flat and then another short, fast stair-step climb (which is the part that REALLY hurts).

We lined up bright and early at 8:15am for what we knew would be a VERY tough day (as we looked around and saw super-stud-mo’s like Evelyn Stevens, Kim Anderson, Mara Abbott, Shelly Evans etc. etc. etc.). Up around 3,000 feet, my lungs weren’t feeling so hot. We had ridden the course several times and knew exactly what was coming when. The first riser was straight and a little heavy but definitely just a power climb. I was trying to stay relaxed as we came down the descent into the hill. As I switched from my big ring to my small ring, I felt my feet suddenly go weightless. Crap. Already. The first hill and I drop my chain. Of course. As I try not to panic and fiddle with my shifters, riders fly past me as I come to a stop. Then the com 1 car rolls by and hear the lead official speak into the radio, “and Webcor is getting dropped”. I am NOT. I jumped off my bike, threw the chain on and sprinted to the top of the hill, making contact just as the peloton started gaining speed on the following descent. Way to go, Lauren. Great start. At least I got a good warm-up effort in : )

I hit the front a couple of times on the first lap just to take a break from the nervous energy running through the peloton. It was relatively low key and there was no feed to cause problems. I made it up the infamous (ok so maybe it’s only infamous to me...) Archie Briggs climb with the group only to nearly avoid a crash early in the second lap. Sometime soon after this accident Maura took a flyer to try to bridge to a group of three off the front. From what I hear she came within about a minute but never closed it before we caught her again.

As we descended into the start of the feed zone climb I saw the Peanut Butter gals stacking up at the front. Greeeaaatt. Here comes the pain. Sure enough, they hit it into the feed zone and I was on the rivet trying to stay on after grabbing a bottle. Unfortunately this effort continued into the Archie Briggs climb and I lost my hold on the group in the transition from the steep section into the false flat section. I found myself with two other riders and felt very unmotivated to finish. But, before I knew it I turned my head and saw maybe 15 other girls who had gotten shelled just before me (Maura being one of them, after her solo effort off the front). A few girls took long hard pulls in attempt to catch the front group, which I knew was fruitless. We settled into a kind of rhythm for the next lap.

During the final lap Ally Stacher (Webcor Builders) rode up next to me and offered her help in trying to get Maura the best placing she could in our group. There were only four other U23 riders in the front group so Maura was still racing for podium. (against several U23 riders now in our group). As we hit the bottom of the descent before the feed zone climb I went to the front and started setting tempo up the climb. I continued on the front through the feed zone all the way to the bottom of the Archie Briggs climb (mostly rolling and false flat terrain) where I blew up and let Ally take over for the next 5km or so. My intention was to keep in smooth and hard enough to discourage any attacks and maybe even drop some girls to make it easier on Maura at the finish. She finished first of the U23 girls in our group, which was great! It was a long day and a mentally tough one. We did the best with what we could do so that’s something to be proud of.

--Lauren

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Consolidated Nationals Report - Maura

2010-06-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

The Bridge Team had a successful Nationals in Bend last weekend, with Maura taking 3rd in the U23 TT and 5th in the U23 crit, and Lauren doing well in the RR. Here is Maura's race report:

NATIONALS (TT – 6/24; Crit – 6/25; RR – 6/27)
Thankfully, Nationals went better than Nature Valley. After frantically taking my bike to the nearest bike shop only to find out that I had several broken links on my chain (yes, I had replaced it recently - only two weeks beforehand), I flew straight to Bend, Oregon for the USACycling Road Nationals. I had gotten speed in my legs from the fast crits at Nature Valley which put me in great form for Nationals. The time trial was on Thursday – the pinnacle of this year for me. The course was long– 35 km, with 1000 feet of climbing at the beginning, then the same 1000 feet of decent and then through a hilly circuit. Again, I kind of went a little too hard on the opening climb. I was able to recover a bit on the downhill and felt decent through the circuit. I wound up finishing 3rd in U23 which I was pleased with.

The following day was a nighttime criterium in downtown Bend. After positioning poorly in the last row, I quickly was able to move my way to the front. I was top 10 for the first 50 minutes or so. Then with 1 to go, Brooke Miller and a few other heavy-hitters went down in front of me. I was able to go around them but I could never really catch up the front of the peloton that had not been delayed by the crash. I still had a solid finish – 21st overall, and 5th in U23. (https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?year=2010&id=1521&info_id=25850)

For Sunday’s RR, I was really beginning to feel all the racing I had been doing and thought I was going to have a pretty terrible race – my muscles were burning. But the first lap (of four), I felt pretty good and the peloton stayed together. At the beginning of the second lap, there was a group of three racers off the front and impromptu-ly I decided to go hard at the front up this steep little kicker. I turned around and realized that I and a TIBCO rider on my wheel had split off from the rest of the peloton. For some unknown reason (since I was racing U23 and she was Elite), the TIBCO rider wouldn’t pull through and eventually attacked me about 10 minutes later. Because she hadn’t done any work for the past 15 minutes, she was able to catch the front break-away. However hard I tried, I never seemed to be able to make the bridge. It was cool having a motorcycle riding next to me though – giving me splits to the front group and peloton; at one point – 50 seconds to the front, 2 minutes to the back. I couldn’t believe that I had gotten 2 minutes by myself on the pro peloton – that was pretty stellar. I made it up the first (mile 10) of the two big, significant climbs by myself and passing through the feed zone solo (almost famous... haha http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-junior-u23-elite-road-national-championships-cn-1/day-6/photos/128040).

Then, before the second climb at mile 14 (RR course map), the peloton caught me… and I all but exploded. I was so gone by then. I wound up finishing the last two laps of the circuit race with a nice chase group of about 15 riders. The last time up that mile 14 climb, I was suffering big time but was able to hold on and eventually get 2nd in our field sprint to take 5th in U23 category. Although I couldn’t finish in the lead group, I was still happy with how I had raced, aggressively instead of pack-fill. Although, hopefully next year, it’ll stick.

Dead Dog Classic

2010-06-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

Dead Dog Classic
26-27th of June
Laramie, Wyoming
Team mates: solo mission

Results: 12th on GC
This weekend was tough. A three stage race in two days consisting of a 52-mile hilly race on the Saturday, and a 40min Pancake Flat 5 corner Crit followed by a 10-mile Rolling TT. All completed at 7,000 feet upwards to 11,000 feet.

Road race
Today was very windy and hot. The field stayed together before the climb where it all broke up. I was in the group of 8ish that were off the front. Towards peaking to hill for the turnaround back into town I got dropped. Finding my favourite place “middle of no man’s land” with four up the road and a chasing peloton behind, I was chasing hard to catch the group in front. After the solo mission in the wind, I was caught by the second group on the road with 3miles to go. Knowing I had down a far chunk racing by myself, I wasn’t going to let that work go down the drain at attacked to hold on to 5th or 6th final results not yet released. Megan Hoffman taking line honours.

Crit
40min of pain I was expecting lived up to the expectation. The gun went a so did two girls of the front on the pack. The two riders stayed away all day, with a positive group chasing for the first 10minutes, slowing become less hopeful as the race went on. Megan Hoffman won the sprint.

TT
Eddy Merckx style was my theme. Apparently Colorado people aren’t short on the old piece of TT equipment! Nevertheless I gave it everything of the 10mile gusty wind field course.

To sum up the weekend was great for training at altitude, higher then i have currently been at in Boulder. With results as mentioned still not posted, I was satisfied that I raced hard and happy with some form that may be coming! Megan Hoffman was clearly the strongest rider this weekend. I will be a guest rider for her team at Cascade in July, which I’m looking forward too!!

I would also like to congratulate Maura ‘Kinsey’ Kinsella on a solid 3rd u/23 at TT Nationals!

Till next time where the race report will be coming from Canada!

Ange

Nature Valley Grand Prix

2010-06-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Nature Valley Grand Prix

Stage 1: TT (short, fast -for some- and Merckx style
I definitely liked doing this on a TT bike last year. I think I ride faster with that set-up. Must be something mental. I had an ok ride. These types of efforts are definitely specialized and I have NO practice.

Stage 2: Downtown St. Paul Crit (bricks and a massive corner pile up)
Wow. I have so much respect for professional female cyclists. I just cannot believe how fast these women are. The big teams (Columbia HTC, Peanut Butter and Tibco) hit it from the gun. Honestly I cannot even tell you what happened at the front because the field was so stretched out. There was a MASSIVE pile-up in turn 1 sometime in the first half of the race. I was so blundered I didn’t have the intelligence to take a free lap and ended up chasing. That ended my race. I still managed to make time to cut and live another day...

Stage 3: Canon Falls Road Race (Tornado sirens)
Record number of touch-downs (of tornadoes, that is) in a single day for Minnesota. Good thing they called our race AFTER we warmed up and sat on the start line for 20 minutes. Glad I wasn’t out there to see those funnels...

Stage 4: Downtown Minneapolis Crit (turn R, turn R, turn L, turn R, turn R, turn R <1km)
Tough day. Very fast. Some bad positioning on my part got me stuck behind a rider who decided to quit just at time cut. I chased for a bit but to no avail. Began to think that making it 75% of these stages is all I can manage and yet I keep moving on to the next stage... ?

Stage 5: Monomonie Road Race (ouch)
The newest addition to NVGP. About 6 kickers. I was all prepared with my tape notes on my top-tube. So much good it did. Come the second QOM (a 900 meter 20ish% grade straight up climb) the lower screw of my rear water bottle cage decides it doesn’t want to be a part of the pain-fest anymore and dislodges sending the LARGE water bottle (still in the cage) swinging sideways as I stood up to suffer the climb. My legs actually got STOPPED by the bottle and I had to sit down, ditch the bottle (in front of the com car which had made it very clear that water bottle ditchage was strictly prohibited) and then attempt to catch everyone 100 meters ahead of me with the bottle cage swinging to and fro. No luck. Turns out the QOM line wasn’t the end of the climb...

Stage 6: Stillwater Crit (kind of...)
And the fun continues. I caught a cold from a certain unnamed teammate : ) and went into Stillwater just hoping to last longer than last year. Goal accomplished. I lasted 7 laps (over half-way) and finished the day sniffling and sneezing by the van. Tough week. Would have been tough no matter what... but luck definitely was not on my side. Great learning, fantastic teammates and an even better sponsor and team of staff!

--Lauren

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Niwot Criterium, Boulder Co

2010-06-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Niwot Criterium
20th June
Teammates: one (me)
Placing: 10ish out of 30-35ish

As I sat at a Boulder Cafe Saturday afternoon enjoying the sun and good coffee I overheard two cyclists talking about a C\criterium race on Sunday, which brought a lot of riders and good prize money. Naturally I went over and asked them all the details, and before they could ask me if I wanted to join them for a coffee...which I assume they would have, I was off on my way home to suss it out on the internet. I saw on the flyer ‘same day registration’, and thought “giddy up!”

So that brought me to today. The Niwot Criterum , a 8 point crit, with two corners over 90 degrees, flat and fast. With a bit of unexpected lead up (two weeks of long k’s in the Colorado hills) my legs were in for 50minutes of pure fast twitch muscle fibre enjoyment....

I’ll cut to the chase and say it was actually a good race. The gun went and so did my first attack to set the scene. The next 20minutes there was a flurry of attacks between me and the Treads Women’s Team. After two prime sprints my tactic of trying to get away after the sprint was unsuccessful on both occasions. The third prime sprint saw me in the bunch when a Treads rider and another woman (unsure of team) went off the front after the sprint. Straight away I thought they would come back. Then quickly realised no one was chasing! I jumped and was in “no man’s land” for a good three laps. Two riders ahead of me and a chasing peloton behind me. Unfortunately I was gobbled up by the later. With still 20minutes to race I was trying to keep the extremely negative peloton at this point positive and chasing. A few more bridge attempts all being chased down by Treads team ended my day in the peloton. Also surprised to see some faces that I hadn’t seen the whole day whip past me at the finish!

Above all else it was a good work out, and to see where the legs are at after a pretty tough two weeks. I know have some intensity training to look forward in the bid to be fully prepared for Cascade. My last tour before I leave the states home bound!

Until that point I do have another local race in boulder next week, before I head to Canada for a bit of ‘spark up racing’ before Bend, Organ.

Till next time

Ange

Nature Valley Grand Prix - Maura

2010-06-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

NATURE VALLEY (6/16-6/20)

For Nature Valley, I was feeling really fresh for the opening TT on that Monday morning. This year aero gear was prohibited in order to curb costs and level the playing field. I was nervous to ride Eddy Merckx style because I usually have a different focus on my TT bike but it wound up being alright. The TT was a 6 mile course along the river, starting flat and then ending with a steep 5ish-minute climb. I got way too excited and went out a little too hard. Wound up finishing 55th, which I was still pretty pleased with that extremely stacked field (For complete results).

The rest of the week didn’t go as well. That night was a very technical 5 corner criterium with over 90° turns. I was positioned poorly from the start and was basically sprinting out of every corner. The next day the Cannon Falls RR was cancelled due to tornado warnings. On Friday, the nighttime criterium in the heart of Minneapolis was also fast and hard. The field was completely strung out the entire 60 minutes. Then, on Saturday, my drivetrain completely fell apart during the Menomonie RR. On the first hill about 3 miles in, my chain came off for completely no reason – I hadn’t even touched the shift levers. I had to get off my bike to put it back on and watched as the whole caravan passed me. I hopped back on my bike and time trialed my way to the field, but my chain kept skipping – in the front and back. So after about 5 minutes back in the field, I was having to work a lot harder than everyone else with my gears changing every pedal stroke. Pros around me started to tell me to go back to my car… little did they know that non-pros do not have cars. Nevertheless, I went back to the neutral support car. After about 3 minutes of trying to get a neutral bike from the car, I hopped on the new bike but after about 15 minutes of trying to catch back on, I saw the peloton going further and further away in the distance. That’s when I realized that I was going to dig a hole right before Nationals if I continued. So, I hopped in the sag vehicle and that was the end of my first attempt at a NRC race.

--Maura

District TT Championship

2010-06-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here is the District TT race report from Haley Juno-Galdes, of the Bridge Team. Haley got 2nd in the Elite district TT...then got hit by a car in Menlo Park and broke her collarbone. Here's her report:

Race: CA/NV District Time Trial Championships
Place: 2nd Elite Women
Date: June 13, 2010

Andi and I drove part way to Sattley the night before the race and stayed in a nice little hotel with friends from Los Gatos, Jane and Jose.
The morning of the race we drove an hour or so to Sattley. Sattley is up at elevation hence the plan to stay low then go to the race as close to the start as possible so the altitude effects are lessened.

Andi brought a trainer and I started a nice warm up 45 minutes before my start. Everything was going well: calories consumed at the right time and nice warm up with some spin ups. The weather was cool and it was the perfect day.

I started out easy and brought the power up to where I thought I could hold it but at 40 minutes I cracked a bit. Not training for or doing any TTs over 10 miles may have contributed :)
I came in 2nd to Molly Van Houweling, who has won this race multiple times.

As an aside, two days after the race I was hit by a truck on Santa Cruz street in Menlo Park after a ride and got a concussion and broken collarbone. I was out for Nationals a week later up in Bend Oregon that I had been planning on. But now, collarbone is healing, I have been riding the trainer, and I should be ready to race again in August.

--Haley

New Rider: Haley Juno-Galdes & Butterfly Crit

2010-06-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

We are happy to welcome Haley Juno-Galdes to the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team. Not only is Haley a strong crit rider and time trialist, but she also kills it at cyclocross. She’s gutsy, too: Her first event with the Bridge Team was volunteer work at the Ladies Day at the Bicycle Outfitter, and her first race with us was Mt Hamilton!

Here is Haley's race report for last weekend:
Race: Butterfly Pacific Grove Criterium Women 1/2
Place: 2nd
Date: June 6, 2010
Teammate: Lauren (4th)

Lauren and I drove to Pacific Grove after some awesome blueberry banana pancakes at Lauren's house.

We arrived an hour before, got our numbers, changed and started to warm up. There weren't any flat roads so our warmup was short and just looped around the start area on some hills. At the start there were a group of Dolce Vita girls, Metromint, Touchstone, a girl from Navy, Third Pillar, Roaring Mouse, Los Gatos and others. We were told there were 10 primes but after yesterday's Dash for Cash success, we were lukewarm about sprinting every lap again.

The group started and there were attacks from the get go. Lauren and I took turns covering moves or launching attacks of our own. One of us was always in the break with the other blocking. Once Lauren was in a short break but it got pulled back in.

Eventually after a prime sprint, I attacked and got a gap. Jasmine from Thrid Pillar bridged with a Touchstone girl who dropped back after a couple laps. Jasmine and I time trialled and with Lauren blocking in the field, we got a gap of over 30 seconds. On the last lap, we were watching each other to see who was going to make a move but finally it came down to us taking opposite sides of the road and drag race sprinting it to the line. Jasmine won and I got second. Lauren was close behind with 4th.

Overall a good fun race.

--Haley

Liberty Classic RR

2010-06-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

LIBERTY CLASSIC

This weekend has been one of the best weekends racing I’ve had yet in the states.

Their website explains the race well:
“Over 100 professional, international women cyclists will compete in the 16th annual Liberty Classic, one of the longest-running, most prestigious women’s races in the country. The Liberty Classic race consists of four laps of a 14.4-mile circuit through Philadelphia with four steep climbs up the gruelling Manayunk Wall.”

It was just crazy! It was a lot of fun! The Manayunk wall was as close as I could imagine to the crowds that the Tour De France draws on the pointy end of major climbs. For this race I was very proud to be racing for Team Colleen, a non- profit Cancer support and fund raising organisation, who sent a onetime team to race Philly. The group was absolutely amazing, and everyone was an extreme pleasure to work with. Jeannie Longo, a 52-year old multiple World Champion and Olympic medalist, was on the team, with such a rich experience in bike racing--my brain was a sponge absorbing everything she had to say! (Note: Jeannie finished 15th overall and 2nd in the QOM.)

The race went well. It was certainly a race of position with so many girls racing around streets that were narrow and with frequent turns when in the hilly sections. The weather also made the race interesting with temperatures in the 90s, making hydration fundamental. I was dropped the last time up Manayunk. I found myself in a couple of 10ish and we arrived 2min behind race winner HTC’s Columbia’s Ina.

Till next time

Ange

Dash for Cash Crit

2010-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Dash for Cash Crit

W 1,2,3
Teammates: Haley Juno Galdes
Place: Lauren (1st), Haley (5th)
Primes: Lauren (5), Haley (3)

I have never done Dash for Cash before. It is a great idea to shake things up a bit, especially when it’s nearing the middle of the season and crits are in high supply. Haley and I drove over to Pleasanton on that fine Saturday morning. We had planned to get there an hour ahead so that we weren’t sitting around a long while in the sun. But, thanks to my excellent driving skills, we arrived with almost double that amount of time. We took our time getting ready and then formed our own crit course to warm up on.

When the time came we gathered with our fellow race mates at the line and were given our (somewhat confusing) pre-race instructions. We were only going to have 15 sprint laps because our field size did not make some threshold. Sprint laps would start on the second lap and would end, no matter whether we had actually done 15 or not, with three to go. Oh and, if we didn’t hear a bell each lap, we were still supposed to sprint... ?

The race started off somewhat smoothly. Most of the riders in the peloton were not used to this format of racing. I decided to think about it at as a points race because, really, that’s what it was. I didn’t go for the first two primes because I wanted to check out who was sprinting and where the sprinting was starting etc. Plus we had 15 of these to do. AND there were two very strong time-trialist type riders that I had to keep an eye on. The middle of the race was somewhat the same thing over and over again. Haley would either lead me out for sprint laps or I would jump on someone else who committed to going out of the last turn. I took five of the sprints in total. Each time I sprinted I would gap the field and a Wells Fargo rider would be on my wheel. She was determined to get off the front but I was more inclined to stay in what was left of the field to practice my bunch sprinting and set-up.

Haley attacked after one of my last sprints and ended up gapping the field and drawing another strong rider out of the group. Luckily Billy Crane was on the sidelines and told Haley that she had the gap and encouraged her to keep going. She stayed off solo for three or four laps, giving me a break and taking three sprints. She out-rode her chaser but eventually sat up and let the field catch her.

With three laps to go I finally ended up in a break with the two strong riders I had been concerned about. I was not willing to work so close to the finish (knowing that I had a good chance in a bunch kick) but took a check of my body and realized that I could contribute to the break staying off and not jeopardize my sprint. With one lap to go though, I sat on. One of the riders pulled a smart move and attacked me with two turns to go (with the last two lengths being into pretty big head winds). She managed to time it perfectly with me taking a drink of water. She and the other rider gapped me but I was not going to let that happen. I put in a good effort and caught back on before the last turn. I stayed in third position where I could see everyone, knowing that one of the riders would jump early. She did and I was right there to counter her. It was a tough sprint and I was definitely feeling all the earlier sprints but I managed to pull away from her to take the win. Haley did an awesome job monitoring the field behind us and then taking second in the field sprint. What a day!

As always, thanks for reading!

--Lauren

Mt Hamilton RR

2010-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Mt. Hamilton Road Race

W 1,2,3
Teammates: Ange McClure (or McCline according to the results on USAC), Maura Kinsella, Haley Juno-Galdes (our newest team member)
Placings: Ange (20th), Lauren (23rd), Maura (26th), Haley (34th)

Where to begin. We were all newbies to this race. In fact, we were all new to the climb. We all converged upon the race course by separate means and had somewhat of a giggly warm up. All of us were nervous and a little unsure of and daunted by what was to come. As we rolled around more and more pros appeared until we lined up and realized that despite the small size of the field, it was stacked. Peanut Butter had two riders, Tibco had a few riders, not to mention the local climbers that showed up to probably the most climby local race of the year.

After the somewhat frightening pre-race announcements (including instructions on how to ride around/near an airlift emergency situation) we set off behind the first female moto ref I have ever seen. We hit the climb and immediately strong riders hit the front and started with a good tempo. I was feeling pretty good and keeping an eye on all my teammates. About ten minutes into the climb Alli Starnes made the first attack for Tibco. At this point I was sitting in fine but knew that I could not sustain the effort that her attack required. I drifted to the back with the intention of monitoring my effort and holding on until the attack subsided.

Unfortunately that plan did not work out. I found myself in a small group about 50 meters off the back of the peloton. The group included Maura, which I was grateful for. We could see the group for about another 10 minutes until they reached the plateau bit when they gained speed and disappeared. This left myself, Maura, and another unattached rider to chase. We picked up two more girls and put our heads down for the rest of the long climb. About five miles from the top the grade steepens and two of the riders took off leaving three of us behind.

After cresting and descending our group became five again and began rotating through. We had had our share of protein swallowing the swarming flies for the last few miles and now we wished for the next feed zone more than ever. Eventually we reached the second feed zone and I was more excited to have that cold water than I have ever been before. Unfortunately I was too focused on the water and as soon as we crested the next climb I had my bottle out not knowing that we descended immediately into three sharp turns. I couldn’t manage the speed and the bottle so I had to ditch it and was waterless for the next 30 miles.

The descent to the finish was made exciting by the group of masters men who swarmed us. They were intent upon attacking each other down the whole descent making it difficult for our groups to stay separate. Eventually after some cat and mouse between our groups they took off down the last bit of windy descent until we caught them at 1km to go. Our groups actually sprinted together and I managed to sprint past everyone and get out of the mayhem. It was a very long day and most of us were just happy to be finished. At least now we can all say we have done the epic Mt. Hamilton Road Race!

--Lauren

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Tour of California Sacramento Crit

2010-05-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tour of California Sacramento Crit
Teammate: Lauren, Kinsey and myself.

“The new sensation Coryn Rivera” a 17 year-old, did not fail to disappoint on the at the Sacramento Crit two weekends ago. The four corner course with long straights made it a massive drag race for the whole peloton. Girls went off the front throughout the race; however, it was only for a short time before the pack swept them up, the course was echoing sprinters finish! That said in the last few laps there were some very close corners, and tight squeezes for girls fighting for position, if the sprinters wanted a win they would certainly have to work for it! Indeed Rivera took the final sprint, with Modesta from Colivatia 2nd and Webcor’s Professional Team member Jolle taking 3rd.

Till next time
Ange

Cat's Hill

2010-05-11T14:08:00.001-07:00

Cat's Hill Race Report from Lauren on the Bridge Team
Race Report: Cat’s Hill Criterium
Category: W1,2,3
Place: 2nd/34
Teammates: Maura Kinsella (mechanical), Lindsay Meyers (9th)

After some overly complicated logistical preparation Lindsay, Maura and I met up on the road and made our way to Los Gatos for the infamous Cat’s Hill Crit. I have been looking forward to this race since last year when I had shifting complications on the hill and had to chase back on to finish 4th (ironically enough, by barely getting beat in the sprint for 3rd). This year would be different, or so I told myself.

We were about 10 minutes late to start but the race director told us we would race the 60 minutes as planned. And so we were off...

The race was rather uneventful. There were several cash primes, which were swept up by some Tibco riders and a few other ambitious souls. Some attacks went but were quickly reeled in. Unfortunately, Maura, being new to the hill, had the common chain-drop mechanical and ended up having to chase for two laps to get back on. I waited patiently for the laps to wear on everyone as they always do. Unfortunately, the lap cards came much sooner than expected and after only 42 minutes of racing we saw one to go. I was sitting about 4th wheel into the hill where Jazzy (Third Pillar) attacked. I hesitated just for a moment thinking that one of the two riders in front of me would surely react. When no one went I launched myself over the top and SLOWLY inched my way up to Jazzy’s wheel, only really catching it as we made the right hand turn down the hill. As we hit the last turn, Jazzy gapped me as I shifted for the sprint and had some technical difficulties (still unsure what they were). I sprinted my butt off but ran out of real estate and crossed the line a fraction of a rim behind her, with a spectacularly rambunctious bike throw. It was an awesome move by Jazzy and great to be able to go with it.

Thanks for reading! And special thanks to all those cheering on the hill!

--Lauren

Wente Road Race

2010-04-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wente Road Race
Women’s 1,2
Teammates: Lauren

The course: 66 miles undulating with one climb each lap that was approximately 2 mile, 4 laps of the loop, 5 times up the climb to the finish.

This racing was challenging for a local race; the quality of the field was high with Peanut Butter and Tibco representing. The first lap was calm, the hammer went down on the second lap, and girls were spread out across the climb, but then regrouping took place on the downhill. The same was to be said for the third lap—no real groups being formed just spread out, battling for wheels up the climb. On the third lap downhill there was a group of 5 or so up the road and the remains of the “main” bunch, which I was in, turned very negative, with no one chasing down a gap of 20seconds to the “breakaway” riders. Half-hearted attempts were made, and I put in one large effort to catch the girls off the front, but honestly I was cooked by this time and really just needed another girl to hit over me once I pulled my turn, but there were no takers. The last lap saw our group getting even more negative. The final result was Shelly Evans taking the win. Lauren did a great job to finish in the third bunch, 19th place. I placed 13th, good last hit out before The Tour of Gila next week in Silver City, New Mexico.

Ange

Santa Cruz Classic Crit

2010-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Race Report from Lauren
Race Report: Santa Cruz Classic Criterium
W1,2,3
Teammates: Ange McClure, Katheryn Mattis
Place: Lauren 8/44, Ange 23/44, Katheryn 13/44

This is such a great race. The course is so unlike anything else in the area. And, lucky for us local gals, a bunch of the professional gals were around to show us a good time. It was a beautiful day in Santa Cruz as 44 of us lined up to race 30 laps.

No one wasted any time getting things started. It helped that the first lap was a hot lap that had $20 on the line. Several attacks went off and, to be honest, I was suffering so greatly that they all became a blur. The tearing of legs for this race became indistinguishable from the tearing off of legs the day before at Sea Otter. Eventually Olivia Dillon and Amanda Miller got off the front and it looked promising, only after Mrs. Mattis’ painfully impressive prime attacks. In the next few laps Mary Maroon bridged the gap to the two off the front and they remained there for the duration. That didn’t stop the field from putting the hurt on; we dropped a whopping 15 riders.

Katheryn rolled back and asked me how I was feeling and, unfortunately, my response was less than reassuring. Ange put out a great effort in the last 8 laps or so to try and shorten the gap to the break. She brought it down by about 10 seconds but no one else was interested in bringing it in. On the last lap I tried to muster as much strength as I could, still feeling less than ideal. I came out of the last turn on the Tibco/Peanut Butter Co. train and did the best I could to get up that hill in the sprint. My position was not the greatest I just didn’t have it in me to pass many people. Great, hard racing!

--Lauren

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Sea Otter

2010-04-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter Classic --Women's 1/2
15th April- 17th April

This was my first experience at Sea Otter and for the most past I was doing it solo, without my usual Bridge Team teammates!

Thursday brought about a 50minutue criterium around a race smooth asphalt track, the shape of the course being a hot dog with sweeping bends and a hill up to the start finish line. The race was on from the gun and with Team Tibco and Colivatia having full or close to full squads made it a challenging race. The race broke up quickly and soon 10 riders were off the front. I missed the break and my effort with the other teams to bring the break back was unsuccessful, mainly due to all the teams represented and no one willing to help and not that they should, a big mistake on my part. Amanda Miller from Team Tibco won the race in a solo break from the original breakaway group.

Friday was the road race and what a race it was, 6 laps of a tight technical road loop with one descent 1 mile steep hill amongst rolling and pitching terrain, finishing with a 2mile climb to the start/finish. I was annoyed with my race yesterday and was set to be in the moves. The pace was on from the moment we hit the 1st lap of the circuit. I attacked first to get things moving and to try and spark the break away. The first four laps girls where attempting to go off the front but nothing was sticking. Then at the bottom of the fifth I attacked solo and made some ground. I was caught at the top of the hill on the 5th lap to be counter attacked by Tibco, I made it over to the move before another counter went and my legs this time didn’t make the cut. 8 girls were now up the road, everyone was content with being in groupetto. The last climb saw me hold it up the front to finish 12th, not happy with the result, again a breakaway I missed.

Saturday was the hardest stage yet 2hours of the race course route with a nasty climb of approximately 600meters. After 2 days of working hard and being aggressive my legs certainly knew about it while I was standing on the start finish line ready to begin what I knew was going to be a painful 2hours; however, I had some relief knowing my teammate Lauren was racing as well. The first hour was solid but no serious attacks. Once we were at 50minutes to go the pace heated up and again for the third time this weekend the break went and I wasn’t in it. That break survived and Kathryn Mattis did a fantastic job for Webcor finishing 3rd.

This weekend I learnt some big lessons on when to put my efforts in to make breaks and to change the race to my favour. Unfortunately it didn’t come together this time round, but I know with more racing, I’ll be stronger and smarter to make the right moves to get the results the Bridge Team and I want.

Till next time

Angela

Spring Hill Road Race

2010-04-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Spring Hill Road Race
Category: W1,2
Teammates: Ange McClure, Maura Kinsella
Placings: Lauren 2/9, Ange 5/9, Maura DNF
Conditions: less than ideal aka pouring rain, wind and low temperatures
Course: 22 mile loop with three short climbs and rolling terrain in between. Potholes galore. 600m climb to the finish.

From the moment we woke up it was POURING down rain. Not the kind of rain that lightly falls over everything and freshens up the air but the kind that soaks you to the bone in a matter of seconds. We piled into the car and charged forth to the start, watching the temperature gauge slowly lower as we drove out of town. Our fabulous manager, Andi, called to tell us she was at the race course with towels, rain jackets, and, most importantly, PB&Js.

All three of us managed to change inside my CRV and only touched the rain to prepare bikes and head to the start. Needless to say, there was no warm-up. We descended down to the start line and realized we were a few minutes early so we trudged through ankle-deep mud to the registration tents for cover. Only problem was that we were standing in water and the wind was blowing water that had collected on top of the tent down over the sides and into our faces. So much for shelter.

We rolled to the start to find only six other brave souls. Already shivering we started our shortened race (from three laps of 66 miles to two laps of only 44). Despite the conditions and small field size the pace wasn’t too slow. No one wanted to face the conditions alone so the attacks were limited and mostly intended to tire others out. The first lap was uneventful; it was a “get-it-done” kind of pace. The second lap was also relatively uneventful except for the guest appearance of a medium-sized, unidentified black animal that decided to run out into the front of our peloton. One rider attacked the field two or three times and managed to break it up and cause some chasing.

With three km to go no one wanted to touch the front. Ange said that she was feeling better and would go for the finish so I decided to cover the front. Sure enough a Colavita rider attacked from the back of the field. I jumped to go with her, although rather slowly and numbly. I saw the moto roar up to her and give her the “throat-cut” sign. I assumed she had crossed the centerline and kept my momentum up and squeezed right between them as they discussed the offense. I was caught by the group as my legs gave out. Another Colavita rider attacked and I jumped to go with her only to see the third and final Colavita girl come flying up on the left. I saw her cross the center line and new she would be disqualified as well so I kept going. The winner of the race took off somewhere during that mayhem and I missed the move. As we hit the final climb I found myself with the last remaining Colavita rider and a Touchstone rider. I knew that both were climbers so my only job was to stay with them until the sprint when I thought I could jump them. We played a little cat and mouse and I managed to stay on until the line when I jumped for a short 10 meter sprint for second. Ange rolled across the line just behind my little group for fifth. It was a cold day but we all felt tougher for having faced the weather challenges.

Apple Pie Crit

2010-04-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

Apple Pie Crit race report from Ange McClure on the Bridge Team
Teammates: Maura Kinsella, Lauren Hecht
4/10/2010

Apple Pie Crit was on Saturday at Santa Rosa. The race begun slowly with the girls just getting warmed up in the first few laps, shaking out the stiff legs from the car ride and the cold freeze in the air. With primes on the line, the race soon heated with Maura attacking and taking the first two primes. Maura stayed out in front for four laps, once caught the counter attacks came and the race was in fully swing. Colavita sent a rider off the front at 10minutes to go, shortly after I went off in chase. For three laps the Colivatia rider and myself were off the front, until the next two laps saw us both swooped up by the peleton. The race resulted in a bunch sprint with Lauren taking 3rd. An exciting day with Webcor/Alto Velo certainly being one of the dominant teams, a exciting indicator for what is yet to come this year!

Till next time,

Ange

Copperopolis

2010-04-09T19:58:00.001-07:00

From Ange McClure on the Bridge team, a race report describing the Copperopolis experience with a broken wrist:

Copperopolis – 100k road race 3 loops Women's 1/2

Saturday 3rd of April

There is a fine line between pushing injuries to get better while still trying to get every mile you can before you push it too far. Unfortunately despite the frustration of just wanting to race Copperopolis on the weekend I had to pull the pin on the first lap. When coach Dan said “it’s rough” I took it in my breeze and thought to myself “I’ll be right!” For those of you that don’t know I broke my wrist 1 week before coming to the US and it has not fully healed yet.

Copperopolis is a tough road race not just because of the two decent hills, and the rapid descent but because of the race surface, the best way I can describe it is like plated concrete with lap gaps in-between, for 80% of the loop, hence I had to take the option to save my wrist the risk of further damage and headed to the car after lap one, to rug up and head out in search for some smoother roads!

The race I hear from my Aussie friend Jazzy unfolded with it lighting up in the later stages, the result being Mary Maroon in 2nd, a former team mate of mine who guest rode with the Bridge Team at San Dimas.

Till next time

Ange

April May Schedule

2010-04-06T15:38:00.001-07:00

10-Apr Apple Pie Crit
11-Apr Spring Hill RR
April Sea Otter
24-Apr Wente RR
1-May Cat's Hill
9-May Berkeley Hills RR
May Joe Martin Stage Race, AR
May Women's Amgen Tour of Ca, Sac?
22-May Volunteer Bike Outfitter Lady's Day
30-May Mt Hamilton
31-May Memorial Day cirit

Redlands (Ange)

2010-03-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

Right after the San Dimas Stage Race, Ange McClure, the Aussie on the Bridge Team, jumped straight into Redlands, and finished with a fantastic 23rd place overall! Nicely done for her 2nd US race ever! Here's her race report:

Redlands Road Race

Sunset Road Race: 18th

GC: 23rd

25/3/2010 - 28/3/2010

My arrival in Redlands from my the Webcor/Alto Velo team in San Dimas which was my first taste of the American racing scene left me eager and excited to race the Redlands Stage Race.

First up on Thursday was an uphill 5k TT. It was a chance to shake out the legs after San Dimas and to get rid of some "big race" nerves. The course was tough and I finished middle of the field of 112 girls. The winner if the stage Amber Neben from the team Dare to Be- BMW Bianchi.

Friday brought about a 68 mile road race. The morning was brisk and the atmosphere was dull at the start of the stage. This quickly changed when the whistle blew and girls scrambled to the front. I went for the first KOM points however fell short, and did not succeed this was on lap 1 which was an extended loop of the 3 lap race, the last 2 loops being smaller then the first. 2nd lap I tried desperately to be in a break but nothing was sticking, mainly due to the wind managing to hold everyone together, an individual or group of riders not being string enough to break of the front. The 3rd lap left me gripping at my bars due to my efforts on lap 2, and I finished with the group, the result of the stage coming down to a bunch sprint won by Ina- Yoko Teutenburg of HTC Columbia.

Saturday's Crit saw the legs go through another tough knock out around the street of Redlands for 50 minutes. The heat was turned on after 30minutes which left the field strung out and fighting to hold wheels and positions. The action packed race resulted in a small break off the front that left team Colavita with a stage win by Theresa Cliff-Ryan.

The last day of Redlands is the penultimate stage on the Sun Set course around Redlands totalling 68miles, 9 laps of a very hilly and technical course. I did not know what I was entering myself into when I started today's main stage. I rolled off the start line with my legs suffering from the last three days I begin the jostling for position and it was only the neutral zone! As we approached the our first lap which contained a KOM first lap, the pace was on and the tone was set for a hard race, as soon as the flag went down to start racing I told myself " bring it on!" The first time up the climb was fast and positioning everything. This was the case for the next 3 laps where the selection was made and a group of 20 or so was a head of the pack, I was one of them. The race stayed heated and huge efforts were needed on the hill, and concentration was needed on the fast and technical downhill sections. On lap 7 the crunch came for me and I was dropped, before I rejoined the leaders on the bottom of lap 8 to be dropped again on the climb and to confirm I had nothing left in the legs! With the main group now splinted in two, ten up front and ten chasing, the aim for the second group was to push through the with depilated legs and body and limit the time gap. Four of us were working hard on the front for the last two laps to ensure time loss was minimal. The final outcome for the group I was in: 3minutes down behind the lead group of 10 with the winner being Evelyn Stevens, another win to HTC-Columbia.

As I sat down after the race guzzling down a coke and pouring water over my head, I knew I just got through one tough race and it will be one of many more to come. I still have a lot to learn, a lot of improving to do, for my first NRC I'm happy and looking forward to the racing ahead!

--Ange

Bridge Team Spring Schedule

2010-03-17T13:02:00.001-07:00

This is always changing but here are some of our target races for this spring.

March 19,20,21 San Dimas Stage Race
March 25-28 Redlands Stage Race
March 27,28 Top Sport SR
3-Apr Copperopolis
April 10,11 Spring Hill TTT and RR
April 17 & 18 Chico Stage Race
24-Apr Wente RR
1-May Cat's Hill
2-May,8:30-9AM Volunteer for MA's school bike ride
9-May Berkeley Hills RR
May 7,8,9 Collegiate Nationals
May 6-9 Joe Martin Stage Race, AR
May 15-16 Women's Amgen Tour of Ca, Sac?
22-May Volunteer Bike Outfitter Lady's Day
30-May Mt Hamilton
31-May Memorial Day cirit
June 4,5,6 Tulsa Tough
6-Jun Liberty Classic
June 11 & 12 AVC (Velodrome, local)
13-Jun Sattley District 40K ITT
June 16-20 Nature Valley
June 22-27 Nationals

Madera Stage Race Crit

2010-03-16T15:32:00.001-07:00

Madera Stage Race: Criterium (Stage 1)
W 1,2
Teammates: Maura Kinsella
Place: Lauren – 1/34, Maura – 16/34

This is your basic, four-corner crit, true American style... about five lanes wide. There is nowhere to hide on this course. The winds have you completely at their mercy and, of course, they were gaining speed for the two hours leading up to hour crit. Somehow our warm up time flew by and I only got about 15 minutes of turning the legs over. We lined up in the pit to watch the 4s and 35+ women finish up. By this point we know that there is a pretty strong cross (slightly head) wind on the finish straight, tailwind on the second stretch, massive cross-head wind on the third side and a straight on head wind on the final bit over the railroad tracks.

Finally we are allowed to line up and are given our pre-race instructions. There would be two primes worth 5 seconds each and 20-10-5 bonus seconds for first through third places at the finish. The plan was for me to take both primes and the win with Maura’s lead-outs and hope that I could stay close enough in the time trial to make those worthwhile for a podium spot overall. Off we went.

As usual, people were pretty conservative before the time trial. There were a few attacks but nothing committed. I stayed at the front and tried to keep Maura in close distance. The bell rang for the first prime and right off the line a Touchstone rider attacked. I followed in the chase, staying out of the wind. When we hit the headwind side everyone slowed down and I ended up on the front through the last corner. Not ideal but I sprinted and took the 5 seconds.

We rolled around for the rest of the race, with a couple of attacks. At one point we got overtaken by a group of threes who had broken away from their peloton, which had started behind us. That caused all sorts of chaos and ended up causing a crash on the head wind side, which both Maura and I narrowly avoided.

We came around and saw 5 to go and still hadn’t heard the last prime bell. With three to go the announcement came over. Perfect. No one wants to sprint three laps before the real sprint. I took this one seated, trying to put out as little energy as possible. The one lap to go bell rang and some teams tried to start a lead out. There wasn’t much organization so it got a little messy on the third and fourth lengths. I came out of the last corner on the inside and farther back than I wanted. I began sprinting out the ride side of the group maybe 10 meters after the turn and held it to the line. This was kind of like a fun points race at the track. I enjoyed myself. ~Lauren

Merco Grand Prix Race Report

2010-03-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Race Report: Merco Road Race
W 1,2,3
Teammates: Maura Kinsella
Place: Lauren 7th/62, Maura 58th/62

Merco is one of my favorite road races in California. The course is perfect: flat to rolling with a very interesting finish. After a short warm up I lined up next to Ina Teutenberg. After a short, goggly-eyed introduction, I tried to focus on the race.

There were several attacks on the first lap. A few things got away for a short time but nothing really stuck for long. My order of events is a little fuzzy so from here on most moments are in no particular order... Ina attacked the field and got of solo probably for about 20 minutes or so. Up until then I had been sitting in, hiding from the wind but saw the chance to open up my legs and test the field. I knew there was no way I was going to catch Ina as she was at least 20 seconds off the field (not to mention she is insanely strong). But, I decided to attack the field anyway to see if, by chance, they would let me try. No cheese. Now my legs were feeling opened up, though.

The rest of the race unfolded much like the first lap. Columbia and Tibco were making sure they knew who was where and if they knew the breaks were no threat they let them dangle for a bit. The Webcor gals had an AWESOME race. They attacked the field more than any other team and with only three riders. Unfortunately nothing stuck but they certainly kept it interesting.

The last lap came around and we were still grupo compacto. Again Webcor attacked like crazy which kept the pace up and the race safer (for the most part). I made sure to pay attention to the great sprinters in the field: Shelley Evans, Brooke Miller, Ina Teutenberg and more. I tried to hold a position in their near vicinity and most of the second half of the lap we all formed a little pocket in the sweet spot. Things got hectic as the lead-outs tried to get organized and every solo rider was fighting to join the party.

On the downhill into the left hand turn to the Merco feed zone hill, I made my move to get to the front. From that point it was on. I did the best I could to stay in the frontish end of the field and managed to do ok with the help of Lindsay Meyers (Webcor). Crossing the bridge I heard a crash behind me and had a feeling Maura was in it. Between the final left, then right hand turns I could tell the right side of the road (where I was) was getting jammed up. Just then I hear Ally Stacher (Webcor) yell from the left side and look over to see her blocking a space for me to squeeze by. I made it over with Lindsayâ€™s help and sprinted like hell up the final hill. I made it over on the wheel of a Colavita rider who was on the wheel of a Touchstone rider. We sprinted seated and FINALLY hit the 200 meter sign. Those had to be 200 of the longest meters EVER. I didnâ€™t have anything left to jump around the two girls ahead of me so we rolled in for 5th, 6th, and 7th behind Ina Teutenberg, Shelley Evans, Kelly Benjamin and Brooke Miller. Not a bad day considering those four names...

Unfortunately Maura was taken out from behind by a couple of riders on the bridge and broke her new Specialized frame and took a nice chunk out of her elbow. Luckily no bones were broken, though. She had an AWESOME race patrolling the front and maintaining great position throughout the day. This is going to be a very fun year!

--Lauren

Merced Cycling Classic

2010-03-06T16:19:00.000-08:00

Merced Cycling Classic
Crit: Women's 1/2
Place: 20th

This past weekend, my team and I went to Merced, CA for the Merced Stage Race. Ange, our token Aussie, came for support since she broke her wrist and is out for a few weekends of racing. Thankfully, the team opted out of doing the TTT on Friday due to school, work, and a very jetlagged Aus. So instead we headed out Saturday bright and early. On Saturday afternoon, we had a 6-corner, flat crit in the heart(if you can call it that) of Merced. HTC-Columbia was there, getting ready for Redlands, along with the other top dogs: TIBCO, Peanut Butter and Co, and Webcor. The race was fast, but not as excruciating as I had expected. In the 40 lap criterium, I attacked with 25 laps to go, not afraid to put my nose in the wind, and to see what kind of damage I could do. Not much. I was off the front for like half a lap and then was brought back by Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Columbia). I recovered well after that attack and so I decided to go for a prime at about lap 15. I was 2nd to the prime, outsprinted by TIBCOs Megan Guarnier. After that, I led at the front for half a lap and then slowly moved back. After this dig, it was harder to recover, feeling totally gassed. I kept good position, top third of the peloton for the rest of the time. There was massive carnage with 3 laps to go, completely stopping the field for about 15-20 minutes. We were off again, starting at 5 laps to go. It was really hard to go full gas again after stopping for so long. I wound up finishing top 20, still in the money, which was pretty cool in an 80-person field of the top women in the country and world.

Merced crit race report from Maura on the Bridge Team

Snelling Road Race

2010-02-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Race Report: Snelling Road Race
Womens 1,2
Teammates: Maura Kinsella
Place: Lauren – DNF, Maura – DNF

First road race of the season and we started in a mud pit. Literally. We started out carrying our bikes through the swamp back and forth to the road but eventually gave it up. The weather cleared up a bit for our afternoon wave but standing water remained throughout the course. Tibco brought almost their entire team, which made up a third of the preregistered women. About 45 women started for a total of 5 laps.

The neutral rollout was edgy and almost as soon as the moto took off the attacks began. Tibco had split into two “teams” and were going off the front in pairs. The field thinned out pretty quickly which left fewer places to hide. The tailwind section was very fast and was probably where most people were getting shelled. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the second lap Maura had a mechanical in this section and could not catch the group again despite her efforts.

The first three laps were all the same. Tibco attacked and kept the pace high. A few breaks formed but were caught and several times single riders got off for a few minutes. There were very few moments of real rest. On the first leg of the fourth lap the peloton kind of took a breather and then the fun really started. I was on the right side of the peloton on the edge of the road. The last thing I saw was a girl come from the middle of the pack straight out to the right. Next thing I new I was face down sliding through a big, dirty puddle (ok, really it was a pond). Luckily I escaped unbroken with some scrapes and golf ball for an elbow. The things I was probably most upset about were losing my glasses to the pond and tearing up my brand new arm warmers. Needless to say my race was over. While the day did not go quite as planned, it was good to get out racing again.

Berkeley Hills TTT Race Report

2010-02-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

Berkeley Hills TTT Race Report
Place: 3rd, Women's 1/2

Lauren and I ventured to Berkeley to compete in our first real TTT together. Unfortunately, neither of us was feeling too hot after a long, brutal Training Camp. While warming up, I could tell that I wasn’t going to be able to bring much to the table with a perceived exertion much higher than normal and legs feeling like concrete-jello.

Before the start, we kept telling ourselves that we were going to push really hard only on the second half. But… I was on my new, beautiful Leopard TT bike and got excited, jumping ahead, and completely throwing off any rhythm. Throughout the race, we quickly realized that as little legs as I had, Lauren had even less (which never happens).

We wound up finishing third out of four teams in the Women’s 1,2… which was clearly all due to our huge disadvantage of not wearing TT helmets!

Next time we’ll have our rhythm so BEWARE.

Tata,

Maura

Cherry Pie 2/7

2010-02-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

Race Report: Cherry Pie Criterium
2/7/10 2:10pm
Women’s Pro 1,2,3/35+
Teammates: Maura Kinsella, Lindsay Meyers (Webcor Builders)
Place: Lauren – 2/35, Maura – 11/35, Lindsay - 9/35

It was like the weather knew this was the first race of the year. We had a bright, sunny day with temperatures in the high 50’s. Perfect racing conditions. There was a slight head wind on the second half of the course. We arrived VERY early and watched Coach Dan kick butt in the 45+ Masters race. We warmed up in the sunshine and then headed to the start, leg-warmerless and arm-warmerless, showing off our winter white legs.

We started with about 35 women (plus some masters). The first lap was relatively uneventful as everyone checked out the course. Then the fun started. Tibco came with four riders and spent most of the race attacking the field, trying to get off in pairs. While there were several groups that could have put some time into the field, nothing stuck. I made every effort to follow all attacks that included Tibco or any other rider that I knew could hold off the field. A little over half-way through the race, a Specialized rider made a great attack and immediately gapped the field considerably. Tibco let her dangle out there but I knew if anyone could stay out in the wind it was her so Lindsay and I tried to jump start a chase. Several times, Tibco tried to bridge but either myself or another rider were all over it. Eventually the attacks were enough to close the gap and we brought her back. Then there was 5 to go and I was sure there would be a bunch kick for the finish.

Tibco set up on the front with three to go and I was close behind. A crash around the 180 turn at the top of the hill with one to go put a small gap in the field. I crossed it and got back into position with Lindsay’s help. We made the last two turns and the final leg of the lead-out took off. I watched Brooke and as soon as she launched I did as well. Unfortunately, I didn’t maintain as good a position as I should have and had to sprint around the lead-out rider. Brooked maintained a 5 bike length gap on me and took first. I crossed in second the sound of the announcer saying, “...some Webcor jersey”. Even though I was gassed I let out a laugh. That’s my secret code name from now on... “some Webcor jersey”. It was a fun race (with an even more fun prize) and great to see fellow women in green (and Sport Velo red). I’m looking forward to a great season!

2010 Webcor Alto Velo Bridge Team p/b SportVelo

2010-02-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

In its drive to support elite level women’s racing, the Alto Velo Racing Club is proud to present the Webcor Alto Velo Bridge Team presented by SportVelo for the second straight year. The “Bridge Team”, as it is called by those close to the program, was set up to help young women riders interested in progressing from regional-level races to races on the US National Racing Calendar (NRC.)

The inaugural year was extremely successful by any program’s standards, with outstanding performances from all riders. The team capped a successful season with several end-of-season wins, including the Berkeley Criterium, Colavita Criterium, Spring Hill Road Race, and a third place podium spot at the U23 National Criterium Championships. In addition to strong individual performances, the “Bridge Team” was 5th overall in the NCNCA Women’s Elite 1/2 Best Area Team competition.

For 2010 the team has a mix of new and returning riders on the roster. Lauren Hecht (23 Menlo Park, Ca) is returning in her 4th year on Webcor Alto Velo. Lauren will be riding in Europe this spring and return to the US to improve upon her 3rd place Criterium finish at the 2009 U23 Nationals.

Santa Clara Freshman Maura Kinsella (19 Webster, MO) is joining the team to race her first year in the senior ranks. Maura is an accomplished junior with outstanding results from 2009 US Junior National Championship which include a 3rd in the criterium, 5th in the time trial, and 6th in the road race. In addition to her strong performance at nationals, Maura had several wins and podiums in the Elite 3/4 and junior ranks while racing in Missouri.

Ange McClure (19, Adelaide, AUS) will be joining the team in the spring from Australia where she is an aspiring pro cyclist and full time student. The Bridge Team is excited for Ange to join the team as the first “international” member to participate in the program. Ange is finishing up the summer racing season in Australia and turned in an impressive performance at Australian U23 nationals 5th place finish in the RR

The “Bridge” program is funded by Webcor Alto Velo and SportVelo, which are committed to helping women riders of all abilities develop their racing skills. A major focus of the Bridge Team is to enable riders advancing through USA Cycling categories to participate, race and train with the Bridge Team once they upgrade to Elite 3 racing category. This program is open to all women club members, who are encouraged to contact the Team Director (Dan Smith - dan@sportvelo.com ) to learn more about coaching and racing opportunities. The Bridge Team continues to recruit Elite level riders interested in joining a focused program that offers race and travel subsidies to qualified team members.

Reports for Cal Cup 2009 Road Races

2009-09-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Reports for Cal Cup 2009 Road Races

Hello! Hello! This was my first year at racing the Cal Cup and it was a blast! I did only the road races due to my work schedule. Annie Fulton raced all of them with me. Lauren did Dunnigan Hill and covered most of the crits and she did amazing! For a few of these events, we were lucky to have Katheryn racing with us and mentoring us. It is such a great race series. They were very challenging races, mainly at the end of the season! Tough courses, harsh weather condition, and very strong women fields. At the beginning of August, I was in good shape after Cascade Classic, though my legs were for sure fatigue in the last few stages. For the overall Cal Cup: I placed 3rd overall (Women 1-2), Lauren Hecht finished 10th and Annie Fulton 17th.
Woohoo!

Patterson Pass Road Race
Women 1-2, Katheryn Curi-Mattis, Annie Fulton, et moi.

The race started at a strong steady pace up the first climb. Katheryn was at the front leading us up the hill and occasionally standing up and doing some acceleration. Mid- way through the hill only a few of us were still with Katheryn and the rest of the group was behind climbing. 2/3 into the hill going to the last steepest section, Katheryn stand up and started accelerating further. None of us could keep up and she dropped us. I watched her going up the final steep portion, hoping that she would slow down and wait for us at the top or regroup on the descent. No way, she was gone and she was going to race the next 66 miles by herself. So, within 5 miles into the race, we had a little break of 5 women (2 Touchstone, 2 Wells Fargo and me) going. Katheryn was up the front and we were chasing. Though, she was out of sight. Mid way through the first lap the peloton caught us, but up Patterson for the second time, our little break reformed. Jane Robertson and Jane Despas rode with us for a while, but flat tires and lack of water made them abandon the race break. Five miles into the last lap, there was Olivia Dilon, Susannah Breen and I in a break, the main peloton was far behind us (like more than 6 minute apparently) and the motorcycle informed us that Katheryn was 3.5 min in front of us. We kept our good pace going. About 3 mile before the finish, Olivia attacked, while Susannah was fishing a gel out of her pocket. I had just taken a long pull up the front in the head wind. I couldn’t accelerate fast enough to get on her wheel. So she went. Susannah and I rode the rest toward the finish. Just before the finishing zigzag, I jumped, took the 2 corners as fast as I could and started the sprint. Total screwed up! I thought the sprint was right there at the first blue tent, but no, it was about 300m away at the last blue tent. Susannah sprinted for the 3rd place and I finished 4th. Yes, I know, next time I will make sure where the finish line exactly is!

Dunningan Hill NO hill
Women 1-2, Lauren Hetch, Annie Fulton et moi.

There were about 30 women in our field. Well Fargo and Touchstone teams were well represented. This race is in Yolo, 30 minutes from my house: so Sweet! I had heard the course would be somewhat flat despite the name for this race. Lol!

Our race start was about 45 minutes delayed. No too long after the neutral start, there were many attacks. No one could get away because of crazy strong omni-directional winds. The pace was fast through the rollers. Lauren, Annie and I took turn to bring back (and help chasing) the attacks. After the first over pass, after many attacks and counter attacks a break succeeded to get away (Stacey Sims and Mary Maroon from Vanderkitten). Lauren, Annie and I formed a pace line and started chasing the break. I then got into a small break after someone in the peloton made an attack. Soon after, while passing by the route to the finish, an official yelled at our small chase group to make a right turn. Which we did, mistakenly. None of us had done the race before. We went up the overpass towards the finish and realized what was going on: while the main field was passing us on the road below, going forward in the right direction. At that point, several girls dropped out. Marley Smith (Whole Food Market Team) and I worked together and time trialed very hard to get back to the main field. The wind was very strong, but we met them back at about 2 miles after the start line. That was a hard effort and I burned many matches there. We continued to roll with the main field. An official notified us that the initial break (Stacey & Mary) had also made the wrong turn and had dropped out of the race. On the last laps the wind was still strong and it was very hot. Water was rare and became a delusion! A few women had mechanicals and flat tires and dropped out. About 5 miles before the second feed zone there was a few attacks and a group of 4 women got away (Olivia Dillon, Heather Pryor, Jane Robertson, Jane Despas and Amy Chandos). I made it with this lead group initially, but got dropped with 2 others (Marley, Laurel green (Bici)). We pacelined spinning so looking forward to see the end of this race: exhausted, overheated and dehydrated. Completely out of water with about 12 miles to go. Laurel flatted a few miles before the finish. There was no other women in sight behind or in front of Marley and I. Within 500 meter of the finish line, i.e. on the uphill of the overpass, I attacked, but she sprinted by me on the downhill sprint. I was worried that this was going to happen! I finished 7th. Lauren and Annie were not too far behind, finishing 13th and 14th.

University Circuit Race
Women1-2, Katheryn Curi-Mattis, Annie Fulton et moi.

It was a 42-mile race on a 3-mile circuit. Basically, a 1.5 mile downhill and 1.5 mile climb, great course! On the 3rd lap of the race, at the beginning of the climb, Allison Stern attacked. Olivia Dillon and I jump on the occasion and we all got away. We maintained that break for the remaining of the race. We worked well together and we gained about 2 minutes on the rest of the field and maintain our gap. Two laps before the end of the race Allison and Olivia started attacking the break. We all regrouped in the descent of the last lap. Going up the hill for the last time Olivia attacked and took the win, following by Allison and then me. I finished 3rd. Annie finished 10th.
Thank you Dan and Lauren for the cheers and the feed!!

Winters Road Race
Women pro 1-2, Katheryn Curi-Mattis, Annie Fulton et moi.

The race started at an easy pace. Katheryn (as she had planned and informed me at the start line) attacked the first time up the hill, I jumped with her, but my legs felt awful (AWEFUL), 4 other women got away with her (Jane Despas, Jerika Hutchingson, Davis bike club and Tibco). The rest of us coasted up the hill and all the way, through the first lap. The second lap we rode it at a steady pace, 2 women from the break fell back with us (Tibco’s). There were about 10 of us riding a paceline. Annie Fulton really pushed the speed up the hill. On the third lap, I continued at a steady pace through the feed zone (we had made an agreement to keep the feed zone neutral so everyone could get a bottle of water. It’s was a baking 115F out there, woa!). I grabbed 1 bottle and after the feed zone, I looked back and I was alone. Somehow, I could not see the remainder of the field! I continue to go up the hill and down the descent solo. BTW, up the hill was the Davis bike Club women who had been dropped from the break due to a mechanical. She was on middle of the road fixing her bike with 5 dudes. I almost ran into them. Anyway, I continued solo, not too sure how I was doing, but at least every time I looked back I could see no one, down the hill, on the flat portion of the course... Suddenly, at the horizon, in front of me, appeared Jane Despas. I passed her, but she caught my wheel. She said she was cramping and couldn’t do any work. So, I just continue to go. Really, she was the one I had to beat to improve my Cal Cup standing. After a few miles, she was still there behind me. So I asked her to help a bit with the work, she rode in front of me, stretch out her hamstring and slowed down. I went back up front and continued riding. I was starting to get tired and slowing down, I think. I again looked back and she went up the front for a bit. But that that time, disaster, I could see the main peloton coming up behind us. There was nothing I could do. They rode by, Annie was riding at the front, I sat back in for a few miles. Jane Despas did the same. Up the last roller, Jerika attacked strong. I tried really hard to go with her, but I couldn’t. She went away by herself and finished 2nd. Then, about 3 miles before the finish, Emily Kachorek (Wells Fargo) jumped and I went with her. We were unfortunately accompanied of Jane Despas, Jane Robertson and Kimberly Fong. At 200m to go, we started the sprint. Jane Robertson won, followed by Jane Despas and I. I therefore finished 4th. Tough race. Katheryn won. Annie finished 10th.

Challenge Road Race
Women 1-2-3, Annie Fulton et moi.

A small field of 10 women started the race. Apparently, we were going to gain 3000 ft of altitude every lap. Top altitude was 7000 ft. It was a race by attrition. Great technical bumpy downhills and long uphills. Annie Fulton raced super strong and made the first lap very difficult for every one to complete. Many women dropped after the first lap. At the feed zone of the second lap, I was in the lead group with Jane Despas, Laura Fenech and Erin Moeschler. We were barely spinning, everyone looked burned out. I was an up hill sprint, I had checked the finish before the start of the race (lesson learned from Patterson and Dunnigan, right!!), and I had a few visual markers. At 300 meters, I jumped and started sprinting. Yes, I know, kinda early, but I was hoping to surprise them, and to get a gap (my only way to win the race probably, defying the better sprinters!). I had kind of a second wind and after the jump, my legs felt great for about 225 meters… Then, all of sudden I thought I was going to pass out, I started seeing stars... saw Jane… and then Erin, riding pass me and then the finish line. I finished 3rd and Annie finished 5th. This was my last race for this season! I think I need a break!! This was a great season! Thanks for reading.

Vacaville Grand Prix

2009-09-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Race Report: Vacaville Grand Prix

Date: 8/16/09

Teammates: Katheryn Curi Mattis (3^rd), Karen Brems (4^th)

I love this crit course! It is technical, has a hill, is interesting and has all sorts of environmental surprises! We had a surprise star appearance by Kim Anderson (Columbia High Road). I kicked the race off with fulfilling my season’s worth of race flats in a matter of minutes. I had rolled the course along the sidewalk while the race before us was still running and ran through some goat heads. I pulled up the start, looked down and saw two in my front tire and at least four in my rear. Luckily, Mark was at the start and was kind enough to lend me his front wheel while Dan (the great coach he is) ran to the car to grab my rear Zipp. I won’t lie. I panicked a bit. But then it was all taken care of so professionally that I started the race without skipping a beat. We hammered the first lap and there were several attacks. When everyone was clearly tired and the field slowed into the head wind section after the hill I decided to jump and see if I could get a break going. My thought was that Kim, being a world-class time racer, would attack off the front at one point and that if I could get a break going first she would at least have to work to chase us before possibly blowing past us. Unfortunately none of the riders I was hoping would come with me did. I was out there for about 2.5 laps which pretty much wasted my legs. When we got caught Kim launched and Katheryn followed. She spent the rest of the race chasing Kim with a Colavita rider. While they never caught Kim she secured herself a third place finish. Karen and I communicated (rather late, my fault) to set me up for the sprint. While the lead out was going great (we had gapped the field heading into the final corner) I was toasted by the time we were within 400 meters of the finish. Karen gapped me and the rest of the field so I yelled for her to keep up and go for 4^th, which left me leading out the rest of the field. I stood to sprint but had not legs so I rode it in for about 10^th place. An exciting field for a small-town local race!

San Ardo Road Race

2009-09-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Race Report: San Ardo Road Race

Date: 8/22/09

Place: 2^nd/ ~15

What a surprisingly chilly morning! I was not feeling particularly chipper this week but I love this road race so I decided to give it a whirl. Unlike last year’s pretty awesome field, today’s field was relatively small, but still mighty. We rolled out calmly for an uneventful (besides a pee-break as a master’s field passed us) first lap. The second lap saw a few attacks, but nothing that stuck for very long. The final lap we played yo-yo with the men’s 35+ 4,5 field which was funny. They passed us and then slowed up and some girls launched attacks through their field, I assume with the idea of confusing the peloton. Coming into the final half of the last lap three riders set a nice tempo on the long, flat, straight section that I love so much. As we came in sight of the start area a Davis rider attacked and I jumped on her wheel. The next to launch was the Touchstone lead-out. I jumped to her wheel, maintaining my second place position. As we came through the feed zone and approached the underpass a rider came barreling up on my right and I reflexively jumped to grab the wheel. Only then did I realize that I had jumped on to a masters Morgan Stanley rider from the 45+ field! I glanced right and saw Shin (sorry about that Shin!!). I hesitated for only a moment in the apex of the final left-hand turn and then got swarmed by master’s sprinters. Just as it was too late to regain momentum I saw one woman from my field sprint wide out of the swarm and I knew I was beat. It is too bad that we had to get all jumbled up because this is one of my favorite finishes in local racing. Next year I won’t hesitate J PS Great lead-out by the master’s men!

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

Tour de Nez Northstar Circuit race 6/20 by Katy K.

2009-06-22T23:49:00.000-07:00

Tour de Nez Northstar Circuit race
Katy 8th place of ~27
Teammates: Annie Malouin 12th, Rae Brownsberger 13th, Lauren Hecht 17th

3 Race omnium: Rae 10th, Katy 11th, Lauren 14th, Annie 16th

First, we need to thank our host in Truckee, Scott, for putting us up in fine
style. The races were in the evening each day, and Scott welcomed us into his
home late at night and allowed us to take our
time winding down from racing even though he had to get up & go to work.
Saturday morning he cooked some breakfast for us and came out to cheer us on.
While we were watching the men's race on Saturday he got us into the VIP event,
and Scott convinced the race promoter to give Rae a ride on the back of a moto
to watch a few laps of the high-paced men's race.

We need to thank Rand who put up with three women & drove us to the races all
weekend. Many thanks also to Dan & Andi Smith for loaning us the SportVelo
vehicle as our team car & loading it up with team food.

Now for the race report...

The course start/finish is in the center of the Northstar village on some fake
cobble. The two mile circuit takes you out of the village through some parking
lots and back up a short steep climb to the
finish. The circuit is all up and down, at most 200 meters of flat on the
entire loop (and it's not a continuous 200m). Because of the distance of the
circuit & the nature of the circuit there was no free
lap.

This was our third day of racing at altitude, and we had the pleasure of racing
at 6000 ft, the highest yet. The first two days I was working on hanging on
with the pack and adjusting to the faster pace
of the mostly 1/2 field; this was my first time racing with people who are paid
to ride their bikes (however meager that amount may be).

We went to the line prepared for a fast start, but the race didn't start quite
as fast as I was expecting (maybe my expectations were really high?) -- this was
a good thing, because I suffered plenty as
the race went on. Amber Rais & Katerina Nash were separated by 4 points on the
omnium, so Amber was closely marking Katerina and Tibco wasn't yet driving the
race. Lauren got to the front the second lap and put in a hard effort which I'm
certain made people suffer. On the next time through the start/finish Annie M
led & we got to hear her name announced. On either the third or fourth lap
there was an attack going up the first climb. I was pretty far back in the
field when
this happened, but I felt I had the legs to be up there. Commence the chasing.
The chase was a bit disorganized at first, but with lots of help from Rae we got
back up to the break in a lap and a half. That time through the village the
announcer called out Rae's name. A quarter lap later when we met the long climb
again, Rae gave me a face that said "you're on your own". She did an awesome
job getting me back up there, but now it was on me. Tibco controlled the pace
for the next two laps, and I felt like I had some time to recover. Then Stacy
Marple attacked, and I was back out of the lead group. I ended up with a
Metromint and a LaGrange rider for the remainder of the race. We were working
well together when a Tibco rider flew past us. We each tried to grab her wheel,
but we couldn't make it. This put 7 up the road ahead of us and 3 in my group.
I did a lot of work to keep our group from getting caught, and sometimes took a
longer pull to lead through a corner. There was one corner when the Metromint
rider & I would gap the other rider with us. Over laps 3 & 2 to go we tried to
shake her off after that corner, but she fought back on. My teammates made
certain no one from their group got up the road. I was thrilled when the 4 laps
to go sign showed up, but also afraid I wasn't going to make it. At 3 laps to
go I tried to convince myself it was only 6 more miles, but I knew how hard
those 6 miles would be. At two laps to go I tried to stay off the front of our
group, but I was in such a state that I don't remember much of the rest of the
race. My favorite part of the course was the downhill turn after we passed
through the village into an uphill. You could fly up the start of the hill with
your momentum from the downhill. I finished 2nd in my group for 9th place, or
so it seemed.

After the race we heard that the Tibco rider that flew by me had soloed for the
win. During her post-race interview she mentioned that she had taken a free
lap. Her honesty meant that the race win was taken from her as there were no
free laps. This gave the win to Amber Rais & moved me up to 8th overall.

Here is the Velonews race report: http://www.velonews.com/article/93662

It was a great weekend of hard racing, and I really enjoyed racing in a mostly
1/2 field (I'm still working on moving up from the 3s). I'd like to work on
staying in the lead group and being farther up when the break goes so that I
don't have to fight so hard to get back in.

June Race Schedule

2009-06-02T10:39:00.000-07:00

June 6th Dash for Cash WP,1,2,3 (Lauren, Red, Big, Katy, Rae)

June 13th: Pesky RR WP,1,2 (Red, Rae) W 3/4 ( Katy, Big)

June 18-20: Tour de Nez WP, 1,2,3 (Red, Big, Katy maybe Lauren)

June 28: Burlingame Crit WP,1,2,3 (Lauren, Rae, Katy, Big)

Spring Hill RR, W3/4 combined field by Katy

2009-06-02T10:38:00.001-07:00

Spring Hill RR, W3/4 combined field
31 May 2009
Katy 1st, Annie (Big) 2nd out of 30+

Spring Hill RR is a great course - no major climbs, some larger than rollers and some rollers. The Women 3/4 were combined (no distinction in numbers), and we did two laps for 44 miles. I definitely noticed a headwind on parts of the course, and I would surmise then that there was a tailwind, but it didn't really register.

Annie & I were very excited to race together, and this was my first race for the Webcor/AV Bridge team pb Sportvelo. This was also my first USCF race since Snelling (I've been racing collegiate for Stanford), so Annie had to fill me in on who the other women were. Our plan was to keep the pace high throughout the race because while we thought we could get up the final hill fast, we weren't sure we could hold off any sprinters. Also we were hoping to get one of us up the road in a break.

The race was a fast pace from the gun - similar to last year - I briefly thought that there was no way I'd make it if the pace stayed this high. I think the fast start helped to dwindle the group down, but there were probably 30 or so women that made the first lap. The pace dropped occasionally on the back side, so I went up to the front to pick things up. Just when I was thinking it would be nice to have Annie take over, she came to the front and took over for me. Annie put in two attacks on the rollers. The group never let her get far away, but it definitely helped pick up the pace.

The start of the second lap the pace picked up again, and our group dwindled to 15 riders or so. At this point we had dropped any of the sprinters that Annie recognized. We were working well together to keep the pace high until we hit a left handed hill on the back of the course. The pace slowed and the pacelining fell apart, so I attacked the hill. No one was interested in chasing at first, and they let me stay away for a few miles. I noticed the headwind while I was out by myself. I was caught and sat back in to recover. If I remember correctly Annie put in another attack, but the group had her marked.

You can see the final climb a few kilometers out, and last year I went too early for the finish. This year I decided to sit in as long as I could. The pace picked up as we were going through the feed zone. The road flattens a bit before kicking up again. Things slowed down here, so I attacked the final hill and hoped I could hold on to it. I got enough of a gap and managed to hold it, and Annie was right behind me for 2nd. This was a great way to start my season with the AV Bridge Team, and I enjoyed racing with Annie.

-katy

Lauren @ Burgundy, France

2009-04-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 6, 2009

Burgundy

Our last race in France... this was a two day, three stage race in Burgundy. The plan: drive (without Chris) for seven and a half hours in one van with seven girls, eight bikes, seven duffles, seven backpacks and three CDs to a town about an hour past Dijon where we would meet Megan's French team. They were to show us the TTT course and then take us to dinner and finally lead us to our dormitory. Information known about the courses: 0!

At 7:45 on the dot we all piled our bags into the back of the van which was already spilling over with frames and wheels. We squeezed in the six-seater van and headed off. Before we even left Limoux, ALL six girls were passed out. Poor Megan. She had to drive in the silence (or maybe that was nicer?) for two hours until our first stop. We stumbled out, took a natural break, and then piled back in to fall asleep yet again for the next leg. This continued until drivers were switched and the sleeping became more intermittent and tensions began to increase from the sardine of a situation we were in. 6 hours straight overlapping shoulders is exhausting!

Finally we found ourselves in the town that we would find out is the central race location with the starts and finishes to all three stages. Our trusty translator, Ashley, called Megan's only-French-speaking director and we found ourselves parked in a parking lot in front of an elementary school. We were told the plan was to ride at 4:30 and we were there at 3:45...perfect! We all jumped out and unloaded our bags to change. Ashley had disappeared and we finally figured out that not only was the French team not yet here, but we weren't riding until 5:30. Ok, we roll with the flow. I mean that's half of bike racing - adaptation. We waited patiently, fixing our aero bars and pacing around. But then come rolling the hunger growls.

As we decide to start stripping in this open parking lot, school lets out. More than a few kids had their first lessons in human anatomy! There were only two doors to change behind so the rest of us just dropped trou in the middle of all the commotion. Have to do what you have to do...

We eventually saw not only the TTT course but the "crit" course. The "crit" was 3.7km around and we were to do it 20 times. So this "crit" was really a circuit race. The course was cool. The front stretch was flat with a short drag until it flattened out again and we turned a sharp right under an overpass and uphill. The backside had a stair-step feel with two relatively tame hills and then a steeper kick before a screaming downhill into a very sharp (and gravel containing) right turn. After the right turn there is about 500 meters of flat into a round-about where we turn right to find ourselves on the finishing straight about 600 or so meters from the line. The course was complete with three cobble stone barriers on the front stretch (1 mini roundabout and two curb like things) that were ridable but that everyone avoided like mad. The TTT course was AWESOME! The first third was straight and flat with parts of false flat (uphill and downhill). This section was a very high speed section. Then we take a right hand turn to head back towards town and the technical fun begins. There are several turns, short bridges that must be crossed (two turns total) and little power kickers including the last three hills of the crit course and the fast right hand corner that follows.

Dinner was good, albeit, late and we finally discovered information about the road race which was the first stage. Up until now our only information on the RR was that it was hilly and 107km. Now we find out that there are 8 significant hills, 6 of which are QOMs. Whoopee. So now we head back to see our mystery accommodations...

Apparently dormitories are a toss up. They can be VERY bad or decent. Luckily we found ourselves in the latter. They were situated 18km away from the race town, Montbaurd, in a separate little village. We literally changed and fell into bed for a good 9 hour night of sleep. The next morning we were again to follow around Megan's team to breakfast which was not in our town but in Montbaurd. That wasn't until 9:30 and then we were to race back to our dorm to change for the race. Boy were we grumpy today!

When we came back Chris had our bikes all numbered and checked over and we headed back yet again to Montbaurd. It was my turn to have a working mic so we got set up and rolled around a bit half-heartedly as our minds were focused on getting good spots on the start line. We were the first to line up, again, and secured six spots on the front line. Then the announcement came over that Jeanne Longo showed up. Woohoo! One of the best climbers/time trialists in the WORLD is here. That's going to be fun!

There was a 3km neutral rollout so when the race started I immediately grabbed the bumper of the commissaire car, learning from last time that this is the best place to be. I was fighting girls for about 1km until I had established that I was NOT moving from my spot. Over the radio I hear Amanda go, "that is Jeanne Longo, just so you guys know". Out of the corner of my eye I see the French National TT skinsuit on my left out in the wind. She pulled up next to the car and held on for bit. Then she squeezed next to me. Dilemma: show respect by letting Jeanne have some of my much-desired bumper, or hold my spot and keep her out in the wind. I decided on the latter for two reasons: 1) she was soon going to be tearing my legs off on the climbs so in my mind, I needed that bumper more than she did, and 2) if she REALLY wanted to bumper, she would take the bumper (and I would have no say in the matter). So I held my position and when the race started I found myself on the front pulling the 85 or so starters. That was a new experience! I had Jeanne Longo sitting on my wheel while I set tempo. Terrifying but oh so cool!

I held good position for the first 10 or 12 km. Then, just as I was in the middle front of the peoloton, someone on the front shot across the road to the left and caused mayhem. The girl in front of me got her front wheel slammed and her rear derailleur proceeded to get caught in my front spokes. We both managed to keep it upright amazingly and caught the field before the first climb. I made it up this one with the group, check! Then hill #2 came... the first QOM and one of the steepest climbs of the race. Kaboom!! I went as hard as I could and found myself getting dropped by the front 25 or so. I made it over the top and started this long descent where I could see the front group way ahead of me (how torturous). I was pounding on the pedals and tucked as much as I could and got my speed up to about 55km/hr. There was still no oxygen in my brain and at one point I looked down at my SRM to see if I was putting out any power at all AND RODE RIGHT OFF THE ROAD. Note to self: keep your eyes up when the brain is not working and you are flying at 50+km/hr. I managed, again, to keep it upright and onto the road.

Then I settled in for a chase. I caught and ESGL93 rider who proceeded to suck my wheel for the entire 85km left in the race. We were caught by another smaller chase group included Ashley. We started a rotating pace line but were quickly getting worn down by a few riders who were too panicked and didn't understand how to pace line. Eventually we were caught by more stragglers and Jo ended up in our group as well. So now we have 3 Americans and about 20 other girls. All three of us started working on the front - we had to make the time cut. The entire race was like this (basically a TTT for 85km, or so it felt). We were definitely the smoothest team and we controlled quite a bit of the efforts.

At about 25km to go we ended up riding away from the group on this climb. They were slowing us down and we decided to go for it. We were joined by four other riders: the same ESGL93 rider, a Futuroscope rider (UCI team), a Beglian rider and some unknown French rider who we lost soon after to a flat. We had a good rotation going but all three USA girls were definitely tired. After getting lost about four times (we were abandoned by all motos and corner flagspeople) we made it to the 10km mark and were caught by some girls from the group we had dropped 15km before. They completely screwed up our working pace line and I got pissed. I went to the front and started to drill it.

We saw 3km to go and Ashely comes up next to me and asks if I want a lead out. For 50th place??? I said no but then girls started to act like they were setting up for the sprint and I was like, well hell. I pulled this whole race, I'll be damned if they sprint me for 50th. So I yelled to Ashley to go for it and at 1km to go she put the hammer down. Immediately the ESGL93 rider and the Futuroscope girl grab her wheel. Perfect! I was still pissed that the girl who had sat on my wheel and this other girl who hadn't done nearly as much as I had were sprinting me but now I had them right where I wanted them. My legs felt dead but I was motivated. At the 200 meter mark both girls jumped off to either side of Ashley. I followed the Futuroscope rider to the left and waited until 150 to go then jumped off her wheel and smoked them. Booya! I took 42nd place! (?) It felt good to sprint but I was disappointed with being 26 minutes down from Jeanne Longo (who soloed for the win, shocker).

The next day our TTT time was 9:58 so we decided to ride to the start for our warm-up. It was very cold and we got to the start a little early so we waited around for a bit getting radios set up etc. We lined up, the back 5 girls holding the fence and the first rider getting a seat hold. We started off really, really well. We got our speed up quickly without gapping and started rotating. Our speed was very consistent and our rotations were smooth. Chris was delighted on the radio. Unfortunately Jo's legs were really tired from the day before so when she was done, she dropped off and the five of us continued. Honestly I thought that might be me but for some reason my legs felt really good. The rest of the TTT hurt like hell but was SOOO much fun! We ended up taking third place behind Longo's team (shocking again) and a UCI team. This secured us 200 or so euros and a follow car for the circuit race.

We ate lunch in the elementary school's cafeteria and then lounged around resting until our 2:30 start time for the circuit race.

Again, we all got spots on the front line (behind the jersey holders) and were all over the front of the race.

We covered attacks and made several of our own. Amanda trailed around behind Jeanne to cover her and the rest of us monitored anything else. We were all tired but I'm proud of the way we rode. At about 8 laps to go some girl attacked and although I knew she wasn't a threat I jumped to bridge to her. I was near the front and the same girl who I went off the front with in Chamery (the TT champion) came with me. She had other intentions: a break away with just us two. She pulled around me and encouraged me to go with her. I sat on her wheel for maybe 10 seconds.

My teammates were encouraging me over the radio and I came on saying I had nothing. My legs were COMPLETELY shot and there was no way I could sit on her wheel doing 300+ watts for 8 more laps. I shot back through the peloton yelling in the radio that someone needed to go with her because she was going to go for good. No one had the legs so she soloed to the win followed by another rider who attacked on the last lap. Chris told us to become a sprint team and do a lead out. I found Amanda's wheel and her and Devon pulled an amazing lead out. Unfortunately I was unable to keep their wheels and got swallowed up. I stayed on until the last corner and then got jostled around. This was my first experience with a lead out and I feel that if we had had a few more times to practice I would have gotten it down.

Overall it was a long two days (and my first double day, excluding Madera, which in this case cannot compare - sorry Dan). I was happy with Sunday and still a little disappointed with Saturday but I now know what work I have to do and how fast I need to be. This was a tremendous learning experience and an absolutely fun time.

Thank you all for being interested and reading my VERY long reports.

I am back in the States now but am looking forward to returning to Europe in the future. For all of you riding, keep the rubber side down. For everyone else, enjoy the spring and (hopefully) better weather!

Lauren Weekend Update 4/6

2009-04-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

Sent to me via IM from Lauren

Got dropped in the RR after the first QOM and came in with a small group within the time cut (but still 26 minutes back). We got 3rd in the TTT behind Jeanne Longo's composite team and a UCI French team. Top 20 in the circuit race.

Annie F. @ Ronde Van Brisbane

2009-03-31T10:18:00.002-07:00

W3, 3/29/09
2nd of 20-25(?)
Teammates: None
Course: 1.7 mile circuit- 1k downhill with a couple tight turns, followed by a gradual uphill to a "hilltop" finish

This race was somewhat of an after thought- it was added to my racing calender last week as a good opportunity to grab some upgrade points. The course suited me well- a decent climb with a hilltop finish. Gotta love those :)

I warmed up for the race and felt the fatigue of the previous day's BtC TT and 1.5 hr ride. Luckily the race started out at a very manageable pace, so I had time to continue warming up and scope out the course and riders. I had been warned that timing the sprint at this race would be difficult because I would need to start sprinting before I could see the finish line. I found a spot that was roughly 200m away from the finish to keep in mind for the final lap.

There were two large teams represented in the field, so I decided to not waste too much of my energy on the front. I found that I lost my position on the downhill, but always found a good wheel to save energy for the uphill, where I had no trouble moving up. Besides one solo effort, the pelaton stayed together for the entirety of the race which set me up for my favorite kind of the sprint: the uphill kind. I had expected riders to jump early, but found just the opposite to be true. I stayed second row during the climb, but found that all the girls on the front were riding abreast and blocking any attempt to start a sprint. Finally, the field shattered and I managed to pick my way through to the line (just about in the gutter) in a close second.

All in all, a good race- complete with Thin Mints and $$$ :)

Anne Fulton
Bates College '08

http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/

Annie F. @ Ronde Van Brisbane

2009-03-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

W3, 3/29/09
2nd of 20-25(?)
Teammates: None
Course: 1.7 mile circuit- 1k downhill with a couple tight turns, followed by
a gradual uphill to a "hilltop" finish

This race was somewhat of an after thought- it was added to my racing
calender last week as a good opportunity to grab some upgrade points. The
course suited me well- a decent climb with a hilltop finish. Gotta love
those :)

I warmed up for the race and felt the fatigue of the previous day's BtC TT
and 1.5 hr ride. Luckily the race started out at a very manageable pace, so
I had time to continue warming up and scope out the course and riders. I
had been warned that timing the sprint at this race would be difficult
because I would need to start sprinting before I could see the finish line.
I found a spot that was roughly 200m away from the finish to keep in mind
for the final lap.

There were two large teams represented in the field, so I decided to not
waste too much of my energy on the front. I found that I lost my position
on the downhill, but always found a good wheel to save energy for the
uphill, where I had no trouble moving up. Besides one solo effort, the
pelaton stayed together for the entirety of the race which set me up for my
favorite kind of the sprint: the uphill kind. I had expected riders to jump
early, but found just the opposite to be true. I stayed second row during
the climb, but found that all the girls on the front were riding abreast and
blocking any attempt to start a sprint. Finally, the field shattered and I
managed to pick my way through to the line (just about in the gutter) in a
close second.

All in all, a good race- complete with Thin Mints and $$$ :)

Anne Fulton
Bates College '08

http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/

Lauren's First Headshot

2009-03-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Isn't it cool? Miss America!

Annie M. @ Redlands - God Bless Canada!

2009-03-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Annie had some drama getting into the race due to USA Cycling's random determination about her racing status as a member of Webcor/Alto Velo and its association with the Webcor Builders pro team. That said the Canaidans came the the rescue and Annie is riding for one of their regional or national teams!
God Bless Canada!

With all that tension Annie killed it...check it out!

71 338 *Malouin Annie Team BC 13:04.52 at2:23.85

About a 140 Pro/1/2 riders are in this race... she might even be the top woman on her team.

Full results here... http://velonews.com/results/89783

Cholet-Pays de Loire by Lauren

2009-03-24T13:38:00.001-07:00

Warning: this is a very long race report :) I had a lot to say...

Cholet-Pays de Loire

Date: 3/22/09
Start time: 1:00pm
Distance: 80km (16 laps)
Place: 71/101 (starting field size: 170+)
Teammates: Amanda Miller (58th), Ashley Dymond (DNF), Einat Aragon
COURSE: a 5km loop starting at the top of slight rise. There is a sweeping, downhill left-hand turn about 250 meters into the race that leads into a downhill into a headwind. At the bottom of the hill is another soft left-hand turn at a round-about which leads into a relatively straight section during which we go through one round-about. This stretch has some parts that narrow up because of curbs and/or street dividers. At the end of the straight there is a sharp right-hand turn onto the hill. The hill is about 500 meters long, completely straight and about 6%. At the top of the hill there is a 180 turn to head back down a hill into another sharp right-hander. The next section is an out-and-back section that turns around a very large, pedaling round-about. Coming back there is one, more slight, right-hand veer that leads to the finishing straight-away. From the 500 meter sign to the 300 meter sign is a slight rise which evens out until about 150 to go when it kicks up again slightly.

http://www.cholet-pdl.com/
http://cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2009/mar09/choletwomen09

After breakfast and pinning of jerseys we wandered downstairs to find Chris and were greeted with a lobby full of hopeful fans. We could tell from their attentive looks as they heard our footsteps on the stairs and then their almost immediate looks of disappointment that we were not quite what they were hoping for :)

For this race we had a group sign-in and introduction on stage. That was a first! We all went up in our Canada Trust jerseys (unfortunately our USA kits have not arrived still) and were introduced as the US Development Team (with one Israeli guest-star). We are a motley crew :)

FINALLY (after two and a half hours of pre-race chamois time) we were warmed up (mostly) and ready to start the race. I missed the line-up and was the only one of my team who ended up near the back of the 170-woman field. I was not happy with this but decided to look at it as an opportunity (a BIG one) to practice moving up in the field.

The first lap was MAYHEM. I have never been in a race with a field this large and have never smelled so much burning rubber from braking. I assume most of the girls hadn't ridden the course before hand because its was complete confusion. Every time the road narrowed or turned I found myself in a near-trackstand. At one point everyone basically stopped and some girl in the middle couldn't maintain her balance and just fell over causing the first crash. We made it up the hill around the very tight, narrow turn-around, down the hill (more burning rubber into what should have been a very high-speed turn at the bottom) without any problems. The first big crash happened on the finishing stretch where the metal gates were marking lining the roads. I still have no idea what happened to cause it but I just barely squeaked by on the right side of it and chased like hell to get back to the main group, towing a line of girls behind me. We made it back on right before the climb.

After the descent as I was finally settling down from the effort when the girl three ahead of me ran into these massive cones on the right side of the road. I was edging my way forward through the group to try and land a top-20 spot and was unfortunately right behind this mess. I hit the girl who went down in front of me and somehow landed on my left side. I curled up into a ball, unsure of what was coming behind me. As soon as I saw they could all avoid me I was back on my bike, chasing yet again. This time, though, I was chasing by myself and eventually got swallowed up by the secondary peloton who was behind my crash. I never made it back to the front group.

Still pumped with adrenaline I went to the front and started pulling hard. I wanted to be in that front group! We couldn't quite get organized enough and the front group already had too much time on us so I settled into this being my race. I quickly discovered that there were only 5 or 6 girls in this group who were really strong and good bike racers. I tried to help a UCBH Saint Avold rider start a rotating pace-line but people weren't smooth and there was too much disparity in fitness levels so most of the race it was myself, the French UCBH rider (who I noticed a little late had national stripes on her sleeves), a girl on the Specialized team who were consistently at the front (mixed in with several girls who helped some but kept dropping back). I figured if I wasn't at the front and in the race I was at least going to get a good workout!

I was feeling REALLY good. What a bummer. I stayed at the front easily and suddenly realized the UCBH French Champion had disappeared off the front. I had a feeling I'd be seeing here again later. Around 50km into the race we were nearing the top of the hill when she came flying up the right side and took a perfect line into the turn-around to head down the hill. I reacted immediately, weaving in and out of riders in front of me and hammering down the hill after her. When I made it on her wheel she saw me under her arm and kept flying. I thought once I got settled on her wheel the pace would be manageable - wrong! This girl was STRONG! I kept thinking to myself, "she has to slow down soon, there's no way she can do this for long". Wrong again! I still am unsure of what her national title is for but my guess would be time trial or cycle cross.

I stuck myself in the pain cave with no idea how long I could last, or how long she could last. I think for the lap and a half that I was on her wheel I pulled four times. She didn't seem to mind, nor did she seem to have any intention of slowing down. I gave her a little bit of rest on the downhills and the flats but otherwise thought I was pretty useless.

We were approaching the finishing straight and she started talking to me in French. Then she asked if I spoke English and I said yes. Then she goes, "FAST!" HAHA I was thinking, "what are we doing now?!?!" She pointed ahead to a group we were about to catch and I understood that she wanted to move quickly by them to avoid stragglers latching on. She picked up the pace and I couldn't hold on to her wheel anymore without possibly impeding her efforts and being a magnet for someone in the group we were passing. So I yelled, "non! allez, allez", to try and get the point across that I was dropping off. She kept flying and I latched on to this group. As soon as I had 20 seconds of rest I was ready to go again (of course). I bombed through this group and time-trialed to the next group ahead of them. These were groups getting shelled by the front group.

Eventually I ended up back in a combined field of my original group and some stragglers dropped from the front. I kept working really hard on the front of the group, mostly just because I couldn't help myself. Between crashing and then getting all amped on the UCBH girl's wheel I was too pumped to stop. With two laps to go I shut myself down to rest my legs a bit for our field sprint (which wouldn't matter for much but I wanted to the practice). I was confident I could beat every girl in the group.

On the last lap girls went WAY too early, launching at 1km and 500 meters to go. I just let myself get swarmed and tried to be patient. Just as this girl (who had looked pretty much cooked the entire race) came flying up the right-hand side at the 300 meter sign another girl blocked me from grabbing her wheel. I wove through the last girls at the front and took off in a sprint. I made up a lot of ground but it wasn't quite enough to catch her so I took second in our group.

I felt great and had some bad luck but I am happy with what I made of the race. I pushed myself past my limits and felt confident that I was one of the strongest girls in the several groups I was in (with the exception of the UCBH rider).

Lauren's Pictures from France

2009-03-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I have started a photobucket account and have a guest password. If you follow these steps you'll be able to see all of the photos I have taken so far on my trip in France....

Go to photobucket.com
Username: hecht_lauren
Password: france

Enjoy!

Lauren

PS This is a new application for me, so if it doesn't work or it causes problems, let me know...

March-April Schedule

2009-03-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend: training locally. The Webcor women's pro team training camp is this weekend, and Annie Fulton (Big) is attending.
March 26-29 Annie Malouin (Red) to Redlands with Metromint
April 5 Santa Cruz crit
April 11 Copperopolis
April 17 & 18 Sea Otter. (Tentative)
Dana Point Crit April 26 (Tentative)

Madera - Annie M.

2009-03-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

Race report Madera Stage Race - Women 1-2

20 mile criterium, 4 corners. Another bad luck happened.

Within the first 10 laps, just as I was starting to get comfortable in the pack and we started speeding up... Going over the train tracks, I hit something and heard a big "crack". Then, my bike felt wrong. I stopped at the pit and realized that my front 404 was broken. Due to miscommunications with Coach Dan, I had no spare wheel in the pit... Ross saved the day by running to my car to get a spare wheel. ..The official let me go back in the race.. but put me one lap down (-2min). I returned to the race. I was a bit weird out and also mad at this new the bad luck. :-(. The rest of the race was uneventful. I finished mid-pack.

10 miles TT

Bees & wind added challenge to TT! It was hard. I gave everything I had, I thought.

I for sure need to become more aero. ...and mainly I guess, I need to work on pedaling harder and faster for the next TT.

68 miles RR, 4 laps

We did the first lap with an easy steady pace. The paces speeded up as soon as we started lap 2, and many attacks went. I stayed towards the front, and covered many of them... Early on, I made the break, 5 of us got away, it seemed strong. However, the peloton ate us just before the hills. I then realized that the 3 leaders of the stage race were in the break! The speed continued to be fast with many attacks going. I contributed in covering many of the attacks, worked hard, hoping for a successful break away but nothing was going to get away. On the last lap, we went easier thru the rough pavement section. We went pretty fast up the hills, but everyone seemed pretty tired. I had not much left in me! I rolled in behind the sprinters. It was a very hard race. I felt good. I might have done a bit too much work, given I had no team mate in the race. I wanted to see what I would be able to achieve.

Lauren @ Chambery, France

2009-03-16T12:01:00.000-07:00

Date: 3/15/09
Start time: 1:30pm (woohoo European start times!)
Location: Chambery, France
Distance: 80km
Place: 31/70
Teammates: Amanda Miller, Ashley Dymond, Einat Aargon
Course: 8km loop starting on the top of hill at a three-way intersection among a neighborhood. The race started on the gradual descent leading to a quick right and then left-hand turn into a twisty, pedaling but high-speed descent. At the bottom of the descent was a sharp right hand turn to a flatter section that led to an overpass and into a VERY tight left-hand hairpin turn. From this turn to the bottom of the climb was pretty much like an extended crit course: flat with several turns and a few scary round-abouts (that we actually went through on the right side). A decreasing radius left-hand turn took us onto the climb, which was about 700 meters long with 5 switchbacks and average grade of about 10% which got gradually steeper). The finish was at the top of this hill.

The start list included two French UCI teams (Bigla and BGL93?), Jeanne Longo and several strong-looking regional teams (Italian and French).

The race started at 1:30 and we lined up at 1:15. As we were rolling up the hill at the end of our warm up loop to line up Chris, our direction, came over the radio and told us that Jeanne Longo had just shown up. Oh my. We lined up and they called us up by number, which put all four of us in the second row of girls. I was nervous but because I didn't know any of the girls or what to expect it was a different nervous. The follow cars were all crowded around behind and to the sides of us.

We made it down the descent without any major problems. I could tell immediately that the bike handling here was very different. The riders are more aggressive and there is more jostling but somehow, despite all the scares and dramatic yelling, no one went down the whole race.

As we came to the tight left-hand hairpin Chris came over the radio and told us all to move up. I made my way to the front relatively easily but we were moving pretty fast. After a few turns there is a section where we go to the right around three round-abouts. These were the hairiest parts of the race because girls were trying to move up before the climb but the road narrowed around the round-abouts and curbs kind of came out of nowhere.

We pretty much bombed the first time up the hill making it up in about 80 seconds or so. I felt good going up the first and second times and stayed in the top third of the group.

On the second lap I was sitting on the right side of the pack waiting for someone to give me a free ride to the front and who comes around me but Jeanne Longo! I jumped on quickly and moved up to the front. I laughed to myself at the surreality of it all.

The third climb is where the break got away. As I got the to the second one I could see my teammate, Amanda, up at the front with the girls who were quickly breaking away and who would stay away for the entire race. Chris came over the radio as we came to the bottom of the descent to confirm that Amanda was in the break. Quickly a few girls tried to bridge but the pack kept pulling them back and Ashley and I covered most of the wheels that tried to get away. The break included three Bigla girls (the Swiss champion rider and her teammates), two girls on the other UCI team, a local Chambery rider, Amanda and Jeanne Longo. Chris told Ashley and I to control the front of the race.

On the fifth lap Chris told us the gap was up to 1:15 and the follow cars blew past us. For the third and fourth laps two teams went to the front and tried to team time trial and pull back the break but with the strongest teams (Bigla and the other UCI team) just sitting on and a UCI group off the front, their time gap just kept increasing. Once the cars passed, though, the few teams working started to give up and the pace slowed a bit.

Ashley and I did pretty well together covering anything that tried to get off (not many serious attempts except on the descent).

During the last 4 laps the girls in the break were attacking one another and their race finished with one of the Bigla riders winning followed by Jeanne Longo, who had initiated the attack on the lead group. The next group consisted of five break-away riders who had been dropped by the Bigla and Longo. Amanda finished on her own in 8th. At this point they had well over two minutes on the field.

On the peloton's second to last lap I asked Ashley how she felt about me leading her out for the hill. I knew she was stronger on the hill than I was at that point and I felt good enough on the flats to try and do something. The Italian team set up their leadout at the beginning of the last lap and started rotating on the front. I stayed in the top 10 until we cleared the cornering section and then went up to about fifth position. At that point there were only two Italians who hadn't popped yet and they were pulling hard enough to keep it strung out so I continued to sit on. Ashley was on my wheel but lost it when I had to cut left through the line to end up in third spot. I hit the hill hard thinking she was behind me. I pretty much sprinted the bottom third of the hill with the mentality that my finish was halfway up the climb to slingshot Ashley. As I made it to the first switchback I heard a crash behind me and knew that it was Ashley. I was surprised that we were dropping people and that I was maintaining third position but knew that I was going to pop sooner than would allow for a good finish. I just coasted the second half of the hill, which was about all I could manage after my attempt at a leadout.

It was an awesome race! The course was amazing and a ton of fun with all the corners and obstacles and, yes, even the hill. I think later in my career a course like this will be great for me.

Thanks for reading!

Lauren

My Journey to France

2009-03-12T12:17:00.001-07:00

I landed in Toulouse, France on Wednesday March 10th at 3:30 or so in the afternoon. Luckily I was still functioning surprisingly well, considering I had been flying for 15 hours across an eight hour time change. I was greeted at the airport by a very friendly Israeli cyclist who is riding in the area on a French team. We located my baggage and mon velo (my bike - have to learn that French phrase quickly) and headed to Limoux, where I will be living for the next 4 and a half weeks. These tree-lined sections of road are scattered throughout the towns and act as sort of natural entryways into the little villages along the French country-side. The roads are narrow and the cars are few and far between - as a cyclist, I already love it! This picture to the right is the view to the right out my front door. Obviously the streets are extremely narrow so navigating around town has been exciting to say the least :) The picture below and to the left is the front door of our house. This has been a hotel to a long list of famous cyclists including Olympic champions Sarah Ulmer (New Zealand) and Nicole Cooke (Great Britain), World champions Amber Neben (USA), Marion Clignet (France), and Elizabeth Chevanne (France),as well at least 15 national champions of Canada, New Zealand, France, Israel and Belgium. It is a true cycling house complete with bike hooks in the kitchen, two fridges, washer, dryer and posted translation notes of French phrases on the walls. The house is conveniently located at the edge of the town square (only 100 meters from our door). Today was our first long ride and we finished a perfect, beautiful day with a petit chocolat as a boisson du recuperacion (recovery drink) at the cafe around the corner.

Merco Grand Prix Race Report

2009-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

Merco Grand Prix Race Report
Womens 1,2
Date: 2/28/09
Teammates: Annie Malouin
Field size: 43

This was a fast race from the gun. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th laps were prime laps so that set the bar for the race pretty high. A few breaks got off the front and one got around 40 seconds on the field but none of the teams were happy with the break so it was pulled back. There were a few crashes, one of which happened relatively early. This presented problems because an ambulance pulled onto the course in the first corner and the field was unaware so we tore around the corner and I just about ran into the moto ref. Luckily I bounced off his shoulder and made it back to the field but it caused some mayhem and some were not able to catch back on. I did not have the legs for the sprinty corners so besides one attack I made to try and bridge to the first break-away group, I mostly sat in and tried to finish. Unfortunately Annie was caught in all the confusion with the moto and the ambulance and so did not finish the race. But both of us were very pleased with the road race the next day. Stay tuned for Annie's race report.

Lauren Hecht

Quick Merco Post

2009-03-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

By Coach Dan

Just getting a chance to go through weekends emails... more to come later!
The crit was fast with lots of attacks, and breaks but came together for field sprint and Teutenberg beat Miller. Lauren was able to finish. Annie is still working on her crit skills.

The RR was 72 miles and the second day of racing. Some wind and sprinkles. Both did well and finished in the main group! I'm very proud of them both. Stellar field ended in another field sprint and Teutenberg won again.

New Bridge Team Rider! Annie Fulton

2009-02-25T11:42:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to welcome Annie to the team! (Annie is the one in red on the right..)

Annie Fulton
Age: 23
From: Palo Alto, CA
Sporting Background: I was a gymnast for 14 years, but picked up cycling in college. I was mainly a recreational rider for 3 years, touring in France, Switzerland, and Italy in the summers. I was also VP for the Bates College Cycling team, where I got a taste for racing. I made the big jump to racing summer 2008 when I joined Webcor/Alto Velo and have loved every second of it!

Recent Results: 2nd at Cherry Pie Criterium, 2nd at San Jose Cycling Classic Criterium, 1st at Snelling Road Race

2009 Goals: Work towards upgrading to Cat2, begin time trialing, and promote the Webcor/Alto Bridge Team presented by Sportvelo!

http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/

Annie Fulton Snelling Report

2009-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

This is the race that got Annie her upgrade and invite to the Bridge team...figured i would share for posterity.

Snelling Road Race, Women Cat4
1st of 50
2/21/2009
Teammates: Ashleigh Jackson

I've been excited about this race for a while for a couple of reasons: it's
a road race (enough crits!), and there was a full field of 50 (not to
mention another full B field). Snelling, however, is a "C" race for me, so
I had not tapered and was honestly a bit fatigued going in due to a nasty
combination of hiking and strength training on the Thursday before. I
headed out to the race early to get in a solid warm up and be as primed as
possible for the 35 miles ahead.

Within the first 5 minutes of arriving, I was approached by a team in my
field who first notified me that I was marked and asked if I would like to
take part in a breakaway with them. I was a bit taken aback (albeit
flattered), but listened to what they had to say and decided that if it
worked out, sure I'd go in a breakaway with them. My experience with
pre-planned breakaways is that they rarely work and that you really have to
think on your toes.

The first two of three laps of the race were fairly uneventful, save for a
rather large crash that took out several riders behind me. I kept my eyes
open for strong riders, and found a woman who I new was strong. Half way
through the last lap, she and I attacked after a sharp turn. We took turns
pulling, but were eventually caught by more riders. We had a breakaway
going, but no one would pull their weight. I attempted to get a double pace
line going, but didn't work (I made no friends here ;)). The effort wasn't
completely in vain, the field was whittled away to a mere 12.

I sat in for the remainder of the lap, concentrating on staying towards the
front. I had been warned that some anxious riders would start the sprint
before the last turn into the finishing straight away, and the prediction
proved true. I let them go and headed into the last turn around 5th. I
decided to wait a bit before sprinting, but when a lot of girls started
passing me, I decided to gas it. I executed a very McEwen inpsired final
sprint and maneuvered my way through the field to victory!

The points won in the race now qualify me to upgrade to Cat3, which is
really the icing on the cake. I've had a great time racing with Cat4s and
have met a lot of amazing women. I look forward to taking the next step in
racing as a Cat3 :)

Anne Fulton
Bates College '08

http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/