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.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Vacaville Grand Prix
Race Report: Vacaville Grand Prix
Date: 8/16/09
Teammates: Katheryn Curi Mattis (3rd), Karen Brems (4th)
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 4th, 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 10th place. An exciting field for a small-town local race!
San Ardo Road Race
Race Report: San Ardo Road Race
Date: 8/22/09
Place: 2nd/ ~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
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tour de Nez Northstar Circuit race 6/20 by Katy K.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
June Race Schedule
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
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
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
Monday, April 13, 2009
Lauren @ Burgundy, France
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!
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!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Lauren Weekend Update 4/6
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Annie F. @ Ronde Van Brisbane
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 $$$ :)
Anne Fulton
Bates College '08
http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/
2nd of 20-25(?)
Teammates: None
Course: 1.7 mile circuit- 1k downhill with a couple tight turns, followed by a gradual uphill to a "hilltop" finish
This race was somewhat of an after thought- it was added to my racing calender last week as a good opportunity to grab some upgrade points. The course suited me well- a decent climb with a hilltop finish. Gotta love those :)
I warmed up for the race and felt the fatigue of the previous day's BtC TT and 1.5 hr ride. Luckily the race started out at a very manageable pace, so I had time to continue warming up and scope out the course and riders. I had been warned that timing the sprint at this race would be difficult because I would need to start sprinting before I could see the finish line. I found a spot that was roughly 200m away from the finish to keep in mind for the final lap.
There were two large teams represented in the field, so I decided to not waste too much of my energy on the front. I found that I lost my position on the downhill, but always found a good wheel to save energy for the uphill, where I had no trouble moving up. Besides one solo effort, the pelaton stayed together for the entirety of the race which set me up for my favorite kind of the sprint: the uphill kind. I had expected riders to jump early, but found just the opposite to be true. I stayed second row during the climb, but found that all the girls on the front were riding abreast and blocking any attempt to start a sprint. Finally, the field shattered and I managed to pick my way through to the line (just about in the gutter) in a close second.
All in all, a good race- complete with Thin Mints and $$$ :)
Anne Fulton
Bates College '08
http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/
Annie F. @ Ronde Van Brisbane
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 $$$ :)
Anne Fulton
Bates College '08
http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/
2nd of 20-25(?)
Teammates: None
Course: 1.7 mile circuit- 1k downhill with a couple tight turns, followed by
a gradual uphill to a "hilltop" finish
This race was somewhat of an after thought- it was added to my racing
calender last week as a good opportunity to grab some upgrade points. The
course suited me well- a decent climb with a hilltop finish. Gotta love
those :)
I warmed up for the race and felt the fatigue of the previous day's BtC TT
and 1.5 hr ride. Luckily the race started out at a very manageable pace, so
I had time to continue warming up and scope out the course and riders. I
had been warned that timing the sprint at this race would be difficult
because I would need to start sprinting before I could see the finish line.
I found a spot that was roughly 200m away from the finish to keep in mind
for the final lap.
There were two large teams represented in the field, so I decided to not
waste too much of my energy on the front. I found that I lost my position
on the downhill, but always found a good wheel to save energy for the
uphill, where I had no trouble moving up. Besides one solo effort, the
pelaton stayed together for the entirety of the race which set me up for my
favorite kind of the sprint: the uphill kind. I had expected riders to jump
early, but found just the opposite to be true. I stayed second row during
the climb, but found that all the girls on the front were riding abreast and
blocking any attempt to start a sprint. Finally, the field shattered and I
managed to pick my way through to the line (just about in the gutter) in a
close second.
All in all, a good race- complete with Thin Mints and $$$ :)
Anne Fulton
Bates College '08
http://anniefulton.wordpress.com/
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Annie M. @ Redlands - God Bless Canada!
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
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
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cholet-Pays de Loire by Lauren
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).
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).
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Lauren's Pictures from France
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...
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
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)
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)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Madera - Annie M.
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.
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.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Lauren @ Chambery, France
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
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
Thursday, March 12, 2009
My Journey to France
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-line
d 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, Franc
e, 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.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Merco Grand Prix Race Report
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
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
Monday, March 2, 2009
Quick Merco Post
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
New Bridge Team Rider! Annie Fulton
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/
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Annie Fulton Snelling Report
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/
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/
Monday, February 23, 2009
More Snelling Photos (Prolly some repeats from last time)
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479081664_uqCsW
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479083313_sAjiB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479083537_mBAzk
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479090066_TSop5 Annie after her flat :-(
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479090931_X8jCa
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479093291_D6Xwq Tibco TTT
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479093541_8gRBy Lauren pulling the field
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479083313_sAjiB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479083537_mBAzk
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479090066_TSop5 Annie after her flat :-(
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479090931_X8jCa
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479093291_D6Xwq Tibco TTT
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#479093541_8gRBy Lauren pulling the field
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Quick Snelling Update From Coach Dan
Annie Malouin flatted :-(
Lauren Hecht 10th 3rd in field sprint. Team Tibco TTT OTF for all top 7 spots!
Annie Fulton 1st in WCat4! Now a cat 3 :-) She's ready for the Bridge Team!
Lauren Hecht 10th 3rd in field sprint. Team Tibco TTT OTF for all top 7 spots!
Annie Fulton 1st in WCat4! Now a cat 3 :-) She's ready for the Bridge Team!
Snelling Photos
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#478460610_2LMYJ-XL-LB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#478461180_sf5CN-XL-LB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#478464168_UXWWw-XL-LB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#478461180_sf5CN-XL-LB
http://www.jpimages.biz/gallery/7423358_umcki#478464168_UXWWw-XL-LB
Thursday, February 19, 2009
TOC Women's Crit Full Report 2/15
Women’s Tour of California
Date: 2/15/09 Start time: 1 p.m.
Location: downtown Santa Rosa
Teammates: Annie Malouin, Rae Brownsberger
Conditions: POURING rain and 45-50 degree weather
Results: Lauren – 38/56, Rae – 48/56 (starting field of 80+)
I believe the word to describe this day was EPIC. We arrived in Santa Rosa with two and a half hours to spare, a little sleepy and freezing. When we had finished registering we walked outside and up the sidewalk come Mara Abbott, Emilia Fahlin and some other Columbia High Road women. We knew this was going to be one heck of a race!
We were lucky to get a great spot on the ground floor of a parking garage where we could warm up and stay dry until the start. As usual, the time flew by and we found ourselves a little rushed but luckily we had the awesome Smith team who pinned our numbers, took care of our bikes and made sure we were on the right time track.
At 12:35 we rolled over to the start line and rolled along the course until line-up. I got a good spot in the second row with Rae to my left. We were ready for a hammer fest but nervous about the rain and the commotion it would cause. I have very little experience riding in the rain and this was my first race in the rain. As expected the race took off from the gun and on the last corner the first crash happened taking out a bunch of girls. Luckily I was to the inside and a little in front of the mess and caught back on to the main field. Rae managed to squeeze by as well but Annie wasn’t so lucky and ended up in a chase group for a good portion of the race.
The rest of the race consisted of two groups (a lead group off the front of 11 then 13 and the main field). It seemed like the peloton didn’t have a lot of incentive to pull back the break as most teams were represented but that didn’t stop the attacking or the field primes. It was a pretty consistently fast race and the weather conditions, while EPIC, did help keep the pace a little under control. I think about half-way through the race I heard over the radio that Annie was on the sidelines but was unsure about Rae. Minutes later Rae came flying by me looking strong so I knew there were two of us left. The race was loud and full of spectators which amplified the excitement of the speed and downpour.
Our goals for this race were to get used to riding as a team, get comfortable with the race radios and have fun. I would say we definitely fulfilled the last goal – all three of us were pumped to have been in such a great field in such dramatic conditions. We are definitely getting to know one another and getting used to hearing Dan’s voice over the radio (however muted it sounded among the cow bells).
I enjoyed racing with all of my teammates for the first time and look forward to us growing into that group of 13 off the front.
Thanks for reading and all the support!
Lauren
Date: 2/15/09 Start time: 1 p.m.
Location: downtown Santa Rosa
Teammates: Annie Malouin, Rae Brownsberger
Conditions: POURING rain and 45-50 degree weather
Results: Lauren – 38/56, Rae – 48/56 (starting field of 80+)
I believe the word to describe this day was EPIC. We arrived in Santa Rosa with two and a half hours to spare, a little sleepy and freezing. When we had finished registering we walked outside and up the sidewalk come Mara Abbott, Emilia Fahlin and some other Columbia High Road women. We knew this was going to be one heck of a race!
We were lucky to get a great spot on the ground floor of a parking garage where we could warm up and stay dry until the start. As usual, the time flew by and we found ourselves a little rushed but luckily we had the awesome Smith team who pinned our numbers, took care of our bikes and made sure we were on the right time track.
At 12:35 we rolled over to the start line and rolled along the course until line-up. I got a good spot in the second row with Rae to my left. We were ready for a hammer fest but nervous about the rain and the commotion it would cause. I have very little experience riding in the rain and this was my first race in the rain. As expected the race took off from the gun and on the last corner the first crash happened taking out a bunch of girls. Luckily I was to the inside and a little in front of the mess and caught back on to the main field. Rae managed to squeeze by as well but Annie wasn’t so lucky and ended up in a chase group for a good portion of the race.
The rest of the race consisted of two groups (a lead group off the front of 11 then 13 and the main field). It seemed like the peloton didn’t have a lot of incentive to pull back the break as most teams were represented but that didn’t stop the attacking or the field primes. It was a pretty consistently fast race and the weather conditions, while EPIC, did help keep the pace a little under control. I think about half-way through the race I heard over the radio that Annie was on the sidelines but was unsure about Rae. Minutes later Rae came flying by me looking strong so I knew there were two of us left. The race was loud and full of spectators which amplified the excitement of the speed and downpour.
Our goals for this race were to get used to riding as a team, get comfortable with the race radios and have fun. I would say we definitely fulfilled the last goal – all three of us were pumped to have been in such a great field in such dramatic conditions. We are definitely getting to know one another and getting used to hearing Dan’s voice over the radio (however muted it sounded among the cow bells).
I enjoyed racing with all of my teammates for the first time and look forward to us growing into that group of 13 off the front.
Thanks for reading and all the support!
Lauren
Monday, February 16, 2009
TOC Women's Crit Prelim Report 2/15
Results were excellent!
Basically, people started coming off the back immediately, not helped by a crash in the first lap. Every time the field would go by, we would see some strong Norcal woman OTB or struggling. I don't have a complete start list, but I would guess that no more than 2/3 of the starters finished (56 finishers).
Annie got gapped by a crash, but stayed in a chase group for most of the race. Rae was the ticket collector at the back, and Lauren rode comfortably in the middle, and attempted a strong attack for a prime, but the field was way too strong (few sprinters made the break, so the designated team sprinters were cleaning up the pack primes). Rae and Lauren finished in the pack.
Conditions were epic: in the 40s and dumping race. Very, very slick. Very, very wet. Very, very cold. 60min is a looong crit for so early in the season. - Andi
Basically, people started coming off the back immediately, not helped by a crash in the first lap. Every time the field would go by, we would see some strong Norcal woman OTB or struggling. I don't have a complete start list, but I would guess that no more than 2/3 of the starters finished (56 finishers).
Annie got gapped by a crash, but stayed in a chase group for most of the race. Rae was the ticket collector at the back, and Lauren rode comfortably in the middle, and attempted a strong attack for a prime, but the field was way too strong (few sprinters made the break, so the designated team sprinters were cleaning up the pack primes). Rae and Lauren finished in the pack.
Conditions were epic: in the 40s and dumping race. Very, very slick. Very, very wet. Very, very cold. 60min is a looong crit for so early in the season. - Andi
Thursday, February 12, 2009
February-March Team Schedule
Snelling RR (B)
Merco Crit and RR (A, A)
Berkeley TTT (fun race good chemistry) (C)
Menlo Crit (B) local opportunity to race w/ the other AV women
Madera SR (A)
Orosi RR (C) long drive I may be going if I do seats in car available
Trying to get riders wanting to race Redlands on a composite team.
BTW, Lauren has been invited to compete in France with the National team.
Very exciting stuff. I'll let her give you an update but it means she's in
Europe from March 10th - April 7-8th. She'll miss Madera, and Redlands.
Should be home in time for Copperopolis!
Merco Crit and RR (A, A)
Berkeley TTT (fun race good chemistry) (C)
Menlo Crit (B) local opportunity to race w/ the other AV women
Madera SR (A)
Orosi RR (C) long drive I may be going if I do seats in car available
Trying to get riders wanting to race Redlands on a composite team.
BTW, Lauren has been invited to compete in France with the National team.
Very exciting stuff. I'll let her give you an update but it means she's in
Europe from March 10th - April 7-8th. She'll miss Madera, and Redlands.
Should be home in time for Copperopolis!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
More Cherry Pie Photos
Video: http://www.deltavelo.com/09_race_videos/cherry_pie/cherry_pie_pro_women.html
Photos
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470268152_xuoqX
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470269847_ouCXe
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470270331_95Z7m-A-LB
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470294968_8NX3m-A-LB
http://www.velosportphoto.com/gallery/7313182_SWgom#470384770_YA4A8-A-LB
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3267054584/in/set-72157613510208603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3266139155/in/set-72157613510208603/
Photos
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470268152_xuoqX
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470269847_ouCXe
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470270331_95Z7m-A-LB
http://casadelane.smugmug.com/gallery/7311120_awhHy#470294968_8NX3m-A-LB
http://www.velosportphoto.com/gallery/7313182_SWgom#470384770_YA4A8-A-LB
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3267054584/in/set-72157613510208603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3266139155/in/set-72157613510208603/
Monday, February 9, 2009
Cherry Pie 2/8
Coach Dan: "Lauren was 2 in field sprint in WP12, 4 riders OFT so 6th place! Great result for first race of AV Women's Bridge Team presented by SportVelo. We had Annie M., and Lauren vs. Proman, Touchstone, Tibco and 9 riders from Los Gatos. Lauren's Full Report Below"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3267054584/sizes/l/in/set-72157613510208603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3264547543/sizes/l/in/set-72157613526369532/
Cherry Pie Criterium
Category: Women 1,2,3
Date: 2/8 2:05 PM
Result: 6/~45
Teammates: Annie Malouin
This was an awesome first race! I was definitely getting butterflies
all afternoon but the cold pretty much froze those. I got to the race
site very early because I was carpooling with some masters racers so I
had plenty of time to get myself ready. I was armed with my new Zipp
404 wheels (that I hadn't yet ridden), an earpiece radio and my newest
teammate, Annie. I was excited to finally have a friendly comrade in
the race with me. I lined up with two problems: no magnet for my
power meter and some iffy shifting with my new wheel. I put those
both out of my mind and we took off, radios on and attention sharp.
In the first few laps a group of four got off the front. I wasn't
very worried about it (which turned out to be a mistake) and sat in
the main field. The race progressed and the break got farther and
farther from the field, topping out at 30 seconds. There were several
attacks but nothing stuck until about 5 laps to go when a Tibco rider
took off to bridge solo and a Los Gatos rider took off shortly after.
I jumped and bridged quickly to the Los Gatos rider and we started
working together. We ended up cutting the gap by about half at about
the time the Tibco rider made it across. Once the group had her they
took off again and the Los Gatos rider and I got swallowed up at 2 to
go. I sat in and tried to recover some before the final lap. Before
the hill I located all the "sprinters" and ended up on the Los Gatos
train. Their sprinter wasn't launching and as I began to move around
I heard Dan in my ear telling me to go, go, go. A Proman rider was
coming up the right and I didn't see her until she was already ahead
of the field. I took off and gave it everything I had but was a
little late and got beat by about half a wheel. Thanks to Annie for
getting to the front and blocking when I was off trying to bridge; too
bad it didn't work... no matter - it is going to be an awesome season
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3267054584/sizes/l/in/set-72157613510208603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3264547543/sizes/l/in/set-72157613526369532/
Cherry Pie Criterium
Category: Women 1,2,3
Date: 2/8 2:05 PM
Result: 6/~45
Teammates: Annie Malouin
This was an awesome first race! I was definitely getting butterflies
all afternoon but the cold pretty much froze those. I got to the race
site very early because I was carpooling with some masters racers so I
had plenty of time to get myself ready. I was armed with my new Zipp
404 wheels (that I hadn't yet ridden), an earpiece radio and my newest
teammate, Annie. I was excited to finally have a friendly comrade in
the race with me. I lined up with two problems: no magnet for my
power meter and some iffy shifting with my new wheel. I put those
both out of my mind and we took off, radios on and attention sharp.
In the first few laps a group of four got off the front. I wasn't
very worried about it (which turned out to be a mistake) and sat in
the main field. The race progressed and the break got farther and
farther from the field, topping out at 30 seconds. There were several
attacks but nothing stuck until about 5 laps to go when a Tibco rider
took off to bridge solo and a Los Gatos rider took off shortly after.
I jumped and bridged quickly to the Los Gatos rider and we started
working together. We ended up cutting the gap by about half at about
the time the Tibco rider made it across. Once the group had her they
took off again and the Los Gatos rider and I got swallowed up at 2 to
go. I sat in and tried to recover some before the final lap. Before
the hill I located all the "sprinters" and ended up on the Los Gatos
train. Their sprinter wasn't launching and as I began to move around
I heard Dan in my ear telling me to go, go, go. A Proman rider was
coming up the right and I didn't see her until she was already ahead
of the field. I took off and gave it everything I had but was a
little late and got beat by about half a wheel. Thanks to Annie for
getting to the front and blocking when I was off trying to bridge; too
bad it didn't work... no matter - it is going to be an awesome season
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Bridge Team November Camp
Editorial Note: Dan and Andi Smith pulled together the women of the bridge team for a small camp in November. Below is a quick write up from rider Lauren Hecht. I'll post more photos from the next few camps and races. Ted
Our first ever team training camp was based out of the always welcoming Smith household. Annie drove down from Sac-town on Thursday and we went for an afternoon ride. The short, cold ride was helped lift my final-exam fog. Rae had finals through Friday so she missed both Thursday and Friday rides but showed up breathless and hyped on caffeine at our post-ride sandwich run. We did some team bonding that afternoon while Dan talked over team tactics and some basic sprinting skills. Saturday we ate a great team breakfast and received our first Sport Velo kits and accessories. I’m sure the level of girl excitement over the new wardrobe exhausted Dan because we couldn’t wait to get out and wear them. After we put our sprinting technique education on the pavement our ride and enthusiasm was somewhat dulled by the gloomy valley weather. Sunday we joined the A-race out of Los Altos and besides my first flat of the winter and frozen feet, the ride went smoothly. The weekend was a bit of a blur but four days of Andi’s homemade bread, burritos, The Princess Bride and riding in the cold California rain couldn’t have been better!
Lauren Hecht
Our first ever team training camp was based out of the always welcoming Smith household. Annie drove down from Sac-town on Thursday and we went for an afternoon ride. The short, cold ride was helped lift my final-exam fog. Rae had finals through Friday so she missed both Thursday and Friday rides but showed up breathless and hyped on caffeine at our post-ride sandwich run. We did some team bonding that afternoon while Dan talked over team tactics and some basic sprinting skills. Saturday we ate a great team breakfast and received our first Sport Velo kits and accessories. I’m sure the level of girl excitement over the new wardrobe exhausted Dan because we couldn’t wait to get out and wear them. After we put our sprinting technique education on the pavement our ride and enthusiasm was somewhat dulled by the gloomy valley weather. Sunday we joined the A-race out of Los Altos and besides my first flat of the winter and frozen feet, the ride went smoothly. The weekend was a bit of a blur but four days of Andi’s homemade bread, burritos, The Princess Bride and riding in the cold California rain couldn’t have been better!
Lauren Hecht
Monday, January 12, 2009
Bridge Team Rider Bio's
The season has begun! The Webcor/Alto Velo Women’s Bridge team riders are looking forward to getting going and are helping out with some of the Early Birds. Currently the roster includes Rae Brownsberger, Annie Malouin, and Lauren Hecht. They are currently ripping it up at team camps and daily rides so here is a little info to help you get to know them a little more.
Rae Brownsberger
• Origin: Belmont, Massachusetts
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student
• Team in 2008: Stanford Cycling Team
• 2009 Goals: In 2009, Rae plans on killing it with her teammates at local races. She'd like for the Bridge team to be one of the more respected teams in the area. She hopes to gain strength and experience by racing with the big girls at a few NRC races. She's also looking forward to competing at her first U23 Nationals this summer.
Palmares
’07 D1 Collegiate Road Nationals
’08 2nd WCCC Individual Omnium
’08 1st Collegiate National Time Trial Squad
’08 First NRC Stage Race at Fitchburg Classic
Annie Malouin
• Origin: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
• Age/Occupation: 31 / Veterinary Criticalist
• Team in 2008: Amoroso/Tri-State Velo, Philadelphia, PA
• 2009 Goals: Successful racing with the new AV Bridge team in NCNCA races, get a win in a local road race, and compete and get top 20 in an NRC Stage race. Last season, I mostly trained for triathlons. I competed in several Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races and obtained overall women podium finishes in 4/5 triathlons.
Palmares:
‘08 3rd place at Poolesville Road Race (MD)
‘08 10th in G.C. (Cat 3 field) at 2008 Fitchburg Longo Classic
‘08 5th place at Tour of Christiana Criterium (Cat 1/2/3)
‘08 7th place at the Pennsylvania State Road Race
Lauren Hecht
• Origin: Atherton, Ca
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student at Santa Clara University
• Team in 2008: Webcor/Alto Velo
• 2009 Goals: Establish and build up the new AV Bridge Team at the NCNCA races, Win U23 crit nationals, start competing at NRC stage races, go back and do some damage at Super Week.
Palmares
’08 Copperopolis - Came in first in the 3s, crossed the centerline and was DQ’d :(
’08 2nd Martinez Bay Front Crit P123
’08 1st Santa Cruz Classic Crit P123
Rae Brownsberger
• Origin: Belmont, Massachusetts
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student
• Team in 2008: Stanford Cycling Team
• 2009 Goals: In 2009, Rae plans on killing it with her teammates at local races. She'd like for the Bridge team to be one of the more respected teams in the area. She hopes to gain strength and experience by racing with the big girls at a few NRC races. She's also looking forward to competing at her first U23 Nationals this summer.
Palmares
’07 D1 Collegiate Road Nationals
’08 2nd WCCC Individual Omnium
’08 1st Collegiate National Time Trial Squad
’08 First NRC Stage Race at Fitchburg Classic
Annie Malouin
• Origin: Gaspe, Quebec, Canada
• Age/Occupation: 31 / Veterinary Criticalist
• Team in 2008: Amoroso/Tri-State Velo, Philadelphia, PA
• 2009 Goals: Successful racing with the new AV Bridge team in NCNCA races, get a win in a local road race, and compete and get top 20 in an NRC Stage race. Last season, I mostly trained for triathlons. I competed in several Olympic and Half-Ironman distance races and obtained overall women podium finishes in 4/5 triathlons.
Palmares:
‘08 3rd place at Poolesville Road Race (MD)
‘08 10th in G.C. (Cat 3 field) at 2008 Fitchburg Longo Classic
‘08 5th place at Tour of Christiana Criterium (Cat 1/2/3)
‘08 7th place at the Pennsylvania State Road Race
Lauren Hecht
• Origin: Atherton, Ca
• Age/Occupation: 21/Student at Santa Clara University
• Team in 2008: Webcor/Alto Velo
• 2009 Goals: Establish and build up the new AV Bridge Team at the NCNCA races, Win U23 crit nationals, start competing at NRC stage races, go back and do some damage at Super Week.
Palmares
’08 Copperopolis - Came in first in the 3s, crossed the centerline and was DQ’d :(
’08 2nd Martinez Bay Front Crit P123
’08 1st Santa Cruz Classic Crit P123
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)