Hi everyone,
I'm very happy to report that the Bridge Team scored a bronze in the team pursuit at the Elite Track Nationals last week. Here is the podium photo:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-elite-track-championships-cn-1/day-2/photos/143736
Kudos to Haley and Jane (and Dan) for all the hard work they put in training and practicing! Thanks to Dan for driving all our bikes and equipment down to Carson and being director sportif, coach, mechanic, timer, and photographer for the week! Thanks also to Rich and Mary Ellen Allen, Leo, Jim Turner, and Eliot (did I miss any other AVers?) for supporting us in Carson! It was great to have a cheering section.
Here's Jane's report:
Elite Track National Championships
Team Pursuit 9/30/2010, teammates: Haley and Andi
Our first race was the team pursuit on Thursday: our team was Andi, me, and Haley. We had our order set, our strategy ready, and our communications agreed on. Unfortunately, it didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. The plan was for Andi to start and take one-lap pulls, followed by me taking two-lap pulls, then Haley taking one-lap pulls. Our start was okay, and I floated the second lap at 19.0 seconds, then apparently Haley and I were both feeling really good, because we went much faster than we'd planned, with me doing my second lap at 18.1 and Haley holding that pace exactly. Andi was feeling the pace a little, but she did her lap well and then I was on the front again. I'm not entirely sure how it happened after that, but sometime during my two-lap pull Haley and I gapped Andi, and I heard her say "down down down" as we'd agreed. Unfortunately, shortly after I first heard it I heard something else (it may have even been a spectator saying something), and thought that she was back on, so I kept going after a brief slowdown. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and when I pulled off for my exchange I saw Andi a little ways behind and realized my mistake. I wasn't thinking clearly though, and assumed that Haley knew that she was still off, so it took us another lap and a half for us to all come together again. I stayed on front for 3 laps to spare Andi (since she'd been in the wind going full speed for 3 laps) and Haley led us through the final lap. Despite falling apart for a few laps, we still managed to clock a 4:00, which I think is still pretty good.
There were only four teams registered, which meant that all four teams got to ride again for the finals - 1 vs 2 and 3 vs 4. We ranked 3rd. Since there weren't any other events going on that afternoon besides the Men's Team Pursuit, we only got about 30-40 minutes before we had to race again, but even though we were tired, we were glad to get a second chance. We got off to a bit of a slow start, and we were definitely tired, but we knew the other team was tired too. Coach Dan decided that since Andi had been forced to chase us for a couple of laps, she should take half-lap pulls. For the first few laps we were actually a quarter lap behind the other team, but we held it together and picked up the pace a bit, while the other team got tired and fell apart. By the end we were more than a quarter lap up on them, not far from catching them. Our time was 3:58.742, and we beat the 4th place team by nearly 8 seconds. We were all pretty thrilled to have won a bronze medal at Elite Nationals! I was lucky to have Haley and Andi on my team, they were fantastic.
--Jane
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
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Saturday, October 9, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Track Nationals: Jane Wolcott
Individual Pursuit 10/1/2010
Friday afternoon was the individual pursuit, but my legs weren't feeling as good as they were the day before. I had a pretty good start, and I floated the second and third laps just like I planned. Then I thought my legs were feeling pretty good, so I upped the pace and did a couple of sub-19 laps, but unfortunately I couldn't hold it for long and ended up fading by the end, though I did still pass my opponent. I clocked a 4:01.298, which is a PR, but I had been hoping to break 4 by a few seconds (it was only my second pursuit ever). I was in the first heat, so I had to wait for everyone else to finish to find out if I'd made the finals or the podium. Unfortunately for me, another unknown showed up in the 3rd heat and beat my time by one second, then all four ladies in the last two heats beat her, so I ended up 6th. Haley and Andi both put in solid performances: Haley did her first ever Individual Pursuit (11th!), and Andi improved on her 3k time from Elite Districts.
Points Race 10/2/2010
The Points Race was on Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I had to do was race in a qualifying heat. The heat was 40 laps, with sprints every 10 laps, and the top ten qualified for the final. We only had 13 starters, so most of us would advance. My goal for the day was just to make the final. The heat started and we went fast! I think it was the fastest track race I'd ever been in, since I've pretty much only raced with the B men at Hellyer. I also found out quite quickly that although I was energetic and excited before the race, my legs were rather tired from all of the pursuiting. Fortunately I was able to get near the front on the last lap and got one point on the last sprint, which was enough to qualify me for the final. Then I got to wait 2.5-3 hours for the final, which was good actually, since my legs needed time to cool down, rest, and warm up again. It was also enough time that I could eat some food.
Since I was still feeling fairly tired, and I also have very little experience doing points races (especially in a fast field), my goals for the race were simple: don't get dropped and get at least one point. The final was 100 laps, sprints every 10 laps. The pace was fast, but it seemed less frantic than the qualifying heat, maybe because it was a longer race. I also had a bigger gear, so it may have been just as fast but I got used to it and wasn't spinning quite so fast. In any case, I was conservative for the first 50 laps, since I wasn't sure of my legs and also needed a bit of time to get comfortable racing in a pack of fast-moving women. With 50 laps to go, there was actually a crash on the home stretch, but luckily I was far enough behind that I could go up and over. I'm not sure how many people went down, but the race was soon neutralized and we were allowed to stop (and get water). Two girls were injured enough that they didn't restart, but several ladies who did go down (including Beth Newell) got back in when we restarted.
I was feeling a little less tired in the second half and started being a bit more active in the race, going with a couple of breakaway attempts, but nothing stuck for more than a lap or two. I still wasn't great at moving up through the pack, but when I did get near the front I responded to several attacks. Luck was with me in the last few laps, because when Cari Higgins and Hanan Alves-Hyde went off the front, I had the opportunity to bridge when the girl in front of me decided to go for it (otherwise I was blocked in). I made it to the front group, though we ended up with almost no separation. There ended up being five of us strung out in front of the pack, which was close behind but so strung out that they weren't about to overtake us. Cari and Hanan were taking good pulls, but the other two girls pulled off after half a second on the front, so I took a good fast half-lap pull to keep us out there. I can't remember how many laps we were out there, but with about a lap and a half to go all I remember was trying to hang onto Hanan's wheel as she and Cari accelerated. She pulled away from me very slowly and I just kept fighting to stay on her wheel, having no idea who was behind me or how far they were, just knowing that this was my last chance to win any points. Luckily, I think everyone behind me was suffering just as much and I got 3rd in that final sprint, netting myself 2 points. I got 12th in the race, which I think was pretty good for a beginner like me.
It was a great race to end the season, and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year and hopefully doing even better. Many thanks to Coach Dan for coming down to support us - he acted as Director Sportif, Coach, Mechanic, Driver, and Photographer!
--Jane
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
Friday afternoon was the individual pursuit, but my legs weren't feeling as good as they were the day before. I had a pretty good start, and I floated the second and third laps just like I planned. Then I thought my legs were feeling pretty good, so I upped the pace and did a couple of sub-19 laps, but unfortunately I couldn't hold it for long and ended up fading by the end, though I did still pass my opponent. I clocked a 4:01.298, which is a PR, but I had been hoping to break 4 by a few seconds (it was only my second pursuit ever). I was in the first heat, so I had to wait for everyone else to finish to find out if I'd made the finals or the podium. Unfortunately for me, another unknown showed up in the 3rd heat and beat my time by one second, then all four ladies in the last two heats beat her, so I ended up 6th. Haley and Andi both put in solid performances: Haley did her first ever Individual Pursuit (11th!), and Andi improved on her 3k time from Elite Districts.
Points Race 10/2/2010
The Points Race was on Saturday afternoon, and the first thing I had to do was race in a qualifying heat. The heat was 40 laps, with sprints every 10 laps, and the top ten qualified for the final. We only had 13 starters, so most of us would advance. My goal for the day was just to make the final. The heat started and we went fast! I think it was the fastest track race I'd ever been in, since I've pretty much only raced with the B men at Hellyer. I also found out quite quickly that although I was energetic and excited before the race, my legs were rather tired from all of the pursuiting. Fortunately I was able to get near the front on the last lap and got one point on the last sprint, which was enough to qualify me for the final. Then I got to wait 2.5-3 hours for the final, which was good actually, since my legs needed time to cool down, rest, and warm up again. It was also enough time that I could eat some food.
Since I was still feeling fairly tired, and I also have very little experience doing points races (especially in a fast field), my goals for the race were simple: don't get dropped and get at least one point. The final was 100 laps, sprints every 10 laps. The pace was fast, but it seemed less frantic than the qualifying heat, maybe because it was a longer race. I also had a bigger gear, so it may have been just as fast but I got used to it and wasn't spinning quite so fast. In any case, I was conservative for the first 50 laps, since I wasn't sure of my legs and also needed a bit of time to get comfortable racing in a pack of fast-moving women. With 50 laps to go, there was actually a crash on the home stretch, but luckily I was far enough behind that I could go up and over. I'm not sure how many people went down, but the race was soon neutralized and we were allowed to stop (and get water). Two girls were injured enough that they didn't restart, but several ladies who did go down (including Beth Newell) got back in when we restarted.
I was feeling a little less tired in the second half and started being a bit more active in the race, going with a couple of breakaway attempts, but nothing stuck for more than a lap or two. I still wasn't great at moving up through the pack, but when I did get near the front I responded to several attacks. Luck was with me in the last few laps, because when Cari Higgins and Hanan Alves-Hyde went off the front, I had the opportunity to bridge when the girl in front of me decided to go for it (otherwise I was blocked in). I made it to the front group, though we ended up with almost no separation. There ended up being five of us strung out in front of the pack, which was close behind but so strung out that they weren't about to overtake us. Cari and Hanan were taking good pulls, but the other two girls pulled off after half a second on the front, so I took a good fast half-lap pull to keep us out there. I can't remember how many laps we were out there, but with about a lap and a half to go all I remember was trying to hang onto Hanan's wheel as she and Cari accelerated. She pulled away from me very slowly and I just kept fighting to stay on her wheel, having no idea who was behind me or how far they were, just knowing that this was my last chance to win any points. Luckily, I think everyone behind me was suffering just as much and I got 3rd in that final sprint, netting myself 2 points. I got 12th in the race, which I think was pretty good for a beginner like me.
It was a great race to end the season, and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year and hopefully doing even better. Many thanks to Coach Dan for coming down to support us - he acted as Director Sportif, Coach, Mechanic, Driver, and Photographer!
--Jane
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 9, 2010
USA Cycling National: 30-34 Criterium, TT, RR
Race: Masters Nationals 30-34 Criterium
Location: Louisville, KY
Date: 08/07/2010
Place: 4th
I flew down to Kentucky after driving 3 days to Boulder Colorado to see my parents. The plan was to drive to see them, spend one night, fly to KY to race Nationals then fly back to Boulder to stay for 2 weeks.
Louisville is actually a cool town with some nice restaurants, coffee shops etc. The first day was the TT which didn't go very well do to a couple factors:
1. Driving 3 days and flying for one makes for heavy feeling legs.
2. Getting a bike fit should be done more than 2 weeks before your race.
3. Drink lots of water if the race is going to be in 100 degree heat in super humid conditions.
But I got a 5th place in the TT and learned a lot.
Second up was the Road race but both Ryan and I ate some bad macaroni salad from Wal-Mart and got food poisoning the night before. I drove to the race site the day of the race hoping I would feel better but no luck and I scratched the race. Here is what I learned:
1. Dont buy deli food from Wal-Mart ;-)
2. If you are throwing up the night before the race you probably won't be able to race at 8am.
Third day was the Criterium. It was a nice 4 corner course on the river. I got a good warm up in and the race started. It was non-stop attacks from then on. I started them off hoping I could get an early gap but as there were no teams and everyone was racing as an individual, everything was chased with gusto. Halfway through I realized it would come to a sprint so relaxed, conserved and let others chase. When the final lap came, I lined up in perfect position for the last corner and sprinted it out. I was half a bike length off the winner with two in between for 4th place. Things to take away:
1. Broken collarbones 6 weeks before the race don't bode well for strong sprints.
2. Even if you were sick a couple days before you can still have a good race.
I want that stars and stripes jersey! Next year... a bear jersey too :)
--Haley
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
Location: Louisville, KY
Date: 08/07/2010
Place: 4th
I flew down to Kentucky after driving 3 days to Boulder Colorado to see my parents. The plan was to drive to see them, spend one night, fly to KY to race Nationals then fly back to Boulder to stay for 2 weeks.
Louisville is actually a cool town with some nice restaurants, coffee shops etc. The first day was the TT which didn't go very well do to a couple factors:
1. Driving 3 days and flying for one makes for heavy feeling legs.
2. Getting a bike fit should be done more than 2 weeks before your race.
3. Drink lots of water if the race is going to be in 100 degree heat in super humid conditions.
But I got a 5th place in the TT and learned a lot.
Second up was the Road race but both Ryan and I ate some bad macaroni salad from Wal-Mart and got food poisoning the night before. I drove to the race site the day of the race hoping I would feel better but no luck and I scratched the race. Here is what I learned:
1. Dont buy deli food from Wal-Mart ;-)
2. If you are throwing up the night before the race you probably won't be able to race at 8am.
Third day was the Criterium. It was a nice 4 corner course on the river. I got a good warm up in and the race started. It was non-stop attacks from then on. I started them off hoping I could get an early gap but as there were no teams and everyone was racing as an individual, everything was chased with gusto. Halfway through I realized it would come to a sprint so relaxed, conserved and let others chase. When the final lap came, I lined up in perfect position for the last corner and sprinted it out. I was half a bike length off the winner with two in between for 4th place. Things to take away:
1. Broken collarbones 6 weeks before the race don't bode well for strong sprints.
2. Even if you were sick a couple days before you can still have a good race.
I want that stars and stripes jersey! Next year... a bear jersey too :)
--Haley
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Gateway Cup
Gateway Cup (Sept. 3-6)
During Labor Day weekend, pros and amateurs from around the nation piled into my hometown of St. Louis for the annual Gateway Cup races. The womens’ field was smaller than the previous year when it was the “Tour of Missouri” but strong nonetheless with racers Laura van Gilder, Team Colavita, Sam Sneider of TIBCO, and a few Vera Bradley girls. Friday’s race was my first twilight crit ever on the barely-lit course around the young-urban section of town called Lafayette Square. I had a blast at the twilight although wasn’t a strong contender for the sprint. Modesta of Colavita won the stage and started the next day as the omnium leader.
This was another four-corner crit around Frances Park. I attacked early on but didn’t manage to get a good gap. With 15 minutes left to go, Colavita’s Saunders went off the front and stayed off til the finish while Lauren Hall of VBF won the field sprint. The next day’s criterium was the Giro della Montagna or the race in the dominantly Italian part of the city called the Hill. I won this race last year in the 3/4s so the adrenaline was high (along with caffeine) going into it this year. A group of four went off the front about halfway through the race and when they were at 20 seconds ahead, I knew that I just missed the move. I thought that Colavita would’ve been more organized in chasing since LVG was in it and she would go on to steal the GC from Modesta. But nothing happened and again I had a bad sprint at the finale.
Then the last day of Gateway Cup 2010 came on Labor Day with a new 11-corner criterium through the Benton Park district of town going over a highway, next to the Anheuser Busch plant, and through a bohemian part of St. Louis. It was by far the most fun and hardest course of the series. The field was strung out most of the time due to the tight chicanes and constant cornering. I attacked really hard halfway to go and stayed off for about 1.5 miles while Colavita organized themselves at the front to reel me in (now you do it???). I thought they might let me leave since I was certainly no GC threat but no cigar. However, I wound up having a very good sprint at the end (for me). The sprint was hard – headwind, long, and slightly uphill. While usually I tend to lose position in the last lap because I’m afraid for my life with all the wild elbows and close corners, I decided to be aggressive for the last race of the season (hey, if I crash, I’ve got 6 months til my next race!). Anyway, I was about 10th wheel going into that last corner and I just patiently stayed in the saddle jumping from one great wheel to the next while their sprints died prematurely. I wound up coming in 5th across the line! But unfortunately, I didn’t check results before they were finalized and they put me down as 6th. So lesson learned: don’t cool down – check results! Oh well, still a great finish to a pretty decent season. I have high hopes for 2011!
--Maura
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
During Labor Day weekend, pros and amateurs from around the nation piled into my hometown of St. Louis for the annual Gateway Cup races. The womens’ field was smaller than the previous year when it was the “Tour of Missouri” but strong nonetheless with racers Laura van Gilder, Team Colavita, Sam Sneider of TIBCO, and a few Vera Bradley girls. Friday’s race was my first twilight crit ever on the barely-lit course around the young-urban section of town called Lafayette Square. I had a blast at the twilight although wasn’t a strong contender for the sprint. Modesta of Colavita won the stage and started the next day as the omnium leader.
This was another four-corner crit around Frances Park. I attacked early on but didn’t manage to get a good gap. With 15 minutes left to go, Colavita’s Saunders went off the front and stayed off til the finish while Lauren Hall of VBF won the field sprint. The next day’s criterium was the Giro della Montagna or the race in the dominantly Italian part of the city called the Hill. I won this race last year in the 3/4s so the adrenaline was high (along with caffeine) going into it this year. A group of four went off the front about halfway through the race and when they were at 20 seconds ahead, I knew that I just missed the move. I thought that Colavita would’ve been more organized in chasing since LVG was in it and she would go on to steal the GC from Modesta. But nothing happened and again I had a bad sprint at the finale.
Then the last day of Gateway Cup 2010 came on Labor Day with a new 11-corner criterium through the Benton Park district of town going over a highway, next to the Anheuser Busch plant, and through a bohemian part of St. Louis. It was by far the most fun and hardest course of the series. The field was strung out most of the time due to the tight chicanes and constant cornering. I attacked really hard halfway to go and stayed off for about 1.5 miles while Colavita organized themselves at the front to reel me in (now you do it???). I thought they might let me leave since I was certainly no GC threat but no cigar. However, I wound up having a very good sprint at the end (for me). The sprint was hard – headwind, long, and slightly uphill. While usually I tend to lose position in the last lap because I’m afraid for my life with all the wild elbows and close corners, I decided to be aggressive for the last race of the season (hey, if I crash, I’ve got 6 months til my next race!). Anyway, I was about 10th wheel going into that last corner and I just patiently stayed in the saddle jumping from one great wheel to the next while their sprints died prematurely. I wound up coming in 5th across the line! But unfortunately, I didn’t check results before they were finalized and they put me down as 6th. So lesson learned: don’t cool down – check results! Oh well, still a great finish to a pretty decent season. I have high hopes for 2011!
--Maura
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
– http://facebook.com/avbridge
– http://avbridge.blogspot.com/
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Elite Track District Championships and National Qualifier 8/22/2010
Elite Track District Championships and National Qualifier 8/22/2010
For the past five weeks or so I've been training for the Individual Pursuit, and finally I got to race one at Districts. My goal was to qualify for Nationals, so I brought along some friends to race to make the field size bigger (which means more people qualify). Thanks to Mary Ellen Allen, MaryAnn Levenson and Andi Smith for coming out and racing, we ended up with 12 people racing the pursuit! I had a good warmup and then I was on the start line. I had a decent start for once and I was off. My second lap was a little fast, 25.8 seconds, but then I settled into a fairly steady pace around 27 seconds per lap. My last couple of laps were a bit slower than the first couple, but not by a whole lot, so I ended up with a final time of 4:05.32, which is a bit faster than I expected to go on my very first pursuit. I'm really happy with my time, but it was a bit frustrating that Beth Newell only beat me by 0.8 seconds - so close. Congratulations to Beth for posting a great time and winning districts, I'm happy to have gotten 2nd place and qualified for Nationals.
After the individual pursuit, Andi and I wanted to do a team pursuit. We didn't have a third person, so we recruited Margaret Jones, who I met there that morning. Margaret had never been to the track before, but she did fine in the individual pursuit, so we decided we'd give the team pursuit a shot. We didn't even get to practice beforehand, but we figured out a strategy and away we went. Andi started, then Maggie, then me. Andi and Maggie each took half-lap pulls while I took full-lap pulls, since my time was a bit faster. We did pretty well actually, especially since we didn't practice and I know that Maggie and I have never done team pursuits before at all. We finished in second place with a time of 4:09.2, only 2.8 seconds behind the first place team. Since there were four teams, we actually qualified for Nationals!
-Jane
For the past five weeks or so I've been training for the Individual Pursuit, and finally I got to race one at Districts. My goal was to qualify for Nationals, so I brought along some friends to race to make the field size bigger (which means more people qualify). Thanks to Mary Ellen Allen, MaryAnn Levenson and Andi Smith for coming out and racing, we ended up with 12 people racing the pursuit! I had a good warmup and then I was on the start line. I had a decent start for once and I was off. My second lap was a little fast, 25.8 seconds, but then I settled into a fairly steady pace around 27 seconds per lap. My last couple of laps were a bit slower than the first couple, but not by a whole lot, so I ended up with a final time of 4:05.32, which is a bit faster than I expected to go on my very first pursuit. I'm really happy with my time, but it was a bit frustrating that Beth Newell only beat me by 0.8 seconds - so close. Congratulations to Beth for posting a great time and winning districts, I'm happy to have gotten 2nd place and qualified for Nationals.
After the individual pursuit, Andi and I wanted to do a team pursuit. We didn't have a third person, so we recruited Margaret Jones, who I met there that morning. Margaret had never been to the track before, but she did fine in the individual pursuit, so we decided we'd give the team pursuit a shot. We didn't even get to practice beforehand, but we figured out a strategy and away we went. Andi started, then Maggie, then me. Andi and Maggie each took half-lap pulls while I took full-lap pulls, since my time was a bit faster. We did pretty well actually, especially since we didn't practice and I know that Maggie and I have never done team pursuits before at all. We finished in second place with a time of 4:09.2, only 2.8 seconds behind the first place team. Since there were four teams, we actually qualified for Nationals!
-Jane
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Dunnigan Hills Road Race 8/14/2010
Dunnigan Hills Road Race 8/14/2010
Category: W1/2/3
Field Size: 32
Length: 86 miles
Place: 16th
The course was very flat, probably the flattest road race I've done here since Cantua Creek. I like flat races, but this one was a little on the long side too. When we finished, my clock said something around 4 hours. We did two long laps, and the first one was fairly relaxed, since most of the attacks that were made didn't seem serious so early on. A couple of times there were a couple of people up the road, but we never let them get too far away. About twenty miles in my lower back started aching, so after that I didn't do very much work bringing breaks back or attacking myself. I just settled in and tried to keep myself properly fed and hydrated so that I'd have something left for the sprint, since it looked like no breaks were going to stick anyway.
Before the race, we'd been warned by the race officials that the centerline rule was being strictly enforced and if you were caught advancing across the yellow line, you'd be DQ'ed. Well, our motor ref took this very seriously and over the course of the race he DQ'ed five people. After the first one, I realized just how strict he was being and took care to generally stay on the right side of the pack and move up on that side. Anyway, on the second lap there was a group of three off the front for a long time, but they were never that far ahead, we kept them in our sights, and finally they were reeled back in with maybe 10 miles to go. We were all together with about two miles to go, though people kept making moves to get near the front, when we were informed that the finish line had been moved an extra two miles up the road and that we'd only have a single lane for the sprint. That messed up my plan since we were supposed to have the full road for the last half mile, so I was hoping to be able to get to a better position at that point. However, we stayed single lane right to the finish and I didn't have the energy to stay at the front since everyone was trying to do that and the pack kept churning. As a result, I was stuck in the middle when the sprint finally came, though no one had much room to sprint anyway.
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Category: W1/2/3
Field Size: 32
Length: 86 miles
Place: 16th
The course was very flat, probably the flattest road race I've done here since Cantua Creek. I like flat races, but this one was a little on the long side too. When we finished, my clock said something around 4 hours. We did two long laps, and the first one was fairly relaxed, since most of the attacks that were made didn't seem serious so early on. A couple of times there were a couple of people up the road, but we never let them get too far away. About twenty miles in my lower back started aching, so after that I didn't do very much work bringing breaks back or attacking myself. I just settled in and tried to keep myself properly fed and hydrated so that I'd have something left for the sprint, since it looked like no breaks were going to stick anyway.
Before the race, we'd been warned by the race officials that the centerline rule was being strictly enforced and if you were caught advancing across the yellow line, you'd be DQ'ed. Well, our motor ref took this very seriously and over the course of the race he DQ'ed five people. After the first one, I realized just how strict he was being and took care to generally stay on the right side of the pack and move up on that side. Anyway, on the second lap there was a group of three off the front for a long time, but they were never that far ahead, we kept them in our sights, and finally they were reeled back in with maybe 10 miles to go. We were all together with about two miles to go, though people kept making moves to get near the front, when we were informed that the finish line had been moved an extra two miles up the road and that we'd only have a single lane for the sprint. That messed up my plan since we were supposed to have the full road for the last half mile, so I was hoping to be able to get to a better position at that point. However, we stayed single lane right to the finish and I didn't have the energy to stay at the front since everyone was trying to do that and the pack kept churning. As a result, I was stuck in the middle when the sprint finally came, though no one had much room to sprint anyway.
Follow the Webcor/Alto Velo Bridge Team:
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Sunday, August 1, 2010
Timpani Crit
Race Report from Jane Wolcott from the Bridge Team
Timpani Crit 8/1/2010
Category: W1/2+3
Field Size: 26+17
Length: 55 minutes
Teammate: Ange
Place: 11th
The course was a nice flat four-corner loop going clockwise. The roads were fairly wide, and apart from a couple of bumpy bits of pavement and manhole covers, the road quality was pretty good. I met my teammate Ange for the first time the day before at her farewell BBQ, since she's flying back to Australia. I was glad to get to do at least one race with her before she goes away, and we had a pretty good race together.
The race started off at a decent pace, but not super fast. There were some attacks, and I did my part in chasing them down occasionally. Ange was up there too doing a great job staying active in the race. I know I saw her follow groups up the road a number of times making sure nothing got away from us. With about 10-15 minutes left in the race a break of 6-8 people made it off the front and got a 6-8 second gap on the field. Since neither Ange nor I made it into the break, I did my best to either bridge or chase it down with a number of attacks, but I just didn't have it in me to bring them back and the gap wasn't getting any smaller.
I made one last attack on back stretch of the last lap hoping to get away one last time, but I just didn't have it, so I rounded the last corner about 10th wheel in the pack. The road was wide open, so I decided to sprint for it anyway, and I actually had a pretty good sprint, I just started too far back to place well. Anyway, I thought it was a good race and it was great to get to finally race with Ange.
--Jane
Timpani Crit 8/1/2010
Category: W1/2+3
Field Size: 26+17
Length: 55 minutes
Teammate: Ange
Place: 11th
The course was a nice flat four-corner loop going clockwise. The roads were fairly wide, and apart from a couple of bumpy bits of pavement and manhole covers, the road quality was pretty good. I met my teammate Ange for the first time the day before at her farewell BBQ, since she's flying back to Australia. I was glad to get to do at least one race with her before she goes away, and we had a pretty good race together.
The race started off at a decent pace, but not super fast. There were some attacks, and I did my part in chasing them down occasionally. Ange was up there too doing a great job staying active in the race. I know I saw her follow groups up the road a number of times making sure nothing got away from us. With about 10-15 minutes left in the race a break of 6-8 people made it off the front and got a 6-8 second gap on the field. Since neither Ange nor I made it into the break, I did my best to either bridge or chase it down with a number of attacks, but I just didn't have it in me to bring them back and the gap wasn't getting any smaller.
I made one last attack on back stretch of the last lap hoping to get away one last time, but I just didn't have it, so I rounded the last corner about 10th wheel in the pack. The road was wide open, so I decided to sprint for it anyway, and I actually had a pretty good sprint, I just started too far back to place well. Anyway, I thought it was a good race and it was great to get to finally race with Ange.
--Jane
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