From the Field at Vlees Huis Road - 4/21/2012 - Amber Gaffney

Race Report from the field!!

The Vlees Huis Road Race is in Bakersfield, CA. It is a two-lap course, finishing at 60 miles. When we arrived at the start of the race, two things surprised me: 1) the race played good music; 2) it was green and pretty out there! Ruth, Lisa, Bea, Holly, and I were out to represent the team and armed with a specific plan of action. The race started with a descent- to our left rolled freight trains and to the right rolling hills. The pace started excruciatingly slow and the field rotated, always with two riders on the front. We saw a roadrunner, which was the highlight for me during this portion of the race. Shortly after the first set of climbs, I rotated back past Lisa and Ruth, who shared a knowing look. As I took my place in the field, they launched a double attack and were quickly away. Holly, Bea, and I moved to the front to block.

            As we completed the second out-and-back portion, I waved Ruth and Lisa on and we started the climb. I sat in, refusing to work as Ruth and Lisa worked incredibly hard off the front in their break (I must admit that Bea kept me in line here, making sure that I was spinning). As we approached to the first out and back point for the second time, we could see Ruth and Lisa’s lead, which motivated women from the two other major teams represented (La Grange and Colavita) to move to the front and pick up the pace. We eventually came back to the start/finish to start our second lap and Bea, Holly, and I kept the pace very slow for a while. I would like to add here, that I had a successful feed from Jake and Denis (thanks!), which I DID NOT drop! Occasionally, one of the solo riders would get on the front and drive the pace and three riders made an attempt to bridge the gap (with two one of those riders being successful as the other rider was quickly dropped from the break). The peloton slowly closed Ruth and Lisa’s gap. As we did so, I made sure to on the third wheel. We approached Ruth and Lisa on a climb and I attacked hard. I knew that I had to get away and I had to do it fast and hard to ensure that Ruth and Lisa’s hard work was worthwhile. As I attacked on the steep climb, I looked back and saw a La Grange rider coming with me and I was grateful for the company and the presence of a strong, hard working rider.

            My two-woman break moved quickly up the climb, me on the front. I knew that La Grange could not pull through just yet because she had worked hard to catch Lisa and Ruth. I kept the pace hard up the climb and she pulled through on the descent. We created a huge gap between the rest of the field and us very quickly. I pulled us hard up every climb, determined to have a huge gap that could not be caught. After the last out-and back point, I saw my teammates who looked pleased to see how large of a gap we had created. I think that Bea yelled at me to not work too hard!

            La Grange and I climbed quickly and worked together on the descents and through the flats. The field was nowhere in sight as we rotated through the last flat section, the trains now to our right. As we neared the last climb, La Grange moved to my wheel and let me know that she was saving everything that she had left. I stayed on the front and pushed the first part of the last climb. At this point, I saw Jake cheering me on and at one kilometer to go, I pushed hard and attacked from the front, getting a small gap. My gap increased as I climbed harder and I was up the hill, alone. I sprinted through the line getting the win that was the result of a well-executed team plan. A rider from Colavita had attacked out of the field and finished a hard-earned third. Ruth and Lisa took 7^th and 8^th in the field sprint, respectively and Holly and Bea took 12^th and 13^th respectively.