Race Report: Menomonie Road Race (Stage 5, NVGP) 6/16/2012

Written by Amber Gaffney The morning started out gloomy in Minneapolis and grew progressively more ominous as we drove in the van toward Wisconsin. By the time we took our positions on the start line of the Menomonie Road Race course in the town of Menomonie, the rain had started. The announcer, in all of his wittiness, made jokes about not being able to feel the rain as it started to pound down upon us. At this point, every woman on that start line wanted the race to start to not prolong our time on the course. I very quickly moved to the back of the field as the circuit started- I wanted to make sure that my brakes were good and wet before I actually needed them. I gave everyone a great deal of room and I am glad that I did, because a rider went down on my right on the second turn of the course- her bike merely slid from beneath her on the slick road. We eventually finished the neutral start and began to meander our way through the rolling hills and lush fields of Wisconsin. The rain soon stopped and the sun shone through, not able to dry us in the thick and muggy air. When the roads started to dry, the pace picked up a bit and I worked to stay in mid pack, keeping both Melina and Jenny in my sight who both worked hard to keep me safe and with the field. After the first QOH, I realized that a position in the mid-back of the field was ridiculous and I forced myself to move up. I always slid to the back on descents and worked to chase a bit, but I found myself near the front on every climb and when a few flyers went up the road, I took my turn taking a few pulls (although Optum, working to keep Small in the yellow jersey, really controlled the field). The second QOH was steep! As I passed women starting to weave, I looked over and saw Jenny climbing up the hill- not sure what happened in South America in the last few months, but Jenny found some climbing legs! On every descent, I slipped to the back of the field that was becoming ever smaller with each QOH (which happened to be the few times on the course where I felt comfortable and moved to the front!). Jenny and I stayed close to one another, a few times working together to catch back on when I started to slip off of the back after a descent. The second QOH was the last time I saw Melina and I hadn’t seen Holly in a very long time (before I lost track of Melina, she informed me that Holly had flatted and I later learned that Holly spent nearly 70 miles chasing the field). Julie worked to come to the front a few times and when she did, I stayed on her wheel. I lost track of Julie somewhere before the last QOH, but Jenny and I were still together- Jenny expertly sitting in the field and conserving energy, me moving up to the front on climbs and moving to the back on descents. When we entered the circuit, I have to admit that I was surprised- I expected the race to feel longer. It was only now that the top riders decided to kick the remaining of the field into higher speeds. Sadly, I felt uncomfortable on the circuit, thinking that it could still be wet; and (not wisely), I sat on the back of the group. Another rider who could not hold on soon gapped me out and when I tried to get around her to chase, the group was gone! I found myself alone, chasing. I have to admit, I like this feeling. I know that it is awful, but I like hard work on my own and not having to worry about jostling in a crowd. I soon caught a Rouse rider and I jumped in front of her, letting her know that I wanted to work with her. We each took hard pulls and soon caught others who had fallen off of the main pack. Some of these riders stayed with us, holding our wheels as we pulled them and some fell off. Eventually, I saw Jenny up ahead and I jumped on her wheel. Our group became slightly larger as we finished the circuit. When the finish came into sight, a few riders from our group dug in and sprinted while I stayed in the saddle, accepting my finish which was a little over a minute behind the leader. Moral of the story: “Amber, grow up, be a real woman and race your bike even if you are uncomfortable with the road conditions”. It doesn’t pay to ride in a state of nervousness- you just finish slower than you should finish. Jenny and I finished the race; Julie was a little behind us, and Melina and Holly were pulled just before the circuit. No crashes for our team, but I do think that we could have benefitted from me taking a chance and daring to actually race my bike in the final laps. I’ll also note, that our fantastic support was in the feed zone, expertly handing out bottles to the team (I of course, had no idea that I was in the feed zone and didn’t need a feed even when Melina offered to grab me one)- thanks Jacob!