San Dimas Time Trial March 16, 2012 - Ruth Clemence

Read the Race Bible………it is a must for stage racing.  Many times it will be the same old, same old but every once in awhile a rider will be thankful that they took the extra time.  In the San Dimas Stage Race bible for 2012 on page 12 there were two key notes at the bottom, the start and finish of the Time Trial had been changed by 1100 feet.  To some this brought a smile and to others, well not so much.  You see for those who had been doing the TT in years past, they had experienced the 25 mph sense of speed that the 1100 feet in the beginning of the TT had yielded.  This year that would go away and bring on an additional 1100 feet of climbing at the top.  A few of us went out and rode the course and had a plan for race day.  Race day always brings the element of the unknown and this year it was the temperature and humidity.  It was cooler than years past and the humidity was over 90% which makes the air very heavy.  We (Amber,Lisa,Bea,Holly,Jenny,PC and myself) all warmed up with our own determination and plan.  I can only speak for myself in realizing that the final 1100 feet took more energy than I had saved, it was almost as if my body knew the old finish line and said “ok that’s good” only for me to tell it that we had another 1000 feet.   I rode the course according to my plan and now realize that I needed to save a bit more in the tank to keep my speed for the final DIG!!!  We all commented that the last 1000 feet were hard and yet Kristen Armstrong threw down a 15:01 which is an average speed of 15:18 mph for 3.8 miles.  There were four women in the 15’s, ten women in the 16’s and myself, Amber and Lisa in the 17’s with 17:16,17:36 and 17:53 respectively.  Bea did 19:22, Holly  19:43, Jenny 20:31 and PC 21:48.  Bravo to all of my teammates, it’s a difficult TT for a season opener and we all came away with a deposit in our fitness bank.    

Tour de Murrieta Race Report March 9, 10, 11th - Lisa Campbell

Stage 1 – The Time Trial

The Tour de Murrieta starts out with a 4.1 mile TT, with the last mile taking place on well groomed but unpaved road. Which, for Holly, one of our new fearless youngsters who is a motocross/cyclocross aficionado, was a piece of cake. I think she said, and I may be quoting…”the dirt was fun! The TT was an excellent start for the SC Velo/Empower Coaching Systems team. Besides looking pretty darn good in our super cool skin suits from Champion Systems, we also placed very well. We had Ruth in 3^rd, Amber in 4^th (in only her second TT…), me in 3^rd, and Holly picking up Omnium points as well in 12^th, Jenny also did great…(despite her handlebars slipping down) and PC also had a strong ride…(even with her TT bars moving and slipping). I must say that I love the TT because there is no one taking my line…bumping me in the corners…or crashing on the cobblestones…that’s the story for the next Stage…

Stage 2 – The Grand Prix

Going into the Grand Prix we had our work cut out for us. Let me just say that I am glad Ruth and Bonnie must have done a lot of Gu shots before the race…because they did all the math, figured out all the numbers of the people we needed to watch…and had our strategy all planned out at the pre-race meeting.

An omnium is based on points, not time, and the TT is not weighed as strongly as the Grand Prix and the Circuit Race (when I rule the world the TT will count for double!). So we needed to watch several women and make sure that we placed in front of them. The plan was to try to keep Me, Ruth and Amber protected so we could finish strong. When Bonnie said that we had to “not be workhorses” I looked at Amber like “seriously?.  If we aren’t work horses does that mean we have to sprint??? Holly, PC, Jenny and Bonnie were going to do their best to cover moves and pull back anything that looked dangerous. 

This course is pretty technical, and almost a mile long. There are 7 tight corners, two with cobblestones that have caused some crashes in the past…and today was no exception. Just a little over 2 laps into the race (6 minutes) we were brought to a stop because a woman crashed on the cobblestones in the second to last corner. Since I was in the back I heard her go down…and looked back (you aren’t supposed to do that, FYI…but I wanted to make sure none of my team was caught up in it). The woman was out…not moving. We were neutralized immediately as we came around the crash. They red flagged the race and sent us back to the start. We waited for 15 minutes for the ambulance to get on the course and  get the injured racer off to the hospital.

**(The injured woman is Kim Tom from Team Dude Girl and I am happy to report that is she is going to be okay. She has a minor fracture of her right eye socket, some staples in her head, black eyes…and stayed overnight in the hospital just for observation).**

Even though you try to not think about a crash when it happens, and just focus on the race, it does do a job on your head, at least for me. The first 6 minutes were smoking fast, and I can’t remember the last

time I have been stuck in the back of a field and unable to work my way up…it was pretty strung out the whole time. Right before the crash I remember yelling to Amber…”go, go, go, let’s move up”…problem is, Amber “went, went, went”…and I was like..oh crap I better get up there too. But then the crash happened and we were brought back to the start.

So, back at the starting line. My mom took a lot of pictures. The ones before the race began, and the ones before we were re-started. I can tell you, the looks on our faces are quite different. I’d say they went from enthusiastic anticipation, to something like reluctant yet forced enthusiasm mixed with thoughts of “oh my God, my Gu is wearing off now what do I do”. Luckily…I had some chomps stashed in my speed suit. However, I am not sure if all the Gu in the world could have prepared me for this 23 minute crit. Yes, that’s right. I think we had done 2 laps when I heard “8 laps to go”…”WHAT!!!!! I just kept looking for orange and blue…where was Amber…where was Holly…there they were, up front…Bonnie worked her magic, as she always does, pulling hard off the front…I tried a silly hail mary attempt to go off the front during the last lap, because, frankly, it was the only place I felt safe. (I only lasted 3 corners before getting swallowed up). There was a lot of “sketch” as PC put it. Amber and Holly did a great job of getting up there and placing in, or close to the top ten, as did Jenny. Bonnie worked  hard and PC, Ruth and I fought our way  through to arrive upright…which, in my humble opinion, was a pretty good outcome in this race. Just goes to show you that bike racing is something new and different every day. You can strategize and plan all you want before the race, but sometimes the stars just align in ways that don’t always match your plan. The key is to adapt and to do the best you can, and I think we did that. After the results were posted we had Amber in 2^nd place GC, which was awesome!

Stage 3 – The Circuit Race

The Murrieta Circuit is a mostly flat 3.5 mile per lap circuit. Now, I have to preface this report by saying that I am prejudiced against anything that says “mostly flat”…and only “3.5 miles per lap”…to me..that just sounds like this is going to be a REALLY long drawn our crit…yes…I know, it’s not…but that’s what it feels like to me, and I’m writing the race report, okay! All right, enough whining.

So, we had Amber tied for second and our strategy was to keep her protected, and try to get her in a break and avoid a field sprint finish. The last corner in this course is tight, and it’s a long way to the finish and we had some strong sprinters in this group including Loren Rowney from Specialized-lululemon, (who ended up winning the race), Kendall Ryan from Tibco, and Jade Wilcoxson from Team Optum…and of course our  great local women from Helen’s and Team Revolution who were well represented and did great in the criterium.

In our pre-race meeting I wish I had a camera to take a picture of Amber’s face when we said “So Amber, you have to stay protected in the pack, no attacking, save yourself for the  breaks that matter”…That is kind of like telling a small child that they are going to Disneyland for the whole day, but they can only go on one ride…But, in a flat 43 mile criterium…I mean…circuit race, that is how you have to play the game…

Everyone on SC Velo/Empower Coaching did a great job today. Jenny Rios, one of our newest (and youngest) members, and Mexico’s National Champion, had some great attacks and rode like the true champion that she is. Bea Rodriguez was very missed by our team on Friday and Saturday…and we were so lucky to have her today. She rode at the front, protected Amber and provided great race strategy before, and during the race, as well as having a great finish at the end of the race. Our beloved “not-so” PC rode with her heart and soul, as she always does. She also protected Amber and chased down Julie Cutts from LaGrange late in the race (who was a strong threat to Amber), got caught, and still recovered to finish strong as always. Ruth and Bonnie were our rocks and our leaders for the weekend and just having them there, knowing they had our backs was comforting and empowering. Ruth is our master’s national and world champion and the level of racing is always a bit higher when she shows up. Bonnie, our amazing “granny” (her word, not mine, especially since I think I am older than her) was a rock. She is coming off a nasty injury in the last Ontario Criterium, where she suffered a punctured lung and fractured rib but still gave 100% today and provided lead outs both during the crit and the circuit race. Holly, another new and young addition to our team continued to prove what a strong, smart and smooth bike handler she is, as she continues to finish close to, or better than top ten in every race. Holly also did a great job of finding Amber and bringing her to the front and helping position her for the finish.  I did my best to ride at the front and keep Amber out of the wind (although my strategy did not always work), while Amber acted like that little kid at Disneyland who couldn’t ride just one roller coaster. True to her competitive nature and strong form, Amber attempted some breaks…some off the front…but the  field was just too big and no one was really putting themselves at risk. We had a lot of sprinters here today and some very experienced women who were happy to have this race come down to a field sprint…which basically it did. Bea and Holly did a great job of being up there for all the bumping and mashing that I am still afraid to get near. Amber also had good position going into the 3^rd turn and then the swarm took over. Bea provided a wheel for Amber as did Holly but there was a lot of jostling going on (as told to me…because I was back about 12 seconds cheering my team on in my head) and Amber ended up a very respectable 11^th, with Bea 12^th, Jenny 17^th and Holly 20^th.

We won the overall team trophy and Amber took 4^th in GC with Holly 12^th in GC. And I am so proud to also say that Amber and Holly both qualified to be in the Nature Valley Pro Chase. It’s still very early in the season and this team has already raced over 16 races on their amazing Cannondale bikes and put in some time on the podium. We dearly miss Tammy Wildgoose (who we got to see this weekend and gave her some big hugs and slobbery kisses), Pam Schuster (who we hope is on her way to getting back on the bike soon) and Dotsie Bausch (as she continues to work the road to Olympic Gold…and still manages to find time to sneak out and win Ontario for us!).

Next up is San Dimas Stage Race. Everyone do a little dance to the rain gods and ask them to stay away til we are done racing! 

Merco Crit - March 3, 2012 - Jenny Rios

Holly. Amber. PC, Bea and I did Merco cycling classic. 

The crit was a technical race with 7 corners. The crit had a lot of holes and that made the crit a little more technical. We did 35 laps and it was windy! The average was 41km. We rode with the best US teams like Specialized lululemon and Exergy.

The first laps Amber, Holly and Bea had a good position in the front. PC and I took a crash in the 5th lap so they opened up a gap. We chased hard to connect again with the group.

I saw Holly and Bea in good position so I moved to be with them at the front. Amber and I in the last 15 laps stayed on the front. It was easier than being the back, which was single file.
The last 5 laps all the girls tried to stay in good position for the sprint. Bea stayed always at the front with the best. Holly and Amber stayed in the middle of the field and in good position.

They did over 50kmph in the sprint.
I was really happy for all the experience we got and for Beas result. She took 10th. We did our best and we are ready for the next day. It was a good experience for me since It was my first time doing  merco and spending time with the girls as a team :)

Snelling Road Race - 2/25/2012 By Amber Gaffney

Snelling Road Race is the unofficial start of the Northern California racing season. The Northern CA teams were well represented; in particular, Stevens, Metromint, TibcoII, Red Racing, and Touchstone all had great turnouts. There were also women from a few other teams, including Vanderkitten, who came out to usher in the start of the Northern CA season.

            This is what I’ll deem a Nor Cal “flat” course, which consists of mostly rollers and no large climbs or descents. The race consisted of five approximately 12-mile laps. I started the race having to fight for position and got pushed around quite a bit. I eventually made my way up to the front and fought to keep second or third wheel, jumping on the front when appropriate. Because I am not familiar with the riders in this area, I treated every rider as if she was a breakaway rider and did not let anything go up the road without me on a wheel. This was a tiring strategy, but it kept me in a comfortable position and certainly provided me with a great workout.  If you read my UCLA Road Race Report, you will recall that I was a little “bummed” that I didn’t have a headwind on the flat section of the course. What in the world was I thinking? There were headwinds and crosswinds on most of the Snelling course- the one portion with a tailwind, although beautiful because we were surrounded by blooming fruit trees, was rough, as the road was not well paved and was filled with potholes. The headwinds hit us on a few of the rollers, and we had to grind gears to get up the short climbs. The crosswinds nearly knocked me over.

            Stevens set the pace for the race, always having at least one rider on the front. A few breaks made attempts to go up the road, but I covered all of them. On lap four, I was in a break with women from Vanderkitten and Metromint. A few other riders joined us and I worked hard to increase our gap on the field. Unfortunately, I pulled a very “Amber-like” move and missed a turn (I was seriously spacing out). I veered off of the road into the grass and nearly went down. I had to work very hard to stay up and even harder to catch back up to my group. When I finally caught on, I was unsure if I would have it in my legs to take off with two miles to the finish as I had planned. I hesitated for too long, and a woman from Exergy went hard. My legs were tired and I knew that I had missed my opportunity. Her gap increased and it was clear to me that she had won the race at this point. With approximately one kilometer to go (I should have made my move earlier), I broke away from the group and went hard. A few women went with me and I sprinted (yes, I sprinted and yes I was in the drops!) on the uphill finish, taking fifth. Apparently many of the riders had dropped off on the second and third laps, so fewer women finished than started. This was a competitive field with many strong and hardworking women and the course was not an easy, but it was a great workout and a fun race.

Pine Flat Road Race - 2/19/2012 - Holly Breck

The following day from cantua creek road race my brother and I went up to Fresno, spent the night and raced Pine Flat road race the next day. So totally unlike cantua, pine flat is not flat at all. Its one sixty-three mile loop of up or down rolling roads with steep hills thrown in the middle and end. Ending with a mile steep hill top finish. Once again the field of women was pretty little but better then the previous day. On the line I noticed some of the same girls were there from yesterday’s race including the kenda gear grinder girl who had won. The first little bit of the race is neutral because you start on a 15% grade for like ¼ mile out of the parking lot until you reach the main road which goes to about 4-6%. Once reaching the main road the pace was a lot better then the  day before. Good tempo pace all day, people talking, taking  pulls and having a good time. Since this race has all the climbing about 15 miles from the finish no one really tries anything till then. So the first 45- 50 miles of the race was good tempo, conversation pace. We started with 12 women and by the time we hit the climbs we were loosing women, including myself at one point, left and right. At the first major climb metro mint launched an attack and  got a gap on the rest of the field. She started the shattering of the field including popping myself off the back but I was able to catch back on at the top just before decent where we caught her as well. At this point we were down to five women. In between the two major climbs there is a decent of about 2 miles long. So the five of us mashed down the hill, hit a few rollers tiring out two other women. By the time we hit the last and final climb we were down to three of us, kenda gear grinder, myself and one other.  Hitting the last mile long steep climb felt like hitting a wall. My legs where very tired and I didn’t know exactly how much the more I could give. As we climbed up the hill we hit the final 200 meter sign, this time kenda gear grinder held the same steady pace popping the other girl off her wheel, leaving me to try to close the gap. I gave everything I had once again got around the third place girl and came in second behind kenda gear grinder. Breathing as if I  was being held under water for a long time I congratulated first place and pedaled 7 miles back to my car. Great weekend of racing and I cant wait till the next one. 

UCLA Road Race - 2/18/2012 - Amber Gaffney

The UCLA Road Race comprises nearly the same course as Devil’s Punchbowl, excluding the final turn and climb. The course is hilly, has a decent amount of climbing, and has the potential for a nice headwind, given its location in the desert. With this course description in mind, I am shocked that only seven women raced the Women’s 1-3 race.

            Halfway into the first lap (after the first climb), it became obvious that we had perfect weather for a race. The other racers were friendly and the first lap was on the slow side, with only a few accelerations that dropped two riders. We lost one other woman on the descent, but her teammate worked hard to slow us down so that she could catch up with the group. We formed a nice pace line and worked together on the flattest section of the course, which actually had a few mellow rollers and false flats. The second lap started slowly as well. There were a few attempts to speed up the group, but the second lap finished with the main “pack” all together.

            I attacked at the beginning of the first climb of the third lap. This was quickly caught, but I countered my attack on the next steep section and broke away with another woman. We worked hard up the last part of the climb, me on the front, but I gave her an elbow to pull through on the descent. We pushed the descent, each of us taking hard pulls. When we got to the “flat” section, we each took a few pulls, but I wanted to make sure that our gap was comfortable, so I took a hard pull, trying to keep the other racer with me. She soon fell off of my wheel, and I was alone. I crossed the start/finish line and started the final lap on my own.

            As I started the first climb of the last lap, I pushed myself, knowing that this is where I could best broaden my gap on the other women. I climbed hard and sat down to spin when I felt my legs start to fatigue. I hit the backside of the course and noticed the same white (grey) horse that I remembered from Devil’s Punchbowl last April. I was then descending. I pushed the descent, knowing that at least three of the other women could be very quick in this section. I did my best to ignore the crosswind and used riders from other races as my carrots.

            On the final “flat” section I had a tailwind (I was hoping for a headwind here). I pedaled hard through this section, but made sure to keep spinning. Because I refused to look back, I had no idea where the other women were at this point, but rounding the final turn into the final climb, I knew that I had locked the win. I pushed up the last climb, not maxing out my effort and I finished alone. Finishing on a climb is so fun!

Cantua Creek Road Race - 2-18-12 - By Holly Breck

Cantua Creek road race is flat with overpasses and a mile in half up hill finish course. Its definitely a sprinters course cause the hill finish is only about 4 - 5% and not really long enough to pop anyone off the back but definitely enough to hurt. In the women’s 1-3 race, we had to do two laps which was fifty-six miles and the weather started out pretty good, sunny with a little bit of cloud cover but by lap two the head wind was really annoying and it got a bit chilly. Unfortunately it was a small field of 12 of us so not much hiding room at all. On lap one on the way out it was dinosaur slow. I think we were going like 13mph. I was going crazy!!!! My warm-up before this was faster. So Kenda gear grinder and I threw a couple attacks and people responded to some but wouldn’t help pull or do any work. We hit the turn around and did the same thing on the way back but still again no one wanted to do anything except get pulled around on either mine or kenda gear grinders wheel. So I finally just sat forward’s the back of the pack, but still was watching incase something happened, clear until the end of lap two. About a mile away from the finish we caught one of the men’s fields that had started before us. With a mile to go I moved myself up from mid pack to about third. We hit the one k sign and then that’s when people started to get excited. Just before the two-hundred meter mark the men’s field just ahead of us had a crash on the hill so there was about four men scattered all on the hill for our finish. Still no one had made a move so I attacked. Thinking I could hold about a two-hundred and fifty meter sprint I was weaving in and out of people up the hill. Kenda gear grinder jumped as well but was able to hold it a tiny bit longer pulling first with my out of breathe body coming through for second. That was really the only hard part of the whole race but it was a fun flat course to race on for sure.