Monday, April 23, 2012
LA Circuit Race 4/22/2012 - By Priscilla Calderon
So there we were... Amber, Ruth, Lisa, Holly, Bea and myself ... Discussing the game plan we agreed it would be best to try to win from a break away... Although a few moves did go up the road w us in it countless times, the field was relentless and didn't let anything go... With half lap to go, We had one last go and shooting Amber off the front, but to no success. Now it was time to set up our sprinters .. This has to be the worlds longest sprint .. W Bea and Holly sitting pretty in the last few meters .. Holly delivered a solid third with Bea following closely for fourth .
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Race Report: Copperopolis Road Race - 4/7/2012 - Amber Gaffney
I made my way up to Northern CA, deep in farm country in the central valley without the
team (but with Jake as support) to race the 32nd annual Copperopolis Road Race. The course
description detailed a good amount of climbing and a technical descent on a VERY rough road.
Given my desire to improve my descending skills, I figured that I would need the practice.
The morning started off very cold (cold enough for me to leave my Champion System
arm warmers on!) and there was a decent sized field of many strong women and teams. I staged
myself directly at the front of the field and held second and third wheel throughout the first
climb of the first lap. I nearly missed the first turn of the race, which I suppose is an official trait
of mine at this point. On the first climb (a long, steep, twisty climb on a narrow rough road),
there were a few attacks from Steven’s and one promising looking attack from an Optum
woman. My third wheel position allowed me to easily cover Optum’s attack and when the course
evened out, I was pace-lining in a break of seven. Somehow, the Optum woman who initiated
the attack that led to the break was not in the break. Our group at this point, consisted of three
Steven’s women, three NOW women and the woman in blue. I did my share of the work and
mentally prepared for the technical and nasty descent ahead.
On the descent, I did not get dropped (yes!), but sadly I flatted at the base of the descent.
I waved down support and started to chase with a very heavy back wheel. My goals were two-
fold at this point: 1) not get caught by the pack or any chasers (there were some strong riders
back there); 2) catch the break-away group before the feed zone on the second lap. Mission
accomplished with a somewhat tired pair of legs!
The main climb on the second lap saw a few attacks, for which I was too tired to cover. A
woman from NOW and the woman in blue broke away. I held on to the main break group and
worked to catch the two up the road. I knew that our pulls were not strong enough, given the
NOW woman’s strength, and I was pretty sure that the woman in blue was strong by her
performance thus far. The NOW woman had a mechanical issue just before the descent on the
second lap which allowed us to pass her. I hoped that this meant her two teammates in the break
would start working so that we could catch the woman ahead (hitherto, the bulk share of the
work in the break had been from the two Steven’s women and me). This didn’t exactly pan out
to my hopes, but Steven’s and I did our parts and the NOW women jumped in occasionally. As
we completed the second lap, I reached down and realized that I had lost a bottle, and sadly this
bottle contained my GU Brew with electrolytes. This proved to not be an issue because, as
always, I had my chomps!
Somewhere on the final big climb, we lost one of the Steven’s women behind us and the
two NOW women started to pull through more reliably than in the second lap. We stayed
together on the climb (although, in retrospect, I should have attacked here), our break-away/
chase group down to four. On the rollers before the descent, I sat on the front, working hard. I
was hoping to catch the woman in blue and slower pulls from the rest of the break would not
allow that. Once again, I should have attacked to make them work, but I thought that I could use
the company on the descent to a) work on descending around people; b) to draft. This plan was
flawed.
NOW attacked hard and Steven’s and I worked hard to catch her. We both knew that this
attack would be followed by a counter from her teammate. We caught her before the descent and
I moved to the back of our group (I felt particularly unsafe because my back break was wide
open and I wasn’t coordinated enough to close it) and slowly I allowed a gap on the descent. I
had to work hard at the base of the descent and the second to last kicker (which should have been
my launching point to attack before the finish) to catch back on. NOW attacked again and I
attacked at the base of the final kicker before the finish. I managed to sprint third out of our
break-away/chase group, giving me a fourth place finish for the day. Copperopolis was a fun,
albeit ROUGH and hand-numbing course (that was no match for my SuperSix), a great group of
women riders, and a great learning experience. I was pleased with the experience, particularly
given my flat tire and hard work!
team (but with Jake as support) to race the 32nd annual Copperopolis Road Race. The course
description detailed a good amount of climbing and a technical descent on a VERY rough road.
Given my desire to improve my descending skills, I figured that I would need the practice.
The morning started off very cold (cold enough for me to leave my Champion System
arm warmers on!) and there was a decent sized field of many strong women and teams. I staged
myself directly at the front of the field and held second and third wheel throughout the first
climb of the first lap. I nearly missed the first turn of the race, which I suppose is an official trait
of mine at this point. On the first climb (a long, steep, twisty climb on a narrow rough road),
there were a few attacks from Steven’s and one promising looking attack from an Optum
woman. My third wheel position allowed me to easily cover Optum’s attack and when the course
evened out, I was pace-lining in a break of seven. Somehow, the Optum woman who initiated
the attack that led to the break was not in the break. Our group at this point, consisted of three
Steven’s women, three NOW women and the woman in blue. I did my share of the work and
mentally prepared for the technical and nasty descent ahead.
On the descent, I did not get dropped (yes!), but sadly I flatted at the base of the descent.
I waved down support and started to chase with a very heavy back wheel. My goals were two-
fold at this point: 1) not get caught by the pack or any chasers (there were some strong riders
back there); 2) catch the break-away group before the feed zone on the second lap. Mission
accomplished with a somewhat tired pair of legs!
The main climb on the second lap saw a few attacks, for which I was too tired to cover. A
woman from NOW and the woman in blue broke away. I held on to the main break group and
worked to catch the two up the road. I knew that our pulls were not strong enough, given the
NOW woman’s strength, and I was pretty sure that the woman in blue was strong by her
performance thus far. The NOW woman had a mechanical issue just before the descent on the
second lap which allowed us to pass her. I hoped that this meant her two teammates in the break
would start working so that we could catch the woman ahead (hitherto, the bulk share of the
work in the break had been from the two Steven’s women and me). This didn’t exactly pan out
to my hopes, but Steven’s and I did our parts and the NOW women jumped in occasionally. As
we completed the second lap, I reached down and realized that I had lost a bottle, and sadly this
bottle contained my GU Brew with electrolytes. This proved to not be an issue because, as
always, I had my chomps!
Somewhere on the final big climb, we lost one of the Steven’s women behind us and the
two NOW women started to pull through more reliably than in the second lap. We stayed
together on the climb (although, in retrospect, I should have attacked here), our break-away/
chase group down to four. On the rollers before the descent, I sat on the front, working hard. I
was hoping to catch the woman in blue and slower pulls from the rest of the break would not
allow that. Once again, I should have attacked to make them work, but I thought that I could use
the company on the descent to a) work on descending around people; b) to draft. This plan was
flawed.
NOW attacked hard and Steven’s and I worked hard to catch her. We both knew that this
attack would be followed by a counter from her teammate. We caught her before the descent and
I moved to the back of our group (I felt particularly unsafe because my back break was wide
open and I wasn’t coordinated enough to close it) and slowly I allowed a gap on the descent. I
had to work hard at the base of the descent and the second to last kicker (which should have been
my launching point to attack before the finish) to catch back on. NOW attacked again and I
attacked at the base of the final kicker before the finish. I managed to sprint third out of our
break-away/chase group, giving me a fourth place finish for the day. Copperopolis was a fun,
albeit ROUGH and hand-numbing course (that was no match for my SuperSix), a great group of
women riders, and a great learning experience. I was pleased with the experience, particularly
given my flat tire and hard work!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Redlands Bicycle Classic - Sunset Road Race - Lisa Campbell
Redlands Bicycle Classic – Stage 3 – (or 4… if you count the TT…which my legs definitely counted…)
Sunset Road Race
Well, day 4 of one of the hardest stage races in North America was definitely that…hard. However, unlike last weekend, Mother Nature took pity on us and we had dry roads and clear skies at the start of our race. The men were not so lucky and had to race in a downpour, a déjà-vu to last weekend’s San Dimas Road Race. Did I mention this race was hard? Our field of 87 women was whittled down to 57 by the end of this stage…57 finishers out of 87, that should say most of it…but I will fill you in anyway.
There were 4 of us left to start this stage, me, Amber, Joy (our awesome guest rider and adopted teammate), and Jenny. PC, Bea and Holly just missed time cuts in the Beaumont Road Race so they raced the Redlands Criterium while we were warming up for Sunset.
The race starts with a “neutral”, approximately 5 mile roll out. Last year this neutral was so fast I thought my lungs were going to burst, this year it truly was neutral, thank god, but everyone was chomping at the bit and there were a few close calls as girls pushed close to the lead car. We were quickly brought back down to speed by the red paddle yielding official. Once the neutral roll out is over, game on…literally. Joy came by me and said “get ready, it’s gonna get fast”. I am not going to lie, I wanted to cry. I knew I was racing on fumes and sheer willpower and the desire to not let my team, my coach, or my family down. (My husband and father drove out, not really so much to watch me race, but to enjoy Dennis’s barbecue in the feedzone. PC was seen running alongside several of the pros with meat in hand yelling “sausage, anyone want a sausage?”...)
And fast it got, as soon as we turned to make our way on to lap 1 of the Sunset loop and hit the climb on ridge road, the field split. I saw Joy go up the road, and I wasn’t sure where Amber was, I thought I felt her getting pushed slightly to the back and Jenny is so little I didn’t know if she was in front of or behind me (she was in front of me). The relentless climbing continues for the first few miles and into the feed zone. Joy’s group was pushing hard to try and catch the peloton (about 20 of the fastest women in the United States who were about 40 seconds up the road) and our group was pushing hard to catch on to Joy’s group. Just as we came through the feed zone we latched on to Joy’s group. I didn’t see Amber and it took me 4 laps, and I am not exaggerating. It took me 4 laps to be able to muster the energy to yell to our great support in the feed zone “where’s Amber?” But it came out as a whisper and no one heard me. I knew she was probably a casualty of that split second of time where you just miss grabbing on to the peloton…and then you are history on this course. It’s full of twists, turns, and screaming descents that make it so hard to get back on when you have a big peloton working like mad to win. I was right; Amber needed a lap to get her legs in gear, and unfortunately didn’t have anyone to work with because she kept dropping them on the climbs. But she stayed in for as long as the officials would let her and that is good enough for a finish, and on this course that is awesome. Next year she will be in that peloton, of that I am sure.
So Joy, Jenny and I pushed on with our group of 20 something riders. We knew the race was ahead of us and we were just racing to finish. Joy looked like she was out for a Sunday ride, she lead us down the descents and up the hills. I just focused on her to get me through. Jenny also looked like she was not feeling any pain, strong and smooth. Jenny and Joy stayed in front on the descents and I was last or second to last, playing catch up in various spots, which didn’t help my already maxed out legs. I had two scary moments of fishtailing on the steeper off camber descents in the beginning of the race and it took its toll on my mental state. As Amber so aptly described herself at one point to be, “descending like a grandma”, I’d like to say that I was also participating in the grandma moves during this race.
The next 8 laps were just repeats of each other for us. I got up to 47mph on some of the descents, then we’d push up through the climb, descend again…repeat. A nice pro told me I was “holding on the brakes just a tad too long”. I thanked her and then continued to hold on to my brakes too long. The moto told us as we finished our 8th lap that we were being pulled at the “fire station”. If the leaders are starting their last lap before you start yours, you can’t finish the last lap. But I only made it 4 laps last year, so 8 laps was okay with me. The fire station is where the officials sit and take your number if you get pulled, or if you pull out. When we got to the fire station I was so bonked that I just leaned over my bike. All the girls had their jerseys off and were unpinning their numbers. I could not seem to muster enough coordination to do this, so a nice man came over and said “here, let me take your number off”. He also asked me if I needed medical, (which I did not tell anyone…because it was a little embarrassing.) I said I was fine now that my legs were not moving. I ate every Gu chomp I had emptied into my pocket, sucked down every Gu gel I had and emptied my bottles. I can honestly say that I left EVERYTHING on that mountain. I’m not proud of it, I would have liked to finished strong, or stayed with the peloton for a lap or two…but when we got back to the team van and everyone was there, joking, laughing, and congratulating…I forgot my disappointment. I only felt pride and remembered how lucky I was to be on this team, riding with people that are like family to me. The best group of women on wheels in southern California.
Redlands Criterium Cat 1-3 - March 25, 2012 - by Bonnie Breeze
Redlands Cycling Classic is such a phenomenal event! Not only does the city provide the best season opening stage race, they also put on a single day event for those of us that did not participate in the stage race portion of the Redlands Cycling Classic.
This year the Women’s Category 1-3 races proved to be very competitive. With approximately 45 riders at the start line and primes offered almost every other lap, this race was as competitive as they come. The .9 mile course had six corners with a slight uphill finish.
From the gun, this race was fast and furious…everyone was eager to pick up some quick cash as $100 and $150 primes were on the line. Many escapes from the field were made, none being successful.
With two laps to go, Team Helen’s began to line up their lead out. Having discussed this with the team prior to the race, I was at the front, sitting 3rd place behind Helen’s ready to rev the engines for as long as I could for the final lap. When we came around for the bell lap, I was sitting to the left of the Helen’s train going into a right hand turn….doh……and went too wide for the drive up the incline through the start/finish line. I tried to recover with no avail, fortunately, Beatrice Rodriguez, Pricilla “Not so PC” Calderon, and Holly Breck, made up the gap and salvaged what was left of the SC Velo Blue Train of Pain!!
A stellar performance was put in by junior racer, Tara McCormick as she sprinted to the win. Great job Tara!!
Final results:
| 1 | | Exergy Twenty12 | ||
| 2 | Exergy TWENTY12 | |||
| 3 | Helens/Cannondale | |||
| 4 | SC VELO/Empower Coaching | | ||
| 5 | Team TIBCO II | | ||
| 6 | SC VELO/Empower Coaching | | ||
| 7 | Primal/MapMyRide Womens Racing | | ||
| 8 | FCS|ROUSE: p/b Mr. Restore | | ||
| 9 | SC VELO/Empower Coaching | | ||
| 10 | Exergy TWENTY12 |
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Redlands Bicycle Classic Stage 2 - Criterium - By Jenny Rios
Redlands Bicycle Classic
Criterium, March 24, 20012
The course had 6 corners and one that looks like a u-turn(hard), the average was 26.4 mph, we race for 50 minutes, it was a big group, we are 66 riders consisting of 11 teams like; team Now and Novartis for MS, Optum Pro Cycling, Exergy TWENTY12, Specialized Lululemon, Primal/Mapmyride, Cynergy Cycles, Tibco, FCS/Rouse, Vanderkitten and Metromint Cycling and us, SC Velo/Empower Coaching.
It was a sunny day so Lisa, Amber, Joy and I started doing our warm up for the race and during the warm up the team staff (Fernando,Lea,bonnie,bea,Pc,
Most of the time the group was single file. There were a lot of attacks, since all the teams wanted to initiate a break. I worked hard most of the time to stay at the front and avoid crashes and gaps. During the race we fought for primes every 5 to 7 laps, I got a good position when it was a prime lap. Some girl from Specialized Lululemon attack and I just followed her wheel, and I looked back I noticed that we had a gap. In the break was Specialized lululemond girl,Optum girl(mountain leaders jersey) we started to work together until the last turn the specialized girl attacked to go for the prime. I reacted and I fought to get the prime with her no matter if I lose or win, in the final 2 meters I passed the specialized girl with my fast Cannondale super six and won it the prime. I felt so proud of my team about getting a good position for the sprint and all the people recognized our awesome team SC Velo/Empower Coaching kits made by champion system. After the sprint I just waited for the group and tried to reach a good position once again in the last 8 laps. I started to fight positions with the rest of the teams, and at 2 laps to go I was in the middle of the group .Once again I started to move positions at the corners since my Cannondale was reacting great at the corners and I felt great confidence on my bike. Finally we were at the 6 corner out of 7 and a crash happened!!!! i was taking the corner when suddenly i saw a girl from primal in the middle of the street ,i managed to get around the crash and I had to accelerate my Cannondale to top speed to take the final corner and I was able to pass 3 riders at the final meters wish I took 6th on day 3.
After the sprint I went right away with my teammates to say thanks for their support . Amber did a great job on holding her GC position, Lisa worked very hard to stay in the group and at the end everything paid off which was to start the final stage.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Race Report: Beaumont Circuit Race - Amber Gaffney
Race Report: Beaumont Circuit Race
March 23, 2012
The Beaumont Circuit Race consists of three laps, with the total mileage being approximately 72 miles. We started race with very specific instructions- the team was working to get me to the front at the very start of the race (not an easy task) and working to keep me there for as long as possible.
The race started and I immediately started to slide to the back, giving up wheels to any and all takers (I’m a giver). Bea found me and maneuvered her way up to the front with me on her wheel. I gave up a few positions occasionally, but we made it up to the front where I could see both PC and Jenny. I worked to hold my position and when the course narrowed due to narrowing streets, I started to feel myself losing position again. As soon as I felt frustrated and slightly pushed around, Lisa appeared from nowhere with a very protective look on her face and rode near me to make sure that I didn’t lose position. During this first lap I merely worked to hold a teammate’s wheel and not get lost in the pack and find myself on the back.
Before the feed zone (which I completely missed on the first lap), Joy, our wonderful guest rider, found me and gave me a brief run-down of the upcoming highlights of the course. I stuck to her steady wheel as much as possible and then the first climb appeared. This was great news for me- I found myself on the front where I’m happiest. This was a quick power-type climb and then we hit a few turns and entered the park. Sadly, I made the mistake of doing PRECICELY what I was warned not to do: I was unprepared for the descent to start and got dropped on the descent. This was bad news for me and I think that it hurt me for the rest of the weekend at Redlands.
I maneuvered the technical descent on my own and was eventually joined by a few other riders (all of whom had fallen back at outset of the climb and caught me on my slow descent). Eventually Joy joined my small chase group and we worked hard throughout the end of the first lap and the start of the second lap to catch back on. This did prove to be an invaluable experience, as Joy taught me how to use cars to my advantage.
We caught back on to the lead group and Joy helped me to maneuver my way up to the front, all the while offering encouragement and advice (“make sure to eat!” and “stay out of the wind”). When we hit the feed zone (I actually saw the feed zone this time), Joy grabbed extra water for me and made sure that I could get back to the front. As we started the first part of the climb on the first lap, I once again made my way to the front and somehow I was once again shocked when the turn came and I got dropped on the descent. Once again, similar to a bad re-run, I descended alone, until a small group (including Joy) that had lost it on the climb, caught me and we once again worked hard to catch the lead group. I was now highly determined to not let this happen again.
Ahh, but have I mentioned that I am a repeat offender of mistakes? After the feed zone on the final lap, we hit the first part of the climb and I felt tired. Entering the park, my legs started to hurt, and then I got dropped on that first turn of the first descent. This time I descended as quickly as possible (alone), and then somehow missed a turn and went off course. As I worked to quickly recover, I felt shame as I saw Lea and Dennis in the follow car looking bewildered as I pulled back onto the course. I worked hard and chased hard. A few people that had been dropped on the climb and were chasing the main group had finished their descent and we worked together to chase. I noticed quite quickly that their pulls were not quite enough, so I took long and hard pulls, but gladly sat in when a woman from Metromint jumped on the front to give me a little time to recover. Regardless, I worked hard on the front of that group to decrease the gap between our group and the leader group. When we finished, none of the riders in the chase group contested my finish- our nice group of chasers finished with respect to our workload. Lesson: learn how to descend so you do not burn up your legs for the rest of the weekend chasing! Joy finished a few minutes behind my group, and then Lisa and Jenny finished a few minutes behind Joy. This meant that the four of us would be in the crit the following day, but my position was of course, due in large part to the help of my team who worked so hard to get me to the front on that first lap.
Monday, March 19, 2012
San Dimas Criterium - Holly Breck
San Dimas crit was the third stage of a hard and painful three day stage race. This year especially we had some interesting weather. Cold and dark on day one, pouring hard icy cold rain with miserable winds on day two and clouds with some drizzle on day three. All in all though it was a lot of fun.
This was my first year making the crit, so coming from my prospective it was fast in sections and alright in others but for the most part the pace was high the whole time. Bea, Amber and Jenny did an awesome job staying up front and staying out of trouble. It surged quite a bit and a few times there where people off the front. The race ended in a group of 4 off the front and the rest of the group sprinted.
Once again my teammates did an amazing job staying up front and in the action. Jenny ended up 17th Amber 19th Bea 23rd and myself in 26th. I learned a lot and had fun, thanks to my teammates. Cant wait till the next one. J
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