Seven Weeks Until Cross

After Toona I am very psyched to race some crits, probably even Green Mountain, but the mind is also drifting to cross. Just went to this goldmine: http://race.cx/.

Sunday - Crit

Actually raced the bike in this super hard crit. Felt wedded to attacking at 2-to-go as planned but given getting in a small quickly-caught move with 5-to-go this was a BAD idea. I checked in the windows of a building to see if I had a gap and it was a no-go!! Have you ever attacked up the other side of the field and found you are going the same pace as the person leading the train on the other ride? Not good. Designated finisher Heather got 11th. She evidently suffers from my problem of coming in everything plus 1, that is 11th, 21st, that just-out-of-the-money place. Lipton killed the race, but LVG got the stage. Tough race this year. The TTT made it hard for the little teams like Advil to break into the gc. I was strong but wish I had done what it took to make the climbing selection on Tuesday, whether that was better recovery from the TTT or training climbing even at the expense of some horsepower. Then I might have been racing at the end of those climbing days, rather than the beginning. But all in all it was pretty awesome, the field was super deep and people raced their bikes.

Saturday - 98-Mile Johnstown to Altoona

This race-deciding course rolls and winds for a 20-mile loop before a sprint line, then rolls again until the big Blue Knob climb at mile 60, then two more hills before a flying 10-mile descent. We almost pulled off an awesome day, and all in all it went pretty well. Everybody rode to the limits. The plan was to have me and Kirsten go up the road in the early break and have me drive it while she sat on. The head start would allow Kirsten to meet Heather at the top of the climb, help her out there. Elisa would be our third climber, Natalie would look out for Heather, and Laura would be a utility rider and save her legs for the crit. I got in a small break on the first loop, Kirsten tried to bridge, but the break got too big and got pulled back. After the sprint it was attack-attack-attack. Again, I was having fun being aggressive but not wanting to kill myself senselessly. It was tough to coordinate well with Kirsten on attacks (not specific to her - I think it's a real learned skill to go in attacks deliberately with another person). We were almost at mile 45 and still no break had gone, almost to the point that it wasn't worth getting one started. But then Laura and I got in a break of seven. It wasn't exactly what we wanted, but we rolled it. We had 1 minute going into the climb. Anne Samplonius rode tempo up the climb, I came off just as Kristen Armstrong and Mara Abbott came flying by. The mistake I made was to think too much about where Heather was, not just ride my own climb and try to make it to the top. Laura came off at the bottom, then recovered whereas I started decently then completely cracked just shy of the top. Heather caught us right before the QOM - but I had not made it far enough. Laura latched onto Laura Van Guilder and Kat Carrol, just behind Heather for the steep kicker. I was alone. I made it up the kicker maybe 300 m behind (a lot of time on a steep hill). I did not think I could chase them down, there was a lone rider maybe 30 seconds back, so I rode easily to wait. There were another four behind her. But this was not really a motivated chasing group. We rolled it, but then got caught by a huge group and the pace making stopped. Forty minutes later another huge group caught us and we were officially the laughing group. Elisa, Natalie, Kirsten, and I were all there. Up the road, Laura, Kat, and LVG caught Heather, Laura hung on for a while, then Heather and Kat caught the front group (minus the first two). Heather clung and fought her way through the caravan. In a tough sprint of team racing, isolated Heather mustered a strong 15th. Laura rode 35 miles solo in a superhuman effort. Kristen moved into first on the overall, Mara second, then Kori. Tomorrow is the crit. The GC is not super close, unlike some years where a time bonus will change it, but the sprinters will be battling, and who knows, maybe some teams will race for the GC podium. Lipton is down to four riders, so they can expect a tough day. As we all can!

Friday - 80-mile Martinsburg Circuit Race

So this is now the third year I have made the break at Martinsburg, the third year I have gotten no result. AY. I think I need to overhaul myself, become a super climber or something and be able to get results by simply being strong, no savvy involved. The course is four loops of a flat and often windy circuit. I was probably the most gung ho about riding in a break though Natalie and Laura were also game (and probably would have finished better). We raced hard in the beginning two laps to get in a break, so much so that I almost could not close the deal and make the break that finally stuck off a counter to a move I had been in. It was a weird break because of the presence of some highly placed GC riders in Chrissy Ruiter from Cheerwine and Katheryn Curi from Webcor. Also in the break were Catherine Cheatly and Bettina Hold from Cheerwine, Laura Yoisten from Webcor, Kat Carrol and Kristen Sanders from Aarons, Lyne Bessette, Marisa from Tibco, Meshy Holt from Expresscopy, Annette Buetler from Colavita, then Meredith Miller and Lauren Franges from Lipton. Because Chrissy and Katheryn were highly placed on GC, Lipton and Aarons sat on. Lyne Bessette was working hard to get the break established, Cheerwine was driving it for Chrissy, and I rolled through for a while. I wanted to work, but not to the point that I would get myself dropped when all those people who were sitting on finally started racing. I sat on almost the whole last lap - not going to get dropped like last year. I felt I did not have the legs to attack early. Meredith went as a decoy mainly, and I found myself at the front, not wanting to close the gap, but I backed off and then I was swarmed, out of the mix. Lauren Franges won, then the very strong Catherine Cheatley, then Meshy Holt. I finished a lowly 12th. I really do think that in NRC races I need to adopt the sprint tactic of "when in doubt, lead it out." I also feel bad because I chopped Kat Carroll in a corner, in a moment of bad judgment no doubt spurred by desperation over my positioning error. The rest of the team had a mellow ride once the break formed and avoided the many crashes that took place. The GC is now Kori Seehafer, Felicia Gomez, and Katheryn Curi. Webcor lost out today in a sense: Katheryn moved closer to the top two spots on the podium, but the team lost places 3-7 on the GC. Kristen Sanders, Lauren Franges, and Chrissy Ruiter all moved ahead of the other Webcor riders. Nice to see that the overall won't be completely decided by the TTT. Heather is our top rider in 28th. Tomorrow is a big opportunity, a long hard race with lots of climbing.

Thursday - 60 Mile Circuit Race

I am not very pleased with myself at the moment. I was impulsive on the road today and made a bad decision that got me dropped in a race where I could likely have been there at the end and fought for a result. We wanted a break. I wanted to ride in a break. Laura and I were active from the start jumping in breaks, and the race was super hard. Heather and Kirsten were struggling from the efforts of yesterday. Elisa and Natalie did not have a ton to spare, but covered some breaks. I had good legs - I should have given that I did not race up the climb yesterday - and I was having a ton of fun racing in an aggressive race. Approaching the end of lap 2, I had just followed an attack, some good one with an ever-aggressive Lyne Bessette, and there was that lull when a break is caught, the time when an attack should go, so I attacked (and this was actually my only attack of the day, besides this I just jumped in stuff). But no one followed! And so I was off on my own, probably just for a few minutes but it was hard, Lipton eventually chased, and I began to realize this was dangerously close to the QOM-sprint combo. I eased up to get caught, but when Webcor drove it up the climb, I went backwards on the first part. I recovered on the second half, but just could not close the gap. I caught one other rider, then we were caught by a group containing Laura and Elisa, then we picked up Natalie. Heather was the only Advil rider who made the front group, and she mustered a strong 12th on a day that began with her fearing she would be dropped. Kirsten had a very off day. Sometimes I just do not think while racing my bike: there is no way, unless under command on a big bad cycling team, that I should work so hard to make a break that I get myself dropped from the main group (as though if I am this tired I could ride in a break anyway). Laura van Guilder won, then Alison Testerote, then Kat Carroll. Good job to them all. Tomorrow is another day and it's good to be feeling better as the week goes on. Here's a photo from cyclingnews of my suicidal break.

Thursday - 98-mile Point-to-Point

Raced in the beginning of the race jumping in breaks, then one stuck at about mile 30 with Heather in it - excellent. The field rolled easy as the break gained time. A lot of teams - Aarons and Lipton- had two in the break and used one rider to drive it and saved one rider for the climb. I wish I had been there. Felicia Gomez and Kori Seehafer killed it on the Blue Knob at mile 70 and rode away. Lyne Bessette, Dotsie and Chrissy Ruiter were next. Heather made the next selection with Laura Van Guilder and Robin Farina (three of the five riders who had been driving the break - Lyne had also been working). Hard to climb as well as possible when you have been driving a break, but Heather was a star. With three miles to go, they got caught by a big group. Kirsten climbed well, Elisa too. I got a flat at a bad time and lost the chance to try to do a good climb. I flatted on a high-speed downhill corner, the wheel flip-floped, and I rode off into the grass. This happened just before the 3 or 4 miles of flats heading into Blue Knob just as Webcor was driving it. I chased hard but couldn't even make it into the caravan. At that point it wasn't about doing a good climb, but about helping to position others, but I couldn't make it back. I just rode in. Kori seized the race lead, Felicia moved into second. This race is turning out to be interesting!

2007 New England Verge Series

October 13th - Grand Prix of Gloucester 1
October 14th - Grand Prix of Gloucester 2
November 3rd - Chainbiter 9.0
November 4th - Cycle-Smart International
November 24th - Gearworks Bay State Cross
December 8th - W. E. Steadman Grand Prix
December 9th - Caster's Cyclo-cross
I am also working on a big scheme to go to Interbike in Las Vegas Sept 25 or so. I need to finagle an entry into the crit, then I can race the crit and the cross race, maybe even test a sweet new mountain bike! How to fly with three bikes...

Tuesday - 49-mile Point-to-Point Road Race

I got killed. It was a disappointing day. The new course was super hard, but I believe I could have made a key split that instead I missed. I was perfectly positioned, made the first split of the group on the early part of the 2-mile climb that started at mile 10, then came off on the last steep pitch. I was caught in the middle, chased for a while with my group of four but just did not have the legs. Probably I was the last person dropped who did not make it into that front group - talk about tipping point - all I needed was 10 seconds more of super hard effort. Eventually a big group caught us, including my other teammates, and we became the laughing group. The course was extremely challenging - up and down and very technical in driving rain. Alison Powers soloed to yellow, flying those descents. Kirsten and Heather made the first split, rode very well but narrowly missed the front group. Shared sentiment seems to be we can do better. Don't dwell, move on and race the race but here are the thoughts: Did the TTT kill me? Why couldn't I sleep Monday night? Why did I wake up super hungry? Did I not eat enough after the TTT? I don't have time to be making silly mistakes. Today is a new day.

Monday: Prologue – 17k Team Time Trial

Elisa pointed out that after a TT we always think of all we could have done differently. My list would entail: clipping in like a rock star off the line, not starting too hard and gapping teammates up the hill and rendering myself useless at the end, and not making silly mistakes like over-gearing out of turnarounds. All this seems likely to have covered the five seconds we fell short of Bike Hugger. But I am sure that TIBCO two seconds behind us is thinking the same thing. Heather was a super-engine, maybe could have pulled more, Natalie was smooth and powerful, her collegiate TTT experience evident, and everyone gave everything. All in all we rode pretty well. But next year, if this event matters, don’t mess around: you practice, you plan, you burn riders and you bring disk wheels. Webcor pulled off the win, Lipton second, Colavita third. Expresscopy was not so fast, will likely be seeking some revenge. Before the race, we had wondered whether Lyne Bessette would drag her young Quebec team for the whole TTT. Turns out no, she is here as a teacher (not to say she won’t ride superbly). Those riders on her team – such as Catherine Hogan, the gutsy triathlon convert who outfoxed me last week at the Owasco crit and is not afraid to race her bike – stand to learn so much. Because being a director is so demanding, so unmatched by compensation, there’s a “hang your shingle” phenomenon, so to see someone with so much expertise running the show is just fantastic. It was also great to see my former Targetraining teammates and to alleviate concern of awkwardness and hard feelings permeating the race environment. Here's a photo from cyclingnews.com. This is what not to do...

Sunday: Stage 0 - Settling In

We arrived at host housing Sunday evening tired from a long drive to a surprised and angry host. It was a horribly uncomfortable situation, unfamiliar to all of us. At that point it did not matter where the responsibility lay: It was 7pm, we were exhausted and extremely hungry, we needed housing, and our director was on a plane. Without going into the details of three hours of making phone calls and driving around Altoona, suffice it to say that the team showed remarkable fortitude and calm in this challenging situation. You do all you can to avoid such situations, but when you find yourself in them it’s just a matter of dealing as well as possible. This season has spurred a lot of thinking about leadership, what it means and how one does it, especially in the hierarchical setting of a cycling team. Leadership happened and we have a place to call home for the week.

2007 - Pre-race Q&A

With admitted trepidation at my lack of listing on bikereg (I'm filling in for Jen McRae - maybe she can loan me her sprint), it's with great excitement that I prepare to race Altoona with Advil-Chapstick. It will be a reunion with some excellent teammates and mechanic/soigneur Randy, who directed/did everything for my Lipton team in 2005. Now to be a pundit (my main career aspiration):
Q: How will the team time trial change the race?
A: The TTT could well be the decisive factor in the overall and in the team gc. It could also mean that the powerhouse teams that rock the TTT could try to leapfrog riders up the gc by way of breakaways.
Q. Who will win the TTT?
A: The favorite is Lipton, with World Champ plus depth. Rumor has it Webcor has whiled away the time in Pennsylvania between nationals and Toona practicing this event, and no doubt they will be well-drilled. I would throw Expresscopy into the list of favorites, given Meshy Holt and Ann Samplonius, plus the fact they raced a TTT at Tour de L'Aude, probably learned a lot from it. Colavita will either be flying or dead after the Giro. Other teams such as Aarons bring more evenly-distributed horsepower and could win if super smooth. I have an inside tip this Bike Hugger composite will be smooth. Quebec? They have at least one engine... And of course, my team - Heather is super strong and probably wants TT revenge after a Nationals mishap!
Q: What will happen in Tuesday's new stage?
A: Interesting, Altoona has become predictable because the courses have stayed the same year after year, but this is totally new. I would say field sprint, that the gc riders will be waiting for Wednesday's Blue Knob day, but there appears to be a 1000-ft climb in the race... Sounds like a fierce fight for the sprinter and climbers' jerseys, then attack-o-rama by the non-climbers from strong teams, or from good climbers from teams that tanked the TTT who need more time to win than they can gain on Blue Knob days.
Q: Who are the riders to watch?
A: The usual suspects, plus those with motivation: Kori Seehafer and Erinne Willock have both found their legs after early season injuries. Look for Mackenzie Dickey in the sprints - she's a much better sprinter than her results so far this year have shown. Mandy Lozano and Robin Farina are also ready to go. Emily Roy is flying, and .... Lyne Bessette is back!!!! She must be looking toward the New England Verge Series in cross. (Or the Olympics.)
Q: What are the other competitions going on?
A: Well, team GC is going to play a lot on the TTT, unfortunately. Aaron's Rebecca Larson has the Prestige Series sprint jersey - Brooke Miller wants it, maybe Kori Seehafer too, and surely Cheerwine and Colavita. Wow, this will be a war. QOM, probably some Webcor/Lipton battle. I usually don't see this one.
Q: And my team's plans?
A: May surprise and underdoggery work to our advantage!
Ok, going to race a crit today...

2006 - The Unexpected Yellow Jersey / Cardinal Sin of Bike Racing

I guest rode last year with Advil-Chapstick. Mike Engleman, whose commitment to supporting women cyclists is matched by few, was directing us, bringing on rising star Alison Powers. Alison, hands down the best descender/cornerer in women’s cycling (coming from downhill ski racing at international level) shocked us all by winning the gazillion-corner alley-diving prologue. Yikes, gulp! How were we going to defend this? We did the best we could and Alison held her own on the climbs, eagerly absorbing and learning and performing in her first big stage race. (Note: Alison just rode a fantastic Giro d’Italia last week!) At Martinsburg in a driving rainstorm, a dangerous break got away with Webcor gc riders. Heather and I killed ourselves chasing with Colavita. We caught the break and I was headed out the back when instead I made the break, disbelieving my misfortune at such a good opportunity in such a sorry state. I survived much longer than I thought possible, but then committed the cardinal sin of bike racing: getting dropped from the break. Dead. Gone. Cracked. My bike broke a few miles later, so I might not have made it to the line (where Brooke Miller smoked them all), but not good. I seem to remember we were rather exhausted, injured backs and shoulders and lots of Advil and ice packs, plus some of the wear and tear of a long season. This is also the year one of my teammates took a sleeping pill Friday night and could barely see for most of Saturday’s stage. Cooped up in the Penn State Altoona cinderblock doom rooms, late in the week we discovered a lounge with cable tv and The Daily Show, gold for my mind that could no longer read. Sort of like the time I did a stage race in Quebec and discovered the last day due to my horrendous French that our host director was a massage therapist.