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...