Nationals Road Race Notes

Bit more about the road race since I made some mistakes and since I find the race interesting... The final finish was: Meredith, Chrissy, Kristen, Amy, then Kori (not Kat). As it turns out, the group launched to Kori before the feedzone climb (not on the second steep climb). I think Kristen (solo) followed Chrissy (VAC) and then Meredith (TIBCO) followed Amy (Webcor). At that point team racing came into play: Meredith was sitting on the break, with her powerful team stacked with sprinters Brooke Miller, Kat Carrol, and Lauren Tamayo, not to mention powerful all-arounder Amber Rais, waiting in the field. Kristen deemed this break her best chance for a result, racing without teammates and not a sprinter herself, so she drove it in spite of Meredith sitting on. Webcor, with only three (albeit very good) riders, was in a similar place, Amy-in-a-break a better shot than a bunch sprint. Chrissy was likely VAC's best chance, and also contributed to the work. But evidently when Meredith attacked, neither of the other four (including Kori after her long break) had the legs to respond. Meredith sealed the deal for TIBCO. I definitely had some underdog sentiment going during Cascade, rooting for Webcor agains the TIBCO assault, but Meredith is a very deserving champion. She's a terrific team rider who for a long time has been the engine behind the glorious results of others.