Race Report: O'Fallon Grand Prix

I raced the O'Fallon Grand Prix Road Race back in 2009, my first year of racing.  That race stands out in my mind for two reasons -- 1) It cemented that I was not a road racer.  I didn't enjoy that race one single bit. 2) It was the first time I saw a crash in a race.  Several girls rubbed wheels and one went kerploosh! in a ditch full of stale water.  My initial instinct was to stop and help, but then I realized I was racing and just kept going.

That year was only the second time that race had happened.  Since then the organizers have done a fantastic job of growing the event and turning it into a full weekend of racing with a time trial, road race, and criterium.  I'm hoping next year they'll institute omnium points for it.

Prelude Time Trial

This was the first year for this event and the promoter did a great job with it.  The weather was warm, mid 80s and a strong breeze, but not unbearable.  The course was a 13 mile lollipop on Illinois country roads.  I talked with a few guys from the team who had pre-ridden it and they said there was rolling hills on the way out and a short, steep climb followed by a quarter mile or so at 8% that was a killer on the way back.  There would be a tailwind on the way out and a head on the trip home.  I got a good warm up in on the roads around town and went to the line.  I put an ice pack in the radio pocket of my skinsuit to help keep my core cool while I rode.  I went to the line and got clicked in.  My holder told me to take it easy on my start because my chain looked a little funny.  I got the start and took off.  It was my best start I've had yet this season.  My chain did skip a bit, but I was prepared.

I took the first turn at the end of the block and put my head down and rode.  I added gear until I felt a degree of difficult that was hard but manageable.  None of the rollers were unbearable.  I was able to stay in my big ring and drops the entire way.  I'm betting that the wind had died down a significant amount for me because I never really felt its effect one way or another.  I made the corner to begin my trip home and hit the short steep hill.  I got passed by a guy about that time.  I powered up the hill and began what was supposed to be the long grinder.  My perception of difficulty in a tt and what the boys told me pre-race have to be very different because I kept wondering when the hard hill would hit.  I didn't let the guy in front of me out of my sight and I began to feel like I was gaining on him.  As we got closer to town I was able to close the gap and pass him.    We started weaving through town towards the finish and he came around me again and said something.  I'm not sure what it was, but in my head I told myself it wasn't nice so I pedaled harder.  With the finish in sight I was able to move past him the final time.  23:13 was my official time.  Top woman overall.

Illinois State Road Race Championship

Saturday's temps were predicted to be HOT and the forecast was right on.  It was sunny, 94 and humid at race time.  I kept my warm up short, enough that my legs felt loose.  I took my cooler to the feed zone, iced down my sports bra and went to the line.  We had 11 women who started.  I knew about four of them, but the rest were from out of town. We rolled out neutral and chatted easily until the race started.  The first attack went there, up the hill.  We came back together and it calmed.  The first lap was fairly mundane.  An attack every few miles but it was easily answered.  The course was interesting in that it was filled with rollers and lots of turns.  It actually felt more like a long crit.  We had one girl who couldn't hold one during lap one so we were down to ten.  We neared the end of the first lap (20 miles) and I asked the group if we could agree to roll through the feed zone neutrally.  We did and everyone got fresh bottles.

The next attack happen just past the feed zone and I knew this lap would be a lot more energetic.  The attacks were much more frequent and difficult to answer.  We hit one of the short, steep hills on mile 27 and the California girl attacked.  I was slow to respond and was off the back.  I caught and passed Amy but a main group of five got away.  There was a chase group of three (Tara, Stephanie, and Joan).  I put my head down and went after the chase group.  I saw Stephanie fall off so I went after her.  It took me about six minutes to catch her.  I got on her wheel and told her I would pull after I recovered.  She told me she was done and was going to DNF when we got back.  Once my heart rate got under control, I pulled around her and set off.  I had lost sight of Tara and Joan by then.  I toyed with the idea of abandoning the race through the rest of that lap.  Around mile 32 I got passed by the MensDNF.  I grabbed my bottle from my awesome feeder and kept pedaling.

Beginning of Lap 2.  *Photo Credit: Elizabeth Rangel

I was about four miles into the second lap and a volunteer told me there was a girl in front of me close enough to catch.  That definitely gave me a push.  I started pushing harder and pretty soon I could see two riders in the distance on some of the straights.  I was still far enough back that I couldn't tell if they were girls or guys.  I kept closing in on them.  Around mile 51 I thought I could tell one of them was in a Big Shark kit.  Was it Tara?  I asked a corner marshall if they were girls or guys...girls was the answer.  Time to go, head down, time trial mode, look for a wheel.  By mile 53 I had them.  I jumped on Tara's wheel and began to rotate through with them.  As we got closer to the neutral water table, I told them I was going to grab a bottle.  I moved in front so I knew I'd be safe through there.  Somehow I managed to get a little gap on them with that mode.  I thought about trying to increase it but decided it would be better to have someone else helping me out the last six miles.  We continued to work together and take turns pulling.  I definitely was curious about how much they both had left in their legs.  We began to see the KM to go signs.  At 3KM, I heard the distinct sound of air leaking.  Tara had a flat.  It was down to Joan and me.  She was quite happy to let me sit out front in the head wind.  I kept moving so she would have to take her turn pulling.  We made the last turn and headed to the finish.  I quietly jumped back into my big ring.  I
was debating where to start my sprint.  500m came and went.  Right before the 200m mark she told me it was nice to race with me.  I took that as a sign and jumped.  I had worked hard to catch those girls and I was going to beat them, no question.  I easily gapped her and finished.  By my count, I was 6th.  I later found out that the lead group had splintered more and one of those girls DNF'd so I took 5th, last money spot.

Illinois Cup Criterium

FAST group of ladies leading it out. *Photo Credit: Brian Keller

I was feeling the results of the two prior two days of racing.  It was going to be another hot one.  I got a great warm up in, on the course.  It was eight corner figure eight course.  The pavement was awful!  We had 12 girls in our race, seven of them coming with fresh legs.  The attacks started after turn two.  Nothing was ever able to stick, but they were frequent.  The pulse of the race was that an attack would go and we'd be flying.  It would be brought back and we'd slow way down -- over and over and over.  My struggle with the race came on the primes.  I tried to stay with the lead ladies, but my legs didn't have it to sprint against them.  After each of the three I was gapped and had to push to get back in the group.  At some point we had two ladies drop out and had lapped someone.  At the end, it came down to the sprint.  I tried to position myself well as we turned the final corner, but was near the back.  The sprint went and I tried to respond, but my response was limited.  I ended up in 7th for the day.  No fat cash for the day, but a fun race regardless.

Race Report: Sedalia Crit and Otterville Road Race

I should start by telling you I went to bed Friday night with a migraine and it was still lingering when I got up Saturday morning.  It was enough that I had second thoughts about heading out to the races.  I took some ibuprofen and got some lunch with Steph before meeting Ashley and Kelly.  I was feeling better so decided it was game on.

Our drive to Sedalia was calm--no tickets, no wrong turns--I was a little surprised.  We pulled up to the Hotel Bothwell and found a tight space to park.  The hotel was like stepping back in time and the desk clerk was a little too excited to see four ladies checking in together.  We got our room and found out we weren't on the "haunted floor" but were on the fifth floor and the elevator was out!  The bikes definitely weren't spending the night in the room now!  Our room was actually pretty spacious and comfortable for as old as the hotel was.  What was really nice is that we could actually see the race course from our window.

Kelly got ready for her race and Steph, Ashley and I walked the course taking note of the corners and pavement.  The sides were four or five blocks long with a little rise/fall and the ends were only a block.  The streets were nice and wide.  There was a grate in turn two that was coned and large pot hole right before turn three, but otherwise it was beautiful.  We watched the Masters' race and Steph got chatted up by a creepy guy with no teeth.

Around 7PM we got ready to head for a warm up.  I made sure to do about five or six hard efforts because I had a feeling we'd start hot.  There were nine of us (Steph, Ashley, Chris, Aubree, Becca, Shari, Kelly Skinner, Michelle Jensen) in the race.  I'd raced against everyone but Michelle Jensen--Steph said she's a great racer and someone to watch.  The whistle blew and Michelle took off.  I jumped right on her wheel and held on tight.  We slowed down after turn two and moved into a compact group.  We passed the start/finish and there was the prime bell.  The first of nine for our race.  I had no intentions of going for it, but wanted to stay close to the leaders.  There was some positioning on the back side and we hit the front straight and the sprint was on.  Without really thinking about it, I found myself out of the saddle going for it.  Chris passed me like I was sitting still and took the prime.  We regrouped after the start/finish.  By that time, my head started pounding again.  It did off and on through the race, anytime I exerted hard effort.  That lap I took turn two poorly and went wide.  I corrected just in time to avoid hitting the curb.  I readjusted and calmed myself.  We passed the start/finish and got another prime.  This time I just sat in and stayed with the group.  We regrouped and headed back around and another prime.  I again just stayed in the pack for that one.  We had about two laps of "normal" racing before the prime bell went again.  This time it was a t-shirt prime.  As soon as we rounded turn two, Shari just rode off the front.  No one looked like they were itching to catch her, so she was just riding away.  I decided I might as well see what I had so I took off.  I jumped on her wheel and we had about a hundred yard gap on the pack.  I told her we had a gap and to take off.  I followed her wheel through turn four.  With about two hundred meters to the line I jumped and gapped her.  I  stayed away from her until midway through the back side.  She caught on and we got caught by the pack just after the start/finish.  We had a few more calm laps before the prime bell started going again.  I didn't give any real chase for any other one but made sure I stayed with the group.  Several girls tried attacking throughout, but no one got very far.  It all came to the last lap.  Chris jumped as soon as we turned the corner.  I was sitting about third wheel.  I was able to hold onto them, but couldn't make up ground.  Ended up with 5th.  I felt like I knew what was going on in the race and could see move unfold.  I physically felt like I was able to respond to the attacks and didn't have to hope someone else would cover them for me.

Post race we stopped to talk to Aaro and he had great news for me--the guy who had sponsored the t-shirt prime felt like that wasn't enough, so he gave Aaro $25 for me.  Score!  We were all hungry so we parked the bikes and walked to Subway.  We watched the Men's Pro/1/2 and ate dinner.  My next stop was the Mich Ultra tent.  My team kit made me a big hit in there!  After showers, it was near midnight by the time we got to bed.  I think I woke up with every little noise and looked around to see if it was a ghost.  No such luck though!

We had breakfast the next morning at the hotel, but the coffee was less than stellar.  We agreed to pack quickly so we could find the Starbucks on the way to Otterville.  We missed our turn to Otterville, but realized it pretty quickly, so we were right on time for the race.  

  

I was a little more nervous about Sunday's race for two reasons.  First, simply because it was a road race.  Second, because I hadn't been able to locate a course map/profile.  I had been told it was rollers with one steep climb near the end.  I hate going into a race blind though.  I could also feel that Friday's migraine was still lingering.  We had seven girls in the race and all of us had done Saturday night's crit.  At the line Michelle asked how we felt about working a pace line through the first lap and calling "game on" for lap two.  Everyone readily agreed.  We formed a rotating double pace line right from the start.  About 10 miles in, Steph dropped back.  She had been struggling, not feeling well physically, for the last three miles or so.  We sat up and had Ashley drop back to pull her up.  She said if she fell off again, to go on without her.  It was about then when my headache returned.  As long as I kept my head up and my heart rate below 160, I was ok.  Any hard effort and I could feel my heart beat pounding in my head.  The steep climb came about 21 miles into the lap.  I was totally unprepared for it.  I got caught behind someone who was going slow and almost fell off my bike trying to turn the pedals over and get around.  I made up my mind I would be on the front for that one on the second lap.  Just before the feed zone we started talking about lap two.  We decided to work together until mile 12 and then race full out.  I got two fresh bottles in the feed zone (my first time ever taking a feed!) and we started out again.  My head was still bothering me on climbs, but I was set on finishing with the group.  We got to mile 12 and no one made a move.  We still rotated through.  We hit a little climb about mile 42 and the group started to break apart.  Shari went off the front and Aubree fell off the back.  Michelle gave chase to Shari and I stayed on Michelle's wheel.  The five of us came back together but Aubree was gone.  When I saw the steep little monster in sight, I moved to the front of the group.  I took the hill pretty aggressively and got a small gap on the group.  (little did I know that everyone else small ringed it).  I guess Shari thought I was attacking because on the downhill she flew around me.  I jumped on her wheel and stayed there.  And everyone else stayed on my wheel.  Shari tried to shake us, but no one would take a pull.  She would slow down, but no one went around.  She kept looking back at me and I just smiled at her.  I knew I was in no shape to take off and stay away.  We were about a mile about when Michelle easily moved to the front and ramped up the pace.  Ashley went along side of her.  We hit the hill to the feed zone and the paced quickened even more.  I was still holding on at that point.  We turned the corner and started the little hill to the finish and the sprint was on.  I tried to go but couldn't stay out of my saddle. I was able to hold onto Becca's wheel but had nothing left to go around her.  My head was killing me and my legs were rubber.  Ashley was able to zoom ahead of Michelle and take the W.

I found some shade and got my helmet off.  Once my heart rate/blood pressure dropped, I felt well enough to walk back to the car.  Getting into flip flops also helped as well.  Steph and Kelly were wonderful enough to walk the cooler back from the feed zone and I began to take on as many fluids as I could.  It took a good 30 minutes for me to feel semi-normal.  We packed up and were St. Louis bound.  A much needed stop at Chipotle in CoMo refueled our tanks.  The races were great, the road trip was fun.  These will be definitely be on my radar for next year.

Race Report: Tour de Ste. Genevieve--AKA the Big Bonk!

I wish I could pinpoint what happened to make the race fall apart for me. In reality, I think it was a combination of issues. We got there in plenty of time and headed out for a warm up. My rear derailleur was out of whack and I was having trouble getting into my mid gears. I found Klucker (he was officiating) and he gave me a quick adjustment. That helped out there but what I couldn't tell from the warm up was that I it was still out at the top of the rear cog--that comes later. (And let me get this rant out here--Klucker switched out my wheels and cog on me last night. I didn't know he was doing it until it was done and I got the "I checked it on the stand and it's fine" response when I asked if it was shifting right).

Sunday was the first HOT day we've had this spring. It was 90 degrees when we pulled to the line with high humidity and a strong breeze. I had hydrated well Friday and Saturday and was conscious of my nutrition. There were 16 women who went to the line in Women's 4 and we were combined with the 3 Women's Masters 40+ and told we could work together. The whistle went off and we rolled out for our neutral start. About half way to the start Madeline started taking off. Allison and Amy called her back and we regrouped. We hit the start line and started racing. The first climb was a big ring climb about five miles into the race. I was watching my field position and made it up with no problem. I kept reminding myself to drink as we went through. Leaders changed throughout the next several miles. I tried to avoid some of the woman as much as possible because they were all over the place. We got to the climb at mile 10. I had looked at the course profile but I guess I misjudged this one. I thought we were done and the group was sitting up so I looked at Amy, Master's teammate, and said hold 'em back. Off I went. I got up near our pace truck and looked back and had gone alone. Ok can I make this stick? My heartrate was at 193 and I was in the wind alone. That's when I realized this climb was still going. Oye! I got in the small ring, then started working my way up on the rear. One from the top, I started slipping. It would stay in gear. I was really starting to fatigue but didn't want to sit up just yet. I shifted down and kept climbing. I was out about 7 minutes when I saw the green of the Hub girls at my side. I let up and got in and rested.

The next seven miles or so were hot and calm. There were some rollers, but no killers. I Gu'd at mile 17 and tossed my empty bottle. We then got to the climb at mile 21. I knew this one would be tough. It was long with a steep pitch at the end. I tried one more time to get in those top gears but it wouldn't lock in. I got out of the saddle and started to climb. I stayed up and we fractured the group. Our lead group had two Master's women--Amy and Alison and four Cat4 women--Britta, Laura, Ashley and me. Amy looked back and yelled that we had a gap and to haul. The girls at the front ramped up the pace. Amy kept trying to get a pace line organized but it was struggling. It was about then that I realized that I was done. I had stopped sweating and didn't have enough saliva in my mouth to spit. At mile 23, we turned onto the frontage road along the highway and I fell off. Ashley was on my wheel and offered to pull me up, but I didn't have it to go with her. I rode by myself, head down and exhausted. DNFing was sounding pretty good about then. I kept trying to talk myself through. I looked up and saw that the group had caught the Womens 1/2/3 and there was some confusion with the our lead vehicle and their wheel truck. It slowed them up. I tried to go harder to catch them but couldn't.

Mile 27 hit and I knew KOM was looming. When I studied the course map, the only thing I wrote about this climb was UGLY! and it was. I saw the 1K to KOM sign and reminded myself that it was only .6 miles. I dropped into my small ring and worked on spinning. I was slow but steady at the point. I hit the 500M mark and my body stopped. I honestly thought I may fall trying to get out of my pedals. I got off my bike. To quit or not to quit...I started telling myself your first DNF makes it an option for every race here on out. One foot in front of the other. Keep walking. Stand up straight to get oxygen. Don't cry. This is demoralizing. Cat passed me about that time and asked what happen. Dehydration, heat stroke, I don't know. I kept walking 100M to go and Tricia passed me. I saw the line and was almost there when Bethany passed me. I hopped on the bike at that point and made a half-hearted attempt to catch them but they had started working together and there was another little rise. I got back in my small ring and started counting down miles and doing crazy mental math problems to distract myself. (Being an English major, math really makes me concentrate. It's a trick I've used for a while to get through it when it hurts.)

I made it to mile 30 when I heard a voice behind me, "Suzanne, what happened?" It was Alice, our other Master's racer. I told her I bonked and she offered her wheel. I graciously accepted but was secretly worried for the first 3-5 minutes that I couldn't hold on. My salvation was the Ste. Genevieve sign. We made it to the city limits, I can make it to the line. I pulled alongside Alice and we chatted and we rolled through. I saw our turn to finish straightaway and was relieved. I would finish this race.

I ended up in 8th, not quite the race I had envisioned. I learned a few things (attacking early in a RR is not smart, probably should have had three bottles with me on the bike) and I'm a stronger racer for having done it.

Hermann Race Report

Can I start by just saying that I am cooked well-done this morning? I think muscle memory and accountability are the only things that got me through a run this morning.

I did not go into this weekend's races with the best attitude. I will openly admit that I was scared of the first hill of the road race. I set a goal for myself of a super strong TT, followed by holding my own in the crit, and simply holding on in the road race. I knew there would be nine women going for the Omnium, several of them Cat 3 racers, I wanted a podium spot there.

Of course, Saturday morning we were running late...that's usually what happens when I travel with Klucker. We got to Hermann and got our chips with only 20 minutes till our TT start times. I got on the bike and warmed up as much as I could. I made sure I did a hard effort to agitate my heart rate a bit. I rolled up to the start house and got in line. My time came up and I moved onto the ramp. For the first time since I began TTing I clicked into both pedals right away...I felt very comfortable being held. Buddy gave me my count down and I was off. In my head I was screaming up, up, up. I stayed up on the bars through the first two turns. After that second turn I went down into the aero bars and powered over the bridge. The wind was crazy strong. I crested the bridge and tried to get my breathing under control. I concentrated on my cadence and pedal stroke and talked myself through the race. I made the next turn onto the two lane country road and told myself it's only 5.5mi out in the wind. About seven minutes in the lactic acid build up began its burn and I got passed for the first time. Three minutes later another guy flew past me. I just kept pedaling and kept them in my site. I got to the turn and flipped around...I still need to work on that with this new bike. I got out of the saddle to get a little power and got back into position. I added a gear but was disappointed not to have the true tail wind I was wanting; still it was better than the way out. In my mind I was trying to calculate if I could finish the race in less than 30 minutes. I saw the turn back to the bridge...the ride back seemed much shorter. All of sudden I was passed twice like I was sitting still, first by a guy, then by a woman. Onto the road to the bridge and the finish. The diagonal cross wind felt like it had picked up. I was doing my mental math again as I approached the crest of the bridge and saw the finish. I could have given a little more and finished in under 30, but I was afraid I wouldn't have it left for the crit. About 100 feet before the finish, another guy blew past me but I was just happy to be done. I rolled back into town and spun for a couple of minutes before heading to the truck to head over to the crit.

We drove over near the crit course and got ready to go. I rode the course twice and knew that two hills would make the race. The uphill was nasty, about 16% grade (I'm glad I didn't know that at the time) and the downhill was just as steep with awful pavement. About 150 yards after the downhill was a sharp right turn that was torn up on the inside. I had Ashley and Kelly with me on the course and I tried to talk them through what to think about because they're both new racers. I think that was good for me as well. We got back to the start/finish at the top of the hill and the final TT results were posted. I won by one second! YEAH! As they were staging it, Aero announced our results. We were getting our pre-race instructions when Aero announced the TT results were wrong; some woman from IA had beaten me by 8 seconds. WTH????I told myself that it wasn't the time to worry about it; I had another race to do. The whistle went off and so did Woodard. She took a quick jump and all of a sudden I was sitting 8th.Cory was up there with them and I told myself to relax and outlast them. Buddy had changed our time to 15 +3 so I just needed to race strong and smart. As we went around, I made my moves. At the end of the first lap, I was sitting 6th.I crested the hill and Amy, my teammate, was yelling at me to get back in my big ring. I listened and concentrated on moving forward. Next lap I was 5th across the line. This time I had Lo telling me to remember to smile because the photos would be on Facebook. Back in my big ring and back around. Third time across I was in 4th and right up with Ashley. Fourth lap and the prime point bonus bell. I had moved into third and heard Amy tell me to keep my gap. Back down and around and up again. I couldn't catch Woodard or Allison for the point’s bonus. I saw 16 minutes on the lap cards and secretly hoped they would read two to go on the next time around. Back around to the hill, nope three laps to go but we got a bell for another prime. I would make ground on the two leaders on the climb, but they took it back on the downhill and corner. With two laps to go, Allison took the lead from Woodard for the first time. Had she cracked? I was tired by this point but as I climbed, Stephanie ran along side of me telling me to spin and turn them over. Leave it to my incredible friend to know exactly what I needed and when I needed it. This was it, if I was going to do something I needed to do it this lap. I went all out on the downhill and didn't let them get that ground back this time. We weaved through the turns at the bottom and back to the climb. I had done the previous climbs seated (and from the photos I need to work on posture) but this time I was up and out of the saddle. I didn't give Woodard a second look as I took second from her. I gave it everything and put a pretty good gap on her as I crossed the line behind Allison.

With two good finishes I was sitting in first for the Omnium, I tried not to think about how I "had to finish" to win it all. I wanted to go out Sunday and race hard and stay on as long as I could. I didn't want to get over confident.

Sunday was a much quieter but start than Saturday. We got there in plenty of time. I went out for a warm up and wanted to pre-ride the first hill so I knew exactly what to expect. As I headed out of town, I asked a volunteer which way the race went and she pointed straight ahead. It was a big, long hill so I started climbing. I was about 3/4 of the way up when a pickup truck pulled alongside of me and told me I was going the right way. It was very nice of the guy, but he also kept edging me over until I was in the grass. Finally, I had to tell him thanks but go away. I turned around and found the right hill. The girls who told me it wasn't steep were lying--I'm thinking 20-21% at one point. It was steep, long and deceiving. I went about a third of the way up and knew that it would definitely crack the field apart. I headed back to town and towards the start line. I met up with Teresa and she told me to watch Woodard, she would be strong and that if I could make it through the first 12-15 miles, it would get easier. I also met another Big Shark woman who had finished 2nd in the TT the day before but hadn't raced the crit. Cheryl graciously told me she would do whatever I needed her to do to keep my place in the Ominium.

We rolled up to the line for prerace instructions and Aero called me out for leading the GC.I didn't want the attention because I just wanted to quietly race and maintain a good position. We got a whistle and rolled out. We had about a mile of neutral riding before we turned onto the hill and the official start. I did my best not to go out to aggressively but tried staying near the front. We had a moment where the hill flattened and it pitched up again. I stayed up with the leaders and got to the top. There were six of us at that point. I think we took a collective breath and organized for the descent. It was a quick down and back up. Five more riders got on with us at the bottom. I looked around and saw Ashley and Cheryl were there. We rotated through our line several times before the third climb. After the third descent, I was on the front and Ashley came up and said it's flat for a mile, let go. Our attack was off. It didn't last though. We were quickly caught and back in the group and head up the fifth climb. I fell to the back of the group during that climb. I knew I need to stay on and we'd have a respite at the top. We got up there and again regrouped. I took a GU and some Gatorade at that point. Our pace seemed to slow a bit as well. We had two women with us who were not strong in a pack. I did my best to stay clear of them.

From there, we had a progressive, gradual downhill to mile 20.Our next small climb came up and I saw Klucker up ahead. That meant he had fallen off of the men's group that started 10 minutes ahead of us. Cheryl came up and we talked about the end of the race. She offered to give me a lead out if we could get into position. We finished the climb and descent and headed to the QOM climb. Woodard and Allison attacked. I didn't have it left in me to stand and go after them for the points. Ashley and Cheryl went by me and I yelled to Ashley to go for the QOM. She didn't get them so that meant they would have extra Omnium points. I was off the back and tired. I crested and continued to pedal through the descent--no rest for me if I wanted to get back on. I heard Madeline come up alongside of me. I dropped back and took her wheel for about a minute to rest. We were heading into town and I was gaining ground. The pack slowed down a bit--I found out later that a truck got in front of them. Whatever it was, it was to my advantage. The group turned made the first turn towards the finish and I was about 5 bike lengths back, next turn I made up more ground. Two blocks to the final turn and I had Cheryl's wheel and told her to give me the lead out. She sling-shotted me around that corner and I was out of the saddle and going. I caught Allison's back wheel but couldn't pass her. I heard the Aero announce Cat took first with Ashley in second. I didn't know what Woodard had done.

I spun my legs out for a few minutes while I was waiting for the results. Woodard had taken fourth, but they also changed the TT results again--I had won. By my (and Stephanie via text msg) calculations that meant I maintained the Omnium lead, Woodard took second and Allison was third. YES!

Special note has to go out to a few ladies who raced 3/4s this weekend:
Two of our Racing 101 women did their first races this weekend: Kelly M. jumped in the hardest crit course I’ve seen and stayed strong. Madeline raced the road race and finished in the top half of her field!
Nicole L. raced the Omnium in fine fashion. She’s really doing a great job of jumping back into racing.
A big woo-hoo goes to Kate and her 3rd in the TT. Impressive!
And Ashley…4th in the crit, 2nd in the road race. Watch out when this girl gets some more experience under her belt. She’s incredible now and she’ll be unbeatable!






*Photo credits to Paul Pate. Thx, man!

Pedal Packed Weekend--Racing Reports

This weekend marked my first “full” weekend of road racing ever. I went into it a bit nervous, excited, scared. And I survived it.

Saturday was a hard race for me mentally. I rodeup to Hillsboro with the Hub girls . . . my teammates on a different team. We got there in plenty of time, picked up our chips and headed out for our warm up. The course was very similar to the roads I ride here, country rodes with rollers, chip and seal pavement, corners filled with gravel. I felt very at home. The one piece that would be new and challenging were the 8-10 blocks before the finish, they were bricked. My plan for the race was to stay near the front of the lead group until that final hill and then attack. We finished up our warm up by riding the last hill and the bricks.

We pulled up to the line about ten minutes before the start and about two-thirds of the women were already on there. The field was full--50 cat 4 women. I politely edged my way forward into any gap I could see in the line up. I had heard from girls who had raced this course before that placement in the field from the start was important. We got our pre-race instructions and our whistle and were off. As we headed down to the first turn, I kept looking for gaps and moving forward. As we headed out by the feedzone, I was sitting around tenth and happy. Because this field was so big, there were a lot of unknown wheels. Several teams were well represented in our race and knew how to race as a team. There were also a good number of what I'm calling "professional cat 4 women racers." That's the nicest thing I can say about them. I have never heard so many "hold your line" or "watch your wheels" as this group was yelling at each other. You would have thought by the way they were yelling we were racing for a purse of $1,000 instead of a brick trophy.

The race began to settle down as much as it would about four miles in. We made our second of many turns and headed towards one of the four larger rollers we would encounter. At this point I had moved up to third or fourth in the pack, sitting where I would have liked to stay the whole race. We hit the hill and made the turn that came after and the first attack came. I briefly looked around to see if anyone was going to reel her back in and no one made a move. With this type of a course, a strong rider would be able to attack and stay away from a group as unorganized as ours so I went after her. Several riders jumped on my wheel and she was back in the group.

I'd say this is where I began to struggle mentally. Back in the pack, riding as a group, the poor sportsmanship of my fellow riders wore on me. Sure there were some weak wheels, but from my vantage, no one was purposely trying to cut anyone off. Women who were skiddish were apologetic. Most of the next 13 miles were a blur with a few exceptions. Somewhere in there I was sitting around 13th or 14th and there was a gap about three deep in front of me. Carrie has always told us if your handlebars can fit, so can your bike...move up quickly and make sure the girls on either side see you so they don't squeeze you out. I began to pull forward and a girl on my left yelled at me, "you need to get over and grab her wheel." I didn't even look at her, I just quietly told her she needed to race her race and I would race mine. Her retort was, "why don't you just go all the way up the middle and crash us all." I told her she better hold tight to her bars because that was my exact plan. I then moved up. A few miles later, a girl on my right laid over me and yelled to someone to watch their line or something, as I moved away from her, I heard her go down. I saw another girl flat...I knew better than to ride on the inside of these roads, there were still cinders from the winter there. We hit some nasty pavement with hunks of road missing. And I saw a stupid attack. I was sitting pretty far back in what was the lead group at the time...I don't know when or where the back half of the field fell off. I'm assuming the leaders were tired and wanted off the front so they slowed down. It was a nice recovery for my heart rate, but there were a good number of women who felt they needed to surge and brake, surge and brake to deal with the easier pace. I watch a girl next to me...around 12th-14th, cross the yellow line and attack from there. She didn't last long, but we were back at it.

Around mile 20 I began to really feel fatigued. We turned onto a better paved road and the group surged. I couldn't hold on. In my mind I told myself that I had raced a good race, and would finish strong but was prepared that I would ride the last ten alone. The wheel truck went around me and I took a deep breath. I grabbed the Gu I had stashed in my shorts and took a few drinks. I then thought about something Steph had told me--after the Forest Park crit, she said that she could tell I was going to struggle holding Kate off because my cadence had dropped. Her exact words were, "when you're turning your high cadence, no one can hold on to you." I could still see the field in front of me and saw two girls had dropped off and the wheel truck had gone around one of them. I dropped a gear and sped up my cadence using that girl as my rabbit. If I could catch her, I'd have someone to work with on the way in. I watched the other girl get back on with the pack. We went past a couple of volunteers at an intersection in lawn chairs and I had a momentary want to stop and join them, but I saw the Metro East girl catch the wheel truck. It had to move for her. Damnit, that truck was gonna move for me too. I wasn't done. I pushed my cadence and watched that truck move for me. I heard "go get ‘em Big Shark as I went around." I was back on with the group. I was tired from my bridge, and tried to move a little farther into the pack. I sat there until an attack went off with about six miles to go. The front of the group let her go for a bit. She got about 500 yards on the field before they started to pull her back. I was at the back, fighting to hold on when a girl hit my back tire. Thank God for cyclocross and learning how to hold my bike. I fell off the the pack, but stayed up right. The girl went in the ditch, but somehow stayed upright as well and was back on the road. She yelled "I'm sorry" and I told her no worries.

By this time we were at the beginning of the last hill. I was about 50 yards off the pack. I sat up and slid back to climb. I was gaining ground. The hill flattens out in the middle and went through and intersection before it's final pitch. A truck was in front of me and stopped dead in the intersection. He started to move forward and stopped again. I was almost to the point of need to clip out. I saw a course marshal and asked if we could go around and he waved us through. I saw the pack turn the corner to the bricks at the top of the hill. I knew I didn't have it left in me to catch them. I made it up the hill and turned the corner. I held tight on my bars through the brick, losing my favorite water bottle in the process. The girl who rubbed my wheel had my wheel. She held tight to me into the finishing straight. We hit 200 meters and I stood to sprint. My legs had a different idea. I still pushed it, but she got me by a bike length. I finished 17th, 1:31 back of the winner with an overall pace of upper 20mph.

I say it was mentally tough because I couldn't shut out the complainers. I let them drain me of my energy and take the fun out of racing for me. I got off my bike, fully ready to not go to the line next Sunday at the Hermann road race. I vented to Kate, Ashley and anyone else who would listen and by the time we all regrouped at the feed zone to support our Women’s Open friends, I was in a much better place mentally.

Hanging in the feedzone was fun. We watched the racers zoom by, patiently waiting for our women. Finally we saw the single breakaway rider come through. The pack hit about 35 seconds later. We didn’t feed our girls well. I’d say only two or three of the seven in the pack got hand ups. After they passed, we talked about who we didn’t see and kept an eye for them. Within a few minutes, Steph and Alice came rolling by in a group of four. We were able to give both of them hand ups.

Our feeding duties done, we walked to find a new spectating spot. Since we had at least 90 minutes till the women’s finish, Ashley and I walked to course, talking racing, training and looking for the missing Big Shark bottle…it wasn’t to be found. We headed back towards the finish line and hooked up with Kate and Katie. We talked to Larry about the race and hung out. Finally the women’s leaders were in site. It was a break of three and none of them my friends.

The mass of the pack was next, we Carrie giving a brief sprint effort and taking 5th. Eventually the others came in. The pack was pretty splintered. We were down to waiting for Steph and Alice. Alice rolled through but no Steph. We talked to the girls who had raced and they were spent. Time passed and I got worried. Finally, in the distance, I saw Steph’s familiar outline—she looked labored. As she crossed the line she stopped and I really got scared. She couldn’t talk to us. She was done. Thankfully Larry was on her left because I think she would have fallen without him. We got her off her bike, off the road and sat her down. Those next 10-15 minutes reinforced to me why I hated the group I raced with earlier. Our group of women love racing and do it with class—on and off the road. We take care of each other and that’s what we did. Steph eventually started moving and making sense with the help of Gatorade and love.
I woke up Sunday not entirely sure I was up to racing. I was still feeling the after effects of the sun and the mean girls from Saturday. I began to pack my bag and something about slipping into those bibs made me want to go racing. I heard the race director’s voice from the day before in my head, “boogity, boogity, boogity, Let’s go racing!”

We got to Tilles and I registered, pinned on and clicked in. I found the Hub girls and we hit the course between the Masters and Juniors races for a few laps. Once we got kicked off course, Ashley and I met up with Jamie and headed out to warm up on the road. We got a great warm up in and did two more laps after the juniors finished. For the first time in my short racing career, I willing and knowingly rolled up to the line in the Women's Open field. My goal for the day was to stay rubber side down and hold on as long as I could.

There were 15 women in the Open field. Nine of us were local and the rest had stayed over from Saturday's road race. We got our pre-race instructions and a whistle. These girls started fast. I tried to position myself well in the pack so that I could minimize my work load and hold on longer. I had started in my big ring, but was having trouble keeping my cadence high so I dropped to the small. The first two attacks came and I held on. Lap three and attack three saw me fall off the back. I thought about soft pedaling but also wanted to be ready in case anyone else fell off. After two laps by myself, Teresa saw that I was still in my small ring. She got on to me and I made some adjustments to get in the big ring and hold my cadence. I had forgotten my HR strap, so was riding by feel in that area. The next lap I got passed by the leaders. Chris and a Tulsa girl had made a break. I kept waiting for the rest of the pack so I could jump in, but they were at least half a lap back still. I concentrated on finding a good zone for myself--high cadence without exhausting myself. I also reminded myself at some point that I was having fun and actually was able to smile through the rest of the race.

We were on the course with Women's 4 and some of the juniors had fallen off. I tried to encourage them and help them out as I went by--this was their first race. Finally I saw another W-O rider had fallen off. She was my carrot and I went after her. I had her wheel and within a half lap, the pack had us. I jumped back in and sat on. I made sure I wasn't on the back of the pack so that I didn't get dropped when we they surged. Chris and the Tulsa girl eventually lapped the pack and sat back in with us.

We got to four laps to go and I knew it was going to heat up again. Amy and I talked about strategy for the sprint--I knew I couldn't contest it as a lapped rider, but I could try to give her a lead out. The next three laps were a blur. The typical sprint point for Tilles in right after the last turn, about 250M. On Sunday, the sprint started way earlier than that. They went off like a shot and I had no chance to give Amy any help. I hung on to the group as we rolled through and stayed out of the leaders’ way.

I ended up 14/15, although I think it was actually a scoring error that the woman in 15 didn't protest. I felt good through the race and was able to see attacks develop. I think the pace of this race may have been a bit slower than some because the Tulsa and Mesa girls both a rider in the break and kept anyone else from trying to get a catch organized.

I learned a lot this weekend. I pushed my physical and mental limits and survived them. Both days I was able to race my race, my way. The results may not have been what I would have ideally liked, but in the end, I feel I was successful.

Revisiting the Beginning: A Year Makes All the Difference

What a difference a year makes. I remember pulling up at this race last year, clueless, aerobars still attached to my bike. I had no real clue what to expect and was terrified when we took off because I’d never ridden in a pack. Sunday, I had fun!
The weather was pretty incredible for a February race—it was actually sunny and in the 40s. Of course, that mid-Missouri wind was out in force (although it may have actually only be 12 mph give or take). I registered and got “kitted up” in my borrowed Team Rev gear. I am still adjusting to my team switch and didn’t have a Big Shark kit so Carrie hooked me up with some neutral apparel. Walking through the school and parking lot it felt awesome to recognize and know people. Last year the only person I recognized was Teresa and I had only met her once. This year I had friends with whom to warm up and was excited to race with, and against, them.
I decided to race Cat 4 instead of open and I’m still not sure that was the right decision. We 20 in our field. A lot of the women were unknown to me but that’s not unusual for a road race. We lined up and got stern yellow line warnings from Aero. (Those were hard to take serious because I kept picturing him in his fur coat from last year).
The race began. There was the normal “Cat 4” havoc of trying to figure out what we were exactly out there for. I tried to stay to the front of the group, but avoid pulling because it was windy. The pack stayed together for the first 9 miles or so. A few times some girls would try to slowly pull off the front and I found myself going after them because it didn’t seem like anyone else noticed/cared. Ashley was doing awesome in her first race, she stayed at the front and rode smart. I tried to talk her through what I was seeing because last year I remember not having a clue and missing surges and the break.
Two girls came up in front of Ashley and me and started pulling away. I told Ashley to go after them and I jumped on her wheel. One of them was a bit squirrely so I was trying to stay back from her without letting them get away. We took the second corner and finally had a tail wind. Two more girls jumped up front and the four of them surged. I went after them, dropping Ashley and we were away. Two more girls joined us. I wasn’t sure where the rest of the field was. I held on for a few minutes but they were pulling away. I kept thinking to myself “there is no way they can maintain this pace.” I looked around to see if I had anyone with whom to work and everyone else was gone. I kept trying to pull back up but wasn’t gaining any ground.
I was solo for about four or five minutes when I heard Kate, “Hop on the pain train” and that’s what I did. She had pulled Ashley, Alane and Sandy up with me…all women I know well and train with. Alane organized us into an efficient line and we were set. Every I would go to pull though, Alane would reel me in and tell me to slow down. I wanted to go all out and catch the lead group, but I also knew that I couldn’t bridge to them alone. The five of us ended up working together for the next seven miles or so. Compared to my race last year where I ended up going it alone, this was a cake walk.
With about six miles to go, we hit some small hills. Nothing epic, but in the wind they caused some lactic build up. Somewhere along there we dropped Alane and Sandy and our pace line went to hell. Ashley, Kate and I rounded the last corner back into the head wind. Kate would go up to take her pull and start to ride away. She is known for attacking off the front, so I found myself playing defense a lot and trying to bring her back. As a result, I think I did a lot more work than I really needed to do. I saw the 1K sign and popped it back into my big ring and started revving up my cadence and the tempo. I could tell by the shadow I was pulling away from Ashley. About 50 feet from the 200M sign, Kate pulled around me out of the saddle and was off. I stood up and added gear but my legs put up a fight. I took off the gear and sat down and just spun as quickly as possible hoping I had enough to hold off Ashley. I did. 8th place finish…up six places from last year. More than that, confidence, self awareness, and friendship!