HANFORD CRITERIUM - WIN!

Hanford is my FAVORITE race of the year. Great technical course, perfect roads, local support, and lots of cash...what more could you ask for? This is the second year I have done this race and it greatly disappoints me that the field sizes are so small. I'd love to see more support for this race in the future.
My team-mate Kristina decided to join me. It was her first race of the year, and she was really excited. I love racing with team-mates, it makes every little accomplishment that much better. Well ...the race started and it was pretty mellow for the first few laps. Then the attacks started. An Arts racer, Trina Landry, got away for a few laps. We brought her back, then a Velo Bella launched and got away for a two laps before she got swallowed back in. Both the Arts racer and the Velo Bella later got away together after a prime. I didn't think a single racer could stay away, but two probably could. I jumped across to them and within a minute we had Elis from Metromint and two CVC racers join us. Unfortunately, Kristina didn't make it across. But did a great job keeping things slow within the field and picking up pack primes. I got the girls in the break organized and strategically made everyone take pulls to gain time on the pack (yeah, I admit I was a little bossy out there). The group worked well together and I was happy that we were going to make this stick. I had a better chance of outsprinting 5 girls then the entire field. I opened up the legs a little and managed to win two $100 primes in the process. It came down to the last lap and the pace picked up. The Arts racer stayed in the front and kept the pace high. On the second to last corner, the Velo Bella took the inside line and clipped her pedal. She bounced and I had to go really wide to get around her. I pulled back in for the last corner and sprinted to the line ahead of everyone...winning the race! Kristina managed to win the field sprint and took 7th!

Kudos to one of the CVC racers (Katrina - I think) who made the break with me. She did an awesome job taking pulls and managed to pull off a third place finish. I later found out that she is only 11 years old!! This girl has a great future ahead of her. - TRACEY

SANTA ROSA CORPORATE CRITERIUM - WIN! PRO 1/2/3

Field of about 25 women, Giana gave us simple instructions - get someone off in a solo break, Niki sit in for field sprint. We did just that. Too many times the bridesmaid, Emily was also looking for the illusive win. PROMAN patrolled the front of the race, Emily saw an opportunity and attacked, the rest of the team were perfectly positioned to help her hold her move. A few gals attempted to chase but nothing was very organized, Emily picked up a few primes while out there and helene picked up the field primes. Helene was then instructed to attack following a prime, she did and got away, she bridged up to Virginia CRC who made a really brave effort to bridge to Emily. She sat with her for a couple of laps and then attacked her and bridged up to Emily who was happy to see her after spending most of the race alone. Emily had been in tt mode for most of the race establishing a 30 - 40 second gap. Emily and Helene crossed the finishing line in comfortable fashion back in the pack things were hotting up. One lap to go Kristin got to the front and drilled it for an entire lap with me on her wheel. Those are long laps on that course, i feared she may fade too early, but no, she was hammering, no one could advance, I stayed on her wheel until the final turn then launched my attack and won the field sprint, awesome leadout - actually a perfect leadout.

SANTA ROSA CORPORATE CRITERIUM - WIN! 30+

Masters 30+ / 3/4 As this was an open 30+ category, we decided to do this race as a warm up for the 1/2 race. In a field of over 60 women PROMAN established a break on lap 2 Niki, Emily, kristin, Helene, claire from Norcal Velo and 1 cat 3 rider, Kelly B patrolled the front of the field, foiling any atempts to bridge. Helene quickly assesed the break. The break established a considerable gap early on, of course with 4 PROMAN riders doing all of the work. Claire valiantly stepped up and joined in the work load as did the cat 3 rider who later got a flat. With one to go Claire was still with us, Emily attacked so Claire would have to chase, she was caught, kristin countered and got a good gap, Emily went a second time and Claire chased again with no avail, Helene and I attacked Claire and rolled in. Sorry Claire! A fun race, good tactics, lots of primes and really great team time trial practice.

Women's racing is certainly healthy in our district, there were lots of newer gals out there, great to see!

BARIANI ROAD RACE _ WIN!

Bariani is a flat 4x10 mile road race with a small climb. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout given that a big money NRC race (Quad Knopf) was happening on the same day. We had a field of 54 racers which included Touchstone, TIBCO, Klein (Jane), Morgan Stanley, Velo Bella and Metromint. Since I didn't have any team-mates join me for the race, my strategy was to sit in as much as possible...let the other teams that had stronger numbers chase things down...and if it stayed together, make sure my positioning was good going into the final sprint. The race began and Touchstone took over at the front and kept the speed at a good race pace. It continued to be fairly mellow on the first lap until we hit the climb. There was a KOM prize, so Jane and a few others attacked at the bottom of the hill. The pack broke up slightly, but quickly regrouped. My legs weren't feeling great, and I had lost a lot of places on the hill -- not what I was hoping for. The finish was about 1k after the hill, so I knew that I needed to crest it near the front to have a good position going into the final sprint. The next few laps were similar to the first. There were a lot of attacks, especially going into the hill, but none were strong enough to get away for more than a minute or so. The pack would pick up the pace and swallow them back in. The fourth and final climb was faster than the earlier climbs. I just couldn't find my legs and even though I wanted to be near the front, I lost a lot of positions. Coming over the top I was near the back...ugghh. As we made the right turn at the bottom of the hill, I noticed a slight mushroom at the front of the pack and knew it had slowed down slightly. I weaved my way through the racers and followed the right line so I would be sheltered from the wind. I started picking off racers one at a time. I made the final turn about 7th wheel and continued passing other girls. I finally got to 2nd position behind Kelly McDonald (Touchstone) and didn't have anyone else to draft behind. I had about 400 yards before the finish and decided to go for it. All I could think of was..."I WENT TOO EARLY AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO DRAFT AND COME AROUND ME". But I made it over the first riser out front and looked back before I hit the second one. I had at least 5 bike lengths on the other girls -- yay! I sprinted over the second riser and took the win. Two words ... PROMAN redemption! :) - TRACEY

MERCO Road Race - NRC

Merco Credit Union Classic RR: Back with a Vengeance

After some seriously bad luck in my first race of the season, I wasn’t about to sit this one out. Some fellow riders were calling me a stud, while others were calling me crazy, but the way I look at it, anyone who loves bike racing as much as I do would have been lining up again just like me.

I walked away from Saturday’s crash with your typical road rash and not so typical glued chin. I was so very lucky not to have broken any bones or damaged my bike at all. All in all I was happy with my race on Saturday. I felt comfortable riding with some of the best women in the country and I had great position going into the last two turns of the race. Unfortunately, you can’t control everything and I was caught directly behind a crash that no one could have anticipated.

Going into the road race, I was a little stiff and not quite sure how I would feel riding in the pack. So, I told myself to just take it easy, do what I can for the team and just see how I feel. The first lap was pretty mellow. I rode in the back to keep myself calm and get a feel for what the other teams were doing. When the second lap came around, I was feeling pretty good and wanted to crack it open a bit, get my heart rate up, and be at the front to really feel the other teams out. The attacks started coming and they didn’t really stop, but it seemed like no one really wanted anything to stick. Groups of 4 and 6 would get away with representation from all the teams, but the only one willing to work would be the girl who initiated that attack. I went with several of the moves, mostly just to stay out of the pack. There was a minor crash that happened right behind me half way through the second lap and a teammate was involved. We neutralized the race at the front and Kate was able to catch back on. I should mention how many times my teammates rode up next to me and asked me how I was feeling. It was nice to have them checking on me and I think we all looked out for each other really well in this race.

So now it’s the last lap, all together, and nothing’s getting away. It’s going to be a sprint. Fortunately, I had a real good idea of what the final part of the race would involve as far as terrain and other team tactics, thanks to some seasoned teammates and a genius Team Director. I stayed well near the front and followed wheels wherever they went. However, I found myself in second wheel with about 2k to go and knew I needed to be ready to move quickly. Christine Thornburn of Webcor lead it up the hill just before the finish line and I was one of about 5 girls right on her wheel. When she pulled off I found myself in the wind, leading it out but nothing else to do but take it to the line. I was thinking I’ll just hop on a wheel when it goes by, but it was only Brooke Miller that moved in front of me and far too fast for me to react. So there’s four of us across and Brooke out in front and one by one they pulled ahead of me. I got picked by two girls right on the line, which is a huge disappointment, but not surprising as I didn’t ride the sprint as smart as I should have. Although it sucks to go from 3rd to 5th right on the line, I’m very happy with my result and feel I did redeem myself from Saturday’s bad fortune. - Shelley