NORBA NATIONAL SERIES - PRO SUPER D - WIN!

USA Cycling Weekly News Update: April 25 – May 1

The Firestone Santa Ynez Valley Classic presented by Platinum Performance was also the third stop on the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Gravity Calendar. In Saturday’s Super D competition, Mike Phillips (Milwaukee, Wis./Alterra) narrowly defeated Bryan Fawley (Robinson, Texas/Kenda-X Fusion) and Carl Decker (Bend, Ore./Giant) to take the men’s victory while Rachel Lloyd (Fairfax, Calif./Proman), Marla Streb (Los Osos, Calif./Luna Chix) and Jamie Whitmore (Mount Aukum, Calif./Cannondale) took the top three spots for the women.

WENTE CRITERIUM - WIN!

We had a two fold plan today, to save Tracey and I for the sprint or to get Kristin and Emily off in a break, fortunately for the team and unfortunately for the sprinters, the later occured. i was in two minds how to write my report, a positive, upbeat, fluffy account of the race or the 4am should have, would have, could have version, i am choosing the later, i think there is more to learn - isn't there always?? We used radios, not because we needed them but because we needed to practice using them for upcoming NRC races.

First of all everyone was feeling very optomistic about getting a win today, we had better as we were the team with the most team mates and the field wasn't very deep. Not to discount the ladies that were there as there are some super strong individuals. it was a combined field of over 40 women, the cat 3s would get picked separately. We wanted to control the race from the start and we did. Lori on her 2007 debut, charged to the front and established a good pace, there were a few attacks by other teams which were very quickly shut down and countered by PROMAN. kristina attacked and stayed away for a couple of laps until the field reeled her in PROMAN immediately countered and strung out the field. PROMAN won every prime either a 1st place or 2nd place prime. Rachel, Kristin, Emily and Kristina were really active on the front while Tracey and I sat in. * A little side note on this - I hate sitting in! I thought for once i would truley just sit in, stay protected and surf wheels. In the past It may have looked like i have sat in but truth be told thats probably all i could manage! Sitting in is hard, it feels like you aren't in the race, it was great practice for me but i didn't enjoy it one bit, especially as i was feeling good and dying to sprint on my new carbon Orbea. My legs were aching to do something. When i saw the break go I was happy to see 2 PROMAN in it but at the same time, my lesson in sitting in is don't be too far back as you may miss a break, i was probably on about 10th wheel. I considered asking Rachel to get me up there while they were still at a manageable distance, but this risks bringing other riders, i opted not to but in retrospect i should have as this was a goal race for me and i should have settled for nothing less than the win, i should have dug as deep a i could to get there, with someones help or not. Rachel and i both have a snappy jump so it could have worked. Tracey tried once to bridge on the wheel of Julie but as soon as Julie saw Tracey she stopped working. The girls worked well together, Virginia from CRC is a smart rider and watched for a PROMAN break and got in it again along with another gal (sorry not sure who - Flanders team?) The 4 riders stayed off, on the final lap, Michael instructed Emily to attack from behind, Kristin should have gone with her but instead Virginia did, Emily made Virginia work and then sat behind her approaching the finish and popped out and easily outsprinted her for the win, Kristin followed for 3rd. Meanwhile back in the pack......... things were getting hot! Lori , Rachel and Kristina were setting up to lead out Tracey and I, we started a little early but we managed to all be near the front, oh dear, were tracey and I too near the front all of a sudden we were in the front well before the last turn, suddenly Rachel appeared, i jumped on her wheel and then hoped Tracey would be on mine, rachel got me to the turn, it was just what i needed, she began to fade, crap was so very far from the line, couldn't even see it at that point, I jumped any way and went hard, i quickly looked before i jumped and Tracey was not on my wheel, it was a metromint rider, i jumped slightly laterally to shake he off my wheel and just charged for the line into the most vicious headwind ever, everything felt slow motion, i just kept digging and even down shifted, i had got the field sprint, only just mind you as there were gals coming on the left who were on the protected side of the course. Tracey was behind me, Rachel, Kristina and lori rolled in top 15. Cheers to Michael for great direction and thanks to Tim for taking care of everyones mysteriously noisy deraileurs and taking pics, thanks to the PROMAN girls that allowed Tracey and i to sit in. thanks for reading! - Nicola

COPPEROPOLIS ROAD RACE - PODIUM!

Despite having to wake up at 4:30 on a Saturday to drive out to the race, it was a beautiful day for riding and I was greeted by some cheerful teammates when I arrived. My intentions going into this race were to ride as hard as I could in preparation for next weeks circuit race at Sea Otter. My tactical coach, Rob, instructed me to hit the hill hard every time and set a difficult tempo to try and dwindle the field down to the strongest riders. So, I went to the front the first time up the climb and did just that. I was surprised at how moderate the climb seemed this year, but I had forgotten how bumpy the climb was and how much of a factor that plays in making it more difficult to ride. The field stayed together on the up and over. Few girls were willing to get to the front so I found myself and my teammates there a lot. I decided to drop back to the middle of the field to see who else was in the race and set myself up for an attack. Just before the final climb before the descent into the start/finish, the field started to slow and chat with one another and everyone was grabbing something to eat. I decided this would be a great time to attack. I came from deep in the field and attacked hard into the climb and up to the top only to turn and find two teammates and two strong Touchstone riders with us. Perfect. We worked hard together to solidify the gap on the rest of the field. We stayed together up the climb in the second lap and just before the climb at the end, we were joined by one rider, Sara Ellis, who had bridged solo to our break. Pretty impressive as the conditions were extremely windy. So now we are heading into the final lap and there's 6 of us. Jill McClaughlin of Touchstone, who would eventually win the race, pushed a hard tempo through the feed zone and created a gap from the rest of us. I began chasing her and eventually caught back on with a few others behind me trying to hang on. After a few minutes, the breathing behind me stopped and I realized it was Jill and I alone. We decided to try and make the move work and so we worked together along the flats. At the bottom of the final climb of the day, Jill stood to attack me. I kept my tempo and stayed seated for the climb, ultimately letting the win slip away. I was happy with second and very happy to see Jill take the well-deserved win. That girl's been killing it this year and there's no other rider I'd rather be in a break with at the end of the day. Congratulations to Jill and all my teammates who raced a great race tactically. Emily was the perfect teammate to all of us today, ensuring my move with Jill wasn't threatened and helping Katy conserve energy for an attack before the final climb. She even had enough left to pick Maria Monica of Touchstone on the line for 4th. Great race girls! -Shelley

COPPEROPOLIS ROAD RACE - PODIUM!

i'm pretty sure i can beat maria up the climb today....

Photo: Jan Snyder http://picasaweb.google.com/cyclefreak7/Copperopollis2007

BMX CAMP day 3

the little Kids in the start gate

below Photo: Jesse Langland, camp coach

well, 3 days and 12 hours of track time later, i am simply knackered! While drastically modifying my regular workouts and getting great sleep, the 3 days of pushing myself to beat teens and pre teens has paid its toll. BMX riding requires lots of abdominal strength and upper body power and of course you are riding the entire time standing!!! No Copperopolis for me today, i wouldn't have done it anyway but now i have a great excuse.....
day 3 we dissected the course again, starting in the gate, which by the way, i am really comfortable with, i am still a bit tense but can sit clipped in and spin my pedals backwards and stand when cadence begins. My starts are still not exactly explosive but definitely more comfortable. i found the rhythm of the track today, it feels great when that happens. I was more comfortable getting air on day 3 (giving it some sky as they say) I also learned how to pump down the backside of the jump. i learned how to pump as well as pedal through the rhythm section, keep speed through the turn, stay low through the turn, protect the inside line approaching the turn.

i still don't have the speed for certain sections. its humbling and a little frustrating but i have to remind myself that i have only been doing this for a matter of hours, i am so competitive that i want to be good at this right away but i came to the realization that i just don't have the time for this i need to be focused on the other track racing as i am planning on masters Nationals. I will however continue to go to the North Bay BMX Track and maybe even participate in a few races but i feel i definitely got going on this one about 35 yrs late!

i would also like to get my team mates out there for a session, you can even ride mountain bikes in practice i believe you can race them in cruiser class too. I will miss all my new friends, their charming smiles, their words of encouragement and unbridled enthusiasm. A huge thanks to Jesse Langland who is rider for Psykopath BMX
http://www.psykopath.com/1.htm

http://bmxgallery.net/gallery/gallery.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=2011

http://www.sponsorhouse.com/EntityApps/EntityProfile.aspx?entityDisplayName=langland&mign=Default&fromdomain=community.supercross.com

Ron and Ronnie, father and son racers, trevor, the ladies that kept a continual supply of gogurt and carrots and everyone at North Bay BMX, what a very cool crowd of people.

BMX CAMP - day 1 & 2

Photo: jesse Langland. So i roll up to BMX camp, just as i thought lots of kids, i was actually very nervous! I had never ridden on a BMX track, never been in a start gate. The first thing we did was a warm up session, stretches, jumping jacks and push ups, i was giggling i was in the dirt doing push ups with 24 kids ages 5yrs - about 14yrs. Jesse langland the main instuctor is 17yrs and races pro for Psykopath.
Ok on the bikes, the first thing we did was starts, oh crap i had to quickly learn to balance on my bike in the start gate, first sitting, then standing, this wasn't easy but when i saw the 5yr olds doing it i had better learn quickly. it was pretty scarey, the gate dropped and i was faced with my very first table top into a burmed turn! i powered over the table top accidently getting air!

i couldn't use any of my power around the course as i didn't have the skills to back it up. i tried powering through another section and all i did was get massive air, well massive for me. Back to the gate i was shaking so hard in the start gate just trying to balance! a 5yr old boy told me it was ok to shake as he does everytime he starts a race, its nerves he said. he also reasurred me that i would be ok! next we broke the course into sections and practiced each section, carving turns, staying low on the burms, pumping rhythm sections etc. lots to learn! By the 2nd day i was comfortable in the gate, clipped in sitting and then standing at the start of the cadence. Now i have to work on my start form, its pretty weird feeling standing, balancing on the bike, facing down hill, waiting for the gate to drop with your back pretty straight and hips and pelvis pushed forward.

its a great scene at the North bay track, very family oriented and so supportive, this will improve anyones bike skills and give you some extra snap!

Chileno Valley TTT - WIN!

last year we were super models, this year - porn stars (yes, first pets name and mothers maiden name)

Whiskey sutton - niki

Suzie Kann - Lisa H

Snowfoot Snede - Cindy M

Pia collins - Kristin d

Sugar sintenella - lorraine J

Amberley dear - Kelly B

There were lots of sleek aero helmets, wheels and shoe covers, we decided to ride regular bikes with no aero anything. There was a guy with a post it note stuck on his helmet that said 'faster'. Although Kelly b confused us at the start by telling us about Kate Maher at the wind tunnel, they had determined that the most aero position for hair was down, we debated this for a minute and decided to leave it up. We started with 6 riders, Emily & her cell phone had fallen down a well earlier that day and helene decided to ride to the course but got delayed - there must have been a sale somewhere, she likes to shop. Not being a tt gal, i was not counting on being in the final 4. we started pretty fast and lost 2 gals in the first few miles, oh crap, that leaves 4 including me. This meant i had to stay with them (4th persons time counts) So Cindy, Lisa, Kristin and I rotated for the next 50 minutes, i sometimes missed pulls so i could recover. i was breathing so hard it was ridiculous, seemed like i had one lung or there was way less oxygen in the air than usual. they kept an eye on me and we made it to the finish line together! i was not planning on working that hard especially as i had 4 hrs at the BMX track the next day! The best prize presentation followed with champagne and brie and medals for the winners!