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