Stage 1 - Individual Time Trial - Tracey's report
Kern is a great stage race -- all women and tough stages in the lovely dry, hot Bakersfield. It's one of my favorite races of the year. I'm not quite sure why because I'm not very good at TTs and we all know I'm not a climber. But it's a great time to bond with team-mates, work on team tactics and improve your fitness. I had lots of team-mate bonding last year w/Jamie as we navigated through disaster after disaster...bike falling off the roof of her car....repairing her broken fork....flatting on I5 while driving home in the pouring rain and being driven home by a crack-head flat bed tow truck driver. Yes....I digress. This year I was focused on helping out my team (Kristina, Shelley, Katy and Abby) as much as possible and trying to avoid the 2007Lantern Rouge (which I was the proud owner of in 2006). The flat TT was the first event. It's a 5 mile out and back, with a "Bob Liebold" half mile sweeping descent in the first mile and a climb coming back to the finish. I had my TT bike (which was still a little screwed up from flying off the back of the car at Madera) and some real TT equipment that I borrowed from Michael. I got to the start after a pretty good warmup and realized that I had a terrible position. Kelly McDonald was in front of me, which meant that I would lose my "rabbit" rather quickly, and Jane Despas behind me, which meant that I would be passed in a matter of minutes. Joy!! Off I went, and settled into a rhythm. I was feeling ok and kept Kelly within my sights, but then as expected ...swooosh ....Jane goes by me. I tried to pick up my pace a little and use her to gauge my speed. But my legs were not having any part of it. So I slowed down some and kept pushing myself along and focused on ...the dead snakes in the road, the ambulance stopped on the side of the road next to the conductor of the stopped train, the old dilapidated slaughter house, etc. It was even more exciitng on the way back. I was just about to the bottom of the climb and Shelley caught me...and passed me...and completely left me behind. My legs just didn't want to turn over and I was barely moving up the hill. Uggghhhh. I lost a lot of time at the end, but still managed to pull off a 10th place. Yay!! I didn't come in last and have to hear Michael console me with "Honey, someone has to come in last". - Tracey
Stage 2, Walker Basin Road Race - Kristina's report
8:30 AM
7.5 mile loop, 8 laps
Bonus time on each lap 10, 5, and 3 seconds for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.
Kristina’s Report
Game plan was to set up Shelley for the sprints each lap, and take the win. Tracey would sweep and take away points from any other contender. Abby and I would lead out Shelley and chase down any breaks. Kate was instructed to sit in and rest her legs for the hill climb. The plan worked, we completely controlled the race and Shelley took the Stage Win and got to keep an incredible, hand-crafted, beautifully colored, Robert made, windmill like, wood plaque (in the end, worth the effort just for this trophy).
Each lap was quite slow. Everyone was saving their legs for the hill climb later in the afternoon, or the sprint points at the start/finish. We did the same. Into the start/finish there was a nasty head wind, a few sweeping turns and a long gradual hill. Also, the center line rule was strictly enforced and the finishing stretch was very narrow. (I even heard Mike was hiding in the bushes taking photos to make sure NO ONE crossed the line, one gal was DQ’ed last year.) So, positioning was key to this sprint. If you weren’t near the front at the bottom of the climb, there was no room to get up to the front. Our team quickly figured out where to be and when to jump and lined up for the points every lap. Each lap I worked on my lead out with Abby either just ahead of me or behind, and Tracey and Shelley were in the points every time! It was incredible. I ended up crawling back up to the field after my long lead out each lap; no one was attacking after the points and we all rested each lap. Tracey, our secret 29-year-old sprinting weapon racked up tons of points along the way and finished 2nd, right behind Shelley. I wonder if they were throwing elbows at the line? That would be a fun sprint to watch!
It was great lead-out practice for the team and just overall a great day for teamwork. We all did our jobs well and, in the end, it was a perfect end to a perfect race. Then we packed up as quick as we could, shoveled down some food, and prepared for the hill climb we were to start in just two short hours… - Kristina
8:30 AM
7.5 mile loop, 8 laps
Bonus time on each lap 10, 5, and 3 seconds for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, respectively.
Kristina’s Report
Game plan was to set up Shelley for the sprints each lap, and take the win. Tracey would sweep and take away points from any other contender. Abby and I would lead out Shelley and chase down any breaks. Kate was instructed to sit in and rest her legs for the hill climb. The plan worked, we completely controlled the race and Shelley took the Stage Win and got to keep an incredible, hand-crafted, beautifully colored, Robert made, windmill like, wood plaque (in the end, worth the effort just for this trophy).
Each lap was quite slow. Everyone was saving their legs for the hill climb later in the afternoon, or the sprint points at the start/finish. We did the same. Into the start/finish there was a nasty head wind, a few sweeping turns and a long gradual hill. Also, the center line rule was strictly enforced and the finishing stretch was very narrow. (I even heard Mike was hiding in the bushes taking photos to make sure NO ONE crossed the line, one gal was DQ’ed last year.) So, positioning was key to this sprint. If you weren’t near the front at the bottom of the climb, there was no room to get up to the front. Our team quickly figured out where to be and when to jump and lined up for the points every lap. Each lap I worked on my lead out with Abby either just ahead of me or behind, and Tracey and Shelley were in the points every time! It was incredible. I ended up crawling back up to the field after my long lead out each lap; no one was attacking after the points and we all rested each lap. Tracey, our secret 29-year-old sprinting weapon racked up tons of points along the way and finished 2nd, right behind Shelley. I wonder if they were throwing elbows at the line? That would be a fun sprint to watch!
It was great lead-out practice for the team and just overall a great day for teamwork. We all did our jobs well and, in the end, it was a perfect end to a perfect race. Then we packed up as quick as we could, shoveled down some food, and prepared for the hill climb we were to start in just two short hours… - Kristina
Kern County Stage Race: Stage 3, Mt. Breckenridge Hillclimb. Shelley's Report: There were no real tactics to speak of in this race. Our plan was to launch Kate and her superior climbing legs off the front and straight up the mountain to put her back on top of the GC. Kristina was instructed to sit in and save her legs for the next day's VERY hilly road race. This was probably the most challenging part of the entire stage race for Kristina, as she is a true climber and for some strange reason really enjoys hill climb racing. I was sitting in 1st on GC after the team's successes earlier that morning, about 45 seconds ahead of Jane Despas. I knew very well that the two climbers Kelly McDonald of Touchstone and Molly Van Howling of Metromint would use this race to gain an edge on the field and myself. The race started on an open road, gradually climbing about 3 miles up to the base of the climb where the real pain would begin. I kept myself well protected and the pace was mellow. At 3 miles in, we turned right over a cow grate and onto a very narrow single lane road that would wind and wind up to the top. Kelly McDonald of Touchstone attacked immediately. I watched as she rode away, but tried to maintain a close distance behind her. Molly, Jane, and I tried to keep the pace high and go with the move, but each of us realized very quickly that we would need to pace ourselves if we didn't want to blow up. I never saw anyone again after Kelly's attack, besides Molly who I kept within sight for the rest of the race. For a few minutes, I could hear the heavy breathing of Jane Despas close behind me, but that sound quickly faded and I found myself alone with only one rider in view. I used Molly as a target for the rest of the climb. It took me about 2 miles to settle my breathing and convince myself that quitting wasn't an option. Mike Hernandez had positioned himself in a most critical spot of the climb for me and thankfully inspired me to keep going with a nice splash of water, a feed, and these words, "Just Ride." It was that moment that I found a rhythm in my peddle stroke, relaxed my shoulders, and finally gained control of my breath. I also caught back on to Molly's wheel soon after and allowed her to pace me for the rest of the climb. It was windy in the open switchbacks and having a wheel to follow was certainly advantageous. We rode the rest of the race together at a nice smooth pace and crossed the finish line together. I thanked Molly after the race for pacing me and congratulated her for her impressive performance as a climber. My teammates all finished shortly behind me, ecstatic that the race was over as I was. All of the riders in all the categories joined together at the top of the mountain with a shared sense of accomplishment and waited for the officials to give us the o.k. to descend. We were all shivering by the time the last rider crossed the line. The descent was painful and cold, with the occasional huge snake and lots of gravel and rocks to avoid riding over. I lost about 2 minutes to Kelly McDonald on the climb, which put her ahead of me on GC by only 15 seconds. This would make the next day's road race much more interesting. Shelley
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