STEINBECK CRITERIUM - WIN!

Teamates: Kristina and Tracey
Other teams, TIBCO, Morgan Stanley, Webcor Alto Velo, Velo Bella, Metromint and others.
weather: foggy to clear, headwind on back stretch, tail wind sprint.

What to do, Golden state or Steinbeck crit. I decided to go where the money was! longer drive but i had to support a race with equal prize money for the chicks! i do love the Golden state course and it is a well supported race. so early rise for a 9:45 start. A seemingly boring 4 cornered course turned out to be very enjoyable. The race was very animated from the start, some of the days notables were stella, Amanda Eaken, Trish bell and Ryan H, it was fun to see these ladies attacking hard, maybe not always at a good time but never the less good to see ladies mixing it up. My plan today was to win or give a super strong leadout. I manage the team and it really does take a toll on your racing, i am already securing sponsorship for 2007 cross season and 2008 road, nevermind focusing on a race a few days from now. i decided halfway through last week to loose the manager's hat, at least for the rest of the week, and forget about divorce too. I love racing but i have to be honest i don't love my mediocre results, i do enjoy supporting my team mates in helping them reach their goals, that washes down the personal mediocre pill and makes me feel really good. I also had been suffering from 'did i forget how to win syndrome'. (thats probably way too much information) My poor team mates had to be subjected to my vocalized frustrations at myself with my top 6 finishes, now doesn't that sound awful, i know some would be happy with top 6 but it had been so long since a win, i knew this old dog still had a trick or two in her and i just felt good. I had decided to get back in to the gym this week in preparation for upcoming track races. i love working out with free weights, it brings snap back to my legs.......oops report to be finished later, going for a quick spin with rachel...........I'm back.

oh yes, the gym, some believe its not necessary to lift weights during race season but for track racing that seems to be the norm, whatever it is i like it and i crave it and my body really does respond. i did weights over the winter and it helped speed up my metabolism, i lost weight and also increased power. i stopped doing weights as soon as i started racing and slowly the weight crept back on. so last week was my first week back and i already feel better.

I felt great during the race, Kristina and i covered many short lived attacks, it was not a case of pick your battles as i just felt really good and was having fun accelerating as i was recovering quickly so i patrolled the front and felt i could cover anything, love days like that. I pretty much stayed top 5 the entire race, i even pulled for several laps, i got to set tempo and comfortably string out the field getting a great workout in. Kristina would come up and relieve me, probably concerned that i may use up too much, what she didn't know was that my caffeine Clif shots had kicked in and i felt great. I was happy to see tracey stay calm for the first part of the race, because what if i did burn all my caffeinated matches, we still had a loaded super sprinter in the arsenal. Tracey, then began covering attacks and was in a short lived break, after about 45 minutes of racing i asked Tracey how she felt, she said not great. i told her to find my wheel with a few laps to go as I knew Kristina would be there to lead me out. there were many primes to be had, i think the last prime was called and Queen bella sabine launched a tremendous effort into the head wind, she got a large gap and i was hoping she would get the prime but oh no a minty fresh was right on her wheel, sabine missed out, i wanted her to get it so badly for the superstar effort she had made. stella was riding really well, once she really figures out when and when not to use her strength she will be a force, same goes for Ryan and Amanda who also are very strong gals who launched a few too many random attacks, not to say sit in but be more mindful about their moves. TIBCO's Yuki and liza were also very active, covering moves.

Tracey moved forward to cover more attacks, One of the morgan stanley gals attacked with about 4 to go, this was great as the pursuit ensued with PROMAN sitting comfortably top 5 and the field was strung out. the bell lap rang and i was glued to Kristina's wheel, i told her i was there and she calmly accelerated, no flapping, just smooth calm barely noticeable acceleration. she slowly raised the pace right into the headwind, i was sitting pretty in 2nd, i was not sure where tracey was at that point, i told her to find my wheel i did not want to worry about where she was and loose focus on the finish. I was hoping Kristina would make it to turn 3 as i knew i could jump from the turn, get through turn 4 and have a tail wind for the sprint. We rounded turn 3 and i jumped hard, i felt great and just kept working my gears to the line, i guess i had quite a good gap, you can't tell from the head on shots. Tracey got pinched in the turn but accelerated past a few gals to get 4th and Kristina knew there was money on the line to 10th place so even after her major 1K effort she fought for 9th place! Illena Garcia-Parker came in 2nd, she is a tough lady who rides a smart race. Today was a great team effort, good communication through the race and generally good racing by all. i don't think anyone just sat in. I hope this race will be back next year, very well organized, great brewery, coffee shop and very happy friendly volunteers! thanks! We will be back ~ Nicola.

thanks to my teammates

P.S - I love winning!

Shelleys mens PRO 1/2 race report:

I decided to race with the men today to start preparing for some of the big races coming up. There were over 60 men in the field, including several Cal Giant riders, Wohlberg, Jamiel Danesh, Daniel Holloway, Dave McCook, and my man Rob. I was a little nervous lining up with them, but I saw a lot of familiar faces out there and just told myself to try and hang as long as I could. By the end of the day it was pretty windy on the course and my size in comparison to all the other riders was a big advantage. There was a pretty nasty cross wind on the back stretch that made things much harder than they already were. The race was 60 minutes long and the first 20 minutes was extremely fast. After 20 minutes, I didn't know if I could keep up. The field was splitting every other lap into groups of 30. I had missed the move on one occasion and thankfully was brought back to the leaders by a friendly rider who took me across the gap alone. 45 minutes into the race, I thought about dropping out again, but I figured that I had made it this far, I better finish the race. According to Rob, the race was really fast and never let up the entire time. I could see that it was strung out single-file up ahead, but my only concern was staying tucked in behind the wheel directly in front of me. This was definitely the fastest crit I've done, but there were times when it let up and I was able to recover. The field would slow and I would move up as far as I could until the next attack came. One thing I learned from racing with the men, was that I didn't have to cover any moves. Inevitably, if a move went up the road, someone would come from behind me and bridge the gap. All I had to do was wait for the right moment and slide in behind the riders as they passed. It was a constant battle of staying on a wheel and closing gaps. The final 5 laps were actually the slowest because there was a break up the road of 6 guys. It wasn't until the final 2 corners that it got really fast in the field. I received a lot of support from the spectators and race volunteers all along the course. The men in the field with me warned me about the final lap and told me to steer clear of the sprint, which I was happy to do. However, the next time I race with the men, I would like to try and ride closer to the front to get a feel for the sprint. It would depend on how the race had played out though, as I would definitely stay away from the front if it was ending with a field sprint. This was a great experience for me. The training was great and I learned a great deal about racing. Until the break is established, it is just one attack after the other on top of a very high paced race. The speed of the race actually made it easier for me and I felt safer. The constant high-intensity kept me focused and ready. It reminded me of every race I've ever done on the track. I'd do it again for sure. Shelley