RIDE THE WORLD CUPS FUNDRAISER! #1

The first "Ride The World Cup" race at Hellyer was a total success.

It was probably the best turnout we have had all year.

The night started with a 2-hour warm-up session with lots of riders trying out the track for the first time in a stress-free environment. DJ Snead was already set-up on the infield, spinning some awesome tunes that made the atmosphere incredibly cool and super-fun.


The first race started at 5:00 p.m. sharp with a field of about 15 C-riders competing in a 50-lap points race. The race was fun to watch with newby Mark making a strong impression on the spectators by launching an attack 3 laps into the race and creating a gap and a break away early in the race. The race was over before we knew it and it was time to take the rail and begin the 100-lap A's Points Race.

It was the biggest field I had competed against all year, probably about 30 riders. Everyone seemed ready to race and motivated to give us World Cup riders a run for our money. Dave McCook, Roman Kilun, Steve Paelez and myself are the riders that will be attending the World Cups this track season.

Dave started the race with a bang by launching an attack as soon as the gun went off and making the chasing field go from zero to 35 mph in less than a lap. He was able to hold off the field for a few laps and when it all came together again, it didn't slow down. The first sprint was contested by a united field of 30+ riders and I found myself positioned close to the front. I went for the sprint out of turn 3 and scored a point in the first sprint, which would later prove to be instrumental in my overall finish. The attacks did not stop throughout the entire 100-lap race. Soon, Mike Hernandez and Daniel Holloway established a breakaway that stayed away long enough to score some significant points. Several sprints were only for 2 and 1 points because of the situation off the front, but eventually it came back together and full points were available once again.

Ultimately, the field withered down to 6 riders that were on the same lap and I found myself in a breakaway with 4 of them. Hernandez looked back to find me on his wheel and motioned for me to take his wheel for the bell lap coming up. That's just what I did. The acceleration was enough to shake the other 2 and it was just us off the front leading into the final straightaway. Hernandez moved out of the pole and gave me the 5 points, which moved me into 4 or 5th place overall. I tried to redeem myself after the immense effort that was hanging on to Mike's wheel and found a nice draft to rest for the final 10 laps. We were now in a much smaller group and it was 4 to go with 6 of us and I was on 2nd wheel. The rider in front of me pulled off with 1/2 lap to go and I was overtaken by a couple of riders behind, but manage to hold the rest of the field off and score some points in the final sprint. I finished 3rd overall with Dave finishing just ahead of me in 2nd place.

I must take a moment to thank my man, Rob, for putting up all the cash for the BBQ food and the keg and knowing how to throw an incredibly fun party. This was by far the best night at the track I have ever experienced. There were some many incredible people who came out and showed their support. Huge thanks to DJ Josh Snead for spinning records so well the entire night. The music made a huge difference and sounded awesome.

Also, thanks to my mom and my step-dad for slaving away at the BBQ all night, making sure everyone was well-fed and warm. Thanks to Matt Martinez and the rangers at Hellyer Park for allowing this night to happen. Thanks to Emily and Ann for the cheering. Ron at Beljum Budder for the cream and Mudshine.


There really are so many people to thank. It's an amazing feeling to know that there are so many generous and supportive fans of cycling that are willing and happy to help us pursue our dreams of international competition. We will keep you posted on our adventures and we look forward to "Ride the World Cup" Round Two in January.

USGP MERCER CUP - UCI

USGP #2 Mercer Cup November 17,18

After spending last weekend at home racing in sunny central California and
feeling strong I flew to New Jersey in a very positive and optimistic state!
The weather on the East Coast was quite different than the weather we had been
racing in. Finally some 'real' cyclocross weather. It was in the low 40's, it
had rained all day Thursday and all the race organizers were promising muddy
racing. Then the wind started blowing. I got out to the course to pre-ride
Friday and it was so windy that most of the banners lining the course were not
being put up. This same wind had also dried out the course. It seemed to be a
twisty, pretty flat grassy course. The only real challenge might be the wind.
So on Saturday after spending a restful night at the house of Tom Mains and his
wife Jess our gracious hosts Sam and I headed out to the course planning on a
one bike race.

I lined up in the second row, but didn't get to choose whom I
started behind. This contributed to my slightly slow start. It seems like the
first day of a double weekend I often start a little slow... But even though I
was swarmed in the middle of the pack, I just kept on the gas and when the girls
settled in at the top of the start hill I made my move. The sweeping left hand
turn onto the grass left me plenty of room to blast past and slide into fifth
position.

Lynne took the lead from the gun and had Wendy Simms, Alison Sydor,
Georgia Gould and I on her wheel. Georgia soon got around everyone and rode
away with Lyne the only one able to chase. Meanwhile I was getting yo-yo-ed at
every corner and started to struggle. My feet had gone numb because of the cold
and I kept bumping my pedal on the ground in the tight turns. The last time I
did this I ended up doing a 360 on my butt and Katerina Nash caught up to me. I
let her pull me back up to Wendy and Alison and we started attacking each other.


Somewhere in the middle of the race Wendy rolled her tubular tire off the rim
and now it was Katerina, Alison and me. Halfway into the last lap I tried to
attack and get away... it didn't work. So I decided to sit on and go for a
sprint. (after all I have been working on my sprint!) I didn't get a chance
though, in the never ending sand pit about a minute from the finish Katerina
came off her bike and I was a bit too close. My dismount was less than smooth
and she got a gap on me while Alison ran past me. We just chased her to the
finish and she held off Alison for the sprint for third. I placed fifth. I
felt good about this race.


Even though I was riding sloppy, I was in the race!
We really were racing each other! So far this season I had been finishing solo,
I got to partake in the games and battling! Pretty exciting!
Tom and Jess cooked up a mean dinner of meatballs and pasta with delicious
garlic bread and a choice of three different homemade cookies for dessert. We
then retired to the den to watch "The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe" on the
largest flat screen TV I have ever seen! Adam Craig, Kelly Emmett, and Ross
Schnell were also staying at the house so we had quite a party!


Sunday... it was raining lightly and just as cold. While the rain never did
come down very hard it gave us our promised mud. Not the soupy, sloppy kind of
mud you find in Portland, but the slick as snot kind. The course was pretty
much the same as the day before, with a few more chicane turns and a mulch pit.
The traction, however, was completely different. On the course was this 'berm'
that was a small hill that the course wound up and down and around. This was
slick and off camber.


I got a better start and didn't have to blast around as
many girls on the left hand turn onto the grass. I slid myself into the same
fifth wheel spot and commenced the yo-yo-ing. Lyne again shot off the front,
but this time Georgia was having a hard time getting up to her. She was having
trouble with the slick mud and crashed more than once. I was riding the slick
course fine, but was having a little trouble with the cold. It was pretty much
Wendy, Alison, and me, then in the end just Wendy and me.

The spectators were great! On the last lap through the never ending sand pit I had a guy running stride for stride on the other side of the tape yelling at the top of his lungs
for me... it was great! Apparently I need to take bigger strides in the sand...
hhmmm is that how Georgia does it... Georgia won, Lyne second, Alison third,
Wendy fourth and I placed fifth again. Georgia took over the leaders jersey and
I kept my fifth place. I'll have to step it up if I want to stay in the top
five when Katie returns to the U.S.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for USGP #3 in Portland December 1,2
-Rachel

BASP # 2 - Podium & leaders jersey

The 2nd race in the Bay Area Super Prestige series was held at Candlestick Point on a former landfill, just a stones throw from the 49er stadium. Despite the absence of many of the Bay Area’s top cross racers, the racing was still fast and hard. If you made one mistake there was someone right behind to overtake your place.


I had a pretty good start and was in the top 5 on the first lap and relied on my roadie skills to draft wheels and improve my positioning. I scooted by the girls in front of me and took the lead for a few laps, trying to maintain a smooth pace and not trip and fall over the barriers, which is where I tend to lose precious seconds and momentum. I got caught with two to go and made a tactical mistake by letting both Kathleen and Sarah in front of me, where I thought I could hang and draft. In hindsight I should have let only one pass me. That would've worked in a crit, but this is cross and they got a 10 second gap on me and I was unable to close it when it counted. Lesson learned!


So I ended up 3rd, but I was surprised to learn I took the series lead and the right to wear a sweet leader's jersey at the next race! I never expected to be in this position, but I'll try hard to maintain my lead even though I know it is going to be a challenge. Helene ended up taking 7th after doing the Foxy’s Fall Century the day before. - Kristin

BOULDER & REDLINE CUP - UCI - PODIUM!

Redline Cup November 3 and Boulder Cup November 4 weekend report.

First off I want to set something straight. Everybody always says 'it's not
about the bike' or 'it's the rider not the equipment' but let me tell you...
they haven't ridden my new super sexy, sleek, fast and light carbon wheels. A
HUGE thank you goes out to John, Corey, and Eddy at Paradigm Bikes in San
Anselmo for putting together these wheels (and letting me ride them for the
season!) These are without a DOUBT the fastest wheels I have EVER ridden!
Ritchey Carbon rims, American Classic hubs, Tim Brennan aka cx wrench's special
glue up on the Challenge tires, these are wheels for champions... and I GET TO
RACE ON THEM!!!

Second, It's nice to get my toes back on the front line at a national caliber
'cross race. The last time I lined up at the front of a superstar field of
women 'cross racers was in 2003/04 (I think that was in the days of 'Super Cup'
(pre US Gran Prix!) I was excited to get a glimpse of what the racing was like
at the front of the field now. And much to my surprise the race start's this
weekend were not out of control blisteringly fast! Katie is AMAZING! She
doesn't explode off the line. What she does is more demoralizing than that.
She just keeps the gas on. Where the rest of us take one pedal rest before a
turn she just smoothly pedals through the turn and keeps the gas on. She
doesn't take a one pedal break exiting, NO she just keeps the gas on. She
keeps the power on. She never let's up. She just rides away from the
"competition"... maybe I should start drinking that Spike Shooter drink that she
drinks....

Third, I was not too sad to see the three Canadian strong women missing from
the start list. Where there used to only be Lyne Bessette the sole Canadian
powerhouse... now there are three. Lyne, Wendy Simms, and the legendary Alison
Sydor. All three were gone. More spots opening up for me! Aren't we all just
'UCI point's scavengers'?

So while I got to stand on the podium after both races I know I still have my
work cut out for me.

Saturday's race was all loosey goosey sketchy gravely turns and slogging through
sand pits. Sunday's race was all powering up grassy hills and through sand
pits, battling the wind. I felt the altitude on Sunday and the race hurt.
Sunday was probably more exciting for spectators... I was close to Georgia...
Katie is heading over to Europe to race in some World Cups... I hope she puts
those euro girls in a world of hurt...

The spectators were awesome both days, those folks in Boulder know how to have a
good time. With Dave T. on the mic during the races everyone stayed informed
and excited. The backdrop of the races was stunning... sunshine, Autumn colors,
the staggering flatirons jutting out from the front range... it couldn't have
been set up any better!

Thanks for reading stay tuned for more action from the US Gran Prix #2 November
17, 18 in New Jersey. -Rachel

Track National Championships - podium!

2007 Elite Track National Championships: Mass Start Test, Scratch Race, Points Race, Team Pursuit

I had been waiting for this week to come for a very long time. I felt that I was very well-prepared both mentally and physically to do well in these championship events, particularly the points race. Matt Martinez did a great job securing beautiful houses for all of us Hellyer-folk and some more good people from up north. We would be staying in these houses for the entire week. Rob and I made the trek down on Tuesday and arrived late that night.

My first event was the Mass Start Test, (second attempt), at noon the next day. We arrived at the velodrome around 10:00 a.m. with plenty of time to warm-up on the track before the event started. I got a good warm-up and felt like I was ready to perform the test. I got a pretty good start with a fast first lap and heard Rob telling me from the sideline that I was right on track. I tried not to ease up at all and to carry the same speed into the second lap in an effort to finish the first 500m in under 33 seconds. I wasn't sure if I had made it and wasn't getting any splits from Rob for the rest of the 6 laps, so when I finished the test I waited to hear my time over the loud speaker. When I heard my time, my heart dropped. I had worked so hard in my training and truly felt like I was going to make the time or at least improve on my previous attempt. Well, neither one of those things happened. I actually had a slower time than the last time I attempted the test, which was performed with no specific training and very little rest. It was a huge disappointment. But hey, what are you going to do? You can't just stop trying. I picked my head back up and immediately began focusing on the Scratch race the next day.

There were only about 25 girls registered for the Scratch Race and so we went straight to the final without doing any qualifying heats. I had a good sense of who would be my biggest competitors within the race, so I tried to keep my focus on them. The race started out pretty mellow with Julie Granshaw hitting the front first to string it out. After a few more laps went by and a few attacks had gone and come back, I saw an opportunity to attack from the top in the corner at turn 1. I got a good gap on the field and looked back to see that 3 very strong riders were making the effort to bridge up to my wheel. Becky Quinn, Theresa Clif-Ryan, and Catherine Fiedler made the move up to my wheel so I moved up track to try and get them to help continue to separate ourselves from the rest of the field. This was a move that should have stuck, but unfortunately no one besides me was interested in committing to the break. Girls were sandbagging the break, pulling through at 75% and causing the break to lose steam. With about 12 laps to go, the break was brought back and I found myself at the top of the track at the back of the group. I saw a strong rider put in an attack at the front of the group and I remember thinking, please chase her someone. I was not in a position to start the chase immediately because I was way out of position, which was a big mistake on my part. No reaction came and by the time I was at the front and pulling the group back to the break, everyone behind me seemed content to let her go. With about 5 to go I moved off the front and tried to slide back into a good position for the sprint, but I was too far back and had lost track of the lap cards. When I looked up I saw the 1 lap to go card and knew I had blown my chance. I jumped in turn 1 and sprinted to the line only to move up a couple of places and miss 5th place on the line by a couple of inches. There was so much to learn in that 15 minutes of racing. I made a few big mistakes, but I did some good things tactically as well. On to the points race....

My favorite race, the Points Race. Again, there were not enough girls to justify having qualifying heats, so it was straight on to the final. The field would consist of the same women who competed in the Scratch Race and again, I knew who to keep my eye on. I learned a valuable lesson in the Scratch race, and that was to be constantly aware of the lap cards and my position in the field. In fact, I was specifically told to repeat 3 things in my mind every lap. Those three things were laps, coach, and position. Position and laps were particularly important as this was a 100 lap race with sprints for points every 10 laps. I lined up for the first couple of sprints and tried to refrain from going too hard for the early points and just be in good position to go for it if the opportunity presented itself. I picked up a couple of points early on and quickly realized which women would be contesting the sprint every 10 laps and which girls were looking for a break away. I didn't really have a preference, although I would have liked to have the legs to launch an attack late in the race and possibly gain a lap on the field. Not today. I made my most detrimental mistakes at the 60 and 50 lap sprints. I was riding in 5th position going into the bell lap both times and waited until turn 3 to jump and sprint for the points. Both times I was 5th and, therefore, received absolutely no points after putting in a huge effort. This is, both mentally and physically, very draining. I struggled hard to recover in the final 40 laps , but finally found my legs again with 2 sprints to go. I had decided at this point that my best chance at winning the sprint would be to lead it out with 1-2 laps to go. It's called a "razor" in track racing and it is quickly becoming my favorite move. I have been watching tapes of last years women's world cup races and this move seems to be very effective for certain riders. I am coming to realize that I am a stronger sprinter from the front and so I will try to play to my strengths more in future races. Now it is down to 2 laps to go and I am feeling good again, so I get on the front and start winding it up. I stayed on the front and with one lap to go, I had separated myself from the rest of the field. Becky Quinn was sitting in 2nd place overall and needed to win the final sprint to take the National Championship. With 2 teammates left in the race, Becky put them on the front and let them chase me down until the final 2 turns where Becky jumped across the gap and caught me just before the line to claim the National Championship in true champion-fashion. I was very happy for her to win. She deserves it and is by far one of the smartest female riders I have ever had the pleasure of riding with. It wouldn't have made any difference in my final placing if I had won the sprint, but by taking 2nd in the final sprint, I moved myself from 10th place to 5th overall! Although I made a lot of mistakes and still have a great deal to learn about track racing, I was proud of my result and grateful for the experience.

Finally, the Team pursuit. Sarah Hammer was present the whole weekend, but not racing. She would only compete in the men's and women's team pursuit. Her women's team consisted of Jennie Reed (world class sprinter) and Dotsie Bausch (world class roadie). They were definitely set to break the national record, if there even is one. The other big team was the South Bay Wheelman Team with Becky Quinn, Neva Day, and Christen King, all of whom have competed internationally. My team was a composite team. A last minute plea to let us race allowed us to attempt the event as a team that had never once practiced or raced together. My teammates were Kele Murdin (now my current world cup and road teammate), and Heather Albert (second place in the points race the night before). We practiced a bit in the 2 hours leading up to the session start, but it was evident that it was not going to be smooth and we could not expect to be perfect with such little time together. We went 3rd and it was going pretty well until about 4 laps to go, Heather started to fade a bit and wasn't latching on closely to the back of my wheel after our exchanges. On the go, we decided to switch it up so that she was only doing 1/2 lap pulls and with 1 to go, Kele stayed on the front and drilled it to the line. Our time was respectable considering our limited experience and training. The Southbay Wheelman Team finished 10 seconds faster than us and Sarah Hammer's team was 10 seconds faster than them. At the end of the day, I received an award for being the "Most Exciting Rider to Watch." The award came from Fixed Gear Fever, who puts together the National Track Calendar and keeps track of all the track riders across the country throughout the year. It was quite an honor to receive the award and I got a super-cool jersey with binoculars on the front and a bunch of people in a crowd watching a bike rider on the back.

What's up next? Things are getting really serious and I can hardly wait for the end of November to come around. Niki and I will be traveling with my new teammates Kele Murdin and Dave McCook to a couple of new countries to race in the first two World Cup Track Race events in Sydney, Australia and Beijing, China. Yup, that's right. I will be racing on the very same track that the Olympics will be on in the summer of 2008. This is so much bigger than anything I have ever done in my life and I am so lucky to be surrounded by such class-act people who will be joining me on this journey. Also, I am incredibly fortunate to have the support of so many of our team sponsors and I continue to be absolutely humbled by their generosity. I am living a dream right now and I can't thank you all enough for helping me make my dreams a reality. I will be sure to share my experiences with you all.

Thanks for reading -Shelley