Arizona Camp

I just got back from a long weekend in Arizona. I am still considered to be in my "off" season which will last through most of May. Dicky and I made a deal that this is "his" time with me and he gets to pick how we spend it together. Last week he picked Arizona. He picked Arizona because Amanda's (his daughter and Cal's head women's tennis coach) Cal team was playing both Arizona State and University of Arizona for Pac 10 rankings. He also knew I had plenty of training friends in the AZ area to keep me on the bike. The last objective was to find the "rig" we have been looking for. So Wednesday we set out for AZ.

I am exactly (1) month into my road training; having to start from near scratch on my base. Last week started "lite" hills. The bike objective of the trip was keeping me in the hills. My friends in AZ all are training for Ironman AZ in a few weeks so training with them was not an option- they were doing 115 miles of flat TT'ing. A friend told me there was a stage race in Tucson and maybe I could use that as training. I laughed because I am nowhere near ready for a stage race but I checked into it. The TT was 3 miles, the road race was 60 miles, and the circuit race 40 miles- all doable and as a bonus the stages were at 6:45 AM which meant that I could race and see Cal beat the AZ teams. Most importantly the climbing was ditto to my training goals. Registration had closed so I decided I would ask the race director if I could still enter. The RD called me as we were on the road and said I would be #520. "Oh Crap" I will be in a stage race this weekend.

Racing a stage race without racing is interesting. It is not that I would not give 200%, but what was very important was knowing what my limits were and making sure I had clear goals that I could meet. So the goals were simple: 1) finish each stage 2) try to get top 10 in each stage. (Only 20 riders were in the Tucson Bicycle Classic field so top 10 was doable).

Stage 1 3 mile TT: Short TT with (2) 150' climbs in the last 1.5 miles- I knew my limits and knew I had to take the first climb aggressively conservative and then empty the tank the final climb. I rode it perfectly to my fitness and placed 6th- 3 seconds out of 3rd place.

Stage 2 60 mile RR: 20 loop road race 950' climbing per loop and awesome headwinds. My pink power Seigler derailleur broke so I was on the ARKO- first time since SuperWeek- great hill training bike but not stiff like the Pink Power and twitchy - cornering and descents very rough- oh well. Goal was to finish and try for top 10. Sprint bonus was in the first 4 miles of the first loop on the ascent into the headwind- Cari Higgins lead out the sprint and I was in tow but placed 4th I think. I survived the first stairstep ascents and we rounded into lap 2 almost with all 20. (A few had fallen off). Then as I was being careful in a turn an attack went off and I was literally at the end of the peleton- I scrambled to just get on a wheel. 4 riders off- (2) Dairyland who then broke a rider off again. We were left with a group of 8ish. The chase was pathetic because out of 6 non-Dairyland riders only 3 of us were willing to work. I worked it hard and we caught a Colavita rider. At this point the fighting started between the workers and the non-workers and I knew I needed to just stick to my training plan. I did some great tempo work and placed 9th overall. Both goals met and I was alive and also holding 6th in the GC.

Stage 3 40 Mile Circuit: 5.5 mile loop times 7 laps 300' climbing per lap, massive head winds again. 6:41 AM start and I felt like crap. My legs were yearning for a nice 2 hour spin- not a brutal 2 hour sufferfest. Time bonus was 3rd lap so I knew I was in for a doozy. Dairyland set the tempo and were doing a lead-out for the bonus- all obvious...what I had not counted on was we passed a men's field just before the turn and the men did not move over- I decided to be safe and as I was being cautious Dairyland started the attack- I was stuck behind the men with another rider- by the time I got out of the mess the field was splintered and I was in a massive headwind solo. I passed a few dropped riders and found Dairyland's "spent" leadout Katherine Ross who I met at SuperWeek last year- I told her to "get on" and we started a VERY gruelling chase. 3 miles into it we caught the field!! The problem was the field was chasing the break and the field had the 2nd place rider in it who attacked just as Katherine caught the tail of the field- we were cooked, the field went full out on the 300' climb and Katherine and I were spit out the back- you gotta be kidding me. We were cooked. I again said "come on" and we pulled it together and chased down a group of 5. Ironically most of the women in the 5 were the "workers" the day before and they were cooked. I was cooked. Although a group of 3 were in view nobody had legs to chase so my wish came true and we had a lovely 3 lap chat. I did give everything I had for the sprint which was not a lot and got nipped at the line finishing 11th and 10th GC.

I finished. I placed 10th. I was properly cooked. Cal beat both Arizona teams. We did not find a rig. A great week was had by all. TBC is also a terrific race and really well run- thanx Alicia for letting me ride!

San Dimas Stage 3 - Old Town Classic Crit

Pre race warm up. X crackin' up and me breathing hard.

The final day of the stage race! Oh, before I forget, yes I did get 8^th yesterday. There was a mix up with riders and this morning before the crit I asked the referees to check the video and I just got pipped at the line. There as a lot going on with me being right next to the barrier and a photographer leaning out right at the finish. Oh well, still top 10 which is good.

I love crits! It had rained in the morning and rained while we were driving to San Dimas but luckily for our race it was just cold and real windy. After the call ups of the top 10 in GC the whistle blew and off we went. The pace was fast from the start with Highroad hitting it hard. I stayed near the front ready to go with what I could and the one time I was not in great position 2, not 1, 2 Highroad riders went off the front, Kim Anderson and Alex Rhodes. Their gap was not that big and again ValueAct tried to bring it back but the cards were not in their favor again. All I can say is Lara Kroepsch (ValueAct) is a stud. Yesterday she spent all of her time on the front trying to bring the break back and again today. Once the pack realized that they were not going to be reeled back in it became a game of who could bridge. My teammates X and Morgan were all up in the front and for 3 riders we covered every move we could. It was exhausting but we love hard racing. Both Morgan and X got primes which was cool. Lara K. kept attacking and I went with her in hopes that the string between us and the pack would break but not today as the other Highroad riders were very attentive. At one point Morgan got away with a ValueAct rider very casually off the front and X and I were at the front to block but then the pack clued in and they were caught. Too bad! There were a couple of crashes in the race but no SBW riders were involved. It seemed that some cones on turn 5 had a magnet on them as both times riders seemed to dive right for them.

X drilling it on the front trying to catch the break

Ever since Superweek I am used to riding 1 ½ hour crits so when they announced 4 laps to go I was shocked. Now I had to start thinking about the finish. I went to the front of the pack and spent the rest of the 4 laps constantly getting on any wheel that was going faster than the one I was on. Both Morgan and X did a great job of helping me by going to the front and keeping the pace high. When the pace is too slow and the pack bunches up I do not like it. Fast and strung out is the way to be. I was actually in great position (better than I ever have been) sitting 4^th wheel entering the last turn. Out of the turn I sprinted as fast as I could but with the wind and everything we finished exactly how we came out of the corner and I got 4^th in the field sprint and 6^th for the stage because of the two Highroad riders off of the front. Still not the result I was looking for but still top 10. Morgan did an awesome job and finished 8^th!!!!!! X held on after pulling hard from 2 laps to go for a solid 20^th? position. She is a stud. Have to check results to get the final on that. All and all I thought us SBW women did a fantastic job and I am very proud of us!!!!!!

Me throwing the bike to protect my placing.


Morgan putting it down with a nice 8th place finish!

Afterwards we hung out to check the official results and watch the podium. Mara Abbott (Team Highroad) gave SBW kudos stating that we rode very well and were strong, especially since we only had 3 riders. It is always great to here things like that when you spend so much time suffering! Almost forgot to mention our overall placings in the GC - X held onto her 12th place, Morgan moved up to 16th and I moved up to 23rd.

The glamour of racing. Post race vaseline removal and changing room.


Intently checking "Jill" to find the nearest In n Out Burger.

Check back for more updates from the SBW women!

SBW Women stand out at San Dimas Stage Race

As SBW Women make and impression across the pond, the elite road team is making it's mark here in the home land. Although not a NRC, the San Dimas Stage Race attracts all the major teams as a prelude the the Redlands Bicycle Classic, which starts next week. The women have already completed stage one and two with great top placings. Jenn Reither puts in a 17:33 up the 3.8 mile hill of Glendora Mountain Road for 12th place. Morgan Kapp was not too far behind, being the last ride to break the eighteen minute barrior with a 17:54 for 16th place. Jennifer Wilson, had a personal best, posting an 18:20, 29th place, Kristen King brought out her climbing legs after a successful track season for a 19:20, 50th placing.

BONUS: SBW WOMEN MAKE VELONEWS! http://www.velonews.com/photo/73857

The Incycle Cannondale Road Race around Pudding Stone park is less of a road race and more of a road crit. Team High Road, Value Act and Touchstone were content to go hard from the gun and with the rolling terrain of the seven mile loop, girls we dropped quickly. Every lap had a QOM or sprint, making the pace constantly hard up the hill and at the finish. Team High Road managed to get two girls off the front, as much as SBW wanted to chase, we didn't have the woman power to assist in a chase, besides, Value Act and Touchstone had the numbers and top GC riders making those teams responsible to bring back the break. It wasn't just a sit along tempo ride in the pack, while the teams were chasing, SBW had to bridge gaps and stay in the game. By lap seven Mara Abbott (High Road) had attacked and got in a solo break, so a podium finish was out of the picture, Morgan and I have to maintain our top 20 G.C.'s and finish in the main pack.

The finish of the road race was exciting. JennX found a hole and drove to the front with Jen Wilson in tow. Morgan was in her own fight on the other side of the pack. Jen Wilson put in a good effort finishing 5th in the field sprint.

Road Race Results: Wilson 8th, Kapp 18th, Reither 19th

Wish us luck in the crit today!

World's Day 2 Hammer 2

Quinny gave a great update today:
Sarah Hammer ended up in the Gold medal round against GB's Rebecca's Romero. Rebecca rode her 2nd ever pursuit last year at World's against Sarah and lost to her by a second and change in the final- a stunning performance from a rower turned cyclist in just a few short months. TY Rebecca stayed cool and calm in qualifying and then rode a 3:31 to Sarah's 3:37 in the final and Hammer took the silver. Both qualified with a 3:30 and Sarah gave it her all to do that- which to ride a 2nd pursuit near that a few hours later is a tough road and today was Rebecca's day. Congratulations Sarah on the silver- another spectacular performance!! Mactier from Australia took the bronze.
The sprint boys had a go and Blatchford advanced into the next round after a season's best of a 10.31!! Duvendeck and Massie both rode 10.4's and placed in the low 30's. Blatchford lost in his next round.
On another note the GB team broke the world record today with a 3:56 4K!!
Tomorrow is Colby in the Pts and Jennie Reed sprints.

World's Update

Brief update from Quinny:
Friedman placed 18th in the scratch race. The US men's sprint team may have pulled off a huge success placing 10th in the team sprint and most likely qualifying a spot to the Olympics! Congrats boys- you prove you can do it when you need to!!!!!! And lastly, a huge ride by Taylor Phinney in the 4K with a 4:22 placing 8th also probably giving him an Olympic position! "the boyz were h-o-t today"! Congrats to all. Next up...Sarah Hammer....against Rebecca Romero in the final qualifying heat....whew...a doozie for sure!

World Track Championship Update

I heard from Quinny over the past few days and she's keeping me updated.

The entire US Team was pulled out of bed by WADA for a blood test this AM at 6:45...always a great way to start your day especially if you are racing that day!

Racing starts today with Taylor Phinney about to ride his qualifying race for the pursuit. Roger Young said Taylor hit a PR three days ago in practice on a flying 3K of a 3:08 which is excellent but still leaves a question if it is fast enough because Bradley Wiggins was posting 14.8's....blistering times for Team Pursuit let along Individual Pursuit!

Later today Mike Friedman will race the men's scratch final. Mike earned the gold medal in an exciting breakaway in the last few laps in Beijing World Cup in December.

In a somewhat surprising move, the US also fielded a Men's Team Sprint team. Adam Duvendeck is rostered on the team who has had the best season of all sprinters. Micheal Blatchford who is a full time athlete out of the USOC had a season of ups and downs after qualifying his World Champ spot at the Pan Am Champs in May. Blatchford's coach Des Dickey said Blatchy was showing some good speed last week at ADT so we may see some excellent times being posted from him. Rounding out the men's sprint team is a very lucky Giddeon Massey. Lucky because Massey's racing in the 2007-08 season was somewhat flat but today may be his chance to bring it all home for the team- he trains hard and loves the sport and with his experience and his teammates, they just may do it.

Sarah Hammer competes tomorrow for a potential 3-peat. Sarah was going good at ADT 2 weeks ago and her form looked spot-on Hammer-style so tomorrow should be an incredible event for her. Becky competes Saturday and Sunday.

Good luck USA!!!

San Diego Crit

When I first thought about heading down to Del Mar for a parking lot crit, I had limited expectations, but being that Chris Evertson is a passionate supporter of Women's professional cycling I ventured down to support the race. I was super suprised at the professional venue Chris Evertson and the Swami's cycling club put together. Directions were super easy, easy parking, real flush toliets, an on site food vendor, music and big crowds. As far as the course, AWESOME! Long straight aways with a schicane into the finish, wide corners and a challenging head winds down the back stretch made for exciting racing. The venue was a crowd pleaser as there was an "infield" for spectators with seating. After a 2.5 hour warm up and a delayed start, I worked the pack, attacking for primes, which I won 5, and got in a break with Ana Lang (Aaron's) which pleased the crowd. South Bay's name was announced several times throughout the race. Ana and I were caught with 3 laps to go, my final placing was 11th.

Ontario, March 23

Ontario was warm and windy on Sunday morning.  There were only 16 starters in the W1/2/3 field but strong girls nonetheless.  I knew I did not want to wait for a field sprint and had an idea of where I might be able to get away if the field was unorganized.  After turn one we had a tough cross wind but then hit a strong headwind after turn two.  About 15 minutes into the race countered a preme and pushed hard into the wind.  I wasn't sure about how much progress I was making away from the field but just kept pushing.  After turn 3 an SCVelo rider pulled through and went hard into the next section of wind.  Coming around to the finishing straightaway we realized we had a gap and a break of four riders.  We took equal pulls through the course.  There were many South Bay riders cheering for me and SBW which was great!  I really appreciated the support.  I had an intense week of training but I was feeling really strong still.  Coming into the final straight away, Sandra (Bike John's) started her LONG sprint.  I thought I might be able to stay on her, conserve and then pass her.  Unfortunately...my final plan didn't work.  I did not make it around Sandra and the other two riders finished ahead of me.  I was happy to make the break and work hard throughout the race.  The finish was a test of strength and the game that is cycling!  I'm looking forward to the next one.  

Track World Championships

Well, well, well, here I am across the Big Pond in Manchester, England for the Elite Track World Championships. Competition begins on Wednesday and concludes on Sunday. I will be riding the highly contested point race on Saturday afternoon and the scratch race on Sunday. We arrived last Sunday to try and acclimate ourselves with the time change and not to mention the drastic temperature change I'm experiencing compared to sunny SoCal.

I can't complain for the most part because it doesn't do anyone any good. It's business as usual and now the anty has been raised so it's time let it all hang out and go for it. There's no need to hold back. The coveted rainbow jersey is up for grabs; as is an Olympic berth. So with enough said, I'm off to the track for my training session. More to come as the results filter in.

Transition from Track to Road

This winter was very exciting with track races in England, Australia, China and Denmark. The racing was insanely fast with all the countries trying to earn spots for the Olympics. After the last World Cup I decided to take a much needed rest from racing and start my "off-season" training. Basically this consists of getting back into the gym and doing long rides again. During track season a 2hr ride was a long ride, so getting 4-5hr rides in is really nice. Also, I'm back in the hills again after 6 months on the flat ovals. I forgot how much hill repeats hurt. I plan on racing on the road again in a couple weeks. I definitely need to loose the track booty and get my endurance back. I hope to see everyone out there soon.

Visalia Downtown Crit

The downtown course made for sweet and risky racing. The longest straightaway was maybe 250 meters?? So moving within the field intense. As soon as I moved up to the front there was a big crash in the field. JennW had to chase back on and JennX was caught up in the craziness. I was able to stay clear with a group of about 12. The majority of the field then rejoined and my eyes were peeled for JW and X. They were OK. JW did an awesome job of STAYING up front and attacking at one point into the final turn. I was there as support for sprinter JW and moved up with the action to keep her in the best position. X and I were able to work together on the backside at one point and move up through the field.

In the final laps of the race X had a technical and got a new bike. I had no idea she was in the pit and thought that she was rocking the new Seigler frame! But after the race I uh....READ the frame. I think the new Seiglers will be cooler anyways;) (race brain)

Five laps to go everyone was fighting for positions. Aaron's was drilling the front and TIBCO and Cheerwine were organizing. The pace was fast and steady. Three laps to go, drilling. Final lap JW was in great position up front and X and I were midfield but clear on the left. Final turn, bikes and bodies start building up. I was able to scoot and maneuver around around it, X was able to clear the side of me and JW kept her positioning in front. In the final sprint JW put it down and finished 11th amongst the chaos. X and I crossed together, 19th and 20th.

-Morgan

Race Report to Come but Brief Sequoia Update

NRC Sequoia Classic 3/15-16
TT:
Reither: 30th
Kapp: 31st
Wilson: 48th

Crit:
Wilson: 11th
Reither: 19th
Kapp: 20th

Morgan Kapp also placed 3rd overall in the 99 Series. 99 Series includes Merced, Fresno, and Sequoia races
More info at: http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2008/mar08/sequoiaclassic08/sequoiaclassic084/MF0231

Sequoia TT by Wheels

Time trials, ugh, my favorite event (ha ha!). Jenn X and I drove up from the valley this morning leaving at 7:30am. We hit some snow going through the Grapevine at Gorman which was crazy. Then there was heavy rain and then it was over. The rest of the ride was uneventful with the typical pee stop along the way.

We made good time and had time to pre-drive the time trial course. The countryside was so beautiful. I took a lot of photos and below are just a few of them. By driving the course we knew it was going to be a hard day and the climbs were pretty intense.

The climb!

Back to the start finish line to get ready. I was the first pro women to go which is not the best place. However I find it kind of ironic since time trailing is not my event although I am trying to have a better outlook about them. I got nice and warm on the trainer and headed out to the start line deciding on no leg or arm warmers since the weather was in the 70s and we would be doing some climbing. I left my teammates Morgan and Jenn X back at the van still on their trainers as they started 16mins and 24mins after me. While waiting to start I wondered if the no leg and arm warmers choice was a good idea as I was getting cold. But soon enough I was getting my countdown and off I went.

Since we were going 40km (26miles) I started off moderately but fast enough to get the engine going again as the big climb started after about 1 ½ miles. Within the 1^st mile Sandra Kolb (Bicycle John’s Serious Cycling) passed me and being a local girl we cheered each other on. I knew that Sandra would pass me as she started 30 seconds after me and is quite an accomplished time trialist. I continued riding my pace which is just at my lactic threshold pushing as hard as I could but reminding myself that there was still a long way to go and that there would be a headwind on the return. On the way out about 3 other riders passed me. At times I was burning up climbing and at others I was a little cold which was not good for my legs and I even had warming gel on them.

On course!

There were several photographers on the course and they snapped pictures as I went by. As usual my nose was running badly and it seems that I always have snotty time trial pictures. I kept forging on as best I could but realized that today was not my day. As I hit the turn around I was excited to start heading back as there was a lot of down hill. As I was on the return I saw Kristen Armstrong flying going the other direction and knew that she was going to do a great time. The head wind was pretty strong and my shifting started to really act up (I had changed gearing for the TT just the day before and realized I should have ridden it hard to kind of break it in). I kept my pace up but didn’t completely blow myself because tomorrow is a criterium race which is much more my style.

Several more riders passed me on the way back and I just kept my pace pushing against the wind. I have to admit that it is very demoralizing to have so many people pass you. I missed my teammate Morgan but did see Jenn X on her way out. Back I went up the climb and I was just praying that it would be over. My legs were tired. The decent was a blast even on the TT bike and finally I saw the finish trailer and line and was glad to be back. I finished in a 1:18:31, a horrible time and second to last on the day. Jenn X rode a great TT and finished 30^th getting some money and Morgan finished 33^rd. Awesome job by my teammates!!!! They rock!!! Especially since the field was pretty packed today with a lot of great time trialists.

X in a typical "X" outfit. Making fashion!

I cannot wait for tomorrow. Right now we are heading out with our host family for dinner. They are just great!

Check back for updates on the crit!

Murrieta

My neighbor buddy Karen (racing for SDBC) and I headed down to Murrieta on Sunday morning.  It was a beautiful sunrise.  I like traveling to all the outskirts that cycling takes us. 

Since I was racing solo, I had a much different approach to the race.  I knew that I wanted to test myself but also be strategic about the efforts. 

Helen's, Bike John's , Rock, SDBC and all the other regulars made the peleton of around 50 riders.  The 3.5 mile circuit course starts off with a curvy flat, into a headwind, a section of rollers and then some quick turns through a neighborhood.  It's a good course for a breakaway but I knew that Helen's would be on all efforts.  I was able to escape for over a lap around mid-race with some strong riders but the peleton reeled us back.  A few other attempts went off the front but nothing stuck.  Just as I was thinking that we were heading toward a fieldsprint finish a break of 6 got off the front at the end of the rollers section.  When we hit the neighborhood, I knew it would be the best opportunity to bridge.  Another rider and I were able to get away from the field and bridge to the break.  The SDBC rider who was 2nd overall in the omninum was in the break so I knew she'd work it but there were other riders from the big teams who were riding conservatively.  I wanted the break to stick so I worked with the 3 riders that would and we stayed away.  Going through the neighborhood section I got into TT mode since I didn't want to back off for the sprinters.  I was first into the last turn but was nipped (if you can call it a nip when it's 4 riders...) at the end by 4 riders.  So, I got fifth.  I'd play the finish differently if I could do it again but it was a fun race.  Rode hard and played the game...

Looking forward to a weekend of racing with Jen and JennX!

-Morgan  

Kona Base Camp

A lot of people ask me how I transition from track cycling to road cycling. Doing two cycling sports year 'round at age 38 has become a bit tricky and we still have not figured out how to rest me while peaking almost monthly between October and March and then again May through August. We almost had it figured out when a few random mishaps/crashes and my pursuiter's hack put a wrench into the program. I finally decided to drop the pursuit for a while to ease up on the hack which was a solution to one of the problems. The 2nd problem was recovery of my back and hamstring that had been severely strained in a dumb spill the week of LA World Cup. I was given the edict that I needed to recover my back so Dicky and I decided I should go back to an old regiment I used when I trained for Ironman and had little niggles come up. This regiment mostly includes a prescription of patience. So with patience I am starting my road to recovery.

This time my regiment starts with Kona Base Camp. I am lucky because Kona is my 2nd home and I can work and train there when needed. Dicky sent me off solo to KBC last week. Without too much boring detail, Kona Base Camp highlights look something like this:

• 500 miles on the bike- most of it at snail slow speed
• 26 miles running up volcanos
• 5 miles of ocean swimming
• 20,000' of elevation- did you know Kona Ironman has over 5,000' of elevation?
• Weight loss of 5 pounds- hopefully not water weight
• 1100 ounces of water- ok, definitely not water weight
• 32 packs of PowerGel
• 8 PowerBars
• 16 bananas- I hate bananas but Teedy the Ozzie says stick to bananas
• 30 apples- had to alleviate with ginger tea
• 10 pounds of seaweed salad- things have turned VERY green
• 5 pounds of raw ahi
• 2 chickens
• 20 oz almonds
• 1 pound of Kona Coffee
• 80 hours of sleep
• 2 full Tyra's next "top model" marathons
• 22 life changing revelations
• 1 condo re-painted
• 1 bike cleaned thoroughly for the first time in 2 years

Kona base camp is pretty mind and body blowing. The general training conditions are wind and steady heat. The rule is I do all my training solo. The scenery is lava and blue water. The road is the Queen K- straight out and back, same route everyday. Temperatures have been in the mid 80's and the winds steady but not intolerable. Everyday I ride into stiff headwinds, the tailwinds almost non-existent because the winds turn. When I get a tailwind it is a great motor pace session- the other day I averaged 32 MPH in a 53/12 for 18 miles. The worst is when the headwinds reduce me to a 7 mph push for miles but the winds have been nice to me this trip.



I am really proud of what I have accomplished in such a short time this trip. My endurance base was shot and a two hour ride hurt a lot a week ago. I came in at a very heavy personal weight. I rarely diet nor worry about my weight but this time my weight was affecting my back; thus impeding my performance on many levels. I have had to cut my calories significantly without compromising my training trying to get back to regular weight. My diet has been the trickiest but I have been spot on- definitely on the edge, but I know enough not to put myself in a hole.

Today I used Ironman pacing for 35 miles out and then struck a blistering pace home for 25 miles ending with an all out final 20k. I paced .5 MPH faster than my last Kona when I was in tip top endurance shape. My pacing and nutrition were brilliant (I can't believe how much I learned as an Ironman athlete and I still remember the stuff too!). My back held out well for the most part. I could feel my strength the entire ride. This ride tells me I am on target on every level. Only Kona can put me back into the right place mentally and physically in a week; it is a pretty amazing place.

I have two days left of base camp and will make the most of it. Today I treat myself to ocean swimming and Hyashi's sushi, maybe I'll see the turtles on my swim! Aloha, Neva

UCI World Rankings Track Cycling

The 2008 World rankings are in for track cycling. The top 24 ranked athletes qualify a spot for their federation for the World Championships. (A rule that changes in 2009- then the athlete qualifies her spot and if she rides for her trade team, her trade team decides who can ride the WC spot. Right now the power is in the hands of the federation).

Becky Quinn is ranked 3rd in the world in the Pts Race and 4th in the Scratch race. Becky Quinn will be riding the World Championships in Manchester England in two weeks.

Neva qualified a spot for the individual pursuit ranking 20th in the world but is unable to ride it because she did not qualify her spot for the talent pool in 2008. In 2007 Neva was the only US rider who broke the world time standard qualifying her for the World's Championship team. In 2008 Christen King was the only US rider to break the world time standard but the US decided not to take a Team Pursuit Team or another Individual Pursuit rider. (In the writer's opinion it would take away an opportunity for another country and give the US an opportunity by riding the qualified spots but the writer understands financial constraints the federation has).

World Rankings

Individual Pursuit:

Neva Day 20th

Christen King 39th

Points Race

Becky Quinn 3rd

Christen King 96th

Neva Day 104th

Scratch Race

Becky Quinn 4th

Christen King 30th

Neva Day 95th

Rankings may be viewed at: http://www.uci.ch/ucinet/default.asp?page=RANKINGS&discipline=PIS&continent=MON&riderid=&ridercategory=WE&year=2008&l=ENG&npage=

Before the Picnic

This past weekend, before the SBW annual picnic, Wheels (Jen Wilson) and I (JennX) headed out to Piru to get a quick TT in before hanging out with all you fine folk for the afternoon. Not a whole lot to report since both Jen and I were using this TT as training, her for Sequoia and I for Powertap/Threshold testing, hence the use of the road bike with aero bars and not the TT bike. We did place 3rd and 4th respectively, myself 3rd with a 35 flat and Wheels right behing me at a 35:17. Sandra Kolb (Bicycle Johns) is in good form this early season posting a winnning time of 34.02 and Kara Vidaca (SDBC) 2nd with a 34:52.
As usual it was chilly and windy. Both Jen and I received microdermabrasions from the sand that blasted into our face for the 6 mile return. The ride out freakin ROCKED. I got the the turn around in 12 minutes. Now I know how Fabian Cancellara (CSC) feels like to TT.
After the TT, I warmed down headed out across the 126, riding around looking at property and enjoying spinning out the legs. Jen W starts a ramping up her training to peak for Redlands, while I enjoy a light week before hitting the Santa Monicas this weekend.

Merced

Merced was a great weekend of racing.  The races were well organized and had big fields.  (For swagbags, you got to pick out fresh FRUIT!  That was the first sign it'd be a good weekend.)  The crit on Saturday had over 60 riders.  There were mostly NorCal teams; Tibco, Proman, Vanderkitten and Rock from socal and then High Road.  For the first half of the race, the field stayed together and brought back anything that took off but then the perfect mix go in a break.   High Road and Proman had riders who got away.  They were in sight but there weren't any successful bridges until Mara Abbott got away and up to them.  The break stayed away so the field sprint was for 6th place.  I knew I wanted to take the inside line after the last turn to avoid the headwind.  I was able to stay inside, worked around some traffic down the straight away and finished 13th overall.  

I stuck around and watched the pro men's field.  Chris Horner and another rider lapped the field.  Ha!  That was cool.

Sunday morning was cold so I layered up but of course as we got going, I was warm.  Vanderkitten, Tibco, Proman and High Road all seemed to have more riders!  The first lap was pretty smooth and snappy up the little climbs.  There was a crosswind that seemed to be a bit of a headwind in the first stretch so after we made the first left turn the pace picked up.  Going into lap 2 the field was still together.  Proman was riding the front and High Road was staying active.  In the second lap High Road riders attacked and attacked.  It was awesome and classic execution.  Finally, Mara Abbott was able to stay away from the field.  Proman worked the front and she was eventually brought back.  The hills on the course kept it exciting.  The final 1.5k was a windy climb into the finish.  I was about mid-pack on the climb and decided not to wait it out so I went along the outside and had a clear path.  Once I got going, I just kept it up to get through the finish.  I finished 9th.

It was a super fun weekend but the girls on the team were missed by this lone ranger...

-Morgan  

Santa Rosa GP - 2008

Off to the race! We could not believe that they actually made real signs for the women’s parking!

While perusing the course we road past Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin which was rockin’. I caught up with Scott a friend of mine and we got a photo op together with my teammate Morgan. Then it was back to the car to warm up.

There was an amazing crowd lining the streets for the women’s race which was really cool. It was great to see riders who I had not seen since the end of last year. After the nation anthem was sung, off we went! The pace was fast from the start and I had to hustle to get to the front in the first lap. Negotiating the bot dots continued to be an issue on the back side of the course. Since cycling does not help your bones I think the jarring of the bot dots definitely helped with that. For the first NRC race of the season I felt great. My legs were tired from my training the week before but they appeared to be opening up just fine. As the race went on I started to feel more confident and feel the rhythm of the race. It was also great to see Morgan up in the mix and riding really aggressive. At some point I saw a rider go wide on turn 2 and slam right into the hay bails. Horrible! The next time around X was coming out of the pits so she must have been involved but appeared to be okay which is always good news.

I thought I should test my legs out just a little so I attacked one time on the front straight. The crowd was going wild and was really into the race which really inspired me. However, no one was going to let anything go and we were caught on the backside. Legs were still good though.

Knowing that the payout was high and there were many primes I decided that if I was in the right place and the opportunity arouse I would go for one. Well, the opportunity came and I took it. There was an opening on the left side and I shot up it going long and had it. Then Dave Towle said prime on the next lap and I thought “ugh, what an idiot was it not a prime on the lap I just took?” I often get race brain and think that I am not hearing things straight. However, as I reconnected with the pack both Morgan and X said good job so I guess I must have gotten the prime.

The race continued to be fast and there were many attacks off the front but you could tell that the sprinter’s teams wanted a field sprint as they were very diligent on the front. I looked up at the finish line and noticed it was 7 laps to go. Where did the time go? I immediately started to think of positioning for the final lap. I continued to move up through the field and was in pretty good position for the final lap. We made it to the back side and I was holding my position when all of a sudden someone slammed into me from the right hand side. This caused me to go into the bot dots and my left foot unclip from my pedal. My left foot went into the bike of the rider next to me and all I could think was that I was not going to crash again. With all my might I pulled my left leg back and got straight on my bike again as I had everything going in all directions. It seemed like everyone and their uncle had past me. It took a couple of pedal strokes to get clipped in again and I sprinted with all my might on the left side of the peloton to try and regain position. By turn 3 I must have been sitting in 25^th place and was already fighting off oxygen deficit. After the turn I hustled some more to place myself higher and was looking for openings and good wheels. Then we were sprinting and my head was throbbing. The finish line seemed so far away but I just kept telling my legs to keep turning over with all the strength I had left. Finally we hit the line and I was glad it was over. What a great race! The crowd was on fire. Everyone road a really good race, what a blast!

I was not sure of my placing right after the race but knew I was in the top ten!!!! Upon hearing the results I found that I had finished 6^th place! I was very excited. Also, for the prime I had won a gift certificate to the Russian River Brew Pub, how fun! After we watched the men finish which was so exciting, Morgan, her mom and I headed to the brew pub for some well deserved beer and a pizza. Overall, what a great day.

Our trip home was uneventful and fun but tiring. We kept trying to take time off of Jill’s estimated time of arrival but are stops to refuel not only the car but ourselves as well as get coffee to stay awake kept Jill in the lead. I finally pulled into the driveway of my home at around 2:15am and made it to bed by 3am. Tuesday was a rough day at my Pilates studio but by today Saturday I have finally recovered from lack of sleep. Yes, I am so sorry to be posting this so late after the race but the week was super busy. I hope this post finds you all well and stay posted for future updates as the race season unfolds.

Wheels
www.jennwilson.net