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.