Team: Yukie Nakamura, Cat Malone, Betina Hold, Katheryn Curi Staff: Carmen D'Aluisio, Todd Report from Katheryn Curi 4/27/05 Stage 1: Dan Pott's Memorial Tyrone Time Trial The course was 16.5 miles with 1000 feet of climbing – an out and back. Tradition seems to be that it is always windy for the time trial. A short ride in the morning had our hopes up that this year would be different, yet as morning turned to afternoon, tradition held true – strong winds S/SW. We pre-rode the course the day before and scoped out the climbs and potential windy sections; despite the gusts, Betina, Cat, and Katheryn decided to run a disc in the rear and deep dish carbon in the front. This definitely proved to be a bit tricky in the really strong cross-wind sections, but all did a great job of keeping steady. Riders went off in alphabetical order, so Katheryn was the first off. Carmen had given great advice to not overgear the climbs and focus more on keeping efficient and a high cadence. This would also help everyone stay focused with such a long time trial. Genevieve Jeanson posted the fastest time of the day at 40:25, Kimberly Baldwin was 2nd at 41:10, and Katheryn was 3rd at 42:13. Rounding out the top five were Dotsie Cowden and Brooke Ourada. Betina – 44:57 Cat – 45:12 Yukie – 52:49 A special thanks goes out first to Kim Boester who graciously lent Katheryn her time trial frame. The bike has great juju!!! Another thanks goes out to Todd for the 56 for Katheryn as she was able to power down the last decent. See complete Stage One Results. Stage One Photos: Cat ************************************************************ 4/28/05 Stage 2: The Silver City to Mogollon Road Race Let the climbing begin! The riders would endure the 2,100ft ascent up the Mogollon Pass at the end of a 71.4-mile race. After a neutral roll through town, the peloton turned onto 180 where they would spend most of the race rolling through the desert and mesas of the area. A pee break 30 minutes into the race lead to a rear flat for Katheryn and after a quick change from Todd and a great tow back from Cat, Katheryn was safely back in the pack. Yet, at the same time that Katheryn was dealing with her flat, Lara from T-Mobile launched an attack that took Maggie Williams Landis/Trek/VW with her. As neither of these riders where major GC threats, the gap grew quickly and there was no response in the peloton. Carmen did not want the gap to grow too much and sent Yukie to the front to just set tempo; the peloton was rolling along at a lazy 15mph! With only four riders to T-Mobile's six, we did not want to use all of our cards early. Yukie did an awsome job keeping the break in check. Fortunately, Vello Bella was willing to help and three of their riders pulled through. The gap of the break away grew to almost five minutes and when things got mellow again, Carmen decided to have Cat and Betina start attacking. And attack they did! Unfortunately, T-Mobile was covering everything and it was not until Kelly from Ford/Basis attacked that a good gap was formed. Ina bridged up to Kelly and the two of them seemed to be working well together although not putting major time into the main group. Genevieve seemed to be nervous having two T-Mobile women off the front and went to the front and drove it. There were a few attempts to bridge but with no luck. Coming into the feedzone the group was compacto! Laura and Maggie were back as well as Ina and Kelly. Although in true Ina style, after getting bottles, she went to the front and drove it. Little gaps were forming and people were on the rivit. A quick decent brought the groups together when all of a sudden, the offical's car stopped at the bottom of the hill. They were less than pleased with all of the yellow-line violations and gave us a good talking to! Yet, riders also used this break to pee, strip clothing, and get bottles. T-Mobile wasted no time in picking up the pace again and this time it was Rebecca and Ina pushing hard at the front. The group split and it was Kimberly, Lynn G., Genevieve, and Brooke (T-Mobile) hanging on the lead group. Katheryn was back with a group of about 10 or so riders. Betina and Cat had a group of about 20, and Yukie, her work done for the day, was back a bit. Turning onto 159, the lead group had a gap of about 200+ meters and Dara Marks (Ford) managed to bridge up. A few k's later so did Dotsie and Sima Trapp (Subway). Brooke was slowly coming back to the chase group. Katheryn's group was a bit disorganized and having faith in the strength of her rider, Carmen encouraged Katheryn to attack right after the flat section before the start of the final climb. Katheryn attacked and there was little to no response from the group. Up ahead, the lead group (Genevieve, Kimberly, Lynn, Dara, Dostie, Sima) was shattering and Katheryn was making some time on Dotsie and Sima. Unfortunately, it was not enough and Brooke even managed to throw in a last k effort to pass her just before the line. Betina was the next Webcor rider, followed by Cat, and then Yukie. See complete Stage Two Results. Stage Two Photos: Cat climbs amongst the cacti ************************************************************ Report from Cat Malone Tour of the Gila Stage 3 4/29/05 Distance: roughly 78 miles Conditions: windy and cold (but at least not raining!) Plan today was twofold. To try to move Katheryn up if possible by taking advantage of some of our competition’s weaknesses and to take opportunities to get Betina or Cat into a winning break. Lynn Gaggioli took the first time bonus. T-Mobile then went to the front and set a decent tempo up the first climb of the day. Unfortunately, Yukie had some breathing trouble due to her asthma and dropped off the back. The next significant climb through the feedzone, Genevieve drove the tempo and strung things out fast. She got a gap over the top with Kim Baldwin, Kristin LaSasso, and Lynn Gaggioli. Katheryn and Cat managed to get into the chase group led by the rest of T-Mobile. They certainly didn’t like Kim up there by herself and drove the pace to catch the break. Things slowed down then and the whole pack descended together through the next switchback fast descent. Carmen noticed that Michelle B. was off the back with one other Colavita rider. We knew it had to be Dotsie (as Christina was with us) and so at the bottom of the descent Carmen asked Betina and Cat to start attacking. Cat went first and there was no reaction from the pack. Shortly after, Anna Milkowski bridged up. Yahoo, a break is established! Cat and Anna worked together for the next 30 miles, gaining up to three minutes that held, until the top of the last significant climb, when an elite group of riders (containing Katheryn) caught the break. Luckily for Cat it was at the TOP of the hill! The group came together at the start of the descent/rollers. This was the last 10 miles to the finish. Some attacks started and Betina and Cat covered them, but missed the big one of the day. Ina attacked, Kristin LaSasso bridged, and unfortunately we missed both of them. Guess we were a little knackered. Cat tried to bridge but the 30 miles in the break was apparent and she didn’t get far. Then we tried doing tempo on the front to keep Kristin in check, as she was only three minutes behind Katheryn in GC and seemed to be climbing well. Basis attacked, Betina was on that, but then T-Mobile shut it down. We came into the finish as a pack, racing for 3rd place. Betina gave Katheryn a little lead-out to come in 11th. Betina finished 16th shortly behind and Cat held on for the pack finish too. Yukie was able to find someone else with an inhaler and then ride with a couple other women to finish. Good job to all today! Complete Stage Three Results. ************************************************************ Report from Cat Malone Stage 4: Downtown Criterium 4/30/05 Distance: roughly 25 miles Conditions: sunny and 65 degrees Course: approx 1 mile rectangular course with a short steep hill on the backside. Results: We won!! Plan today was similar to yesterday's – try to get one of us into a winning break. Anna Milkowski attacked off the second corner in the 1st lap and the field let her go (you’ll recall she was out with Cat for 30 miles the previous day). But things picked up in the 3rd lap with Basis' Chrissy Ruiter starting the attacks. We let Michelle B. from Colavita cover that as Chrissy wa ahead of her in GC. Genevieve and Lynn jumped on it too, so T-Mobile shut it down pretty quickly. Basis sent Alisha Lion off in the next lap and Cat covered her. They got a small gap and worked together. It lasted a lap and just as it looked like the pack was coming back together, three other riders bridged up and helped widen the gap again. Katheryn was radioing that the pack wasn't chasing. Within a lap, the break caught Anna, making it six riders (Molly Hummel of Tokyo Joes, Alisha from Basis, Carolyn Donnelly from Trek Landis, Niki Wangsgard, Anna from Lipton, and Cat), who started to work well together. Back in the pack if seemed like T-Mobile was content to just keep it in check (though they had Rebecca Much at the front setting tempo) and were likely resting up from a couple of big days and in anticipation of tomorrow. Betina and Katheryn covered bridge attempts (and kept a very close eye on Ina , who basically had two Webcor shadows today). The only rider the field allowed to bridge was Christina Peick. With five laps to go, Carmen was telling Cat to start thinking about the finish and how to win. The break worked together until three laps to go. This was also when we got the info that Christina was trying to bridge (and that she looked strong). Molly attacked within two to go without much response. Cat was trying to play this smart and let some other folks do more work. With one lap to go Alisha tried to bridge to Molly, still off the front by about five seconds. This started another flury of attacks. Cat waited patiently and then attacked at the base of the hill and was able to bridge to Molly without anyone following. She stayed on Molly’s wheel until the last corner, coming around her on the outside (probably should have come around her on the inside – oops), but she was able to pass her and then punch it to the finish. Katheryn and Betina finished safely in the field. Yukie continued to struggle with her asthma but managed to stay in long enough to start tomorrow’s stage. A first NRC criterium win for the Webcor Women – yayyyyyyy! And we head into tomorrow with Katheryn in 5th overall and second place in team GC! See complete Stage Four Results. Stage Four Photos: Before the race – little does Cat know… Crit action More Cat action Don't know quite what to do with your hands, Cat? Cat being interviewed after her win ************************************************************ Report from Betina Hold Tour of the Gila Day 5 5/1/05 The Gila Monster Road Race Distance: 72 miles Course: 5610 feet of climbing with three en route climbs and one finish climb. Conditions: sunny Results: A top 3 for Webcor [Betina(3), Katheryn(15), Cat (26)] Todays plan was to be attentive to GC riders who were close to us, cover key people, maintain or better Katheyrn's 5th in GC, and try to get one of us non-GC contenders in a break, but not too early, i.e. not to chase everything down. We had a neutral 2-mile roll-out, a couple of rollers and then boom, the attacks started. Weren't people tired from the last fourdays? Anna Milkowski (Lipton) attacked, Yukie covered it, Alisha (Basis) attacked, Cat covered that one, then Kele (Basis) countered and I was on that one, as was Michelle Beltran (Colavita) and Liza Rachetto (Team Lipton). We worked it slightly but not too committed, because it was only mile six. We slowly started to get a small gap, but were still in view. For about a mile or two, we were dangling about 30 seconds or so ahead of the pack, and we thought we'd get caught. But then we started working together, Michelle being the main driver. The sprint was coming at mile 10.1 and we fizzled a bit; Michelle went for it, no one contested, and she seemed very plea. She put the hammer down and I joined it. Slowly the others joined in and our gap grew. Soon we had a minute and soon we were out of view. The first climb peaked at mile 15 and were were still off. It seemed Michelle and I did most of the climbing work and the others hammered on the decents. Or rather Kele hammered on the decents and Liza sat in more than worked. Meanwhile, back in the pack, bridging attempts were being made as T-Mobile andSubway were not represented in the break. Ina Tutenburg made a few attacks and Cat and Katheryn were on those shutting everything down. Finally, Rebecca Much (T-Mobile) countered and with Chrissy Ruiter (Basis), on her wheel they tried to bridge. Hearing this on radio, Kele (Basis) dropped out of our rotation, Liza was sitting on, and Michelle and I kept it going. Somewhere around mile 25 they caught on and we started all working together. We had about three minutes on the pack at this point. Soon we hit the rolling steps which gradually climb up to the feed zone around the 6710' altitude. At this point the main pack was still active with attacks and bridging attempts. Cat and Katheryn were standing guard. Two riders managed to get away: Beverly Harper (Touchstone) and Suz Weldon (Subway). However, the commissaire read the numbers wrong and had Beverly and Cat bridging up. So I was told to sit, and I sat at the back with Liza. Soon after, Rebecca sat up too because she was told more riders are better for the break. This more than annoyed Chrissy and Michelle who then planned a series of attacks trying to drop us. That didn't work, butit did get Rebecca and I walking through the rotations. By the time we hit mile 40, the feed zone, Beverly and Suzanne were on. At first I thought it was Cat (seeing green) so I went to the front to let her rest and then checking to make sure she was on, I saw it wasn't her but Suzanne. Then I and the others assumed she must have fallen off so we motored. In truth, she was never in the bridge and the commisaire made the mistake. At about a 5-minute gap, T Mobile went to the front and drove the pace of the pack to ensure Kimberly Baldwin their GC leader would still maintain her lead. Meanwhile in the breakaway, about three miles from the start of the clim,b Carmen told me to sit in the back. This was a big help and let me rest before the climb. Michelle, Liza, Suzanne, and I were all sitting on while Kele (Basis) drove the pace most likely for Chrissy. The climb started and the breakaway pack started feeling the pain of the long day out alone. Liza launched two attacks and climbed mysteriously well for feigning being tired while the rest of us worked in the breakaway. I was feeling good on the climb going just at threshold, not more, ready for these attacks, and so thankful for the little break before the climb. Knowing the course is SOOO important. Kele popped first, then Michelle and then Beverly. Michelle did lots of work in the break and deserves much credit for making the break work. Left was Liza, Rebecca, Chrissy, Suzanne, and me. We powered up and tried to get another paceline going. Rebecca and I gave Liza a little lecture about sitting on and attacking and it worked because she finally started pulling through. Then we heard that Kimberly Baldwin (T-Mobile and GC leader) was coming up. Rebecca sat up until she caught us. Then like a true supporter, Rebecca drove the pace with Kimberly on her wheel until Rebecca blew and everyone was dropped except for Chrissy and me. Chrissy and I sat on Kimberly's wheel until one of the risers gapped Chrissy and I was unable to go around and close the gap. Chrissy and I started working together for a couple of minutes until Genevieve Jeanson (Team Rona) caught us and said she would work with us. The Canadian in me came out and I was all for helping Gen. (with Carmen's approval of course). So we all worked together for a couple of miles through some risers and some decents. On one of the risers, Chrissy popped and I fought hard for Gen's wheel and caught it (thanks to Carmen for screaming encouraging words for me to get that wheel). I should have pulled through right away though, because on the next decent Chrissy caught back on. At about mile two or three to go the pitch got steep again and Gen rode away. Neither Chrissy nor I had much left to hang on. Together, we did the next mile, and then I planned the end. I know I have 500m in me. With a mile to go I just sat on her wheel and paid close attention to her breathing waiting for the right moment. Around 500m to go, and the second to last little riser, she weakened and I knew I had to go. I dug, sprinted and pretty much blew by the time I saw the 200m sign. (Maybe 500m is too much to ask for after 72 miles.) In any case, I didn't hear noises or see a shadow behind my wheel so I just closed my eyes and redug, geared up... didn't work... geared down and got out of the saddle and then I saw the line, sat down and knew Webcor got 3rd... with 16 seconds to spare... A few minutes later Katheryn came in to get 15th, and then Cat came in a few minutes after that at 26th. See CyclingNews for the Cat and Betina hug. Teamwork made this happen. See complete Stage Five Results. Betina's first NRC podium finish! See final GC Results.