Karen and I were the two fresh ones who had not raced Pesky the day before. However, we did note that most of the competitors in B-Game had not raced Pesky either. Betina, Karen, and I arrived early to sign autographs at the kids booth. We were all rather shy "rock stars" but did send off many signed photo cards to the future of cycling.

Most know this course, but just in case: it's dead flat with a long s/f stretch followed by a right, right, left/right chicane, and a long sweeping curve back to the s/f stretch. The winds were fairly stiff in the s/f stretch when we raced. The strategy was the same as all local races where we outnumber the peloton: attack repeatedly until a favorable break gets away. We figured our main competition would be the Morgan Stanley team with the Drumm sisters and Kim Cunningham, who are all strong riders with good sprints, but also Amber Rais of Palo Alto Bicycles and Brenna Wolford of Velo Bella would be in contention.

The attacks were on from the start of this 40-minuterace. Seems the biggest competition among Webcor teammates is who can accelerate the fastest to be next off the front! There were several short-lived breaks in the first 2/3 of the race, but no combinations that would stick. With 10 laps to go, a split occurred in the field at the s/f with either Karen or Cat's attack and Kim Cunningham covering. Christine saw this transpiring, so caught onto the back of the large break and attacked into the first corner just as Kim appeared to relax. Because there was a split in the field, there was hesitation to chase. Amber made a near-bridge attempt ,but didn't quite make it. The rest of the chasers were kept at bay by other Webcor teammates (thanks!). Katheryn made a bid for 2nd with about three laps to go once Christine was a safe distance away (20+seconds), but she was caught by the pack just entering the final turn. Karen capitalized on this "lead out" and came into the corner on the protected side of Katheryn to take the field sprint honors for 2nd. Kim Cunningham was 3rd, followed by Brenna Wolford and Amber Rais.

I hadn't personally meant to win this race, but it was a good win for Webcor with our title sponsor being located just a few miles away in San Mateo.

Next up includes the Giro di Italia for Christine July 1-10 with the US National Team; the Canadian Nationals July 7 and 10 for Betina, Felicia, and Erinne; and the Cascade Cycling Classic July 7-10 for the rest. Let's hope for the winning streak to continue! Ciao.

Return to Webcor Cycling Women's News