Link to each race report from the list below or just scroll down to browse:

06-21-08 Northstar Tour de Nez

While most of the Webcor Builders women were recovering at home from a long block of spring racing, Amy and Bev headed up to Lake Tahoe for the Tour de Nez circuit race. This has long been an NRC stage race for men only and this year the organizers finally added a 1-day women's event. They hope to grow the women's event for the future and were excited to get a strong field of women.

Here is Bev's Report:

Results:
Winner Sarah Bamberger (Cheerwine)
2nd Amber Rais (TIBCO)
3rd Stacy Marple (Cheerwine)
4th Bettina Hold (PROMAN)
5th Ashley Fouts (TIBCO)
6th BEVERLEY HARPER (WEBCOR)
8th AMY DOMBROSKI (WEBCOR)

This was the first year that the Tour de Nez hosted a women's race, so not knowing quite what to expect, the Webcor duo of Amy D and me set out to conquer what we had heard was going to be a challenging and technical course!! It turned out to be a really fun 2-mile circuit around the Northstar Ski resort just up the road from beautiful Lake Tahoe. There were some technical and twisty descents and ascents along with a fairly long uphill drag, crosswinds, and a section on cobbles that traversed through the village area where diners and shoppers would cheer us on.

Unfortunately, the field was small with only 18 women on the start line. However, lack of size didn't mean lack of quality. This was definitely going to be no "slam dunk" for the Green Team! No expense was spared as the race organization kept the prize list intact, paying to 20th place. Dave Towle was on the mic doing the call-ups for the enthusiastic crowd and Laura Charameda, fresh from directing Webcor at Nature Valley, was providing insightful race commentary.

From the start we managed to force the pace, keeping the riders from Tibco, Proman, and Cheerwine in check. Even with such a small field, it was good that the high pace was maintained, helping to avert some sketchiness in the corners. After just a few laps, the pack began to shrink and then was completely blown apart half way through the race when Amber Rais launched a blistering attack just before the cobbled section. As we came out the other side, three riders had managed to grapple across to her. The rest of the pack was in chaos. I bridged up to Amy who had made a valiant effort to stay in contact, but had unfortunately been separated from the front group.

We did the best we could to try to reconnect, with Tibco's Ashley Fouts along for the ride. Unfortunately, altitude and fatigue got the better of Amy and she lost touch just before we made it on to the lead group. Happy to be back in the mix, I suffered as Tibco and Cheerwine launched attacks and counter attacks and on the final up hill dash my little legs had nothing left. I brought up the rear of my group for 6th and was happy to see Amy come across the line soon after for 8th place. Nice hat-trick Sarah B!

We really enjoyed this race and were further delighted when the race organizer put on a fancy feast of Sushi with beer and wine for all racers!!

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06-15-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 6

The final stage in Nature Valley is a tough one! They call it a "criterium," but it is really a circuit race with a steep climb every lap.

Katheryn at the start in her Most Aggressive Rider jersey
Amy in the field

Here is Amy's Report:

With a coffee, a 2x caffeinated PowerGel, and a half a coke before the start, my nerves were singing. I was shocked as a fellow racer belted out the National Anthem 45 seconds prior to the start – with my shakiness I would have sounded like a starved raccoon.

I found myself on the fourth row for start position, but instead of glancing back to a sea of riders, I realized that the pas four days had whittled the field from 150 riders to 80. The gun went off and immediately we were steam-rolling up Stillwater's Chilkoot Hill for 12 laps in the pain cave. With a sprint point on the first lap, the field stayed together as everyone jockeyed for position. As we crested the 22% grade of the bugger, gaps began to form and groups were established. Kristin Armstrong's group of five had a gap on a group of eight which had a gap on Rebecca's and my group. Kristin eventually floated off of her group and soloed in for the win.

About four laps into the race we heard Laura (Charameda) on the radio encouraging Katheryn to bridge up to the group that Rebecca and I were in. After her valiant 77km flier yesterday, our aggressive rider sauntered on up and rode right through. She maniac-ed the hill and immediately had a 200m gap. However, within that lap the gap was swallowed by Team Cheerwine. Through the back-numbing pain of Chilkoot, I was happy to have Rebecca riding by my side as we encouraged each other past the agonizing galactic acid from six stages.

We riders and staff all finished the Nature Valley Stage Race smiling, holding our chins up, and hungry for what lies down the road when our team in numbers will be stronger.

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06-14-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 5

Stage 5 was another long (90 mile) road race. It is mostly flat, with a very tough finishing circuit. Since Katheryn has been practicing her time trialing so much, she decided to do some more of that during the road race!

The move
The "Most Aggressive Rider" jersey winner

Here is Katheryn's Report:

The Mankato Road Race was the next race for the three green amigos (amiga?), led by our three fabulous staff (nothing like having a 1-to-1 rider/staffratio, a rider could get used to this, ha!).

The 91-mile course would take the riders on the open, rolling hills around Mankato before returning to the start town to do three 2.2-mile loops. The small circuit would challenge the riders as there was a steep climb that we would have to do four times. The course also included four sprints that would provide those riders an opportunity to continue to compete for the sprinter's jersey.

Fortunately, there were no mis-directions as the peloton rolled out of town and the action started almost immediately with attacks from Cheerwine and Tibco. We had discussed before the race the importance of being smart about covering moves as there were only thee of us. A break of riders got off the front that had most of the major teams and after covering previous attacks, Amy and Rebecca needed a rest and it was my turn.

I hopped on the wheel of a Proman rider who was also trying to bridge up and upon reaching the group, which seemed to be disorganized and unmotivated, I decided to see if I could get others motivated and attacked. Unfortunately, the peloton seemed tired from the first flurry of attacks and let me go. I could hear encouragement over the radio and kept going.

I can remember watching cycling videos and see riders off on "suicide" moves and wonder what the heck they are thinking. Looking back on my own solo attack at kilometer 14, I don't know what I was thinking; maybe I was hoping that I would hear that there was a small group bridging up to me. But once I was committed, I knew I just had to put my head down and keep going.

There was a nice tailwind for a bit that helped me along and Laura (Chrameda) did a great job of letting me know when a turn would be coming so I could prepare for the crosswind that I encountered. At first my gap was small at only 10 seconds; then it slowly grew to over a minute. As I approached the sprint lines, the gap would come down as the sprinter's teams went to the front to set tempo for their sprinter. I think the largest gap I had was just under two minutes.

Similar to what goes up, most come down, tailwinds out means headwinds back and especially with the flat terrain, once the course headed back into town, there was very little respite from the brutal slog I encountered. I did my best to keep my head down and cadence high as I pushed through the wind.

When the gap was brought back down to about 10 seconds, Kristin Sanders (Aaron's) bridged up to me and for about 15k; the two of us worked together to keep distance from the main peloton. Eventually the head and crosswinds got the best of us and just after a small rise, we were caught. I was actually grateful to see the peloton as it meant that I could sit in and take shelter from the wind.

Amy and Rebecca were doing a great job of covering the flurry of attacks that soon happened and I was doing my best to recover from my effort. Suddenly, I saw Rebecca on the left side of the group with her chain no longer attached to her bike and quickly radioed to Laura and Dave that she needed a bike change. She drifted to the back of the group in case I needed to help pace her back on. Amy stayed at the front to patrol and cover attacks.

Unfortunately, even with a bike change onto the spare bike (48cm although she usually rides a 51cm) and then Dave's amazing and blisteringly fast chain installation on her race bike, she was not able to catch back on. I also heard that Rebecca did a spectacular cyclocross dismount to get back on her bike. Now please remember that we ride Speedplay pedals and how she kept
herself upright as she slid across the pavement is dumbfounding.

The pace coming back into town did not slow at all and there were many times when the field was strung out end to end in the crosswinds. Needless to say, my legs were not happy with the efforts needed to keep contact with the group. I knew that I had to stay with the group until we came back into town or I would have to suffer the wrath of the head and crosswinds. I managed to stay
in the group, but as soon as the circuit started I was blown off the back. I was semi-hoping that I would get pulled from the circuit and my time would be prorated, but my wish was not granted and I had to grind myself up the hill four times.

My only reward for doing the circuit was a beer feed the last lap as I went by a frat house and guys were standing on the side of the road with cups and cans of beer. I hope I don't get fined for feeding outside of the feedzone, HA!

Amy did a great job of finishing the circuit and a very long race. Rebecca made her way back into town by herself without any directions as the course was not well marked, hmm...

For me, my effort did earn me the most aggressive rider of the day.

When I downloaded my SRM file, I was amazed at my effort and learned that I was out there for 77k. I still wonder what the heck people think when they go solo off the front so early in a race.

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06-13-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 4

Stage 4 was an evening criterium in downtown Minneapolis. Katheryn, Amy, and Rebecca rode well and stayed up front and out of trouble.

Here is Katheryn's Report:

After the morning TT, the GC definitely was mixed up, as expected, yet we were shocked to learn that Gina was one of a handful of women who got time cut due to Kristin's blazing fast time in the TT. This was a major blow to us as the crit was to be Gina's race.

Now down to three, we lined up early (yes, 35 minutes early!) to the start of the Minneapolis downtown crit. Fortunately the showers that came down right before the start passed as a blessing on the riders, as we set off under cool, cloudy, but very windy conditions.

The course was a technical 6+ corner crit and the swirling winds added to the importance of keeping a firm grip on the handlebars and a heads up at all times.

The race was fast from the gun with various riders setting hard tempo to keep the field safe and strung out. There were several attempts by individual riders to separate themselves from the group during the 25-lap race, yet the sprinter's teams made it obvious that it was going to come down to a field sprint. Amy, Rebecca, and I did a great job of staying near the front and out of trouble. Amazingly enough, there were no crashes, which I attribute this to the speed of the race.

In the end, it did come down to a bunch kick with Brooke Miller (Tibco) winning the field sprint. The three green amigos finished safely in the group.

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06-13-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 3

Stage 3 was a 5-mile time trial. Webcor likes time trials and Rebecca had a good ride, finishing 8th overall and the best young rider.

Rebecca in action

Here is Rebecca's Report:

Friday the 13th equaled a double day at the Nature Valley Grand Prix that started with a morning time trial around 4.5 miles in length. The day started for this reason earlier than I would have arranged if I were to schedule time trials for myself, but all in all it bode to be a good day in my opinion. Time trials aren't really that exciting to report on as they are really a race inside your head so it's hard to tell how everyone's race played out, however, overall I think the mental battles went well for the team. We all warmed up on our trainers that where laid out courtesy of Dave Drumm, the mechanic, who has recently trade marked the "neck stand," and our Super Sougneur Avery May made miracles happen prior to the race, making sure everyone was as comfortable and ready as they could be to try to make bodies go as fast as they could. Laura Charameda directed us and reminded me to look at the clock so I wouldn't miss my start. Good staff, Good stuff.

Personally, the race was exciting for me because my parents drove up from Chicago to watch, so I wanted to go fast and make mom and dad proud. Lucky for them, I pulled out a decent time trial, landing me in the top 10 amongst colleagues of mine that I consider to be "fast," so this made me feel "good." Basically I was pretty happy for the day and proved to be the fastest Young Rider (under 26) in the race…sweet. They even gave me a jersey for my effort, which I sadly can't keep after flatting near the finish of yesterday's race and loosing time.

As for the rest of out team, everyone had a good day really with Katheryn continuing getting race miles in her legs now that she is healed and back in action and finishing 13th place while she was at it. Our dear Wang-a-tang, Amy, rolled in 31st…the three of us where all within 50 seconds of each other and for a race that started with 150 riders…not too shabby! Gina played the typical role of the sprinter and floated the time trial to save her legs for the evening criterium of the double day…her, and plenty other sprinters and domestiques alike. Friday the 13th might have been a bit unlucky after all however, as loads of people got time cut from the TT as a result of the blistering winning time, including Gina and several other favorites for the evening's stage win. Not quite the best stuff. However, at least she gets to go to China soon for the Olympics—so I don't feel too sorry for her ;)

The PM section of the race, a criterium in downtown Minneapolis, was reported on via Katheryn Mattis (the girl that wears red booties). Also, my insert for PM race is that I got a HOT new bike to ride for it…'09 naked carbon Orbea Orca.......niiiiiicccce!

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06-12-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 2

Stage 2 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix saw the rain clear up and much less drama than the criterium the night before. Webcor was represented in all the promising moves, but there were enough teams that wanted a field sprint and that is what the end result was. Unfortunately we lost our sprinter, Gina to a crash with only a couple of kilometers to go. She was OK, but never regained the field.

Here is Katheryn's Report:

Stage 2 was the Cannon Falls Road Race. At 66.5 miles, the course profile was fairly tame, no major climbs, but if the weather conditions proved to bewindy, the race could blow apart.

The lean (only four of us), mean (well not really "mean" but strong), green (go green!) Webcor machine arrived with plenty of time to preview the technical dirt run-in to the finishing circuit before the lovely start time of 5:20 pm.

The fun began when the lead vehicles misled the group within the first minute of the neutral roll-out causing mass confusion with the riders, officials, and caravan. Finally, things were sorted out and we were on our way.

As there were only four of us, we needed to be conservative and not expend unnecessary energy chasing everything, but make sure we were represented in dangerous breaks. Also, with such a large field, it would be important for us to not drift too far back.

The action started almost immediately and continued throughout the race. There were many teams initiating stuff and we did a great job covering and being represented in most all the dangerous moves. Each of us found ourselves in what looked like a promising break, but the field did not seem content to let anything get away. Fortunately, despite some cross wind sections, no team seemed interested in putting it into the gutter to try and blow things up.

We knew that we had to be in good position coming back into town because of the dirt road section and a hard right turn onto the finishing circuit. I made sure I was safely in the top 20 and spotted Amy and Gina near the front before the off road section. Unfortunately, Rebecca was having difficulty with her bike; it turned out she had a nice piece of tread missing on her rear
tire, which caused a major loss of control going around corners. She had to wait forever to get a wheel change and by that time there was no hope of finishing with the front group.

The course finished with five loops of a 1.9-mile circuit and because most likely the race would come down to a bunch kick for the finish, the goal was to keep Gina up in the front so she could unleash her kick ass sprint.

I did my best with three laps to go to get her in position, but when the group surged on the finish hill (which was not too steep or long) I could not maintain my position and drifted too far back (this was my first race effort in 7+ weeks). Gina was doing a great job of surfing wheels and keeping herself up at the front.

Unfortunately, coming down a small descent into a fast left turn, I saw a stack-up on the right and heard over the radio that Gina was down! Major bummer, although she was okay, escaping with some road rashl. Amy and I finished with the main group.

Tomorrow is a double day for us – a 10k time trial in the morning followed by a 40k crit in downtown Minneapolis.

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06-11-08 Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 1

The Webcor team of Gina, Katheryn, Amy, and Rebecca headed to Minnesota for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The rain from Montreal seems to have followed us and this stage was just not meant to be. Amy, our star cyclocross racer, was more at home in the conditions than most.

Here is Amy's Report:

You know it's a cluster of a road race when it feels like a cyclo-cross race. The weather was what any cross racer would drool over, and drool on themselves when in the purple zone. Also like a cross race, the start was like a herd of cats, all chomping at the bit and ejecting their claws to inch up an inch. Call-ups apparently began, although no one really heard them and the cats were slowly swarming in on the call-up zone. Gina missed her call-up and was forced to start behind 150 rain-drenched and hissing feline friends. With 15 seconds to start, another box of rain fell, seeping into our bones and the ribbons in our hair.

And so the race began and with everyone's artistic bike handling skills, the field was strung out at turn one. Katheryn was caught in a little crash on turn two, which was a bit of a fright on her first race back. But she bit back with the help of Gina and Rebecca who dropped back for her. By the second lap the 150 girls were strung out over the 1.1 mile circuit and Kristin Armstrong was quickly lapping riders. I was loving it for the first 10 laps, stoked with 95psi in my tires and in great position. But then it just got out of hand with many people crashing. Like a cross race, everyone had their own pace, their own handling, their own cornering. It was about how hard you wanted to go and how many risks you were willing to take.

There was mass confusion everywhere. Indeed, I was pulled with 10 laps to go, so I sat up, only to see people who I had lapped still in the race. Now that's spittin' rain. In the end, the race was nullifed. Kristin will don the yellow jersey tomorrow, and the other prized jerseys will be awarded, but everyone will receive the same time. The way I figure, Webcor rode a smart race – our legs will be open for tomorrow, but no extra energy was wasted.

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06-08-08 NorCal/Nevada District Time Trial Championship

While most of the team was in Montreal, Bev and Katheryn, who was not yet cleared for mass start racing since her collarbone break in April, raced the Northern California/Nevada District Time Trial Championship. In true Webcor tradition, Katheryn has been focusing her training on the time trial in preparation for Nationals, and had a great ride, winning the race and breaking the course record in the process.

Here is Katheryn's Report:

Sattley Time Trial also known as NorCal/Nevada Districts
Distance – 40km (yes folks, you did read correctly – 40km!)

Now 5.5 weeks out from my surgery, I am still on a time trial diet; this will be my third in three weekends – for a total of 87k worth of suffering. Not that two surgeries in two months was easy, but I am very much looking forward to a good road race or even (gasp) a criterium, ha!

As I had an early start time of 8:54:00, James and I woke up with just enough time to pack the car, make breakfast (including plenty of Peet's coffee), and head out into the middle of nowhere – Sattley, CA. Where is Sattley, CA you ask? Well let me tell you. Take I-80 to Truckee, head north and keep going and going, until you have no cell service, and then keep going a bit more. Then you have reached Sattley – population 60, elevation 4,900+ft.

With an efficiency that would make Karen proud, James and I registered, unloaded the car, changed, and were out on our bikes with plenty of time to get in a good warm up. While warming up, I definitely noticed the altitude and knew that with the thin air and long distance, I would have to be careful to moderate my effort and not go out too hard.

Unfortunately, I was the first senior category 1/2 woman to go off and only had a couple of U23 women as rabbits. Typically, I like to have more people to chase as it keeps me focused during the effort. As the course was 2 km out, 20km back with very little elevation change or even turns in the road, this would definitely be the "race of truth."

I was warned about the expansion seams in the road that came at about 15ft intervals. As with many things in life, you can be told about how it is, but until you actually experience it, you never know how bad it really is. Well, those seams in the road sucked! I tried to ignore them to the best of my ability, but when my SRM powercontrol got dislodged from the two rubber bands holding it in place, I grew to greatly dislike them. I fiddled with trying to get the computer back in place but after a km or two, gave up and took to focusing on keeping my cadence up and the hurt in my legs.

Not having any sort of gauge (distance/time) and never having done the course before, I did my best to keep my focus on the effort. After about 10 km of the rough road, the surface improved a bit and I was about to jump for joy when I hit the few km of NEW pavement just before the turn around – whoopie! The winds were very slight coming from the east which gave a slight headwind on the way out and a slight tailwind on the way back (go figure!).

Katheryn Curi Mattis enroute to winning the Dunlap Time Trial photo: Hors Categorie Photography click to see larger view

There was a point when I just wanted the effort to be over and I kept having to tell myself to focus on my form and keep the legs ticking over. Unlike the DunlapTime Trial last weekend, where the course was very well marked with distance, I had no idea where I was and was so grateful to see a faint 1-mile marking on the road.

I rolled across the finish line exhausted and happy that the effort was done. The crazy thing was after rolling around for about 5 minutes, my glutes cramped up and putting any power into the pedals was painful. I have never experienced that before and even after pedaling around for a bit, I still was not feeling great.

As with any time trial, you often do not know how you placed until results are posted, although another woman's husband had been timing and congratulated me on a good race, informing me that I had won.

When results were finally posted, it was confirmed that I had won in the time of 55:03. Molly Van Houweling (Metromint and defending district champ) was 2nd and Olivia Dillon (Touchstone) was third. Unfortunately, Beverley experienced a mechanical 3km into the race, her bars slipped down significantly, causing her to have a more challenging race than necessary, although she still finished 4th! Go Bevcor!

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06-08-08 Commerce Bank Liberty Classic

The Liberty Classic in Philadelphia is the biggest 1-day race in the US and draws a stellar international field. This is the race that sprinters live for, and Gina was no exception, having finished 2nd and 3rd here before. Webcor has unfortunately not had the best of luck in this race in previous years and this year was no exception. See this CyclingNews photo:

Christine on the climb

Here is Gina's Report:

Well, I have two things to say. Well, I have one and Avery one.

Me: uhhhh

Avery: Don’t mess with the fairies.

Today, Webcor messed with the fairies. Or we messed with the fairies before the race, because the fairies were NOT with us today. This race I have done many times. And this year, although we had a small team, we had an awesome team. I had my guardian angel, Janel, who took care of me the entire race, keeping me in good position when the time counted, and Christine and Erinne, the climbing queens and my leadout girls.

The first encounter with the bad luck fairies happened on lap one, when I witnessed Erinne stuck in a place where there was nowhere to go but in…the huge pothole which engulfed her entire front wheel. She muscled the bike, but a minute later we hear this little voice on the radio saying “Front flat, Erinne has a front flat!" Erinne is very experienced and strong and made it back chasing ON MANYUNK HILL! She caught the last rider at the top of the climb and eventually made contact with the main pack after ½ a lap. That is how fast this course is.

In the middle and latter part of the race, the team rode with professional grace. My aim was to stay with a certain sprinter from Nürnberger, Regina Scheicher. That I did, but, we were still not in the usual break that rolls off the front after the sprint for the QOM every lap. My girls looked after the front for the most part and my guardian angel (Janel) hung with me on the climb. My girls then brought back any break that posed a threat. They were really rock stars, and did everything a sprinter needs when she is conserving energy for the finish.

The race was four laps. Each lap we worked it pretty much the same, changing a bit based on what was going on up front. But, we wanted one thing: A field sprint.

And that it was going to be! On Lap 4, after “the wall” – Manyunk Wall (the 800m climb that goes as steep as 27% in parts) – there was again a break after the climb which was the only break of the day that stuck for any length of time that was a threat. Chantal Beltman broke away from the break, the rest got swallowed up by the pack over Lemon Hill at 3k to go. Erinne was driving it hard on the front to bring it back. Webcor was all at the front, top five going over Lemon Hill the last time in PERFECT POSITION. My sprinter nerves were firing out of control and I was licking my lips for another great field sprint when all of a sudden my foot pulled out of my shoe! I was in shock. I simply could not believe what was happening. I was so in shock I reacted immediately trying to get my foot back in my shoe, which was still attached to my pedal! I pressed the radio button but all that could come out was “uuuuuuuuuuh.” How can you explain over the radio at 2km to go that your foot was out of your shoe? Luckily Erinne was nearly right behind me and Christine was near me and she looked at me and thought “OK, Gina it is important to have your shoes done up tight, but isn’t it a bit late….AND you are losing ground and getting dropped as the peloton flies through at over 55km/hr. GINA! Get it together!" But then she realized something was really wrong.

Erinne saw my socks and my leg flailing to the side of my bike. I shoved my foot back in my shoe after undoing the buckles and straps. Christine told Janel just to keep going and finish. Erinne and Christine hammered their way with me on their wheel at a very last attempt to catch the peloton setting up for a sprint finish for 2nd place and there was NO way we were catching them inside 2k to go. The race was over for us.

Even worse yet to come, as Christine and I rolled up to the finish line, we see Janel on the ground! Oh no. Janel crashed…her front tire literally EXPLODED 100 meters from the finish line causing her to crash hard to the cement (the pavement was measured at 112 degrees during the race in the heat wave that is engulfing the East Coast). As I speak Avery is taking Janel to the hospital to explore her possible concussion a bit more. Wary too, that she may have a problem with her collarbone. Not broken, but very sore. All in all she is ok, but just going to get checked out.

I heard WEBCOR had a curse for this race. I joined the curse this year. There is nothing worse for a sprinter than finishing a race full of adrenaline and not having sprinted. And even worse than that, not being able to wrap up the job that your teammates worked so hard for the entire race. That is the worst. However, we are all relatively safe so there could be worse things. Team WEBCOR did an incredibly exceptional job today and I want to toast the team. Many things have to come together for a great bike race, and for some strange reason today was just not our day.

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06-05-08 Grand Tour of Montreal Stage 5

The 5th and final stage in Montreal was in Mont St-Hillaire and featured the most climbing of the race. Suzanne DeGoede from Nürnberger held a slim 2-second lead over Judith Arndt in the overall with Erinne in 7th, 25 seconcs back.

Erinne was in a break most of the race and picked up enough bonus seconds to move up to 6th overall. Click on the links below to see CyclingNews photos:

Christine and Erinne in the pack
Erinne in the break

Here is Erinne's Report:

Today was the hilliest course of the tour with a 2km climb every lap that we did five times. The climb started out very gradual with the last 500m being quite steep and only 3.5km from the finish. There were GPM points on laps 2-5 and sprint/time bonus sprints on laps 2-5 as well. Our goal was now to potentially have myself move up in GC but also to have Christine look for opportunities for a stage victory. Alex pulled out very quickly in the race as she wasn’t feeling well, so almost immediately we were down to three riders. The first attack that stuck was from Clara Hughes on the first lap. Then another three riders attacked and bridged up to Clara just before the climb. On the first climb, Mara Abbott attacked; Christine stayed at the front and pulled at a good pace waiting for the next bridge to happen. Then Emma Pooley went and Felicia Gomez and myself went with Emma. Just over the crest of the climb we caught Mara and then the other four riders. The break worked together immediately. We were all pulling through but nobody was killing themselves as it was still very early in the race and Nürnberger was chasing. On the second climb Felicia and Emma sprinted for the GPM and two riders got dropped from the break. Now the six of us were still working.

Through the first time bonus sprint I totally forgot about it and Felicia picked up 3 seconds while I only got 1 second. Anyhow, the break continued to roll through all day together until the fourth climb. Back in the field Nürnberger was keeping us at about 1 minute while there were only a few short-lived attacks.

On the fourth climb, three riders, including Oenone Wood from High Road, attacked the field and tried to bridge to the break. This picked up the speed in the field and the break knew we were likely to get caught. With probably 15km to go the field caught the break. After that, I was really tired and wasn’t able to cover anything. High Road was launching endless attacks in order to tire out Nürnberger some more before the climb. Christine was going with so much and hoping that something would stick, but there were just too many to attacks to cover for three riders.

Once we hit the hill, everyone was so spent from covering other High Road riders for the past 15km that when Judith Ardnt attacked nobody was able to follow. She did another tremendous effort and soloed again into the yellow jersey. Only 5 seconds behind Ardnt was the field sprint that Brooke Miller won and gained 6 seconds in GC. This moved Ardnt back into the yellow and Brooke passed a few riders into 5th GC. Suzanne De Goede finished back in 2nd after a hard day of chasing. I moved up to 6th in GC.

So once again Tour du Montreal is over and we’ve practiced our sprinting and pothole dodging for the year.

This morning Team Webcor travelled down to Philadelphia and next on the agenda is the Liberty Classic here on Sunday.

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06-04-08 Grand Tour of Montreal Stage 4

Stage 4 was a criterium in downtown Montreal. Going into the stage Erinne was 7th on GC and Christine 9th.

Before the race, there was the traditional "Staff Race" where the team support staff race four laps of the criterium course. This race used to be pretty low key with staff out in sneakers and street clothes, but it has gotten faster and more serious over the years. Since most race support staff have some racing in their background, it doesn't take much to get the competetive juices flowing and it was a hard four laps! Avery and Karen represented Webcor in this race and were pretty much the the only women in the field. Cascade's Kiwi mechanic won off the front and Karen finished 4th. Click on the links below to see CyclingNews photos:

Avery at the finish
Start line

Here is Janel's Report on the Real Race:

On Wednesday evening, the Webcor Builders Cycling Team headed into the Little Italy region of Montreal for a 50km criterium on a flat, 1km course. With some quick math, you realize that means we're doing 50 laps of a 4-corner rectangular course where the roads are battered and bruised by the rough Montreal winters leaving cracks and bumps to negotiate. Happily, the sun had decided to come out for the afternoon, the roads were dry, and the cycling-enthused residents of Montreal were out in full force to support the racers. It was a fantastic pre-race climate!

After Erinne and Christine's great time trial in the morning, we were sitting in 7th and 9th respectively in GC. Christine was honored to don the gray jersey of best rider over 35, but Alex was dealing with the aftermath of her TT crash. Our plan for the race was to be conservative, chase down any breaks that threatened Erinne's place or Christine's jersey, and lead Alex out for a fantastic finish. The race got underway and the pace was high for the first few laps. Erinne and Alex were comfortably riding up front and Christine and Janel worked their way up to the front. The race was fast and aggressive, and with dry roads and few major obstacles in the course, a break was not likely to succeed. There wasn't a lack of attempts, though, and eventually Lauren Franges form TIBCO got 20 seconds up the road for a few laps. She was reeled in largely by two teams: High Road, who was defending the leader's jersey, and Nürnberger who was hoping to set up Susanne de Goede for time bonus sprints and the finish, thus claiming the overall lead.

With cash primes and a final time bonus sprint in the mix, another break escaped that was composed of Lauren again and two other riders. Again, it was reeled in with a few laps remaining and the field was set for a bunch sprint. Erinne was positioned safely near the front of the bunch, and, with two laps to go, Alex moved herself up from the rear of the pack to the front showing her great skill and desire to get out of the riff raff! On turn four of the course, with one lap to go, a crash happened on the outside of the turn, but fortunately, none of the Webcor Builders went down. We made it safely through the last lap with Alex, our highest place rider, in 12th and Erinne in 38th.

The final stage will bring us to the roads of Saints Hilaire for a longer road course with a lovely climb. Back to the hills where we like to be!

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06-04-08 Grand Tour of Montreal Stage 3

Day 3 of the Tour of Montreal was a double stage day with a short time trial in the morning ad a criterium in the evening.

Christine in the TT
Erinne

Here is Christine's TT report:

They call this 3.5km time trial a full stage now, but it used to be the opening prologue for the race. Time trial equipment is not allowed, to keep the race more "fair" for the teams who travel from other continents to race and don't bring extra equipment. The course is on a bike path that loops back on itself in Lachine.

We lined up the trainers in cool conditions and overcast skies but no rain. A pre-ride of the course revealed the same technical left/right chicane at 500m into the race with a large puddle in the middle of the first turn. The race promoter swept the water and mud away, but this did leave a dusty film over the path. Christine was first off for the team and posted the fastest ride among the first third of the racers, but with most of the GC threats yet to come, it was not a good enough time to hold. She noted the tailwind outbound and headwind inbound sections and discussed the first corner with Janel, Erinne, and Alex. Unfortunately, when Alex pre-rode the course 1 1/2 hours before her start time (she was one of the later riders to start given her good GC position to this point in the race), her knee was giving her some pain before a good warm-up, so she had not taken the corners with any speed. When she did race at speed, she discovered the first corner a bit more slippery than expected, and she slid out into the grass. She recovered to finish, but is quite sore from the bruising and continued knee pain.

Erinne was the team star of the day, posting a 4:16, which was just one place off the podium, and moved her into 7th overall GC. Given her smaller size and the short course with strong winds, this was a particularly impressive result. Judith Arndt won her second consecutive stage in 4:11, Suzanne De Goede (Nürnberger) and Trine Schmidt (Menikini, track racer) were 2nd and 3rd, both at 4:15. Christine was 8th at 4:18 with the same time as 6th and 7th, which moved her to 9th overall GC. She was surprised to be called up for the podium presentation – to receive the "best over-35" racer grey jersey for the old ladies of the peloton. Having won this same stage on a TT bike in 2005, she was not particulary pleased with her new honor! Janel had a good ride for her first time doing this short TT, and placed in the top third of the group.

We have only a few hours to rest in our hotel before the evening's 50km 4-corner criterium in "Little Italy" of Montreal. Let's hope the rain holds off!

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06-2/3-08 Grand Tour of Montreal Stages 1 & 2

The Webcor team of Erinne, Christine, Janel, and Alex stayed on in Montreal for the 4-day Grand Tour of Montreal after the World Cup. This race is noted for flat, rainy stages, but it draws a good international field being held two days after the World Cup. It is also the top ranked UCI category, so there are a lot of UCI points on the line.

The first stage was not the most interesting course: a flat, 5.7km loop done 15 times in the town of Chateauguay. The excitement came with the three intermediate time bonus sprints as well as the time bonuses at the finish. Given the lack of hills in this race, every second becomes important. The race started in sunshine, but a storm came in about halfway through, drenching the riders and making the roads a bit slick.

The Webcor plan was to try to lead out Alex for the sprints as well as the finish. The first two sprints, the team set up Alex, and she finished just out of the time bonus placings. Christine, Erinne, and Janel were also active attacking and covering attacks, but nothing was sticking. The team decided to sit out the 3rd sprint and focus on the finish. The Webcor train got unfortunately swarmed coming into the finish and Alex was in the wind for 600m or so and finished 8th. The stage was won by former World Champion Regina Schleicher of Nürnberger. Oenone Wood of High road was 2nd and Rochelle Gilmore of Menikini in 3rd.

Stage 2 was in Granby and did feature a QOM hill, but it was not much more than a long overpass. There were two more time bonus sprints and time bonuses at the finish.

Janel at the start

Here is Erinne's report:

After Stage 1 Regina Schleicher from team Nürnberger had the yellow jersey. Tuesday was a 104km race with 11 laps of a fairly flat loop. We had several GPM sprints where the climb was a gradual 1km and sprint/time bonus sprints several times through the start/finish line. Team Webcor’s goal of the race was to practice leading out Alex for the time bonuses and the finish and other than that to look for breakaway opportunities and be represented in all breaks. The race went relatively well, considering our small team. The first sprint we got all lined up and put in a great effort. It was good to see green on the front of a sprint leadout. Unfortunately though, with 1.5km to go I miss-timed the start of my pull and we got a little swarmed. Alex was still in good position and I got back up to her in hope to jump the train, but she decided to stay on her current wheel and sprint. She almost got time. Then there was a break immediately from that sprint that both Alex and I were in. There were around 15 people with Aaron’s, Webcor, and High Road working the break. We lasted about four laps until the second time bonus and I gave Alex another leadout. She said it was perfect but she unfortunately didn’t have sprinting legs.

Shortly after the sprint, the break was caught and from then on in the race there were many many efforts and short breaks. Christine and Janel covered some great moves while Alex and I recovered for a bit and then we were all active again. It was constant attacking and we all did a great job of covering every important move.

On the last lap through the finish I think Christine covered Oneone and then Judith Ardnt countered, with three riders on her wheel. I bridged up to them with Meridith Miller and caught them just before the climb. Just over the crest of the climb with like 5km to go, Ardnt attacked on the descent and rode away solo for a stage win and to take over the yellow jersey. My group got caught again by the field and the rest of us finished in a field sprint where Alex finished in 13th.

Felicia Gomez from Aaron’s took the Queen of the Mountain jersey, and Suzanne De Goede took the sprint classification.

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Link to race reports for May 2008
Link to race reports for February-April 2008