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

April 30 Tour of the Gila Stage 2

Today was another hard day in the saddle in New Mexico with a 77-mile stage with almost 6000ft. of climbing. It was a good day though with Webcor winning the stage! It was truly a team effort and the field was together at the end and Gina won the sprint.

See this VeloNews photo of The Victory

And the related VeloNews Story

And the related CyclingNews Story

Here is Gina's Report:

I write this as I recover from my pollo horny that I had at our team dinner tonight. A nice chicken meal at a mexican restaurant. A few others also had horny chicken. We went out to dinner tonight because… WEBCOR won the stage today!

The day started out with a nice 5-mile leg-opener climb, well, leg-opener for some, and locker of pain for others. Not too much happened on the climb until near the top when yours truly, WEBCOR, was firmly represented in the straw that broke the camel's back break. Super leader Katheryn and Alexis were amongst the 15 women whose legs and/or lungs didn't implode.

And so it was. A chase group of about 20 or so including Nikki, Amy, and me worked the descent and got within about 200m of the lead group when the next little hill came, which wasn't so little; so we lost them to about a minute and 30 seconds by after the rippin technical descent. Somewhere in between the two descents we see a struggling soldier up ahead; Rebecca's astounding climbing efforts yesterday on the final 7-mile climb battling with one of the best climbers in the world caught up to her a bit today and so she got stuck between the two groups and waited for our group.

The caveat in the whole chase group was the 3rd place rider on GC was with us, meaning that the two other major player teams in the chase group, Colavita and Value Act, DIDN'T want to catch the lead group because that would put their team GC riders higher on team GC and onto a podium position. So, yep you got it, WEBCOR and a few other random riders at times were the ones to chase. With stellar efforts from everybody, we caught the lead group and the game was on, or the bar was open for business (as Dave asked in the radio at about 10 miles to go! "Gina, is the bar open for business, i.e., ready to sprint.?" I said "the bar is open and has an open tab," others said it was happy hour and ladies night. You see race radios are helpful!)

Well before this happened, a ValueAct girl, Nicole Evan, managed to get away after Webcor was aggressive with attacks. She got about 2 minute 50 seconds at one point. But was this enough to stop WEBCOR from a sprint finish and possible stage win? NO. WEBCOR AGAIN went to the front, this time with help from Colavita and Kristen Armstrong to chase her back. We caught her at about 1 mile to go (I say WE, but I was actually in the pack saving the sprinting trunks), so by the time WEBCOR caught Nicole, their trunks were done in and needed watering. Kristen Armsrong came up to me and said that she was going to help us in the lead out!!! I said, ok, you know how this goes: it is a strong cross headwind, just gutter it and I will be there. Sure enough, going into the right hand turn at 1 mile to go, Kristen was there, WEBCOR was up there manning near the front, and I jumped on Kristen's wheel. She went into TT mode, and, in the cross winds anybody who wasn't in the top five was going to suffer! I tucked in behind her and launched my sprint at about 200m to go on a slightly uphill grade. It was a bit early but the time was then. I kicked it really hard and made a pretty good gap coming across the finish line with time to think about the victory salut!!! (editors note: I forgot to zip up my jersey).

Once again, WEBCOR showed their strength and most of all their dedication to TEAMWORK. Great job everybody.

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April 29 Tour of the Gila Stage 1

The Webcor team is now in Silver City, New Mexico for the 5-day Tour of the Gila. This is a hard race with lots of climbing all around 6000-7000ft. elevation making for some tough days. This little town even drew out Lance Armstrong and his teammates, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner for a good training race.

The women's field has the "other Armstrong" – World and Olympic champ Kristin. The first stage is the hardest in terms of climbing and as Kristin is here sans team, we knew we needed to use the strength of the whole Webcor team to try to beat her.

The team rode a great race with Rebecca and Gina ending up in a break about 1 1/2 min ahead of the field at the base of the final 6.7-mile climb. Rebecca dropped the rest of the break and dug deep to try to hold off the field. She was finally caught about two miles from the top by Kristin. She held on to finish 8th on the stage, 1:21 behind. Katheryn had a great climb herself from the field to finish second on the day, conceding only 36 seconds to the Olympic champ on the final climb.

See this CyclingNews photo of Rebecca alone on the climb.

And here's the related CyclingNews article.

Here is Rebecca's report:

The Tour of the Gila is a 5-day stage race in Silver City, New Mexico. There is a small amount of altitude here and a lot of dry heat. The first stage, the 73-mile Mogollan Road Race, is a mostly rolling course that ends on a 6-mile climb with sections that run as steep as 18%.

Webcor’s goal for the day was to put pressure on race contenders from other teams, so once the race got going we started launching attacks. Amy, Alexis, and Gina got the ball rolling for quite some time giving it a go one after another. There were moments when each of our three riders appeared to have gotten clear and would possibly make it to the base of the climb in a small group, but because of either a lack of cooperation from break mates or a strong chasing field, no one got clear initially. At about the ¾ mark of the race, Nikki and I joined the attack efforts while Katheryn conserved in the field. With five Webcor riders attacking, Gina finally got clear with two other girls – Rachel Heal (Colavita) and Hillary Billington (Lip Smackers) – when she rocketed up the side of a rise.

Once Gina and her group got clear, Karen instructed Nikki and I to attempt to bridge so we would have more numbers to start the final climb. It took a couple tries, but eventually there was a lull in the field and I attacked with purpose. I got clear with no troubles and spent the next little while bridging up to Gina who waited patiently for my arrival. It was pretty exciting to reach Gina with only nine miles to the base of the climb but that left a lot of work for our fearless chief. She drilled it up and down every rise and decent to the turn off for the climb until she was cross-eyed and then it was my turn to take over.

With about six miles remaining I gave it a little extra where the climb began to drop the remainder of the break and then I was on my own. Long time up hill alone!!! I tried my hardest and gave it my all, but the steep sections killed me and around two miles to go Kristin Armstrong passed me. It is always an honor to get tromped by an Olympic champion and I tried to hang on to her but it was only in vain. The next group to catch me happily contained Katheryn with two other girls. I watched Katheryn pull away from her companions so I was pleased to see her lock up 2nd place on a wicked climb. A group of three ValueAct girls were the next to catch me and as we approached the line I was officially toast! I think I held on for 8th or so and I couldn’t stand at the finish – first time experience.

The rest of the team rolled in strong with Nikki and Alexis both in the top 20, and Amy and Gina just shortly thereafter since they had demolished themselves prior to the climb. Today was a great team effort and we are excited to be in 2nd place overall. There are still four hard days remaining!

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April 26 Dana Point Grand Prix

The Webcor team of Gina, Nikki, Alexis, and Katheryn raced the Dana Point Criterium in Southern California. This is a first-year NRC event for the women and they put on a good race and so did we! The team put Gina in perfect position to win, and the leadout was so fast, we didn't even need our sprinter to finish things off! Nikki won the race with Gina in 2nd. Nikki and Alexis also won a prime each.

Read the VeloNews version. And see these VeloNews photos:

Nikki winning a prime
Nikki in an early break
Alexis in a break
Nikki and Gina on the podium in the bubbly

And this photo from CyclingNews:

Nikki and Alexis

Here is Nikki's report:

We started with just our "lead-out team" with the goal of setting up our fastest rider, Gina Grain, for the win. We decided that I was the second fastest, so our lead-out went like this: Katheryn Curi Mattis, Alexis Rhodes, me, then Gina.

Our plan was to have one of us in every break (which we did exceptionally well), but to not work too hard in any of them since we thought Gina had a very good chance in the finish. Tiffany Cromwell (another Aussie riding for Colavita) was very active along with all of the Colavita girls here.

There was a slight uphill leading into the last corner and a downhill, headwind 200m stretch into the finish line. Alexis did an amazing job leading into "my part" with another Australian Emma Rickards on her wheel effectively blocking. There was a little lull and I just went as hard as I could into that last turn. Gina was right on my wheel and my jump created quite a gap behind Gina. Coming into the finish it was obvious we had 1-2, so Gina decided not to come around me essentially handing me the win.

The whole team did a great job. I'm really enjoying riding with these girls. It makes a big difference to morale being part of a well-organized, well-managed, professional team, especially when I look forward to seeing my teammates each time we go away.

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April 22 La Fleche Wallone

While most of the green team has been at home training, Janel has been racing in Europe with the US National Team.She recently raced the classic Fleche Wallone World Cup race. The women race on the same course as the men but earlier in the day.

Here is Janel's report:

Since the first week in April, I’ve been racing, training, and traveling with the US National Team in Europe. We’ve been hopping back and forth between Belgium and the Netherlands and even had time for a short trip to the team house in Lucca, Italy.

La Fleche Wallone is one of the Ardennes Classics, held in the Wallonian region of Belgum, this year in its 12th edition for the women’s race and the 73rd for the men’s. My understanding is that Belgium has two main regions, Flanders and Wallonia, distinguished by the languages spoken (Flemish and French, respectively) and, from my perspective, the terrain: cobbles and flatland in Flanders, constant rolling hills in Wallonia. Not that I have a preference, but I was happy to be able to use my (minimal) French-speaking skills and my climbing legs in Wallonia.

Covering 98 kilometers, the women’s parcours is shorter in length than many World Cup races but by no means short on challenges. The first 30 kilometers covers rolling terrain, while the remaining portion of the race offers eight categorized climbs. Each of the climbs is grueling in its own way, ranging in length from 1km to 3km, kicking up to pitches of more than 20 percent, or summiting onto flat roads with no downhill for recovery. The Mur de Huy is the most daunting climb of all. Do not be deceived by its modest length of 1300 meters, because nearly two-thirds of the climb averages 18 percent, with one turn that feels like a wall, and a punishing final few hundred meters where you don’t see the finish until you can hardly see at all.

The US National Team for this race included Jessica Phillips, Katharine Carroll, Kristin Sanders, Kacey Manderfield, and me. The race began atop the Mur and the first 20 kilometers required a certain amount of patience despite it being pretty hard. There were a few unfortunate crashes, but everyone on our team stayed out of trouble.

At the base of the first climb, I was positioned pretty far back, but I was able to use the wide roads of the climb to work my way toward the front of the group. As I did this, I saw a few riders attack and get a significant gap on the field. Over the radio I heard that it was Ina Teutenberg of Team Columbia-Highroad and Trixi Worrack of Equipe Nurnberger, a dangerous duo. When we started the descent, I was sitting in 5th wheel and maintained that position until the base of the next climb, Cote de Haut-Bois at 44km. Nurnberger was keeping an eye on things in front, happy to let a larger gap open with their teammate up the road.

As the climb started, I saw an opportunity to bridge to the breakaway, so I cautiously accelerated off the front, got a gap on the field, and started to dig deep. At that moment, as I saw myself getting closer and closer to the breakaway riders, a flurry of who’s who of women’s cycling started to go with me: current World Champion, Nicole Cooke, Marianne Vos, Noemi Cantele, and so on. At that moment, I knew I could not let go, no matter how I felt. I could not possibly let this opportunity pass me by.

The move led to a breakaway of 13 riders – very promising but it was lacking the current World Cup leader, Emma Johansson, and Amber Neben, the current Time Trial World Champion. It was also a bit early in the race. We stayed clear of the bunch over the next climb, but when Emma and Amber caught us over the top of the Cote de Thon, things calmed down and came back together.

Much of the remainder of the race was a blur of trying to consume the energy drink in my bottles and eat every gel in my pockets in hopes it would make the next climb seem easier. Unfortunately the climbs don’t usually get easier as you get closer to the finish of a World Cup race! Each climb hurt more, as I’m sure it did for everyone else, but when we came to the top of the penultimate climb, the Cote d’Ahin, I was still there, in the thick of the action.

The pressure was on: there was a solo rider off the front, a small chase group had formed, and I was in a second group, watching the race go up the road. Most of the riders in my group had teammates ahead, so they were not going to help close the gap. When I found myself deserted on the front, I attacked to draw out the motivated riders, and found some help from a Lotto-Belisol rider. When we got within a few meters of the front group, we made the left-turn onto the descent; thankfully, the pieces came together and our two groups became one. We were the lead pack.

When we hit the road leading to the base of the Mur, there was a flurry of bottles, bars, and gels being thrown to the side of the road. No one was interested in carrying a single extra ounce up the hill! Other than shedding excess weight, I tried to relax, conserve precious energy while moving up in the pack, let the team director know that I had made it to the front group, and reassure myself that I would make it.

What can be said about the climb to the finish? The noise from the fans lining the narrow, steep, Mur de Huy, drowned out the sound of my gasps for air, made me forget about the pain in my legs, made it hard to hear the thoughts in my head, and kept me looking towards the skies in hopes I would see the finish line. Every pedal stroke hurt more than the one before, so I counted them anxious for the final one. I reached the finish, unaware of my place, but feeling happy to have raced, and raced hard, in one of cycling’s greats.

Hours later, after watching the men hit the climb in their race, piling back into team cars, and taking our first break on our drive back to the hotel, we found out that I placed 19th… good enough for two points in the World Cup ranking and a well-deserved pizza dinner with the team.

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April 19 Fighting Falcon Road Race

With a few weeks separating the National Calendar races, the Webcor team is doing some training races at their various home bases. Amy decided to take on the boys in Colorado last weekend.

Here is Amy's report:

Sunday marked one of the first road races in Colorado for the 2009 road season, as the majority of the races have been canceled due to snow EVERY weekend! The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs put on this 13-mile circuit race, which was home to the 1986 World Championships road race, taking your breath away at 7000 ft above sea level!

This year I raced with the Category 3 men because I did not want to race with the women at the ungodly hour of 8am (which would mean leaving Boulder at 5:30am!!) I didn't know how my legs would respond to the preceding four days of training – a melange of running, rollers, yoga, snow shoveling, and ice fishing. But I put that aside and knew it was going to be a good day when my brother and I made the 1hr 45min drive in 1hr 10min. That gave me time for a quality warm-up to get my legs out of the funk they seemed to be stuck in.

The race starts with a neutral roll-out section to bring the field out of the parking lot and onto the finishing stretch of the circuit. It then descends before taking a hard right onto a fast flat 3-mile stretch which is usually a gutter-fest. Another right onto a gradual stair-stepping climb that is always a into a head wind. Quick descent and a hard left and you're on a steep climb which brings you to peak elevation at about 7,200 ft. You then shoot back down a short and fast descent to a tight right for the final 500m punch up to the finish line.

I started at the back of the 90-man field, so as not to infringe on the pre-race boy babble. Once we were off I quickly maneuvered my way to the front, getting a few head turns and 'what-up Webcor' from my brother's old teammates and riding pals. I was happy to find myself sitting comfortably near the front, sucking the wheel of one of my friends. Things stayed pretty mellow the first half-lap; a couple random people shot off the front and were quickly reeled back in. As soon as the climb began, a couple guys from my old local team, Excel Sports, set a hard tempo on the front which shed some weight on the field. By the time we made our way back around for our second lap, the front of the race was down to about 50 men. As we turned right onto the fast flat, the pace picked up as a couple of 5280/Garmin boys put the braaap on and shed some more troops. Hitting the stair-step, several attacks went and countered but nothing ever stuck. Excel was on the front setting their tempo again, and nothing could get a good gap.

As we reached the steep part of the second lap, I looked around to see the field condensed to about 25-30 men. The hard tempo pace went balls-to-the-wall and I lost contact at the same time asthree 3 other guys. The field shattered like broken glass and various chase groups were formed. Our group of three rode steady, picking up and dropping off more and more riders. Finally we had the front group in our site on the stair-step section, so we rotated through a little harder, a little faster, chomping at the bit. However, just after the quick descent my stomach turned inside out and it felt as though someone was inside clawing to get out. I have never had this feeling before, and I hope to never have it again! My two allies left me for dead as I pedaled squares for the remaining six miles or so. Riders flew past me like I was standing still and the final climb seemed to grow longer and steeper as each second ticked by.

I rolled by the turn-off for the parking lot where my car was beckoning me and almost turned in, but the finish line was just another 500 ft up that snickering last pitch. So I made it, downed a coke, and it was all good again. I was happy with how I rode it when I was in it. It was sunny and I was wearing shorts, as opposed to the down jacket the previous day. And that Leopard sure can climb!

Next stop - Silver City! Picture green rollin' ~amy

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April 4 Hillsboro-Roubaix Spring Classic

With a short lull in the team stage race schedule, Webcor's Rebecca Much entered a classic race in her home state of IL, the Hillsboro- Rubaix. She nailed the victory and here is the photo to prove it:

Here is Rebecca's report:

Rebecca Much atop the Hillsboro-Roubaix podium

This weekend I did a race down in southern Illinois called the Hillsboro-Roubaix. You have Paris-Roubaix in France every spring, and I wonder if there are races throughout Europe that emulate that famous race, because here in the states it seems like there are Roubaix-like races throughout the country. Hillsboro-Roubaix is the midwestern version anyhow, and it's one of the best races in this part of the country in terms of course and local turnout. I love racing at home because you can drive to the races with friends and see everyone you grew up racing with… no better way to feel loved than to race at home, in my opinion! The course was a 22-mile lap that we did twice that went through country roads with rollers and flat windy sections. The last 2-3k of each lap was the best part however as you went up two short but steep little hills before bombing down a hill onto cobbles that went to about 300 meters to go before the finish line.

You never know how races are going to play out in a local field, but this race was probably one of the most fun and aggressive races I've ever witnessed, which was delighting! We started the race and after only four miles in, the attacks started flying by Team Kenda. I and two other riders, Sydney Brown (Mercy Cycling) and Catherine Walberg (Kenda) got off and started hauling through the head, cross, and tailwinds riding across open fields and up and down small rollers. Sydney in particular was riding strong and I was so amped on the hard racing we had in store… the race had just begun!

About 1/2 way through the first lap, four other riders bridged up to us – two more from Kenda (Christy Keely and Kristin Wentworth), along with Bri Kovak (Team Revolution), and Jessica Prinner (ABD Cycling). Everyone was super motivated to keep the break rolling and have a hard race which made the race incredibly enjoyable. I was particularly impressed with Jessica Prinner who is still a junior! Christy Keely worked hard for her team and got dropped off at the end of the first lap and Sydney Brown had an untimely flat so unfortunately she was missing as we neared the finish; however, she got an automatic spot on the Nature Valley Pro Ride team so her hard work did not go unrewarded. That made five of use approaching the finish and everyone turned themselves inside out all the way to the end where we met the two hills and cobbles for the final time. I attacked hard at the bottom of the second hill and gave it my all. I was alone at the top and knew all I had to do was keep it rolling to the finish over the cobbles and it would be a successful day. The cobbles and I befriended each other and I made it to the finish with about a 30-second gap for the W. I must say it felt really good to win, most of all because everyone in the break worked so hard and it was in front of my home crowd. I like to make the Chicagoland people proud!

The top five rounded out in this order with Catherine Walberg in 2nd, Bri Kovac 3rd, Kristin Wentworth 4th, and Jessica Prinner 5th. I got the coolest trophy as well – a ridiculously heavy cobble brick mounted on a pedestal – it is awesome. Great organization for the race and a great time all around!

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March 29 Redlands Bicycle Classic Stage 3

Another day at the office, another Webcor rider on the podium – this time Nikki Butterfield

The Sunset loop is the classic final stage of Redlands every year. It is a tough 10km circuit with not a flat km anywhere. Ina Teutenberg definitely had her "climbing legs" on for this race in addition to being one of the best sprinters in the world. She started the day 2 seconds down on Amber Neben and gained a 3-second. time bonus on the first QOM sprint while Amber was 4th and out of the bonuses. That meant that the tables turned and Team Columbia was now in the race lead and it was Amber who needed to get away from Ina or somehow beat her at the finish to gain a time bonus (not likely).

The Webcor team rode hard and was the only team to still have five riders in the front group with a lap to go. Alexis made a great attack and was the only rider to gain any significant time on the field during the race. She was not able to stay away in the end, but we had another podium finish for the stage. Katheryn maintained her 5th overall and we ended up 3rd on team GC behind Tibco and Columbia. It was truly a team race with each and every rider having an impact on the final outcome.

Here is Nikki's Report:

First off a quick introduction, I am one of the ‘new Aussies’ (Nikki Butterfield and Alexis Rhodes) and I am sure I can say on both Alexis’ and my behalf it is great to be a part of Webcor in 2009. It is really refreshing to be part of a well-organized team with great sponsors (that you aren’t trying to get out of using!), great management and strong, motivated, and enjoyable to be around team-mates!

Stage 3 was always going to be a tough one. The Sunset loop has a 4km climb each lap and we rode it 9 times! Ina started the day only 2 seconds down on Amber so time bonuses were the theme of the day, the first of which was on the first climb. Poor Janel managed to get a flat in one of the fastest ‘neutral’ starts in the world, and unfortunately never made it back on to the group because of the race for those valuable seconds on the first climb from the GC riders…… despite Gina’s valiant efforts to chase her back on!

That left us with 5 riders (Katheryn, Erinne, Rebecca, Alexis and I) and we all rode well to be amongst the final group in the closing stages. Alexis made a great attack with 4 laps to go and stayed away solo until 2 to go. Erinne made numerous attacks once Alexis was back after the call from Karen on the sidelines but nothing was going anywhere with Amber desperate to get back the 1 second she needed to win the race and Ina keen to keep Amber in sight. I made one attack myself but was more concerned with making sure Katheryn had me there to help cover in case Amber ‘lit it up’ on the last couple of climbs to shake Ina off her wheel. Katheryn did a great job of conserving and rode her 5th place on GC all the way to the finish. I was able to position myself well enough to sneak across the line in 3rd place for the day.

There is a quite a gap between now and the next race (3 ½ weeks!) so it is all about training for the next little bit.

It is very exciting to think what we are capable of collectively and from my perspective am happy with our ‘opening’ race for the season. The best is yet to come. Nikki.

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March 28 Redlands Bicycle Classic Stage 2

The second road stage was the criterium in downtown Redlands. This is always a fun race for both riders and spectators. We were honored to have loyal sponsors Martin Boost of Willis HRH and Tom Sammons of DFP come out to watch the team race. The Webcor team rode a good race and finished on the podium.

Here is Gina's report:

Gina on the podium for Stage 2

Green-front-green-front-green green green-front front. One lap to go "and WEBCOR IS AT THE FRONT" ding ding ding ding one to go, one to go!!!" That was pretty much how the WEBCOR team rode today's criterium – at the front, large and in charge.

We had two things in mind: #1 – keep our GC riders Katheryn and Janel safe, help them finish with the group with no time splits, and #2 – try to win the race. How proud was I when the entire Webcor team was up at the front, policing the pack and covering pretty much anything that was happening in the race.

Alexis, Erinne, Nikki, Amy, and Rebecca were sergeant majors on the road stomping on anything that looked like a real threat. Karen's words "Cover and Kill" the breaks… meaning cover the breaks but don't drive it, just sit in and hopefully neutralize the breaks is what they did. Not only did they do that, but they also thought smartly about whose job it was to chase things down, and not chasing things down
that didn't really pose a threat. Really impressive. Katheryn shadowed Ina Teutenberg (Team High Road Columbia) as much as possible in case she tried to do anything sneaky to gain more time to catch the yellow jersey, and Janel (editors note: who rode one of the best crits I have ever seen her race) sat in great position near the front like a good GC rider does.

Coming into the final laps of the crit, the peloton was together; Erinne took the lead of the leadout and bombed through a corner snuggling between two massive Tibco riders, trumping them, and controlling the leadout. Soon, after the tossling and jossling of the sprinters and all the mismash behind that (which is what sprinters like to do), I settled myself nicely behind Alexis who was in perfect position to lead me out. She settled herself at the right time behind Kim Anderson (Team High Road) at 1 lap to go. I knew that Alexis and Kim could take the last lap on their own and drop me off at the last corner. I sat pretty (probably smiling) behind them because it was perfect. However a small hesitation of a split second on the back side caused a bit of a shuffle of the sprinters, and I had to regain one spot in a corner and it was Alexis, Ina, and then me going through the last corner. My big master plan to beat Ina was to rush her through the last corner and slingshot off her; it didn't quite work. I think Tina Pic (Colavita Sutter Home) slungshot off me! After a photo finish Tina did nip me at the line for 2nd and I came 3rd. I think that the green of WEBCOR stamped a lasting impression on the streets of Redlands this afternoon. Great job!!

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March 27 Redlands Bicycle Classic Stage 1

This was the second year of running the Beaumont Road Race and this year they extended the circuit a bit, taking advantage of some new roads being put in. The course was mostly flat with a couple of rollers and a twisty climb, descent, and climb through Bogart County Park. What added the biggest obstacle to the race was the wind – it was mostly a strong wind from the east/southeast. As there were some long open sections, we would have to be heads up to teams putting it into the gutter to try and break it up.

Right from the gun things were fast and strung out as riders pushed the pace. We all did a great job of staying in good position to ensure representation in any possible splits or breaks in the peloton. The plan was to have me go for the time bonus sprints that came 14km into the circuit. Nikki did a great job of getting me into position and I ended up about 5th in the sprint but needed to be top 3 to get time. The wind definitely helped to neutralize any major attacks and it was not until we got up over the climb that the excitement started.

First Tibco went to the front on a significant crosswind section and blew things apart. Nikki did a great job of being up there but so were all the main GC contenders. I did my best to close the gap but with four Tibco riders and others in the break driving it, it was hopeless. Fortunately with the help of Colavita and we were able to bring the break back. Also at this time Alexis had the major un-fortune of double flatting and getting a very very very slow wheel change from neutral support. She never caught back to the peleton.

Things were a bit mellow for a while due to the strong head-cross wind section and despite a few attempts by Columbia to get a break off, things stayed together. The group was together going over the QOM the second time and nervously anticipated hitting the crosswind section again. There was a flurry of attacks as we turned toward the start/finish stretch and three riders separated themselves from the group. Eventually they were joined by two more and a break consisting of Alex Wrubleski (Columbia-HighRoad), Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1), Chrissy Ruiter (Value Act Capital) and teammates Joanne Keisonawski and Julie Beveridge (Tibco) managed to gain a maximum of 45” on the field. Again, with the help of Colavita, Erinne and Nikki did a great job of pulling the break back right before the first climb.

To prevent any more attacks, Amber Neben sat on the front and set steady tempo up both small climbs. Columbia and Tibco then drove it through the crosswind section and definitely caused some serious splitting in the field. Rebecca, Janel, and I maintained good position with the main group coming into town and I was able to finish with the same time as the other major GC contenders. Janel and Rebecca were a bit behind and lost a few seconds. Gina and Nikki rolled in just over a minute back, followed a few minutes later by Erinne.

Alexis, who had TTT’d with a couple of other gals for 60+k’s rolled in with a big group that also included Amy.

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March 26 Redlands Bicycle Classic Prologue

The Webcor Builders team is now down in Redlands, CA for the Redlands Bicycle Classic. This is one of the top stage races for women in North America and always draws a strong field. The top North American teams are all here as well as Team Columbia and Team Nurnberger/Sho-Air from Germany. We started the race with an uphill prologue time trial.

Here is Janel's Report:

The riders: Katheryn Curi Mattis, Amy Dombroski, Nikki Butterfield, Gina Grain, Erinne Willock, Alexis Rhodes, Rebecca Much, Janel Holcomb

And staff: Karen Brems, Dave Drumm, Jeremy Fliss, Ryan Bontrager

Today marked the beginning of the Redlands Bicycle Classic and the first race for the complete 2009 Webcor Builders Cycling Team. The prologue is an individual time trial, 5 kilometers long, that starts flat, but after a quick little climb and descent, climbs for the final 3km. The last kilometer is particularly challenging as it climbs 400 feet to the finish line.

Shortly after 9am, the staff drove down to the start to set up our team area with our shiny-clean green Leopard bicycles, trainers for warm-ups, team tent and chairs, and everything we could need to prepare for this challenging time trial. As the press circled our area, we hopped on our bikes, turned on our music, and began our warm-ups. Who could resist coming by to take a look at the ladies in green?!

Gina, our sprinter-specialist, was first off, and when asked later how things went, she assured us that she made it to the top of a steep hill, so figured she found the finish line. Little did she know, despite her modest assessment of her time trial, she had a solid finish in 57th place (out of 138 starters!). Amy, U23 Cyclocross Champion, and Erinne, Canadian Olympian, finished 40th and 42nd, respectively.

Our Aussie riders completed the course in nearly the same time, fighting a close battle for who is the cooler Australian on our team (they both rock!). They finished less than .2 seconds apart, with Nikki taking 32nd place and Alexis grabbing 30th place.

United States U23 National Time Trial Champion, Rebecca Much, had a fantastic ride – finishing the grueling course in 11:52.81 and taking home 16th place. This is proof of her return to tip-top form for the 2009 season. This girl is fast and gunning for top spots in all her time trials this year!

When most of the riders had gone off, Janel was sitting in second place with a time of 11:47.08, but there were some power-house riders yet to go, and, at that point, the rider in first was faster by 40 seconds. That was a huge gap and there was not much chance to hold on to the spot.

Luckily, Katheryn was still out on the course, and we knew that she would be flying on her sleek Leopard TT1. As we waited, the results started to trickle in… Mara Abbott of Team Columbia was holding onto first place, while Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, also of Columbia, finished only .3 seconds behind that! Current US National Time Trial Champion, Alison Powers grabbed another top spot, just 10 seconds behind Ina. But when the win came, it was decisive. Finishing the race in 10:40.67, nearly 27 seconds faster than 2nd place, was current World Time Trial Champion, Amber Neben.

Janel’s time was good enough for 6th place, but it was our World Cup race winner, Katheryn, who had the best Webcor finish for the day with a fantastic 5th place, with a stellar time of 11:42.15.

With such a strong showing from the entire team, we are poised to make an impression on the peloton tomorrow. We are taking eight incredibly strong and saavy women to the line, and the road race will be a dynamite day of racing!

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March 6-8 Tuscon Bicycle Classic

The Webcor duo of Janel and Rebecca went to Tucson for some early season racing in good weather at the 3-day Tucson Bicycle Classic. They had a great time and took 1st and 3rd overall!

Link to the VeloNews version.

Here is Janel's report:

This past weekend, Rebecca Much and Janel Holcomb descended upon Tucson, AZ to represent Webcor Builders in the 23rd Tucson Bicycle Classic. The 3-day stage race consisted of a short time trial (TT) on Friday, a 60-mile road race (RR) on Saturday, and a 39-mile circuit race (CR) on Sunday.

On Friday, 22 women took to the start of the 3-mile TT. It was a gorgeous course! Downhill for the first half, the course then gradually worked its way up, winding through cacti, toward the desert mountains. A great place to see a sunset, and a very cool place to have a TT! As with any TT, you may feel generally good or bad about your efforts once you've finished, but you never really, truly know how to feel until you hear the results. Back at Rebecca's after the race, we had eaten, grocery shopped, eaten (again!) and finally got the call... I finished in 2nd place, 4 seconds behind the Tucson-TT-specialist, Melissa McWhirter (Veloforma), and Rebecca was 3rd, only one second further behind. Not too shabby, but we went into the RR anxious to take over the lead.

Saturday was a bright and early morn; we were up and heading to the course before 5:30am. Our race started before sunrise and, had we not been racing, I'm sure we would have loved it! The course was a 20-mile loop, starting with a 5-mile gradual drag up a 2% climb. After that, the course rolled through the hills (again, gorgeous!) for 5-8 miles before heading back into town on a straight, slightly downhill road with a right hand turn about 600m from the finish line. We did three laps... On lap 1, there was a time bonus sprint. We planned to go for it, launching Rebecca early, then me, so hopefully one of us got closer to being in the "virtual" leader's jersey. Well, it turned out that only five miles into the race, at a sprint line we couldn't find, our legs (and brains?!) were still asleep. Rebecca had a good go for it with three other riders, but the 10 and 5 seconds were swept up by two other women further down on General Classification (GC). When we hit the rollers on lap two, it was time to animate the race. Rebecca and I traded attacks in excellent style, got some distance on the pack a number of times, but the pack had us marked and things always came back together. The third lap was similar, maybe even a few more promising breaks, but nothing stuck. Coming into the final eight miles, it was team meeting time; we made an on-the-road decision that one of us should attack at the turn before the finish, draw out the antsy riders, and the other one of us would capitalize on the pack action and go for the win if the pack did, in fact, react. Who was going to make the first move? Well, we were both feeling fine, so we figured whoever had the better position would attack first. When it came time for the finish, a hole opened up on the right side of the road as people started to watch each other, so I made the move; at first I was thinking the pack would catch (it was a long way to the line!), but soon realized they weren't. So, I sprinted, sprinted, sprinted, and, just at the last moment, Joelle Numainville of Team Kenda Tire came around. Rebecca finished 8th, holding on to 3rd place in GC, and my 2nd place in the RR gave me a 10-second bonus, which meant I had taken over the yellow jersey.

Sunday was even earlier, a little chillier, but even more fun. Since Rebecca was only 5 seconds behind 2nd place McWhirter, we had multiple approaches to Sunday's circuit race. Our plan was to get Rebecca some bonus time at the intermediate sprint and the finish, perhaps moving her into 2nd or 1st in GC, or even go for a break that would move her into the race lead. The next layer to our plan was to defend the leader's jersey. If we could do a combination of all these things, why not?! :) To defend our lead, we primarily needed to watch McWhirter, her teammate, and seven women from the Specialized Design for Women Team (they held 4th place on GC, not too far behind). The course was really quite fun – lots of rollers on the first half of the course, narrow roads that twisted and turned, and a sprint finish that was slightly uphill – a great course to play and control things on. Play and control, we did! For nearly half of every lap, I stayed on front to keep an eye on things, control part of the road, and set pace if it got too slow; the pack seemed content to let me pull them along for the most part. And, all the while, Rebecca kept an eye on things and chased down anyone who tried to make a move. The intermediate sprint didn't quite go our way, but we were very happy to let Joelle take the 10 bonus seconds, and Chloe Forsman (pro mountain biker for Luna) take 5 seconds because they weren't GC threats. Rebecca and I continued to cover moves, pull the race along, and keep control of things, knowing that Rebecca still had a chance at time bonuses at the finish, but I couldn't let McWhirter or Sborz (Specialized) get time bonuses there. Specialized and Veloforma tried to get away and tire us out, but we managed to hold things together. On the final lap, I was up front for the first two miles and Rebecca took control as we approached the descent. Rebecca kept the pace high enough to neurtalize attacks and help me stay in good position. As we came toward the final kilometer, the attacks started in earnest and, after I chased down the first big attack at 300 meters, the sprint was on with a drag race between Rebecca, Joelle, and Chloe. Rebecca took 3rd, picking up 5 seconds, and I finished in 4th. Rebecca's bonus seconds TIED her with Melissa McWhirter for time, but she needed one more second (or a higher placing in the RR) to pass her in GC.

So, it was a very fun and successful weekend for our Webcor Builders team of two! We had a blast, took home the overall win and 3rd place, plus multiple top-3 placings in each stage. We're excited for team camp to start next week so we can get ready for a full Webcor representation at Redlands!!

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February 15 Amgen Tour of California Women's Criterium

It was a cold, wet day in Santa Rosa on Sunday as the Webcor Women's team lined up for the Amgen Tour of CA Women's Criterium. All the top criterium riders were in attendance and Webcor put Katheryn in the winning breakway.

Rebecca covering Laura Van Guilder
Amy on the attack

Here is Katheryn's report:

Braving the elements, five Gals in Green (Rebecca, Gina, Amy, Erinne, and Katheryn) lined up in downtown Santa Rosa for a 60-minute race on a short 4-corner course. They knew this would be a hard race due to the cold and rain and deep field of racers – Columbia, Colavita, Tibco, ValueAct, Proman, SugarCRM, and other teams had strong rosters.

Things did start out fast and furious from the gun and everyone did a great job of being up front and covering riders and groups trying to unhinge themselves from the main group. At one point, early in the race, Rebecca had attacked and Katheryn was in great position to counter off of her effort. She drew out Lauren Tamayo (aka Franges) and Emila Fahlin. As they are both known as strong sprinters, Katheryn allowed the other two to do all of the work to establish the break.

They were soon joined by more riders and in the end the break totaled 13 – Emila and Kim Anderson (Columbia), Rachel Lloyd (Proman), Sarah Bamberger and Olivia Dillion (Touchstone), Robin Farina and Kristen McGrath (ValueAct), Jenifer Reither (Vanderkitten), Kelly Benjamin (Colavita), Karla Kingsly (SugarCRM), and Lauren and Meredith Miller (Tibco). As with the initial break, Karen instructed Katheryn to just sit on as there were many sprinters in the group.

For the most part, the break was a bit disorganized as there was really no one who took complete control to drive the break. There were many times when riders launched themselves to try and reduce the numbers or get away solo. Katheryn did a good job of making sure she was not left behind although the group seemed intent on staying together. There were also quite a few large
cash primes that kept things animated (Katheryn ended up scooping up a total of $450 in primes).

The gap hovered around 20" for quite a while and then suddenly grew to almost 40" with about 25 minutes to go. Karen saw this break was in danger of staying away and called Erinne, Rebecca, and Amy to the front to pull it back. They worked hard but in the end, the break ended up staying away. Kim and Meredith worked hard in the last several laps to ensure a fast pace for Lauren and Emila. Katheryn did her best to put herself in position for the finish but got pushed around on the backside of the course and in the end squeezed out a top ten (9th) place finish. Emila ended up winning, followed by Lauren and Rachel. Gina took third in the field sprint behind Ina Teutenburg (Columbia) and Brooke Miller (Tibco).

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February 14 San Jose Classic Criterium Built by Webcor

The 2009 racing season opened today with the San Jose Classic Criterium Built by Webcor. It was a great race in downtown San Jose and Webcor's sprinter Gina Grain took 2nd by mere inches to Laura Van Guilder, giving the team lots of motivation to place one better tomorrow! We were also honored to have many of our Bay Area sponsors in attendance at the race to cheer on the team and meet for lunch after the race: Webcor, including CEO Andy Ball, Serious Materials, PlanWell, ClickSafety, Leopard Cycles, Enterprise, Finelite, Rosendin, Valley Crest, and Karl Ehlert Chiropractic. Even the rain held off for our race!

Here is Gina's report:

Katheryn Mattis breaking away. Photo: Jan Snyder, jpimages.biz

I love working hard! This is a direct quote by Kathryn Mattis tonight after the race, and it was consistent with the way the entire Webcor team raced this afternoon in our first race of the season, sponsored by yours truly – the #1 Women's Professional Cycling Team sponsor in North America – Webcor Builders. What an honor it was today to slip on the brand new spandex design of Webcor Builders and tear around the course as a team once again. The continuous support year after year shows after entering the first race of the season and having the chemistry and team organization flow from the previous year; it was just down to business as usual. Every single person on the team, including staff, did their respective job and made the day a success.

Gina Grain sprints for 2nd. Photo: Jan Snyder, jpimages.biz

Out on the course, the team was attentive, covering major moves and bringing back anything that we didn't "approve!" In addition, Katheryn Kamakazi and Rebecca the Raver were both very active in being in major breaks that got up the road. Amy the Arrow and Erinne the Expert manned the field and looked after me in the pack. I unleashed a few of my secrets in winning two primes and showing Laura Van Guilder how to win the race, as I thought that winning the race sponsored by our own sponsor Webcor Builders would be rude – we thought we would leave that until tomorrow.

What a privilege to meet and re-greet a lot of our sponsors after the race at a luncheon and chat about product and the upcoming exciting year. The Leopard bikes we are riding this year are Cornering Canons and I can't wait to lay into every single corner this coming season.

Let the season be UNLEASHED!

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