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

July 31 US National Time Trial Championship

Evie wins the silver in the time trial (photo courtesy of Karen Brems).

The final race of the US national championships was the individual time trial. The course was the Cascade TT course plus an extra loop at the end with some short, relatively steep hills coming just when one is tired. It was a long TT for nationals with the winning time of 50:35. Everyone had the previous days' road race in their legs as well. Webcor's Evelyn Stevens missed the title by 1.7 seconds! The race was won by Jessica Phillips of Lip Smackers, back after several "retirements."

Here is Rebecca's report:

After two weeks in Bend, OR following a very successful Cascade Classic and watching little Dombro win the U23 road race, the only race left to conquer was the Time Trial National Championships. Evie rejoined Webcor for the Time Trial and we all came to the race ready to throw down one last time before parting ways for the rest of the year. The course was a super hard 35 km endeavor in extreme heat. It was definitely the hardest Time Trial I have ever done. With the temperature hovering right around 100 degrees, I drank four water bottles just warming up and everyone was stuffing ice down their backs on line. Not only was the course hot and long, but the nature of the course was interesting to figure out as well. Without a steady rhythm, it had to be divided into three sections to mentally handle it. The start went straight uphill gradually (but significantly) for the first 10k or so before you flipped it at the top for part two which was bombing down what you just came up. The third and final part of the course was a loop that contained three good little kickers along with flats and a couple downhills into the finish. All in the heat…HARD!

Evie did an awesome job representing Webcor once again and missed out on winning the stars and bars by only a 1.7 seconds. Second place at nationals is not too shabby though for her first time ever racing nationals! She did an awesome job and I reckon there will be a title for Evie in the years to come. I held out to get 6th and Katheryn got 8th, while Amy got 4th in the U23 race which was an awesome ride after killing it in the break the day before. We all did the only thing you can do in a time trial…went as hard as we could and all in all it was a successful day.

Already excited for next year!

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July 30 US National Road Race Championship

Amy atop the podium (photo courtesy of Karen Brems).

Webcor was a small but committed team of three riders for the US National Road Race. We were up against Tibco's and ValuAct's team of eight, plus strong individual riders like our Cascade guest, Evelyn (who chose to race for her club for nationals as her swan song in their jersey), and Mara Abbott fresh from Europe.

We raced smart and ended up with a podium finish as well as the Under-23 national title! Amy is now the current national U23 champ in CX, Mountain Bike and Road! Tomorrow she tries for the TT as well!

See this YouTube interview with Amy.

Here is Amy's report:

With four foreigners on Team Webcor (who speak English pretty ok, I guess), and with Janel recovering from her crash, we found al three of us Americans in last night's team meeting begging Karen to race the US National Championships with us. But no, we buckled down and decided our best bet was to use our legs AND brains for this race. We knew Tibco and ValueAct would eight riders each, so we knew they would be the aggressors, while we would pick our battles. Like a good milkshake needs to have the perfect combination of flavors, the combination of riders needed to be just right for us to chase or to bridge.

We also knew the course well, as it was the same course as the final day of Cascade – 4 laps of a 17-mile circuit with punchy climbs, fast descents, and wind-nipping straightaways. It's a great course because it can suit a scrappy climber as well as a gritty sprinter – it's anyone's guess who could be the victor.

The first few miles of the race began with an attack by Anna Milkowski, which led members of the bigger teams and a few strays out. Not gaining much ground, it was eventually reeled back in and it was groupo compacto until the first real climb. Amber Rais solo-ed off as we were cresting the climb (the same spot as her winning move last Cascade with Kristin Armstrong). Amber stayed off for about two laps, when the bunch eventually caught her as we were climbing the QOM climb from Cascade.

The Elite and Under-23 fields raced together, and anyone U23 had a number beginning with 800, whereas the Elites held numbers 1-100. Going into our 4th lap, I saw an 800-number attacking on the left. I was on the right side, on Alison Power's wheel, when she began her surge to catch onto Lauren Tamayo's wheel, who was surging to grab Chrissy Ruiter's wheel. Perfect flavors I thought!! We established a bit of a gap on the descent which was reeled back in at the top of the climb. Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) shot off solo, quickly getting a gap. This grew up to 45 seconds through the rolling flats, until Karen told us to begin attacking. We wanted to make the climbers (mainly Mara and Miss Evie Stevens) work so they wouldn't have so much turbo on the real climb. Katheryn put in an attack with authority, gaining a bit of distance before being swallowed. Rebecca countered that, leaving the peloton scattered and scrambling. As that was reeled in, I tried my luck, going up the left hand side. Meredith Miller of Tibco was hot on my wheel, and we rotated through the downhill. Looking back, we saw that Chrissy Ruiter of ValueAct, Kristen Lasasso of Mellow Mushrooms, and Jen McRae of Team Type 1 had bridged. My favorite flavors I thought!! Kristen drove the break hard up over the feed zone hill. After cresting that, Kori was in sight and Kristen and I worked together to reel her in. Our gap to the bunch had grown to a minute and a half. Chrissy and Meredith drove it up the big hill, but my climbing legs were there and I was easily able to stick to their wheels like glue. Jen fell off the pace and Kori was dangling as we turned our final pedal strokes over the hill. With 4k to go, Kristen was back to the front, and it was just Meredith, Chrissy, and myself behind her.

At 2k our comfortable gap had shrunk to 40 seconds when we learned that Evie, Mara, Powers, and Kat Carroll were chasing. Uh-oh, not my favorite. Meredith jetted off to the left hard, leaving Chrissy, Kristen, and me in her dust, looking at each other to chase. We somewhat organized, but Meredith had rockets on and held on for a big Win. I thought I had prime positioning as we entered the round-about with 250m to go, sitting 3rd on Kristen's and Chrissy's wheels, but when I jumped to get around, my legs were already in the purple zone and I had nothing left. I came across the line on Kristen's wheel in 4th place for the Elite field and the first Under-23 rider.

As we did all last week, we rode a wicked team race. The riders and staff work smooth as butter, which makes good performances tangible. And good is my favorite flavor.

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July 26 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 6

A happy but tired Webcor team at the finish (photo courtesy of Karen Brems).

Team Webcor dominated the Cascade Classic holding onto the yellow leader's jersey from start to finish. It was truly a team effort and a professional display of racing by everyone. In the end, we won the overall GC, took 1st (Evelyn) and 3rd (Amy) in the polka dot jersey QOM competiton, 2nd (Gina) in the points jersey, and 2nd (Rebecca) in the Best Young Rider competition. In addition, Rebecca held onto the overall win in the Best Young Rider competiton on the Women's Prestige Series.

Here is Katheryn's report:

After four days of defending the yellow jersey that Evelyn captured on Stage 1, the green machine saddled up for the last battle – a 53-mile race that consisted of three loops of the Aubry Butte Circuit. With Amber Rais (Tibco) 1'18" back, Alison Powers (TT1) 1'36" back, and several Tibco and other strong riders still within striking distance, we knew we would have our work cut out of us.

The attacks started flying fast and furious within the first 5k and it was all hands on deck to cover dangerous moves. I found myself in a break with Kristen Lasasso and Kirsty Broun (Lip Smackers), Emma Rickards and Alison Starns (Tibco), Martina Patella (VAC), Carmen Small (Colavita) and Olivia Dillon (Touchstone) within the first 15k or so, and although this was not a very dangerous break (as the closest rider was around 3' down), I was instructed to sit on while the others stayed near the front of the peloton to ensure the gap did not grow out of control. Kirsty was only three points behind Tina Pic (Colavita) in the sprint competition, so with a sprint coming up, Kirsten went to the front and drove the break hard. The high pace could not be held by Martina or Emma and they soon fell off the pace and were reintegrated back into the field.

Colavita brought the break back just after the first time up the 1.5k climb and again Tibco and Lip Smackers were the aggressors and a dangerous break of about 12 riders got off that included some GC threats. Although Erinne and Rebecca were in the break, it was better to kill it so Gina, Amy, and I went to the front and brought it back.

Another flurry of attacks insued and a strong attack by Meredith Miller (Tibco) drew out Carmen Small and me. As Colavita did not want Kirsty to get any sprint points, Carmen drove it hard as we were only a km from the sprint line. Amity Elliot (Wines of Washington), Toni Bradshaw (Lip Smackers), and Robin Farina (VAC) soon bridged up to us and immediately Meredith, Robin, and Toni rolled through. Again, even though there was no major GC threat, I sat on (ah, the joy of having a teammate in the yellow). The gap grew to a maximum of over two minutes and Amy and Gina went to the front just to keep the gap in check. In the break, the momentum definitely started to wane about 3/4 of the way through the last lap and the time came down quickly. We got caught just coming through the feedzone (about 10k to the finish) and Cath Cheatly (Colavita) attacked hard and as Carmen was up at the front, drove it to try and break things up again. VAC, Tibco, and the ever present Webcor riders were there to cover it and although there were a few more attacks by VAC and Tibco riders, a fairly large group hit the base of the 1.5k climb together.

Cath put in a strong attack up over the first kicker and I immediately covered her while the rest of the group splintered and struggled to maintain contact. Evelyn, Erinne, and Rebecca were right there and able to help keep the group together up over the top. A few attacks went in the last 4k to the finish, the most dangerous one being a strong attempt by Alison Powers to dislodge herself from the group. I put in a huge effort to chase her down and ensure that she did not go anywhere. A storming group containing VAC, Tibco, Colavita, Webcor, and others swallowed us up and Evenlyn did a great job of keeping herself safe and good position.

Kristin McGrath (VAC) took a heroic flier at about 1 km to go and managed to hold off for the win with Joanne Kiesanowski (Tibco) 2nd and Cath 3rd.

After six days of hard racing, the six strong Webcor women defended the yellow jersey from a peloton of strong aggressive women trying hard to take it from us. I feel so proud to be part of an amazing group of riders and staff. Everyone put in 100% and it was an awesome team effort and win.

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July 25 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 5

Stage 5 of the Cascade Cycling Classic was a 50-minute criterium in downtown Bend. This stage always draws a huge crowd and this year was no exception. This town really loves bike racing!!

Here is Gina's report:

Cascade Criterium. Day 5 of holding the yellow jersey…

Well well well. The day of the crit with the yellow jersey: Goal #1: KEEP THE YELLOW! Goal #2: win the stage. I tell you, when the yellow jersey is on the back of a Webcor rider the WEBCOR criterium riders come out in all of us. It was the most unusual criterium I have ever raced. It was based on time and laps counted upwards. So 50 minutes was the race, but sprints were on lap 10, 20 and 25… if we got to 25. We did get to 25 laps but they didn't have the sprint. And, within the last 10 minutes they randomly rang the bell short of 10 minutes to go. So you kind of had to guess where the finishing lap was going to be.

WEBCOR rode a phenomenal criterium. With team TIBCO having eight riders to launch, about six of them who were all within two minutes of the overall GC, i.e. Taking away OUR yellow jersey… that pretty much kept us busy for the entire race. Rebecca, Katheryn, Erinne, and Amy all manned the front like no other during this fast 4-corner circuit.

We averaged 42km/hr and max speeds, not sprinting, were 55km/hr on the back side. WEBCOR was represented in anything that mattered and anything we were not in, we simply rallied together to bring back. Evie, who “can’t ride criteriums in the front," rode better than anyone who claims they prefer not to ride criteriums. She was comfortably seated about mid-pack the entire race and rode a great leader's race. I had the pleasure of marking one person only during the race – Katherine Carroll – who managed to rip out four massive attacks within the last 10 minutes of the race. Our goal was met – yellow jersey remained on WEBCOR'S back and the final stage was the circuit race the next day to remain in yellow.

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July 24 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 4

Stage 4 of the Cascade Classic was really the day of the Webcor team. We had the yellow jersey and every pedal stroke in the team was made to defend it. Everyone gave 110% and nothing was wasted. It was honestly probably the best team defense I have ever seen in a US women's race. The green train was on the front for the majority of the race with the yellow jersey ticked safely behind it. We knew just how much time to give each break depending on who was in it and where in the race it got off. Tibco, ValuAct, and Colavita also honestly rode a good race and threw everything they had at us, but in the end, we finished the day with more time on 2nd place. Here are links to reports from:

VeloNews
CyclingNews

Here is Eveyn's report:

The theme of Friday's race was TNT Dynamite! Friday's race was the fourth stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic and it was a 71-mile point to point race with a finishing climb. We knew going into the race that it was going to be a tough day in the saddle, with four Tibco riders all within almost of minute of me, but we were all up for the challenge. The race started hard from the gun and immediately Katheryn, Rebecca, Amy, Erinne, and Gina took to controlling the race. The goal was to keep the race in control and deliver me to the base of the climb as fresh as possible. I would have to say the plan was executed flawlessly. From the gun, a break of about seven or so riders got away, but no one that was a huge GC threat. The Webcor women got to the front of the pack to set a nice tempo, rotating amongst each other and letting me sit on. Webcor rode this super PRO style for about 40 miles until we caught the break. Quickly after we caught the break, there was another flurry of attacks and with every move there was a Webcor rider quickly covering it. These attacks continued for about another 10 miles. At about mile 50 another break formed, this time it included Rebecca who sat on and patrolled the break.

Once again Webcor got to the front of the peloton and began to team time trial it (with me sitting comfortably on) in order to bring back the break. At the base of the climb Webcor was able to bring the break back in and fortunately due to all the amazing hard work of my teammates I was feeling super fresh. I was just waiting for a Tibco rider to attack in order to counter the move. There were a few attacks at the base of the climb and then Amber Rais from Tibco attacked. I quickly countered her attack and was able to get a gap on the group. At this point the only thing going through my head was that I had to deliver a win for the team! Everyone on the team had put so much work in covering all the moves and controlling the race (while allowing me to just sit in) and with AC / DC's TNT song playing in my head I was able to stay away and cross the line first. It was an amazing experience to be part of such a team effort today!

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July 23 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 3

Guest rider Evie Stevens readies for the time trial with team soigneur Jeremy Fliss

Stage 3 of the Cascade Classic was a 16-mile Time Trial. It was pretty much a pure TT course with only 1 turn at the start and then a straight, gradual uphill out and back course. The goal for Webcor was for Evelyn to take some time out of the climbers close to her in GC and defend her position against the top time trialists, which she did successfully.

Here is Rebecca's report:

After a really hard day in the books defending the yellow jersey in stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic, it was almost a relief to have a TT for stage 3. The course was 8 miles out and then 8 miles back going steadily uphill the entire way out, and bombing downhill the entire way back. With lots of work on the horizon for the remainder of the race in stages 4,5, and 6, Evie was the only one gunning super hard for a good ride. The rest of us went hard at various levels of either just riding steady or trying to will ourselves to go hard and simply not being able to.

Since this TT course is a big chunk of the TT course that the US riders will face next week for nationals, it was good to test it out and notice the changes that could be made to have a better time the 2nd go.

Evie proved in the TT to be the right girl to be working for, and rode home to a solid 4th, putting time into many GC threats. Jessica Phillips (Lip Smacker) won the stage, Alison Starnes (Tibco) was 2nd, and Alison Powers (Team Type 1) was 3rd to round out the podium. Lots of the Tibco girs put in good rides, so the going will be tough for the final stages of Cascade but we are ready holding TNT and dynamite and ready to explode to win the race!

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July 22 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 2

Webcor holds onto the lead with a Stage 2 win

Today was another hot, hard day in Oregon, but Webcor came through with another stage win and held onto both the Leader and the Mountains jersey! The whole team rode like champions to defend the lead and Evelyn delivered another stage win for the team.

Here is Evelyn's report:

Stage 2 of the Cascade Cycling Classic was a 80-mile point to point race with about a 10-mile finishing climb. The race started out fast and hard! About 10 miles into the race and the flurry of attacks began. A race like today really makes you appreciate having such a strong team. Katheryn, Erinne, Gina, Amy, and Rebecca did an amazing job of covering all of the attacks. The attacking continued for about a steady 45 minutes and Webcor was covering every move.

Unfortunately, my race radio was not working initially. When there was finally a lull in the field, Rebecca put her problem-solving skills to work. The problem– it was unplugged! We pulled to the side and got it all squared away. Unfortunately, there was a break in the field so Erinne, Rebecca, and I had a nice team trial practice to get back to the peloton.

The race continued on with another flurry of attacks and then the second sprint competition took place. Gina was able to get third again, which puts her in third place overall for the Green Jersey. Pretty soon after the sprint at mile 54, the QOM took place. Katheryn and Rebecca did a great job of setting a super fast pace in order to lead Amy out for the QOM and she was able to take second. After the QOM there was another flurry of attacks and one finally stuck. Erinne was in the break, as was representation from all the major teams. The pace of the field mellowed for a while and the gap gained around three minutes on the peloton. At the base of the climb, Wines of Washington lead the chase to the break and eventually Colavita joined in on the chase.

Webcor was told to counter if the break was caught and at about 6K to go the break was caught. Once we made contact with the break, I countered and got a gap on the field. I saw the 5K sign and thought "I can hold this." Once I saw the 3K sign, I was just hoping that my legs would keep on pedaling to the finish, I was in the hurt locker!

With 1K to go Cath Cheatley from Colavita bridged up to me and I was able to sit on her wheel and recover. Once I saw the 200 meter to go sign, I just jumped and was able to snag the win. Since there were points at the finish, Amy and I are tied for QOM points, so she will be in the polka dot jersey tomorrow (actually a polka dot skinsuit and I will be in a yellow skinsuit!). Overall it was a hard day and Webcor worked super hard to keep the leader's jersey; the next few days should be fun! Tomorrow will be the 14-mile out and back time trial, stay tuned!

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July 21 Cascade Cycling Classic Stage 1

Guest rider Evelyn Stevens in yellow

Today was the first stage of the 6-day Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, OR. This is a great race that is in its 30th edition and always a highlight in the Webcor team schedule. Bend is a beautiful town with a full view of the Cascade mountains and we always get to stay with wonderful host families there!

This is the final race of the Women's Prestige Series and Rebecca is leading the Best Young Rider competition and thus wears that jersey for this race.

The first stage was a relatively flat 70-miler with probably the biggest difficulty being the 98 degree heat. Webcor has several injured riders at the moment (Alex, Nikki, and Janel) and so we added up and coming talent, Evelyn Stevens to our roster for the race. Evelyn has only been racing a year but is already showing great results. Today was billed as the stage for the sprinters, and it almost was, but in the end, Evelyn foiled their plans.

Here is Evelyn's report:

It was a great first day of the Cascade Cycling Classic. Webcor rode aggressively and managed to get the climber, sprinter, and leader jersey by the end of the race!

Amy Dombroski wins the first QOM jersey

Stage 1 was a 71-mile point to point course out in beautiful Bend, Oregon. The race started off at a nice tempo, with everyone settling into the hot weather. At about mile 20 the first sprint competition took place and Amy and I got up to the front to lead Gina out and she was able to get 2nd in the sprint, giving her two points. The next few miles continued at a good tempo, and at about mile 30 the climb took place. A quarter of the way into the climb, I look to my right and see Rebecca giving Amy a killer lead out up the hill! It was perfect and Amy was able to hold everyone off and win the Queen of the Mountain!

The next few miles continued at a nice tempo and at about mile 43 was the next sprint competition. Amy did a great job of getting Gina up to the front to contend with the Lipsmackers lead out train, and after a super fast and long sprint, Gina was able to snag another second place and two more points!

After the sprint competition, there was a flurry of attacks up until about 10K to go. The whole Webcor squad did a great job of covering all the moves. With 10K to go the peloton was together and we were thinking about getting in position to set Gina up for the sprint. With about 2K to go, I saw Erinne doing a great job of setting the pace at the front of the pack. I decided to get to the front to help the lead out train, I was a bit back in the pack so I made a big acceleration. It turned out to be a bigger acceleration than I had meant – I looked back expecting to see Erinne on my wheel but realized I had gotten a decent gap. At this point I saw the 1K sign and decided to just keep going. I looked back and Chrissy Ruiter from ValueAct was on my wheel. Once I saw the 200 meters to go sign I decided to jump and just see if I could hold it to the line. I was just able to catch the win, with Tina Pic coming in second, Chrissy Ruiter in 3rd, and Gina in 4th. With Gina's 4th place finish, she gained two more sprint points, putting her in the sprinter's jersey!

Overall it was a great day of racing and the three jerseys were a fantastic reward for all the effort and teamwork that went into today's stage. Tomorrow will be an 80-mile race with a hilltop finish; should be a great stage for the Webcor squad.

Stay Tuned!

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July 18 Mt. Evans Hill Climb

As preparation for Cascade and Nationals, Rebecca raced the famous Mt. Evans Hill Climb in Colorado where climbing legends are made and won it handily!

Here is Rebecca's report:

The road that leads to the top of Mount Evans is the highest paved road in America going up above 14,000 ft. A couple of weeks ago I did the Mount Evans Hill Climb race to the top. The race is a mass start that begins in Idaho Springs and from there goes steadily up for the next 27 miles to the top of the mountain while the air gets progressively thinner and thinner.

I had a really good time in this race and was happy to participate in it as an opener before the Cascade Classic and Nationals. The citizens started before the categorized races so it was an enjoyable ride up the mountain as there were people to pass who were cheering for you the entire way to the top. We got rolling off the line and there was a group of 5 or 6 girls all rolling through in a little break pretty early into the race. At mile 5 the road started to go up a little steeper so I started to push the pace a little to see how people would react. To my surprise I was all by my self from that point on! It was a great race. I rode relatively hard to the top but didn't have to kill myself worrying about attacks and what not, so I got to take in the change of scenery as we went up from pine tress and green to nothing but bare rock and snow patches by the top.

Mount Evans Hill Climb was an awesome race and I'm happy to have been able to won the 2009 edition of this legendary race!

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July 17 US National Under-23 Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship

For her final preparation for the Cascade Classic, Amy did the U23 National Mountain Bike Championships in her home state of CO. This is Amy's last year as a U23 (Under 23) rider, so she wants to win nationals in ALL the cycling disciplines (she already has the U23 CX title)!

Very cool video clips from CyclingDirt.org:
Race action including exciting finish
Just the sprint finish
Post-race interview with Amy
Podium presentations

Here is Amy's report:

Early Friday morning was the Under-23 Mountain Bike National Championships in Granby, CO at the small ski resort of Sol Vista Basin. It is just an hour and a half drive from Boulder, so I made it a goal of mine to race as my final year in the U23 ranks. Given that Tour de Toona was cancelled this year, the time was allotted for the race as well as for a little bit of practice on the knobbie tires.

The race consisted of three laps of a 4.5-mile circuit. Sounds short in roadie lingo… but each lap took about 30 minutes to complete. The start/finish was at the foot of a lung-busting jeep road climb which brought you onto more climbing, this time on twisty-turny single track. You climb and climb for a good 20 minutes before opening up to a beautiful and wide-open panoramic view of the mountains (which I was able to appreciate in my inspection of the course… not so much in the race). At this point your breath is either taken away from the lack of oxygen, the beautiful view, or the nerves of dropping into a ripping steep, technical, loose and twiggy descent. Next is "The Drop." It's a rock-laden, dusty and loose descent that weaves through trees, ultimately leading to a cliff-like drop, where you then need to take a hard left out of the woods. My method here was basically to lean so far back that I was almost sitting on my rear wheel, grab some brake, and surf the sand, hoping and praying to keep it upright. Finally through the Dirty Drop, we hit some more twisting single track before a wood-chip based grind of climb with very little traction. This, I had thought, was the final place to pass; whoever led into this final switchback descent had the race in the bag. So into the woods for switchback single track, then a very quick jeep road descent of maybe 100m, before the final five switchbacks into the finishing straight which definitely did not allow much chance of overcoming in a sprint finish.

My original strategy was to climb away from the start. This I achieved, and after all the single-tracking ascending, I had a pretty sizeable gap going into the initial descent. But then I started hacking. The lines I was riding the day prior in my inspection seemed impossible and I couldn't get out of my own way. When I was hitting the Drop I was already hearing the rattling of Chloe's (Forsman of Luna, reigning champ) chain coming fast upon me. She flew past me and I grabbed her wheel. It was the most concentrating I have ever done in a bike race. In a road race you can grab someone's wheel and just keep an eye on it, whereas here, I was intently studying her wheel, her weight distribution, and her body language. I had to keep it close enough so I could ride her exact line, but far enough so I wasn't grabbing a handful of brake so as not to crash into her or lose momentum through the switchbacks. It went like this for the remainder of the first lap and into the second lap, and it was exhilarating because it was like a light bulb coming on – "Ohh, so this is how it's done!!" The lines I was riding from my practice laps the day prior, to the final lap of the race were drastically different and faster.

Coming down the final switchbacks into the third lap however, I got a bit too close, overlapped wheels, panicked, and grabbed a metric-sh*!-ton of brake and somersaulted over the bars. The adrenaline picked me up quickly as I saw her sprinting out of my battle zone. Now in freak-out mode, I started hacking terribly again, braking at the wrong times, almost crashing again, shaking, before I got the better of my racing heart. I made myself chill and established a flow again. As we embarked on the final lap, Chloe was just a bit in front of me going up the climb, but I chewed her advantage away.

We entered the single track together and I decided to try an attack. I established a tiny gap, but she closed it down before the descent and hopped in front of me again. Twice more, before the wood chip grind I tried to get in front, but every time she would surge and move into me, successfully blocking and leaving me scrambling to hold her wheel again. We entered the switchbacks, and after an effort to come around, I was losing ground on her. I had one more ethereal hope of getting around her on the 100m jeep road section. So I got as close to her wheel as possible, and as we shot out of the woods, stood up in my big ring and accelerated as hard as I could, barely sneaking past her before entering the single track again. With all that speed, I was hauling into the switchbacks and almost dumped it several times, riding on the very edge of my ability through the loose corners. I felt her right beside me through some of the turns as we were battling and bumping wheels. I led through and had the prime line for the left turn up to the finish. We were sprinting hard, and Chloe ultimately pulled out of her pedal in one of her final pedal strokes.

Neck and neck the entire race, it was a truly exciting race to race, and also to watch. I am stoked to have won, but need to offer mad props to Chloe for her racing. It could have gone either way, and I attribute my win to all that I have learned on the road, racing with Webcor.

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July 4 Firecracker 50 Cross Country Marathon

With a short break in the NRC calendar, Amy decided to do the National Marathon Mountain Bike Championships to celebrate July 4th.

Here is Amy's report:

Amy celebrates Independence Day in her own special way

Every year since I have lived in Colorado, I have spent the 4th of July in Breckenridge partaking in an epic mountain bike race called the Firecracker 50, which is also the Marathon MTB National Championships. If you're racing the full monty, it consists of two 25-mile laps, with 5,400' of climbing, starting at an elevation of over 9,500'. It is truly a race that you need to bring your legs, lungs, and luck to!

The race begins at a leisurely time of 11am as a parade down the blocked-off Main St. of Breckenridge. Thousands of people line the streets, slapping us high-fives as we venture into the grueling mountains. After the neutral parade down Main, we take a left onto Boreas Pass road where the racing begins. The Pro Women start with the Pro Men, so the race took off like a firecracker. We climb on pavement and fire roads for a painful seven miles before ducking into the woods for some single track. Knowing that I would be spending 4-5 hours in the saddle (all dependent upon my luck, legs, and lungs), I just put my head down and rode my own climbing pace for the first few miles, feeling good, but kinda bummed at how many chickies were already in front of me. I would guess that in the first 15 minutes of the race, I was probably sitting around last. However, slowly but surely I began picking people off as the first seven miles ticked away. As we entered the single track I couldn't help but smile… I had brought my legs and lungs, my bike was running great, and Breckenridge was the most vibrant and green I had ever seen it.

In the back of my mind I held my nemesis – Little French. It's a b*%ch of a climb which brings you to the highest elevation of the course at around 11,500'. Not only does the feeling of breathing through a straw make this difficult, but it is a somewhat technical climb with big and little loose rocks, some slick roots, and a stream crossing. Plus, it always gets bogged down with dizzy people in their granny gear just trying to survive Little mind-numbing French. For three years I have come back to this race, once doing the full monty, and the past two years competing as a team and doing a single lap; and never have I been able to ride it! But today I attacked it with vengeance. I rode it flawlessly, passing more and more pro men and women. After Little French, the course grinds away for a bit before dropping into some fun and fast descending. At this point I was sitting pretty in 4th, after passing a flat-fixing Mary McConneloug on the side of the trail, hoping I wouldn't be in that same position.

Just a few minutes later and… pshhh. I was running a tubeless system and my tire burped, losing the majority of the air. I hopped off and CO2'd it back up. Quick fix and I was rolling again until about 500m and… PSHHHHH. I put a tube in and CO2'd it back up, only to see a giant slit in the side wall! I pulled a wrapper out of my pocket and covered the slit, but there wasn't enough CO2 left in the cartridge. With about 10psi in the tire I decided to risk it and roll on, slowly and gingerly, but embarrassingly slow. Ten minutes of this slog and one of my buddies came up behind me and graciously handed me another CO2 to get me going again. Luckily, after bouncing off rocks and roots with basically a flat tire, my wheels were still round and true.

Onward ho, I was probably back in last place, but determined to claw my way back up the totem pole. It's amazing what you can ride when you're determined! I rocketed down the switchbacks to the start/finish, fueling up on energy from the crowd, and embarked on my second lap. About eight miles into my second lap, and 33 miles into the 50, my legs began pedaling squares backwards. The adrenaline and fighting energy had left me and I felt like I was spiraling into an infinite abyss. Knowing that I was also flat out of flat-fixing tools, the lure was overwhelming to turn around and ride back into the arms of the inviting and drunken heckling crowds. However, I also knew that this race is all about overcoming bad luck. So the legs and lungs were there, but the luck was not. I kept plugging away and by the time I had reached Little French for the second time, I was beginning to enter a second wind. Little Frenchie was my friend again and I was cruising up, picking more and more people off. The rest of the lap went somewhat flawlessly and the smile was back on my face. Rain had begun to fall but couldn't deter me. Hugging a tree knocked me off my steed, but a quick cyclocross mount and I was back cruising.

I never made all the spots back that I vulnerably lost in my flatting mayhem, but I finished 10th instead of last in a very elite class of professional mountain bikers. My legs showed up on the proper day and most importantly, I fought through layers of hurt and happiness, frustration, bliss, denial, smiles, and frowns to overcome a little bad luck and enjoy the 4th of July with a race that has become a tradition.

Link to official Firecracker results

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Link to earlier reports