10-26 Aug Colorado

Showing off my PSIMET wheels at the North Boulder Park Classic.

For the final two weeks of my stay in the US I headed to one of my favorite places, the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. I arrived ready to tackle a weekend of racing. As it turned out, altitude kicked my butt. Not to worry. Less than 24 hours later, I was right back in the game. After that, only one race remained on my US calendar. With a string of mediocre results and bad luck since June, I was hungry for a good race. Unfortunately my streak of bad luck continued and my US season ended with a fizzle. That aside, I had a great season filled with heaps of fabulous racing, fun places and amazing people.

View from Jordan's place near Carter Lake.

No trip is truly complete without a day spent wandering aimlessly around an airport. My path to Colorado included just that: a full day of travel, complete with a pre-dawn start, multiple flight delays and lots of time wandering around O’Hare airport, moving from gate to gate in a corrupted version of musical chairs. Eventually, I made it to Denver Airport where Lami collected me and we drove northwest into the beautiful mountains above Carter Lake Reservoir near Loveland where we stayed with friend Jordan Brasch the next few nights.



Aerial view of Racing for Hope course.

Early the next morning I headed south to Golden CO for Racing for Hope, situated on a 1.7 mile semi-triangular course used for Colorado State Patrol driver training. In addition to being a cool course with fun sweeping curves, it’s also perched right on top of a hill, offering exhilarating views—and lots of wind!

In the break (last on left) at Racing for
Hope--before I blew.

Another cool thing about Racing for Hope is that it’s a fundraiser for brain injury research and rehabilitation hospitals specializing in traumatic brain injury. The race was initiated by Brian Brown, who, after surviving a traumatic brain injury in 2006, was inspired, along with his wife Alice, to aid other survivors and families of traumatic brain injuries and to encourage helmet safety by cycling enthusiasts.

Being my first time riding at high altitude, I didn’t know what to expect. For some, the effects of altitude take a day or so to kick in, in which case, I should be fine…. Wrong! Right from the gun, my arms felt like wet noodles; my legs were lead weights. This was bad. It didn’t take long before my lungs were on fire, my muscles were screaming for oxygen. Soon my diaphragm curled up into a little ball of excruciating pain and refused to unfurl. That was it. Race done for me.

Pre-race entertainment before the start of my race at
the North Boulder Park Classic.

With a performance like that, I didn’t think there was much point in racing the next day at the North Boulder Park Classic, but my cousin Cody Foster, who was living in Colorado for the summer, talked me into it. I’m glad he did. What a difference 24 hours can make! I felt great, dramas from the previous day essentially erased. Expecting meltdown, I raced super conservatively to finish 9^th in a classy field (with lots left in the tank).

Blacked-tailed prairie dogs greeted us
everywhere on one of our didymo expeditions.

 

 

I stayed in Boulder for a few days to work with a colleague who is investigating Didymo, one of the organisms I work with. We found lots of cool didymo colonies to look at in the local rivers, and lots of other interesting things as well. After that, I headed through the mountains to the West Slope to spend several days visiting my aunt and uncle June & Bob Vanourek near Edwards. Based from their home at 2500 m (8100 ft), I had a wonderful playground of rides to choose from with a mountain pass and inspirational vistas in every direction.

Start of the Alpine Challenge with slopes
Aspen Mountain in the background.

My US racing season concluded with my biggest race of the season, the Blue Ribbon Alpine Challenge in Aspen CO. Partnered with a 7-day men’s race, the Pro USA Cycling Challenge, the Alpine Challenge was attended by massive crowds of spectators awaiting the finish of the men on their way from Gunnison. With squads from several of the top US women’s pro teams on the start line, the crowd was treated to an action-packed hour of aggressive, animated racing. Bad luck struck for me when a mechanical problem forced me to the pit about 20 min into the race. The mechanic fixed the problem quickly and generously offered to hold my bike so I could re-start with both feet clipped into my pedals. Unfortunately, he held me a bit too long—until after the entire group had passed—and, with the racing super aggressive and the pace red hot, I had no hope of getting back on. Argh! Not the way I wanted to finish my season. On the plus side, I met heaps of incredible people during my stay, notable among them my amazing host family in Aspen, Lisa Yewer and Annie Wilson. 

My season, by the numbers: 15 weeks, 5 states, 40 races, 20 podiums, 12 wins 3 crashes, 2 blown tubulars and 1 destroyed carbon rim –18 races over 35 °C and only 1 race in the rain!

Racing at the Blue Ribbon Alpine Challange.

Humongous thank you’s go to my sponsors Rob Curtis at PSIMET custom wheels and Wayne Simon at ENZO’s buttonhole chamois cream, and to my many generous hosts: my grandfather John Callaghan, aunt and uncles Janet & John Callaghan and June & Bob Vanourek, amazing friends John Fleckenstein, Jordan Brasch, Debra & Francisco Griffith-Rosado, Sarah Spaulding, Ann & Tom Alderink, Lisa Yewer and Annie Wilson, and most especially my parents Peggy & Gene Kuhajek for making my season possible. Time for me to head back to NZ!

The field shoulder to shoulder at the Alpine Challenge. Orange was big this year.

 

3-5 Aug Tour of Elk Grove

After struggling for several weeks with a slow recovery from illness I finally found some form and headed into the Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove with good legs. But luck was not on my side and a flat tire in the last several kilometres of the tour dashed my hopes for a good result.

The 2012 women’s Tour of Elk Grove was a three-day, three-stage tour held in Elk Grove, Illinois, near Chicago. A huge event since inception as a prominent men’s pro race, the tour gained National Race Calendar (NRC) status for the women’s race last year, ensuring a high-calibre field with riders from the top teams in the US. Elk Grove is also the only race I’ve done every year since I started racing so, in that sense, it’s a special race for me.

Finishing the Stage 1 time trial,
feeling fast on Leah's Felt TT bike.

The tour began on Friday afternoon with a 4.5 mile (7.2 km) time trial. With 5 tight corners on the course, a good time required both time trial prowess and cornering proficiency. Aided by teammate Leah Herman-Sanda’s very awesome time trial bike (which I thoroughly enjoyed riding!) and my super-slick PSIMET team issue wheels, I posted a decent time (for me) to start me off in 25^th position, 1:03 back from winner Alison Powers (NOW and Novartis for MS)—and tied with Kiwi rider Courteney Lowe (Optum). The top of the GC standings were pretty stacked, with 15 of the top 25 spots occupied by riders from top US pro teams NOW and Optum, each racing with full squads of 8 riders. An additional 3 spots were filled by riders from TIBCO, a third top US pro team, fielding a smaller roster of 5 riders.

All lined up as Optum drives the pace mid-race. I'm 9 riders back
with just my right shoulder in view. Photo by Ali Engin.

Stage 2 on Saturday afternoon was a 60 min criterium. The race started in oppressive heat with temperatures well above 100 (40 C). TIBCO and Optum put in constant attacks, but NOW, protecting the yellow jersey, was not interested in letting anything go up the road. As the race progressed, temps dropped, winds kicked up and skies darkened with an impending storm. Heading into the final laps, we were all together for a bunch finish. One lap to go and the race was getting messy with riders vying for position. NOW finally took control at the front of the peloton, lining up their lead out train with less than a lap to go. I was in great position, just behind their train. Perfect. This was going to be a good result!

Clouds darken the sky as the storm approaches during
Stage 2. Photo by Ali Engin.

But then, for whatever reason, NOW struggled to keep the pace high and a flurry of attacks launched as the front of the peloton blew into disarray. I scrambled for position as riders flew past on either side, boxing me in. Heading into the finish, NOW was so busy yelling at each other and everyone else, Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) escaped to take the stage with National Criterium Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Exergy TWENTY 12) second and Kendall Ryan (TIBCO) third. In the chaos, I ended up too far back for the result I had in mind. I finished a disappointing16^th, but the result was enough to move me up a few spots to 19^th overall. The race finished just in time. About 15 min later the heavens opened up, drenching the course and all remaining with a furious downpour.

In cooler weather that followed the spectacular storm, Stage 3 on Sunday was a 75 min circuit race around a 10-km corner-laden circuit. The outcome of the previous stage had brought the margin between first and second place to just 1 sec. With a fierce battle between Powers (NOW) and Wilcoxson (Optum) brewing, Stage 3 promised to be an electrifying race! My legs felt great. I was up for an animated race. And that it was, with attacks launching right and left. This is the type of racing I love!

Unfortunately, bad luck struck when, on lap three, a rider near the front slid out on one of the corners. I had to brake hard around the corner, and, running out of room to stay on the road, I slid out as well. Fortunately unscathed, I got back up quickly, put my chain back on the rings and headed off in full pursuit. With the pace on at the front in anticipation of the $1000 half-race prime up for grabs, I had an all-out, leg-burning, lung-busting chase. Although I was grateful for the race convoy, the multiple corners amongst the cars made cornering a bit unnerving (of course, my chase was through the most technical part of the course!). Reaching a straighter part of the course, I reconnected after about 5 km on the rivet. Back in the bunch, I was a bit worried that I had used up all my matches. But a short recovery in the middle of the peloton and I was feeling fresh again and ready for action at the front, hungry for a top finish.

One lap to go, I still felt good. I had great position at the front, following wheels, looking for potential successful breaks. Then, more bad luck. With only 3 km left to go, a rider crashed at the front of the field. Not far behind the mêlée, I grabbed a handful on brakes to avoid collision. This time, my rear tire had had enough and blew out with a resounding BOOM.

Fortunately only one rider went down, but in the chaos it took over a minute to get a wheel change. Riding solo through the windiest section of the course, I lost another minute plus before I reached the finish line, knocking me all the way back to 35^th place. Not exactly the result I was looking for. On the bright side I’m happy to be riding well again.

Wilcoxson took her second win of the tour to take the overall win, with Optum holding steady atop both the overall NRC individual and team standings. Wilcoxson’s win was classy and well deserved. It was extremely disappointing to see NOW try to win by intimidation, foul language and dangerous riding. Respect is something one earns, and that’s not the way to earn it.   

That’s my racing in the Midwest finished for the year. Next up, I head west to Colorado for two weeks and test how my body handles racing at altitude. On tap this weekend, the Racing for Hope in Golden CO and then the North Boulder Classic.

Kudos to Special Events Management for putting on a great tour, and for coming up with a better and better women’s tour each year. Big thanks to Leah Sanda for the use of her TT bike and to Brian Grant for helping with the huge amount of tasks I needed to complete on Friday in a short amount of time, and to PSIMET Wheels for keeping me rolling fast and ENZO’s buttonhole for keeping the ride comfy.

28-29 Jul GR Cycling Classic & Prairie State Crit

Frustration. That was my key word for the weekend. On tap were two fantastic races, the Herman Miller Grand Cycling Classic and Sammy’s Prairie State Criterium. Both events were fabulous and well-run races on fun and exciting courses. But despite a relaxing week, my recovery hit a plateau, leaving me frustrated and short of a good result.

Castle Park in Holland MI is thought to be the inspiration
for L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900.

Leading up to the weekend, Lami and I enjoyed a lovely week in Holland MI visiting with Lami’s family and basking in the beauty that is Holland in summertime, including our first weekend off racing since our arrival in the US in May.

Saturday’s race, the Grand Cycling Classic, was a 75 minute crit on an eight-corner 1.3 km (0.8 mile) course over historic brick-paved streets of downtown Grand Rapids MI. As a National Criterium Calendar (NCC) race, it drew a big field of high caliber riders. Pro team TIBCO controlled the race with a star-studded six-rider squad of top-notch riders, putting in attack after attack that kept the race animated from start to finish. Optum was the other main powerhouse with three riders.

Rides strung out on the GR course with the pace high and
TIBCO leading the charge. I'm 4th wheel back.

I got good position off the start line, ready to go with any moves off the front. I knew that a successful break would need a Tibco and an Optum rider, so I concentrated on going with those attacks. From a small 5-rider break early in the race, I grabbed a prime but we were reabsorbed quickly back into the group. Attacks continued and I was enjoying the aggressive racing—that is, until about 30 min in when my legs started, for lack of a better description, freaking out—literally—with little mini cramps. While each cramp lasted only for a second or so, the spasms progressed randomly and successively through all the muscles of my quads.

Grand Rapids course from above. Photo from GR Press.

Unlike ‘normal’ cramps, these cramps were an indication that I wasn’t quite recovered and my body was telling me that things were still a bit out of whack to be able to handle competing at this level. Unable to ignore the message (since my legs wouldn’t work) I backed off and did my best to race conservatively. A three-rider break containing US National Crit Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Exergy TWENTY12), Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) and Jen Purcell (TIBCO) escaped the bunch mid-race. Staying away, the trio finished in that order. Back in the bunch, TIBCO kept things animated, and, although missing out on the win, dominated with 4 of the top 10 spots. In the bunch finish, I salvaged 14^th, which, while not what I was gunning for, wasn’t too bad all told but frustrating nevertheless.

Me trying to make a move at St. Charles with Optum
keeping a very close eye.

After the race we headed back around the Lake to race the inaugural Prairie State Criterium in downtown St. Charles IL the following morning. The race featured a fun 4-corner course, 0.8 mile long, with one technical corner and an exciting super-fast finish. With my legs extremely grumpy and unhappy doing pretty much anything that involved movement, I knew the race was going to be a challenge. The challenge was accentuated by a tiny field of only 18 riders with 4 of those riders being pros from Team Optum and 3 being representatives from the Columbian National Team. With no other organised teams present, Optum absolutely dominated the race.

Race announcer Todd Busteed doing interviews for the
Dog of the Day at St. Charles.

I knew that Optum would attack until they launched a rider free, but which rider to follow? Any one of them was strong enough to ride away solo. So I did my best to follow every single move. And then the one where my legs needed a break. That one got away. Jade Wilcoxson (Optum) and Serika Guluma Ortiz (Team Columbia) launched off the front with Optum riders chasing down any attempts to bridge. Looking for some time trial training, Leah and Kelli (PSIMET) took control on the front driving the pace for a couple of laps, but Optum quickly went back at it with another flurry of attacks, eventually launching another Optum-Columbia pair. Conscious of the warning I had received from my body that day before, I couldn’t do much about it. The second Columbian rider fell back to the bunch leaving us to race for 4^th. 2010 & 2011 Canadian National Crit Champion Leah Kirchman took the bunch sprint with me just missing out on 5^th by a fraction on the line. Gutsy attacks from some local riders were great to see. Keep it up! That’s the sort of aggressive women’s racing Chicagoland needs more of.  

Right in the middle of the action at the Grand Cycling Classic.

Race promoters Midwest Cycling Series have plans to grow the race into a multi-day Prairie State Cycling Series, scheduled for next July in multiple Illinois cities so keep an eye on the calendar. It promises to be a great series. Big thanks to race promoters Arlington Sports and Midwest Cycling Series for putting on some great racing, and PSIMET, ENZO’s and Brian Grant for awesome support. Next up, Tour of Elk Grove this coming weekend.

14-15 Jul Kalamazoo Weekend

Hot and dry in the Midwest this summer. This Australian
sculpture by Orest Keywan says it all.

After a week precariously perched on the edge of good health, the sweltering temperatures of the Morton Community Cycling Classic tipped the scales a touch too far in the wrong direction. So, I spent most of the following week doing battle with a bug that thought quite differently than I about how I should be spending my time. Subsequently, I did some hardcore horizontal planks for several consecutive days. And despite taking time off the bike to rest up and recover, I was careful to add some core workouts into my schedule. I can confirm that violent coughing attacks truly are effective ab exercise—although I now admit that perhaps I approached these sessions with a bit too much enthusiasm, coming away with a strained trapezius muscle after one particularly challenging “workout.”  

As the cloud in my head began to clear, the coughing subsided and my overworked abs recovered, Lami and I decided to head east to Southwest Michigan in search on some cooler temps. We spent the weekend racing in Kalamazoo, not far from Lami’s hometown of Holland, MI. En route, we encountered long unseen and much needed rains, promising a reprieve from the heat.

Saturday morning, we ventured out to the Western Michigan University campus for the 7^th Annual Miller Energy Criterium put on by the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club. So far, every race I’ve done in Southwest Michigan has had exciting courses, fabulous organization, impressive sponsorship, great prize money and excellent racing. The Miller Energy Crit was no exception. A decent-sized women’s field with several teams present ensured an exciting race. I took the opportunity to test my health, and my fitness, by doing some prime hunting, and making good progress clearing out my congested sinuses in the process. I was very happy to find my energy levels returning and finished pleased with the race having collected several primes and a second place finish, and, more importantly, feeling heaps better and on my way back to healthy.



Road race podium

Sunday we tackled the 2^nd Annual Maple Hill Race for Wishes road race in Lawton, MI, just west of K-zoo. The race was held on a 13-mile circuit with lovely quiet roads and a sprinkling of rolling hills. The women’s race took in 4 laps of the circuit and offered a perfect opportunity to further clear out my system and get in a good hard road ride. One exciting aspect of the race was the charity it supports. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. As part of the award for winning the race I received a wonderful plaque featuring a drawing done by one of the Make-A-Wish children. Any Midwest riders looking for an excellent road race to add into their plans for next summer, this is definitely a great one to put on your race calendar. Big thanks to K-zoo Bicycle Club and Midwest Charity Racing for an excellent weekend.

Race for Wishes winner's plaque:
'My wish came true, I hope yours does too.'

7 Jul Morton Criterium

Two races and two wins—that was the tally for me on Saturday at the Morton Community Bank Cycling Classic in Morton Illinois. The race is big event for Lami’s team, Mack Racing. Clearly the excellent Team Mack dinner on Friday night, put on by Steve and Gina Driscoll, was perfect race preparation.

The day started miserably hot and never varied all day. Mid-morning, temps were already approaching 105 (40 C). Attracted by the opportunity to race with my favorite Macker John Fleckenstein, I decided to double up and do two races back-to-back. I started with the Masters 50+ (women are allowed to race in categories up to 20 years older), lining up alongside Mack riders John, Frank Brummer and head Macker Gary Doering. Did I mention that it was hot?

Approaching the finish line with lots of breathing room.

My plan was to have a conservative race, sit in and get my legs going before the women’s race, immediately to follow. The race started amiably with the guys setting a comfortable clip around the oblong 4-corner course. Soon Scarlet Fire rider Mark Sills put in an attack that saw no response from the field. He disappeared out of site over several laps, but it was far too hot to survive solo for the remaining 30 min of the race—without considerable suffering that is. Mack riders kept the break in check, and before long he was absorbed back into the field. As the pace slowed and the field accordianed upon itself, I braced for the counter attack. When no one went, I couldn’t restrain myself and exploded out of the bunch. A good 10-20 seconds later I came to my senses and slowed my pace to await the peloton. As I was gathered up by the group, Gary came alongside me and said, ‘prime lap.’ I took off again, this time with a bit more conviction, determined to grab the prime. Mission accomplished, I once again settled back into the group. As we entered into the last few laps of the race, John came to the front to drive the pace. I knew that John wasn’t feeling well so, to take some pressure off, I attacked with 2 to go to force someone else to do the work on the front. When I still had a good gap with 1 to go, I dug deep, knowing that I would need to put in a big effort to stay away. Gary Dyer (Michelob Ultra – Big Shark Racing) led the charge behind me for second with Macker Gary third.

Early in the women's race with a very large ice sock
on my back.

Having put in WAY more effort than I had anticipated, I finished the race a bit on the warm side. I had about 10 min to change my number, grab some new water bottles and stuff my pockets full of ice in attempt to cool off for the next race, the Women’s Open. Most of the race I really just tried to cool down and recollect myself. Did I mention it was hot? Absolutely ridiculously hot. I attempted a couple of attacks, but found that I had used up my legs for the day so was resigned to just sit in for the sprint. Somehow I took the win, but I have to give credit to my PSIMET wheels since my legs didn’t seem to have anything left to contribute.

Thanks to Proctor Cycling Club for all their awesome efforts to put on an excellent and well run race and the many wonderful officials and volunteers who endured the miserable heat to make the event possible. Thanks also to Steve Driscoll for his gargantuan efforts to make the race possible, and to Steve and his wife Gina for a fabulous pre-race dinner. Paul Schilling, Jane Ore and Brian Grant all did a great job helping me between races. And of course, huge thanks to my sponsors Rob Curtis at PSIMET Wheels and Wayne Simon at ENZO’s Buttonhole. Chicagoland is fortunate to be home to these two outstanding entrepreneurs making waves in the cycling world.

21 Jun-1 Jul ToAD

Green Jersey podium at Tour of America's Dariyland.

Eleven straight days of racing spanning ten cities sprinkled throughout southeast Wisconsin—that was the 2012 edition of the Tour of America’s Dairyland. The series comprised two road races and nine criteriums in an omnium format, with the last four days of racing part of the National Criterium Calendar, guaranteeing fresh legs and top riders joining in on the series in the later days.

One of many mammoth cheese wheel awarded at ToAD.

Presented by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, the series boasted on day 11 having given away over 13,000 cartons of chocolate milk and more than $135,000 in cash and primes, numerous mammoth wheels of cheese and tens of thousands of coffee beans.

Call up in Stage 2 for my aggressive
riding in Stage 1 at Shorewood.

The series is among the best in the country, drawing America’s top women’s teams and most talented criterium riders. I knew going in that 11 days was going to be a big challenge for my body given my lack of solid base training—and the oppressive heat added to the challenge. The last 5 days of the series we were drown in suffocating humidity with temps topping 95 (35 C).  Ugh.

Damage to my front wheel after crashing in Stage 2.

I started the series with a bit of bad luck, crashing in Stage 2 with only 2 laps to go in the race. I came away uninjured, but impact with the curb destroyed my front wheel and gave me last place on the day. Determined, I fought back with some decent results over the next few days to put me in the Oarsman Top Amateur Rider Green Jersey. I faded in the latter stages though, as my body decided it had had enough and started to rebel with a notable degree of enthusiasm.  

Scotti Wilborne (Mellow Mushroom) and me with our new
wheelsets from Mercury Wheels

The last race of the series was the most exciting for me, with Scotti Whilborne (Mellow Mushroom), in close contention for the Green Jersey, escaping early in the race in a 6-rider break. My efforts to join the break were unsuccessful and by the end only 3 riders remained clear as the grueling heat took its toll. All stakes on the finish, and in the points count on the line I finished well enough to hold on to the jersey with Scotti finishing only 3 points behind in second and Katie Spittlehouse (Nova ISCorp) third. The biggest surprise for me and Scotti was Mercury Cycling's awesome sponsorship of a set of their top carbon wheels to the top two Cat 2 finishers. Wow!

Overall Podium: Emily Collins (Vanderkitten), Laura Van Gilder
(Mellow Mushroom) and Nicole Whitburn (VeloClub LeGrange).

Amazing riding by Mellow Mushroom/Rose Bandit Racing saw a Mellow Mushroom rider on the podium every day of the series with eventual overall leader Laura Van Gilder standing on the top step in 8 of the 11 races. Amazing. Super talented Kiwi rider Emily Collins (Vanderkitten Focus) rode with impressive consistency to finish second overall while Aussie Nicole Whitburn (VeloClub LeGrange) took third.

Thanks to the Midwest Cycling Series for a gargantuan effort in putting on an incredible series and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for keeping us supplied with chocolate milk, and especially Don Becker of Becker Law for his generous sponsorship of the women’s series and Oarsman Capitol for making possible the Cat 2 Jersey. Huge thank yous also to my awesome sponsors Rob Curtis at PSIMET Wheels and Wayne Simon at ENZO’s Buttonhole, Brain Grant and Paul Schilling at Mack Racing for keeping both me and my bike functioning, and to John Fleckenstein for being an amazing host and incredible friend and to whom I am indebted for my green jersey win.

15-17 Jun O’Fallon Grand Prix

Road Race Podium at O'Fallon Grand Prix Illinois State Road Race: Sarah Rice, Jenna Kowlaski, Jeannie Kuhajek

HOT and JELLO – those were the key words my weekend at the O’Fallon Grand Prix in O’Fallon, Illinois, not far from St. Louis. HOT being the temperatures and JELLO being my legs. The weekend started with the Illinois State Road Race Championships on Saturday, followed by race six of the Illinois Cup Criterium series on Sunday.

The O'Fallon Fire Department helped provide relief from
the hot temperatures.

The road race on Saturday took in three laps of a 20 mi course through lovely rolling countryside for a 100 km race. Temperatures during the race averaged about 100 F (37 C) – HOT! Lami and I made the 5-hour-drive down on Friday afternoon, heading out for  a ride around the road course when we arrived. JELLO – jelly for my New Zealand friends – that’s what my legs felt like. After a mammoth effort on Stage 4 at Tour of Galena the previous Sunday, plus a busy week with lots of driving during the week and perhaps a bit too much going on, the warm temps didn’t help. Saturday my legs remained uncooperative and I suffered through the race. It would seem that my suffering was well shared by others; on lap two we had whittled the bunch to five, and then, with 25 km to go, we were down to just three: me, Sarah Rice (Spider Monkey) and Jenna Kowalski (Cynergy Cycles—Missing link Coaching), who was making her way across the country with her team from her home in California to Augusta, Georgia, for the US Nationals next weekend. By the latter half of the final lap my legs were threatening to go from jello to concrete. Conscious of my lack of zap I did my best to get away to avoid a sprint, but in the end the finish came down to a drag-race sprint between me and Jenna. The effort turned out to be a touch to long for my unhappy legs and, in an exciting finale (for those watching anyway!), I took second by 0.007 s—a tire width. I think it was only my speedy PSIMET wheels that kept me moving because it definitely wasn’t my legs. Fortunately, because Jenna was visiting from out of state, second was enough to give PSIMET the Illinois State Road Race title to go alongside the state Criterium title I won two weeks prior.

Me and Jenna Kowalski trying to escape the bunch in the crit.

The following day temperatures cooled slightly to go from unbearable to just uncomfortable, averaging about 95 F (35 C). Fortunately the O’Fallon Fire Department was on the scene both days to help cool things off. I warmed up for a looong time trying to clear my legs. The effort helped and, come race time, I was feeling much improved. Several riders who had skipped the road race the day before showed up with fresh legs, so I was expecting a hard race. The 10-corner course was a great breakaway course, but despite several efforts to split things up during the 40-min race, the bunch remained together for a sprint finish. Sarah made the first move, attacking with three corners to go. Her attack caused chaos in the bunch and I nearly lost position. I fought my way back to the front just as we cleared the last corner for the sprint. All else aside, coming past the very speedy Carrie Cash-Wooten (Pedal the Cause) in a sprint is a big ask. I crossed the line for my second second place of the weekend with St. Louis rider Britta Siegel taking third.

PSIMET wheels stand out in the bunch.

Big thanks to everyone at MetroEast Cycling a great weekend of cycling and to Jane Ore for a stellar job in the feed zone to ensure I had enough water to make it through the road race. The weekend was a great chance to dust off my sprinting, which I’ve been able to mostly avoid thus far. I have a strong suspicion I’ll be needing some top-end speed at my next event, 11-race series Tour of America’s Dairyland starting Thursday.

So far this season, I’m loving my custom PSIMET wheels. If you’re also a fan of PSIMET, follow the link to https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/, click the link for ‘Log in & Support’ and then fill in the details for PSIMET, Elgin, Illinois, to help Rob win a grant for $250,000 to grow the PSIMET business.

8-10 Jun Tour of Galena

In our fourth straight full-on weekend of racing together, the Psimet women headed to Galena, Illinois, for what is quickly becoming one of the best races in the Midwest, the Tour of Galena, put on by xXx Racing. Galena is a small town of about 3500 located in the far northwest corner of Illinois. Because the area escaped glaciation during the recent ice ages, hills, valleys, bluffs and large amounts of exposed rock abound. The race organizers made full use of the varied terrain with abundant, leg-zapping hills dominating the first two days of racing. Adding extra challenge to the already testing tour, the whole weekend was insufferably hot with temps in the high 90’s (upper 30’s).

In its second year, the Tour of Galena was run as a four-stage, three-day omnium, where placement in each stage is awarded by points. The rider with the highest accumulation of points at the end of the tour is the winner. Riders choosing not to compete in all four stages can participate in any stage independent of the omnium competition.

Sharing the circuit with local traffic.

The Tour started on Friday afternoon with undoubtedly the most challenging stage, a 42 mi (70 km) circuit race – six laps of a 7 mi circuit that was either up or down with flat road, including a significant climb with a grueling two-part 15% section and semi-technical descent. Mia Moore (Les Petites Victoires) started things off early with a bold move off the front on the first lap. The heat and terrain were a bit much to go so early and we brought her back on the next lap, but not before the bunch was whittled down to just five riders – me, teammate Kelli Richter, ex-teammate Jessi Prinner (ABD), Sarah Rice (Spider Monkey) and Mia . We stuck together for another lap before I put in an attack heading into the climb. The pace shattered the group and the entire race was now solo riders dotted over the course. Approaching the climb on the next lap I could see Jessi chasing hard, 30 s back. One more big effort and I had two more laps of clear road behind, granting me a relaxed final lap and cruisey approach into the finish straight to start the tour off with a win for Psimet. Even more exciting, Kelli hunted down Jessi to take second in the stage in a close finish with Jessi claiming third.

All smiles nearing the finish in the Circuit Race.

Tired legs and all, we dragged ourselves out of bed Saturday morning to face a brutal 6 mi (10 km) time trial. The out-and-back course was rolly with a steep sweeping technical decent, up a seemingly endless 13% gradient to the turnaround for a screaming fast descent into a leg-zapping 400 m 14% climb. The team decided to take a conservative approach to the TT, opting to save our legs for the considerably longer effort of the afternoon’s road race. With time trial-specialist Jessi focused on winning the U23 National TT Champs in a few weeks, I knew from the get go that I was racing for second. And second I was with Jessi taking the win (by a full 50 s!) and Mia backing up her gutsy ride in the previous stage with third. Second was enough for me to hold onto the omnium lead heading into Stage 3. 

Coming into the finish of the Road Race solo.
Rider on the left is finishing the P1/2 Men's race.

Stage 3 Saturday afternoon (after a long hot shower and rejuvenating nap) was three laps of a 22-mile course for a smidge over 100 km—but with five substantial climbs each lap, long exposed ridges, boiling temperatures and tired legs, the course was demanding to say the least. The first lap is best summed up as conservative as we each tried to spin some life into our weary legs. On the second lap, Jessi and I escaped the bunch and battled on together, swapping turns for a full lap. Hoping that Jessi was spent from her TT effort, I did my best to push her limits on each climb. To my dismay, she matched my every effort with full composure and I soon concluded, judging from the pre-cramp twinges starting in my quads, that I was hurting myself more than her and resigned myself to trying to conserve what energy I had remaining for a sprint finish. With 5 points separating us and 6 points difference between first and second place for the stage, the tour lead rested on the outcome of the stage. Heading the final time up the steepest climb on the course, I was out of water. My legs spent, I was suffering. I stood up on the pedals to stretch my legs on the climb and, after a few pedal strokes, noticed that I couldn’t hear Jessi’s breathing. I stole a quick glance over my shoulder and saw her, two bike lengths back, head down, shoulders drooping. Seeing opportunity, I took off up the hill, re-energized by optimism. Aided by the varied terrain, I was quickly out of sight. 15 km left to race. Given Jessi’s TT skills, I didn’t let up until 200 m to go, when I was certain of victory. Jessi finished comfortably in second with Sarah just pipping Kelli on the line for third.     

Road Race podium: Jessi Prinner,
Jeannie Kuhajek, Sarah Rice

After a very long day on Saturday, the tour finished Sunday afternoon with a 60-min crit on a flat, 1-km course in the heart of Galena’s downtown district. With my lead in the omnium fairly secure and Kelli precariously in third, the goal for the team was to secure Kelli’s position. We decided to take an aggressive approach. Kim started things off with an excellent attack off the line. I countered and then Leah got away with Cady Chintis and Mia Moore (both Les Petite Victoires). Mia was sitting fifth in the omnium and one of two riders of threat to Kelli in the overall. She made a crafty move, slipping off the front of the break and powering away. This left Psimet to chase hard to protect Kelli’s position. As she revealed in the TT, Mia showed herself as a strong solo rider and her LPV teammates Cady and Jeannette Rho did an excellent job of interrupting our chase efforts. Eventually, not having made good progress in reeling in Mia and unsuccessful in launching Kelli, I found myself with a gap off the front and decided that a solo pursuit to neutralize Mia would be more effective. Ten laps to go. The gap was 30 s. Six laps, 26 s. I hadn’t managed to whittle away much time. I was starting to feel seriously overheated in the ridiculous temperatures and the efforts from the two previous days were wearing on me. Five laps. I could see her up the road in front of me. Four laps and I got a call the Mia had rejoined the field. Three laps. I could see the whole field in front of me now, so close yet so far. Two laps. Only 15 s to the field. One lap to go. Game over. The field picked up pace for the final sprint and disappeared from view. I had a cruisy final lap and was able to enjoy my third solo finish of the tour to take second in the stage and celebrate the omnium victory. Jessi won the bunch sprint for third in the stage, second overall, with Kelli taking fifth. The point spread between Mia and Kelli on the finish was enough to launch Mia into third overall, bumping Kelli back to fourth.



Tour of Galena Omnium podium: Sarah Rice, Mia Moore, Jeannie Kuhajek, Jessi Prinner, Kelli Richter

I have to say, xXx Racing put on an amazing tour. Huge thank yous to Lami, Wayne, Rob and Pauli for feeds during the circuit and road races. We wouldn’t have survived the heat without you guys! Thanks also to Bill Draper for some awesome photos. The casualty of the weekend was Marne who experienced a bit of trial by fire in her introduction to stage racing. The temperatures were a bit much for even experienced riders to balance to challenge of hydration and performance. Marne fell victim to dehydration and ended up celebrating the completion of her tour by passing out. Fortunately she had the good sense to wait until after she was off her bike!

Next up, Lami and I head south for the weekend for the O’Fallon Grand Prix. Hoping for cooler temps down that way…

1-3 Jun North Shore Crits plus Iowa RR

Receiving the Illionois State Crit Champion jersey.

After a full weekend of traveling and racing in the Quad Cities Friday through Monday, the week went by far too quickly and Friday arrived well before I was ready for it.  But arrive it did and with it the inaugural Lake Bluff Twilight Criterium presented by Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital. Lake Bluff is located north of Chicago on the lake front, an area often referred to as the North Shore. Since most of the racing I’ll be doing in the States is criterium racing, I better make sure everyone knows what a criterium is! For those not familiar, a criterium or ‘crit’ is a bicycle race run on a road circuit closed to traffic often near or around the central business district of a town. The circuit is usually about a mile or so long, giving fans a chance to see the riders come around every few minutes.

Early race, towards the back trying to move up.

As part of the USA CRITS Championship Series and partnered with the National Criterium Calendar Series race at Glencoe the following day, the Lake Bluff women’s race drew a top-class field of 50 riders with contingents from the top US teams. The large field and tight, windy course made positioning in the bunch difficult. Unfortunately, not being in full crit-racing mode quite yet, I didn’t head to the start line quite early enough to get a good spot and ended up on the very back row. Bad move. The consequence was that I spent the first 50 min of the 60 min race trying to move up.

Making ground, moving up in the bunch.

The only place to gain position on the narrow, 1.25-km course was along the start/finish straight, a head-wind, slightly uphill bit of road. My race consisted of sprinting full-gas along this straight, moving past five or six riders and then falling back four or five spots only to repeat the process the next lap, ever so slowly inching my way forward. After 25 laps of this, I could finally begin to see some road rather than just riders in front of me.  I was feeling pretty gassed from my effort and, with only 5 laps left to go, fighting hard to keep the position I had worked so hard to gain.

Sometime in the early part of the race, while I was way in the back oblivious to what was happening up front, three riders escaped the bunch and, although they never gained more than a 30-s lead, excellent teamwork aided by the windy course, meant that the break remained out of sight and survived to claim the podium spots. Devon Gorry (NOW and Novartis for MS) took the win with Liza Rachetto (Primal/MapMyRide) second and Kaitlin Antonneau (Exergy TWENTY12) third. I didn’t have much sprint left after sprinting so many times already, and the finish straight felt like it went on forever. In the end, I finish a very hard-earned fifteenth.

Grabbing a drink during the Glencoe Grand Prix.

Saturday afternoon, racing returned to the North Shore with the Glencoe Grand Prix. Glencoe is one of the best races in the Midwest, with an amazing job by race organizer Jon Knouse for five-year history of the race. I missed this one last year due to illness so was keen to have a good race. Although the field was just as classy with most of the same riders and the racing a bit more aggressive, I started with heaps better position than the previous afternoon and, with the wider course offering more opportunity for movement in the field, I was able to actually contribute to the race rather than just struggling for position as I had the previous day. 

Showing off my new jersey and medal.

In the end, despite a much better race on my part, my result was only moderately better as I crossed the line in twelfth. The bunch finish was won by the ever-amazing Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) followed by Erica Allar (RideClean) and Christina Gokey-Smith (NOW and Novartis for MS). Although not the finish I was hoping for, twelfth was enough to put me as the top-placed Illinois-based rider, earning me the Illinois Cat 1/2 State Crit Champion title. Sweet!

Me and Brian checking out the view
over the MS River Valley north
of Sherrill.

Immediately following podium presentations, Brian and I hopped in the car and drove across the state back to Iowa for the HHS Debate Road Race early the following morning. We dragged ourselves out of bed for the early start, feeling completely exhausted from a very full couple of weeks. The race was on a gorgeous 10-mile rolling circuit outside of the small town Sherrill Iowa, just north of Dubuque. Unfortunately, due to lack of promotion, only a small field turned out of the race. Despite feeling exhausted, I was able to win the women’s race. Did I mention that I was the only woman racing? That probably made the win a bit easy. Just a note, anyone looking for a great road race in preparation for Tour of Galena next year, put this one on your calendar.

Next up, this weekend I rejoin my Psimet teammates to tackle the Tour of Galena, a four-stage omnium starting with a challenging circuit race on Friday afternoon.