19-20 May PSIMET Omnium

The women of PSIMET Racing: Katie Isermann, Leah Herman Sanda,
Kimberly Gialdini, Kelli Richter, Marne Smiley and Jeannie Kuhajek

Winning is a great way for a new team to start things off, and that’s exactly what the PSIMET women did this past weekend in the Fox River Grove Omnium, our first weekend of racing together. The Omnium consisted of paired races on Saturday and Sunday, with omnium points up for grabs on intermediate sprints in each race as well as on the finish line both days.

Warming up together before Fox River Grove. Leah,
Marne, Kelli, Kimberly, Katie, Jeannie

I arrived from New Zealand on Monday, so had the week to shake off jet lag and adjust to the warm temperatures. The weekend graced us with beautiful (albeit HOT!) weather. Saturday’s course, the Elgin Cycling Classic, was set in the picturesque surroundings of Lords Park and featured an exciting sweeping downhill into a tricky chicane corner heading into the start/finish straight. The six of us, Katie, Kim, Kelli, Leah, Marne and myself, met up before the race and I got to meet my new teammates. Right away I got a sense of the positive energy and enthusiasm of the team.

PSIMET wheels on the start line at Elgin.

The race got under way and, after about 15 min, I started to doubt whether I had enough fitness to make it through my first US race! Lots of aggressive riding from the bunch—multiple attacks and counter-attacks—made for an exciting start to the race. Erin Woloszyn (Village – Virdigris) put in the first attack of the day only minutes into the race, but it was my teammate from last year Jessi Prinner (ABD) who made the decisive move. Jessi’s escape came about midway through the race.

The Norge Ski Jump at the top
of the hill at Fox River Grove.
The jump was built in 1905.

With ABD’s change in colours from last year, I didn’t initially recognise her kit—even though we had talked before the race. As a result, my response to her attack was slow and the bridge took some effort. But I eventually joined her and, mainly through Jessi’s efforts, we remained off the front for the rest of the race, with my PSIMET teammates patrolling the bunch from behind to prevent any other riders from bridging up to us. I was able to claim both points sprints and finished second on the line to take the early lead in the omnium competition. Jessi took the win and Cathy Frampton (Project 5) won the bunch sprint for third. Excellent teamwork between PSIMET riders Kelli and Leah meant a very narrow miss of the third sport for the team. But in impressive fashion, PSIMET grabbed the next 4 spots.

Jessi (in ABD's new kit) and me
climbing the hill together.

To complement the relatively flat course on Saturday, Sunday’s race was the Fox River Grove criterium, a 1.8 km loop with a 450 m climb, complete with a 15% section. Again, an attack by Erin on the first climb initiated a response from Jessi. Not keen to let Jessi go anywhere by herself, I was immediately on her wheel and once again Jessi and I were off on our own. With two laps to go, I got away and was able to solo to the line, securing the win and the overall omnium victory. Jessi stayed away to finish second, and PSIMET teammate Kimberly took the bunch sprint for third following attacks by Kelli and Marne on the hill that helped shattered the bunch.

Podium at Fox River Grove: Jessi,
Jeannie (in omnium winner's
jersey) and Kimberly

What a great way to kick things off! PSIMET and Rhythm Racing put on an incredible event with well-run races, exciting courses, fabulous weather and some great racing from the Chicagoland women. Lots more racing coming up and I’m looking forward to catching up with many more friends. This coming weekend, Memorial Day in the US, the PSIMET women head to the Quad Cities, 3 hours’ drive southwest of Chicago, for three solid days of racing starting with Snake Alley on Saturday.

Heading into the finish at Fox River Grove.