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| Awesome team race announcement designed by teammate Nicole Mertz. |
Greenville South Carolina put on an excellent day for the 2015 US Pro Criterium National Championships this past weekend. Local Greenville bike shop Pedal Chic – the first female-specific bike shop in the US – helped to make the event amazing for the female racers, hosting a fabulous meet & greet on Friday night and a pamper tent to help us freshen up and recover after the race on Saturday. While our race result was well below expectation, we came away from the event feeling fortunate and grateful.
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| Shop owner Robin Bylenga in front of Pedal Chic in Greenville SC, the country's first female-specific bike shop. |
To help us feel further special, host Valerie Grimshaw threw us a party to ensure that we felt the support of the Greenville community.
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| Skylar, Sam, Yusse, me, and Nicole and the boys from Hincapie Racing with our Good Luck cake. |
A cold and rainy week in Greenville turned into a hot and steamy day on Saturday with temperatures nearing 80°F (27°C). The race was aggressive from start to finish, with individual riders attacking off the front throughout the race. The relentless pace dwindled the field from 55 starters to about 16 contenders by the final lap.
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| Me and Sam moving up as the field begins to splinter. Photo by Scott Grimshaw |
A dangerous break of three riders established late in the race, but was absorbed with about five laps remaining. United Health Care (UHC) then took control of the front, lining up their ‘Blue Train’ and ramping up the pace for the remaining laps. Sam moved into perfect position, directly behind the train, giving her the best possible shot at the win.
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| Sam in perfect position behind the Blue Train. Photo by Nathalie Morgan |
With half a lap to go, a bad feeling induced Sam to slacken her pace and drop back a bit, relinquishing her prime position. Sure enough, on the final turn, the lead rider slid out, taking down the whole front of the peloton. Had Sam kept position, she might’ve gone down. Fortunately she missed the chaos and finished safely in ninth. Huge congrats to Kendall Ryan (TIBCO) for taking the win!
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| Call ups: Sam on the start line, ready to race. Photo by Scott Grimshaw. |
Not so fortunately, I went down in an earlier crash. As the pace ramped up with ten laps remaining, another rider veered into me, stopping my front wheel. We both went down in a heap. I went over the handlebars, landing teeth first in a full-on face plant on the asphalt. Fortunately, the road stopped my fall…
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| Awesome shot of Skylar during the race. Photo by Shane Orr |
I can off extremely lucky, with a slightly loose and chipped front tooth, a giant fat lip, a broken finger, a few grazes, and plenty of deep bruises that are now blossoming into interesting multi-color designs on my skin. With heaps of crashes throughout the race, I’m grateful to have avoided more serious injuries. Sending many healing thoughts to Amber Pierce (Pepper Palace) who went down hard early in the race and was less fortunate.
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| New team mascot Magic helped keep injuries to a minimum. |
The late race three-rider break went off while I was getting to the pit, so the pace was on when I got back in the race. My left knee took a big hit and was uncooperative about bending, I had limited use of my right hand for shifting, and my quads were not happy about working after coming to such an abrupt stop only moments before. Poor position on re-entering the race made for a mammoth effort to get to the front to help the team. Struggling, I dropped off the back with about four laps to go. Given circumstances in the final turn, I think this was for the best.
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| Me behind eventual second place finisher and cycling legend Tina Pic (Pepper Palace) whose face expresses how I'm feeling. Photo by Casey B. Gibson |
Thank you to Fearless Femme manager Theresa Cliff-Ryan and several spectators for getting my bike up and running after my crash. I am extremely grateful to teammates Nicole and Abby who did an amazing job taking care of me after the race, and to Robin Bylenga from Pedal Chic for delivering a special care package to help me heal. Huge thanks to our gracious Greenville hosts Nathalie Morgan and Scott & Valerie Grimshaw for being amazing hosts as well as expert photographers. Along with Chicago riders Leah Sanda, Sue Wellington, Jessica Whiton, and Wendy Gaddy, Nathalie, Valerie, Scott, and the Every Woman Cycling Team made certain that we heard GO ISCorp! on all sections of the course.
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| Downtown Greenville. Photo by Teammate Lexie Millard. |
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