20 Aug Grand Cycling Classic

Our final weekend of racing in the US, Brian and I finished things off with another Michigan weekend, this time back in Southwestern Michigan near Lami’s hometown of Holland for two one-day races in the Grand Rapids area. Saturday’s race was the Herman Miller Grand Cycling Classic, featuring National Race Calendar status, a big prize purse and a high-class field—including defending champion Kiwi Joanne Kiesonowski (TIBCO). With Jessi heading off to Texas to start her first year at University the week before, Stacy off the bike for some time in favor of recovery, and Elena, a trackie-convert in her first year on the road, not yet eligible for NRC races, ABD was represented by me, Kristen, and Sarah.

Officials were forced to stop the men's race as storms
battered the course.

A severe thunderstorm added interest to the day, wreaking havoc on the men’s pro race as sudden massive gusts blew barriers into the path of riders. The US National Pro Crit Championship, the men’s race was run as the first race of the day in a topsy-turvy format. As high winds and pounding rain blasted the venue and lightening streaked the sky, officials were forced to interrupt the race midway. In preparation for the weather, Lami and I parked under an overpass, protected from the drenching downpour, where we enjoyed the lightening display. Kristen and Sarah, arriving separately, opted to park on the street and unfortunately got caught in the deluge on the way to registration. Fortunately they had a warm place to dry off and wait out the storm.

Moments after stopping the men's race, a gust of wind
brought the finish banner crashing to the ground.

After an hour or so, with the worst of the rains past, the men’s race was resumed. They had about 45 min of racing left, giving time for the roads to dry a bit before the start of the women’s race which followed. The unusual format of the men’s pro race early in the day resulted in huge crowds lining the course to cheer us on as we zipped around the 1.2 km 6-turn course. A mixture of surfaces, nearly equal parts pavement, blacktop, and brick, made the course tricky in the wet. Fortunately, things were quickly drying out.

Right from the gun, the race was fast-paced and exciting. My kind of racing! Not nearly as fast-paced and exciting as Elk Grove, however, with smaller rosters from the big teams TIBCO and Colavita at four riders each and mostly individual riders making up the rest of the field. I burned a big match early on, taking the first prime of the day. Then, getting just nipped on the line for another one several laps later, I decided I’d better concentrate on saving something for the finish—either that or risk my race deteriorating into an all- out, miserable suffer fest pretty darn quick.

Women's peloton with cycling legend and second-place
finisher Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom)
pushing the pace.

The race was animated by TIBCO, who obviously wanted a breakaway, and well controlled by Colvita, who obviously wanted a bunch finish. I made several attempts to get into breaks that looked promising, but with Colavita not working, nothing stuck. In the end, Colavita took control, lining up all four of their riders on the front with three laps to go. Setting a blistering pace, they won the race in textbook-fashion, delivering Michigan-native Theresa Cliff-Ryan to the line for the win.

With the tempo high—legs burning, eyes bulging—moving up in the bunch can be difficult. A good finish, especially for mediocre sprinters such as myself, is critically dependent on good position on the final lap. My position on the final lap was not so great (behind ultimate winner Theresa would have been great!). I gained a few spots on the final turn into the start/finish straight, sneaking into the top-ten in ninth spot. Since I tend to like the racing part of racing, and not so much the finishing, top 10 works for me.

Riding next to eventual winner Theresa Cliff-Ryan
(Colovita) with Kiwi Joanne Kiesonowski (TIBCO)
on Theresa's wheel.

Teammates Sarah and Kristen both ran into a touch of bad luck. Early in the race, Sarah discovered her hub was dodgy. Combined with the wet roads, the bad hub made for a disconcerting ride. She pulled into the pit for a new wheel but after the wheel change received a bad push-in (meaning that as the bunch passed the pit, the mechanic pushed her in to the race too late for her to get up to speed in time to get into the draft of the bunch and reintegrate into the race). As a result, she spent a number of laps (and lots of energy) chasing. Kristen had an exciting race, feeling better and better after a challenging season, but the finish is a constant nemesis (in my opinion anyway!). Running into traffic, she got pinched in the final corner, and, grabbing a whole handful of brakes, crossed the line in 20^th.

Later in the day, roads completely dry but new, threatening clouds building on the horizon, Brian raced in the men’s maters race alongside Mack teammate John Fleckenstein. John was in an exciting two-rider break for the better part of the first half of the race. Despite working well together, the pair was eventually reeled in. Lami followed with multiple attacks and escape attempts, but all in vain as the finish came down to a bunch sprint. John put in a great sprint to take 8^th with Lami sprinting (yes, sprinting!) in for 13^th.

5-7 Aug Tour of Elk Grove

The Tour of Elk Grove is another special race for me as the only race I’ve done every year since I started racing. When I raced it for the first time in 2007 as an entry-level rider, I got a taste of my first bunch sprint. I’ve experienced a few more bunch sprints since then (!), but haven’t gotten all that much better at them! Every year I’ve raced it, Elk Grove has ended in a very long, leg busting, lung burning bunch sprint. This year was no different.

Over the past several years, Tour of Elk Grove has struggled with format for the women’s race, evolving from a one-day race to two successive one-day races two years ago to a three-day three-stage tour this year. 2011 National Race Calendar status and an attractive prize pool brought some of the country’s top pro teams. The tour began with a challenging 7 km, five-turn time trial Friday afternoon followed by two 50 min crits on Saturday and Sunday.

Stage Three finish. I am just about to cross the line.
Leadout rider Theresa Cliffe-Ryan (Colavita), to
my right, is celebrating her teammate's victory.

The tour itself was relatively unremarkable from the perspective of the ABD women. With the two top teams, TIBCO and Colavita, starting eight riders each, the race was a sea of TIBCO and Colavita jerseys dominated by the tactics of those two teams. Our best result came on Sunday when I was able to maintain good position going into the final sprint and held on for sixth place. And I do mean held on. Compared with raw power some of these girls can produce over a long sprint, the mediocrity of my sprinting ability was difficult to overlook. Nonetheless, sixth is not a bad result for me in a bunch sprint of that caliber.

 Canadian Anne Semplonius (NOW MS Society) won the Stage One time trial by 6 s over National Race Calendar leader Janel Holcomb (Colavita), but patience and teamwork earned Colavita the tour win with Canadian National Crit Champion Leah Kirchman (Colavita) taking the victory in both crits, giving her enough time bonuses to move from 7th place overall, 18 s back after Stage One, to 1st by narrow 2 s in a narrow, nail-biting final finish.

The real story of the weekend came off the bike, however. With Sarah not delivering on the drama front with the usual travel catastrophe, Stacy decided to pick up the slack and create a drama of her own—this one taking the cake, topping the high standard set by my emergency room visit at Nature Valley in June and one that I hope no one will attempt to outdo.

After the contrast of blitzing the field in a local time trial Saturday morning and then struggling through Stage Two on Saturday afternoon with stomach pains and various other general protests from an unhappy body, Stacy traded Stage 3 on Sunday for a visit to the hospital where a CT scan revealed a subdural haematoma on BOTH sides of her brain. How long the hematomas had been there and exactly what caused them is uncertain, but what is certain is that they had been causing increasing pressure on Stacy’s brain for months.

Stacy’s symptoms earned her priority status. She was immediately admitted to surgery where she was treated to not one but two holes drilled in EACH side of her skull to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure. Yikes. After four days in the hospital, Stacy is home recovering, banned from racing for quite some time. Get well very soon Stacy!

30 Jul Grayslake Cycling Classic

Now in its sixth year, the 2007 Grayslake Cycling Classic was the very first criterium I ever raced—and the first I ever won! Being a new rider, I rode the entry level race. The following year, I repeated the victory in the entry level race, this time as a masters rider, and later in the day tried my luck against the ‘big girls,’ placing third in the Women’s Open race. The winner? None other than now ABD teammate Kristen Meshburg. I missed the race in 2009 (won once again by Kristen in dominant fashion), but returned in 2010 to win the Women’s Open in a sprint out with now teammate Stacy Appelwick, with the duel initiating an awesome friendship with Stacy.



Elena, Stacy, and Jeannie

This year, a change of plans left the ABD team calendar without a race on for the weekend. With Grayslake being a bit of a special race for me as my first crit, and so close at only 25 miles from my parents’ house, it didn’t take long for me to decide to race. Hoping to get in some good training in preparation for a couple of hardcore races scheduled in the next few weeks, I decided to ride the hour and a half to the race. Good thing I did because with major construction along the way and the County Fair on, I think riding got me there faster than driving!

Not expecting to see any of my teammates, I was excited to almost run into Stacy who was driving in just as I arrived at the course. Only moments later Elena arrived as well. And ABD was three! The race got off to a good start with Amelia Moore (xXx Racing) setting a fast pace on the front. On lap two, the MC announced the first prime of the day. I decided to string out the field through the more technical back side of the course and ramped up the speed heading into turn two of the nine-turn course. I exited the turns with a good gap on the field, with Francine Haas (Alberto’s) jumping out of the peloton in pursuit. Francine’s chase obligated me to push a bit harder. Francine responded in turn by pushing a bit harder, so I too pushed a bit harder. As the start/finish line neared, Francine backed off and I went across with a good gap behind me to grab the prime.

Now came decision time. Being so early into the race on a hot day and after having already ridden nearly 2 hours (and still having 40 min of racing and a 1.5 h ride home in front of me), did I really want the massive effort of a solo ride? No. Definitely not. But with disorganization in the bunch behind as multiple riders put in solo attempts to bridge the gap, individual pursuit was the best bet. I did say I wanted to get in a good hard training ride… So head down I went, straight into time trial mode.

Grayslake podium: Beth, Jeannie, Stacy

Plans all came together when about midrace Stacy was able to escape from the group and bridge across the gap. I was relieved to get word from Wayne Simon who was cheering madly inside the course (Thanks Wayne!) that Stacy was in hot pursuit. I enjoyed the respite from the hard pace as I let up for a bit to wait for Stacy. Once she made contact, we were straight into time trial mode, working perfectly together. Stacy led me out for the win with her second for an exciting ABD 1-2. In the bunch sprint, ABD just missed a podium sweep by a hair, with Elena getting nipped on the line in an excellent finish by Beth Engwis (Project 5 Racing) to take an awesome fourth.

The most exciting part of the day, however, was Stacy’s nonchalant announcement, “Oh, by the way, I’m getting married tomorrow.” Congratulations Stacy and Chris! You two are wonderful individuals and truly wonderful together.

23-24 Jul Michigan Challenge Weekend

With nothing better to do for the weekend, Jessi and I decided to hop in the car and drive 6 hours east to Flint Michigan – for racing of course! On tap, the Michigan Challenge weekend, a road race-criterium pairing for a two day omnium.

Flint, located in southeast Michigan about 100 km northwest of Detroit, is the birthplace in 1908 of US car manufacturing giant General Motors. Once an epicenter for automobile manufacturing, Flint is now a symbol of the decline of the auto industry in the US following the closure of several of Flint’s GM manufacturing plants in the 1980’s. Due primarily to downsizing of GM facilities to just 10% of the 1970’s workforce, Flint’s population has plummeted, falling from nearly 200,000 at its peak in the 1960’s to 102,000 in the 2010 census. The impact of the GM closures on the area was documented by Michael Moore, a Flint area native, in the film Roger and Me. Combined with the current economic downturn in the US, the closures have resulted in extensive urban decay. The signs of abandonment and disrepair were obvious as we encountered numerous boarded-up buildings and bank-owned businesses in our search for somewhere to dine Friday after arriving in town.

Vehicle City arch in downtown Flint

Once in Flint, Jessi and I met up with teammate Sarah, a Michigan native who, in a happy exchange of roles, got to do a race near home for a change rather than making the (often comically ill-fated) trek to faraway places. Saturday’s race was the Maillot Juane (French for ‘yellow jersey’) Road Race, three laps of a semi-rolly 22-km circuit. The course was fairly straightforward—except for the short section of badly weathered asphalt bumpy enough to rattle the teeth out of one’s head. Or the bottle out of one’s bottle cage!

On the first lap, Jessi and I each lost a water bottle through the bumpy section. With the mercury on the rise and headed for uncomfortably hot, we were forced to ride a conservative second lap for fear of running out of water in the heat. One lap three, Hagerty Cycling, with four riders racing, was keen to get something going, putting in several successive attacks. As they lost enthusiasm, Jessi and I took over, countering each other and stringing out the field through the longer rollers. But Priority Health rider Mackenzie Woodring, a World Road and Time Trial Champion on the tandem as pilot for vision-impaired rider Karissa Whitsell, was keen to keep anything from getting off the front.

With Mackenzie showing obvious strength throughout the whole race, I kept a close eye on her. Nearing the finish, Mackenzie followed an escape effort by Jessi with an attack. I was immediately on her wheel. The plan worked perfectly—for Priority. Less than 1000 m to go, my momentum slowing as Mackenzie feigned exhaustion, Mackenzie’s Priority Health teammate Amy Stauffer blasted past with a counter attack, Susan Vigland (Hagerty) a bike length behind. With the finish on a slight downhill slope, Amy had the advantage. I reversed my momentum, stormed around Susan and reeled in Amy, catching her about 3 meters AFTER the line. So it was, Amy (1^st), me (2^nd), Susan (3^rd), with Jessi and Sarah finishing well in 7^th and 8^th.

Me, Sarah, and Jessi the Juicer

After a marathon wait for podium presentations where we enjoyed munching on race-supplied apples and bananas and much-craved refined carbohydrates in the form of French baguettes, we lounged the afternoon away. That is, until it was time to juice.

Jessi, recently having acquired a juicer only months before, had brought with her not only the said instrument of torture (yes, torture) but a variety of myriad mostly green items to juice as well. Jessi the Juicer (official name) took the helm. No vegetable was safe. Broccoli, carrots ,kale, dandelion leaves, who knows what else went into the little compartment at the top and came out liquid on the other end. Lucky as I am, I was granted the privilege of the first glass. Yum. After that, Sarah and Jessi decided some orange segments—perhaps a whole orange—were necessary as well. And two more glasses of green goodness were created and downed. Newly sprouted hair on our chests, we were ready to tear up the road on Sunday.

Sarah off the front in an early attack

Sunday brought us Le Champion Pavé Criterium in historic downtown Flint, pavé referring to the 500-m brick section of the course, the remnants of one of Michigan’s oldest brick paved roads laid down nearly 100 years ago. Keen to take control of the race, Jessi, Sarah, and I put in successive attacks for the first 10-15 minutes of the race, finally launching Jessi with third placed rider Susan. Seeing the threat, omnium leader Amy went on the chase and I caught a ride on her wheel. Jessi and I drove hard to establish the break and, perhaps for relief from further ABD attacks, the bunch was complacent to let us go. The setting was perfect for ABD victory. Until… Count not thy chickens that unhatched be.

Jessi driving the pace through the brick in the break

With the race not yet midway, thoughts focused on preserving the break, I didn’t consider the seemingly remote possibility of lapping the field. But lap the field we did. Still ten laps of the one-mile course to go, and there they were in site in front of us. Perhaps Jessi and I had had too much juice.

Disbelief and then disappointment ran through my head. Disbelief because lapping a field on a long, oblong course such as this usually takes some doing. We were riding hard, but not that hard. The field must have sat up and slowed to an absolute crawl on our departure. And disappointment because lapping the field was not in the best interest for me and Jessi. We had the advantage with Amy and Susan isolated from their teammates. Despite our best efforts to prevent the reunion, Amy had different ideas. We were all back together within four laps.

Not sure what I'm smiling about!

Two things were against us here. One, the slow pace of the field had given Mackenzie, who had worked hard early in the race shutting down our attacks, a chance to recover from her earlier efforts. And two, lapping the field meant that Amy was reunited with her teammates, in particular a very experienced Mackenzie who no doubt would give her a fierce leadout.

Less than 1 km to go in the race, as the field bunched up through the tight 160-degree corner at the bottom of the course, Mackenzie and Amy launched through the chaos clear of the field. I reached Amy’s wheel as we entered the brick. Out of the saddle, finish line in sight, we began our sprint. Funny thing about sprinting on an uneven surface like brick. It can be a bit tricky. At times, spectacular. My sprint ended up being spectacular, but in a bad way—fortunately not bad enough to be head turning, but bad enough to cause concern. Especially mine.

The decisive sprint

Amy stayed low over her saddle, keeping her rear wheel weighted. I, on the other hand, did not. My unweighted rear wheel skipped badly on the uneven surface of the brick and I abandoned my sprint in favor of staying upright. Amy blasted through the finish for the win to secure the Omnium victory. I was lucky to have enough clear road behind me to hold on to second place for second in the Omnium, while Jessi finished not far behind in fourth. Awesome! No doubt lessons learned here will come in handy in three weeks’ time when we return to the bricks, this time in Grand Rapids Michigan, for the Grand Cycling Classic.   

9-17 Jul Super Week

At 43 years and counting, the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic, also known as Super Week, is the oldest and longest-running multi-category cycling race in the world. Super Week is an omnium series, where placings in each race in the series earn riders points. The rider with the highest cumulative points total at the end of the series is the winner.

In addition to the overall win, the series offers a second hotly contested honor, the Sprint Points Competition. Riders can earn sprint points on designated sprint laps – three per race in the women’s series. Riders accumulate sprint points throughout the series in pursuit of the Sprint Points Jersey.

Me on the front

Finally, the stage win is the third honor up for grabs. Because racers in a road omnium may elect to participate in as many or as few races in the overall series as desired, riders with fresh legs, who haven’t raced the entire series, add extra challenge and variety to the battle for the stage win.

The 2011 Super Week series offered nine consecutive days of elite women’s racing, beginning with four races south of Chicago before moving north to Milwaukee for another four days, and then finishing off on the Chicago North Shore with Race 9 in Evanston. Due to various schedule conflicts and time commitments, the ABD women’s team had sporadic representation, with me and Kristen racing the entire series; Stacy for Races 1, 2, 3 and 8; Sarah for Races 4 – 9; Jessi for Races 8 and 9; and Elena for Race 9.

Race 1 Break

We got off to an awesome start, setting off fireworks at an exciting Race 1 in Geneva Illinois. Kristen and I attacked hard from the gun, instigating a five-rider break containing defending champion Nicky Wangsgard (Primal/Map My Ride), her teammate Tiffany Pezzulo, and Team Hong Kong rider Wan Yiu Jamie Wong. Stacy bided her time in the pack until, midrace, she blew the field apart with a successful attack.

Race 1 Podium: Jeannie (2nd), Nicky (1st),
Tiffany (Sprints Leader), Stacy (3rd)

As Kristen, Nicky, Tiffany, Jamie and I lapped the remnants of the field scattered around the course, Stacy bridged up to us in an impressive show of strength, all while race announcer Eddy Van Guyse repeated exclaimed, ‘ABD must stand for A very Big Deal!’ In the last several laps of the race, Stacy and I took turns attacking, forcing Primal on the defensive. In an exciting finale, Nicky took the win with me second, Stacy third, and Kristen sixth.

We put on with an equally exciting showing in front of a huge crowd the following Saturday at the famous Downer Ave in Milwaukee. This time, midrace, I heard Eddy announce, ‘ABD is dominating this race!’ With Kristen, Sarah, Stacy, Jessi and I putting in successive attacks, we grabbed multiple primes and launched Stacy for a classy solo win – on Downer Ave no less! ABD stands for A very Big Deal indeed!

Stacy on the podium at Downer Ave

Our worst race was Friday, Race 6 at Brookfield. Sarah was forced to abandon the race early due to heat exhaustion and Kristen punctured while she and I were chasing down a dangerous two rider break containing US Masters National Crit Champion Debbie Milne and Team Hong Kong rider Wan Yiu Jamie Wong (a World Cup Points Race Champion). Debbie had fresh legs and Jamie was a threat to my second place overall position. With Kristen in the pit getting a wheel change, I was left to chase the break solo. I ended up sacrificing points in the remaining sprint laps, where I was also sitting second overall, in an effort to chase down the break (or get away from the field). My attempts were futile and, as a result, I slipped down to third in both the sprint competition and the overall.  



Super Week Sprint Points Podium



By the end of nine races, Nicky earned a history-making third consecutive Super Week Title, ABD earned a stage win on Downer Ave and four podium placings: second and third in Race 1, first in Race 8, and third in the Sprint Competition; and 13 top-10 finishes. Tiffany Pezzulo dominated the sprint points competition and Team Hong Kong and Team Taiwan, being world class track riders, showed themselves to be talented, wicked fast finishers, pushing me back to fifth overall as they moved up the points board with consistent finishes.  

Super Week complete, I’m happy to report that although I entered the series with questionable health, still struggling with a lingering sore throat and the remnants of weeks of health challenges, I have emerged on the other side feeling fit and healthy and, I think, finally free of illness. After two months of writing about ill health, I look forward to concentrating on writing about racing!

Mackers Gary, John and Brian on the podium

As for Brian, he and his Team Mack teammates had an excellent Super Week, with John Fleckenstein winning the Masters Series Overall, and finishing second to fellow Macker Gary Doering in the 50+ Series subcategory. Brian finished fifth in the 40+ subcategory (even though he only raced 9 of the 16 races!). Brian’s series was highlighted by a 4^th place finish at Brookfield, where he earned a stage win as the first placed 40+ rider in the Masters field.

2-4 Jul West Michigan Stage Race (and other short stories)

Fourth of July weekend. Independence Day. The national day of the US, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. My first year in New Zealand, it snowed on the Fourth of July. I was living in Christchurch. I’d been in the country about a month. The snow started late afternoon, as the muddy afternoon sky turned a deepening gray. I walked home several blocks through about three inches of fresh slushy stuff accumulating on the footpaths while soggy misshapen flakes streaked like mini comets through the darkening evening. While rare for Christchurch, snow in July has absolutely no chance of happening in the Midwest of the US.

Hot and humid. That was the forecast for us. Brian and I decided to celebrate the holiday weekend with the inaugural West Michigan Stage Race, a three-stage, three-day tour in southwest Michigan, not far from Brian’s hometown of Holland. As an added bonus, our friend, Jon Cox—whom many in Nelson will remember from his visit to NZ a year ago February—decided to fly out from Washington DC to join us for the tour. We got Jon into racing while he was in NZ and he’s been obsessed ever since! Before telling you about the stage race, however, I need to fill you in on my adventures over the two weeks between Nature Valley and the West MI Stage Race, a bit of necessary background to the stage race.

20 Jun – 01 Jul (Tour de Health)

After a viral infection (probably oyster virus for those of you familiar with my last several weeks at Cawthron before heading to the US) that was countered by a secondary lung infection followed by an allergic reaction requiring an emergency room visit, the weeks following the Nature Valley Grand Prix were filled with further health challenges. 

Following the completion of Nature Valley, where I wisely choose to abandon the tour in favor of recovery, I drove 5 hours east from Stillwater Minnesota to Pewaukee Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee. The intention was to have a couple day of rest before joining in on the final four days of the ten-day series Tour of America’s Dairyland, affectionately known as ToAD. Monday I went for a gentle recovery ride, still feeling pretty smashed from my long night at the ER. Tuesday, my energy levels plummeting and my throat sore, I took the day off. On Wednesday my throat was swollen and sore enough to keep me from sleeping. By Thursday getting out of bed was a huge effort. Unable to swallow without serious discomfort, I lost five pounds (2 kg) in five days, putting me in excellent hill-climbing form. (Too bad I could barely hold myself up on the bike let alone ride up a hill.) Saturday morning, my health still plummeting, Brian and I made the decision for Brian to abandon ToAD and head home to my mom and dad’s, an hour-and-a-half drive directly south. This time it was Mom’s turn to take me to the doctor (Thank you Mom!). Another dose of (a different!) antibiotic, and in less than 24 hours my sore throat was gone (and I could eat!!). I was on the mend once again.



Holland Michigan during Tulip Time (May)

Tuesday we headed four hours around the southern tip of Lake Michigan to Brian’s hometown of Holland, MI, to visit with Brian’s family. After arriving, we went for a gentle ride Tuesday evening, Brian pushing me most of the way to help me keep pace with him. Wednesday he needed to push me somewhat less frequently. By Thursday, I was keeping on his wheel the whole ride. Still a ways to go to full recovery, I was ready to gingerly push my fitness on the weekend with our next scheduled race, the West Michigan Stage Race.  

Stage 1

The tour started Saturday morning with a 14-km time trial on a gently undulating out and back course, full aero-equipment allowed. We were feeling quite worried with the plethora a flash TT bikes and disk wheels, a real advantage on the rolly course. Although less aerodynamic than a time trial bike, a road bicycle can be made more aero by the addition of clip-on aerobars, which attach to the normal handlebars allowing the rider to crouch down low on the bicycle, out of the wind. A special aerohelmet, with a sleek, narrow profile and tapering tail which extends over the rider’s back, gives a further aero advantage. A stationary trainer is also useful to ensure a thorough warmup for a TT where being completely warmed up and ready to go 100% from the start is critical.

Other than the early start times (we had to get up at 5:30!), and perhaps the uncomfortably hot, humid conditions, the biggest drama of the day was gear. Brian and I share one TT helmet, one set of clip-on aerobars, and one stationary trainer between us. Normally this is a nonissue. The original schedule for the race gave sufficient time between our starts for Brian to warm up on the trainer, complete his time trial while I warmed up on the trainer, and return in time to hand over the TT helmet and bicycle with aerobars (since we ride the same size frame, we only need to set up the aerobars on one bike). A quick adjustment of the seat height and I’m ready for my start.

Unfortunately a last minute change to the start schedule by the race organisers moved my start to six minutes after Brian’s, putting us on the course at the same time. Plan B. After weighing the advantages and disadvantages, we decided that I would get the aero gear and trainer to warm up on and Brian would go Merckx-style (no aero-gear) and warm up on the road. Fortunately there were plenty of good roads nearby for warming up.

Having had not much of a lead up training-wise, I was uncertain as to just how hard I could handle. If nothing else, I look wicked fast in my brand new Giro Selector time trial helmet. Like all aerohelmets, this one has a pointy tail that projects behind the head for maximum aerodynamics.  A special feature of this helmet is a built-in visor for eye protection. All black, the helmet gives the impression of something out of the movie Alien.



Time Trial helmet and Alien similarities?



Alien-inspired, I got off to a good start on the gentle uphill slope. Almost immediately, though, I started to experience a rather uncomfortable (and disconcerting!) feeling of suffocation, soon accompanied by claustrophobia. Beginning to feel a bit panicked, I put serious thought into stopping on the side of the road to catch my breath. Fortunately, after a minute or so, I was able to calm myself down and I got over it.

The problem was the new helmet. Not having ridden with it before, I was unused to the effect that the visor has on exhaled air, keeping it in close to one’s face. Once I figured out how to breathe differently to accommodate the visor, all was much improved and I was reeling in riders ahead on the road.

After the turnaround, the return journey seemed much shorter than the way out. Before I knew it, the finish was looming. I had way too much left in the tank. I got out of the saddle and sprinted the last kilometer (at least). With my health on the edge, better to go too easy than too hard! Amazingly, the results sheet listed me as finishing second, within striking distance, 33 s back from winner Meghan Lapeta (Smart Racing). Woohoo!

Stage 2

Stage 2 on Sunday brought a 45-minute criterium on a fast, 1-km loop. With three 20-s time-bonus primes up for grabs and 30-, 20-, and 10-s time bonuses for first, second, and third on the finish line, potential for movement in the standings was huge. At 33 s down, I was keen to get some of those bonuses. Unfortunately my body and my mind were not on the same page.

Women's Criterium Podium

Not having done much for two weeks, my body was pretty grumpy about anything requiring effort. I gave it my best, (unsuccessfully) going for all three time-bonus primes and even putting in two attacks, but I suffered through the entire race. The Miller Energy Team did an awesome job organising themselves and leading out a rider for each of the primes, with the leadout rider successfully pulling off right in front of me to block my sprint each time. I had it sussed by the finish though and won the race by the skin of my teeth with an enormous bike throw at the line. Tour leader Meghan, who put in a big attack heading into the finish, lost position near the line and finished out of the time bonuses. With me receiving a 30-s bonus for first, the gap was down to just 3 s. I paid for me efforts though, spending the evening completely smashed.



Men's 40+ Criterium Podium



Brian had an awesome race as well, attacking with 3 laps to go and going for a solo flyer. He got swallowed up with about 500 m to go, but with the assistance of an ever so slight downhill finish, was able to hold on for third, moving up from seventh after the TT to sixth overall.

Stage 3

Stage 3 on Monday (another early morning) was a 50-km road race, one loop comprising a series of rolling hills heading out and a flat 20-km run-in to the finish. The original race was scheduled to be 100-km, but the decision was made to shorten the race—which suited me just fine. Health-wise, I wasn’t quite ready for 100 km!

The first attack of the day came at about 8 km in to the race. Putting in an effort to match the increased speed of the peloton,  boy did I feel terrible—and very glad for the shortened race! Things settled down again as we approached the start of the hilly section. No one seemed to have much interest in climbing and our speed reduced to a crawl. Not able to restrain myself, I attacked on the next hill. My breakaway was cut short when the pace car was slowed by a car on the course, and I in turn by the pace car. As the field brought me back into the fold, tour leader Meghan countered with a powerful attack, immediately establishing a good gap. Resisting the urge to jump (I’m uncertain that I could have!), I let the field bring me up. With perfect timing we caught Meghan just coming upon the next climb at 20 km. Meghan and I pushed the pace up the hill and we were away.

Women's Overall Podium

Immediately we started working perfectly together, lengthening our lead on the field. The bunch gave chase for a while, but with the hills making an organised chase difficult, the riders behind us soon sat up, content to race for third. Meghan and I reached the sharp turn onto the main road, the halfway point of the race, with the peloton out of sight. From there it was a two-up time trial to the finish. My body was much happier with the even riding pace compared with the torturous stop-and-go effort of the previous day.  

As we reached 1 km to go, the finish banner in sight, Meghan pulled alongside me and our pace slowed as we prepared to duke it out in the sprint. I jumped first, attacking with about 700 m to go. I took Meghan by surprise and she wasn’t able to grab my wheel. I flew through the finish with a good buffer, Meghan several bike-lengths behind and the bunch 3 min back. The win gave me another 30-s bonus, and, more importantly, another 10 s on Meghan for the overall tour win!



 

 



Men's 40+ Road Race Podium

To make the day even more exciting, in the 40+ race, Brian also broke away at about 20 km into the race. He was joined by another rider and they stayed away for the remaining 80 km of the two-lap race. He wore down the other rider in the run-in to the finish and won the sprint(!). The pair finished a whopping 5 min in front of the field, launching Brian into second overall for the tour.   

15-19 Jun Nature Valley Grand Prix

In its thirteenth year, the Nature Valley Grand Prix is touted as the most exciting, fan-friendly stage race in North America. The tour includes six stages over five days, taking in six cities and two states. ABD headed into the tour five riders strong, Jessi, Stacy, Kristen, Sarah, and me, with our awesome Team Manager Mike Ebert, extra support from non-racing teammate Elena and the ABD “Van-aconda” to faithfully transport us to the start of each stage.

Stage 1

Stacy with a good pain face in Stage 1

The Tour started Wednesday morning with a 10 km time trial along the Saint Paul riverfront. The course hugged the banks and bluffs of the Mississippi River, heading out and back and then snaking up a 6% climb to finish with stunning views overlooking downtown Saint Paul.

The story for the day was Sarah, who continued a string of travel nightmares. Scheduled to fly from Michigan to Minnesota Tuesday evening, she waited in the airport terminal through multiple flight delays into the wee hours of the night. The flight was finally cancelled, so she went home for a few hours of sleep. Thankfully, she was able to get an early morning flight. She arrived in Minnesota at 6:30 AM and caught a taxi directly to the start of the first stage. The heavens decided to open and pour down so Sarah had a bit of a wet time waiting for us to arrive. Unfortunately she had an early start time so not much time to warm up.

The worst of the downpour lessened off as riders got underway, but we all got sufficiently soaked and covered in muck from the spray off the road. Former World and Olympic Time Trial Champion Kristen Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co.) took an unsurprising win in 14:30, a massive 23 s clear of the next rider, reigning US National Time Trial Champion Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Highroad). Stacy had the best ride for ABD at 1:44 back with Jessi not far adrift. Filthy and soaking wet, we headed back to our amazing host houses, half of us to the Dorr’s and half to the Stewart’s, got cleaned up, had a nap (especially Sarah) and refuelled for the evening’s stage.

Stage 2



Wet conditions made Stage 2 treacherous.

Stage Two Wednesday evening was the St Paul Downtown Criterium, set in the heart of the city’s Entertainment District, featuring a five-corner 1.4 km technical course complete with twists, turns and brick sections. Despite a brief showing of sun midafternoon, dark clouds descended as we warmed up and the rain re-started about 30 min before the start, continuing just long enough to make the roads dangerously slick. A top-notch field of 98 riders, stacked with talent including World Champion Giorgia Bronzini, riding alongside New Zealanders Cath Cheatley and Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita), lined up at the start. The wet pavement made for a crash-filled stage, including one crash that took down 30 riders. Worse yet was the impact of the conditions on the tempo of the race. The bunch would scream into each corner, hard on the brakes, and then blast out full speed.



Massive pile up on Corner 1, Stage 2.



Coming off a lung infection from the previous week, I wasn’t the best judge of effort. I’ve heard that antibiotics take away top end fitness (probably a bit less so then illness, but there you go). Anyway, I can first hand confirm this as truth. I had zero top end. Sprinting out of every corner was absolutely agonizing. One lap in, I was completely gassed. Each lap, I lost three or four spots as I worked my way backwards through the peloton, unable to garner sufficient energy to match the pace of passing riders. Finally, with 13 laps to go, I fell off the back and settled into a much happier pace with a small group, including Stacy who, despite an abundance of power, struggled with the slick, technical corners. Jessi kept good position, establishing herself as a contender for the amateur jersey by finishing with the front bunch. Kristen hung on long enough to make the time cut the start the next stage, but poor Sarah, with her travel dramas, was pulled early. Tour over. On the bright side, ABD came away injury free, avoiding the worst of the chaos that took out top NZ-rider Cath Cheatley with a double-pelvis fracture.

Kristin Armstrong put into words the intensity of the race. “Tonight was one of the hardest crits I’ve done in years,” Armstrong said. “People were on fire. I know that there’s been past years that have been tough, but I think the depth of this field is the best I’ve seen at Nature Valley.” The hour-long stage was won by World Champion Bronzini, followed by defending champion Shelley Olds (Diadora) and Australian sprinter Chloe Hoskings (HTC-Highroad) with Armstrong retaining yellow.

Stage 3

Peloton passing through scenic Cannnon Falls

Stage Three on Thursday brought the Cannon Falls Road Race, 107 km of rolling hills through one of Minnesota’s favorite tourist destinations. The course wound along country roads known for their short, quick climbs and unpredictable winds, finishing with a challenging six-lap 3-km circuit through the neighborhoods of Cannon Falls. Warming up on the circuit, Kristen decided that Ebert was getting off way too easy. She came up with some last minute challenges, including a broken rear derailleur, minutes before the start. Ever composed, Ebert handled the damage without a flinch and had her on the line with seconds to spare. But the damage was done. With all the drama, Kristen’s head was no longer in race mode and she drifted off the back of the bunch within the first 20 km. Now we were down to three.

The stage was filled with was nearly continuous attacks, but in contrast to the constant stop and go of the night before, I felt so much better. The pace was fast, with always something going on. The kind of racing I like. A small break got a minute up the road for the first QOH. Once that was caught, nothing else was allowed more than 20 s freedom. The beautiful scenery rushed by in a blur. A short section of unsealed road in the last 10 km of the race proved the crux of the course. Peanut Butter & Co put on a blazing pace going into the dirt, stringing out the bunch. Multiple crashes and out-of-control riders split the peloton to a front group of 35 riders.

I made it through the chaos with good position at the front, shutting out screams of terror emerging from riders behind me. Fortunately, Jessi and Stacy also made it through unscathed, unfortunately though, on the wrong side of the split. I dropped back off the bunch through a string of riders spread out on the finishing circuit. Reaching Jessi and Stacy, the three of us dug deep in an effort to limit the damage to Jessi’s GC position. At the finish, the loss was 1:58 with Jessi maintaining sixth in the amateur jersey competition. At the front of the race, Bronzini powered to her second stage win with Hoskings second and 25-time World Inline Speed Skating and Former US Crit National Champion Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Colavita) third.

Stage 4

The peloton speeds by in Uptown Minneapolis

Stage Four on Friday night was the Uptown Minneapolis criterium. Twenty-eight laps of a pancake-flat course with six tight corners squeezed into 0.88 km. The peloton was down to 81 riders and, with Kristen’s bad luck in Stage Three, the team was down to three. Stacy and I lined up with terrible position, smack dab at the back of the bunch. Jessi had slightly better positioning, about mid-pack, but she got off to a bad start of lost most of that in the first lap. With the big field and tight course, we spent the whole race (somewhat unsuccessfully) trying to move up to better position. The yo-yo effect at the back of the peloton was brutal.

Horrible crash on Satge 4 with one lap to go

Mid-race, a small break got a good gap off the front and started to threaten the yellow jersey. With about 10 laps to go, Peanut Butter & Co chasing hard, the pace went on and the field started to splinter. Four laps left and the break was caught. The fight for the front was on. With the pace blazing hot, heading into the finishing straight, one lap to go, a massive crash at the front of the bunch caused a huge pile up as riders further back came around the corner to hit a wall of bodies and bicycles on the ground. The crash spread completely across the road. So many riders went down with multiple serious injuries, it was impossible to clear the road for the final lap. Race officials were forced to call the race and nullify the results. Most riders came away with minor bumps, bruises and skin off. Unfortunately, four riders, including defending champion Olds, were taken to hospital, out of the tour. Stacy, Jessi and I were fortunate to avoid the crash. For me, the real adventure of the evening was yet to come.

I had woken up that morning with a case of very itchy, ugly hives, origin unknown. With Jessi sitting in sixth in the amateur rider competition, only 25 s out of third, the priority was to keep her in contention. Other than being inconveniently itchy, I felt good and decided to go ahead and ride. During the race, my body was clearly a bit out of whack. Despite the pleasant temperatures, I felt chilled in the later laps of the race. Afterwards, probably spurred by the increased body temperature from the exertion of the race, my upper lip began to swell. Through dinner, the swelling continued. My fortune cookie that evening read “You will be the center of attention”. Little did I know…

By the time we got home, my lip was quite a concern—to everyone except me (the benefits of not being able to see one’s own face). My incredible host mom Laurie Stewart and her mother, Marge, who was visiting for the week, whisked me off to the emergency room. We arrived at triage and I was immediately admitted to the priority waiting area. I didn’t even have a chance to sit down before I was assigned to a room. As I waited for a doctor, my lip continued to increase in size, now joined by my feet.

Worried about the swelling spreading to my airway, the ER doctor got things under control quickly. Then it was just monitoring my progress to ensure I didn’t worsen. Although uncertain, the most probable reason for the swelling and hives was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic I was taking for my lung infection, exacerbated by the added stress on my immune system from the exertion of racing.

After about four hours of monitoring, the swelling had stabilized and I was able to convince to doctor to send me home. Laurie and Marge kept an eye on me the whole time and made the hours fly by so fast with their wonderful conversation. At 3 AM I was released from the ER and, with a whole bagful of lovely medications to take, we headed home to bed. Fortunately by morning most of the swelling had subsided and, still three strong, ABD would fight another stage.

Stage 5

Finishing in downtown Menomonie

Saturday afternoon, the tour headed east to Wisconsin for the 130-km Menomonie Road Race, a course punctuated by short, incessant rollers and climbs of up to two miles reminiscent of some of the European spring classic road races. Containing the biggest hills of the tour and finishing with four laps of a tough 3-mile circuit in the historic downtown district of Menomonie, the stage would prove to be the most decisive of the tour. The pivotal break got away on the first QOH about 20 km into the race. With race leader Armstrong missing from the front group, Peanut Butter & Co blew their team apart chasing but were unable to shut it down. The seven-rider strong break finished with a 1:13 gap, enough to give a new race leader. Finishing second in the stage, former World Time Trial Champion Amber Neben (HTC-Columbia) pulled on the yellow jersey while Leah Kirchmann (Colavita) took the stage honors with Erinne Willock (TIBCO) taking third.

Jessi rode a great race, finishing in the main bunch (only 27 riders) 1:13 back and moving into fourth spot in the amateur competition, only 3 sec out of third. Having learned a hard lesson in Stage Three, Jessi kept excellent position throughout the stage. Stacy, being fairly new to stage racing, was beginning to feel the accumulation of fatigue that builds up over several successive days of hard riding. Combined with the added energy drain of the unfamiliarity of large bunches, the hills took their toll. For me, the impact of my emergency room excursion and the subsequent fluid lingering in my lungs turned out to be a bit much in the company of world-class riders. I found myself unable to climb and dropped like a rock through the peloton whenever the road headed skyward. Reaching the bigger climbs mid-stage Stacy and I finally drifted off the back of the peloton to settle into a small group of eight and rode a more pleasant pace together to the finishing circuit where we arrived in time to see Jessi whizzing around in the final lurch to the line

Stage 6

The best for last. Nature Valley’s final stage, the Stillwater Crierium, has an international reputation as the toughest criterium in North America. The Stillwater course is 13 laps of a 2-km loop, featuring a trek up the epic Chilkoot Hill every lap. This lung-busting 24 % climb is followed by a short false flat and then a four-corner, white-knuckled descent bringing riders back to the foot of Chilkoot for the next lap. And while the start is at the bottom of the hill, the finish is at the top. With only 66 starters, the field was dwindling. Health not on my side, I opted to sit this one out. ABD was down to two.

A special jersey presentation ceremony to honor rider Carla Swart, who died in a training accident earlier this year, brought an emotional note to the start of the race. The jersey, given to the rider who sacrificed the most for her team leader as voted by the other riders, was awarded HTC-Highroad rider Ally Stacher. If Ally didn’t disserve the jersey after the first five stages of the tour, she definitely earned it in Stage Six with an impressive effort from the whole HTC-Highroad team.



Restarting up the hill after the crash at the start



Bronzini winning on Chilkoot Hill



The race started with disaster for much of the field. A crash in the first several hundred meters brought the back of the peloton to a standstill. Because of the steep grade, several riders, including Stacy, needed a push to get going up the hill. Ebert was there in seconds, but the chaos shattered the bunch. Within five laps, a decisive break of 11 riders formed. The rest of the field splintered. Riders dotted the course. Most, I’m certain, just waiting to be pulled. Stacy battled on for about 10 tormenting laps before the officials decided to end her agony. Jessi, in an unfortunate moment of confusion, thought she was pulled from the race, but went riders behind continued past she realised she wasn’t and had to head backward on the course to get enough momentum to continue up the hill. Having moved into virtual third spot in the amateur GC standings on the road, the mix up cost her the placing and by the time she was pulled for real a few laps later she was back in fourth. While fourth was disappointing because she actually finished third, her performance was admirable, and merely a whisper of bigger things yet to come. In World-Champion fashion, Bronzini took her third win of the tour in an electrifying finish with Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Highroad) second and Armstrong third. With strong support from her team, Amber Neben held on the yellow jersey to win the tour, Willock second and Armstrong third.

We may not have won the tour, but hands down we won the award for the best manager, best van, best host families, and best dramas.