Giro di San Francisco

By Stacy Marple
Date: September 4, 2006
Course: Giro di San Francisco, 6-corner urban pavement crit
Category: Women 1/2/3, Field about 40
Winner: Shelly Olds (Stacy -- 3rd)
Team mates: Brooke, Jenni, Julie, Eryn, Flavia, Bri, Holly, Alexis

I had quite the epic adventure getting into the city from Oakland for this race. Since the Bay Bridge was closed I was taking BART; not a big deal except that I needed all my stuff for Bermuda! Fortunately a friend of mine decided to drive at the last minute and offered to take my bike box; however this meant I got on BART in Berkeley -- along with a bunch of students protesting the recent immigration acts. They shut down BART, and there went my warm-up! Instead of getting frustrated, I supported their cause by instructing the two young girls next to me on civil disobedience and what to do when the police came and generally being calm. Viva la raza!

Between my lack of warm-up and the thrashing my legs took at Challenge Challenge, I figured I might not be able to last through this crit and I decided to do my work early. Brooke led the attack with Karen Brems (Webcor) on her wheel. That came back and I attacked hard up the windy little hill, drawing out Christine Thorburn (Webcor). I LOVE a crit with a hill. Christine and I stayed away until McGuire bridged up, but she refused to work with us, breaking the rhythm. In general this was a fun course as long as you were off the front. The pavement was full of potholes; there were train tracks in the middle of the 2nd (downhill) corner; and the uphill was super windy & narrowed 1/2 way through, so I'd call it at least semi-technical. There were a bunch more attacks from PABW/TIBCO. Eryn went out on her standard lone flyer for a while and everyone seemed to get some time up the road, but the place to make the move stick was up that windy hill. On what I thought for sure would be my death effort, I went all out up the hill from the bottom and Christine followed. We worked well together for a bunch of laps, increasing our gap. I tried to do my work on the easier sections, down the hill and across the s/f line. We played cat & mouse for a few primes when some bridgers joined us: the ubiquitous wheel follower from McGuire, who was in every break I was in but complained she did not have the legs to pull, Sarah from Velo Bella and Eryn! Hooray! I sat in the back getting some much-needed rest while she pulled for a few rounds. Shelly from Proman bridged and at some point Sarah fell off the pace. I attacked, hoping to get away and let Eryn rest, but they were on me. Shelly countered and I looked to Christine, who looked to Susan and while we all looked at each other, Shelly got further and further away. Susan was doing nothing, so Christine and I attacked each other relentlessly trying to get to Shelly & shake Susan. On about the 3rd attack Christine passed me by the s/f line with Susan on her wheel, Susan began to gap off at the first corner, and I yelled at her, "Don't gap me!" As we came to the 2nd corner with the tracks, I yelled "I'm coming around you, inside" however she took me to the curb and forced me to pull my brakes. By the time I got around her, Christine was gone, and no one was catching Shelly. I hear we had a good lead-out train in the field, which Karen Brems took advantage of, just edging out Brooke for 5th place.

This was the last race in Cal Cup series, and although I of course wanted to win, I think I learned more getting second and battling the green Web(cor) that ensnared me for most of the races. It gave me a taste of what it is like to be a rider marked by a ridiculously strong team, to ride for GC, and to be supported by such an amazing group of women! Thanks everyone! Next year, we'll get 'em.