Wente Road Race
By Brooke Miller
Date: April 22, 2006
Category: Women Pro/1/2 (Racing with W3 -- picked separately)
Distance: 3 laps (50 miles)
Filed Size: Maybe 70?
Teammates: Holly, Katie, Alexis, Tracey, Jamie, Amy, Jenni, Eryn, Victoria
Place: 1st
The course was a 15-mile loop that had one climb in it. Funny thing was that they decided to put the feed zone on the first kick of the climb where everyone should attack and I think that I didn't see one bottle taken all day. The climb had three kicks on it and then led into a fun, windy descent, a couple rollers and then some flat sections back through the start area. For fun, they put the finish on the top of the climb, so we got to go up the climb 4 times when we were only doing 3 laps.
The field was big. I was not expecting to see so many riders! I think that all and all, there were about 70 women in the field, combined with the 3s. The field was pretty strong too, with Katheryn Curi, Betina Hold and Karen Brems from Webcor there. Also, the Proman team was there in full strength, as well as McGuire with their new rider, Stacy Marple. A whole host of other strong women completed the field. Our team was out in full force as well, but this course really favors climbers and our climbing legs are a bit rusty from the winter still.
The race started out and after only a few miles, we hit the climb. Maria Monica from McGuire attacked the climb right away and the field let her gap. After she got a sufficient gap on the field, Katheryn moved to the front and started driving the pace to reel her in. The pace got pretty warm going over the hills and we lost a lot of riders, from what I hear. In these races, it is a heck of a lot easier to race when you know who to watch and can just focus on a few riders. I knew that Webcor would not let any serious break get away without them in it, so I could ignore anything that did not have Webcor in it. So, I could comfortably sit in and watch McGuire tire themselves out in attacks that the field let dangle.
I learned a lot in this race. I was sitting in and watching Katheryn and Karen and looking for them to attack. I can't remember if anything happened on the first lap, nothing of note for sure, but the second lap got a bit more interesting. On the start of the climb, it did not seem like anyone attacked anything hard, but rather, it felt more like the climbers were pushing the pace to continue to prune the field. I had not seen my teammates in a while and was worried that they might have fallen off. But as we neared the top of the climb, to my utter delight, Victoria appeared! She was looking really strong and I was delighted to see her there. We had been hoping to get her sheltered up front and get her to win the Cat 3 race, so she was just what I was looking for.
On that descent (lap 2), I moved up to the front and started leading it. This is where I am learning. I love to descend and feel much more comfortable up front leading the charge than in the back. But at Sea Otter, Linda warned me about being on the front on the descents--she said that it makes it very easy for attacks to go off at the base and for me to not be able to respond. I also know that to descend aggressively, it takes some work, especially with the wind, and I wanted to save every ounce of energy I could. So, despite being chaffed by Stacy Marple that I can descend faster than that, I knew to take it easy. No one was off the front, and I was not looking to drop anyone. So, I chilled and let a Proman woman take over the lead. Sure enough, as I sat merrily behind her in the wake of a rather comfy draft, I noticed that she was working. We hit the bottom of the hill and like clockwork, I saw stars and stripes off the front. Katheryn attacked. Thank you Linda! I was on her like glue. The pack caught quickly, but that led into the series of attacks by Webcor but nothing stuck.
As we rounded to the flat section, the attacks had subsided for a while and I pointed out the two of them to Victoria and told her to watch those women like a hawk. Just as I was pointing, Karen jumped and I got on. Then Katheryn countered and Victoria was there with me on that wheel too. We had a gap, so I pulled through, but then Katheryn said, "There are two of you and one of me...". I told her Victoria was a Cat 3, but we had bantered enough to be caught. But that put an end to the attacks for a while. Then we got to climb again. McGuire launched a few attacks, but nothing that did much.
I sat back in and had plenty of time to recover before the final climb. As we hit the hill for the fourth and final time, Lisa Hunt attacked hard from the base. I knew that I could not chase something like that down so far from the finish and not end up in a casket. So, I hopped on wheels and climbed at my pace. I was thinking that I would be lucky to finish top 10. But, Lisa's attack drew out the field and everyone started drilling it. The problem for them was that it was all waaaay to early. People started to pop. I was still using wheels to move me up and was feeling good. Left and right, people were popping and I was passing them. Next thing I know, Betina from Webcor is up the road ahead of me and only a few riders are in the way. Turns out that Karen and Katheryn were trying to set up Betina for the win and she was looking to get it. Maybe 40 meters to go, a rider from Proman started to sprint the final stretch of the hill and so I took her lead and jumped. I passed her and was closing on the line behind Betina. I did not know if Betina was popped or just did not see me, but she was not reacting (turns out it was the latter) and I passed her on the line for the win. The funny thing was that I had not seen Lisa Hunt and thought that she might have maintained it. So, I did not know that I won until I asked the official. I was SUPER excited- this was a big win for me!
Then came the super good news: Victoria finished 6th in the total field!!!! And she won the Cat 3 race! Good day for PABW Powered by TIBCO for sure!