Women Cat 4 Jeff Cup- Faster or Smarter?

In women's racing, which is better- to race fast or race smart (I'll get to this in a minute)....

Congratulations to the Cat 4 ladies at Jeff Cup for (1) racing despite rain/cold and (2) for staying safe on the course, no wrecks for us (that I know of)! The Syn-Fit Race Team was strong and stayed consistently towards the front. A shout out to my friend NCVC/UnitedHealth Group racer Rebecca Lowe (former VaBeach gal) for pushing the pace on lap two to keep things interesting. There is a strong Cat 4 group this year, so the race was unpredictable at the start- nobody knowing who the new hotness would be this year, would it be a new Mabra girl or a beach girl?

This was my second year at Jeff Cup and that mother of a hill on lap 3 still hurts. I think a lot of Cat 4s struggled then too b/c the determining breakaway happened there and it was a chase to the finish line- I never caught the top 5. Finished 11th place. Again.

So- is it better to race fast or smart at Jeff Cup? I've tried both now and it still gave me 11th place, two years in a row. ha

Congrats to our own Va Asset Gp/ TWR racer Kim Cardenas for finishing top 10 and Avanell for finishing strong. Looking forward to Tyson's Corner in a few weeks!

Jeff Cup Women Predictions

Since I am unable to attend the women's open at Jefferson Cup (too early for a day trip, 2nd year in a row), I will share my predictions about the race based on the current start list.

From MABRA the CAWES team has 7 (out of 17 1,2's ), but missing from the start list is their stand out rider from last year, Leslie Jennings. With these numbers and thier traditionally strong team you can expect to see two riders break into the top 5.

Richmond's powerhouse Fruit 66/Artemis has 5 strong riders registered in the 1,2 category. Although the riders are very strong individually they have not yet raced as a team. I predict one rider from this team will place top 5.

Virginia Beach also has a team in the competition, VB Vanderkitten. Although the numbers are not as big the 2 riders have much experience working together, and the engines to pull off a win. My prediction is for Laura Cook to bring the Jefferson Cup to Virginia Beach. She has the best time trial around matched with the power/weight ratio to suceed in the hills (aka, she's skinny). She has already proved herself at this race (placing 2nd in 2008) and has shown herself to be fit this season with a 1st and two 2nds already this year. In addition she was picked up by the Vanderkitten national squad.

Who knows what will really happen, anything is possible in a race, but that is my prediction!

Attention Ladies: Top 10 Reasons to Motor Pace

What did our new women's cycling team Tradewinds Racing put on its wish list for the 2010 season?

A scooter for motorpacing, of course.

The fine folks at RK Auto have handed over a brand new 2010 Piaggio Fly 50 scooter which will be used to fine tune the fast femmes of Tradewinds Racing team.

"I would like to thank RK Auto for their support," said team manager Emily Joyner. "We will be training very hard, and the Piaggio Fly 50 will be covering ground all over southeastern Virginia in pace training. We required a reliable scooter to get the job done. The Piaggio Fly 50 fits that bill perfectly."

So, after a day of fabulous motor pacing in Pungo yesterday afternoon, here are my top 10 reasons why motor pacing rocks for female cyclists:

1. If your work & family schedule keeps you from participating in a morning group ride, the scooter is ready whenever you are. Just add driver!
2. Vehicle drivers in Virginia Beach may not respect cyclists taking up road space, but they are very respectful of motorized scooters and give you plenty of room.
3. There is so much storage for extra water bottles, snacks, that vest, arm warmers...no need to carry all that weight on your bike when you have a scooter as your musette bag!
4. For new female riders, having someone you trust(coach, spouse, friend) next to you on a scooter instructing and practicing with you is great quality time. And they don't even have to be a cyclist to practice with you. Practice makes perfect!
5. Intervals make you strong, motor pacing makes you fast!
6. There is nothing better than attacking at 30+, stay out there for a minute or so, and then get back in when it comes past you again. You really find out where the bottom of your tank is. (ok, so maybe 10 seconds was more like it).
7. It's the closest thing to feeling and looking like a European cyclist. Post-ride espresso anyone?
8. For endurance riders, you can basically do a consistent, paced century ride before you need to fill up the gas tank (110-115 mpg, gas tank 1.9 gallons) - that's like $4.
9. Scooters never drop you to make themselves look good.
10. The cool factor. It's there. Scooter colors can match your bike and outfit too.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

1st WIN for our new team

Snowball Crit #2 happened on a 60 degree sunny day. The day was almost identical to the first snowball crit in terms of weather. We have been blessed with these early races with good weather. The womens open field was almost the identical field of riders as the first snowball with a few extra racers thrown in. This race had many different attacks by many riders. Many primes were thrown in making for an exciting race to be in as well as watch. 3/4 of the way through Brittany from Fat Frogs got a huge gap during a prime and it got bigger and bigger as the laps were counting down. The peleton was deciding who would make the move to go after her. Eventually Vanderkitten attacked which led to a 5 person breakaway that caught Brittany with a few laps to go. With 3 laps to go Laura Cook (VK) bridged up to the breakaway group to join her teammate Ali, bringing Jen Pope with her (FF). Ali gave a fast lead out for Laura on the final lap. Emily Joyner (TWR) went around in the final 200 and barely held off Laura at the line for a photo finish. That's how Tradewinds got their first win of the season and ever as a new team. Also congrats to Jen Pope and Fat Frogs for breaking onto the podium.

Thanks to BJ Samuels for a great shot at the line:
top 5 results:
1st Emily Joyner(TWR)
2nd Laura Cook (VKVB)
3rd Jen Pope (FF)
4th Ali Ingram (VKVB)
5th Brenna Hosang (TP)