Somerville Report

Although it was not on the official NRC calendar this year Somerville maintained a top-level of racing for the women's pro 1,2 criterium. The race was stacked with team Colavita as well as most of the top sprinters who race the NRC calendar regionally, including the world champion (Colavita).

Erin managed a place in the front row and stayed in great position the entire race. A few laps in, Rush-lee and Kacey Manderfield moved up the road a little on a prime lap so Erin bridged up and then attacked them to keep the momentum going, plus the prime was for $200. Just around turn 3 Erin was caught by the field and sat 3rd wheel down the home stretch. As the field slowed again, Erin launched off the front from the end of the homestretch and got a significant gap.It looked as if she had sealed the deal on the $200 prine when, a yard from the line, Ms. World Champion comes outta nowhere to snag the prime and keep rolling. Erin jumped on her wheel but she eased up and wasn't interested as the field was right there.

A few laps later, Cath Cheatley attacks after turn one and Erin jumped to take her wheel hoping she'd keep rolling. Nope. A few more laps go by and same thing happens only after Cath stops pedaling, Rush-Lee, who was on Erin's wheel, attacks and Erin jumps on the wheel again. This happed two more times before the end of the race. It was not a surprise that Colavita was going to dictate the race since they were the only full squad with numbers.

As it closed in on the last two laps, people start getting squirmy. After missing a couple near crashes and with one lap to go, Erin puts herself in the Colavita train--fighting TCR for LVG's wheel. Erin ended up sitting 6th wheel going into the final turn, after playing ping-pong in another near-crash she followed wheels as each colavita girl pulled off. As the line approached, no one was swarming and the few non-colavita sprinters who were in front of were smoked. Erin sprinted and managed to secure 7th on the line.

Next up for the Elite team: Liberty Classic good luck ladies!!

Bike Jam, the legacy lives on

full results for womens 1,2,3

Race report by Emily Joyner

The legacy is of course that there will be blood spilled in the women's race, literally (there  was a big red stain on  the course from the first wreck). I have been to Bike Jam several times and have managed in the past to make it out unscathed, third time is the charm and I did go down in the second of two 6-rider pile ups, which both oddly took place on a straight section of the road for no apparent reason. Thankfully, my bike and I were well enough to finish the race and my new helmet still looks new!

Erin rode off the front at the start of the race in a good solo break-away effort and stayed off for several laps. After that it was a lot of short-lived attacks due to quick reactions from the peleton. Erin got one of the merchandise primes, and I tried for one after my getting off the pavement, but found it was a bit more difficult to sprint post-crash. Last lap, Erin went hard after the s-turn and pushed it, staying out in front up the hill, just before the line she was passed and ended up 7th overall. Julie K. got placed 12th, and I finished up 15th. Wishing quick recovery to all the other riders who went down.

Next up, Somerville on Monday.

Wilmington GP

Erin in the mix, photo from Cycling News

Team Virginia Asset Group p/b Artemis/Trek was excited about this race. Why? A really fun course with fast turns and punchy short up hills, tough competition, and of course enjoying the company of great teammates.

Race report: Over 50 elite riders were on the start list ready to fight for this NRC event. Colavita had the biggest team at the race and showed their strength by riding aggressively and sending attacks up the road consistently. Tibco had several riders and worked hard to keep Colavita from getting away, with the help of several other riders with smaller teams including Virginia Asset Group via Erin and Patty who held positions at the front of the peleton for the entire race. Erin got into a break of five that looked strong towards the end of the race, but it was pulled back. In the end, Kristen Sanders (Colavita) countered and got away with 4 laps to go and held her gap for the win. The rest of the field was ready to sprint and pushed their way into position on the last lap. Laura Van Guilder took the sprint for 2nd place overall, Edita J (Colavita) placed 3rd.

Team Results
Time Trial Friday- Pouring rain and a technical course with lots of turns and steep cobbled hill to finish on, what's not to love? Patty was the only one who made it there on time, but she made us all proud with a 5th place finish!!

Grand Prix Saturday- Julie had a great start and was holding a good position, but unfortunately her chain dropped during the race and that is not the sort of mechanical problem that qualifies for a free lap. Emily had a bad start and fought the yo-yo in the back until she finished in the back. Erin and Patty did a great job the entire race and really rode strong and with good position, sadly the near-wreck in corner 7 on the last lap pushed things around a bit and positions changed, but in the end both had a solid finish with Erin 21st and Patty 23rd. Special thanks to our cheering section (Amanda, Leslie, Greg, Steve and Bruce) & to Leslie and David for their hospitality the night before the race!

This weekend
Looking forward to lots of teammates at BikeJam, some fast seriously fast racing at Somerville & some killer hills in Killington.

American Pride, Poolesville, Sprint into Spring

American Pride Crit race report by Emily Joyner
The weather report called for a 40% chance of staying dry, and happily we did. It was sunny and humid and ended up being a great day for a race. The 4-corner course takes riders around Todd Stadium, a Newport News track/football field, with the finish line just under 200 meters (my estimation) after the last left turn. Bike Beat is one of the race sponsors, and to make it even better, today is Ava's birthday, and she had a very large crowd of supporters!!
Women 1,2,3

Emily, photo from American Prid

The race started off fast, with riders attacking aggressively from Tripower, VBVK, FF, and VA Asset Group. Several riders got threatening gaps only to be pulled back by a pelleton, who seemed to be working well together when the break did not suit their team. Eventually a break of five managed to get up the road, and with riders from all teams previously mentioned teams present, it stayed away. Working hard together was Avanell (VA Asset Group), Annette (Tripower), Amanda (FF), Jen (VBVK), and myself.

We all worked well together until the last lap, since we had a big enough gap and no one wanted to be on the front before the sprint. Half way around the course Avanell exploded up the road and I got on her wheel. Half way between turns 3 and 4 I went around Ava, sprinted through the corner and was able to stay in front to the line. Jen finished 2nd, Amanda 3rd, Annette 4th, and Ava placed 5th. I was proud of Ava and stoked for the awesome lead out. Thanks to the promoters for a great day.


Poolesville Road Race Report 
This 42 mile road race in Poolesville, Maryland is a race not for the faint of heart. Most of the course has rolling hills on country roads, but it also includes 1.4 miles of hard packed dirt/gravel road. The condition of the dirt section depends on the recent rainfall, not to mention that the entry to the dirt and gravel comes at a right hand turn at the bottom of a hill. This section of the road has been the source of more than one wreck.
Women's 1,2,3
The gravel road was a factor in the deciding break after a wreck helped 5 women to get a gap on the rest of the field. From our team Erin and Patty together with Lindsay and Monika (XO) and Laurel (Syn Fit) stayed away for the rest of the race and sprinted for the top 5 places. In the end it was, Lindsay for the win followed by her teammate Monika, with Erin taking 3rd place and Patty placing 5th. Amanda (who was caught behind the crash) soloed in for 6th. Great job to everyone!

Sprint into Spring race report by Emily
One of the best crit courses in the area, really fun and fast with nice pavement and a gradual up and down on the Army base at Fort Lee. Thanks to Rostello for a great race with lots of supports from sponsors. The rain held off, again, so we were very happy about the weather.
Women 1,2,3
This was a small but aggressive one with all the local teams accounted for. Julie went out for an attack really early in the race (before the lap board was up) and it seemed like no one wanted to work together to bring her back. Several riders attempted to bridge up but when they saw other riders on their wheels they seemed to loose interest. I guess others must have been thinking there was plenty of race left to get her back, and her gap seemed to be holding pretty steady at about 20 seconds. After one failed bridge and the pace slowed down right before a corner Erin launched off the front and got a gap as she went into the windy section and up the small hill. In a lap she had caught up with Julie and the teammates worked together steadily gaining time on the field. Back in the pack Avanell and I worked hard to keep other attacks from getting away. After many more individuals tried to get up the road one attack did stick with Brenna (Tripower), Jen (VBVK), and I working together for the last 6 laps or so.

In the end, Julie got the win with Erin in second, looking strong and lapping the rest of the field. My group almost got lapped too, but stayed just in front, with me winning the sprint for third place overall. Prizes were WaWa gas cards, which we will be using to take us to Willmington Grand Prix this weekend (sweet).

Jefferson Cup, women

Jefferson Cup is a 10 mile loop with three right turns, rolling hills, one climb, and a gradual uphill finish. It is a very popular race and always has a strong regional field for woman. Even though the March race was delayed until May this year, the weather still threatened cool weather and rain to provide the authentic Jeff Cup experience. By the time the first race went off, however, the roads were really not wet anymore, and the cool morning weather was already moving towards warm and humid. Our team had riders in the Women's 1,2 race as well as the women's 3 and the women's 4 races.

Women 1,2 (3)

Patty and Ava before the race

50 miles of road racing and 5 teammates by my side, I was pretty pumped for a good day. The first few laps saw attacks at the expected locations. Erin, Julie, Amanda, and Patty all worked at the front to follow attacks and launch a few of their own, while Avanell and I were pretty happy to sit in and conserve energy. After the first two laps the pack size was cut about in half. On lap 4 a rider got away solo, it was a well timed attack (because everyone was tired of jumping and chasing) that everyone thought it would come back easily before the finish, actually, I didn't even realize anyone had gone until people started calling out the time gap (hazard of sitting in the back), then I was trying to figure out who it was, because the people I had expected might get away were all still there. My teammates all went to to the front to help pull her back, but the time gaps just kept getting bigger.

Photo by team Traveller

On the last lap, I got myself into a better position within the last few miles of the race and as the last right turn approached I was on Patty's wheel near the front but mostly out of the wind. Erin and Amanda were pushing the pace steady fast up the last 2k to the finish. Sarah Fader (Sticky Fingers) crushed the sprint and took second overall, followed by Ainhoa Perez-Diez (NVRC). The rest of the pack was pretty clumped together, Patty finished 8th and I finished 9th overall. The entire team worked hard, it was a fun race. Avanell finished 8th for the cat 3 women, although the results had her as 14th and we missed the protest period.

As it turned out, the winner is a woman named Katie racing for a Florida team, who is now living in Maryland and moves a lot because of her position in the Army. She told me she doesn't race a lot... I think people will recognize her at the next race she decides to sign up for!

Women's Category 4

Erika rocked this race, her first Jefferson Cup ever and she stayed with the pack and even set the pace for a while. The last lap was pretty tough in the hills but she did great and had a safe sprint finish. 30 miles in the hills, go Erika!

Speed week, short report

Julie and Erin are down south for speedweek, part of the USA Crits series that boasts impressive women's and men's pro fields and fast races fueled by notoriously fun races and big prize money. Here is a short report on the races so far.

Athens Twilight- Downtown race with 4 corners, 1 lap is only 1k and the race is 40 laps. Brutally fast race with multiple crashes. The biggest news I can report on Julie and Erin is that they stayed safe and avoided the chaos. The race ended in a group sprint and Colavita's Cliff-Ryan won the race (her second year in a row).

Roswell Criterium- A 60 minute race with 5 corners in Roswell, GA. Towards the end of the race Erin was feeling good and went to the front to see what she could do. With 6 laps to go Erin went with Jen R (Kenda) and Elizabeth Morse-Hill (Z-Motion) to try and bridge to a solo break that was up the road. It was a good hard effort that did not work out, because she was caught before the end of the race. Both Julie and Erin finished the race safe and are looking forward to the next race, Beaufort Crit, on Tuesday.

Middle Mountain Momma

Report by Avanell 

Predicted conditions: 79 and sunny
Actual conditions: 56 and misting/raining.

Riding a moutain bike in the actual mountains is much different than riding in the Williamsburg area. Rocks become a factor (big ones too), you still have roots, creek crossings, RIVER crossings, and oh the climbing! The race started with a gradual but difficult, 7 mile climb. There was about a mile of descending that broke it up but 7 miles to the top of the first mountain. Through the extremely tight singletrack, switchbacks and slick, loose rocks, I got to the ridge in what I thought was 4th (Paula Smith, Fiorelli, took a wrong turn earlier only to come back strong and pass almost everyone up again for 2nd overall). The 3 mile descent was a blast. The rain/mist had made it a little slick in sections but the short rollers allowed for some air as well. After a near and almost severe wipeout at 20 mph I came off of the first mountain in 2nd (still thinking 3rd since Paula had not yet caught back up. Max speed on the descent? 23.3mph. The 2nd mountain was not as long, about 4.5 miles, but much more brutal. Lots of very steep hike-a-bike sections (at least for me anyway) with lots more rocks. More switchbacks and much more demanding.

This second climb is where Paula caught and passed me...again. With about 1/2 mile to the top, I see 4th place expert, Donna (Niner Factory Team) about 50 yards back, just a switchback behind. This forces me to stay on the bike for the rest of the climb. The descent was slower than the first, but with Donna being so close behind and her being quite a good descender, I had to take more risks than I was intending to. This 2nd descent had a lot more switchbacks and a lot more rocks than the first. When it leveled out, there were a lot of small but fast creek crossings to tend with before the big momentum killer. The river, that all the creeks dump into, needed to be crossed. You could, A, jump off the bike, climb the small, steep steps, run/ride across and climb down similar steps, or B, go through the water. As there was a trafic jam going up the steps, I chose option B. The water level was way too high to ride so I ran in toe spikes on slick rocks in knee deep water across a 30ish foot river. With 5 feet to the bank, the bed dropped over a foot and I slipped, submerged almost up to my neck with my bike in my right hand barely keeping the headset out of the water. But I got across in much better time than everybody waiting to go across the bridge. The last 5 miles, which were perfect dry, fast, trail conditions the previous day on the pre-ride became tacky from the rain and extremely slow. Riddled with creek crossings there were 3 miles worth of climbing where bonking and calf cramping were extremely possible with my Camelbak and waterbottle drained. The last 2 miles were all downhill...although quite muddy, rocky, and slick in between the remainder of the creek crossings. The finish line was taped off in the start field where spectators, finished racers, and the race promotors/volunteers were clapping for everyone coming in and distributing necessary burgers, chili, and beverages.


Thanks to Kyle and all the mtb enthusiasts from mountainbikevirginia.com, Virginia Off-Road Series at ors.cycleva.com, and all the sponsors and volunteers that made this fun but brutal race possible! Also a personal thanks to Lester Gamboa for working for me at BikeBeat so I could leave and Robert Maye and Dave for getting me up there when my car wouldn't make it!

Jeff Cup here we come!