In Motion, strength and rehab

Sports Performance Training Blog by Emily Joyner

One awesome thing about In Motion, that I realized after my crash at BikeJam, is that they are experts in physical therapy and sports performance, kind of obvious, but since the wreck and my nagging back pain I was a little nervous about returning to training. Having experts in both therapy and sports performance has put my mind at ease and after two sessions my back actually feels a lot stronger...and my sprint feels like it might be making a comeback!

Emily working hard at In Motion

While the exercises vary from session to session the format stays the same: warm-up using bands and active stretching, plyometric exercises, strength circuit, and finishing up with a core circuit. Today we focused a lot on lateral movements, which as a cyclist I tend to neglect, but seem to help me feel stronger overall. In the final part of the training session we always work core strength, which I used to feel was something I was good at, but in the three weeks after my crash it has really turned into a weakness. I know that strengthening my core will help my back to heal properly, and I am very glad I have professionals helping me with my cycling goals in mind.

Elite Road National Championships

The start line at the 2011 Elite Criterium National Championship race, from the USA Cycling website 

Nationals, women's criterium:
This race was Friday and took place on a rectangular four-corner crit course in downtown Augusta, GA. With a nasty storm on the horizon the length of the race was cut from 42 laps down to 18 laps with little warning, so the lap board went from 20-something straight to 5 laps to go and things got a little crazy. In the last lap of the race Erin was pushed into the barriers and had to catch back on, making it around four crashes in the last lap to finish in 16th place among the country's best women. The winner, and new national criterium champion is Shelly Olds.

Nationals, women's road race:
This Sunday morning race was a scorcher. The total distance of the race was about 72 miles in a circuit, the loop was just under 15 miles long with about 1400 feet of climbing each lap (5 laps). The first lap had action right away with a 3 person break with 3 of the top teams represented in the break. At one point the gap was over 3 minutes, and Colavita was left to chase. The break stayed away for several laps but was brought back. The last two laps had numerous short-lived attacks, but in the end the group was set up for a sprint. The race ended with a climb to the finish line and the pack that started out at 85 was whittled down to less than 40 by the last climb. Erin rode a great race and was able to start the final climb at about 6th wheel, during the climb her legs locked up with cramps and she finished 28th. Patty was also contending the road race and raced very strong, climbing into 21st place at the end of the long, hot race. The winner and new national road racing champion is Robin Farina, a pro who lives in Charlotte, NC. A Virginia-based pro, Andrea Dvorak, placed second, it was a good day for the east coast!

We are so proud of Erin and Patty, great job this weekend! Next up for Erin and Patty is Tour de Toona, they will be racing on a composite team with five other very strong east coast riders. Other team riders will be at ID3 and Ironhill, good luck to all!

Seriously busy race weekend including: Hagerstown, Washington County, VA State TT, and Gretna Bikes Race

VA State Time Trial: Avanell was the lone rider representing our team at the Virginia State Time Trial this weekend, she raced her road bike with clip on aero-bars and finished under her goal time of one hour with 59:55!

photo by Drake Wilson

Hagerstown Twilight Crit: Strong fast field, lots of efforts to get away, one corner wreck, and a group sprint at the end. Erin was in good position on the last lap and finished 3rd. I lost my position for the sprint in the first corner on the last lap and tried to make up ground before the last corner, I finished in 9th place. Leslie had a strong race and finished close behind me at 13th place.


Gretna Bikes Race Avenue Criterium: Leslie took time off from painting her house to race at a nearby crit that happened to be a fantastic, well paved, classic four corner criterium, and the same course as the historic Race Avenue Criterium which has hosted the U.S. National Criterium Championship. Leslie placed 2nd in the field sprint for 3rd place overall! 


Tour of Washington County Stage Race: This was the first timed stage race I have done, and it was really well organized and a good time overall (thanks to the promoters who worked hard all weekend). 


Saturday's racing consisted of a short prologue time trial and a road race. Erin placed 1st in the prologue and I placed 15th. In the road race I went all out, trying to get some time back and also help Erin out, and attacked hard in the start of the 3rd lap. Alaina Gurski (CAWES) bridged up to me and we worked really well together to try and make the 20 second gap bigger. At one point we had over 40 seconds, and the group seemed disorganized, but eventually did get caught part of the way through the last lap with several miles of racing to go before the uphill finish. Not sure of my exact place in the road race, maybe 10th, Erin jumped first and sprinted for 2nd place. After day one Erin led the GC (overall race standings), and I was in 14th. 


Sunday's races included a longer time trial (10 miles) and a criterium. I worked really hard the night before to get Erin's aero bars on my bike, when I got to the race I realized I could not shift because they were clipped over my cables... so I rode without aero bars, still looking fast in my skin suit and tt helmet. The course was nice, I was not feeling super fast though and had just an ok time that did not change my position in the overall standings. The criterium was the final race of the day, and it was a really fun course. I worked hard (a little too hard) to stay in the front and with a good position, and tried to get time bonuses on the prime laps. After one prime lap an ABRT rider and a CAWES rider kept their momentum from the sprint and rolled off the front. I didn't realize how tired the rest of the field was and was surprised when it was only Monika (XO) and I who were trying to close the gap. After I tired myself out chasing two more riders bridged up and then I gave up. In the sprint for 5th I got held up on the last corner and missed out on that too. Ironically, as badly as I seemed to race that day (missed moves, bad decisions, etc) I really had a lot of fun... which is good. Overall, I finished 13th in the GC.

Good luck to Erin and Patty who will be racing next at Nationals !

New pair of shoes! Bontrager RXL Road WSD

Bontrager RXL Road WSD

Why I love this shoe... gear review by Emily Joyner

When I rolled up to my very first group ride with the high hopes of one day racing my bike I was not even wearing cycling shoes. When I started racing it was in a hand-me-down pair of triathelon shoes that were a half-size too small. Along the way I tried to save my money for travel and entry fees rather than new gear. And although my finances are only somewhat improved, my attitude about gear has certainly changed, and this shoe is the perfect example why!

Good gear not only helps race results because it performes better, but also because it makes you want to ride more, and especially enjoying riding longer distances. These shoes go the extra mile because they do not pinch or rub or make my toes fall asleep on long rides, but they stay snug enough to feel efficient when peddling. Of course they are light due to the high-quality carbon soles and ventilated uppers, which is obviously important, but another cool thing about these shoes is on the inside. The footbed can be totally custom using esoles , making the fit really yours.


For me this shoe has opened up the road and allowed me to stay on the bike for longer since my feet are comfortable. I had no idea until I tried them just what a difference they would make, but for me it was huge! I am not sure how much of the comfort is due to the women specific design, but they really do fit my foot better than the men's shoes I have worn in the past. If your feet are not already happy while riding, and you are looking for a pair to try on, check this shoe out at BikeBeat!

Crystal City Report

Photo by Jon Devich from cyclingnews.com, Erin is on the far right

Race Report by Erin Silliman


Today started out with numerous attacks from Colavita with Tibco following. The race usually had one rider from both Tibco and Colavita dangling off the front by 5-10 seconds the entire race but that duo changed every few laps after smaller teams went after it. After Patty and I spent enough energy in the beginning of the race trying to make something work, I realized I needed to sit back in the field and trust a sprint. 


With 3 to go, I considered jumping again b/c I would have been mad if a break stuck to the finish but both colavita and tibco decided that they were ready set up a field sprint. In the last lap I positioned myself well but really got a great spot before the last turn (which left a wicked long drag to the finish). 


I positioned myself smack in the middle of the two trains that were side-by-side, first I was on Kacey Manderfields wheel, then I bumped over to Kelly Benjamin's wheel and enjoyed the gust of the field just propelling me to the finish line. Unfortunately two riders bobbled and I had to hit my breaks and swung wide to avoid crashing. 


I ended up a wheel length behind Kelly and millimeters behind the next 5 people putting me in 11th. It was so close to a great finish. Patty ended up 15th and for the day and I ended up 11th in the weekend points omnium. 


Where will we be next weekend? Glad you asked, Tour of Washington County Stage Race, hope to see you there! 

Liberty Classic, report

Over 100 of the top professional female cyclists (from this country as well as racing internationally) racing one of the most prestigious and longest-runing women’s races in the country. The Philly Liberty Classic consists of a 14.4-mile circuit that the women complete 4 times for a total of  57.6 miles. The circuit takes racers through Philadelphia and up the grueling Manayunk Wall, one of four taxing climbs. This race is one of the historically longest-running races in the country and is also a great race for spectators.

Yesterday, the team arrived in town and took a ride over the course. It was exciting to see so many big teams and top pro riders doing the same thing. Today, teamVA Asset Group p/b Artemis/Trek lined up with five strong (three elite team riders and two guest riders) at the start of the race.

The first two laps were a group ride along Kelly Drive with most of the action occurring leading up to Manyunk Wall, Strawberry Hill and Lemon Hill. One wreck occured on Manyunk Wall on lap two, causing Brenna to get off her bike, sprint up the hill, then and chase for 11 miles, using up all her energy to catch back on just before the same climb. The first lap averaged almost 26 MPH and the pace picked up a bit on lap three, but lap 4 was the killer. Judy rode well but fell off the back near end and couldn't get back on.

Going into lap four Erin and Patty were still with the group and fairly well positioned going into Manyunk Wall. Once over the wall for the last time it was game time. Erin got on the Colavita train up Strawberry Hill while they drilled it. Then the group bunched up again before Lemon hill.

The sprint was crazy. People were grabbing and shoving people off their bikes, it was nuts! Erin found a few key sprinters in front of her in the final 1K but was boxed and could not squeeze through. It was a lesson on jockeying and finding the right place. Erin finished off the race in 30th and Patty in 44th.



Cycling news race report with full results