In Motion Workout of the Week

Training with Tradewinds by Morgan

Whew! Another workout done at In Motion Sports Performance! After the first cross race of my season and the first VACX race of the year yesterday I was already a little sore when I arrived! The workout began with the dynamic exercises I learned last week during my first session; the dynamic nature of these exercises actually helped to stretch out and open up the joints that were sore and I felt about as good as new by the time we started our actual workout. 

 

The workout today was very similar to last weeks but being my second week I was able to move through the exercises with more independence and ease. Our first little circuit consisted of plyo jumps. I can really see how these exercises will directly relate to my one the bike training as we are focusing on that explosive "jump" during these drills. We then moved into our individual weight routines; mine consisting of bench presses, RDLs, lat pulls and lunges.

 

I increased my weights from last week and felt smooth and strong throughout the circuits! After a short breather we moved into our core exercises; front planks, side planks, glute bridge marches, russian twists with medicine balls and ending with this crazy move where we get to throw our medicine ball at the wall...talk about a great stress reducer! Alright, off to refuel!

Turkey Chase CX

Turkey Chase CX pb Fat Frogs Racing
By Avanell

This race marks the beginning of the VACX series for the 2012/2013 season.  The course was held on property owned by Jeff and Glenda Craddock who were wonderful enough to open it up to everybody for this great event...

I packed arm warmers, knee warmers, embrocation, a base layer, and a wool cycling cap for today's race.  I thought it would be muddy, overcast, and way cooler than it was.  My weather source was far from accurate.  The sun blazed down on us, and there were only a few muddy spots on the course.  Though those few spots would create a lot of heartache during the day.

There were five of us that lined up for the Women's 1,2,3 race at 12:30 this afternoon: Myself, Leslie, Alena Pugacheva (VCU), Jen Pope (Velocita), and Sally McMahon (Conte's).  Unfortunately, much different than the 30+ women lined up for the start of Charm City.  But it was still a lot of fun!  At the whistle (or siren), I took the holeshot into the first right hand turn, then left, and over the first set of barricades.  The course then opened up into one of the two non-grass sections...onto a dirt/gravel road with a u-turn around a small building (sorry I wasn't paying too close attention) where the Craddock's had the music blaring.  Another short section of dirt/gravel, and then the course turned us onto the grass field that the main portion of the race was on.  The grass was extremely thick, making any type of momentum hard to keep, and any chance of a recovery almost non-existent.  Even on the slight descents, keeping yourself from bouncing out of your saddle was high priority and took quite a bit of energy.  Twisting and turning, we made our way across of the field into the second set of barricades.  By this time, Alena and I were opening a slight gap on Jen and the remainder of the field.  Which just to point out, Jen had just finished the11:00 am Singlespeed race.  The barricades preceded a slightly mushy bit of grass that led into a double track section through the woods.  The first 100 feet into the woods, the hardpacked dirt turned to slick dirt, which turned to very thick, deep, wet, and gooey mud that would lead to many hours of bicycle cleaning.  The double track continued for about 1/2 a mile, and opened into the grass field again.  But not before hitting another section of mud.  Not the mud that slings up like at the beginning of the wooded section, but the mud that sucks your tires in and takes every bit of your energy to push through.  The lap ended with that patch followed by a gradual, grassy uphill.

We raced for six laps through this course.  All the while, Alena and I battled back and forth.  I tried several times to shake her off of my wheel.  Her having an all road background, she comes with quite a bit of power for her small stature!  The course was definitely designed for those road riders in mind!  She would make her way back up to any attack that I threw at her.  We traded places and pace-making every half lap or so, and she always seemed to be able to come around me in the last patch of mud before the climb to the finish (it really was very gradual...but because of the mud and grass it seemed endless!).  The last lap, I had to make some type of move.  I couldn't go into the last section with her on my wheel.  I had no sprint in my legs and that bit of mud would drain any bit of momentum I had until I was almost at a standstill.  After the second set of barricades, I gassed it into the woods.  The one place where I had a solid advantage.  With a mountain bike background, I'm more comfortable picking a line, pedaling through the mud, and taking the more technical corners at speed.  I couldn't bring myself to look back until I was at the line.  Through the mud, I pushed myself up that endless stretch to the finish line, crossing in first.

Completely exhausted and feeling like I needed to puke, I ripped off my W123 number and lined up a couple rows behind Chris for the Men's 3/4 race.  I had no expectations for this race, just to finish.  I did, however, pass a few guys before I got lapped by the leaders (Chris included!) and did not finish last like I had expected.  I finished with five more laps under my wheels and Chris completed his second race of the day in 4th place out of 40!  Less than 5 seconds from a 3rd place finish.  FYI, his first race was Singlespeed where he flatted out with three laps to go.

I am not typically a fan of the "grass crit" type course, but there were enough technical aspects that made this course much more interesting than I had first anticipated.  Glenda and all the Fat Frogs crew did an awesome job coordinating...I just wish more people would come out and race cross!!!  Great job to everybody out there today and thanks to everybody for giving me shout-outs during my races!

In Motion, Training with Tradewinds

Training with Tradewinds

 

by Morgan

My workouts today were two-fold. Started in the morning with my baseline testing which included getting beginning measurements and data. Activities like long jumps, standing jumps for height and acceleration. When I came back at night for the team training session we started with warm up which includes some dynamic movements with resistance bands to warms up the hip, knee and ankle joints. Warm up progresses with some larger movements to get that blood flowing such as marching, high knee skips and so on... My individual strength routine includes lunges with weights, bench presses, arls and pull downs. We moved onto core work to include planks, twists and bridges. Whew!

Charm City Day 1

Charm City CX

By Avanell

So just because we don't always have a good race, doesn't mean the story shouldn't be told!  Being my first UCI race I was quite nervous.  I didn't know what to expect, I just knew that it was going to be a very hard race.  Several big names in cx were there, including Helen Wymen, Joyce Vanderbeken, and of course our own Patty Buerkle.

The start was fast and hard and I found myself in the same situation as Tacchino, trying to pick everyone off.  I settled down and was able to pull myself into top 10 or so.  The course was dry and dusty, the sun blazed down on us.  Still, my legs felt great and my mtb background was letting me slowly pick people off.

On the second lap, the stairs were moved a couple feet forward.  Or another way to put it is that I waited too late to dismount and went straight into the first of 4- 1.5ft high wood steps.  No time to waste, I jumped up and climbed to the top without losing any places.  As soon as I remount, I notice my brakes rubbing and I lose a couple places trying to fix it while riding.  I needed my pit bike.  But I knew Chris wasn't there for a handoff and I didn't want to lose too many places to search for my bike.  Through the natural barricades around U-Turn Tree, I saw Chris at the man-made barriers and asked, well told really, that he needed to get me my bike.  By now a big group of five or so has already passed me.

In the pit area Chris and I fake our way through a bike switch.  Wasn't too bad either considering we've never done it!  My pit bike is different.  The shifter hoods are shaped differently, its longer than my race bike, and it handles like a cruiser.  It was like I had never ridden a mt bike before!  Just after the stairs there was a sharp right turn that, with my pit bike, I leaned into too much.  Coming off the bike I barrel rolled several times before getting back up and remounting.  The extra 5 pounds that my steel pit bike has over my race bike is also a massive difference over all of the barriers!  Because of all of these issues and not being confident on that bike I lost 15-20 places total.

My knee started to swell from my first crash, and the shifter hoods were giving me blisters on my hands.  But Chris stepped up to bat and got me my race bike back running for the final 2 laps.  The familiarity helped and I started feeling much better.  Though a little too late.  I only ended up making 1 place back and there was a massive gap to the other groups.

I still had loads of fun, and tomorrow is a new day.  Hopefully with 2 less crashes and 1 less bike!

Julie H finished directly in front of me and Patty was near top 5 I think.  Official results to come!

CX season is here! Tacchino & Ellison Park

Rohrbach's Ellison Park CX, UCI
Patty went to Rochester, NY this weekend and placed 3rd and 5th!! Thanks kind of a big deal. Nice job Patty!

Tacchino Cross 2012 
(Also congrats to teammate Morgan, and new husband Steve!)

The Women's 1,2,3 field had an awesome turnout for Tacchino Cross this year.  Over 20 starters, I got a place in the 2nd row...behind a girl that for some reason decided to start in her small ring.  Obviously slowing my start and making me chase the lead group from the whistle.  The start took us through the 2nd half of the course, all the while trying to pick my way into 10th place overall.

For the first full lap, there was a small group of us trying to catch the leaders: myself, Jen Pope (Velocita), Sam Rynas (NCVC), Jen Tillman (Kelly Benefit), and Lyndsay Bayer (XO Communications).  The five of us stayed together through about a third of the second lap.  The long finishing straight brings us up to the announcers tent and pavilion.  Through a few tight technical spots, the barricades came immediately after a 180 degree left turn, only to bring us into another short technical spot before opening up into a power section.  Coming back around to the pavilion, we had a couple more tight spots before the group split even further to myself, Jen Pope, and Lyndsay.  We were able to put a small gap between the other girls before the second half of the lap.  The backside of the course had some tighter, technical sections, and it was also slicker from the rain the previous evening.  Down a straight, fast decent, the course brought us to a slick uphill with 2 logs strategically placed so that only a select few could actually ride it.  Dismounting and running up the hill and over the logs, Jen Pope and I pulled away from Lyndsay before the last couple switchbacks and back into the finishing straight.

The third lap, Jen lost a little time on me through the barricades, and I took a little time to try to allow my heart rate to recover.  This gave her the opportunity to catch back up right before reaching the backside of the course.  A few encouraging words passed between the two of us (gotta represent Hampton Roads!), we stayed together until shortly after the hill run up.  A short singletrack section gave me an yet another opportunity to stand and push a little harder.  This time to open up a gap before starting our final lap.

Until the backside of the course I maintained no more than a 10 second advantage.  I opened the gap a bit more through the tighter technical section before botching the hill climb.  I dismounted too late, running my front wheel into the first log.  The gap started to close.  Feeling a slight bit of panic, I slipped just as I was grabbing my top tube to lift it over the log.  The mud, though tacky, was about an inch deep, and my left knee sunk in very quick.  It seemed like my recovery took much longer than it should have...the seconds seemed to tick by and I knew Jen would pass me at any moment.  I picked myself and my bike up and over the first log.  My legs felt heavy running up the hill and over the second log (not sure if I was moving fast enough for that to have been deemed a "run").  As soon as I remounted I pushed as hard as I could, knowing that the short singletrack and a few switchbacks gave me a slight advantage.  I crossed the line in 5th, barely making the podium.  Jen crossed shortly behind me in a well-deserved 6th place.

Cross season has officially started!  The first race of the season is always bitter sweet.  The tension (at least for me) is slightly higher than normal since I'm unsure how I'll fair for the first race of the season, I almost forget what the race dynamic is like (especially after coming off of road season), and I DEFINITELY forget how much it hurts!  I stayed in the red zone for the entire race, and my legs are extremely sore while I lounge on the couch writing this race report.  Sounds terrible, I know.  But Cross is an unbelievable amount of fun and everybody should try it!  For those who don't...Jen Pope and I feel sorry for you!

See everybody at Charm City!!!

Tour de Fair Haven and Chesapeake Crit

Tour de Fair Haven
by Patty Buerkle

Sunday morning was Tour de Fair Haven. The race was 10 laps of a 1.7 miles course in Fair Haven, NJ which has a friendly and welcoming community. There were 18 of us at the start. It was a fast, fairly flat course with a 100m hill on the back section. The first few laps were a steady pace, the next couple of laps there were a few efforts to break it up with no success, with 3 laps to go the bell was rung for a preme which stirred some action (which I won!), followed by a good attack from a VK-Focus rider, ending in Ann Marie Miller (CRCA) leading out the sprint for a lap AND taking the win. Super close finish for the first three of us and I took third. Good times! A photo of the podium. We couldn't locate 2nd place Billington(VK-Focus).

Chesapeake Crit
by Emily Joyner




photo by BJ Samuel

photo by BJ Samuel

Saturday morning I was stoked to go and watch Chesapeake Crit because it's so close to home and two of my teammates were racing, Amanda E. and Mallory. Early on in the race Ali (Velocita) attacked along the start/finish straight gaining a big gap on the field. Mallory reacted quickly and dug deep to get to Ali just before the first turn. Amanda and some of Ali's teammates got to the front and helped the break to stay away. After the break was safely away, Ali attacked and got off by herself, staying away for 1st. There were a few other attacks in the field that Amanda was able to easily cover. Mallory got back into the field and both got ready for the sprint. With 2 laps to go a $10 prime was announced, not much excitement about it until the field was about 100 meters away when someone decided to jump for it. The jump spurred some reactions and wheels were crossed, Amanda and another rider went down (bikes were ok and bodies were bruised), hopefully a quick recovery to them both, not a fun way to end the race. They got off the course quickly and the field came around with Jen taking the sprint, Mallory sprinted in for 5th overall.

Next Races...

Chris Thater Criterium in NY & Green Mountain Stage Race in VT!!

Page Valley and Bob Rodale

Page Valley Road Race
Report by Amanda W.
...It was hotter than hell - glad i had nylons full of ice in my jersey...  We started with about 20 1/2/3 racers and we stuck together for the first 6-7 miles (i sat on the front b/c i hadn't warmed up at all) but the field broke up the first time up the long hill.  As soon as soon as we crossed the finish line after the first (partial) lap we saw that our race had been cut from 52 to 40-ish miles. (honestly, that was plenty...)  After the fun descent I got a flat on the flattish section and had to chase back up to the pack, which was difficult, but I was happy to drag a few friendly faces back into the mix.  We were barely back in the pack, certainly not recovered yet, by the time we hit the long hill for the second time.  I don't believe ABRT jumped first, but an attack went up the hill with Katie, Ainhoa, Patty and Kat K.  A chase group of around 7-9 formed and absorbed Patty and Kat after a few miles of at a brutal pace.  Unfortunately the heat took its toll and Patty cramped badly.  The chase group continued to splinter and by the last lap there were only about 6-7 with Stephanie and I still in the mix.  The last time up the long hill Kat K launched an attack and Sarah with ABRT and I jumped after her.  We worked together to catch her until the last 1K.  I dropped Sarah somewhere around 500-600m to the finish line and passed Kat between 300-200m, which landed me in 3rd place. 

Bob Rodale Crit
Report by Patty
Went to the Bob Rodale crit today, across  from the track in Trexlertown. It was a 20 mile/ 20 lap fast crit with a few strong track racers who showed up. There was a good bit of hard attacking from various ladiesduring the race, but nothing stuck. It ended in a bunch sprint and I took 3rd.

French Broad Cycling Classic report

French Broad Cycling Classic
report by Amanda Watson

Julie and I went to NC this past weekend for the French Broad Classic - a sweet little 3-race omnium that has been on my to-do list for several years. 

Amanda on the 3rd place at the end of the weekend

It started Friday with a 20.5 km Merckx-style (i.e. no aero equipment!) TT along the French Broad River.  We took 5th and 11th in the TT and started preparing for the fun - the 40 mile road race full of beautiful mountains.  Saturday morning we started off the first few miles with steady climbing, followed by fun descents and beautiful NC country-side.  Julie patrolled the front early on and 20 miles into the race came the first big climb, which shattered the field.  3 climbers got away and I managed to grab on for a roller-coaster of a ride to the finish.  They didn't want to give up a single second of our lead and the 4 of us worked a brutal pace-line to the foot of the final climb.  I need a second to breathe but allowed a small gap to open between the others.  I kept the weakest of the 3 in my sights and ended up passing her with about 200 m left, but 2 had gotten away, which left me in 3rd place for the stage.  Julie's chase group did not ease off and came charging up the mountain shortly behind us and she took 12th. 

The last battle was Sunday's criterium in Asheville, which was a rather short, triangular-shaped lap with a descent into a hair-pin turn, followed by an up-hill sprint.  The race was at 1:40 pm, so the temperature was significantly hotter than the previous 2 stages and my legs were feeling it.  The fact that there were tons of primes made it even harder to relax in the pack.  But Julie chased down numerous attacks and I prayed for mercy from above, and that a brewing storm didn't blow in before we finished. The field stayed together until 2 laps remained, and the gambler's prime set the stage for 3 racers to open a tiny gap.  I couldn't muster the strength to bridge up, but managed to get to the front of the pack so that I could take my own line through the wicked turn, and then unleashed every ounce of energy that remained for the up-hill sprint.  I managed to get across the line 4th, which secured 3rd place for the omnium, and Julie came in 12th.  It was a great weekend!!!  :)

Franklin Omnium Race Report

Franklin Omnium Race Report
by Amanda E.


Amanda at the crit, photo by Scott Wood

Time Trial

The omnium began with a quick 10-mile out and back time trial.  The course began in downtown Franklin but then turned right out of town and up a false flat followed by a few rollers before turning around.  I felt off from the start either because I didn’t keep spinning around before my start or it had something to do with that deceiving false flat.  Either way, within a few minutes, I was able into a rhythm and tried my best to push my pace as much as I could up the hills and then recover on the downhill (A tip I learned from the Celerity boys).  I placed third in the Time Trial and, therefore, was sitting third in the omnium.  Both Ali Ingram (Velocita) and Jen Pope (Velocita) put in stellar performances and came in 1^st and 2^nd respectively.

Criterium

Julie and Mallory, photo by BJ Samuel

After the time trial it was time to relax and prep for the criterium.  And by prep I mean eat, drink, and nap in Dan Netzer’s (Celetrity Cycling) race hammock.  While I was “prepping”, Julie K. was on her way to the crit and saved an abandoned beagle from the side of the road.  The poor thing was covered in fleas, had ear mites, and was emaciated.  While racing the Netzer family fed and bathed “Stinky” so that she wasn’t so stinky.  By the end of the weekend Julie K. found Stinky a home with Gus Grissom.  Thanks, Gus!!



Mallory, photo by BJ Samuel

In-between finding Stinky a home we raced in downtown Franklin.  The course had six turns with one uphill, followed by a slight uphill into a fast downhill into a right turn.  From the beginning Julie K. would attack and either Mallory or I would counter.  Then after a few attempts, I countered and was able to get away with Ali Ingram (Velocita) and Kelly Bethony (Syn Fit).   It was a fantastic break to be in.  Early on we established our rotations and stuck to them, which was great since we still had 22 laps to suffer through.  Much to the displeasure of Joe Jefferson, who was trying to add some excitement to the race for the spectators, we even agreed to ignore the premes, keep the rotation smooth across the start/finish and split the premes at the end of the day.

Amanda working hard inthe crit, photo by Scott Wood

Meanwhile, Julie K. was doing an awesome job of covering and countering attacks in the field, ensuring that the break stayed away.  Finally, the last lapped rolled around and we all kept our rotations until the last little uphill kicker, where Ali attacked us.  I followed right after her, but there was no way I could get around her on the downhill and she made the final turn to start her sprint and take the win.  I came in second and Kelly came in third.  Julie K. came in second for the field sprint and Mallory came in second for the Cat 3’s! 

Road Race

The Road Race was on Sunday a few miles outside of downtown Franklin.  The course was a 14-mile loop mostly flat but a few rollers here and there.  It was extremely hot and there were a few sections where the wind was pretty tough.  The road race was shortened from 56 miles to 42 due to the heat, which meant we only had three laps to do.  After the crit, I was sitting second overall in the omnium, so the goal was to keep that position or move up into first if possible.  The first lap of the race was uneventful but then at the beginning of the second lap Julie K. attacked and that’s when things started to get interesting.  For several miles there were attacks/counter-attacks but nothing was getting away.  After a while we all settled back down to recover and wait for the next move. 

Then, about a quarter of the way into the third lap, Jen P. (Velocita) attacked.  I jumped after her and Kelly Bethony (Syn Fit) followed behind me.   We got a great gap on the field and each of us buried our heads and charged along.  I’ve never been in a break in a road race and thought it was pretty cool when the motor ref would come along side us and tell us the time gap.  I especially liked it when he said “50 seconds!”  I wasn’t a big fan when it started to dwindle to “30 seconds!”  We worked extremely well with each other and we were able to stay away to the line, of course with the help of Julie K. and the women of the other teams represented.  When we got to the final stretch Jen P. jumped and I grabbed her wheel but hesitated to start my sprint and missed the win by about a wheel.

With the help of Julie K. I was able to secure 2^nd in the Omnium with Ali Ingram (Velocita) taking first and Jen Pope (Velocita) taking third.  It was a super fun weekend and big thanks to Celerity Cycling, Velocita, Tri Power Cycling, and the city of Franklin for putting on a great race!

PA state road race report

Pennsylvania State Road Race Championship
by Emily Joyner from text messages from Patty and Amanda

Patty in her cute Cutaway shirt on the podium

Patty and Amanda W. went to Chesco County for the Pennsylvania State Championship Road Race today. It was 40 miles of hot, fast racing. Lots of action from attacks throughout the race. By the 3rd of three laps there were only about 12 riders left in the pack. After the last turn Patty went for it, with about 1k to go she punched it up the climb. There was about 500 meters to the line at the top of the climb, when Dana Walton (team Alliance Environmental), snuck past for the win right before the finish. Patty held on to 2nd after a great race and Amanda finished in the front pack as well with 9th.

Next Race = Iron Hill Twilight, this Saturday night in downtown  West Chester, PA.

TOPC Stage Race and Ohio reports

Tour of Page County Stage Race
by Emily J.
Road race, time trial, criterium. The road race was cancelled due to the bad storm the night before. The time trial was hilly with turns so Amanda W. decided to Merckx it, which ended up being a goof decision because she won, with Erin S. (MVP Healthcare) in 2nd and Alexis Z. (NCVC) in 3rd. The criterium had several time bonuses that Amanda fought over with Erin (MVP Healthcare) and Kat K. (North Tek). Erin attacked for the win at the bottom of the big hill and got a gap which was closed by Stephanie S. (ProBikes) for a close win by Stephanie in the crit, followed by Erin in 2nd and Kat in 3rd. Amanda was 4th in the criterium and was able to hold on to the overall general classification win. The GC was Amanda (1st), Erin (2nd), and Stephanie (3rd). Nice work!!
 

Madeira, Hyde Park Blast, and Tour de Grandview
by Emily J.
Patty went out to Ohio for the weekend to race some fast crits. She also experienced the same crazy storm that hit Luray and the Tour of Page Valley, and was without power for over a day. The races were not cancelled, thankfully, although Friday's race was shortened to 30 minutes. In Friday's race Patty got into the break of 6th and placed 6th, the race winner was Team Type 1 rider Morgan Patton. Saturday's race was super fun, and Patty again made the break, this time with 8 other riders, and placed 6th again, the race winner was Debbie Milne (Absolute Racing). Sunday's race was very hot with a pretty steep longer hill to the finish, which Patty was pumped about because she likes the hills. It ended up being a fast power finish and she placed 10th. Lots of strong women came out to race, including Debbie Milne, currently ranked 2nd in the USA Crits series, who put in a ton of attacks and always kept the race fast and exciting.

Tour of Washington County

Report by Amanda E

Tour of Washington County Kick-Off Crit

The kick-off crit began at 8:15pm and was a fun course withfour 90 degree turns and a chicane leading into a quick little hill.  The field was very competitive and had lotsof attacks from the get go.  I quicklylearned that I needed to be towards the front of the pack, for fear of gettinggapped in the turns.  This was difficultbecause all of the women were vying for a spot towards the front of the field,so it was constant work to move back into position.  There were a few attempted break-aways butthe field ultimately stayed together for a field sprint.  Ali Ingram (Velocita) rode a great race andtook the win.  Leslie and I finished 9thand 11th respectively. 


Tour of Washington County Stage Race
We began the stage race on Saturday with a 37 mile roadrace.  It was a hilly 6.1 mile loop andhad two significant finishing climbs. The race started out very gradually with few attacks.  There were a couple of times when the pacewas raised significantly on the hills, but there were no attempted break-aways.  Since the field was staying together I knew Ihad to fight for a good position on the first finishing climb, which wasfollowed by a fast descent and the final climb. When we got to the climb I pushed up along the outside towards the frontof the pack and was in a great spot for the descent but then my legs just gaveout.  I managed to crest the hill, pass afew racers and finish 12:50 seconds behind the leader (Ainhoa from ARBT) for 18th. 


On Sunday we woke up before the sun to prepare for the tenmile time trial about 10 minutes away in Boonsboro.  Getting to the course was a bit stressfulbecause we didn’t have very good directions, so when we finally parked it wasjust a little over an hour until my start time. Dan Netzer (Celerity Cycling) was courteous enough to allow me thepleasure of using his HED powertap disc for the TT as I did not have a properrear wheel for my TT bike.  The coursewas a 10.1 mile out and back with about 600ft of rolling elevation gain.  The first leg was 5.2 miles with a slighttailwind, and the 4.9 mile return leg in return had a headwind, with the last2km or so being an uphill into the headwind.  My legs were feeling the road race from theday before and with not much warm up time prior to the start I struggled to getmy heart rate up.  I had to keep tellingmyself that everyone else was probably hurting some too, and after finishing 15thin the time trial I was able to move up in the GC from 18th to 16th. Ali Ingram (Velocita) took the stage winand moved into 1st in the GC.

Immediately we returned to the hotel to eat a second breakfast, and put the legs up before the third and final stage, acriterium.  The course consisted of 6turns with an uphill finishing stretch and a fast downhill into turn three onthe back side of the course.  The kickerwas the last turn was a 100 degree turn where if you weren’t in the front, youwere on the brakes and then sprinting up the finishing stretch, which not tomention had a significant head/ cross wind, which turned to a headwind afterturn one.  This race was similar to thekick-off crit in the realm of tactics; it was all about position.  If you were towards the back you were gettinggapped, plain and simple.  I knew thisbefore going into the race and that it would make or break my race because mylegs were exhausted from the repeated punishment I have put them through overthe past 48 hours.  I fought to stay uptowards the front, but after a few times of being pushed to the back Istruggled to hang on and ended up finishing 16th, but lost a lot oftime, and ended up sliding down to 19th in the GC.  Ali Ingram (Velocita) won the crit andmaintained her first place standing in the GC. Stephanie Swan (Pro Bikes -Pittsburgh Racing Team) raced strong and came in second in the GC.  It was a great weekend of racing with anawesome group of talented women.  Lookingforward to going back next year!

Philly- Liberty Classic

report by Emily Thurston

Stephanie, Amanda, Nikki, Patty, and Emily at the line

It is so amazing to race here in this venue with all the publicity and spectators that surround this event - the local people seem to feel honored just to know someone who's racing - not to mention racing with such a group of world-class riders and teams. I came in to this race hoping to do a repeat of last year's top-20 result, or maybe move some better this year, but, given that my training has been curtailed by knee injury since I crashed on July 31 of last year that was a long shot for me. I have to say that the opportunity to come and race here has been a big motivation. I've had a great month of training trying to prepare and get up to snuff!




Amanda on the climb up Manayunk

We went for a team prep ride on Saturday morning before we registered. We rode the first half lap behind/ with the Specialized Lululemon team - which was apparently very focused on winning this race today. Then we bombed up Manayunk Wall while the Lululemon gals slowly monied up, and finished our prep ride on our own.


Anyway, when the field got all strung out on the first time up the Manayunk Wall, I popped off the back.  Worked with a group of 20 riders (including Stephanie and Nikki and maybe Amanda - or was Amanda always up front - i am foggy… ) and caught up finally… just before we entered the flat part of Manayunk! Popped off again the second time up the hill, which was unsurprising given my winded status from all the chasing. The chase group for the second lap was similar size, with me and Nikki - Stephanie & Amanda managed to stay up front the second time. We just worked together and rode along, and although we passed the caravan the third time up Manayunk Wall - we were within spitting distance of the field - somehow we were unable to close the gap, which grew much larger over the final lap.

Photo by Chatura Atapattu

A lot of riders were dropped and pulled throughout the race. I have the impression that Nikki and I finished roughly mid-field somewhere. I surmise that Lululemon Specialized controlled the pace throughout the race, keeping things steady and strung out to neutralize attacks. The other major teams were also interested in  keeping things together to protect their best sprinters. 26 women of roughly 130 starters made the front group, far fewer than in last year's race. Evelyn Stevens and Ally Stacher didn't make the final group. So we were in good company in not finishing with the lead group!


Ina Teutenberg won the sprint, with Rochelle Gilmore taking second and Giorgia Bronzini in her rainbow jersey, third.


I come out feeling again more motivated with a new sense of direction for my training for the remainder of the road season.  I also enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with the Tradewinds Racing group and schmooze with friends and contacts from some of the other teams racing. It was a valuable experience for me!

Courier Champion and Killington Brief

North American cycle Courier Championships
by Julie Hunter


random photo of Julie Hunter

I took the weekend off from sanctioned road racing to compete in the North American Cycle Courier Championships held in Richmond, VA. Friday night's qualifying event involved racing to various checkpoints throughout the city over a period of about two hours. I finished 1st overall in the open (non-messenger) category and top-ten overall for both messengers and non-messengers. My placing qualified me for the championship event held the following day at Chimborazo Park, the site of our local cyclocross race. There were several checkpoints set up throughout the park where each racer had to pick-up or drop-off packages, including some very large boxes. After being passed at the last checkpoint because I almost dropped my box, I was the 1st female finisher and 4th overall in the non-messenger championships. This weekend was a great reminder of how I first started racing bikes five years ago and it was a blast!

Killington Stage Race
(A very brief overview)
Stage 1: Patty 7th and Amanda in the QOM jersey!
Overall GC: Patty 8th and Amanda 12th

Race report- Wilmington and SPCR

Wilmington Grand Prix
by Emily who was not there,  as told to her though a series of text messages...

Debbie Dust out in front

Leslie Winters right in the thick of it

The time trial on Friday was won by Patty! The grand prix was a part of the National Criterium Calendar (NCC) and so was well attended by pro's and top elite riders. We proudly had a full team (the max is 6 riders per team) attend and race. Debbie made a big first impression giving the crowd a good look at our jersey while she spent the first three laps out in front solo. After the pack pulled her back our riders fought for good position and reacted to the other attacks. VA native Rachel Warner (FCS Rouse) and another rider had a good break on the field with as much as 45 seconds gap that looked promising towards the end of the race. Lenore Pipes (RideClean) put in much of the effort to pull that attempt back and force a sprint for her teammate Erika Allar. The break was pulled back with about 3 laps to go and another Virginia rider Lindsay Bayer (XO) took the opportunity to make her move and attacked the field. This attack proved to be the winning move. The rest of the field fought for possition and set up for a sprint. The sprinters rounded off the podium with VanGuilder (Mellow Mushroom) in second, Allar (RideClean) taking third. Our riders placed well, with Patty 13th, Debbie 14th, Amanda W. 18th and Julie 26th. Amanda E. completed her first NCC race showing confidence and skill!

Stony Point Circuit Race

by Avanell
Considering there were a couple big races up north, the turnout for the Stony Point Circuit was pretty decent.  Morgan pushed the pace high from the start, with Mallory, Julie Hunter, and myself falling in behind.  After pulling the pack around the first lap, she pulled off and the pace slowed down just enough for me to get an attack off at the end of a false flat and into a left hand round about.  On the other side of the fast sweeping descent, there was another short steep (ish) climb that leveled into another false flat.  Knowing I couldn't hold the break for 14 more laps, I sat up a bit when I saw I was being chased.  Joanna (RCV) had bridged and was followed by Morgan, and Alena (VCU) bridged and was followed by Julie H.  The 5 of us pushed on, alternating pulls, and steadily increasing our lead until we lapped the field with only a few laps to go.  On the last lap Morgan pulled double duty on the lead out, pulling through on the long descent and up part of the hill on the back side, only to drop behind me as I pulled around the 2nd false flat on the back side, and down to the base of the final hill at the finish stretch.  Morgan pulled around me and started the difficult lead out up the short steep climb to the final left hand turn where Julie went around her for the final uphill sprint.  Julie out sprinted Joanna for 1st place, Morgan continued her sprint for 3rd, Alena came in 4th, and I slow rolled it in for 5th.  Great job to Julie for the win, and Morgan for an awesome leadout!

Weekend Report: DB Mtn Cross, RIR Crit, and Tour of the Dragons

Devil's Backbone Mountain Cross
This race starts and finishes at the Devils Backbone Brewing Company and follows a route through the back roads (paved and unpaved) of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The challenging course includes high ascents and fast descents including some 15% + grades and a total of over 6600 feet of elevation gain. Brenna went for the longer of the two race options at 65miles. She felt luck to be able to follow an experienced pro down some of the trickier descents, and managed to stay on her bike up even the steepest grades. She finished the race strong in 4 hours and 25 minutes and was the first woman to finish the race, only 30 minutes behind the first place men.

Richmond International Raceway Criterium
contributed by Avanell, Leslie, and Morgan

After getting stuck in tunnel traffic, leslie set a new record for cutting it close, arriving at the race at 1:55 for a 2:00 start!  Thankfully she was able to multitask while driving and arrived fully dressed for success, well, except for the mismatched shorts and jersey. The RIR is a 3/4 mile track near Richmond, VA that hosts NASCAR races and once a year a criterium that's a part of the Virginia BAR series. Tradewinds Racing had a good turn out for the race with 6 riders who enjoyed the open track and the nice weather. Amanda E went off the front early and with such a strong showing everybody else was on the front controlling the pace. Shortly after Morgan bridged up to Amanda. After they were about 1/4 lap ahead Julie K attempted to bridge. Getting stuck in the middle, Ava jumped and bridged to Julie. Leslie and Julie H did an amazing job of controlling the pace after that, allowing both breaks to lap the field with enough laps to go to attempt a couple more attacks and set up a strong lead out train. Leslie pulled us around the last couple of laps, and Julie K gave an awesome 1/2 lap lead out for Ava and Morgan who took 1st and 2nd in the field sprint. The team worked great together in breaks, controlling the field, and the sprint and we're definitely getting stronger and more cohesive every race! Awesome job ladies and thanks for getting me across the line!
Tour of the Dragons, VT
by Patty Buerkle
The weekend was a really fantastic time! The Tour of the Dragons is a super fun stage race with 3 great courses in beautiful Bennington and Manchester, Vermont. The first stage was a 10.7 mile TT. After warming up on the trainer I headed out of the parking lot which was 2.5 miles to the start. I had about 20 minutes to spare until I my start, although as soon as I pedaled off my bike stopped shifting. What?! The rear derailleur cable had apparently snapped. After a few of us looked at the shifter and realized it wasn't going to be a quick fix, John's teammate from Bikereg.com had his road bike available (50cm and we have the exact same seat height...what are the chances!!!) since he had a TT bike for the time trial. We switched pedals and I time trialed to the time trial about 5 1/2 - 6 minutes late for my start but my day had been saved and it was a scenic hilly TT, awesome!

I had about 2 hours before the crit to get my bike fixed and what an adventure that was! Let's just say it was as close as you as you could get as the announcer was saying, "One to go!", for the race before mine, my bike was coming out of the stand, I was heading to sign in, and at the start line. Whew! The crit course was 35 laps/21 miles, fast, technical, so much fun, and I came in 6th in the sprint. To top off the crazy day I ran over a piece of glass on the course, had a slow leak and my tubular went flat afterwards. Good timing!

The road race on Sunday was a 62 mile loop with a dirt section and 3 tough K/QOM's. The field broke apart on the 2nd QOM and shortly after that the GC leader soloed away and gained many minutes on us by the end. There were about ten of us in the initial group I was riding with and about three more ladies caught on about an hour later. With quite a few attacks and regrouping, it came down to a sprint with us and I ended up fifth in the sprint for another sixth place finish.

Weekend update: VA, CA, NC, and 3 wins!

Walton Park Criterium, VA

Morgan wearing her podium hat!

The Charlottesville Racing Club and Louisa County Parks and Recreation promoted a nice criterium in Mineral, Virginia. This year the race was the first half of the Charlottesville Omnium, the second half being the Wintergreen Ascent. Morgan represented the team at both races. It was rain for the crit, but she raced strong and the field stayed together for a sprint finish. Morgan won the sprint! Enough said. This is Morgan's 1st Crit win, and also her first season road racing, very proud of you Morgan!!

Wintergreen Ascent, VA

Gold- for Morgan and Mallory!

The ascent up to the Wintergreen Ski Resort in Virginia is 6.1 miles of climbing with an average grade of 8.3% and a max grade of 13 %. According to John Summerson of Carolina Cycling News, "Wintergreen is similar in overall statistics to the French climb of Joux Plane, a famous Alps ascent and one that is often used in professional tours including the TdF". The annual race took place this weekend and our team was represented by Mallory in the junior women category and Morgan in the cat 4 women. Both riders took the fastest times up to the top of Wintergreen and won their categories. Congrats on a great weekend ladies!

Tour de Moore, NC

Tour de Moore Road Race is one of the oldest road races in the South, this is it's 37th year, and in the past it has been used as a Pan Am games qualifier as well as a qualifier for the Quebec Provincial Team. This year the road race is the qualifier for an amature team at Nature Valley Stage Race, so the competition was all there trying to win the one spot. Brenna represented our team in both races this weekend. Saturday's road race involved a lot of attacking, but none that resulted in a break and the race finished as a group sprint. There were two near-wrecks close to the finish line with everyone jockeying for a position. Brenna safely navegated her way through, but lost some ground before the sprint, and finished 19th. The race winner was Erin Burton (RGF Women's Cycling).

Sunday's race, the Brick City Criterium, was aggressive with a break sticking this time. The break contained riders from 3 different teams who were all strong. Race winner Bergen W. (Pepper Palace) eventually broke away from her break and soloed back to the field a lap ahead. The sprint was for the remaining places and Brenna took a good position into the last corner and finished the race 8th over all.

Went Vinyard Road Race, California

one of the hills at Went Vinyard RR

Amanda W. spend her weekend racing and exploring in California at Wente Vineyard RR. The 64 mile road race is in it's 25th year, not a bad legacy. She did this race, hills and all, on a rented trek 2.1, which is not quite as nice as riding a Trek Madone in the hills.  It was a very challenging race, with amazing hills and Alison Tetrik-Starnes attacked, who attacked, and attacked some more - but there were two other beasts racing who beat her in the end. Around 20 women started the race and at least 7 got dropped and didn't even finish.  Amanda hung on for about 35 miles before losing contact with the leaders, but made herself keep pedalling the "tank", and ended up with an 11th place finish only 2 minutes behind the pack.

InMotion Off the Bike, training pics

In Motion Off the Bike Training Blog

Erika and Jaime work the strength circuit that focuses on core.

Erika and Jaime shared pictures of this week's workout at InMotion, where professionals hold the most recognizable certifications in the strength and conditioning field.  One really great thing about training there is that certified strength and conditioning specialists, certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, and sports medicine physicians collaborate to bring you a wide spectrum of options to improve your performance.

Roanoke wet Roanoke

Roanoke Race Weekend

Special thanks to Starlight for promoting a great race weekend

Julie H. sprinting for the line 13th overall, 2nd place for cat 4's

Roanoke Twilight- Women's open on a fun and challenging downtown crit course with lots of corners and a few ups and downs. This year the slick course really split things up for the start, with the field breaking to pieces by the 3rd lap. The race was loaded with attacks and eventually Emilie Ray (Real Deal Racing and Canadian National Tean) got away with Ali (Velocita).

Morgan riding in solo for 8th overall, and 1st for cat 4's

Emilie later got away from Ali for a solo win, with Ali taking 2nd. Kelly (Velocita) attacked the chase group and got away for 3rd. Julie K. worked very hard to catch the breaks and cover attacks during the race, and finished in the chase group sprinting with Ava, Jen (Velocita) and Kimberly (Affinity). Ava gave a great lead on the last lap and Julie came in 5th overall, with Ava taking 7th overall and 1st for the cat 3's in the race. Morgan got away from the second chase group she was in and soloed the last 3 laps in for 8th overall, and the 1st cat 4 in the race. Other results for the team include: Amanda E. 11th, Julie H. 13th, and Mallory 16th. Great job to all the competitors in a tough race who came out and braved the weather and stuck it out to the end! 

Six reasons you should be in Roanoke this weekend.

There are not a lot of races in Virginia like Roanoke Twilight. If you have a bike and you like to race you should be in Roanoke this weekend, here's why:

1. The course is challenging and fun, with enough corners to make it interesting, but not scary, because they are fast fun lines.
2. The competition will be good, I promise. There are already enough serious women signed up to keep things interesting.
3. The prize purse- $1,000.00/ 10 ways. So it's worth your trip, even if you can't pull off the big W.
4. Enjoy the crowds- The downtown Roanoke scene is fantastic. Many of the spectators are not cyclists, but come out to watch the entertainment, and so it has a great pro-race feel with the crowd. 
5. Support a great race (with good prizes for women) and show promotors how exciting women's racing can be.
6. Only one hotel night- Since the race on Saturday is not until the evening, and there is also a race on Sunday, you get a double race weekend without leaving Friday!

 Sign up now, the Roanoke weekend is worth the drive!