Age-Based State Crit Championships

Saturday Rachel was a lone ranger, due to Jen's work schedule and Lori's ribs (she's still hurting from Tulsa). Saturday was Age based State Crit Championship. The ladies all raced together, so it was a pretty good turnout, but the Flyers definitely had the field advantage with 4 or 5 riders. The race started out fast because of Brain & Spine's Chris Wolfe attacking from the gun; combined with all the turns at the Driveway, the field automatically split up. The main group was now made of about 15 girls. Being a lone ranger, Rachel sat in, following important moves, or attacking a couple times, just to keep the race exciting. The Flyers had some great attacks and counter attacks. About half way through the race, Rachel flatted at the bottom of the course at the drawn out 180 degree turn. She managed to stay upright, even though she swayed to and fro a few times. After getting her wheel changed successfully, she got back in, ready to ramp it up. She sat in great position for most the race, got a little out of place (further back than ideal,) the last two laps. With one to go, going into the last 180, the pack was strung out (due to Flyers train), with Rachel sitting fifth wheel. She came around a few people after Daniele W (Flyers) attacked on the steep little climb. Rachel managed to hold off the other girls in her age group to win the State Championship. All in all, it was a fun race.

THSJ Women Take State Crit Championship!

Phenomenal Team Hotel San Jose rider Jen Purcell takes it all in the State Crit Championship! As the crowning achievement to a fantastic weekend of racing, Jen again proved her mettle as a rider and sprinter in the State Criterium Championships.

Always a race of attrition, this crit inevitably takes place in no less than 93 degrees and 90% humidity on the streets of downtown Fort Worth, TX. The course is a great combo of standard right-hand turns and a couple of tricky ones, including the crash-tastic 110 degree, off-camber, cobbled one, just a couple of turns before the finish.

The heat seemed to keep everyone happy to rotate at the front for about the first 10 minutes- then Kacey of Lipsmackers made a move, and no one wanted to be left out! Jen was on it like white on rice, as were a couple of Metro VW girls, including their strongest rider, Shannon Koch, and relative newcomer (and former San Jose rider,) Lauren Robertson. Also represented were the Austin Flyers, Moritz's Tracie Akerhielm and Christina Smith of Veloforma- all in all, 8 riders.

The break seemed to be working well together, and Lori & Rachel covered things in the pack. Lori's rear derailleur took this race to misfire for the first time, starting when pedaling out of the start- the chain fell off! After a push from junior track star Shelby Reynolds of Sugar Cycles, the chain was back on, but the rear der. ghost shifted continually throughout the race. Very exciting- it made every pedal stroke a surprise!

Up in the break, Christina Smith decides she wants no part of a pack sprint with this crowd, and makes a move. No one is terribly worried, and she scoots off, head down and pedaling. Coming into the last 25 minutes, Christina has about a 30 second gap, and the break starts to look at bringing her back. Throughout about an 8 lap effort, Jen puts her head down for about 6 of them, and drills it to retreive Christina. She is brought back with 4 to go, and Jen sits in to recover for the sprint.

On the radios, Rachel & Lori hear only chaos, coming in for the finish, as Jen goes from the front of the pack, Shannon of Metro VW comes around her, and the sprint is on! Shannon slams from one side of the road to the other in two separate, desperate attempts to get Jen off her wheel. Jen powers out enough to get alongside Shannon, and they drag race the last 100m to the finish. It was so close, no one celebrated until the officials saw the race camera, and Jen, due to fantastic riding, tenacity and a great bike throw, was deemed the 2009 Texas State Criterium Champion.

An incredible ride, by an incredible rider, for an amazing and well-deserved victory.

Back in the pack, Lori takes a flier with one lap to go. Afraid her bike will shift when she stands, she sees this as the way she can help Rachel chill out in the final lap. Brought back on the rear side of the course, the pack sets up for the sprint. Coming out of the final turn, Whitney from Metro VW takes off- being a powerful rider, her best bet for the finish is to make it as long & hard as possible! Rachel comes up through the pack, and barely misses winning the field sprint for 8th place. It was a great ride, and superb effort on everyone's parts.

Thanks so much to our amazing women's team sponsors: Hotel San Jose, Crumpton Cylces, Vittoria, Oakley & Hed Wheels. Also we would not have made it in this hellacious race without our wonderful water-throwers, Barry Lee & Adam Biechlin! Lee Whaley and Wes Mundy, your calm collection on the race radios, as well as the timely reminders to drink, drink, drink kept us all sane and hydrated. A million thank you's are not enough!

Photo courtesy of Will Shoot Photos: http://shop.willshootphotos.com/Road%20Cycling/794128

Memorial Weekend- Gary Glickman & GS Tenzing Crits

The Memorial Day Weekend always signifies something special to Texas racers: 3 days of hotter than heck crits, with the finale being the Texas State Crit Championships!

Starting Saturday, the San Jose women riders were ready for action: the new Gary Glickman course was a creative use of roadways, with a long, false-flat finish. Lori worked hard the first half of the race, then decided to preserve her legs for the next couple of days, but Jen & Rachel kept it together for a great finish. Metro VW put a rider out as a last-ditch effort to not have a field sprint with Rachel & Jen, but Jen went after it, and held the 300m pack sprint tidily at bay behind her.

On Sunday, our mantra was reserve, preserve & observe, as we needed to put forth no more effort than necessary. Some of the main contenders for the Monday State title were not racing at all over the prior two days, so we needed to be more savvy than ever to stay fresh. We all felt like it was our best team-racing, to date: we were more patient, waiting for moves to develop before going after them or bringing them back, and we all knew we were fine with a pack sprint.

Sure enough, despite various team members being off the front at different parts of the race, with one lap to go, a pack sprint was a certainty. The Flyers had launched their rider, and as we slowly reeled her back in, we all got ready for the jump. With her inimitable style, Jen went from the front of the pack, and took the long, tailwindy sprint with no real contention from anyone, including Lipsmackers' key sprinter, Kacey Manderfield. Rachel came in just behind for 4th, and while a rider came across Lori's wheel in the last 50m, she was able to hold it together for 7th.

Another great couple of races, and fabulous wins for the Women's Team Hotel San Jose!

Houston Grand Crit

Again, yay for Crit season! The Houston Grand is always a fun event- they do a great job of creating a festive atmosphere- from "Recoveritas" to viewing tents, Houston's only downtown race is a blast!

The course was a little different from years past, shortened on the long straightaway and run clockwise. This made the finish one loooong drag race- a half mile slight false flat, with nothing in the way of the line.

This course has historically been lousy for any kind of breakaway in our small fields: the long straights allow the pack to keep breaks in sight, never to be forgotten, and the few turns are 90 degrees and simple, by and large. The Flyers were also racing, though, and they're good about trying to get people off the front, so we thought it might be possible with two strong teams trying.

Rachel won the first prime, Jen countered, and there was a decent looking move that lasted for a couple of laps. One Flyer, Kim from Solar Eclipse, and our Jen. After a turn, a 2nd Flyer made a jump for a bridge, and when she hit the break, we decided we no longer liked the move, and worked with the other girls to shut it down. We figured we could do better than 1 in the top 4, and certainly with 2 from the same team- no way!

Long story short, lots of attacks, nothing sticks. That's just the way that course goes.

The race comes in to a long drag race up the finishing straight. I'd been protecting Jen, covering moves, so I knew I'd be hanging on as I could. There was a little mix-up at the finish that caused Rachel to lose position, but she still finished a great 4th, with me right behind for 5th, and Jen taking the V. How rad is that?!

Houston Metro Crit

The Houston Metro Crit began with an inauspicious start time of 7:50 am- we drove to Houston Friday night and roused ourselves at 6am to make this first-time, parking-lot race.

Imagine our surprise when we found the course an interesting series of turns and chicanes! Fun for we happy crit racers!

Rachel attacked from the gun, to be countered by myself, Lori, and I was off the front with another gal for a lap and a half. Jen countered, and true to form, we never saw her again. I ended up in a chase group of 2 Shama Cycles gals, and after some attacks, dropped one.

Jen lapped the field, Laura towed us halfway to lapping them, and Rachel sat in the pack for the field sprint.

With Jen mixed in with the pack, she was able to lead Rachel out, and I came around my girl for 2nd place. Altogether, we got 1st, 2nd and 4th, plus 3 of the 4 primes. Yay, THSJ ladies! Amazing team work and a great finish.

Sugar Crit

The Sugar Crit is a fun, technical course. The promoters do a good job of creating a festive atmosphere, and the whole shebang happens in "downtown" Sugarland, a nice shopping center with store goods ranging from window treatments to a doggie boutique.

The race started with a first lap prime, so things went hard from the gun. While we started with around 30 women, they had staged the cat 4's with us, so there was a bit of a flurry as the 1/2 gals scrambled to get ahead of the crowd in the turns. Our Jen won the 1st prime, a round of drinks at Sherlock's, and the race was on. The attacks kept coming- Rachel went, and when she was reeled back in, I went, and when I was brought back, Tracie from Moritz (solo winner of this race last year,) went. Jen saw the move, and bridged up to her. Daniele from the Flyers knew that was the place to be, and set out to bridge with me sitting firmly on her wheel. We made it up there, but man, I was totally pegged from all of the efforts! I try to pull through a couple of times, but I'm not recovering, and eventually drop back to the pack.

In the meantime, Lauren of Metro VW has launched with Kate Sherwin on her wheel- I see them fly by while I am drifting backwards. Sigh.

So with ultimately 6 riders down the road, Rachel & I cover attacks in the pack, and get ready for the field sprint. I'm set to lead Rachel out, but there's a miscommunication regarding where she wants to go from, and she sets out on her own, launching with 2 turns to go. She is able to use the turns to open a good gap, and holds it to easily win the field sprint.



By all accounts, Jen was cornering so much better than any of the other gals in the break, she was opening gaps behind her through every turn. While Lauren put in a good move with a turn to go, Jen shut it down in about .001 seconds when she opened up her sprint, and left all the girls comfortably in the dust. Great job to everyone- again, super team work and great use of tactics by all.
Jen signing autographs for some young fans. :)

Coldspring Road Race

Coldspring Road Race is a classic, late-spring Texas race. Since we've gotten rain in the last weeks, the hills were green, as well as rolling, and the tall, east Texas pines were looking particularly fresh.

We had 22 or so women on roll out in the women's race, 3 from San Jose, 4 from Brain & Spine, and pairs from Moritz, Bikesport, and a few other teams, joined by the local Veloforma gal & Daniele from the Austin Flyers.

The race would total 46 miles, completed over 3 laps of the course. The finishing hill is somewhat infamous, as it's always longer than it looks! The first lap was uneventful, except for some late attacks on the final hills, which shed some riders and brought our group down to 15 riders.

As the muggy heat of the day set in, everyone started looking for feeds on the 2nd lap- Rachel & Jen got feeds from Wes, and I just succeeded in throwing down my water bottle. Darn! Having team mates is helpful, though- they allowed me to share from theirs, thank goodness!

Coming in on the last lap, attacks started to get more frequent and more serious. Michelle from Moritz attacked a couple of times, and I followed, so we would not be in the position of chasing. Shortly after getting reeled back in the 2nd time, Rheannon from B&S attacked, and Jen closed that gap. Then Christina from Veloforma went with 2 K to go- I hopped on her wheel, and she put her head down to open a gap from the pack. We got a little ways, and then she realizes I'm sitting on her, so she starts trying to flick me off her wheel- in the midst of this, the pack is gaining ground, and we're reeled back in. About 1K out, she attacks again, and again I'm on her wheel. I'm feeling the earlier efforts, and know this is my last bit of energy, so I look back to be sure Jen is on my wheel. Right at the base of the climb, about 400 meters, I know I'm about to blow, so I give my last little oomph, and give a last push for Jen to come around. She does, and it is soooo far out! I wished we could have gotten her close to the line, because it is a LONG uphill sprint. But Jen is a beast- she comes around, and holds everyone off by lengths. Hooray for team work! Rachel finishes 9th, and I wobble in for 14th. Great race, great team work, and great results.

Redlands' Crit!

Saturday's stage is a fabulous 7 corner crit in the heart of the Redlands' pedestrian district. With 96 of the fastest women in the world, our 3 girls had their work cut out for them! Ina Teutenberg, Tina Pic, Lauren Tamayo, and pretty much every other national and world champion you can name were ready to take the crit down today.

Warm-up was good, and while staging started 24 minutes before start time, the girls got in good position. They stayed top third of the pack for the duration of the blazingly fast 60 minute crit, with a rider going down in the last corner of the last lap, shuffling Jen from 5th wheel. She still pulled off a great finish FOURTEENTH! Absolutely fabulous.

Redlands Interview-

So someone screwed up somewhere, and Lori Barrett & soigneur (and veteran Redlands racer- placing 15th GC last year-) Suz Weldon were asked for an interview by the San Bernadino Sun newspaper. Click on the pic to check it out!

http://www.sbsun.com/redlandsbicycleclassic

Day 2: Beaumont Circuit Race

So it was great to line up with 150 of the strongest women in the US, if not the world. All the major teams were represented- Colavita, Tibco, Team Type 1, Columia High Road, & Webcor, amongst others. We had a great spot staging- right at the front, and behind the race leaders.

The course is like a 23 mile crit- right up our alley! Even the topography was reminiscent of Texas: long rollers, a 25 mph wind with even stronger gusts, and lots of exposed flats.

It was a great start- fast, fast, fast! Railing it from the gun. The trouble started with all of us comfortably in the pack: Lori's gear choice (the same 13-27 of the prologue,) proved utterly inadequate to handle the 25mph tailwind- we hit 50mph, and Lori's legs spinning at 140rpm, muscularly and cardiovascularly untaxed, but slowly drifting backwards in the pack, totally lacking in a gear to push. So while Lori is futilely spinning her brains out, a Tibco rider hits a downed water bottle and takes Rachel down! Fortunately, Rach is ok, roadrash notwithstanding. Her brand-new Crumpton suffered a smashed Sram shifter, but is otherwise none the worse for wear, thank goodness! So Rachel rode in the caravan with our fabulous mechanic, Ryan, and team director, Eric. Looks fun!

Jen stuck tight with the front pack (whittled down to 30 or so by the end of the race,) losing contact on the final Queen of the Mountain climb, but only losing a couple of minutes through the final windy stretches of the course. Great job, Jen!

Prologue- 5K Hill Climb

5K doesn't sound far. Really it's not- unless it contains a full kilometer of elevation gain!

Fortunately, our wonderful team mechanic, director and soigneurs had all in hand for our eventual success: they had the best spot, close to the start ramp, a fabulous tent, all of our trainers & bikes ready to go, and plenty of drinks & towels.

Tracie & Jen lit up the TT with great times: Tracie came in 46th and Jen came in 75th. Lori & Rachel had almost identical times- coming in 2 seconds off each other for 133 & 135th. Ouch!

The good news is that the circuit race is more technical, and not all uphill. Yay, say the Texas crit racers!

Host housing is rad!

So we have an amazing host: Ken Kramer, part of the heart and soul of the Redlands Classic, has invited 6 of us into his house for the duration of our race. (And if he's not careful, we just might not leave! He is an amazing host.)

So first there is The Wall: a welcome banner, with maps showing highlighted courses, x-marks the host house & race starts, laminated newspaper articles about the race in years past, and page-protected sections of the race bible, separated by day/course! Wow.

We bike racers always appreciate a well-stocked kitchen, and boy, Ken must have been forewarned! Check out the stores of food below- we're ruined! And if we don't win, it's not for lack of support. :)

Wednesday- meet the team, ride the prologue...

So the girls from Wines of Washington are from all over, and by that I mean the west coast. Plus, the 4 Texan imports to field questions about, "You mean you guys can get organic produce in Texas?" and other such gems. We're cultural ambassadors, I tell you.

After a first introduction, we all set out to ride the 5K Prologue, which we'll set into tomorrow. It's a hill climb- a 3 tiered, many turning, hill climb. Holy moly, why do I have to love chocolate so?

Tracie, with her collegiate running background, is our ace in the hole for the 10+minute effort. Jen rode very well, and Lori was with the group. Rachel had a mechanical, causing her to fall behind, but she made up for lost time on the second round.

Oh yeah- Fayetteville!

So Fayetteville Stage Race happened over the weekend! How did we forget, and go straight to the California trip?!

Jen is wearing the Texas Cup leader's jersey for State and Regional races, having missed our only "Premier" race, thus far. We decided bluebonnet season was the perfect time to get EnJen to model it- glamour style! Placing 8th in the Men's 3's in both road races, while Lori was 8th and 4th in hers. Both time trials were unremarkable, thanks to a hankering for beef on both girls' part, pre- time trial. Oops!

On the road!

So first was a stop in Roosevelt- population 13. We stopped in and looked at the many spectacular mounted deer heads, as well as moose and other specialties. We ogled the locals (who were sitting in the feed store/gas station/cafe playing checkers,) and they got just the same kick out of us, as well. If you look at the accompanying picture, it takes a while to figure out what all is going on- the sunglasses, Tracie in action, and of course, the mounted deer butt on the wall. With glass eyeballs on either side of the tail.

On the drive, we discovered that Lori's iPod hasn't been updated in years, that Tracie is wheat/soy/corn & yeast intolerant, that Rachel knows the words to every popular radio song, and Jen travels to bike races with glittery eyeshadow!

Redlands or bust!

Rachel posing with one of our Crumptons- many, many thanks to everyone who made it happen!

So we're on our way- rad team bikes thanks to Nick Crumpton, Sram & Hed- three Team Hotel San Jose women: Lori Barrett, Rachel Byus & Jen Purcell, joined by one friend from another team, Tracie Akerhielm.

TEAM BIKES!

We are so excited! Our long-awaited team bikes done exclusively for us by Carbon fiber Magician Nick Crumpton are finished! Many, many thanks to Nick for the awesome flat black racing machines that are going to carry us through the season, and knowing Nick, for many years to come!

Jesuit Round-up Road Race- Sunday, March 8

March 8 Road Race.

Through the evening myself (Jen Purcell) and about a dozen other riders in the time trial sent emails in protest to the promoter. Thankfully, by the morning I was listed in 2nd behind Mina. I'm still not sure about the time, I think I was under 31 minutes based on my watch, but they had me as 31+. I don't care, it was good enough to secure 1st in the omnium. I thank all of those who vouched for me, that was super sweet of every one! :)

The road race was a 46 mile circuit. There were big rollers although less wind. The women again were in the 40+ field, I hoped to get into a break so that I could get a good workout for Redlands Bicycle Classic. I almost secured a break with Kurt Bickle (Men's time trial winner) but didn't have enough recovery after bridging up solo to him and another rider. I had to sit up and get back into the field. There I stayed for all of the laps, trying to keep at the front and be ready for anything that went. I must say I was really tired though. By the last 2 laps I started to mentally prep for the inevitable field sprint. There were fewer women in this race but the ones that were there, weren't going anywhere. The sprint would be critical to positioning and timing. It wasn't going to be easy, but it never is so there's nothing new there! Also there was a Colavita woman who had all of the Colavita men helping her, she's brand new to racing but impressively strong and I was concerned about my buddy Ginny, she's got a strong jump and is riding really well. There was also another uphill finish and I wished I had a 25 on the cassette (as opposed to my 23). It was going to be close. As we approached the last 1K I was ready , I just tucked in behind a couple strong guys. Then I felt the moment and went with it. I almost won the field sprint, by less than half of a second. I did the it in my small chain ring again and, of course, wish now that I hadn't. The picture is posted on TXBRA's home screen. That was a huge surprise, seeing me go for it on TXBRA! Lesson learned: no more sprinting in the small ring.

At the end of it all, it was a great stage race put on by Dallas organizations and the towns of Denton and Aubry. I was pleased to win the omnium and this week received the Texas Cup Leaders jersey in the mail. So far this season has been full of surprises and promise. I can't wait to see what else is in store!

Rhapsody Crit & TT- Saturday, 3/7

March 7 AM 20K TT

This was a windy morning with gusts over 30 mph. I was in the process of taping plastic wrap on my road helmet because I forgot my time trial helmet up in Wichita Falls! Luckily, I was parked next to a former collegiate racer and it was awesome because he let me borrow his nice aero dynamic helmet due to the greatness that is collegiate cycling connection - so props to collegiate racing! And further proof that collegiate cycling continues to give back even post graduation. Anyway, with my new and improved aero set-up I felt much more confident in the start line. In front of me were a couple of pro women and I knew it would be a challenging effort, in addition to the windy conditions. One of the riders in front of me was Mina Pizzini, a mentor and old friend of mine - also a seasoned Iron Man top competitor. Last year at Iron Man she was 2nd, and her time trialing is that of category 1 men. I knew she was the one to beat. Within the first few minutes I was passing my minute rider and that was a great sign because she is also a very strong and highly competitive woman, so I knew I was on the right track. I passed several more riders and Mina was within eye shot. She had started 3 minutes in front of me and was still quite a distance away. At the turn around I had a moment of relief with a tail wind and just barreled through the last 10 K. I was on my road bike with clip on handlebars, one of these days I'll get a tt bike set up! I finished in a little over 30 minutes. I felt it was good enough for second behind Mina if not even the win. Results were to be announced at the criterium - the suspense of official time trial results gets me every time...


March 7 PM Criterium

I arrived at the criterium with less warm up time than I hoped for. Of course the first thing I did was hunt down the promoter of the time trial to see if I actually had a faster time than Pizzini. I found him and looked over the results and there I was listed in 10th place. The crazy part was that I saw several women that I had passed with times of 1 to 2 minutes faster than me. I told the promoter that there was no way this was possible - by now everyone is starting to line up on the start for the crit, I was still debating my results, it wasn't a good scenario. The promoter said to be happy, there were a lot of strong women in the field and that 10th was nothing to be disappointed with, he also said to go online to officially protest. It was very difficult leaving him and jumping into another crit - with the 40+ men, and no warm-up. My head was reeling. It was difficult to let go of the time trial and mentally switch to the race at hand.
Of course the guys dropped the hammer from the gun, it was even winder now than at the tt. I'm not sure, but it felt like 35+ mph gusts. Also, it was crucial to hear the announcement that the women's field was going to be included in the men's purse. I missed that part while I was in discussion of the time trial results. Also worth noting, there was a female U23 national champion in the field who had also won the sprinter's jersey at Superweek in 2008 (not to mention on a UCI pro track team) and this course was flat. I knew to keep my eye on her the entire time. The dynamic of the crit was different, I of course was confused as to why the men wouldn't let the women get into a break, which was of course because we were all playing for the same outcome. It was frustrating out there, not only windy and hard with out a warm up, but there was a lot of pushing. Guys were taking their hands off the bar and shoving other riders. A guy did that to me once in a turn, actually he pushed me 3 or 4 times and the last time was pretty dangerous, I swerved and almost lost it. Thankfully another male rider stood up for me and told him to keep his hands to himself. It was odd, lots of aggression. Finally the last lap comes around and it was a stellar sprint between me and the National Champ. It was close, she had it up until about the last 5 meters before the line. I felt good and was surprised to take the win for the women. I believe may have won the field sprint with the men? I was 7th over all. I know there was a break of about 6 up the course.
There was confusion with the lap cards, the officials forgot to change the card back one for the field due to the break. LUCKILY, they chose to score the women based on the lap we thought we were sprinting - not on the lap we were cooling down on!

Lago, Day 2

Day 2 at Lago was a great race. It was great to have Jen McRae come and push the pace a bit. The first couple laps were definitly fast here. As always, our own Jen Purcell was on! A couple of times our pack got separated. Rachel came off the back of the main field, but managed to get back up to the field, twice. The race was kind of negative, not many attacks, no one wanting to do much, I am assuming because the notorious Jen McRae was there. No girls managed to get off the front, and our race ended in a pack sprint. Jen Purcell battles Jen McRae at the finish and McRae barely managed to come around Purcell. Rachel ended up 7th(trying to sprint in the wrong gear). All in all it was a great weekend! Can't wait until next time!

It's never the wrong time for beer.

Lago Vista will always have a special place in the hearts of Texas racers: the promoter, long time Austin-area rider Don Hutchinson, cobbles together a community of volunteers and gets the resort community of Lago Vista to welcome us- always a boon!

Lago is a more selective course- it is either climbing or descending, with few flat moments in between. The group started with 35 women in the open- a great field by our standards! With 6 laps to make total, the first few were pretty uneventful, some minor attacks, but nothing that really shook the pack. On the 4th lap, in one of the only relatively flat sections, one of the Brain & Spine girls goes to the front to drill it. Immediately afterward, Jen Purcell attacks, splitting the group: 8 girls down the road, including Colavita pro sprinter Shontelle Gauthier, longtime national-level racer Catherine Walberg, and U23 National Road Champion (and Superweek Sprints winner,) Casey Manderfield. A total of 8 broke off, with myself in a group of 8, behind them. Our pack worked together smoothly, most of us having someone down the road that we weren't interested in catching- the Flyers, AT&T/B&S, and of course THSJ.

The break worked together pretty well until the last half of the last lap (go figure-) when attacks started cropping up. Jen covered what she could, and the group stayed together for a final sprint with the eight. Jen led out the final stretch, then decided waiting time was over, and went for the uphill sprint finish. She held off the other gals, putting 3 bike lengths on the Colavita sprinter, with Catherine coming in 3rd, and Casey coming in 5th. Another V for Jen & THSJ!

Alsatian Road Race 02/08/2009

Going into this race Jen was 1st in GC by only 5 points, so teamwork and smart racing tactics were critical in order for Team Hotel San Jose to win the omnium - or overall competition.

Rachel, Lori, and Jen went over the game plan the evening before and knew what riders to watch for going into the road race, which was the 3rd and final event. Jen wanted to ride conservatively through-out the 45 mile stage due to an extended solo effort off the front in the crit the day before, but she was also ready to get into a break with the other general contention leaders if need be. Rachel and Lori were ready to chase down any moves that looked threatening and were focused on helping the each other maintain safe positioning, particularly going into the final stretch of the race. As the race progressed, the top five riders in the overall were watching each other closely. There were other breakaway attempts going off the front at about 12 kilometers to the finish, these were made by riders interested in winning the stage - but out of contention for the omnium win. Even so, Lori followed these to be sure THSJ was not ever put in the position of chasing, since we knew both Jen & Rachel would be ready for a strong finish, if properly protected.

As the field headed toward the finish, the riders off the front were caught, and everyone was together again for an uphill field sprint. In the last few kilometers before the finish, Jen patrolled the front of the field and waited to chase down any of the last few inevitable moves to go off the front. As these attempts were brought back, they became fewer and fewer. As the end approached, Jen, Rachel, and Lori all decided to stay within positioning for a strong finish and vie for the most amount of points in the omnium. Jen closely watched and stayed near the strongest climbers in the field and knew their wheels were ideal for the mad dash to the top of the hill.

As the field hit about 200 meters to go, the leaders ramped up the pace and Jen knew she had to leave the field early to get a jump before the finish. At 50 meters to go she attacked and opened a gap that no other riders were able to close in time. She held on to first in the stage and first overall. Lori and Rachel had some very solid pack finishes and Rachel also finished tenth in the overall. The girls were very happy to have such great success and communication in this 2nd race of the season and are all looking forward to many more team victories to come!

Castroville Crit (2/07):

Meeting as a team before the race we decided after Jen’s great time trial, she would be the GC rider for the weekend. Coming into the crit Jen was 5th overall, which meant she could easily take the lead if we all worked together and raced smart during the crit. In our team meeting before the raced we also decided we would start the race, very aggressively and do attack after attack.


Rachel went off first on the 2nd lap, quickly to be chased back, Lori countering hanging out in the wind a bit but being brought back also. As planned it was Jen’s turn, I guess they didn’t think Jen was a threat so early in the race, they were wrong, Jen kept building a larger gap each lap while Austin flyers, AT&T, and Moritz teams all started to get organize, chase, and attack. Lori and Rachel kept the other threats in check and the group together. Close to the end of the race there were 3 women up the road chasing Jen down, unsuccessfully.


To make a long story short, Jen stayed off about 40 minutes, by herself, while her teammates worked together to keep her out of trouble. By the end of the race Jen had a 40 sec gap. And Rachel won the field sprint(5th) to take points away from the women challenging Jen’s GC position. Great team effort! Awesome race!

Tour of New Braunfels

The Tour of New Braunfels represented the first time the 2009 Team Hotel San Jose women's team would race together, so it was an exciting weekend from the start!

The Crit course is a rolling circuit about 2.5 miles long. Not a selective course, and not one that favors breakaways. Rachel, Jen & myself (Lori) anticipated a pack sprint, which the 3 pro Colavita women (including former Nat'l Champ Nicki Wainsgard, and top-notch sprinters Kelly Benjamen & Shontelle Gauthier,) were sure to contend for, as well.

It was a good learning day- the THSJ women had just learned they had an invite to be part of a composite team going to the Redlands Classic invitational race, so everyone was in the frame of mind to just get out and ride hard! Jen did a ton of work in the pack, wanting to get a hard work out in, while Rachel and myself followed some moves, just to be represented, but also figured it was going to be a bunch sprint.

Coming into the finish, Jen was unfortunately out in the wind, but with Rachel on her wheel. I positioned myself on what I thought would be a good lead out wheel, only to have that rider gap off of the Colavita train I was hoping to take advantage of, for a disappointing 7th place. Jen sprinted from having 0 protection for the last half lap, for 4th place, and Rachel was unfortunately taken to the curb, to come in with the pack.

The road race the next day was hard! Flat, and very, very windy, a group of 5 riders including Jen made it down the road at about mile 13. I was in a chase group of 3 for the next 35 miles, and man it was hard! Jen rode like a champ, and finished 2nd after getting worked over by a couple of Brain & Spine girls, and I got 2nd in my group to Kim Ciolli, for another 7th place- although hard won!

It was a great first weekend of racing together- we got to learn a lot about where each of our fitness lies, and how we can best work together. It's going to be a GREAT season!