Good Luck Giro Gals!

[NJBikeGal]

Anne and Kristy,

Good luck this weekend at the Giro! It's going to be a beautiful weekend, and I hope that you both have great races! I can't wait to hear the reports!

Kristy - I'll be seeing you at Fulton...bummer that I'll be sitting in a nice, neat, mostly pink Cat 4 pack (wait...it's Cat 4, probably not so neat!)! Good luck with those 1's and 2's...you'll have some Sturdy company, I'm sure!

Again...good luck, ladies!

[ohmyspokes]

Hey Sarah -- thanks!!

It should be a fun time.

And Fulton...50 miles for the 1-2-3 race. I've been doing some big rides, but have never raced that distance. I'm sure I'll learn a thing or two.

Are you racing this weekend?

I'm really looking forward to hearing about your Altoonah experience. That's so cool.

-Kristy

[NJBikeGal]

Not this weekend, no. I had this scheduled as a weekend off to get ready for Toona between the Dutch Country stage race and Fulton. Then Dutch Country went to the dogs, and I have been having a slow July. That's ok, though...gives me more time to work on my climbing before the 6 mile ascent at Toona! 6 miles! Wow....AND, I've been designated as a domestique for Naomi to try to win Queen of the Mountains points! Should be exhausting!

[equus123]

Sarah - thank you very much. I'm happy because the weather is supposed to be really nice and will def make the experience 1,000x more enjoyable. Good luck at Altoona and work your *** off for your teammate.

Kristy - if you want to come hang with my team during warmups or just chilling, please feel free. There should be ~6 of us racing at the Giro. Oh, Teresa isn't competing, she got a boo boo and is not allowed to race...so that's one you can cross off your list.

I'm sooooo not looking forward to 40 laps on that crit!

[ohmyspokes]

Cool, Anne. Thanks.

That's too bad about Teresa. I saw her name was moved from Cat 3 to 123 on bikereg and thought "go get em!".

Have you done these races before? I was trying to find times for the TT and did manage to find some from a few years ago where Betty finished in 17 min and some change.

[equus123]

No, this is the first time for me in the Giro so it's all new to me.

If I can remember correctly Teresa said she finished in 19:__ last year so I'm guessing the times will be around 20 min, +/- 5 min? Yeah, I hate when they don't post results or times from races, especially time trials.

[ohmyspokes]

Ok, here's my report--

Stage One: Sunrise Mt TT
4.6 miles, mostly rolling with elevation gain and a nice uphill grind at the top.

Some of the women used TT bikes for this one, as there were several flat and even downhill sections on the course. I used my one and only (freshly-repaired) race bike. I'm not sure which kind of bike was an advantage here. I probably lost time downhill, but gained when the road went up. The road was fairly straight in the beginning, so I had my 30sec woman in sight early. I tried not to get too crazy, and managed to pace myself, breathing deeply and concentrating on using my glutes. I passed my 30 sec woman, then passed hers. I had to do so quickly, because riders were starting to come back down the mountain on this very narrow road. I felt really good going into the last ascent, and worried a little that I hadn't given it quite enough so far. I stayed seated and tried to gas it when I knew that final section was half over. I was aiming for around 17 minutes and ended up with 17:07, good enough for 3rd place in Cat 3. Second place beat me by a tenth of a second.

Stage Two: Cielo Crit
Half-mile laps. Flat, with a headwind on the back stretch.

I tried some attacks, but this pack was sticky. Also tried to get up front a few times to set the pace & see if we could shake some girls off, but everyone seemed pretty evenly matched. The headwind was a killer! Some folks attacked on the last lap, and there was a crash behind me. I went with the lead group and "sprinted" for 7th place.

Stage Three: Veloce Circuit Race
1.4 miles laps, with a little kicker before the start / finish.

The Cat 3 race was delayed due to a bad crash in the Cat 4's. One woman had to be taken away by ambulance, with a broken collarbone and other injuries.
As with the crit, no one was able to get away on this one. Probably mostly due to a nasty head / cross wind right after the little hill. I would feel great sprinting up the hill, only to be blown backwards after cresting. I did manage to win a cash prime, but in the end finished about mid-pack for 11th place.

After the Cat 3 circuit race, the promoters told us we could enter the 123 race for free. I was feeling like toast, but hey it was FREE. I hung on for a few laps, then gave in to my legs and bladder and hopped on out.

Overall GC -- 6th place. I had such a great time and definitely look forward to doing it again next year, hopefully with a sub-17 minute TT.

[NJBikeGal]

Awesome job, Kristy! Sounds like it was a great weekend for you. How tough were the climbs (compared to, say Union Grove or other Lancaster courses)?

Anne...how did things go for you? I saw that Erica Yozell was racing. She is one FANTASTIC climber (she's an elite cross racer!) and a very sweet woman.

[ohmyspokes]

Thanks, Sarah.

The only challenging grade in the TT was the final portion. The closest thing I could compare it to is the Pain Mountain TT in the Tour de Ephrata, but the Sunrise TT doesn't even come close to that.

The hill in the circuit race is a little big-ring bump.

Erica Yozell is from my neck of the woods. I've actually ridden with her on local shop rides with some of the Bicycling mag crew (she rides with them regularly). Yeah, she definitely rocks!

Anne did very well, but I'll let her tell it

[equus123]

haha, why thank you. *bows*

i was pleased with my results. unfortunately it was a weekend where my legs were garbage (as fabulously shown to me yesterday on a recovery ride when my legs felt great. grrrr ). oh well. bad timing. i also feel if i timed my sprint right i think i could have definitely caught the front girls and won the circuit race. i went FLYING through the finish line, especially relative to everyone else. lol. i thought it was funny that the first time i looked around after going through the finish and around the corner that was immediately after, everybody else was like 40 m behind me.

but i finished 7th in the TT, 6th in the crit (which was a surprise for me), and 4th in the circuit race...which placed me 5th in the GC.

which one is Erica Y? does her uniform have orange or is she black/white?

[ohmyspokes]

I think you're right about the circuit race finish. You were passing people like they were standing still.

Erica was in BRIGHT orange and blue. She rides for South Mountain Cycles, which is not only a bike shop but also an organic / fair trade coffee bar (and one of my favorite places to stop while out for a ride).

[equus123]

ah then she was the one i was talking to on Sun. she's very nice. i like her.

[NJBikeGal]

Wow...well done, ladies! It's great to hear that you both had such great rides! Sounds like the courses were fun and challenging. I'll be sure to try to get in on that stage race for next year!

Bravo!

Kristy - I'll see you on Saturday at Fulton! You did get the video of the course, right? How cool was that! I'm planning to get there pretty early to ride it anyway. Perhaps I'll catch you for a loop?

[ohmyspokes]

Yup, I watched the video this morning. Very cool.

I will admit to being a little nervous about the 123 race.


Oh yeah, I think I'm going to try to get there around 8-ish so I can get in a loop beforehand. I'll keep an eye out for the Pink Flock.

[equus123]