Hi Fans,
After a very successful road race, our team of self-declared crit-riders lined up to the start of the 40 minute L-shaped criterium in downtown Walla Walla looking to put the hurt to our competition (namely the Wines of Washington team, but you should all talk to Jenny about that). It was raining lightly, but after this past winter, it didn't phase us a bit.
From the gun, our constant attacking left the field strung out, and even resident pro Mara Abbott (Webcor Builders) found herself in a spot of bother, dangling off the back of the field. Much like the rest of the weekend, we found ourselves to be the only team willing to attack, with Wines of Washington's domestique pulling things back for the race leader, Suz Weldon. Kele Murdin (Ultralink) was also aggressive - following our many attacks - and threatened to get away a couple of times with both Jenny and Alena, but it was not to be.
The Giant Team scooped up all available primes before setting up for the finish. Alena buried herself keeping the pace high to avoid last minute escapes but unfortunately Kele jumped us a split second too early, and we were unable to close the gap, finishing a disappointing second and third. Alena surprised everyone by finishing fifth, even after such a huge effort in the final laps.
More surprisingly still, was the lack of sprint representation by the local girls. I was sure that they would have taken advantage of our tired legs from our constant aggression, but I guess they were too tired/intimidated/slow (take your pick).
While in general it was a sucessful crit, we learned a lot, and we're ready to take it to the BC Girls next weekend at Race the Ridge.
I'd like to end this post with the best compliment a team of women racers can receive:
"You raced like men" - Jeremy Storie
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