Banff Stage Race

Three Giant Girls and one guest rider headed down to Banff for some good competition and a fun road trip. I started the weekend off with slightly lack luster time trial. I didn't feel 100% all weekend, in fact it was a bit of a struggle. But I kept it together, making an attack in the crit which stuck for the majority of the race and my three teammates putting in a great finish to seal our reputation as being an aggressive crit team. I had numerous people coming up to me after the race saying it was great fun to watch because there were attacks and chases and counter attacks. That was fun, I was still suffering though! The morning of the road race there was pouring rain. It was an early morning after a really late crit. The course was 4 laps with 3 significant climbs per lap. The selection was made relatively early. There were eight riders in the break, two pros, Lisa and I as well as two Total Restoration riders. The pace was hard on the climbs and the flats with Tara Whitten driving the pace on the flat and Julie Beveridge on the hills. Again I was not feeling well at the start of the race but climbing well. On the third lap I knew I needed something to eat, but after looking in my jersey I realized I didn't have anything. I made it up the last big climb and thought it would be okay. But my legs seized up a bit on the shorter steeper climb and I thought I was going to stop dead in my tracks on the last kicker! I ended up 6th in the road race, which bumped me up to 4th overall in the GC. All in all it was a fun weekend. I was able to bring my daughter to the race who made friends with everyone in Banff!! A big thank you to Laura's parents as well as the girls on the team, who made it easy to have Scarlett on the trip. Stay tuned for some upcoming crits and then Superweek!!

Banff Stage Race - Stage 1: ITT

Lisa Howard, Jessica Hannah, and myself, along with guest rider Marie-Claude Gagnon, hit the road early Friday morning - Alberta bound! After having traveled about 850km from Vancouver and spending over 10 hours in my van singing along to songs by The New Pornographers and the Lion King soundtrack, we finally arrived in one of the most spectacular places on Earth. We all felt pretty lucky and excited to be racing in a national park at the Banff Bike Fest '08. The racing kicked off Saturday morning with a hilly 21 km ITT, which started in the town of Banff and proceeded to loop around Lake Minnewanka. The scenery of this time trial was as breath taking as the effort...there was a leg/lung burner of a climb up to the lake followed by a ripping, winding fast decent. Wildlife crossings were also present. Despite having driven from sea level to some 1400m the day before, the women of Giant Bicycles/Team Whistler were able to put out some fast times and solid results. Downtown (me) finished the time trial 1:10 behind eventual stage race winner Julie Beverage (Aaron's Women's Pro Cycling Team) and landed in 4th. The Hannibal (Jessica Hannah) placed 6th and Doc (Lisa Howard) placed 8th. The criterium was being held the same day almost 12 hours after the time trial so off to lunch, naps, and butt-kicking prep we went!

Banff Stage Race - Stage 2: Criterium

The Giant gals went into the crit with their star TTer 'Downtown' Laura Brown in 4th place in the GC, with Jessica 'Hannibal' Hannah within striking distance of 5th place GC, 4 seconds behind Total Restoration's Sarah Stewart.

The team was pumped for a fast crit, and fast it was! With World-Class talents Julie Beveridge (Aaron's Pro Cycling Team) and Tara Whitten (Velocity Cycling Club) on the start line, it was blistering with attack after attack, until the textbook post-prime attack saw Jess Hannah off the front with Sarah Stewart and Heather Kay (ERTC).

Team Giant was sitting pretty while Beveridge and Whitten pulled back the break with about 10 minutes remaining in the race. Another flurry of attacks ensued, notable mention to our guest rider Marie-Claude Gagnon on the attack, as well as Jess Hannah countering her own move (and she claimed to have bad legs).

Finally with 2 laps to go, Jillian Moody (Total Restoration) launched a gutsy move, and I (Lisa Howard) saw an opportunity. I jumped, but only finally caught her with a 1/2 lap remaining. I launched the sprint only to be overtaken by Whitten, who had slipped from the pack. Laura Brown had a wicked sprint and brought it in for 3rd place, followed by M.C. Gagnon in 4th.

A pretty successful day for the Giant Team!

PA- hot child in the city... of philly(+40 C)

I am spending the month of June in Pennsylvania, in a place called Kutztown. Last week I raced a series or three races called the Commerce Bank Triple Crown.
The first of the three was a 25 mile, 25 lap criterium race in downtown Allentown. I knew the race was going to be fast, and with a short little hill in the course, I needed to focus. So I focused, and finished 20th place and first under 23 rider of the day.
Two days later the second of the three, another 25 mile, 15 lap, 8 corners per lap criterium race in downtown Reading. And with the pavement being so rough, it felt like you were pressing the ejector seat button every 5 seconds, I knew this one was going to be a tough one too. It was fast and I finished a consistent 20th place again, and 3rd under 23 rider of the day.
The final of the three was the Philadelphia Liberty Classic. A 94km road race, 4 laps, 4 time up the infamous Manayank Wall, and one sprint finish. It started fast, we averaged over 41 kph for the first lap, and kept cruisin'. At the start of the third lap I bridged myself across to a break of 8 riders or so, but it didn't seem like the right mix for anyone so we were caught before the fourth lap started by about 30 riders. The fourth time up the Manayunk Wall a few riders opened up a gap and it kept on growing. I had a pretty good feeling we would catch them, so within the last 5km I jumped on the back of a lead out train that would take me right to the finish. In the last kilometer or so we caught all riders in the break but one(the eventual winner finished a mere 6 seconds in front) I saw another U23 rider ahead of me, so I pushed hard and went blazing by her. Then there was the sprint finish. I crossed the line in 9th and first under 23.

BC Cup #5 South Abbotsford

There were 6 riders lined up for Team Giant Whistler Canada at BC cup #5.  I must admit when I first arrived I really wasn't in the mood to race with the weather hovering around 10 degrees and looked like it could rain at anytime. But after a decent warm up and with the weather holding I ended up completely forgetting I was cold, especially after the good temp set up the first climb on the course that had a total of 24 climbs.  There were no splits on the first lap and the team was riding well. Heather was at the front and Lisa made an early attack, and from what I heard she continued to make attacks throughout the race.  On the second lap Total Restoration made a big move with 3 riders splitting the field and the only two other riders going with them, myself and a rider from Victoria.  Leah Goldstein made a break on the third lap and I almost closed the gap but thought my energy would better be spent staying with Sarah Stewart who is in contention for the BC cup overall.  With three laps to go I tried to split up the break but it was unsuccessful so I spent the last two laps being patient, which is a challenge for me.  The Victoria rider made a small break and the two Total Restoration girls waited for me to chase.  But knowing exactly what Jeremy would say, I was patient and finally they started the chase and reeled her back in. The final climb is where it all played out.  Gillian set a strong tempo, but in doing so dropped the other two. I was right on her wheel and was able to come around her in the final 100m of the climb to place second.  Sarah was fourth.  Shani was racing awesome and finished 6th overall winning the pack sprint. The rest of the girls raced strong in the pack, making attacks and keeping up the tempo. That is one of the greatest things about this team. We race our bikes. If we are in the race, you can be sure that there will be tactics, and attacks and counter attacks.  That makes racing fun in my opinion.  

Also Steph Roorda had some awesome results over the past couple weeks, racing in some big races in the USA.  Congrats Steph!!  Thanks for the amazing support from our sponsors and Local ride, who definitely made my day less stressful when I got a flat tire on my bike before the race started.  You guys are awesome.  Thanks to Jeremy, our team director, as well. 

Thats all for now, until the next race.....