Green Mountain Stage Race

I have just returned home from beautiful Burlington, Vermont. I was competing at the Green Mountain Stage Race on the composite team, TRIA. The race consisted of four stages, an 8 mile hill climb, a circuit race, a long course road race and a 30 lap criterium. My team consisted of 4 girls including myself and we all worked really well together and achieved some pretty respectable results including the Sprinter's jersey and the team won the criterium. The first stage of the race was not my best. By trying to save money, I booked myself a painful flight that consisted of 3 transfers and long lay overs- saweeet!!! Needless to say, I got very minimal sleep the night before the hill climb and my legs felt extremely heavy and SLOW. The upside to this bad race was that the next day could only be better, and it was much better. I really enjoyed the circuit race. My team did a lot of work at the front and we set a good pace. We also executed two brilliant lead outs and Nicky Wangsgard was able to take all of the sprint points for the day! With the last lap to go, the pace slowed down significantly and I started to get a little antsy. I decided that if I wanted the yellow leaders jersey I had to get away in a solo breakaway or with someone who had less points. At about 8km to go, I attacked off the front and hammered as hard as I could. I held the group off, but apparently as the finish line got closer, the girls started to chase hard. With 500m left, I was swallowed up by the pack and the finish came down to a bunch sprint. I was so sad to see the pack come up on my right, but happy that at least I tried and was very close to being successful. The next day consisted of some serious climbing and a 3 mile dirt road. The dirt road was soo much fun. I hammered to the front and went as fast and hard as I could in such rough terrain on a road bike. I can't wait to do a cyclocross race!! The pack split up at the Queen of the Mountain and there were about 18 girls in the front pack, including myself and my teammate Suz Weldon. As the race progressed, a couple of more girls fell off the pack and then when the final 5km of climbing hit, the pack slowly started to shatter. I hung on for dear life and prayed that I didn't have to get off of my bike and push it up the hill. It was soo steep, I could barely turn the cranks around. In the end, I came across the line in 11th place with my teammate Suz Weldon who took 10th place. The final stage was the criterium and it had two hills and one fast decent. On the 5th lap, my job was to lead Nicky out for the sprints points. When I looked back to see who was on my wheel all I could see was my good friend Alison Testroete, another good sprinter. I decided to just keep pushing the pace and as the line neared, Alison and Nicky both came around me and Nicky took the points. My team made a lot of solid attacks throughout the crit forcing the leaders to chase hard and in the end it payed off and Nicky was able to win the final sprint. I finished with the main pack, but barely had the legs to get across the line let alone sprint for a solid placing. In the end, I was the top Canadian by placing 12th in the GC. It was a great race and a great experience and I can't wait to go back next year with some more fitness and stronger climbing legs!!! Well I better go rest up because there are still more races before my season is over!!!

BC Provincial Track Champs - Rainy Racing

Have you ever seen the rain?! Well, I can certainly say that teammate Jenny Trew and I sure have. This past weekends adventure was all about the BC provincial track championships in Victoria; as well as waiting out the storms that seemed to devour most of our days - but not our spirits!

Between huddling under the tents to stay dry and several multi-hour trips to the coffee shop, Jenny and I dried out the competition. Even after deciding to combine the (lacking) women's field with the junior and master men, in four out of the six races held (sprints, pursuit, scratch race, keirin, points race, and 500m), we were victorious. For the remaining two races, we filled up of what was left on the podium. We were so consistent in our top three places, that people were beginning to call us the "Giant women's track team!"

All in all it was a great weekend full of fast, fun, Giant domination. But most importantly it was excellent preparation for the 2007 national track championships held in Dieppe, NB Sept. 6-9th.

Stayed tuned for some more awesome racing and results!

well it's over
the season , the summer, the fun, but at least there is time to breath and write a little about the fun in Edmonton.

this year's Western Canada games consisted of 3 races
a 18km flattish time trial in down town Sherwood park,
a 88km flattish road race in the middle of nowhere ( thanks to a last minute course change )
and a 14+ km mt bike race through sludgy clay.

The first race of the week was the ever popular time trial . It takes a certain type of person to really like time trails and i think that it is safe to say that i am not one of them, I did however manage a 7Th place finish which i am going to consider a small victory.

Next up was the road race.....
with a Field of 24 showing up to the cool....cold morning start
it was the largest Field of my own age group i had ever raced.
Right from the gun things went down hill for the Alberta team with a rather loud explosion puncture on the line, to the crash caused my the lead vehicle within 6 minutes of the neutral start. But these mishaps where just the start of the downward slide; with another tire explosion and two more crashes as well as more close calls that i care to remember , the race was really just about staying out of trouble . For once i did manage to stay out of trouble and rolled across the line with a good 30 ft margin on second place.

Last but not least was the mud ( no mountains in sight ) bike race.
The course was built to foil the roadies and that it did , but what the organizers hadn't counted on was the rain and thus the clay mud that made the twisty single track almost impossible for all but the very best of the mountain bikers.
In the end all was well and i got to put my cyclecross skills to the test , finishing 6Th overall after an unsuccessful sprint for 5Th.

id just like to say a big thank you to the organizers , volunteers and coaches that made this years Western Canada games a reality .











with weastern canada games comming to a close last saturday i said goodby to my teparary bc teammates and started the long trip back to victoria

Quick TT note:

Leah and I were the sole Giant representatives out in Squamish on Saturday for the Provincial Individual Time Trial Championships. The goal of the day was to move Leah up in the BC Cup standings to 2nd overall - and to the best of our knowledge - we achieved our goal!

Leah rode a strong race bettering her time from the 2006 Championships by over 2 minutes to place 4th behind the TT specialists of Leah Goldstein, Moriah MacGregor and Erinne Williock (in that order). I was happy enough with my ride for the first time on the course coming in 50 seconds in arrears of Leah in 7th place (4 seconds out of 5th)!

The TT championships mark the end of the BC Cup with Giant having placed 2 riders in the top 5. The provisional final standings are as follows:

1) Leah Goldstein - Symmetrics

2) Leah Guloien - Giant

3) Sarah Stewart - Symmetrics

4) Jenny Trew - Giant

5) Marni Hambleton - Symmetrics

Kelowna's Individual Time Trial

The third stage of the Fresh Air Experience Fantastic Four was a ~8.2 individual time trial on Saturday evening. After already completing the hill climb on Friday evening and the road race on Saturday morning, everyone was feeling a little drained from the heat and of course the racing. But we prevailed!
This was a point-to-point time trial with two corners and a few small rollers along the way. I knew I had it in me to do really well on this course...8km TTs are my forte! With a blazing tail wind and some dragons to still slay after my national ITT misfortune, I edged out Leah Goldstein (Symmetrics) by just over 7 seconds for the win. Following Goldstein by another 7 seconds was our own Leah Guloien, rounding out the top three. Lisa Howard rolled in with a solid 5th place followed by Jenny Trew in 6th.
Thats four Giant riders in the top 10! Another day, another race, and another podium dominated by Giant! To the criterium we go. Watch out.

weastern canada games road race champion 2007

well i am very glad that is done and over with , i don't believe that i have ever been quite so nervous about a race.
But all was well in the end with a win in the road race and a 7th place in the time trial and ....a to be dicided in the mountian bike race .
look for a full update and picts saturday night
cheers

Pickle is my hero

Chelsea winning Western Canada Summer Games! That makes her the second Western Canada Games Champion on Team Giant (factoid for those of you: Lisa won in 1999)!

Industrial Park Domination - Fresh Air Experience Criterium

The last stage of the Fantastic Four in Kelowna saw the Giant Bicycles Canada Team lining up with 5 girls ready to kick some butt. The course was a boring one, an industrial park with nary a corner to shake a stick at, and a 'hill' with a giant headwind.

We knew that our G.C. leader, Leah Guloien, had to put 20 seconds (at least) on Symmetrics' Sarah Stewart in order to move up into 2nd. It turned out to be a little too much to ask, and by mid way through the race we decided to keep it together for a bunch sprint, since the two best sprinters in the pack happened to be wearing Giant's blue and white!

The leadout was textbook! Laura Brown and Leah Guloien selflessly buried themselves into the headwind, putting the hurt to the Symmetrics riders, and anyone else who dared get in their way. Jenny Trew easily took the sprint with Lisa Howard (hooray) coming in for the silver.

The top two steps of the podium was a great way to cap off a spectacular weekend.

Kelowna Hill Climb

Stage One of Fresh Air Experience Fantastic Four was a 3.4 km individual hill climb. The scenic course was just outside of downtown Kelowna on a hill that overlooked Okanogan Lake. As the riders expected we were treated with hot dry weather, something us Vancouverites were yet to experience this summer. The climb itself was a steady climb with a few steep kickers in the middle. Leah Goldstein Symmetrics, as expected won the climb with a time of 10:58, Sarah Stewart Symmetrics finished in 11:35 for second, and local rider Gillian Kornell Total Restoration rounded up the podium in 11:53. Time bonuses for the top three riders in each stage gave these three girls even more of a head start for the remainder stages with 15, 9, and 6 seconds respectively. Giant’s Leah Guloien got the courage to race despite feeling ill and rode to a 5th place finish in 12:08. Another notable ride from Giant was our rising start Pickle (Chelsea Bilsbarrow) who finished 10th with a time of 12:49. Laura Brown and Alena Radomsky added a couple more Giant riders to the top 10 with 6th and 7th place finishes. The hill climb gave an open door for improvement in the next 3 stages where the team’s strengths are, and we were excited to race for podium spots for the remainder of the race.

Back to the Track at the FSA Grand Prix

After a good stint at BC Superweek, I headed down solo to Seattle this weekend to check out some track racing and start getting ready for Track Nationals which are to be held in Dieppe, New Brunswick at the beginning of September. We had a bit of an adventure getting down to the States as the border proved to be a lengthy obstacle, but we did eventually make it down to the Group Health (Marymoor) Velodrome in time.
My first (and only) race for Friday night was a 40 lap points race with point sprints every 5 laps. I started off strong, but I kept making silly mistakes and despite seeming to hold my own well on the sprints, I ended up 7th. This was partly due to tactical error on my part as for some reason I seem to have forgotten how to race on the funny oval tracks-like things, but it was also that there were a number of rather speedy sprinter types hanging around including a girl I met in Australia a few years ago. It was funny to run into two girls that I had met on the other side of the world, but as they are super good people, it was nice to see them. The racing wrapped up around 12:30am and we were nicely settled into our beds by 2am....I don't know if I remember the last time I was up until 2am! Luckily we didn't start the next session until 7pm the following evening.
Session 2 promised fun in the form of the miss-and-out to be followed by a 20 lap scratch race. For those unfamiliar with track racing, a miss-and-out is where they eliminate the final rider across the line each lap until only 3 riders remain - then the three riders sprint it out for top honours. I was impressed at the size of the women's field - coming it at 17 competitors, which made for a longer race. I enjoy the event, and the level of skill in the women's pack was high - which was neat to see. There were a few girls who were being a little unnecessarily rough (in my opinion), but that may have been a slight miscalculation on their part as getting pushed around doesn't intimidate me so much as anger me...regardless, I was happy to make it down to the final three with two Australian compatriots - Laura McCaughy and Monique Hanley. Unfortunately for me, they both bested me to the line and I picked up 3rd.
Going into the final race - the scratch race, I was hoping that the girls would be aggressive over the 20 lap race. The organizers had sweetened the pot by offering $3 for the first across the line each lap and $2 for the second placed rider. I tried to exercise a bit of patience to start off, but about 7 laps in Annette Hansen took off and it appeared that no one was going to chase her. I bridged the small gap as I felt Annette would be a good breakaway buddy. Soon enough we were working well together and it looked like the pack was going to let us get away. Unfortunately Laura McCaughy and Erica Allar (both of Salamandar Racing) were not keen on letting us go and they bridged up to us with about 7 laps to go. On the same lap as they made contact the announcer called a $15 prime for the first across the line. Since we had the top sprinter in the field out front with us, I wasn't interested in keeping the break going and so I went for the prime and took it. Shortly thereafter the remainder of the field caught up and from then on in it was a sit and wait for the end type of race. I was keeping my eye on the super-sprinter and with 1.5 laps to go I was positioned really well. Unfortunately with 1 to go I let myself get boxed in and I was at the mercy of those around me as to when the sprint was to start. Once the speed picked up, I was out and around, but it was too late as there was only 100m remaining to the line. I came close to the podium, but my earlier breakaway companion nipped me by a few inches to take 3rd behind the duo from Salamader Racing.
Overall it was a great weekend. It was nice to spend a little time outside and see the sun (although today was supposed to be my beach day and I woke up this morning to RAIN again). It was particularly good for me to become reaquainted with the track and the subtleties that aren't as present on the road. I'm looking forward to a bit of a rest - but I'm stoked to head up to Kelowna with the team this weekend for Fantastic 4!

Giant attacks Delta's rainy criterium

Just when we thought Gastown was the rainiest it can get in July, a the rain warning issued by Environment Canada materialized and the streets of Ladner were sopping by the time the Women's Criterium got rolling. Hometown girl and Giant Team member Claire Cameron was called to the line, along with our top hill-climb finisher Leah Guloien.

We knew that we had the numbers and the skill to win the race, and we started out on the attack from the gun. Multiple splits got away and were brought back, including one particularly dangerous one containing Steph Roorda (Giant) Sarah Stewart (Symmetrics), and a Jazz Apple girl (I don't know them so well yet). It looked like it might stick, but the Trek Red Truck and BH Bicycles teams brought it back.

The Giant Bicycles Team showed itself to be the most dominant team, scooping up almost all the primes in the process. Hometown girl Claire Cameron showed her sprinting prowesse - winning every prime she contested!

With two laps to go, our selfless Alena Radomsky launched a glorious attack, forcing the chase from Jazz Apple and Symmetrics. Jazz Apple's Rushlee Buchanan blazed to the front for the last lap, with Leah Goldstein (Symmetrics) hot on her wheel. Rushlee showed her formidable speed, acting essentially as her own lead out and winning the field sprint - with Giant's Jenny Trew and Lisa Howard in second and third place.

Two steps of the podium was a considerable improvement from our previous criterium showings, but left us hungry for a win.


photo c/o Greg Descantes

hills are for climbing

DELTA HILL CLIMB ( STAGE ONE ) 7PM JULY 20 2007

well once again we race in the rain

Though at least this time it was only a brief exposure to the wicked weather,

that's the great thing about hill climbs the faster you climb the less time you spend in the rain.

Though no one spent less time in the rain than Malindills Maclean ( jazz apple ) next was our own Leah Guloien followed by Alison Shanks ( jazz apple ).

Jenny Trew proved that she too was a formidable foe climbing her way into 6 th place with a 700m time of 1:35. GOOD JOB GIRLS

The Best Birthday Present Ever!!!

Ahh yes, today is Monday July 23rd which means that I am officially 26 years old and I must say that my last weekend as a 25 year old was pretty awesome. This last weekend the Team Giant girls have been very busy racing in the Tour de Delta which consists of a hill climb, criterium and a road race. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, however, on the flip side, us BC/Alberta girls know how to ride in the rain and know how to take advantage of the girls that don't!!! Our biggest competitors, the Jazz Apple Team, seemed to be a little freaked out by the rain and the slippery conditions. The criterium was by far the worst racing conditions of all three races. The race ended late and the drive home was long and dark and wet outside and all I could think about was food and sleep. In other words, I arrived home, ate some yams and hit the sheets with dirt still in my hair. I figured I was getting up at 5:30am to get dirty and wet again so what was the point in taking a shower. Okay, by now I am sure most of you think I am disgusting, but I would like you all to know that my new ritual is not showering the night before a race and if you continue to read on you will find out that it works- haha! During the team meeting before the road race, our team manager, Jeremy Storie, discussed the logistics of the race including who had the most points and what we needed to do in order to win the overall and the road race. Jenny and I had the most points on our team, so it was up to one of us to win the race. Rushlee Buchanan on Team Jazz Apple had the most points overall and following close behind was myself, teammate Jenny and Leah Goldstein on Team Symmetrics. All of the Team Giant girls were aware of who to watch and if any break was to get away we needed to make sure that break included myself, Jenny or both of us. I had spoken with Leah Goldstein before the race and she was determined to get away from the field in a small break and wanted me to be with her. I knew this would be a good move as long as I could stay with her on the climbs and outsprint her in the end. As we had discussed, not long after the start, the field had strung out and a small group of seven riders including myself, Jenny, Leah Goldstein and the leader in the omnium points had formed. Unfortunately, everyone wasn't cooperating and taking their fair share of pulls so Leah and I decided to set the tempo hard up the climb in hopes of dropping as many people as we could. Unfortunately, we were unable to drop the omnium points leader and soon one of her teammates chased back on to form a group of four. Fortunately for Leah and I, the leader's teammate went over the yellow line TWICE and was disqualified. I hate to say it, but when I saw her get pulled, I knew my chances of winning this race improved dramatically. The omnium leader started suffering on the climb and Leah and I took advantage by setting the tempo harder and eventually we dropped her. For the last 4 laps, Leah and I worked really well together. We kept the pace steady and I followed her up the climb every time watching her every move. My climbing legs were on and I felt super strong throughout the entire race. On the final corner, I was on Leah's wheel listening to Jeremy's instructions on the radio. As soon as he told me to go, I got out of the saddle and hammered as hard as I could right through the finish line, ignoring Jeremy's instructions for me to settle and put my arms up in the air because I had just won the race. It was a great feeling to win this race and as a result I also won the Tour de Delta overall. It was a very successful day for the Giant girls. I was very proud of how my team worked together this weekend. The team effort in the criterium and the road race was amazing and I think with each race it is only going to get better.

Coming Together

At the Giro di Burnaby, it all came together - almost... After a number of team efforts that were almost there - Thursday night was a race of beauty for the Giant team. We were constant aggressors of the race - although we did not succeed in breaking up the pack over the 20 laps of the 1.85km course. The race was fast and the weather held for us to have a dry one as we ripped around the streets in Burnaby.
I, for one, found it very cool that they were able to shut down Hastings Street for a number of blocks to showcase the sport of cycling. I'm very familiar with that stretch of road as it lies between my house and the Burnaby Velodrome - so to be able to race on it was very cool. The highlight of my evening was going after a $200 prime against Gina Grain (expresscopy.com). It came down to a bike throw between the two of us, but I came up victorious by 0.004s - they had to go to the finish camera and it took half a lap to determine the winner - I didn't even find out until we were in the tent at the end of the race!
Despite a fantabulous race - we have yet to get the finish dialed in. We were however given a clinic by the Jazz Apple squad on how to do a lead out. With 1 to go the whole team got to the front and strung it out - I was moving up, but didn't realize it was the final lap until I was well around the final corner. Luckily I was well positioned, and was able to come across the line in 4th with Lisa hot on my heels in 5th. The top three were a repeat from the previous night's field sprint with Shelley Olds (PROMAN/Paradigm) topping the podium, Malindills Mclean (Jazz Apple) in second and Grain in 3rd. I want a Giant rider on the podium here at Superweek! This weekend is our time to shine :P

Criterium: White Rock

The first criterium kicked off in sunny White Rock on Saturday evening. Being a new member of the team I felt quite nervous. However the experience of all the other girls quickly calmed me down and gave me the security I needed. I have to say I was feeling like a rock star rolling up to the start line with the screaming fans, the radio in my ear, and not to mention the sweet kit.

The race consisted of 30 laps, with 4 corners and a small hill each time around. With riders making consecutive attacks the pace was fast and the hill was taking it’s toll on the riders. At 18 laps to go one girl escaped. It was Rushlee Buchanan from the kiwi team, Jazz Apple. With the main pack not committed to chasing her down, she maintained a 30 second lead for the remainder of the race and won. Unfortunately after massive attacks made by the Giant girls earlier in the race, no one had the legs for the final sprint.
The race didn’t go according to plan and the team was disappointed. But this is only the beginning. And hopefully next time my rock star radio will actually be working.

Hill Repeats AKA White Rock RR

What would be more fun for a team whose riders are all sprinters, except for one climber and one sort of unclassified rider who has horsepower if used correctly, than to do a 80km road race with 16 significant climbs. The White Rock Road Race is the toughest hilliest course on the BC Cup Circuit. A figue 8 course loops around the spectacular water front of White Rock, each loop includes two climbs, false flats, two descents, and a very short flat section. The other unique feature is that the men's and women's fields actually get to cross paths on the same road after the men come flying down a descent into two 90 degree corners. I don't know how all the other women feel, but I personally have a moment when 80 or so men are going over 50km/hr 1 foot away from me in the opposite direction.
The team took the line ready to help Leah get into the top group. The field had some big names from Expresscopy.com and Jazz Apple (New Zealand), that included the National Champions from both Canada and New Zealand, as well as Leah Golstein Symmetrics Cycling who dominates on the climbs in any race in North America. The first climb was aggressive as the QOM points started on the first climb of each loop and continued that way for the rest of the race. The significant move went on the second lap through the feed zone and included Leah Golstein Symmetrics, Rushlee Buchanan Jazz Apple,Shelly Olds PROMAN/Paradigm, Erinne Willock and Alison Testroete Expresscopy.com, Leah narrowly missed the move and righ away Jenny and Alena (me) went to the front with Leah to chase. This was the beginning of the most painful cycling experience of my life. The Chase group gradually shed riders and somewhere around lap 3 or 4 Leah and myself were left with a group of about 10 riders who were content to let us do all the work as most of the riders had a teammate in the break. Leah drove hard the entire time frustrated because she missed the break and wanting to give it all she had to get there, I pulled through and helped her as much as physically possible, while all the other riders had a free ride and watched us suffer. About lap 5 killed me I was dropped from this group 3 times and chased back on, the whole time thinking about how much our only climber really needed a teammate and if Thomas Voeckler got dropped 8 times in the mountains of the 2005 Tour de France and chased back on so could I. At this time I had established a fan club of people who probably felt sorry for me and I had more cheers than any other bike race every before, including people in the feed zone and the guys in the follow car, thanks to all of you who helped me reach my max HR 3 times in 2 hours, I almost died. At this time Leah is still driving the pace hard and it is starting to have its effects on her, Jenny, Claire, and Stephaine all managed to chase back on with a few others and reached us on lap 7. I had recovered enough from the last effort to roll to the bottom of the first lap 7 climb and explode. I fell off the back of the group, rode sideways, almost off the road, the follow car asked if I was okay, then managed to ride switchback style up the climb at about 5 km/hr. The main group finished off the race and Jenny took 4th in the bunch sprint for 9th overall. The next two races are Crits and I can't wait!

Bumpy Roads At Road Nationals (July 10) RR

Tuesday July 10 the Giant Girls Jenny, Leah, Alena (me), Laura, and our guest rider for BC Super Week Steph Roorda took to the heat and rough roads for the 127km road race. The first 100km of the race had some small rolling hills and two longer climbs before the final kilometers in the town of St. Georges Quebec where a 3 lap circuit with a 1.6 km gruelling climb made the final decisions of the race. The race started out steady and eventually lead to a few attacks where Steph, Jenny, and myself were patrolling the front with the goal of keeping Leah fresh for the final circuit. Laura had a few mechanical problems which were fixed and she was back at the front for the later half of the first 100km. Steph and myself found ourselves off the front with Emily Roy who eventually maintained a solo break until the final circuit, we were called back to the pack to keep our legs fresh for later efforts. There was little action until the first main climb where the race leaders from Expresscopy.com pushed the pace up the climb, most of the riders stayed on, and the Giant girls were active at the front watching for any significant moves. After the feed zone at 75km when most of the field was feeling the heat the attacks started to become more significant. The team had one goal of keeping Leah at the front and protected until the final circuits. All was successful until the eventual winners Gina Grain Expresscopy.com, Marni Hambleton Symmetrics, and Moriah MacGregor AE Sport Development, broke away from the field. Despite a few attempts to organize a chase the peleton did not catch the break and went into the final circuit chasing. Expresscopy went to the front at the first climb and the field quickly split, Leah was in the final top selection going up the first climb, and the remainder of the team was sitting in the middle of the second group. Leah put in a huge effort to stay with the top Canadian girls and ended up 14th. The rest of the team finished off the race as hard as they could and came in mid field with small groups. Laura and Steph finished 5th and 7th in Espoir, good results for the U23's! Overall another day of excellent team work and we are on to great things.

Tough Luck at the Nationals Crit (July 6th)

Today was one of those days that has to be chalked up to experience. We had the horsepower and the teamwork to be in contention for the win, but luck just didn't cooperate. We went into the race without knowing what to expect. The night before we went over who would be a threat and Jeremy pretty much called how the race was going to go down. It was a wide open course with a decent sized hill in it that turned up the finish straight into a MASSIVE headwind and then back down and around - we were up for 35 laps - 42km and we were feeling confident on the line.
Over the opening laps we paraded around the course for awhile and Jeremy made the call to start attacking, so we did. Leah made a great attack and was joined by a powerhouse from Ontario and eventual winner Merryl Collins (La Bicicletta) and they were up the road. I was somewhat surprised that people just let the two of them off the front, but I wasn't complaining. Soon enough Alex Wrubleski (Colavita Cooking Light) started attacking everytime over the top of the false flat and down around the corner. I watched vigilantly and soon enough we brought the top two girls back, but realized that we were down to only 7 girls including Leah and myself, Alex, Merryl, Laura Yoisten (Webcor), Joelle Numainville and Alison Testeroete (both expresscopy.com). It was actually a perfect situation with 2 girls out of 7. It was rolling around fairly hard and then we went through the bottom corner and the two girls in front of Leah and I went down and we were gapped. In hindsight we should have taken a lap, but we didn't and Leah and I were left in no man's land. The two who crashed got given too many laps (and were later relegated to 4th and 5th) and in a couple of laps Leah and I were absorbed into the pack. Eventually the pack was close to 40 seconds up the road so Jeremy had us try to bring it down. So first Alena gave it everything for a lap before I took over, and over 3.5 laps we reduced the gap to 10 seconds - it was awesome. But Alena and I were pretty done after that.Leah stayed strong in the chase group (despite frustration) and won the field sprint for 6th. Also, our Laura is still having difficulties with the injuries sustained at Yaletown, but we'll have her up and running in no time flat!It was a hard day, but we rode strong and we rode well as a team. We are now focusing on kicking butt in the TT (sauf moi - french for "except me") and then the roadrace.

A Sunday of Pain and Success

After spending Saturday racing in Victoria in the sun I was a little worried about how i was going to be feeling for the Future Heros Crit on Sunday. My warm up was slow and my legs felt very tired and heavy. Jenelle and I were the only two Giant riders at the race and for the first time we were out numbered by a few other teams. I was hoping that i would get my legs to come around during the race so i opted to sit near the front and try opening up the legs a little by closing down some of the early attacks. Jenelle and i switched covering everything that tried to go up the road and when the prime lap rolled around we found ourselves in the perfect position. Jenelle took the prime and as soon as she rolled across the line i counter attacked and took Stephanie with me. Our break didn't last long, which was the theme of the rest of the race with a few more attempts by a few other riders to get away. When it became clear that it was going to be a bunch sprint i started thinking about where i wanted to position myself for that final sprint. There was a significant head wind so i knew that it would have to be left very late. Coming around the final corner Stephanie started to take it long and i sat on her wheel with Stacey Spencer right on my wheel. With 50m to go i started to come around Steph and took my first win of the season. It felt great!

A Sunny Weekend

While a lot of our team was out east at road nationals i stayed at home and raced locally.

Saturday was the second race in the BC Cup Track Series and i headed out for a day in the sun at the outdoor velodrome in victoria. Racing is a little different in Victoria than at Burnaby. I am not use to having to deal with the wind when racing on the track and this weekend there was some major winds, especially in the afternoon, which caused speeds to be slower and tactics to change. The most exciting race of the weekend for me was the mixed madison. The madison is an exciting race because there are partners trying to do exchanges, sprints every few laps and trying to time everything requires you to think while racing at max speed. I had a partner who was 100lbs heavier than i was so when he slung me in it was such a rush of speed!!! When the day was done i had ridden 3 madison races, a points race, a scratch race and a tempo race. I came out on top and was the overall B Omnium winner!! What a great day at the track.

Firing on all cylinders

Check the girls driving it! This is a picture of the break at Yaletown where we were able to capture 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th - a pretty darn good showing if I do say so myself. It was an action packed day where we unfortunately lost Laura B. to a crash about two laps in. The two of us (Laura and Jenny) decided to take the second corner rather quickly as we were capitalizing on a small gap and ended up visiting the fence. Laura took the brunt of the crash, but she's a fighter and will be ready to rock on Friday when we take on the Nationals field.
So back to the race. Shortly after I took my free lap, Team Giant started animating the race. In what would be indicative of how she rode all day, Leah laid down a killer attack going up the short steep hill on the backside of the course and splintered the group. Fairly quickly we found the six of us (Leah, Lisa and myself from Giant, the Symmetrics duo of Marni Hambleton and Sarah Stewart, and Expresscopy's Gina Grain) off the front with a comfortable lead that would reach a maximum of around 40 seconds near the end of the race. The Giant girls (lead by Leah) ended up initiating a great deal of the work, but we also came away with the first prime as I jumped Gina at the top of the hill (a move that I would see repeated 3 more times in the race, 2 primes and the win - why did I have to show her the move?!?) As you might be able to tell from the gimaces on the faces of all the girls in the break, we were working hard out there, but we were unable to shake our three breakaway companions.
As the race was coming into the final 4-5 laps, Alena made a brave and bold move from the main pack where she and Claire had done an exceptional job of patrolling and controlling the other racers. Alena managed to jump her group and solo the remaining laps for 7th place - while we were jockying with the others out front. The girls got the lead out going with 1 lap to go and I thought we were golden. I knew that Gina would try to jump us wide going into the 2nd last turn, but at the time (with the lack of oxygen) was a bit at a loss as to how to stop it. She did indeed jump where I thought (next time I'm going to have to anticipate that better) and got a good gap going into the downhill section. Coming out of the final turn it is essentially three strong pedal strokes and the finish line. Gina took the win, with myself in second and Marni in third. Also a notable mention to Claire who showed the main field how it's done by taking the sprint for 8th.
All in all, I think it was a great day for the Giant girls and a super warm up for the hometown racing we will be doing in the next month. The crowds at Yaletown were awesome and I can't wait for Nationals and Superweek!

ATOMIC BC CUP

Hey Giant Giant Fans,

It's fallen on my shoulders to report the ins and outs of the Atomic BC Cup Road Race (June 10). This is normally one of my very favorite courses, and I've podiumed on it twice (but never that illusive win rrgh). Sadly, though, the legs were a little rusty after some time off the bike for exam period, which finished June 6th.

Nonetheless, the entire Giant team had high hopes going into another road race tailor made for our resident climber, Leah Guloien. The course is mostly rolling, with one more significant climb right before the start finish, but is consistently difficult, and rewards the fittest riders.

Before the race, it looked as though we would be racing in a downpour - it was coming down HARD. But, somehow, the Cycling Gods smiled on us, and the skies cleared just in time to start our 60km race through the country roads of Abbotsford.

It started out so well - on the second lap Leah was in the break, the rest of us were in the pack, and working to get another Giant rider up to the break (or reshuffle the deck, whichever came first). Then as we rounded a corner on the back side of the course, who did we see? Leah, on the side of the road, with a flat. Claire selflessly gave her a wheel, and waited for the most incompetent wheel car ever to figure out whether she needed a front or rear wheel (you kind of have to expect this in local races). Needless to say, we no longer had a girl in the break, and there were only three of us left in the pack.

By the last two laps, the breakaway had lost its third rider, Sarah Stewart (Wedgewood), and we drilled it to catch her, but, as she later told me, when you're riding with the fear of being caught you can go faster than you expected. It also didn't help us that she's a triathelete, and well suited to time-trialing.

We managed to salvage a pretty disappointing day with our new addition, Laura Brown, taking the bunch sprint for fourth. I, on the other hand, was just lucky to finish with the bunch (not usually my attitude). I was in a world of hurt... but after this weekend's training camp, things are coming around - Watch out!

Results:

1	218	Marni	Hambleton	Symmetrics
2	210	Leah	Goldstein	Symmetrics
3	230	Sarah	Stewart	Wedgewood
4	211	Laura	Brown	Team Giant
5	220	Danielle	Kenny	H&R Block

Leah at Nature Valley

Well I am back from my first NRC (North American Racing Circuit???) race and my legs are feeling it. The race was called the Nature Valley Grand Prix and it consisted of 3 criteriums, if you can call the last race a crit, one time trial and two road races. I attended Nature Valley as part of a composite team that was called Team Group Health. It consisted of a great group of girls which made my first NRC experience all that much better. The first race was a criterium and there were 116 riders that started the race. I was fortunate enough to get a call-up allowing me to have a pretty good starting position. I learned a lot of different things at this race, but the thing that is permanently embedded in my head is that starting position is VITAL!!! Two of my teammates didn't make the time cut and were blown off the back in the first race, and they were not the only ones. The group split up very quickly and I was able to hang on for a very fast ride and finished in the main pack. I was glad I survived the race and wasn't taken out on one of the many fast and sketchy corners. Actually, there weren't that many sketchy riders, but there were a lot of very aggressive riders that were constantly wanting to move up in the pack (something I need to work on). The next day was the road race and it was quite flat until the finishing circuit of 5 laps. Until the finishing circuit, the majority of the group stayed together and as soon as we entered the circuit the pace picked up significantly. Kristin Armstrong from Team Lipton set a fast pace along with some of the other top riders and I tried to just concentrate on moving forward and staying there. On the last lap, everyone starting to get more aggressive and it was very fast going up the last little hill to the finish. In the end, I came in 27th and I knew I had to keep focussing on my positioning and finding some good wheels to stay on for the upcoming races. It was good to start learning who some of the top riders were and put a face to a name. The next day was the time trial in the morning and the criterium in the evening. The time trial was only 8km, but it was 8km of pain and my time showed that. Note to self, need to work on my time trialing. The criterium was once again very fast and there were tons of spectators out cheering us on. I stayed in the main pack and held my position. My teammate Nicki Wangsgard had a great race and ended up coming in second place! It was pretty great and our team was very excited. I had to take some credit for her second place finish though because I gave a homeless man ten dollars before the race and said this will bring us good luck, and it did. Gotta love karma! The next day was the 86 mile road race and I was looking forward to some climbing. Once again there were finishing circuits and it wasn't until entering these circuits did the group begin to split up. The first time up the climb Kristin Armstrong, Alex Wrubleski and some other solid climbers set a very fast pace and I was stuck behind some riders that were unable to respond to these girls and their fast legs. I came around as many people as I could and I started to put the hammer down bringing some people with me. I quickly realized that about 4 out of the 5 girls I was with had a teammate in the lead group and they had no intentions of working with me to close the gap. Luckily there was one girl, Katie Mactier from Team ValueAct, that wanted to work and close the gap as badly as I did. Unfortunately, the girls ahead of us were too strong and soon enoug another group behind us caught on and we formed a much bigger group of women including my teammate Nicki Wangsgard. I had a very frustrating blonde moment towards the end of this race and thought we were on the last lap when we had one more lap to go. In other words, I was pulling hard at the front, thinking I was helping lead my teammate out to the finish line, but really I was just pulling girls around and helping to close the gap to the leaders. When it came down to the ACTUAL last lap, I was feeling pretty cooked and ended up coming in 35th in the pack and was 1minute and 28 seconds behind the leaders. Not my smartest race, but definately a good learning experience. Finally, the last criterium and the last race of the Nature Valley Grand Prix was here! I must admit I was pretty nervous going into this race. People kept telling me horror stories about this steep hill that shredded the field apart on the first lap. My nervousness was further amplified when we showed up a little later than expected and my teammates and I were unable to preride the course. I was freaking out internally, but then I chugged back my redbull, warmed up on the trainer, and told myself that this hill was nothing! And in the end, the hill hurt really bad, but it was nothing compared to some of the climbs we have in our very own BC Cup races. I was really happy with my last stage and I ended up coming in 16th place which bumped me up to 17th in the General Classification which was 4 minutes and 17 seconds off of the leader, Kristin Armstrong. So that was the racing part of my trip to Minnesota. On my down time, I got the opportunity to get to know some really great girls and eat a lot of food and drink a lot of GU2O!!!! I mean A LOT of GU2O!!! Oh ya and I am pretty sure that the guy I had been talking to in the elevator almost every day was the mens GC winner, Ivan Stevic. How cool is that! Nature Valley was a great race and a great experience and hopefully I can bring the things I learned to the women's Giant Team and we can continue to represent on the BC Cup series. Next on the schedule- Yaletown Crit!!!

Giant CRASH

We had an excellent weekend of training but then on the way home.....my bike flew off the top of the car while driving on hwy #1 and landed across 4 lanes of traffic!!! The damage i have found so far is two dented and beat up shifters, a messed up saddle, a cracked rear wheel and well...take a look at the pictures

A Solo Trip Down South

While the team was busy contending the SFU Kremese last weekend, I took a trip down south starting in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday and ending in Somerville, New Jersey on Monday. The plan was to contest 3 NRC (National Racing Calendar - USA) criteriums, in four days, situated approximately 800km from first venue to last. I was guest riding with Vitesse, a US team, the sole other rider being Nicky Wangsgard, an accomplished sprinter from down south. I wasn't sure what to expect going into the races as it was my first big US race of the year, but I was pleasantly surprised. On Friday night, I soon became comfortable in the pack and took a go at an attack - the big teams weren't all that interested and let me go - unfortunately no one was interested and I hung out in front by myself for a couple of laps and then was reeled in. While it didn't really seem like much, being able to be aggressive let me get my feet underneath me and really set the tone for a successful weekend of racing. As the race wound down I was feeling the heat (36 degrees + every day - which is REALLY hot when the race I did the weekend before finished in 11 degrees and pissing rain!) and when they called a "gambler's prime" with one to go, I decided to go for it. Unfortunately I was taken at the line by Catherine Powers (Aaron's Furniture Professional Cycling Team), but it positioned me well (albeit at a heart rate of 203) for the final lap where I just held on for dear life and finished in 12th position - but Nicky got 3rd!
Immediately after the race we jumped in the van for a 6 hour excusion up to Baltimore ending at 3am- lovely city by the way...wouldn't recommend walking around after dark.... Our race on Saturday was a large loop through a city park that didn't really boast corners so much as two chicanes and a 100m short incline to the finish line. Cheerwine was firing on all cylinders after a 1,2 placing the day before by Laura Van Guilder and Kelly Benjamin, but there were numerous other big teams in contention as 90 girls took to the line. The race was again aggressive without anything threatening getting away - mostly as the course did not lend itself to that type of racing. About halfway through a prime was called and as we rounded the final turn I could feel that the enthusiasm was a little lacklustre. I drew even with the front of the pack and realized that no one was watching me, so I decided to go for it. Again, it was Catherine Powers of Aarons that challenged me for the prime, but this time I took the better of her - at the time I wasn't sure what the prime was for - but I am now the owner of Aveda hair products...so that was fun! After the prime, four of us distanced ourselves from the pack being myself, Catherine, Sarah Uhl (Cheerwine) and a Targettraining rider - the numbers were decent and I thought we might have a chance. Unfortunately I was also cooked from the sprint and we were gobbled up pretty quick. Coming through with one lap to go, I was in great position - about 5th wheel in a strung out pack. As we rounded the bend to the bottom of the course you could hear the mass confusion of the leadout trains desperately trying to get organized. Nothing seemed to work and the pack swarmed with about 800m to go. I tried to keep my cool and followed wheels through the chicane (although one cantankerous lady decided to push me into the gravel - on purpose - with abou 400m to go). My experience from the lap earlier told me that the right hand side of the sprint would open up so I followed wheels and in fact the road did open up and I sprinted home to 8th place. Van Guilder took the win ahead of Kate Bates (current World Points Race Champion - T-Mobile) and Theresa Cliff-Ryan (current US crit Champ - Verducci Breakaway).
Going into the final day - the Tour of Somerville - I was pretty happy with how things had been going. I was excited for another day of fun racing and it didn't disappoint. In the early stages, I found myself out front in a small group contesting primes. I wasn't there necessarily on purpose, but I followed wheels and ended up out front. On the first one I was outgunned, but I ended up taking a mid-point prime (I found out later it was a points prime...) which allowed me to become acquainted with the LONG (800m) finishing straight. Things continued to be aggressive with another 90 girls showing up to race on the US holiday Monday and with 3 laps to go, I decided to sit in and rest up the legs. On the final lap, the field started to get antsy. I knew that it was going to be a finish of patience, but I was happy to be in front of a small crash that occured about 900m out from the finish about 3/4 of the way back in the pack. As we came onto the final straight I was trying to fight for a wheel, but apparently not being all the successful as my friend Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine) very kindly suggested to me that I might want to find a wheel. I followed her up to the front and quickly moved behind the front girl in the Colavita train as to stay on the outside of the pack. With about 300m to go I heard "Go Jenny" from behind assuming that it was Nicky wanting me to lead her out. I jumped and got on top of the gear. I looked over to my left and could see Kate Bates out of the corner of my eye just before Cliff-Ryan shot by. I stood up to punch it again in a bigger gear and sadly enough was waiting for people to come by. To my left I could see that Bates wasn't really taking any ground out of me and when I passed the crosswalk about 10m from the finish, I couldn't believe that I was still out in the wind. I crossed the line in pure amazement - I had just podiumed at an NRC! After spinning around for about half a lap with wide eyes muttering things to myself, things started to register - unfortunately I needed to be at the airport ASAP! I politely asked the podium people to get it done as fast as possible and went to pack up my bicycle. The podium was super cool and I'm still waiting to get pictures...
The whole experience was great - as you might be able to tell by my lack of ability to make this concise. It was really great to see what we are doing is preparing for the next level. I really do feel that I was able to better read the race due to the way that we have been racing and without a doubt the fitness that I've gained has been invaluable as well. The only thing missing on Monday was my team! I wish that you all could have been down there to celebrate with me - this team ROCKS! Thanks for all your support girls - I mean it when I say I couldn't have done it without you!

The Final Fix

The last of the Quebec based Canada Cup races came and went last Saturday. For this race, I’ll start at the beginning of the week because it was by far the favourite location and race for most.

Mont Tremblant Quebec is located approximately 2 hours outside of Montreal...no idea what direction! It’s kinda like a Whistler of the East. My crew arrived Sunday afternoon after watching the downhill at Bromont. After a delicious dinner of beef fajitias we fell asleep, happy and contented to be in Tremblant.

I woke up early the next morning as I slept on the pull out couch and it was PRETTTYYY uncomfortable! So my ride started at around 7:20AM. It was such a cool ride, I just kept riding this old road out to a little village outside of Tremblant, climbing up different ski hill “braps” on my way. The next day I rode to the top of the Tremblant ski mountain which was AMAZING. It was such a good climb. STEEP and lasted for about an hour. I followed the service road u and all along the road there were millions of trails BUT they were banned to cyclists as the residence there didn't want the mountain to accommodate cyclists!?! The top of the mountain was amazing, so high and sunny. The hills seemed to roll out in front of me like throw rugs. I took a billion pictures!

Wednesday the course finally opened for the one time a year cyclists were allowed to ride Tremblant trails and I took full advantage. I trained really hard on the trails to try and get a good feel for the course. It was sooooo cool. It started on a climb, logging road climb, and then ducked into a technical single track up hill. I had done tons of training runs on the course with the Manitoba girls and I felt confidant going into the race...not to mention the triple brew coffee I was fed before the race. Literally I was shaking. It was INSANE. I’m making it a race ritual! So anyways, Me and crazy frenchie (Adrienne Pichette) got the whole shot at the start of the race despite my shitty starting position (due to the Bromont disaster) and I followed her wheel off the start until the single track where she started to fumble. I passed her for a little while, but basically Adrienne lead the entire race. Second lap came around and I was right with Adrienne still, I got so excited! Given’er up the climb she seemed to be fading, but we remained tight. When the downhill came along I wanted to just soar. But, to my surprise I didn't have any front brakes. The entire brake pad system had FALLEN OUT! I was screwed. I did what I could with a back brake only, but basically lost a lot of time and confidence going down. I got passed by another crazy french girl on the third lap downhill and finished third. I was so ridiculously stoked! It was soooo much fun! Definitely one of the best races of my life.

After the race my boyfriend, Eric, and his parents took me out for an amazing, fancy dinner at the Fairmont hotel. It was WICKED. Sipping on New Zealand white wine, feasting on lobster and an amazing asian buffet we left full and with a successful glow.

BC Cup #3 SFU

Another BC Cup race under our belts! This was a great course, spectator friendly, a couple of good climbs and a nice descent that was just long enough to allow the stragglers to catch back on. Unfortunately Team Giant didn't have there best race due to some sickness and unexpected asthma attacks, however, we still managed to give it our all and took third spot on the podium. The race started with a neutral descent which kept the group all together before the climbing began. I (Leah) set a steady pace the first lap trying to test out the field and see who had their climbing legs. Most of the pack stayed together. It wasn't until the next lap that the group was shattered. Claire attacked on the second lap up the climb and Leah Goldstein and Allison Testroete chased her down forming a gap from the main group. Unfortunately, I wasn't positioned very well and got boxed in as I watched the two girls get away. Claire came back into the chase pack and I started to chase the two girls down. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to be happy to sit on my wheel and let me do all the work. Finally, two girls decided to start to take a pull, but it was too late. Leah Goldstein was out of sight, however, Allison fell back into the chase pack that included me and Claire. I made a couple of attempts to initiate a break, however, the descent kept bringing people back together. On the last lap, the group was somewhat diminished and my main competitors, Allison and Marnie, were at my side as we were closely approaching the finish line. Thanks to Jeremy, I was given directions up the last short climb towards the finish line. I was out front and feeling confident that second was in the bag, however, Allison came shooting past me at the line and left me to take third. It was a learning experience at its best, next time I will remember to shift to the BIG RING!!! Overall, it was a good race and a good learning experience. I am very excited for next weekend- Provincials!!! The Giant girls will be out in good form and ready to do what they do best- RACE!

Enumclaw RR

The final stage of the weekend featured a road race that topped off the teams success from the crit. The course included one 3 km climb that we rode each of the 4 laps, and one hot spot sprint for points. The nature of an omnium race based on points required us to grab as many points as possible, which included keeping as many Giant girls up at the front until the sprint second lap. Jenelle was feeling sick so she decided to go from the gun as hard as possible, and put us in a great position to watch the other riders work at the front, while she managed to get 55 seconds away from the pack. The pace up the first climb was high, where we eventually caught Jenelle, and our newly found crit rider, GC contender Leah easily matched the fastest riders over the climb. The team worked hard to bring it back together in order to keep our sprinters in contention for the valuable points. Unfortunatly there was a slight mistake in the direction of the course, which I would like to add the T-Mobile womens' team made a wrong turn in stage 2 (Team TT) of Tour de l'Aude this year, mistakes happen. Leah and myself ended up at the front only to watch Stacy Spencer and Kelly Murden sprint for the points. I had a small moment of feeling very small (figuratively speaking of course), and as though there was nothing I could have done other than watch these two sprinters ride much faster than I was. I was relieved to see the group back together and find the Giant sprinters back with us where upon I was motivated once again, someday perhaps i'll be able to sprint, i'm still working on it. The next time up the hill the tempo picked up and one again Leah was able to match the pace of Leah Goldstien (Symmetrics), Alison Testrote (Expresscopy), and Suz Weldon (Wines of Washington) and these girls slipped away from the bunch. Suz Weldon eventually returned to the main group and left the 3 woman break to take up the podium. Leah finished 3rd. The rest of the race continued with relitively little action other than being neutralized a few times for the men...The pace up the climbs split up the group a bit, but everyone was brought back together for a final sprint finish. I did what I like to do near the end, go to the front and hammer, keep my fingers crossed that no one attacks and that I see Jenny fly by me on the way to a victory. Claire was there keeping the pace high and marking riders. We rode the final kilo, speed picking up, and went into the last corner with 200 m to go, wide open sprint, and Jenny beat out Laura Brown and Kelly Murden for the bunch sprint which put her in 3rd. I ended up 10th and Claire 12th.
Overall, successful with a lot more to learn, and in the right direction.
The final note...it was pooring rain and I have a GIANT bruise on my hip and elbow from my less than elegant crit crash.

Bromont Disaster

So Bromont was a complete disaster. We got there on the Monday evening after Baie St Paul, leaving us plenty of time to pre-ride and get to know the course. First arriving, the hotel owners warned us the weather looked pretty bad for the week, but no one really listened as it was 22 degrees outside and SUNNY. We woke up Tuesday morning to pouring rain, wind and 2 degree temperatures. I went for a ride, but it was bitter and very unmotivating. Wednesday was no better, and Wednesday is usually like a mock race day, which means I was go out on to the course and hammer out a ideal race, in this case 3 laps. I got to the end of lap one and felt like screaming I was so cold and uncomfortable, I rode back to the motel after only an hour of riding. Thursday was also prettty disgusting out, although a little bit better so I went out and got the mock race in. By the time our race started Saturday it was actually kinda clear, cold, but clear non the less. To tell you the truth I went into the race not knowing how everything went together. The race commisaires had changed the course all around Friday, my rest day, so I didn't get a chance to pre-ride it again after they made the changes. It started on a flat to climb, so everyone hammered hard to get to the hill first. I was in second, sitting close on the crazy french girls wheel. I felt awesome. So excited and full of adrenaline. She was suffering out front and kept yelling at me in french something I couldn't make out...probably to take the lead for a while, but I'm not going to lie, I didn't, I just kept sitting there. At the top of the climb I felt awful. I kept getting head rushes and finally just threw up. After that little fiasco, I fully blacked out for a second and so then fell down a part of the downhill, flatting my front tire. By this time I was sitting about fourth, but we were in a tight pack. I struggled to change my flat as my hands were so shaky. I fixed it pretty fast and jumped back on. Not even 10 minuted later I flatted again, it was sooo annoying, but in appempt to fix it I ran out of CO2 and couldn't finish the race.

Presently I am sitting in our Tremblant hotel, sipping soy milk and cleaning ma bicyclette. The trails here are amazing, I am crazy about this course. It's going to be a fun weekend!

Leah's First Win! With many more to come...

Saturday afternoon was GIANT TIME yet again down in Enumclaw, Washington. The team took our test run from the Tuesday nighter earlier in the week where we placed 1,2 and applied it against a much stronger field and came out victorious. The Enumclaw crit was the second stage of a three stage omnium points race and we were firing on all cylinders after a somewhat lacklustre TT had left our team's strategy direction wide open.
Right from the gun, the race proved to be interesting with the eventual ominium leader Kele Murdin (Team Ultralink) going down in the first corner of the race. The course is a technical figure eight (fun!) and the ante was upped by scattered showers that eventually turned into torrential rain. Off the bat, I moved to the front in an attempt to keep the pace high. Half a lap in, I realized that Stacey Spencer (Colavita) had decided to let me get a gap, so I decided to start working it and punched it out of the corners for the next few laps. In my stint off the front (I think it was between 4-6 laps) I managed to get up to a 9 second gap and two primes - one useful ($50) and one ridiculous ("handmade" jewlery - let me know if you want it!), but eventually I was eaten back up.
The meat of the race was then punctuated by numerous primes (of which I managed to come 2nd in 2 - but of course 2nd in primes doesn't mean anything!) and a wreck - yet again in corner one - this one claiming our very own Alena. She hit the ground and slid out, but luckily nothing that would stay with her other than road rash and she was able to come back strong for Sunday's roadrace.
With about three laps to go, after a prime had been called, the heavens decided to really open up. Leah and myself were near the front and Jeremy made the call to have Leah go for it as she was our GC hope going into the next day. As appears to be customary in NW racing, the girls watched her ride away and only about a lap later realized that this was potentially VERY dangerous with such an engine out front. Leah hammered and rode the crit course like it was nobody's business while Claire and I marked wheels near the front. The Symmetrics duo of Leah Goldstein and Marni Hambleton made a couple of efforts to bring her back, but without the cooperation of the pack, Leah's lead grew to 10+ seconds in the dying laps of the race.
With just under one lap to go for the field, it became apparent to me (and probably everyone else) that she was going to stay away - which was incredible, but made my job clear. I positioned myself behind Alison Testeroete's (Expresscopy.com) who was on Murdin's wheel. We shot out of the final chicane and jammed the last 200m, but I came up a little short on Testeroete - however giving Giant 1 and 3 - not a bad day at the office!
A couple of notes on the race:
1) Leah, I bet you didn't think that you're first win would be in a crit! How awesome is she and how great is the team that we managed to get our GC rider to win the crit???
2) Pickle rocked out in her first 1-3 crit and fought to stay with the front group - you are a star!
3) Awesome work girls - I'm really, REALLY proud of us!

Baie St Paul Canada Cup #1

Our first Canada Cup race of the season commenced at 12:00 noon Sunday May 13th. Here all of elite men and women, and junior men and women started. I was so nervous at the start, but I kept repeating in my head to have fun and relax. It was just a race. Starting out was wicked. I got so excited. A crazy french girl gav’er off the start and I stuck on her wheel. The course was really cool. Not really like any other I had been on. It was very flowy and didn’t have any real climbs. Up down, up down.... for 20km. Myself and three other girls switched positions for the first 2 laps, but on our final lap I put the hammer down and tried to stay with the crazy french girl. I ran out of water really close to the beginning of the lap, so it’s kind of a fuzzy scene. I got super dehydrated and pretty delirious. I raced like mad though. I wanted to catch crazy frenchie SOOO much. I didn’t end up catching her though, I finished a little less than a minute back, second place of the junior women. It was AWESOME. I was SOO stoked on my final results.

The Rat Race

This past weekend was my first cross country marathon bike race. It was held in Roberts Creek on the Sunshin-ing Coast. Waking up to rain wasn't exactly my idea of a good time, but as we neared the race start, the clouds disappeared and the skies smiled down. Today was a good day I decided.

The race commenced shortly after 10:30AM. With a gun to signal go and 2 logging trucks creating a scary, loud tunnel we were off on our 48 km pain filled bike ride. Starting the race out feeling awesome, I sprinted up close to the front. This race was on home turf and everyone I knew and loved was there watching and cheering. It was awesome. I felt so appreciated. The first 12 km was a massive, vertical climb up a local favourite, Pumpkin Patch..note to self, ride DOWN Pumpkin Patch. No, it was tough, but I had spent countless hours going over lines and repeating the hill so I knew exactly how I wanted the race to go. I got to the hill and didn't feel great, which was a little discouraging, but it takes time to warm up and I needed to respect that of my body. After a while of climbing and breathing hard, my body felt warm. I was then having fun. The climb just kept ascending, it was like a never ending nightmare of mud and slick rock. When we finally did reach the top, again, there was a huge crowd of loved ones cheering me on.
Getting to the decent I wanted to make up some time. I was sitting about 10th over all woman and wasn't really to content with that placing. I sprinted as hard as I could down the hill, basically having no control at all. My arms were like jello and the trails were so rutted out and muddy that my eyes were closed. The whole way down I screamed I had no brakes so people would move HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH. It was cool. When I finally reached the bottom of the first decent there was a feed station, my mom was happily waiting with my friends and brother. STOKED to have such an amazing support team mountain biking, and with a new bottle of gatoraded-water. I started to ascend one more time. The climbing in that was ruthless. JEEZZEEEE.....
Then some more stuff happened, in which I would explain but it basically is the same as above and that would just bore you. So I will skip to the ending....
The last decent was approaching and I was sitting 5th woman. I knew at the bottom of this decent I had a little uphill sprint and then the finish line. I went hard along the downhill and nearing the uphill road I saw my dad. Just seeing his face light up wanted to make me cry. I hadn't really been getting along with him lately and to see him proud of me and appreciating what I was doing was the best part of the race for sure. "GO SHORTYYYYY" he screamed and I sprinted like mad to that finish line.
I finished 5th woman and first junior, but best of all, had a SUPER fun race. I was feeling like lately all my races were based on contending other people. I went into this race in a different mind frame. I wanted to race this race for myself, not for others. It was so good. I did things because I wanted and didn't base my decisions on what would please other people.
Thank you Rod and Tanya, you guys are awesome Race organisers. The Rat Race 2007 was a huge success and we were lucky to benefit from all your hard work.

bye bye cat 4

Well i must say it was rather fun while it lasted but alas i must join the big girls in their game.
this weekend signaled the end of cat 4 riding for me, but not to worry i went out with a bang.

After arriving to the Saturday rr with just enough time to sign on , get changed and warm up ( thanks to a directionally challenged driver ) the two giant "kids" lined up to score some BC team points and cause some pain ( for both ourselves and our competitors ). Within the first quarter lap we were accomplishing our goal. Without and conscious effort on the team's part the pack had fragmented into several smaller clumps with the front group only registering 6 ( some credit must however go to the new, but fast Megan Rathwell for pulling the unwilling group up the first long climb ) by the time we got to the top of the WALL OF DOOM the lead pack was down to 4 with Megan Rathwell powering off the front. After some shared effort with one of the local ride girls and some yo-yoing I Finaly caught up with her just before the end of the lap, only to have her slip away again when we reached the WALL. But a certain spectator wasn't about to let me loose her and followed me yelling for me to ride faster ( i was pretty sure that wasn't possible but a scary guy in a large truck is pretty good motivation ) with about 7 km to go i caught her and sat on her wheel waiting for her to make me pull or for her to attack , but neither happened and it came down to a sprint for first , after her power housing the course i had the legs and took the win by several bike lenghts.

Sunday morning came far to early and i dawned my skin suit at 7:30 am and started warming up for what was to be my hilliest time trial yet, now i must admit that time trials are not my favourite form of punishment but this one was much less horrible and i ended up 3rd ( which ment that i needed to win the crit to keep the overall )

As Sunday afternoon rolled around i was excited about the technical but flat crit that i was about to embark on. After umpteen times around the course i lined up front and center , ready. the pace was moderate from the gun and picked up a bit for a few of the laps but nothing that would really shatter the group. because of my solo status and the nasty headwind i sat out of the wind in second place for 90 percent of the race watching for anything dangerous but nothing really presented itself and it wasn't until the prime lap that the speed picked up again with Liz from local ride making a serious effort for the three points , but after some good cornering i had a gap and sprinted for the line and took the points. When i crossed the line and looked back i realized that i had quite a gap and made an effort to stay away but the group pulled me back and i took my second wheel spot back with no opposition . In the final lap Rachel Canning and i jumped and seceded in acquiring a small gap which we kept to the line.

well im going to miss not being the poor sucker suffering off the back but my dues must be paid and im down with suffering as long as i learn somthing aling the way.
bye bye cat 4

The Ridge Crit

The crit course in Haney was one of the coolest courses that I've seen - sharp corners, with half the course really wide, then funneling into a very skinny U-shaped 180 degree corner with a park in the middle for interactive spectatorship!

Bill Pickle, aka Chelsea Bilsbarrow, dominated the Cat 4 women and won all three stages this weekend, including the prime...she showed them no mercy!! Congrats Pickle, and welcome to Cat 3:)

Our team numbers dwindled from 8 to 4 on Sunday for the crit, with just Leah, Claire and myself left to defend Leah's overall lead for the stage race. Claire and I could feel the pressure before the race, it was perfect, just the pressure that we needed!

Claire did a great job covering any attacks at the front, while I marked other potential racers that could take points for the overall (especially Leah's good friend Jean-Anne!). We were on every attack that was lauched, and never let one go...
As the race went on to half way, BH lauched an attack every lap, obviously trying to tire out the rest of us to get there sprinter Laura Brown the win.
With the prime lap called, I moved to the front of the pack into the last two corners, with Claire leading Leah up on the outside - the perfect lead out! We came around the corner with Claire leading where she enable me to take the prime with Leah in second holding off Laura Brown in 3rd.
With only 5 minutes to go, the pace slowed and it was obvious that it would be a pack sprint for the finish. Jean-Anne lauched one more try for a breakaway, but we hooked her back in...
The bell lap saw myself and Leah sitting in 5th and 6th for the final corner where we were able to outsprint 2 riders for a 3rd (Leah) and 4th finish, respectively keeping Leah in 1st Overall for the Stage Race!!

Thanks for a great race ladies!