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Laura, Jenny, and Myself travelled to Seattle this past weekend for some track. The highlights of the weekend were frist time ride team pursuit, and the madison, and seeing winter training partner Kele.
so here are some shots...

blowing my way through white rock

me and the mayor...
I started out the Tour de White Rock with the mind set to hang on to the leaders as long as i could. I knew before the race that this course is not necessarily the best viking course, with all those hills involved, but i was going to see what i could do. And thats what i did. After the field was whittled down to 15 riders or so, with one jazzy apple up the road, it was a fight. After getting dropped from the small pack nearly every climb on every lap, and with the help of Jess i would make contact with the chasers after every feed zone. On last lap after making contact for the last time, i knew it was going to be good for me. so i set myself up for the sprint finish. Jess was amazing and made sure to keep the pace high. I was a little pinched in but managed to wiggle my way out and sprint to a 3rd place. No way.

White Rock Criterium

It was a busy week of racing and our team rode hard and we had consistent success.  With two races to go legs were definitely starting to feel tired and our team was slightly down in numbers and one of our top sprinters at home sick.  The weather was perfect all week and it was the same for the crit.  As we lined up against some top teams and riders we played a big role in the race.  Moriah set a hard, fast pace and Laura was on top of some key moves making sure that no dangerous attacks went off the front. There was some attrition with the slight hill on the backside dropping some riders, but for the most part the race stayed together and no breaks were successful.  I had some confidence issues after a pretty good crash at Delta the weekend before, but was able to get to the front midway during the race to help pull a potentially dangerous attack back to the field.  Steph made it into the next break and I thought (and I think a few other people thought) it would stay away, but a strong group of girls pulled it back and it ended up as a bunch sprint.  Steph Roorda, after working hard to get into the break, sprinted to 5th place.   She was impressive in all the crits and I was really proud of her on sunday in the road race.  The hills were relentless and persistence paid off.  She was 3rd in the road race. Congrats Steph!  Congratulations to the Giant Whistler team.  We rode well and had great results.  A big thank you to Jeremy for all his time and effort as well as Local Ride for their technical expertise!  It was a fun week!! Gotta love bike racing:)

Tour de White Rock Homelife Hill Climb - Moriah MacGregor

With clear skies and sun pouring down White Rock scores a perfect 10 as a bike race venue. Friday night witnessed the kick off of the 29th annual Tour de White Rock, opened with a leg wrenching 700-meter climb up Buena Vista Avenue. Competitors race 2-up from the base of the 3-part climb, departing at 1-minute intervals; the top 5 times repeat in a head to head battle for the podium. Despite the effort being short, between 2 and 3 minutes, it is imperative to pace oneself in order to be able to handle the up to 16% grades encountered ½ way through.

Giant Canada/ Team Whistler put fourth a healthy showing with Steph Rooda narrowly missing the top 5, followed by solid rides from Shani, Jen, Moriah and Laura. Jenny Trew encountered some bad luck picking up a stomach bug that would keep her out of competition for the rest of the weekend. Jess rested her injured arm, providing support from the sidelines.

With legs opened and spirits high look for the Giant/Team Whistler girls to be tearing it up in the final 2 events of BC Superweek! And don’t forget your sunscreen!!

Giro di Burnaby - by Jenny Trew

Thursday night saw my second night back in Giant colours after a successful weekend at Delta. I was personally pretty pumped to be heading to our local Giro with the girls as we were rather successful here last year and I really like the course: an 8 corner crit with a fast downhill finish. Going into the race I felt we had a really good chance of making the podium and I, for one, was looking forward to honing out my leadout skills for Steph and Lisa - who has returned to super form!
We were really active in the race - definately a force to be reckoned with as we continually threw riders off the front. The most notably attempts were those made by Pickle and Steph, the latter of which was out front for a good amount of time on a very windy and lonely course. I'd also like to give Laura Brown a notable mention for riding as an excellent teammate - most specifically for one point in the race when Gina was going for a flyer but didn't make it much off the front of the pack due to a very strong effort by Downtown.
As the race wound down into the final laps, Lisa and I hovered around the front and she did a good job of sticking to my wheel like glue. The leadouts started relatively early and with four corners to go, Cheerwine decided that they didn't want to be on the front anymore...which left me there! I hesitated for a second, but then I ramped it up and then jumped coming out of the second to last corner (hoping that Lisa was still there!) I accelerated through the final corner as fast as I could and swept it wide so that people could only pass on my left. The first rider to smoke past me on her way to the finish was Kelly Benjamin of Cheerwine - who managed to hold her lead until the finish. She was closely followed by the speedy clump of Gina Grain (Webcor) and Ruth Corset (Jazz Apple) and our very own Lisa Howard, in that order. Lisa did very commendably - considering that the hree on the podium are full time bike racers! Steph also put in a killer sprint to cross the line in 6th (possibly going the fastest!) but she had unfortunately been shuffled back a little earlier in the final lap.
All in all it was another strong day - with lessons to improve upon - for the Giant squad. I love this team!

GASTOWN

Lisa came away with her 4th time 5th placing at the Tour de Gastown Wednesday night. Pretty amazing considering a stage of pro riders who will be heading to the Olympics in a few weeks! The Giant locals road incredibly strong throughout the race by chasing down attacks and keeping our sprinters protected. Jess road an amazing race as she was still suffering from the crash at the Delta Crit with a mangled arm.

Of course, once again Ian and Dave treated us like queens and Jeremy and Jenelle were key in directing the race.

Ladner Lehigh Cement Criterium

As expected the second race of super week was fast and full on!
With 3 wide open corners the pace was high from the gun with only a momentary res bit provided by the tight final corner. The Giant/Whistler girls were keeping it interesting at the front of the pack until 20 minutes in when a particular fluky crash brought down some of the horsepower... but fear not! The remainder of the girls wasted no time moving up and covering the gaps in the pack. The second half of the race was a series of attacks and counterattacks by both Giant and the strong visiting teams ( jazz apple from new Zealand and Cheerwine from the states) with the final lap coming down to a bunch sprint that saw Giant's Lisa Howard on the podium in 3rd place. GOOD JOB GIRLS

SUPERweek has arrived! Tour de Delta Prologue

BC Superweek kicked off with the Tour de Delta from July 11-13. The Prologue was located in the heart of downtown Delta. There was 43 women from all over - New Zealand's Jazz Apples, Cheerwine Pro Cycling and ValueAct Capital just to name a few. Riders went flying down the start ramp every 30 seconds in attempts to set the fastest time. The course was about 3km long with four corners, one roundabout, and a short uphill finish. No pacing involved in this race folks - you go out hard and in the words of Elmar, you maintain that "I cant stand it speed." Our team had some fantastic results!! Downtown (me) landed on the podium in 2nd place - 0.42 seconds away from the win by Ruth Corset of Jazz Apples. The Viking (Steph Roorda) placed 4th, 4 seconds back from the winning time. We had girls in 6th, 7th, and 8th place (guest riders Moriah Macgregor and Jenny Trew, and our very own Doc Howard respectively). Saturday is the criterium and the Giant/Whistler team was in good standing and looking good.

Yaletown Grand Prix

It all started with a bird. A pigeon with very good aim that is. Covered in bird shit on Monday while searching for an internet cafe to register for Yaletown the following day, my buddy Mike informed me, "Thats good luck you know". Road racing requires a little luck and I got a whole crap load of that at the Yaletown Grand Prix.

Yaletown was hard from the start, thanks to Jenn who drove the first 4 laps and busted the race apart. At about 20 laps to go Gillian from Total Restoration attacked and I went with her. We got into a good rhythm of pulling 1/2 laps each and agreed to split the primes to maintain cohesiveness. At 8 laps to go I knew we had it and began getting excited. With 2 corners left I attacked, but went to the outside with not quite enough uumph to go first into the last turn which is the position I knew I had to be to take it. Sometimes a break works and sometimes it doesn't. Glad this one did!Back in the bunch sprint, Lisa won the sprint securing third for the team.

A very, very big thanks to Ian for looking after my dog Angus during the race! And to all our support from Team Whistler, Giant, and the Local Ride!! We Giant/ Team Whistler girls are so lucky!!

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..... 

back in the saddle

after 4 months devoted to pretty much whatever i felt like( in new zealand) it was quite a shock being dropped right back into real life. In many ways things had changed for the better and a few for the worse , but mainly everything was the same ; i went back to the same job, moved back into the same house , visited the same coffee shops , and waited in line for the same ( still overpriced)ferry to go to another bike race.

while the team still had some of the original members it had acquired a few more marvelous women. i was super stoked to meet all the new girls but kept hullos short so Jeramey could get to the race plan. it was pretty simple , ride hard. ....OK i can handle that. i hoped the bike touring hadn't been to bad for my race fitness. luckily it wasn't, but riding for so long by my self had diminished my pack skills and i was repeatedly in the wrong spot.i would love to report on how the rest of the team was riding but i was pretty concentrated on not ending up eating pavement , though i seem to recollect quite i bit of giant aggression off the front with a valiant effort by the super Shani. In the end we made a few minor mistakes is the final 500m and missed the podium spots we were aiming for, but all in all i think the girls did a good job. i cant wait till i get back in th swing of things and can do a little more to help out the team , it seems to be a great group of women who know how to kick some butt....now thats something i want to be part of

the pickle

A Weekend of Podiums

Hey Giant Bicycles Canada/Team Whistler fans!

As you probably already know, this weekend was RACE THE RIDGE, a grueling stage race put on by our friends and supporters at Local Ride Bike Shop in Maple Ridge. It seems lately that all the races are put on by Local Ride and are in Maple Ridge...

It started out with the most brutal of road race courses, where I'll estimate that at least 1/3 of the total ride time was spent climbing. A real test of fitness!

Our resident climber (and TTer, and crit rider) Jess Hannah did us proud by making the first selection and coming fourth in the bunch sprint, finishing in fifth place behind perpetual soloist and race winner Leah Goldstein. Rounding out the top 5 were Marni Hambleton of ValueAct Capital, Sarah Stewart of Total Restoration and Jean-Ann McKirdy of Rocky Mountain in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Steph Roorda fought a bitter battle to stay in contact with the front group, and finished a respectable 9th place.

Our sights then turned to the overall. We knew we could have excellent results in the TT and crit, stealing away valuable points from our competitors. Laura Brown rode an amazing TT, finishing only 36 seconds behind Leah Goldstein. Jess Hannah finally remembered how it's done, finishing 3rd only 2 seconds behind Laura Brown. Steph Roorda also rode well, finishing 5th, 24 seconds behind 4th placed Sarah Stewart.

Our awesome TT results made it mathematically possible to win the overall, and secure 2 steps on the podium. With 2 bonus points sprints up for grabs, it was important for us to control, or should I say dominate the crit... and dominate we did!

The pace started high thanks to early attacks by Laura Brown, who selflessly killed herself to force the chase by Total Restoration. As I recall it, Jess Hannah spent the majority of the race off the front (in several installments) picking up 6 bonus points, with Steph Roorda picking up an extra 4. Team Giant/Whistler controlled the race with riders Lisa Howard (!) and Shoshaunna Laxson, launching attacks and following moves left right and centre. The pace was kept high in the final two laps by Steph, Jess, and Lisa who kept it so high that no one could come around them - finishing first second and third! A podium sweep for Giant!

As for the overall... Jess Hannah tied Leah Goldstein of Total Restoration for the win, with 40 points. Unfortunately, ties are broken in favour of the best TT, and Leah ended up on the top step of the podium. Steph Roorda picked up enough points in the crit to secure 3rd spot with 35 points - 3 points ahead of 4th place finished Sarah Stewart.

A great race for the team! I personally was so impressed with how well the team raced together. I would say the best execution of a plan in Giant history. After this I'm quite confident that the BC cup lead is still secure in Steph's hands. Thanks again to our friends at Local Ride for the great race and all the support!

checking out our competition...

Next up: Team Coastal Race May 25th in Surrey - stay tuned!

Walla Walla Crit

Steph brings it home!

Viking sprints for QOM at the top of the 3km climb

Jenn after a hard days work for the team.

Walla Walla Stage Race

This past weekend we travelled to Walla Walla for three days of great team racing, with proven results from lots of hard work together!

Friday's road race, not included in the Sat/Sun stage race, was our opportunity to take risks and hang it out there. We launched attack after attack right from the start and managed to get Jess Hannah in the 6 man break after the first long climb. The winds were brutal and cold, getting up to 80km/hr and Jess was able to break away on a climb from the group for 15 mins before realizing that there was still 10km to go in the driving wind. Jess ended up in 5th place... a great result amoungst some of the strongest riders in the Northwest. Steph won the chase pack sprint, placing 7th with a great lead out from Heather.

The stage race commenced on Saturday with a 10km TT where Laura Brown showed her TT prowess by placing 3rd out of close to 90 starters. Jess was close in at 10th. Though the road race had several obstacles, including two times up a 3 km climb which marked the QOM (queen of the mountain) and finish line, the pack stayed mostly together. Jenn drove the pace at the front for the first 30km working hard for the team. Steph won the QOM sprint the first time over the hill and took 4th at the finish, Heather crossed in 12th. Shani had a great race, showing awesome stamina and power.

The Criterium was ours. Laura took shift number one, driving the pace, making lots of legs hurt. Then it was Jess and Heather taking turns attacking and chasing down anything threatening. With just under one lap to go, Steph saw her opportunity and took it, arriving over the finish line way ahead of the pack. The Queen of the mountain can sprint too... or is it the other way around!!!?

The placings of the weekend were a result of lots of hard work this spring together, great team leadership, direction and support. The 2nd place standing in the TEAM GC is pretty indicative of this.

Correction!

Correction to the Harris Roubaix report:

Lisa Howard - 5th place
Jenelle Cassidy - 7th place

BC Cup Numero Uno

Objective: To win.

In lieu of the Monument that is Paris-Roubaix, over 40 women set out for 10 laps of the 7km loop consisting of 6 corners and ~3km of hard-packed gravel. Our goal was the stay near the front at all times and be aggressive. Right from the gun, the team set a high, hard pace for the first lap. There were several attacks from the Team Giant/Whistler Canadians. None of them staying away for long. One of the attacks unfortunately ended with a woman down in corner 3, but put in a valiant effort to chase back on (we all wish Jessica Hannah a quick rebound!). With 5 laps to go, our very own Viking (a.k.a. Stephanie Roorda) put in a spicy attack in the gravel section. No other riders in the main pack were willing to put out the effort needed to chase her down. Steph, with her head down and legs turning, she pulled away from the pack and the gap only grew: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 1 minute. As she was hammering away at the course solo, the rest of us girls were patrolling the front and covering any dangerous chase-attempts. She won with almost a minute and HALF on the main group! Plenty of time to revel in a well-deserved win. Stay tuned for some sweet winning salute pictures. The rest of us set up for the sprint finish in hopes to round out the top 5. Dr. Lisa Howard sprinted hard to the line for 4th place. With our lungs burning and legs cramping, we were all smiles. A job well done!

Mission Accomplished.

Back at it!!!

It was pretty close to six years since I have been in a bike race and my first race back was spring series #1. What a way to start, lots of crashes. Ah, the joys of bike racing!! Spring series #2 and #3 brought another weekend of good weather but no crashes this time around. I was pretty nervous on the way to the race on Saturday. I didn’t even realize that I drove over a bridge to get to the house I was spending the weekend at, in fact I didn’t even notice it the 2nd time over to the race either!! And my rear wheel kept going flat but thanks to the amazing support of fellow racers and our race director I had a wheel to race on. Saturday was short and flat, with the pack staying mostly as a bunch. The pace was medium for the first 2 or 3 laps and I finally got to the front. Still need to work on better positioning but felt less sketchy than last week. Managed to get the pace going with a few other guys, though no breaks stuck. Lap 9 I was in good position, hoping to lead Lisa out but still lacking aggression to keep up at the front. But all in all I think the Giant Whistler Elite Cycling team had a presence in the race and how it all panned out. The girls in the C race had some great results too! Sunday was an entirely different story, 11 repeats of Armstrong hill!! I think we were all in for some hurting and I was nervous again. The pack stayed together for the first 4 laps. The pace was hard, but didn’t drop many people. On the 5th climb it did get strung out and a gap formed. I managed to bridge the gap to the main pack, and in the process get away from the majority of the women in the race, save one, a pro mountain biker who stuck out the hills with the fast men. I got dropped on the 6th climb again after bridging the gap, caught back to the pack with a small group of guys but unfortunately we caught them at the base of the climb so that was the last time I saw the lead group. I basically went into tt mode for the last few laps and managed to stay ahead of a hard charging pack of women and a few guys. Luckily for me someone made a break from that pack and mentioned I might want to pick it up for the last 300m because there were three women hot in pursuit. All in all it was a good race. Need to work on acceleration but its good to be back racing my bike! Cheers Jessica

EV Spring Series 2 & 3 --- The C's.

#2 Zero Ave Circuit

Another large turnout for the C group this week. Cloudy skies, cool temperatures and semi-dry roads, no rain.

C group is lined up to do 7 laps of 55 km rolling course. Claire, Jenelle, Shani and I are set to make it hard from the start.

We roll out and make our way to the front, around the first two corners and up the first roller, a Coastal rider attacked. I jumped with him. We established the first break of the day and stay away for almost 3 laps with a 30 sec gap. Four riders started to chase, reeled us back in and bridge what was left of the main field to us.

Laps 3, 4, 5 are riddled with some attacks that don't stick and smack talk about who will contend the sprint. I am feeling good. I am in great position, our group is still together, we round the last corner up the slight uphill to the finish..I jump and sprint, sprint, SPRINT! I start wonder why I don't hear anyone else around me breathing hard??? Wow-- I must be killing them, but then I heard it....DING! DING! DING!! The last lap bell. Doh! Silly me. I think I need to go back to our Learn to Race Clinic and study "The Basics". At least I made it hard for some who thought I was attacking....Ya, that's what I was doing...ATTACKING. Ha!

It's going to be a group sprint. I pull myself together from my unnecessary effort and find my teammates to set up a lead out. We start jostling to get into position as the intensity elevates. Jenelle and Shani are near the front in the last corner and patiently wait till the right second. Shani followed the right wheel and packed in a good sprint to nail a another 3rd place finish for the Giant/Team Whistler girls. Jenelle also in great position duked it out through the field and finished right behind in the top 10. I roll in at back of sprint and I take a lesson learned in Lap Counting 101.


#3 Armstrong Hill
Spring Series training races, more lessons learned.

The numbers are smaller today and there are many people on the line that didn't race yesterday with fresh legs for the dreaded Armstrong Hill Course. Temperatures are cooler with an early start due to the time change. Still, no rain- unbelievable!

Today the C group is 53km and 7 laps for an uphill sprint finish.
Only Shani and I are on the start line today.

On the start line we get a formal apology from a rider who had potty mouth the previous race. Followed by pre-race pow-wow from Austin, re: the usual....yellow line rule, sprinting for 50th place, having our numbers visible etc. Note: Always listen to your race director Austin. We roll out.

We go hard off the start and manage to split the C group up before the hill climb. About 15 of us in this group, we hit Armstrong Hill super hard for 3 laps. On lap 3 all hell breaks loose. I start going backwards but catch back on to find out 5 guys have broke away. I try to get a chase going to catch the dangerous break, hoping we can reel them in and get Shani in there. But efforts are unsuccessful and I crack.

Shani riding super strong, keeps it together and stays with the chasing pack, and finishes the race of attrition in 11th place, which ends up being 10th place. After we find out the rider who earlier had given us the speech, won, but unfortunately had his number hidden under his vest. and is disqualified.

Spring Series 1, river road (imagine a rectangle) B’s

Circuit 6.2km/Laps 13/Total distance 80.6km
13 laps to go
Start of the race, not to slow, not to fast. The main objective for this part of the race was to get to the front.
12 Laps to go
Still a good pace, not to much happening
Laps 11-8 to go
Pace is faster. Attacks were happening everywhere, which were always followed by a chase and then a counter attack. No one could get away, and the speed was fast.
Laps 7-3 to go
More attacks, and the giant whistlers had great positioning.
Jess makes and attack solo and gets a gap. The gap grows with other giant whistlers trying to slow down the pace.
A major chase was formed of mainly the junior men. They were not going to let jess getaway.
Other B’s joined in and amongst the chasers a major crash happened, which resulted in an ambulance being on the course.
2 laps to go
the group is bunched up, but we are moving at a sweet clip. And somehow we get shuffled to mid pack. Which is to far back.
1 to go
1st Major crash, Downtown Laura Brown goes down.
I get on Lisa’s wheel. Her amazing pack moving skills are shuffling us to the front, up the middle. But we are not moving fast enough in the midst of the massive sketchiness and last lap confusion.
Corner 3, super speedy Heather moves up the inside to take the lead from Lisa through the corner and into the second last straight. Sketchiness continues and I’m still on Lisa’s wheel with the one corner to go. My leg was quivering turning the last corner, but we were near the front, and ready for the sprint.
Then there was carnage. Bike and people in the ditch and all over the road. Brake levers pulled and the sprint happened, up the road.
First race over, on to the next.

Claire's C race extravaganza

Our first race of 2008 and we have our first podium and 2 in the top 5! It was great day to start our season off as we had some dry weather and great support team support. There was good communication between the girls in the race and we always had a couple of riders at the front ready to cover any breaks. Jen, Shani, Jenelle and I took turns covering some dangerous attacks and as the laps were counted down the pack was still all together. For the last two laps I continued to patrolled the front to try and ensure that no last minute breaks got away and Shani, Jenelle and Jen all maintained good positions up front ready for a great lead out. With half a lap to go Jenelle, Jen and Shani were setting it up but there was some trouble in the final 700m and a few of the lead riders including Shani were taken out in a crash. Jen and Jenelle managed to avoid the crash and finish 5th and 3rd respectively! A podium in the first race of the year. We are off and running.

Learn to Race Clinic

Road racing is hard; there is no doubt about it. The outcome is not just a measure of who is strongest (though it plays a huge factor) but a mixture of tactics, strategy, team work, preparation and pack handling skills. For a newcomer to the racing scene this can be overwhelming, and initiation into the sport can be intimidating. The Learn to Race clinic, held on Saturday March 1st, one day prior to the 1st event on the BC road racing calender was designed to transition recreational riders into racing.

The clinic was held at the Fort Wine Co., which is located right on the 1st race of the Spring Series. The morning consisted of the Giant/ Team Whistler women presenting on racing basics - How to register, preparation, nutrition and hydration, equipment and apparel, racing, and tactics. Then we moved outside and hit the race course, working on double pace lines, echelons and ended the day with a mock 1 lap race!

The participants seemed to go away happy with the clinic and Jennelle, the clinic organizer recieved an email after the race on Sunday which we thought was postworthy:

"I wanted to say thank you to you and the rest of the girls for your help on Saturday. We enjoyed the race on Sunday and felt very well prepared for what could be a scary situation. In conversation we all agreed that you helped us to take the first step into racing, something I have been wanting to do and at the same time avoiding for a few years now... You all took a chunk of your Saturday to help us and thats special in my books"!
Thanks,
Gordon Reddy

A big thanks to Jennelle for all her hard work organizing this clinic, and to the Fort Wine Co. (www.thefortwineco.com) for hosting. Jenelle and I enjoyed an amazing bottle of blueberry wine tonight after our first race and man was it good!!

This ain't no disco, this ain't no country club either...this is LA!

World Cup #3 Los Angles
I prepared harder for this race then any other. I visualized, I stretched, I biked, I ate healthy I even stopped partying… I did it all. Did it help? You betcha.



I have poster on my door that says, “If you DIE, you DIE at the FRONT” Basically it means if you are going to go down you should go down swinging. I knew the Points Race qualifier was going to be a tough one. So the plan was to take a chance. Risk it all….off the front.

The race started off very tranquil and my nerves as opposed to dissipating only swelled. I’m not one of those people who like to roll around for a while and then speed it up near the sprint. I’m more of an aggressive rider and the plan was to focus on good positioning in the first sprint and then look for an opportunity to GO! Immediately after the sprint a Lithuanian girl attacked. I saw my chance and went with her, swooping down the track with reckless inhibition I charged around the velodrome just about lapping the field. My plan was working... I thought. My new found ally and I came within half a lap of lapping the field before things started to unravel. One of the favorites of the race, Jamila Machacova of the Czech Republic (eventual winner of the points race final and newly crowned world cup leader) came flying over me and came within a corner of the back of the main field. The field then reacted, picked up the speed, and caught me just before the second sprint.




In the second sprint the pack went gang-busters and I found myself on the wrong end of the pain train. It wasn’t too much longer of oxygen deprived riding that the blue blazer wearing, "commissar" was asking me to vacate the track. My race was over.

Team Training Camp #1

No wonder Canada produces so many talented strong female riders at the international level. Canadian women are hardcore. It's three hours into a pretty intense ride, PUKING those wet sticky snow flakes the size of toonies and no one is stopping. Ten more minutes, and there is at least two inches of snow to pedal through. Not only the back, but the front tires are skidding out on a climb. It’s not that these women don’t want to stop; the legs are so tired, we’re hungry and cold. It’s just that we know we can make it through, and have put our bodies through much worse. It’s only when our Team Director, Jeremy Storie, pulls the pin that we start squeezing all nine of us with our bikes into the pick-up truck for the ride home. Hadn’t it been for sketchy drivers to worry about, we probably would have kept on going. These gals are tough!

The weather wasn’t all bad for the first Giant Bicycles/ Team Whistler Women’s Cycling Team training camp of 2008. Sunshine and warm weather greeted us for a long Friday ride that took us through the countryside in Langley. On Friday evening we unveiled our beautiful new Giant bikes for the season and motivated each other with our future plans and past adventures. You know you’re in good company when you can relate (sort of) to stories such as riding 300km on only two water bottles and a bar while not passing a single store for food or water, or banter on about the present icons of women’s racing that a group of guys, even racers, just don’t seem to find too enthralling.

Saturday was our hard ride day. The weather held off for most of the ride and we were able to get into a great rhythm and work in a paceline remarkably well considering this weekend was the first outside ride for some members of the team. After two and a half hours of hammering on the flats, we climbed over Mt. Sumas just as the snow started to fly. Oh Canada. Even the weather in the Lower Mainland, where one can ride all winter, can throw a curve (snow) ball at you.

This year, the team is an amalgamation of the Giant Women’s Team and women from Team Whistler (hence the name). Thanks to Tony Routley and Jeremy, this team brings gals from the Mountains, Island, Interior and Lower Mainland of BC together with a common goal… ride hard and strong and contribute to great women’s racing in BC and Canada! Yeehaw, 2008 here we come!

news from kiwi land

As i sit in the info center i cant help but be happy with my dicision to go and train on the other side of the globe,

for starters it's summer ( read very HOT )and the roads are amazing ( read twisty, hilly nightmares ), in all honesty it is great here , the riding is hard and a litty sketchy but qiute enjoyable most of the time ( in any rate it beats cold and rainy). the people are great and i have a had a few chances to ride with the locals. I am finding it hard to see all the advertisement for races ( it's their race season ) and not being able to participate ( my insurance dosn't cover it ).

Today is my rest day and i will be spending it seeing some of the sights around the town im staying in ( Thames), this should take most of the day as Thames was a gold minning town and is bursting from the seams with history.

well off to see the sights.

cheers

pickle

the pickle checks in

this is the pickle ( who is hiding out in kiwi land riding her very HEAVY bike up very BIG hills)
i havent been here long enough to get a real idea of the place but so far :
1) the drivers are nuts !
2) the hills are steep !!
3) the sun is a lot stronger ( i have the burns to prove it )
i will write a proper entrty when i have some time , i have a ways to go yet today

6 Day Race

After being delayed in the Ottawa airport for an hour because of a snowstorm, waiting three more hours on the plane for takeoff, spending 5 and a half hours flying to Vancouver, and then waiting two more hours in the terminal for my luggage which I discovered was not here because the airline had unloaded everyone’s luggage in an effort to conserve fuel, I had reached the point of exhaustion. My mom, dad and I got to our hotel room at 4:30 a.m, and all fell asleep right away.
I woke up early the next morning, after getting a total of about 4 hours sleep. My parents and I spent the day shopping, and by 3:30 p.m. I was fading! In desperation I started phoning and texting everyone I knew on my team trying to figure out who could lend me a kit and a pair of shoes/ pedals because mine were... WHO KNOWS WHERE! I got to the track about 5:30pm and was thrilled to find team mate Jenelle also in the change room and able to lend me a kit. After struggling to get the borrowed pedals on my bike and then layering on 3 pairs of socks to fit the borrowed shoes, I got onto the track for my warmup. I was feeling rusty as I had taken about a week off of riding being back in eastern Canada visiting my boyfriend’s parents for Christmas.
The first race was very eventful. I realized about 30 minutes before the race that everyone I was racing against was using a much larger gear ratio. My coach however saved me and found someone who was willing to lend me a sprocket. I got it on my bike and took it for a test ride, worked great!
The event was a 40 lap scratch race and I had no idea what that meant. I asked Richard, my coach, what that meant. He explained it was like a crit race, the last lap defines the race. Around the half way point I was getting comfortable. I was following my teammates and thought I was positioned well, near to the front. Coming around a corner I realised otherwise. There was someone below me and about three riders above. The three above me were moving down and the one below me was moving up. I got sandwiched in between the racers and flew down onto the track. The shorts Jenelle had loaned me got OWNED and my leg and arm were covered with splinters and roadrash. My head/neck took quite the beating leaving me with little movement hours later. The good news; my helmet was fine! Quickly I jumped back up and shook off the crash. Already first aid was over making sure I was all right and the neutral mechanics were changing my destroyed front wheel. I took the full number of laps to get back in, six, and comfortably started racing again. I finished the race feeling great. I was happy and proud of myself for pushing through the crash.
The second race was an elimination race. Again, I had no idea what that meant. I asked teammate Jenny Trew what that was and she explained that it meant every two laps the last person across the line gets eliminated. I started near to the front and made it down to the final 4, along with Giant riders Jenny and Steph.
The last race was tiring. My lack of sleep was catching up. There was a long time between races and I spent the time spinning and clearing my legs of lactic acid. The last race was a 50 lap points race, which means every 10 laps the first 4 riders are awarded points. By this time I felt like falling asleep. I was so tired and had lost the spunk in my legs. I did my best to finish the race strong and help my teammates do as well as possible.
All in all, I had an awesome time. My coach Richard treated me nothing less that a pro, he coached me all night long and was always there to help me if there was anything I was unsure of. Jeremy, who was hosting the event was also amazing. Even though his hecktic job took his full attention, he always seemed to find a way to have words of encouragment and coaching tips over his P.A for me and other riders as well. I felt very cared for and lucky to have such great support, I am SUPER excited to race on Saturday.

-Shorty