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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.