(Velo Force: Alane Carder, Jamie V, Teresa Sedlacek)The Tour of STL was a lot of fun at the TT above). We had windy but warm weather and great courses! We only had 8 in the womens open group - I always wish there were more. It was a weekend of learning. Working on team dynamics and trying to remember how to sprint again!
The Saturday morning crit went really well. We had a couple of new racers to mix it up and Vanessa McKenize (Peoria Bicycle Club) really laid it out there and went off the front very early in the race. It took is a while to pull her back, she is a strong racer. Our group wasn't organizing well and no one wanted to work. This is my least favorite thing about the open races. On most of the the Cat4 races I did last year there were a larger group of people willing to do some work on the front. But, we got her back. Right after we caught her, I attacked but it did not stick. Even Vanessa was right there! Wow. Kudos to her! My positioning on the final lap was poor to say the least. I had a terrible sprint setup and sort of fell off around the last corner and barely got 6th. Ok, better work on that sprint!
The Saturday afternoon TT was SO windy. We were getting 20-25 mph wind gusts! Out of the gate it felt like I was shot out of a canon! There was a massive tail wind and I was easily hitting over 30 mph. The sad and spirit breaking part was when I turned into the cross and then head wind. It was really hard to stay arero and focused. Had to do a lot of gear shifting and a TT bike sure would have helped out. But, I finished. I was a little disenheartened by my time and place, but when I looked at how I would have placed as a Cat 4, I was a little more happy. I was still placing better in the 4's than I did last year, so an improvement I should be excited about!
The Sunday circuit race was fun as well. My legs strangely enough felt great eventhough they felt like total crap on Saturday. I attacked 3-4 times as I really wanted to work on this. It was fun, though nothing stuck - it would have been hard in the wind. A few other women attacked at various times and overall it was a good race. The final jump came a lot earlier than I expected and I had a hard time staying with it as I was AGAIN not on the right wheel. Darn it. But, I managed 6th....again...still lots to work on...
Slyvan Springs Crit was a really fun course. Flat stretch to the start/finish, long gradual downhill, sharp 90 degree left, down some more, small climb to a false flat, and then another short gradual climb. Would have been more fun if I had fresh legs. I decided to go on a really long training ride on Sat and my legs were cooked. I counter attacked once, but knew that it wouldn't last. Just wanted to tire some folks out! In the end, I had a really hard time staying with the front group. I knew I woulnt have anything left for the final sprint, but if I hung on I would have 4th (pay out to 5) so I was happy with that. Forget sprinting on that one! Good race though!
I was kickin' it in the tall socks - they are damn cool!
