Grand Prix of Gloucester - Women's Race Reports
Great Brewers Grand Prix of Gloucester
Gloucester, MA
10/3-10/4, 2009
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Conditions:
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Day 1: Sideways rain, gale force winds and temps hovering in the 50s. In other words, miserable! Sloppy mud was everywhere. Congratulations, though to all of the NEBC women and juniors who came out – especially Elizabeth Pell who participated in her first ‘cross race ever in some tough conditions!
Day 2: Drier – some sun, little wind and temps climbing into the 70s by day’s end. The course was tacked up considerably from the previous day with less mud, and much better traction.
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The Courses:
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Day 1: If you raced Gloucester on Sunday last year, you will remember much of this year’s Saturday course. The usual uphill pavement start, followed by the grassy downhill turns to the seawall where you were blasted with a brutal headwind. Along the seawall to the “slip ‘n slide of doom” – the run up was DEEP with mud, and really slippery! Once you reached the top, a couple of turns around the playground took you back downhill into the field, uphill over some VERY bumpy terrain and then into the chicanes and barriers. Now we all KNOW that barriers are regulation height, but heading uphill, in the mud, and with deep trenches growing just in front, they seemed to be the size of track and field hurdles! Out of the barriers and it was down to the backside of the course, past the pits and along the ocean – again with a howling wind and horizontal rain driving at you. Lots of twists and turns in the lower field (although no sand), and then into the chicanes on the side hill – most of which were runs vs. rides – before heading back down to the pavement and starting all over again.
Day 2: Sunday saw a departure from ANY course I have raced at Gloucester, and it took most racers quite some time to be able to figure out where the course went, in which direction, and how on earth you got there from here.
The first “lap” was really a half lap of the course, sending racers up the same start hill and onto the grass. Instead of going to the bottom, however, racers, made a few tight turns, rode past the playground and pavilion, and then up the same bumpy hill as the previous day, before turning BACKWARDS on the course from the previous day. My memory fails me as to exactly how the turns in the pit and chicane areas worked, but after riding those sections, we once again came into the barriers, out through the expo area and onto the pavement for a DOWHILL finish. The second lap started on the finish line, turned racers off the road to the right (at high speed), over some bumpy, twisty terrain, and then into the bottom fields by the staging area. An immediate turn into the sand rode you around the perimeter of the entire sand area, back up into the chicanes, out along the water, and onto the seawall. The left turn off the seawall brought you into a giant mud pit, and an uphill slog that turned you eventually onto the park access road, before doing a 180 degree turn back into the grass at the hole shot. Sound confusing? It was, but it was also wicked fun.
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Day 1 Results:
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Junior 10-14 (14 starters)
Victoria Gates – 7th
Women’s 3/4 (75 starters)
Clara Kelly – 4th
Cathy Rowell – 16th
Teri Carilli – 33rd
Joy Stark – 38th
Jean Cunningham – 40th
Loraine Warner – 49th
Elizabeth Pell – 50th
Julie Lockhart – 54th
Marylou McPhee – 55th
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Day 2 Results:
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Junior 10-14 (16 starters)
Victoria Gates – 7th
Women’s Elite (37 starters)
Clara Kelly – 28th
Women’s 3/4 (59 starters)
Cathy Rowell – 15th
Joy Stark – 39th
Loraine Warner – 46th
Michele Archambault – 47th
Jean Cunningham – 48th
Karin Turer – 50th
Kathy Graves – 51st
Julie Lockhart – 56th
Janet Ramos – DNF due to crash on start
Kathy Martin – DNF due to flat
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Reports:
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[Teri Carilli]
After having a very tough week, I simply had two goals for the race: 1) have a great time 2) finish without getting lapped. I had a front row start which made me happy given last week’s crazy start. I had prayed for rain and mud since I hate Gloucester when it’s a fast, dry, grassy crit and my prayers were answered. The muddier the better, as far as I’m concerned. Also, I’m a big fan of run ups and so was pleased to see that it was back from last year. The race itself went as expected. Didn’t have as great as start as I would have hoped and probably should have ridden more aggressively on the first grassy section. Had a rider in front of me crash on the first 180 degree turn which forced me off my bike and lose a few places. Traded spots with Heidi Wakeman the last lap which kept things interesting. All in all, goals were accomplished but am back to feeling like I’m simply surviving and not racing. :( Looking forward to Providence.
[Jean Cunningham]
Saturday: Despite a dry start to the day, it was raining in sheets by the time we arrived at about 7:15 a.m. I debated whether to try pre-riding the course before the a.m. race or stay warm and relatively dry, and the latter won out. By about 8:15 my motivation had hit rock bottom, and I wondered if I should even register. Nonetheless, I headed over to sign in and bumped into Marylou…seeing her kitted up and ready to go made me feel like a complete wuss. I pinned up, changed, and managed about a 1/2 lap of the course (including the lovely run-up). It was clear that I’d be challenged…no sand, but it was pretty soggy and mushy. I lined up at the back (my favorite spot) and was happy when the whistle blew and we were off. I never saw some of my teammates at the front but know they must have ridden well; for me, one of the great things about cross is being able to have a race-within-the-race. No, I’m not battling it out for 40th, but it is fun to compete against the folks you’re with. This time, it was a Velo Bella gal… I’d pass her on the climbs, and she’d bury me on the runs. I ended up doing 3 laps, which felt like an eternity, but I had a blast – a lot more fun than anticipated. And I finished relatively well, for me – about 2/3 down in the pack. Lesson #1: Rain always sounds and looks worse than it is. Lesson #2: Push on the long straight-aways and recover when you hit the twisties.
Sunday: Despite the better weather and great turnout of NEBC women (many wearing excellent socks), I was hugely unenthused about racing on day 2. Hearing the crash and seeing Janet down took any remaining oomph I may have had, and I basically spent 39 minutes suffering and hoping it would end (but not having a clue when I’d hit the finish line – no luck in figuring out the course). Bright spots: riding the sand (once) and getting more comfortable in slick conditions. My lesson of the day was to keep looking for the ride-able line. The conditions were changing by the minute, and what was pea soup during warm-up was surprisingly solid later. I was able to do the little passing I managed by moving off the “path” that everyone seemed to be riding single file.
[Victoria Gates]
Saturday: I was very excited to get called up to the line in 5th place. My goal was to not get lapped by the leaders and protect my position in the Verge series. The race started and I was mid field. We went into the mud and it slowed down. After a few corners some riders and I were dropped. I broke free of the other riders and was on my own. I jogged up the thick mud run up where the people cheered loudly. On the second lap I swapped bikes and continued. I slipped going up the run up but quickly recovered. On the third lap I swapped back to my original bike and picked up my pace. I took 7th place.
Sunday: My goals were to hold my 5th place call up and to not crash. I was called up to the line again. When the race started I couldn’t clip in. I was a bit farther back than I wanted to be. I was trying to hold a boy off that was 10 seconds behind me. The first lap went smooth. On the second lap I sped up and the gap between the boy and I was 15 seconds. On the third lap I ran into a stake and was stuck for a minute. Then when I was going by the pits I slid and crashed into a stake. I got up and kept going and I managed to hold off that boy. I beat him by 35 seconds and I protected my place and points.
[Kathy Graves]
This was the first cross race of the season for me and coming off Ironman training, racing and four week off the bike and not much time on my cross bike, knew I was not where I’d like to be fitness wise but cross is so fun I love the challenge. Started next to Janet who I saw fall about 100 yards after the start. Watching it occur shook me and I was distracted a bit. Glad she is healing up okay.
First loop, I find I catch up with women in certain sections..power, and lose in technical sections fell in the mud just before the barrier section.
Loop two I executed better and didn’t fall. Fatigue is building and it is hard, but I know the course and ride it better with more confidence each time through.
Loop 3 I made a big mental error, thinking the end was after the straight away uphill so when I got onto the harder packed gravel area I hammered as much as I could and passed a few folks what I thought was last 3-4 minutes. The clumps of mud from my tires were coming off in chunks so I tried to keep my mouth shut. I passed 3-4 people I was excited and even passed two up hill…get to the top and we have to do part of the loop still…I’m toast and one of them passed me right back..crude..bad planning. I fell in the barrier section but passed her back on the run to top of hill and pushed hard so she didn’t catch me.
I had many incidents where my tires were slipping but able to adjust and stay up right than I did falling. Fun race made better with lots of other out NEBC’ers out racing. I need to improve my dismounts going downhill.
[Clara Kelly]
Saturday: Muddy conditions were good to me. I have the strength to slog through mud. Sections that everyone has to run are even better because when no one is on the bike – poor bike handling is slowing me down. I had a poor start so needed to pass folks as soon as we entered straight sections of grass. Unfortunately a woman fell in front of me, right as I was getting ready to move. I couldn’t avoid hitting her body and had to stop to avoid running over her and/ or crashing. After that, the first lap was pretty much a loss and I had to focus on chasing the 2nd lap. That went ok, no major problems with bike handling as I was dismounting and running questionable sections. The 3rd time up the run-up was a very painful experience. Muscles definitely not trained for that!! On the last lap, I heard that I could get on the podium with just a few more passes. The Two women ahead of me weren’t going fast, so it looked promising. I tried to pass one before the section of turns on the backside. We contacted and I got pushed into the tape. Good for her, back for me, now I was stuck behind them in the turns. I passed them once out of the turns and started the last push to the podium. That didn’t last long because I caught my rear wheel on a spike when I had it on my back for running up a hill. I couldn’t get it off easily, since I needed to lift the bike over my head to get it off the spike. The girls passed me when I was struggling with the bike. A spectator pulled it off the spike so I could head in for 4th place. Ahh, the drama of cross.
Sunday: After watching the elites race on Sat I realized that I would be able to ride at the back of the group even with my history of comical cross mishaps and sloppy skills. When I arrived on Sunday it became clear that the course would be a lot more challenging for me than on Sat because it was dryer. That meant that I was at a big disadvantage to people that can handle their bikes through corners at speed and the up and down turns of the sections we had run yesterday. On the positive side, the course was incredibly long so it seemed unlikely that I would be lapped.
My efforts to pre-ride the sections of turns through mud on a hill had me laughing. I wasn’t making the turns and it was a lot slower to be off the bike in those sections. I was at the back at the start, but was able to pass a few people. Once Anna Mcloon passed me back, I started having Deja vu. Last year, we saw a lot of each other in the races because we have a very similar style: start at the back, power past less fit riders, display poor skills and try not to crash. We were near each other the whole race. Our worst section seemed to be a muddy uphill turny bit. She was entering it too slowly to make it through and I was behind her. I think I ran into her twice there before crashing myself into the mud. Next time, be ready to dismount instead of running into people! I found out two things about the elite race: there are a lot more people standing around to watch you crash yourself into the mud and it can be hard to stay motivated to the finish when they shut the music off and you have a long way to go yet. Ah, well it was fun anyway.
[Julie Lockhart]
Saturday: Was looking forward to everything but the ‘run’ up. Just the excitement of the day made me feel good for the race, even lining up next to Kathy Sarvary was a thrill. The usual goals of rubber side down, improved start were in my head, and I tried mightily to focus through the shivering. I stayed with the plan to use the paths less traveled, passing people and regaining some of the ground lost in the start. The run up was hard and got worse the nest times. I was surprised to feel very strong, so stayed with the plan passing people where I could.
Sunday: Concentrating on focusing more at the start, I did a lot better, but I ‘felt’/’heard’ something happening and concentrated not to look to see what (sorry Janet) ... again, I was gaining ground in the first half lap, passing people a lot. then ‘IT’ happened … I flatted just before the Seawall portion, riding a flat tire and trying to still maintain position! I did pretty well, but found that falling (several times) finally gave up several places … I did not know exactly how far it was to the pit … my Polar says I ran/rode about 16 minutes including the barriers before I was told I was done. I loved the new direction.
[Kathy Martin]
I started in the 2nd row but didn’t have a good warm-up so I sort of took it easy up the s/f hill. Michele A and Janet R were in front of me and to my left. All of a sudden Janet was on the ground, but I didn’t see how it happened. Get well and back to racing soon, Janet! Props to Michele for showing zero reaction to the crash that was inches away – I know that it must have been scary. My race involved trying to get the legs warmed up, riding the sand, passing people as I got warmer, and then – smack! – I was on the ground. Not sure what happened – picked myself up and kept going, but soon realized I could barely keep my bike upright in the turns. I was about as far from the pit as you could get, so I called it a day. My front tire was as flat as a pancake. First ‘cross mechanical and first ‘cross DNF. Oh well – got that over with. On to Providence!
[Marylou McPhee]
My goal for Saturday was just to have fun as we stood on the start line in the rain I was thinking this is not fun. The race started and I warmed up I was thinking this isn’t as bad; then there was the run up and that was harder then I remembered it in ’ warm ups’. The rest of the race was pretty quiet at the back until a junior passed me like I was standing still. Even with all the rain I actually passed 2 people on the second lap which was a big bonus for me.
[Elizabeth Pell]
It was my first cross race. Not that I’m a racer. I’m not. Have never been interested, but when I saw cyclo-cross race last year at Amesbury, I got excited about how much it looked like being a kid and playing on your bike—going through mud, over barriers, jumping on and off—and winding around on hills and curves. Too fun! So I looked to rent a cross bike and try it out. Turns out there are no bike shops even in greater Boston that rent cross bikes. And I didn’t want to buy a bike to try out a sport. Then a couple of weeks ago, a friend rescued an abused horse and turned to riding that saddle instead of her cross bike. And bonus, she’s my height. I took the one day cross class with NEBC’s Todd Rowell and signed up for the first most local ride. Turned out to be Gloucester and a freakin storm on the ocean with winds so high they posted race volunteers at key points to hold the course markers in place that kept ripping out in the wind.
I’m almost 50 years old so hoped that this age would place me in a protected class of riders, but turns out that there are fewer women than men in this sport so my class (4) was lumped together with 3s and the young riders. At the start, I sat on the back row. And shivered with everyone else. Racers were quieting down, except for chattering teeth. Significant others made their way into pack to take off a jacket or whisper some last minute advice and encouragement. I strained to hear the announcer shout over the wind as I knew nothing—how do you know when to stop or when it over—practical things like that. Heard ‘warm up’ and turned to racer next to me and asked if they were giving us a warm up lap before the race started (in my mind sort of like NASCAR). She looked at me and then looked down without answering. A few moments later she turned to me and said ‘You were serious weren’t you?’ Yes I told her, it’s my first race. She said this was the real thing and to go. Thanks. And then she turned back to tell me, ‘This is the start not the finish. The finish line is up ahead, so don’t stop when you get here.’ Good to know since I assumed start/finish on a closed loop would be same point—especially as bikers were cleaning bikes at the start line which to me signaled end. But at least both genders had the same start and finish, unlike golf where women have a shorter distance to drive.
Got to practice the first dismount on a sidewalk. Nice. Then climb a wall of mud. That was a work out! My remount a shambles. (It was so much easier to execute in my yard in dry weather, not having just climbed a hill!) Some grassy twists. And sucking in air hard with rain. Was I foaming at the mouth? A bit of play with the single rock in the course, hit it and launched for some air—I didn’t see anyone else playing around like this. But then the pack was stretching out. I liked not having to learn how to ride the course and share the trail at the same time. And enjoyed passing a couple of women on the turns. Turns were fun in the mud; mtn biking skills came in very handy and I was grateful that my loaner bike had disc brakes.
And the scenery was great—the choppy ocean, the disappeared demarcation between land and sea, sea and sky. The giant granite rock that all trails spun about. And then the wind hitting you sideways, pedaling hard, harder but am I moving? More dismounts and carrys over barriers on an uphill mud slide. Hearing snippets of the announcer’s voice telling us that first place was wrapped up but a fierce battle for second was going on and thinking that battle was taking place far far away in another time. A second lap. A third (getting even better at climbing the mud wall but recovering worse). The feeling that I would vomit if we had to go a 4th lap, the disgust at myself for not executing once properly a mount. How long is 30 minutes? And then the men are behind me and a junior rider and a course official is chastising them to stay back and let us race. So I think I’m the last woman on the course. I finish and smile with satisfaction. Pleased to have tried out the sport in such conditions. And wonder what it would be like on a nice day.
[Cathy Rowell]
I heard the rain hitting the skylight in the night, and inwardly groaned – ANOTHER race in the rain, cold and mud. After a season of 7 MTB races in the same conditions, my motivation for the first day of Gloucester – a race I look forward to all year, was gone. A pre-ride of the course confirmed that the race would be slick and VERY muddy. I retreated to the trainer, and actually managed to get warmed up – until we went to stage. The wind off the ocean, the sideways rain, and the cool temps negated everything I had just done. I shivered with teeth chattering until it was time for us to start.
I did have a good start to the race, leading the pack about halfway up the hill. Most of the rest of the race is a blur to me – a lot of sideways sliding, more running than I care for, and a lot of thinking about being finished. I did actually pit my bike after a lap and a half – that was good practice for me, and also illustrated how differently my two bikes handled in the conditions. After finishing up, I changed into dry clothes, proceeded to work the pits for Mike’s race, and was soaked through again. It wasn’t until much later in the evening that I felt warm, and dry!
The motivation came back on Sunday. The weather was improving, temps were rising, and the slippery, muddy conditions were tacking up and improving. The big challenge was figuring out the course – most of us couldn’t make heads or tails of which way it went!
I chose NOT to pre-ride the course, but instead, to sit on the trainer to get warmed up. I knew that once the race started, as long as I followed tape, I would find the course and be ok ;). Sunday was more about power, but there were also a lot of turns, which I have been practicing. Got another good start, but was worried when I heard that a rider had gone down. Couldn’t look back to see if everyone was ok though – head was down sprinting for the hole shot. I ended up onto the grass about 3rd wheel, and rode a reasonably clean race. Mike’s advice on not shouldering the bike in the chicanes was good, and let me use the bike as a pivot point to get around those tight corners while running. I was able to ride into the barrier section pretty well, also, and not lose any time there. I felt much better on Sunday, and was slightly upset at losing 3 places in the final turns of the course – and losing the final sprint to my nemesis, Karen Tripp.
The great news for me? I had a better second day at Gloucester than the first, which hasn’t happened since I started racing at that venue! I also didn’t crash at Gloucester this year – another first and a bit of a surprise given the conditions. On to Providence now, and then we’ll see what the rest of the season brings.
[Joy Stark]
Wow, I never knew that getting muddy could be so fun. On Saturday, I arrived at the course early to pre-ride and find out what I was in store for. It seemed like the race would be challenging, but I was encouraged by how soft the landing would be if I took a spill. Loraine and I lined next to each other at the start, and she noticed my tires looked a little lofty. (I checked them before the race, I really did!) Unfortunately, we accidentally let too much air out of the rear tire and it felt like my rim was sitting on the pavement. Luckily, Scott Brooks was standing nearby and came to my rescue just seconds before the start. Lesson: don’t mess with your bike on the starting line. As my goal was to just finish the race, I started slowly, but rode within my comfort level and tried to reel people in along the way. On the first lap, the big muddy run-up was packed with people, making it interesting to get up. I had a heck of a time remounting in the off-camber section after the muddy serpentine area. I think I fell over trying on the first lap then gave up trying to do this with any amount of skill on the subsequent laps. I had a blast passing people by cutting corners in the flatter areas more aggressively, but my cautiousness in other areas slowed me down. Throughout the race, I was trading spaces with a rider from Colby College, which kept things challenging. I was in front of her coming onto the pavement for the finish, but she stood up and sprinted by me, and for some reason I didn’t get up and go.
After having such a good time on Saturday, I was looking forward to racing in drier weather on Sunday and resolved that I would try to have a better start and finish. Also, since I’m not technically proficient, I decided to go hard on the course where I could. Just after the start, I saw Janet go down in front of me, and while I safely adjusted my line to avoid hitting her, another rider on my left bumped me to avoid the crash, and I saw someone else ride right over Janet. Since I had slowed, I was in a bad gear for getting up the hill. I was a little spooked by the crash so I rode the first half lap cautiously. On the sections of the course I had to run, I followed the advice Mike Rowell gave me and pushed my bike instead of shouldering it, and I found that this gave me a lot of stability in the slippery sections. I found the change in the course on Sunday confusing; it was difficult for me to tell where I was in the lap. I heard the announcer calling the finish for my race, but wasn’t sure how far I was from the finish. I tried to pick up the pace, but was reluctant to take the grass to pavement transition too quickly and two riders managed to sneak by me at the end. Overall, I think I win the award for clumsiest and slowest remounts and dismounts, so I’ll have to work on those as well as work up the courage to be more aggressive at the start.
[Karin Turer]
A nice amount of mud on the course made for more running and sliding that the “grass crit” I’d always heard about, so I was psyched! On the down side, we’d had loud neighbor issues the night before the race, and long story short, I wasn’t asleep until well after 2 AM. This on top of having just been sick on Friday, I was pretty woozy on the warmup.
So, I felt a little more nervous than usual, but then had a fun chat with one of the officials, enjoyed my crap staging position, made some friends, and we were off! I felt pretty psyched to be on my new tires (Michelin Mud 2s – a huge difference!) and in general, I had a blast on the course. I swear I was grinning like crazy on every downhill, and I was loving the run-chicanes and riding on the just-packed-enough sand. The whole race was just pure fun (I mean, in that heinous cross way) and it helped to have stretched enough that my back didn’t hurt. I have read reviews since the race that mention a “sketchy off-camber downhill” off the pavement – after mtn-biking all summer, didn’t even feel it.
So it’s sort of exciting, because I’m already feeling as good as I did at the end of last season, except it’s only early October. Not that I’ll get good or anything, but I look forward to seeing how much more I can put into the power.
[Loraine Warner]Saturday: Panic! Lined up next to Joy, I felt her tires and they were rock-hard. I told her they should be a lot softer and proceeded to let air out of the back while she did the front. With gloves on, I ended up letting out too much air before I could get the valve shut. I knew I had just signed a guarantee that she would pinch-flat on the course and was feeling TERRIBLE that I had just sabotaged Joy’s race! Desperate and with the race about 1 minute from starting, I spotted Scott and sent out a plea for a floor pump. From out of nowhere he managed to rescue the day, and Joy’s race. Sorry Joy! And Thanks Scott!!! Joy – I promise, I’m never touching your tires again! :)
Started in the back and didn’t make headway in the hole-shot, was able to pass a few people here and there on the technical sections, but powering through the wet grass and muddy endurance sections was not to be had. Hit the deck 3 times, and generally got in my own way. Despite that, I was relatively happy with my technical performance. These conditions are what cross is all about, it was a fun mud-fest.
Sunday: Almost decided not to race, then figured that I had paid for it anyway, so I should just do it. Glad I did, conditions were dryer, stayed upright through-out and rode the sand, which was satisfying. Biggest issue was not maintaining momentum into the serpentine chicane sections, then being off-balance and trying to remount. The barriers were an embarrassment so I won’t go there… But a fun day in the end :) Best healing wishes out to Janet!!!