Attleboro/New Britain race reports - 3/4 Women - 7-14-08
Attleboro Crit – 12 Jul 08
W 3/4, 30+, 45+ combined (results posted separately)
3/4:
Cathy Rowell – 1st
Loraine Warner – 6th
Clara Kelly – 7th
Katherine Snell – 8th
Kathy Martin – 12th
Cathy Rowell:
Women’s 3/4
Yesterday, however, was one of my biggest achievements to date. I decided to race Attleboro again this year, despite not doing that well on the course last year. There aren’t many Cat 3/4 races on the calendar this season, but this was one. I was going into the race, and I wanted to win.
With the 3/4, 30+ and 45+ fields all racing together, there were a total of 27 women who started out at 8:00 am. I knew there were some strong racers in the field, and I was somewhat worried. I had talked to Cris on Thursday about my strategy for the race – don’t do too much work, stay near the front, and watch the wheels of some of the strong riders. So, throughout the race, I was somewhat ruthless – I tried to stay one to two riders from the front, taking the wheel of anyone who went past, regardless of who was on that wheel. The few times I drifted back to 6 or 8 wheels back, I saw teammates Loraine, Clara and Katherine right in the front of the group as well, which motivated me further.
I contested the first prime with Samantha N., but she got me on the line for that one. After the second prime, I tried an attack up the hill that didn’t quite work – dragging he whole field with me. So, I went back to my strategy, and then made sure that with two laps to go, I was second to third wheel back.
Coming out of the final turn, I decided it was now or never, and started my finish sprint. I could hear others with me, but put my head down, and buried myself to get to the line. In the end, I got pipped by Cheryl W, but came across the line in second overall, and WINNING the 3/4 race! Yes, my first road win EVER! I was so excited that I had raced well, and SMART! Oh – and I was surprised to learn later that I had also won a prime!
Men’s 55+
I didn’t have much time to revel in my win in the 3/4 race, as I was registered for the very next race – Men’s 55+. Not knowing what I would have left in my legs, I changed numbers, grabbed a new water bottle, and was off for my second 25 km race. Immediately, I noticed a difference between the women’s and men’s race tactics. In the women’s race, all of the attacking and hard efforts came on the small uphill just after the start/finish. In contrast, in the men’s race I was actually on the brakes going into this hill, but the attacks came on the downhill after the second corner, where I had to bust my butt just to hang on.
Knowing that I was in the second chase group, and able to see the lead group just ahead, I put in an acceleration to bridge between the two, shouting to my other group mates, “C’mon!” as I went. A few pedal strokes into the chase, I looked back to realize that none had come with me, so I dug in to attach myself to the lead group of men. I even duked it out in the sprint, hanging in to finish 13th, and in the lead group! The men’s race was 2 mph faster than the previous race, with an average speed of 24.5. Two great races for me, and a major boost to my confidence and my motivation!
Loraine Warner:
I’ve never come so close to missing a race…. My pooch is sick :-( so I debated going down to the races. Gene and I took the wrong exit since we didn’t have time to confirm the directions before zipping out of the house. I showed up 5 minutes before the race and ran to registration where the guys pinned on my number while taking down my info. Got on my bike and pulled up to the start line with “no” warm-up. Ouch. Luckily the first few laps were pretty slow so I was able to warm-up then. I wanted to just sit in this race and stay protected, I stayed mid-pack which wasn’t very interested in trying to get away. Our ex-teammate Kristen Gohr went up the road on her own for a couple of laps but the pack caught her, and there were several accelerations to keep the pace high, but otherwise, not much going on. At the final lap I knew it would be all about position but the pace at that point was high so I wasn’t able to get up where I wanted to be. At the final corner I took the inside and was able to make up a couple of wheels. I didn’t have much for the sprint and finished somewhere about 10 back overall. The 3/4 result was 6th, which I was happy with, though I always seem to finish one place shy of being in the money. Not bad for no warm-up… Great job to the NEBC women!!! Yay Cathy! :)
Clara Kelly:
Today was Cathy Rowell’s Day. Congratulations, Cathy! After winning the Cat 3/4 race and taking a cool down lap, she pulled up to the line to show the master’s men how it is done. She made a strong finish there too with the pack.
I was eager to try my 2nd crit and see if I had learned anything from last weekend. I was a little more comfortable – which is to say that I got out of the drops for a while and lightened up the death grip on the bars. The course was much more difficult for me than the crit at Fitchburg. The main reason being that laps were much shorter – so many more corners to negotiate. At one particular instance, I felt like my poor cornering was doing a disservice to the other riders when I took the turn too wide and braked. At that point, I basically stopped riding aggressively and tried to focus on riding responsibly. This was clearly not the attitude of a rider just ahead of me on the last climb who cut across half the road during the last sprint up the hill to get the outside of a turn.
I didn’t work my myself into a good position at the last corner and ended up 7th. I need to improve my cornering and confidence in this kind of race.
Katherine Snell:
I did OK at Attleboro, considering my late arrival (late leaving and an accident shut down part of 128) and no warm-up. The Category 3/4 field was combined with the Master’s 30+ (Cat 1&2 racers) and Master’s 45+ for a total of 29 starters. I started in a bad position given my late arrival. Luckily no one attacked for the first few laps and I was able to get warmed up enough to keep up with the attacks when they did start. Kristen Gohr (Colavita) had a bit of a break for a while but eventually got reeled in. I did find it difficult to work up to the front with the attacks and the tight corners. One gal (#100 from IBC) was particularly annoying and always seemed to be the wheel ahead of me and cut me off in every corner. I eventually got annoyed enough that I got right out in front, relieving Cathy Rowell. I didn’t hold that position very long though and found myself back behind #100 again. I was not in super great position coming out of the final corner and held on in the sprint (not sure if I passed anybody) to finish 8th. NEBC had a good day with Cathy Rowell finishing first (Way to go, Cath!), Loraine Warner finishing 6th and Clara Kelly finishing 7th.
Kathy Martin:
I was anxious about this race because when I did it two years ago I had a pulled quad, almost crashed, and got lapped 5 times. So my goal for today was to not get lapped. Happily, I exceeded my expectations by finishing in the pack! It was a really hard race with lots of fast Cat 3 women and a couple of 2’s from the master’s field. When it was over I wondered if I could have pushed myself a little harder, but when I downloaded my HR data I found that my heart rate was at or above LT for the entire race – great practice for cross season. :-)
30+ (5 starters):
Janet Ramos – 4th
Jacqui Thomas – 5th
45+ (6 starters):
Annette Kennedy – 2nd
Julie Lockhart – 5th
Annette Kennedy:
I was excited to be racing Attleboro, one of my favorites. Women 30+, 45+ and Cat ¾ all went off together. My goal was to beat June F, Mystic Velo/MCRA champion who is chasing me for champion points. (She beat me on the sprint two weeks ago at New Britain). I decided to keep my eye on her and stay in the back of the pack to see what she was up to today. She stayed right with me as I pulled her around. I moved up a few times and she was right there. I got behind her for two laps but noting happened. Janet S., Katherine S. and Kathy M were all round me. A few attacks off the front but no one gets away, a couple squarely turns and one rider over the curb, but that was it. At about 6 laps to go, I asked Janet S to help me with a lead out hoping to beat my mark and she agreed to do it. On the last lap, Janet came around in front I grabbed her wheel but saw the pack moving away so I moved up and jumped on Katherine’s. wheel and still had room to move. I jumped on an Independence Fab wheel, came round her, and took 2nd. I did my job and bet June no problem. Nice to see Kathy R get the win, congrats! Once again, the presents of the entire NEBC women’s was awesome.
Julie Lockhart:
Great start, but still not confident enough to use the upstroke on the hill the first time (darn clip-in thing) ... I held on to the pack (a first for me) and stayed close to the middle for the first 10 o more laps, then the hill began to tell on me (I guess), and catching back on became harder (lesson – stay ‘in’ catching on wears on you). I lapped several people in cat 4’s and 1 in 45+? she is not listed any more. Anyway good race, great time!
New Britain Crit – 13 Jul 08
Women 4
19 Starters
Katherine Snell – 4th
Kathy Martin – 5th
Caroline Cadiasmenos – 17th
Loraine Warner – DNF
Katherine Snell:
New Britain was better. The Benidorm gals were attacking from the start and one of them (Beth Saman) made a good break around lap 3 and 5 riders went with her. I tried to jump on and almost bridged over but then we hit the headwind stretch and I lost them. I then concentrated on trying to get the peleton to chase them and was out front a lot trying to keep the pace up so we could catch them. I made a deliberate attempt to be on the front only after coming out of the headwind and then using the tailwind to assist me in pulling the pack up the hill. I would then let them attack past me up the hill and followed them down the outside of the turn into the headwind where I stayed outside in echelon formation to minimize the crosswind. This worked rather well for me and I don’t think the other racers were aware that it is better to be off to the side then wheel behind wheel with the crosswind. By about 5 to go, we had reeled in three riders but the remaining 3 had a minute on us so I decided drop back a bit and rest up for the final sprint. In the final lap, I held the front along the backstretch and attacked up the hill and then opened up as we went down the hill into the turn. I held my speed through the turn and then out-sprinted the rest of the pack up the final stretch to take fourth (1, 2 and 3 were in the break group). Kathy Martin got on my wheel and nearly overtook me at the line to finish 5th – nice job Kathy!
Kathy Martin:
I haven’t done two non-training races back to back before, so I wasn’t sure how I would feel after the effort of Attleboro the previous day. Geoff assured me that the 2nd day is often better, and I hoped he was right. I carpooled with Caroline and IndyFab’s Leah and we had a lot of fun, got there plenty early and warmed up together. The race was fast from the start. A break of three formed early and we chased them for the rest of the race. There was an Eastern Bloc and CVC rider in the break, so neither of those teams were interested in helping us chase. Katherine did a huge amount of work at the front. There were definitely times when I was struggling and just trying to catch wheels, but then luckily I was able to hang in long enough for the field to slow down a bit with 3 to go and I used this opportunity to recover. On the uphill on the last lap I was in a good position so when Katherine got on the front and started driving the pace I got on her wheel and she towed me through the headwind to the line. I was able to out sprint an MIT rider and took 2nd in the field sprint slightly behind Katherine, for 5th place overall and my best finish to date!
Caroline Cardiasmenos:
Coming off my first rest week in a while I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was feeling physically exhausted before the race started and falling asleep during the car ride down (good thing I didn’t have to drive). Of course, I was disappointed when I got dropped after 4 or 5 laps as I’d held on to the pack for a good finish in the Nutmeg Criterium. In retrospect, I think I probably didn’t eat or drink right, wasn’t well-rested despite my rest week, and stayed in the wind too long at the beginning of the race; for some strange reason I couldn’t get out of the wind in this race – maybe I was being too polite. On the other hand, I did end up averaging 19.3 by myself riding alone for ten+ miles and I only got lapped in my second to last lap – very hard workout achieved, especially with that awful headwind around the backside, and I definitely feel it now (ouch)!
Loraine Warner:
I was expecting to do well in this race since I felt good about my Attleboro result, though again I debated coming down to the races with my sick pooch. Repeat from the day before except I had the “luxury” of a 15 minute warm-up. The first few laps were tough, the girls on front were as rowdy as they had been at Nutmeg a few weeks back. I stayed about 3 from the front responding to all of the accelerations and making sure that I would be in good position to respond to an attack, which I figured was imminent. As a result of this, however, I was getting no protection from the fierce headwind. With just a few laps into the race I was suffering and was having trouble recovering. A final attack came again, the one that stuck, and I wasn’t able to respond. Worse yet, I drifted to the back and then fell off when we hit the head-wind again. I saw the pack ride away and felt completely defeated and frustrated. I’m annoyed with myself for giving up. So much for expectations, it just wasn’t a good day for me. In retrospect, I should’ve tried to stay in a more protected place in the pack, though such a small field made that difficult. My guy told me later that he even called out “Shelter” to me, but I don’t remember hearing him. He doesn’t have a big mouth like I do ;-) As I’m sure the other ladies on the team can attest! Great job to all the ladies this weekend with TWO days of racing!!!
New Britain Crit – 13 Jul 08
W P/1/2/3
27 Starters
Sally Anis – 2nd
Rebecca Wellons – 17th
Clara Kelly – 18th
Clara Kelly:
Decided to give the crit one more chance before I go back to hills. I enjoyed the New Britain race much more than Attleboro because it didn’t require much in the way of cornering skills. Also we got moving pretty fast a few times to chase down attacks, so I had to work harder than in my previous races to hold onto a wheel. Actually, I thought I might start puking at one point when I fought to stay on the back of the pack. It could have been a real workout if that pace was maintaind – it only lasted about a quarter lap – so I was back to normal pretty soon and ready to stay in the race.
I had the opportunity to get out a little more than I did in Saturday’s race. I tried to get on the wheel of some attacks – but unfortunatly no breaks suceeded. I had been hoping to try my own attack in this race – but I didn’t feel like my legs were up to it so I didn’t try it.
At the start of the final lap, I was up in the front but I got passed in the sprint (no big surprise there). I ended up at the back end of the results.
Very happy to see that Sally got a good place at 2nd.
New Britain Crit – 13 Jul 08
Masters 65+
9 Starters
Annette Kenedy – 3rd
Julie Lockhart – 7th
Annette Kennedy:
I came to the line with June /mystic Velo/ MCRA my competition, NEBC Julie, Van, Ed Lane and other riders. I was hoping to beat June once again and I had a personal goal to see if I could stay with Ed Lang for two laps if he made an attack. Feeling good that I beat June the day before I was confident that I could do it again.
Off we go Ed out front then Van hitting the backside at a good pace. First prem is announced, Ed takes off. Myself, June, and her teammate went right along with him and caught him as he slowed. (I know Ed could have taken off and left us in the dust, however he decided to say in the game and play with us). No break the group was back together. The Mystic Velo riders and I each took a turn pulling. Denise, the new rider form MV had a hard time shaking off the lead so she slowed down. CCNS rider came up and got things rolling again. Strong head wind on the home stretch. 3 laps with a strong wind the pack broke up, I shouted to Ed that there was a gap and to go but he sent me off by myself. I lasted for two laps before the pack swallowed me. (Lesson: went too early and no help.) One lap to go. Ed told me to rest and get ready for the sprint. Julie came up on my left side and asked if she could help, I said sure, thinking she was going to do a lead out for me so I let her pass me. She attacked. The group let her go just far enough before pulling her back into the pack. Van attacked on the hill, I came around him, saw Ed and a CCNS rider. We turned the last corner for the finish line. I hit the wind, put my head down, and tried to catch CCNS rider’s wheel. I crossed the line in 3rd place.
I had the most fun I ever had racing in a Crit. After the race the CCNS rider, who placed 2nd said he was impressed to see a four-person NEBC team present.
Julie Lockhart:
Still did not clip-in, but went with it and stayed with the pack for 3 laps … pedal came loose (how the heck…???) on the finish downhill/straight … got to support, and he swapped bikes. and I was off into the race again … had a great time, went off of the front to stir things up for Annette and was caught before the back hill … they still have me as a lap down … I only got the ONE lap, so I finished with the pack, I had lapped two riders in the 65+ and some others as well. Altogeher a great race, with plenty of new experiences to add to my bag f tricks.ned on the road and emotionally – my words would never do the experience justice.