2010 Blogs
Colorado's ambiguous weather has kept the wooly boots, mittens and snow shovels beside my front door, so I was looking forward to a trip to Silver City, NM where sun and heat normally don the Tour of the Gila. I scoffed at my winter booties as I packed my bag, but Gila's wind and frigidity scoffed me in the bootie.
Stage races are always a hurry up and wait kind of atmosphere. So it was nice to have a relaxing morning before the gun was fired for today's downtown pain city criterium. But of course as soon as noon hit it became a frantic herding of cats. Our train of Erinne, Katheryn, Andrea, and Amy knew we had to be smart about our efforts as the other teams had 2 to 3 more bodies. Our little Canadien Erinne slid into third position on GC from her smoking time trial so we wanted to keep her protected like a diamond in the rough. Strong winds and an ominous sky greeted us on the start line for our 2pm start. I think these winds helped keep the ever-shrinking field together as any attacks and breaks were kept on a tight leash.
The race was 25 laps and 27 miles. The lap begins with a straight of 200m which was a head wind before hanging a left into a guttering straight before a hard right up a snippy climb where the crowds gather to see the look of agony, grit and pleasure in our faces. As you crest this kicker your heart is half way up your throat but is pushed back down through a choppy descent into a wicked fast left which gives you the sensation of when Batman tucks in his wings to bullet through the window of a 50-story building. Pop out of that corner hard and the finish banner is looming 400m ahead and you hear the Joker laughing down your neck.
There were 3 time bonus sprints, in addition to a time bonus at the finish. Erinne was sitting in third slightly ahead of Andrea Dvorak of Colavita, so we didn't want her to pick up any precious seconds. The pace grew hotter when there were primes or time bonus laps, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot of instigating. Webcor did a stellar job of being attentive, while Peanut Butter & Co, being a no-stir variety, kept things under control in protecting their leader's jersey and providing an opportunity for a sprint finish. With 2 laps to go Alison Powers put in a valiant attack that had serious potential, but again the wind kept the race in check and Peanut Butter didn't like this separation. The sprinters were licking their chops and kicked it on in. The green train did a good job of following wheels to ensure no time gaps.
We head into the final day to attack the Gila Monster and protect our Canadien diamond.
Stage races are always a hurry up and wait kind of atmosphere. So it was nice to have a relaxing morning before the gun was fired for today's downtown pain city criterium. But of course as soon as noon hit it became a frantic herding of cats. Our train of Erinne, Katheryn, Andrea, and Amy knew we had to be smart about our efforts as the other teams had 2 to 3 more bodies. Our little Canadien Erinne slid into third position on GC from her smoking time trial so we wanted to keep her protected like a diamond in the rough. Strong winds and an ominous sky greeted us on the start line for our 2pm start. I think these winds helped keep the ever-shrinking field together as any attacks and breaks were kept on a tight leash.
The race was 25 laps and 27 miles. The lap begins with a straight of 200m which was a head wind before hanging a left into a guttering straight before a hard right up a snippy climb where the crowds gather to see the look of agony, grit and pleasure in our faces. As you crest this kicker your heart is half way up your throat but is pushed back down through a choppy descent into a wicked fast left which gives you the sensation of when Batman tucks in his wings to bullet through the window of a 50-story building. Pop out of that corner hard and the finish banner is looming 400m ahead and you hear the Joker laughing down your neck.
There were 3 time bonus sprints, in addition to a time bonus at the finish. Erinne was sitting in third slightly ahead of Andrea Dvorak of Colavita, so we didn't want her to pick up any precious seconds. The pace grew hotter when there were primes or time bonus laps, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot of instigating. Webcor did a stellar job of being attentive, while Peanut Butter & Co, being a no-stir variety, kept things under control in protecting their leader's jersey and providing an opportunity for a sprint finish. With 2 laps to go Alison Powers put in a valiant attack that had serious potential, but again the wind kept the race in check and Peanut Butter didn't like this separation. The sprinters were licking their chops and kicked it on in. The green train did a good job of following wheels to ensure no time gaps.
We head into the final day to attack the Gila Monster and protect our Canadien diamond.