National Road Calendar Criteriums

The streets surrounding the Athens Twilight criterium in Georgia were blocked off for the entire weekend with jazz music and skateboard trick riders providing plenty of entertainment for the crowds. There were a number of novelty events held throughout the afternoon as hundreds of thirsty college students congregated at pubs and cafes around the course.

The criterium course was a clockwise rectangular circuit of about 1km. The back straight was roughly paved and had a gradual 70m climb. There were also a number of deep manholes and other grates to avoid on this section of the course. The final corner leading into the start/finish straight was slightly downhill and off camber with a number of hay bales set up as precaution.

Yesterday, I spent the entire travelling and today my long legs were suffering from the cramped conditions of planes that don't provide adequate leg room for tall passengers. I had ridden for a couple of hours the morning but as I warmed up on the Cyclops trainer, my legs felt horrible. I could lift my heartrate easily signifying that I was well rested but had heavy unresponsive legs. I decided I wouldn't be capable of a solo break today.

There were a couple of $100 sprint primes and Anne Samplonius (TDS) won the first of them while I won the other one.

The race had plenty of aggression but all breaks were quickly chased and shut down. With 8 laps to go Anne Samplonius (TDS) and Tania Duff-Miller (Diet Rite) snuck away. I jumped to the front to control the pace. Nicole Freedman attempted to get across but I sat on her and she eventually gave up the chase. Almost immediately, Candice Blickem (Genesis) attacked alone down the back straight and I hesitated in jumping on her wheel and then decided the break would work better with the 3 major teams represented.

Unfortunately for us, Blickem paused briefly with Samplonius and Duff-Miller and then attacked them and soloed away ahead of them. With only 5 laps to go and 20 seconds on the peloton, she retained her lead to take a well-deserved win.

It was a crazy final lap with a near crash on the last corner which caused me to swing wide and completely miss Mayolo-Pic's wheel who took the bunch sprint for 2nd, while I finished 7th.

Results:

The Athens circuit was held at Horse Park, the venue used for the mountain bike events for the Atlanta Olympics. I was anticipating a hilly technical circuit but instead the 3.5km circuit used was the entrance road to the park. The road was 2 lanes wide with a U turn at either end. The course included a few gradual climbs with a significant descent to the finish line.

My legs felt much better today as yesterday's twilight criterium got rid of all that stiffness. Our plan was to race aggressively however we were a marked team and Diet Rite and Victory Amoroso were quick to cover our attacks and but were not willing to work. Their plan was obviously to keep things together for their sprinters.

I attacked on bell lap up the long gradual climb. I grabbed a 50m gap but riding into a headwind with the field in hot pursuit, I was caught with 2km to go.

Nicole Freedman (Basis) was leading out her teammate and I was completely focused on sitting 3rd wheel to set myself up for the sprint. However, my plan failed when Shannon Hutchinson (Colavita-Bolla) attacked down the right side immediately before the crest of the hill, with 6 girls on her wheel. I jumped across into 8th spot and saw Anne well positioned behind Hutchinson.

With such a fast descent to the finish line it is usually the lead rider over the hill that holds on to win which is exactly what Hutchinson did. My position left me out of contention and I had to settle for 8th while Anne had bike troubles which prevented her from getting into her top gear, leaving her 4th overall.

Results:

The Shelby criterium held in South Carolina was an anti -clockwise loop with 8 corners which included a gradual down hill and uphill around the back end of the course. The start/finish straight was also slightly uphill with a gentle cross headwind. The course was open and wide with no sharp technical corners.

The race was aggressive, however consistent with the races last week, with Tina Mayolo-Pic's (Diet Rite) fast sprinting ability, her Diet Rite team kept the race together to enable her to win the bunch kick.

My legs felt reasonable but I didn't have the powerful kick I usually have which may have been due to the solid training I've been doing in preparation for the next stage race starting next week. I got into a couple of breaks but the wide open course prevented a small break having any advantage over the peloton.

For the first part of the final lap I was well positioned however on the second last corner, Emily, Anne and I became boxed in on both sides and were disappointed to all finished outside the top 10. Tina continued her strong form by taking out the bunch sprint.

Results:

Conditions were very warm for the Roswell criterium situated north of Atlanta city, Georgia. We raced at 3pm and the mercury was hovering around 30°C. The course was narrow along the back section with a long gradual climb which fatigued the legs after 60 minutes of racing. The corners were tight and technical and it was important to stay at the front end of the race to get a smoother ride.

Anne and I attacked together with 5 laps to go down either side of the finishing straight. Diet Rite jumped on me and I immediately sat up and let a gap open up to Anne. As Diet Rite set up their chase I sat in 2nd wheel as much as possible and let the lead Diet Rite rider drift off the front. Their goal was to bring the break back and set up Mayolo-Pic for the win. Each time a Diet Rite rider found herself off the front it disrupted her chase as the rest of her team had to close the gap before they resumed their pursuit of Anne. By effectively jumping into the front end of the race as I was doing, it is possible to disrupt the chase enough to keep a rider off the front. However, on this occasion Anne was caught with 2 laps to go, but her solo effort did earn her a $100 sprint prime.

Before the race Shawn Heidgen (TDS) was confident she had the legs to sprint and it was my job to lead her out, but on the bell lap she signalled to me that she had nothing left. Instead, I jumped in front of Emily and helped bring her through the field. We had some bad luck and were caught behind a rider who pulled her foot out of the pedal and swerved all over the road as she tried to regain her balance. We got around her and I drove it hard down the back section but we were still poorly positioned coming into the final corner. It was a long 400m home straight and Emily rode hard to claim 10th while I just scrapped into the top 20, finishing 18th.

We are now heading to Fayetteville, Arkansas where I am looking forward to the Joe Martin Stage race which has some nice long and hilly road stages. Until then - happy pedalling.

Final General Classification: