Chain of Lake Cycling Classic

Last weekend was the chain of lakes cycling classic. We started off with a 28 mi road race on Saturday and then an all category women's crit on Sunday.

I really enjoyed the road race course. It was slightly rolling and very windy. All of the women and the masters 55+ raced together. The field was roughly 30 riders strong.

Right from the gun I settled into second wheel. The women's field was small and lacked some of the power houses that usually race. About 8 miles into the first lap two women attacked off the front (Trish Cohen and Tracy Cundiff). I was pinned up against the yellow line and waited for a slot to move up. I drilled it and brought 2 other women with me. We had basically closed the gap down when the masters field flew by and engulfed us and the break.

For the next 3 miles the masters sat at the front and hammered. I saw women getting shelled left and right. I felt awesome and was looking forward to the next lap.

A mile after the finishing climb a group of masters got off the front and Tracy and Trish followed. I was in a group of 15 riders with about 10 masters but only one woman 1,2,3. We organized a pace-line and had soon reeled the women back in. The rest of the last lap was uneventful.

With 3 mi left I tried to move towards the front. I felt pretty good and was hoping for a good finish. We rounded the final corner and the tailwind made the speed rapidly increase. I followed a masters rider straight to the front. With about 500 meters left there was a surge but I managed to stay up front. Finally the sprint. I saw a woman (Jenny-Team ASV) whiz by my right. I instantly knew she won the race. On my left I could see Trish. I pulled ahead of her but was rapidly loosing elbow room. Luckily the riders in front of me continued to sprint. I ended up 3rd. My first podium on the season.

The crit the next day was pretty crazy. I arrived about 1 1/2 hour before my race and heard about all sorts of mishaps in previous races. I was a little nervous but I felt like I had a good shot at doing well.

The course was pretty nice. It had 8 corners but the pavement was pretty good. There were not to many obstacles to get in the way.

Before my warm up I had a chance to meet and talk with Mr. Steve Johnson (President of USA Cycling). It was really cool talking to him and I was totally ready to get out and race after talking with him.

The women's 1,2,3 field was much smaller with only 5 riders but the women 4's were out in full force with close to 15 riders.

About 3 laps into the race a break of three 1,2,3's got off the front. I tried to bridge but wasn't able to. I settled into the second group with about 7 riders and tried to get an organized chase going. The other girl in my category was also in this group.

I could see the leaders get further and further away. They eventually had a 1 minute gap and I decided to settle in and wait for the sprint. With 3 laps to go we were caught by one lone leader. It was suddenly down to 2 laps to go. I moved up and made sure I was ready for the sprint. As we came past the finish on the final lap I could see a couple women advancing on my right. I gunned it and managed to gap the field. I was caught by two girls just before the second to last corner but the cat 3 was still about 7 seconds back.

I ended up getting 4th overall. I was not happy about missing the break but after this past weekend I feel like I will soon get my finishes down. It was definitely a good learning weekend and I look forward to the 4 crits in Miami next weekend.

ride safe,

ciao