Ashlyn Gerber: February 2010

San Antonio was my first race of the year. It went well and I finished 3rd in the womens 3/4 who raced along with the masters 55+. I had a decent race but wasn’t terribly thrilled with how it turned out. I couldn’t wait to get out this weekend and get some good racing in.

The ORC race weekend has always been fun. The courses are great and they bring out huge fields. I get extra motivation from the fact that it in my home town.

This year they cut out the Sanford crit course and replaced it with a new circuit race out in Winter Garden.

The course was a lot of fun. About 50 meters from the finishing straight was the first of 2 left turns, then it was a downhill straight away with a wicked cross wind leading to the final sharp left. There was a gradual left hand bend as we started climbing the finishing hill. With the wind coming from the right I tried to always stay to the inside. After about 500 meters the hill leveled out leaving 200 meters of flat road to the line.

I started out with the juniors race as warm-up. After an unsatisfactory race I was pumped for the womens race. We had around 30 women at the start line. I couldn’t wait to start. I knew the wheels to follow and hoped I would be able to make it in any moves that happened.

Attacks went but nothing was sticking. It was looking like a sprint finish so I drifted to the back of the field to find the strong sprinters. I was following Cathy (ASV) as we came around the start/finish with 1 lap to go. I took a deep breath as we rounded the first corner, this was it, the final lap. Cathy and I began to move up on the left side of the field.

My least favorite sound in the world….As bikes and people hit the ground the noise is indescribable and terrifying. There was a huge pile up in the first straight away. I made it through still in touch with the front group. I refocused and got my game face back on.

I followed Cathy and Jennie (two strong riders both on ASV) up the hill. I managed an 8th place in the sprint and was pretty happy just to be able to cross the line after the crash.

The next day was a crit. It is a long course with only 3 corners and nice roads. From the final corner to the line is about 500 meters so it is more of a waiting game when you reach the sprint.

The morning of the crit I woke up to find my voice gone. I skipped the junior race and hoped it would come back by the womens race.

After a quick ride to the course I was pumped and ready to go. I finished my warm up on the trainer and got into the zone. My voice had come back a bit although it was rather husky, but my legs felt good and I was ready to race. We had another big field with about 28 ladies.

For the first 30 minutes there was nothing but attacking and primes. I managed to get into every big move but the field pulled all of them back. I slid to the back of the field and jumped onto Tina (Z-Motion) and Julie's (unattached) wheels. Sure enough 1 lap later they attacked. The field was strung out but the break was pulled back. I felt a little tired so I slid back mid field. Tina countered her own move and was quickly followed by Cathy (ASV). The field soon shut down and I could see them slip away.

Down to laps: I began to look for the strong wheels. I managed to get Julie’s wheel and was just hanging on till the sprints. With 2 laps to go, just before the final corner, there was another crash. I kept looking forward. I had good positioning for the sprint. I was ready to go. As we passes the site of the crash in our final lap there was another crash.

The field was chaos. I followed Julie's wheel through the turn as she opened up her sprint. I was tucked in and shielded from the wind. I got 3rd in the field sprint and 5th overall.

I was pretty happy with my racing this weekend. It had ups and downs but I felt more like the old sprinter I used to be.

This next weekend I have off from racing and then it’s off to Winter Haven for the Chain of Lakes Cycling Classic.

Ciao