Amanda Miller

Mesa State College Race Weekend

This past weekend we headed to Grand Junction/Fruita, CO for some more collegiate racing. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Fort Collins. Lots of people from the team came out to race. It was awesome to have such a great showing. Something like 30 people showed up from CSU to race. The weather was nice both days. Temperatures were chilly to start out with, but quickly warmed up to almost 70 degrees both days.
Julia, Alex, Chris, and I went for a spin around Grand Junction when we got there Friday afternoon.

Saturday was probably one of the hardest road races I’ve done so far. It was almost 60miles long. The first 8miles or so was the out-and-back part of the race. Most of it was uphill. Then we went out onto an 11-mile loop. There was a long, false flat for a good portion of the loop. There was also a pretty sweet downhill section for a decent amount. The feed zone was a short, but steep climb that hurt extremely bad. Kristin McGrath from FLC and I rode at the front at the start of the race going up the first climb. Kristin pushed the pace a little bit, just to get in a warm-up. We arrived at the top of the climb to see no one behind us. We sat up and talked for awhile, waiting for some others to catch back on. 4 others caught back on and we started rotating. Things never really broke up until 1 lap to go. Kristin pushed the pace up the short climb and we got a gap on the other riders. We got organized and put quite a bit of time on the others. Kristin is an amazing climber. I still can’t believe how much power she has. It’s amazing to watch her. It doesn’t seem like she’s even working, but then again I can’t see what her face is like when I’m trying to hang on to her wheel. I almost popped off her wheel coming through the false flat section. We hit the feed zone hill and I knew I had to give it all I had to stay on her wheel. I had nothing left and she got a gap. After the hill, Kristin dangled about 10seconds in front of me, but I couldn’t close the gap. I rode the next 10miles or so by myself. Of course it was all in a headwind, but most of it was downhill. I finished 2nd.

A few hours later, we all suited back up for the team time trial. It took place on the loop of the road race course. 3/4 of the course was uphill and 1/4 of it was downhill. Everyone’s legs were fried, so we just took it easy, especially on the climbing part. The downhill section was fast and we flew. Ended up winning, but not by as much as we should have. Oh well, it was a brutal day for sure.

Sunday was a criterium in Fruita, CO. The course was flat with lots of corners. The team put in a ton of attacks during the race. With 4 laps to go, Tirrel from CSU attacked. An FLC girl tried to go with her, so I grabbed her wheel. The FLC closed the gap. I looked back and saw we had a gap on the field. Away we went. Tirrel and I did almost all the work, which was understandable. FLC played a smart race. Coming into the last corner on the last lap, I attacked and got a gap. I sprinted for the finish for a win. Tirrel came across 3rd. CSU had an awesome showing this weekend. It’s great to see how the team is coming together.
The drive back. I think this is Copper Mountain.

Next up is Colorado School of Mines races which includes a hill climb up Lookout Mountain (something like 1700 feet of climbing in 4.5miles) and a circuit race in Golden. Should be a hard, fun weekend. Thanks for reading!
-A

P.S. I finally got around to posting pictures from the UNC/CU weekend. Check them out below!

Mesa State College Race Weekend

This past weekend we headed to Grand Junction/Fruita, CO for some more collegiate racing. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Fort Collins. Lots of people from the team came out to race. It was awesome to have such a great showing. Something like 30 people showed up from CSU to race. The weather was nice both days. Temperatures were chilly to start out with, but quickly warmed up to almost 70 degrees both days.
Julia, Alex, Chris, and I went for a spin around Grand Junction when we got there Friday afternoon.

Saturday was probably one of the hardest road races I’ve done so far. It was almost 60miles long. The first 8miles or so was the out-and-back part of the race. Most of it was uphill. Then we went out onto an 11-mile loop. There was a long, false flat for a good portion of the loop. There was also a pretty sweet downhill section for a decent amount. The feed zone was a short, but steep climb that hurt extremely bad. Kristin McGrath from FLC and I rode at the front at the start of the race going up the first climb. Kristin pushed the pace a little bit, just to get in a warm-up. We arrived at the top of the climb to see no one behind us. We sat up and talked for awhile, waiting for some others to catch back on. 4 others caught back on and we started rotating. Things never really broke up until 1 lap to go. Kristin pushed the pace up the short climb and we got a gap on the other riders. We got organized and put quite a bit of time on the others. Kristin is an amazing climber. I still can’t believe how much power she has. It’s amazing to watch her. It doesn’t seem like she’s even working, but then again I can’t see what her face is like when I’m trying to hang on to her wheel. I almost popped off her wheel coming through the false flat section. We hit the feed zone hill and I knew I had to give it all I had to stay on her wheel. I had nothing left and she got a gap. After the hill, Kristin dangled about 10seconds in front of me, but I couldn’t close the gap. I rode the next 10miles or so by myself. Of course it was all in a headwind, but most of it was downhill. I finished 2nd.

A few hours later, we all suited back up for the team time trial. It took place on the loop of the road race course. 3/4 of the course was uphill and 1/4 of it was downhill. Everyone’s legs were fried, so we just took it easy, especially on the climbing part. The downhill section was fast and we flew. Ended up winning, but not by as much as we should have. Oh well, it was a brutal day for sure.

Sunday was a criterium in Fruita, CO. The course was flat with lots of corners. The team put in a ton of attacks during the race. With 4 laps to go, Tirrel from CSU attacked. An FLC girl tried to go with her, so I grabbed her wheel. The FLC closed the gap. I looked back and saw we had a gap on the field. Away we went. Tirrel and I did almost all the work, which was understandable. FLC played a smart race. Coming into the last corner on the last lap, I attacked and got a gap. I sprinted for the finish for a win. Tirrel came across 3rd. CSU had an awesome showing this weekend. It’s great to see how the team is coming together.
The drive back. I think this is Copper Mountain.

Next up is Colorado School of Mines races which includes a hill climb up Lookout Mountain (something like 1700 feet of climbing in 4.5miles) and a circuit race in Golden. Should be a hard, fun weekend. Thanks for reading!
-A

P.S. I finally got around to posting pictures from the UNC/CU weekend. Check them out below!

UNC/CU Collegiate Race Weekend

This past weekend there were two criteriums: Greeley on Saturday, Boulder on Sunday. Going into the weekend, the weather man had forecasted a not-so-nice day on Saturday. Fortunately, things turned out a little better than I was expecting. It was still a bit chilly, but at least it wasn’t snowing!

Saturday’s collegiate women’s A race was lame, but still fun. CSU had 6 of the 9 women in the field. As far as the course goes – it was long (over a mile) and out in the open. The back stretch was a downhill/tailwind and the front stretch was a false flat/headwind. There were a few tricky corners around some round-abouts. Our plan was to attack, counter attack, etc. Relatively early in the race, Tirrel attacked. Once FLC pulled us up to her, Carol attacked and away she went. She dangled out there for a while. A few people tried to bridge, but it was a no go. Finally, I attacked on the downhill tailwind section. I was able to get a gap on the field and caught up to Carol. Away we went, into the headwind/false flat section. We were able to put a decent amount on the field. Meanwhile, CSU was still putting the hurt down. From what I heard, they kept attacking the rest of the field. Awesome! As a team, we need practice on attacking/counter attacking. Anyway, Carol and I finished the race 1st and 2nd respectively. Both of us hoping we had some gas left for the women’s open race an hour later.

My legs were pretty fried for the open race. Dairyland was there in full force. They attacked, attacked, and eventually the field split. I missed the winning break, just barely. Carol, Rachel, and I (all from CSU, but racing for different teams) were in a chase group with fellow-midwesterner Kate Ross (America’s Dairyland). Up the road was a break with 3 Dairyland girls and another rider. Carol, Rachel, and I kept the pace high and had the break within reaching distance, but since we all just finished racing the collegiate race, our legs were fried. Our objective turned from catching the break to not getting caught by the field within a matter of minutes. We kept rolling turns, and on the last lap Kate sprinted around us. I tried to grab her wheel, but I had nothing left. I finished 6th for the day, with a little harder of an effort than I was planning on. Oh well.

Sunday’s course was flat and fast. It was 1km long and had no real turns, just a few sweeping corners. Amy D. showed up for today’s race, along with a few other faces I didn’t see on Saturday. FLC attacked off the line, and we covered it. Our plan was to attack a lot again today. So we did. I attacked a few times, hoping someone would follow. Didn’t happen. The last time I attacked, Tirrel on CSU countered just as I got caught. Awesome move! Away she went. We never saw her after that. That girl can motor. An FLC girl tried chasing her down, but instead dangled in front of the main group for the remainder of the race. With 2 laps to go, we pushed the pace and caught the FLC girl, knowing Tirrel was out of sight. Carol kept the pace high the last lap for a perfect lead out. I came around in the middle of the last curve and punched it to the line for 2nd place.

I did the open race again on Sunday. Ouch. You know the race is going to hurt when you see huge names riding around before the start of the race. America’s Dairyland was there in full force. A few Vitamin Cottage and ValueAct girls were there. Amy Dombroski raced again. Mara Abbott was there. Marissa Asplund from Cheerwine, Allison Powers…maybe??..and tons others were also there. It amazed me how stacked the field was, considering the payout was 3 deep with a purse that was pretty low. Oh well, it was awesome! My teammates Megan and Monique raced too. We didn’t have much of a plan, just threw in a few attacks to mix things up. My legs were fried. I attacked early in the race and Megan countered. The field started to whittle down, but there were still quite a few riders in the pack. Other people attacked, and the pace stayed high. It came down to a sprint. About half way through the last lap, some people near the front of the pack sat up (WtF?). I got gapped off, along with the rest of the field, and 5-6girls put a few bike lengths on us. Made up some ground and came across with a 10th place finish. Megan finished 8th. Monique had an awesome race, considering she hasn’t ridden for a few days and this was her first race of the season. Hard weekend of racing, and my legs are feeling it!

I stuck around for the men’s pro/1/2/3 race. It’s pretty neat racing out here in Colorado. Local “training” crits get lots of attention when there’s nothing big going on. Toyota United was there with 6-7 guys. Tom Zirbel, Tom Danielson, and lots of other fasties showed up. It was cool to see the pros mixing it up and supporting local racing. Anyway, I’ll post pictures eventually (update: here are some pictures…enjoy).
Fellow Iowan, Tom Zirbel, putting the hammer down.

Tom Danielson from Slipstream.

A couple of Toyota United guys.

This weekend is more collegiate action in Grand Junction/Fruita, CO. Have a good week!
-A

UNC/CU Collegiate Race Weekend

This past weekend there were two criteriums: Greeley on Saturday, Boulder on Sunday. Going into the weekend, the weather man had forecasted a not-so-nice day on Saturday. Fortunately, things turned out a little better than I was expecting. It was still a bit chilly, but at least it wasn’t snowing!

Saturday’s collegiate women’s A race was lame, but still fun. CSU had 6 of the 9 women in the field. As far as the course goes – it was long (over a mile) and out in the open. The back stretch was a downhill/tailwind and the front stretch was a false flat/headwind. There were a few tricky corners around some round-abouts. Our plan was to attack, counter attack, etc. Relatively early in the race, Tirrel attacked. Once FLC pulled us up to her, Carol attacked and away she went. She dangled out there for a while. A few people tried to bridge, but it was a no go. Finally, I attacked on the downhill tailwind section. I was able to get a gap on the field and caught up to Carol. Away we went, into the headwind/false flat section. We were able to put a decent amount on the field. Meanwhile, CSU was still putting the hurt down. From what I heard, they kept attacking the rest of the field. Awesome! As a team, we need practice on attacking/counter attacking. Anyway, Carol and I finished the race 1st and 2nd respectively. Both of us hoping we had some gas left for the women’s open race an hour later.

My legs were pretty fried for the open race. Dairyland was there in full force. They attacked, attacked, and eventually the field split. I missed the winning break, just barely. Carol, Rachel, and I (all from CSU, but racing for different teams) were in a chase group with fellow-midwesterner Kate Ross (America’s Dairyland). Up the road was a break with 3 Dairyland girls and another rider. Carol, Rachel, and I kept the pace high and had the break within reaching distance, but since we all just finished racing the collegiate race, our legs were fried. Our objective turned from catching the break to not getting caught by the field within a matter of minutes. We kept rolling turns, and on the last lap Kate sprinted around us. I tried to grab her wheel, but I had nothing left. I finished 6th for the day, with a little harder of an effort than I was planning on. Oh well.

Sunday’s course was flat and fast. It was 1km long and had no real turns, just a few sweeping corners. Amy D. showed up for today’s race, along with a few other faces I didn’t see on Saturday. FLC attacked off the line, and we covered it. Our plan was to attack a lot again today. So we did. I attacked a few times, hoping someone would follow. Didn’t happen. The last time I attacked, Tirrel on CSU countered just as I got caught. Awesome move! Away she went. We never saw her after that. That girl can motor. An FLC girl tried chasing her down, but instead dangled in front of the main group for the remainder of the race. With 2 laps to go, we pushed the pace and caught the FLC girl, knowing Tirrel was out of sight. Carol kept the pace high the last lap for a perfect lead out. I came around in the middle of the last curve and punched it to the line for 2nd place.

I did the open race again on Sunday. Ouch. You know the race is going to hurt when you see huge names riding around before the start of the race. America’s Dairyland was there in full force. A few Vitamin Cottage and ValueAct girls were there. Amy Dombroski raced again. Mara Abbott was there. Marissa Asplund from Cheerwine, Allison Powers…maybe??..and tons others were also there. It amazed me how stacked the field was, considering the payout was 3 deep with a purse that was pretty low. Oh well, it was awesome! My teammates Megan and Monique raced too. We didn’t have much of a plan, just threw in a few attacks to mix things up. My legs were fried. I attacked early in the race and Megan countered. The field started to whittle down, but there were still quite a few riders in the pack. Other people attacked, and the pace stayed high. It came down to a sprint. About half way through the last lap, some people near the front of the pack sat up (WtF?). I got gapped off, along with the rest of the field, and 5-6girls put a few bike lengths on us. Made up some ground and came across with a 10th place finish. Megan finished 8th. Monique had an awesome race, considering she hasn’t ridden for a few days and this was her first race of the season. Hard weekend of racing, and my legs are feeling it!

I stuck around for the men’s pro/1/2/3 race. It’s pretty neat racing out here in Colorado. Local “training” crits get lots of attention when there’s nothing big going on. Toyota United was there with 6-7 guys. Tom Zirbel, Tom Danielson, and lots of other fasties showed up. It was cool to see the pros mixing it up and supporting local racing. Anyway, I’ll post pictures eventually (update: here are some pictures…enjoy).
Fellow Iowan, Tom Zirbel, putting the hammer down.

Tom Danielson from Slipstream.

A couple of Toyota United guys.

This weekend is more collegiate action in Grand Junction/Fruita, CO. Have a good week!
-A

Fort Lewis College Collegiate Race Weekend

First off…it’s snowing in Fort Collins. Bummer, considering it was in the 60’s last week. Supposed to warm up again this week though, which is awesome because I’m on Spring Break. It’s going to be nice to have a few stress-free days!

This weekend’s collegiate stuff was in Durango, CO. We headed down Friday afternoon. The weather forecast wasn’t great, and I almost opted out of even going to Durango. Instead, I was going to go to Fresno, CA for the Sequoia Classic. Durango is 7-8hour drive, depending on the weather, etc. Everything was in good shape so we made decent time.

Saturday morning we woke up at 5:30…ouch!!! The team trial started at 8:00, with our Women’s A squad going off at 8:26. It was pretty cold all morning, especially since the time trial was through a valley with clif on the side, which meant lots of shade! We had 5 Women’s A riders, and one Women’s B rider along for the trip. Those of you who know your collegiate rules, you can only start 4 riders. This meant we had to split up into teams of 3. Julia had an aero helmet, Rachel had aerobars, and I had nothing. The course was 25km long with a 2km climb at the end. The climb was decently steep and hard to keep everyone together. We came across the line with a time of 44:25. Fort Lewis beat us by just under 30seconds.

Saturday afternoon was the criterium. The Women’s A race took off at 3:20. It had warmed up quite a bit by then, probably in the 50’s. The field was decently stacked with two strong riders from Fort Lewis: Amy Dombroski (also races for Webcor) and Kristin McGrath (also races for Colavita/Sutter Home). Amy attacked pretty much from the start of the 40minute crit. I covered her attack and hung on to her wheel. We instantly had a huge gap. We rolled it for quite a while before her teammate, Kristin, bridged up to us. The course was actually pretty fun. It was 0.5mile long with 6 turns and a decent uphill. So it was me and two FLC girls. They would attack on the hill almost every lap, but I was able to stay on their wheels. Amy dropped off towards the end of the race. Kristin and I lapped the field and almost caught Amy. On the last lap, Kristin pushed it super hard up the hill. She got a 2-3ft. gap on me and I couldn’t close it coming over the top and down the hill. I almost caught her in the sprint, but my legs were cooked. I finished 2nd. Julia from CSU pulled off the field sprint for 4th.

Kristin and I rolling through one of the corners. Check out the snow!!

Kristin, myself, and Amy cresting the hill.

The finishing sprint.

Sunday morning was another early morning. The Women’s A road race was off at 8:00. The weather was decent. Not much wind, lots of sun, but a little on the chilly side. Our race was 2 laps, each lap 19miles long. The course was super flat. Probably flatter than most of the road races I’ve done in the midwest, crazy I know! The first lap was extremely boring. I sat at the front for the first part of the race just to get warm up in. Things really didn’t get exciting until the second lap. We sent a few of our girls on attacks to weed out some of the competition. An FLC girl got off the front for a long time. She was definitely within reaching distance the entire time though. Megan and Rachel (CSU teammates) did an awesome job working at the front to bring her in. Of course FLC wasn’t going to work…but I didn’t quite understand why none of the other teams would. Anyway, once we caught the FLC girl, I attacked. Kristin followed. It was on an uphill, which made things even better (Kristin is an extremely strong climber). This was about 6 miles from the finish. Being that we had over half the field on our side, we were able to stay away. A group of 4 riders were able to get away from the rest of the field. Julia was included in the break. Kristin attacked me coming into one of the final sections of the race. I held her wheel and sprinted around her through the last corner to come across for the win. Julia won the chase group sprint for 3rd.

CSU had an awesome weekend! I’m excited to be racing with this team. There are some super strong and dedicated riders on the team. Another thing I noticed this weekend was sportsmanship. A thing that comes to mind is Fort Lewis College. Even though we (CSU) and FLC are pretty big rivals, the entire team is extremely nice to us (and vice versa). We talk at races and their coach even invited us to go out to eat with them. I think it’s pretty cool that even though we can be big competitors, everyone is generous and kind to each other.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to post some pictures and maybe do some editing later. I’m tired though and need sleep!! Next weekend is a criterium at UNC in Greely, CO and another criterium at CU in Boulder, CO. Should be fun!! Good night!
-A

Fort Lewis College Collegiate Race Weekend

First off…it’s snowing in Fort Collins. Bummer, considering it was in the 60’s last week. Supposed to warm up again this week though, which is awesome because I’m on Spring Break. It’s going to be nice to have a few stress-free days!

This weekend’s collegiate stuff was in Durango, CO. We headed down Friday afternoon. The weather forecast wasn’t great, and I almost opted out of even going to Durango. Instead, I was going to go to Fresno, CA for the Sequoia Classic. Durango is 7-8hour drive, depending on the weather, etc. Everything was in good shape so we made decent time.

Saturday morning we woke up at 5:30…ouch!!! The team trial started at 8:00, with our Women’s A squad going off at 8:26. It was pretty cold all morning, especially since the time trial was through a valley with clif on the side, which meant lots of shade! We had 5 Women’s A riders, and one Women’s B rider along for the trip. Those of you who know your collegiate rules, you can only start 4 riders. This meant we had to split up into teams of 3. Julia had an aero helmet, Rachel had aerobars, and I had nothing. The course was 25km long with a 2km climb at the end. The climb was decently steep and hard to keep everyone together. We came across the line with a time of 44:25. Fort Lewis beat us by just under 30seconds.

Saturday afternoon was the criterium. The Women’s A race took off at 3:20. It had warmed up quite a bit by then, probably in the 50’s. The field was decently stacked with two strong riders from Fort Lewis: Amy Dombroski (also races for Webcor) and Kristin McGrath (also races for Colavita/Sutter Home). Amy attacked pretty much from the start of the 40minute crit. I covered her attack and hung on to her wheel. We instantly had a huge gap. We rolled it for quite a while before her teammate, Kristin, bridged up to us. The course was actually pretty fun. It was 0.5mile long with 6 turns and a decent uphill. So it was me and two FLC girls. They would attack on the hill almost every lap, but I was able to stay on their wheels. Amy dropped off towards the end of the race. Kristin and I lapped the field and almost caught Amy. On the last lap, Kristin pushed it super hard up the hill. She got a 2-3ft. gap on me and I couldn’t close it coming over the top and down the hill. I almost caught her in the sprint, but my legs were cooked. I finished 2nd. Julia from CSU pulled off the field sprint for 4th.

Kristin and I rolling through one of the corners. Check out the snow!!

Kristin, myself, and Amy cresting the hill.

The finishing sprint.

Sunday morning was another early morning. The Women’s A road race was off at 8:00. The weather was decent. Not much wind, lots of sun, but a little on the chilly side. Our race was 2 laps, each lap 19miles long. The course was super flat. Probably flatter than most of the road races I’ve done in the midwest, crazy I know! The first lap was extremely boring. I sat at the front for the first part of the race just to get warm up in. Things really didn’t get exciting until the second lap. We sent a few of our girls on attacks to weed out some of the competition. An FLC girl got off the front for a long time. She was definitely within reaching distance the entire time though. Megan and Rachel (CSU teammates) did an awesome job working at the front to bring her in. Of course FLC wasn’t going to work…but I didn’t quite understand why none of the other teams would. Anyway, once we caught the FLC girl, I attacked. Kristin followed. It was on an uphill, which made things even better (Kristin is an extremely strong climber). This was about 6 miles from the finish. Being that we had over half the field on our side, we were able to stay away. A group of 4 riders were able to get away from the rest of the field. Julia was included in the break. Kristin attacked me coming into one of the final sections of the race. I held her wheel and sprinted around her through the last corner to come across for the win. Julia won the chase group sprint for 3rd.

CSU had an awesome weekend! I’m excited to be racing with this team. There are some super strong and dedicated riders on the team. Another thing I noticed this weekend was sportsmanship. A thing that comes to mind is Fort Lewis College. Even though we (CSU) and FLC are pretty big rivals, the entire team is extremely nice to us (and vice versa). We talk at races and their coach even invited us to go out to eat with them. I think it’s pretty cool that even though we can be big competitors, everyone is generous and kind to each other.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to post some pictures and maybe do some editing later. I’m tired though and need sleep!! Next weekend is a criterium at UNC in Greely, CO and another criterium at CU in Boulder, CO. Should be fun!! Good night!
-A

2008 Results

3/8 – Metro State University Time Trial; 1st Women’s A
3/9 – Denver University Criterium; 1st Women’s A, 4th Women’s Open
3/15 – Fort Lewis College Team Time Trial; 2nd Women’s A TTT
3/15 – Fort Lewis College Criterium; 2nd Women’s A
3/16 – Fort Lewis College Road Race; 1st Women’s A
3/22 – University of Northern Colorado Criterium; 2nd Women’s A, 6th Women’s Open
3/23 – University of Colorado Criterium; 2nd Women’s A, 10th Women’s Open
3/29 – Mesa State College Road Race; 2nd Women’s A
3/29 – Mesa State College Team Time Trial; 1st Women’s A
3/30 – Mesa State College Criterium; 1st Women’s A
4/5 – Colorado School of Mines Hill Climb (Lookout Mountain); 1st Women’s A
4/6 – Colorado School of Mines Criterium; 1st Women’s A
4/13 – MSC #1 Rabbit Valley; 5th Women’s Expert 19-29
4/18 – Sea Otter Classic Road Race; 14th Women’s Pro/1/2
4/19 – Sea Otter Classic NRC Circuit Race; DNF
4/20 – Sea Otter Classic Cross Country; 1st Women’s Expert 19-29
4/26 – Deer Trail Road Race; 5th Women’s Pro/1/2
4/27 – University of Wyoming Criterium; 4th Women’s A
5/9 – National Collegiate Team Time Trial – 6th Women’s Div. 1
5/10 – National Collegiate Road Race – 5th Women’s Div. 1
5/11 – National Collegiate Criterium – 5th Women’s Div. 1
National Collegiate Omnium – 4th Women’s Div. 1
5/17 – Denzer Road Race – 1st Women’s Open
5/23 – Snake Alley Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/24 – Melon City Criterium – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/25 – Quad Cities Criterium – 4th Women’s Cat 2/3
5/25 – Quad Cities Criterium – 6th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/30 – Quick Trip Friday Night Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 20th Women’s Pro/1/2
5/31 – Main and Brady Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 16th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/1 – 13th and Riverside Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 8th Women’s Pro/1/2
Tulsa Tough Omnium – 16th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/8 – Tour de Winghaven – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
6/11 – Saint Paul Lowertown Criterium – got pulled Women’s Pro/1/2
6/12 – Cannon Falls Road Race – 61st Women’s Pro/1/2
6/13 – Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial – 74th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/13 – Minneapolis Downtown Classic – 62nd Women’s Pro/1/2
6/14 – Mankato Road Race – 37th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/15 – Stillwater Criterium – 12th Women’s Pro/1/2
Nature Valley Grand Prix G.C. – 25th Women’s Pro/1/2; 6th Young Rider; 3rd Cat 2
6/21 – Rist Canyon Road Race – 2nd Women’s Pro/1/2
6/28 – Dead Dog Classic Road Race – 6th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/29 – Dead Dog Classic Criterium – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2
6/29 – Dead Dog Classic Time Trial – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2
Dead Dog Classic Omnium – 4th Women’s Pro/1/2
7/6 – Niwot Criterium – 8th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
7/12 – Clear Lake Criterium – 1st Women’s Open
7/13 – Clear Lake Road Race – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
7/17 – Mountain Bike Nationals Cross Country – 5th Women’s U23
7/20 – Mountain Bike Nationals Short Track – 1st Women’s Non-Pro
7/27 – Chicago Criterium – 25th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/2 – Tour of Elk Grove – 14th Women’s Open
8/3 – Missouri State Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/9 – Tour of Kansas City – 2nd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/10 – Tour of Kansas City – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/16 – Downers Grove Criterium – 22nd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/17 – Downers Grove Criterium (Nationals) – 22nd Women’s Pro/1/2
8/29 – Midwest Testing Tour de Lafayette Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/30 – Emerson Motors Downtown Criterium – 10th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/31 – Green Street Properties Grio Della Montagna – 5th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/1 – Tour of U-City Loop Criterium – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/1 – Gateway Cup Overall – 5th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/6 – CSU Short Track – 3rd Women’s A
9/7 – CSU Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
9/20 – UWY Short Track – 1st Women’s A
9/21 – UWY Cross Country – 2nd Women’s A
9/27 – CU Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
9/28 – CU Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/4 – FLC Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/11 – MSC Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/11 – MSC Super D – 1st Women’s A
10/12 – MSC Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
10/24 – Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals Cross Country – 8th Women’s D1
10/25 – Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals Short Track – 2nd Women’s D1
11/2 – Boulder Cup #2 – 18th Women’s Elite
11/23 – Middle Park Madness CX – 1st Women’s 1/2/3
11/28 – Jingle Cross Rock 1 – 10th Women’s Elite
11/29 – Jingle Cross Rock 2 – 1st Women’s Elite
12/14 – Collegiate Cyclocross Nationals – 2nd Women’s D1
12/14 – Cyclocross Nationals – DNF Women’s Elite

The Season:
Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference Road Overall – 1st Women’s A
Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference Mountain Overall – 1st Women’s A Endurance

Metro/DU Collegiate Race Weekend

This weekend marked the start of my 2008 racing season. It started of Saturday morning with my first ever time trial. I know what you’re thinking. Three years of racing and YES, I have managed to avoid all time trials until now! The race was put on by Metro State University at Bear Creek Lake State Park. The course was just under 9miles and was pretty fun. It had lots of corners and some power climbs. There really wasn’t any part of the course that was “flat”. My start time was 11:03am. There were 6 girls ahead of me, and I’m not sure how many behind me. Having no clue how to race a TT, I just went with it. Next thing I know, I was catching people. I think I caught 4 riders. I had no idea what my time was or what place I got. After my cool down, the team coach told us are placing. Somehow I pulled off first place. Craziness.

Here’s me powering it up the final climb. Note: I have no aero gear. I’m way behind the TT times .

Today was the Denver University Criterium. It took place in downtown Denver at City Park. The course was relatively short (less than a mile) and pretty technical. There were 3 round-abouts (2 which you had to stop pedaling through or else you’d clip the ground). It was flat, but I think the finishing stretch was a false flat because it hurt pretty bad and was a lot slower than the rest of the course. Not sure on how many people started the race…maybe 15? CSU definitely had numbers (6 total). The race started off pretty calm. A few laps in, they called a prime. I sprinted against a girl from Wyoming and took the points (it’s point in collegiate, not merchandise). A few laps later, teammate Carol Hutton took a flier. Myself and another teammate went to the front to do some blocking. A few girls from other teams tried to bridge, but we were working them over pretty bad. About 25minutes into the 45minute race, they called another prime. I decided to go for it and bridge up to Carol, who was dangling off the front at about 15seconds. I got a pretty good jump and caught up to her relatively fast. We worked together the rest of the race. The pack had the gap down to 7seconds at one time, but the rest of the CSU girls did an awesome blocking job and slowed the pack down to a 40+second gap! Carol and I came across the line together. Julia sprinted for 3rd in the pack. Awesome!! CSU was top 3 today!

Carol and I coming through the last corner of the last lap. All smiles

Another first for me was racing two crits in one day. I also did the Women’s Open crit. Teammate/Team Director Megan Hottman came to join in on the fun. My legs were pretty toast from the prior race effort. There was about an hour in between the races, so I was able to get some food and stretch. The open race was a lot easier, and I’ll explain why. The first part was hard. People were attacking. I even won a prime! I tried to cover as much as possible and position myself in the top 3 at all times. Megan came to the front to tell me to watch such-and-such in the sprint. Next thing I know, she was gone up the road. Two girls chased her down and that was the last we saw of those 3. The two girls with Megan were from America’s Dairyland team and Value Act. They all had numbers in the pack, which was sweet. Two of the America’s Dairyland girls, one of the Value Act girls, and myself sat at the front of the field covering all dangerous attacks. The Dairyland team did most of the work at the front as far as pulling. It was pretty mellow after the three were off the front. No one wanted to bridge, which was weird. So we just rode around in circles for another 25minutes. The final sprint came and I made sure I was top 3 still. Came around the final corner and got a little boxed in but came out of it. I sprinted to the line with former Lipton team rider, Laura Kroepsch, who now riders for Value Act. It was definitely photo finish and I just barely beat her for 4th place. Megan finished 2nd in the break and Julia came across the line for 7th. Not bad for a first race.

Myself, Megan, and Julia post-race.

I’m pretty excited for the 2008 season. Looking forward to racing with both teams (CSU and DFT). They both seem pretty stacked, so it will be an awesome season! Next up is collegiate racing in Durango this coming weekend. Hopefully some of the snow melts! That’s all for now. Time to study…ugh!
-A

2008 Results

3/8 – Metro State University Time Trial; 1st Women’s A
3/9 – Denver University Criterium; 1st Women’s A, 4th Women’s Open
3/15 – Fort Lewis College Team Time Trial; 2nd Women’s A TTT
3/15 – Fort Lewis College Criterium; 2nd Women’s A
3/16 – Fort Lewis College Road Race; 1st Women’s A
3/22 – University of Northern Colorado Criterium; 2nd Women’s A, 6th Women’s Open
3/23 – University of Colorado Criterium; 2nd Women’s A, 10th Women’s Open
3/29 – Mesa State College Road Race; 2nd Women’s A
3/29 – Mesa State College Team Time Trial; 1st Women’s A
3/30 – Mesa State College Criterium; 1st Women’s A
4/5 – Colorado School of Mines Hill Climb (Lookout Mountain); 1st Women’s A
4/6 – Colorado School of Mines Criterium; 1st Women’s A
4/13 – MSC #1 Rabbit Valley; 5th Women’s Expert 19-29
4/18 – Sea Otter Classic Road Race; 14th Women’s Pro/1/2
4/19 – Sea Otter Classic NRC Circuit Race; DNF
4/20 – Sea Otter Classic Cross Country; 1st Women’s Expert 19-29
4/26 – Deer Trail Road Race; 5th Women’s Pro/1/2
4/27 – University of Wyoming Criterium; 4th Women’s A
Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference Overall – 1st Women’s A
5/9 – National Collegiate Team Time Trial – 6th Women’s Div. 1
5/10 – National Collegiate Road Race – 5th Women’s Div. 1
5/11 – National Collegiate Criterium – 5th Women’s Div. 1
National Collegiate Omnium – 4th Women’s Div. 1
5/17 – Denzer Road Race – 1st Women’s Open
5/23 – Snake Alley Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/24 – Melon City Criterium – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/25 – Quad Cities Criterium – 4th Women’s Cat 2/3
5/25 – Quad Cities Criterium – 6th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
5/30 – Quick Trip Friday Night Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 20th Women’s Pro/1/2
5/31 – Main and Brady Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 16th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/1 – 13th and Riverside Criterium (Tulsa Tough) – 8th Women’s Pro/1/2
Tulsa Tough Omnium – 16th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/8 – Tour de Winghaven – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
6/11 – Saint Paul Lowertown Criterium – got pulled Women’s Pro/1/2
6/12 – Cannon Falls Road Race – 61st Women’s Pro/1/2
6/13 – Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial – 74th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/13 – Minneapolis Downtown Classic – 62nd Women’s Pro/1/2
6/14 – Mankato Road Race – 37th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/15 – Stillwater Criterium – 12th Women’s Pro/1/2
Nature Valley Grand Prix G.C. – 25th Women’s Pro/1/2; 6th Young Rider; 3rd Cat 2
6/21 – Rist Canyon Road Race – 2nd Women’s Pro/1/2
6/28 – Dead Dog Classic Road Race – 6th Women’s Pro/1/2
6/29 – Dead Dog Classic Criterium – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2
6/29 – Dead Dog Classic Time Trial – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2
Dead Dog Classic Omnium – 4th Women’s Pro/1/2
7/6 – Niwot Criterium – 8th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
7/12 – Clear Lake Criterium – 1st Women’s Open
7/13 – Clear Lake Road Race – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
7/17 – Mountain Bike Nationals Cross Country – 5th Women’s U23
7/20 – Mountain Bike Nationals Short Track – 1st Women’s Non-Pro
7/27 – Chicago Criterium – 25th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/2 – Tour of Elk Grove – 14th Women’s Open
8/3 – Missouri State Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/9 – Tour of Kansas City – 2nd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/10 – Tour of Kansas City – 1st Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/16 – Downers Grove Criterium – 22nd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/17 – Downers Grove Criterium (Nationals) – 22nd Women’s Pro/1/2
8/29 – Midwest Testing Tour de Lafayette Criterium – 3rd Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/30 – Emerson Motors Downtown Criterium – 10th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
8/31 – Green Street Properties Grio Della Montagna – 5th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/1 – Tour of U-City Loop Criterium – 7th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/1 – Gateway Cup Overall – 5th Women’s Pro/1/2/3
9/6 – CSU Short Track – 3rd Women’s A
9/7 – CSU Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
9/20 – UWY Short Track – 1st Women’s A
9/21 – UWY Cross Country – 2nd Women’s A
9/27 – CU Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
9/28 – CU Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/4 – FLC Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/11 – MSC Short Track – 1st Women’s A
10/11 – MSC Super D – 1st Women’s A
10/12 – MSC Cross Country – 1st Women’s A
Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference Overall – 1st Women’s A Endurance
10/24 – Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals Cross Country – 8th Women’s D1
10/25 – Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals Short Track – 2nd Women’s D1
11/2 – Boulder Cup #2 – 18th Women’s Elite

Metro/DU Collegiate Race Weekend

This weekend marked the start of my 2008 racing season. It started of Saturday morning with my first ever time trial. I know what you’re thinking. Three years of racing and YES, I have managed to avoid all time trials until now! The race was put on by Metro State University at Bear Creek Lake State Park. The course was just under 9miles and was pretty fun. It had lots of corners and some power climbs. There really wasn’t any part of the course that was “flat”. My start time was 11:03am. There were 6 girls ahead of me, and I’m not sure how many behind me. Having no clue how to race a TT, I just went with it. Next thing I know, I was catching people. I think I caught 4 riders. I had no idea what my time was or what place I got. After my cool down, the team coach told us are placing. Somehow I pulled off first place. Craziness.

Here’s me powering it up the final climb. Note: I have no aero gear. I’m way behind the TT times .

Today was the Denver University Criterium. It took place in downtown Denver at City Park. The course was relatively short (less than a mile) and pretty technical. There were 3 round-abouts (2 which you had to stop pedaling through or else you’d clip the ground). It was flat, but I think the finishing stretch was a false flat because it hurt pretty bad and was a lot slower than the rest of the course. Not sure on how many people started the race…maybe 15? CSU definitely had numbers (6 total). The race started off pretty calm. A few laps in, they called a prime. I sprinted against a girl from Wyoming and took the points (it’s point in collegiate, not merchandise). A few laps later, teammate Carol Hutton took a flier. Myself and another teammate went to the front to do some blocking. A few girls from other teams tried to bridge, but we were working them over pretty bad. About 25minutes into the 45minute race, they called another prime. I decided to go for it and bridge up to Carol, who was dangling off the front at about 15seconds. I got a pretty good jump and caught up to her relatively fast. We worked together the rest of the race. The pack had the gap down to 7seconds at one time, but the rest of the CSU girls did an awesome blocking job and slowed the pack down to a 40+second gap! Carol and I came across the line together. Julia sprinted for 3rd in the pack. Awesome!! CSU was top 3 today!

Carol and I coming through the last corner of the last lap. All smiles

Another first for me was racing two crits in one day. I also did the Women’s Open crit. Teammate/Team Director Megan Hottman came to join in on the fun. My legs were pretty toast from the prior race effort. There was about an hour in between the races, so I was able to get some food and stretch. The open race was a lot easier, and I’ll explain why. The first part was hard. People were attacking. I even won a prime! I tried to cover as much as possible and position myself in the top 3 at all times. Megan came to the front to tell me to watch such-and-such in the sprint. Next thing I know, she was gone up the road. Two girls chased her down and that was the last we saw of those 3. The two girls with Megan were from America’s Dairyland team and Value Act. They all had numbers in the pack, which was sweet. Two of the America’s Dairyland girls, one of the Value Act girls, and myself sat at the front of the field covering all dangerous attacks. The Dairyland team did most of the work at the front as far as pulling. It was pretty mellow after the three were off the front. No one wanted to bridge, which was weird. So we just rode around in circles for another 25minutes. The final sprint came and I made sure I was top 3 still. Came around the final corner and got a little boxed in but came out of it. I sprinted to the line with former Lipton team rider, Laura Kroepsch, who now riders for Value Act. It was definitely photo finish and I just barely beat her for 4th place. Megan finished 2nd in the break and Julia came across the line for 7th. Not bad for a first race.

Myself, Megan, and Julia post-race.

I’m pretty excited for the 2008 season. Looking forward to racing with both teams (CSU and DFT). They both seem pretty stacked, so it will be an awesome season! Next up is collegiate racing in Durango this coming weekend. Hopefully some of the snow melts! That’s all for now. Time to study…ugh!
-A