Amanda Miller

Tour of America’s Dairyland

A quick update for now. Toni, Kate, and I are hanging out at a sweet coffee shop in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Internet (and technology in general) has been pretty chaotic lately. So sorry for the lack of updates.

We are still alive and kicking. Rubber side has been kept down. We’ve pulled off some good results and made some money.

I’ll be racing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The next two days are rest/riding days. I haven’t been racing a whole lot here as I don’t want to fry myself before Fitchburg, Cascade, and Nationals. I’ve had a pretty intense first half of the season as it is. So that’s why I took 2 days and the rest day off from racing, raced today, and will take the next two days off from racing

I’ll try to write more race recaps later. Just wanted to check in for now Thanks for stopping in!

Blue Mounds Road Race

Thursday was the Tour of America’s Dairyland Blue Mounds Road Race. The course is the 2016 purposed Olympic road course. It’s a pretty challenging course. Here’s the profile.

The first part of the race was neutral down “Blue Mounds” hill. After that it was relatively flat with some quick rollers and a few long descents. The climbing didn’t really start until about mile 8 as you can see from the profile. After that, it flattened out some more. It wasn’t until the feed zone hill was pretty brutal. Not sure how long it was, but it seemed to go on forever. It started out steep and then backed off. The women’s pro/1/2/3 did two 22 mile laps. The end of the race finished going back up “Blue Mounds” hill. It was a 1km climb with a pretty steep gradient. It leveled off at the finish for the last 200meters.

Our race was off at 9:15am. There were about 25 girls starting the race. I had one teammate – Kate Ross in the race. Team BH, Vanderkitten, Verducci-Breakaway, and Kenda Tire had multiple girls in the field as well. The first part of the race was pretty tame. A few girls threw down some attacks. We were trying to split the field up some. It definitely would have helped to pre-ride the course so we knew what was coming. The first climb came. I set tempo up it trying to split things up. We reached the top and there were 8 other girls left. After some slight hesitation, we all go organized and started rolling turns. Once to the feed zone hill, I set tempo up it again, hoping to shed a few of the riders. I got to the top and looked back to see Devon Haskell of Team BH on my wheel. We put the pressure on and created a gap. We stayed away for most of the 2nd lap, but got caught again before the last time up the feed zone hill. When the chase group caught us, we all sat up and spun out a bit. Things split up again on the last time up the feed zone hill. There were 4 of us together at the top. We reached the bottom of the climb together. Devon set pace up the first part of the climb. We dropped the other two riders mid-way through. At about the 200meter sign, I attacked and held off for the win. Tour of America’s Dairyland is a “stage race”. There is an overall leader’s jersey and the whole works. Here’s some pictures from the day.

Podium shot. I got to chug some of the best chocolate milk I’ve ever had!

Way too many jerseys on for as hot of a day it was. And jeans….what!?

The course was awesome. One of the best I’ve done in the midwest. The women’s race could have been a bit longer though. The men pro/1/2 did 88miles, and we did 44miles. 66miles seemed like a happy medium. Otherwise, it was a great race and I had a blast. The weather added to the grueling factor of this race. It was 110% humidity. I am not used to such thick air. On the first lap, I was seriously concerned about how it was going to affect my race. Definitely wasn’t getting enough oxygen and didn’t feel like I could push myself as hard as I wanted to. Once I found the rythym, things got easier.

Anyway, that’s all for now. More updates to come!
-A

Stillwater Criterium

Anne, Kacey, Toni and I left the host house early for a warm-up. We rode to the course from there. I was starting to get a bit worried, because the ride was longer than I thought it was going to be. It was beautiful out though. A slight breeze, but warm temperatures and clear skies.

Stillwater is one of my favorite races. The hill is awesome. Part of the reason it is so cool is because of the spectators. It makes going up the hill 14 times a lot easier when you have so much encouragement.

I got to start the day in the white jersey for best young rider. Alexis Rhodes was the actual leader though, by 1:32. She was also leading the queen of the mountain competition, which takes precedence over the white jersey. Anyway, being a jersey wearer, I got to start on the front line! Sweet! Starting position is really key for this race. They start you at the bottom of Chillkoot Hill. It’s a mess the first lap and you end up having to navigate your way through riders and spectators.

Anyway, I made it up the hill in the first 5 and held that for the first lap. The 2nd lap, Kristin Armstrong drilled it and created a gap. Two riders went with her – Shelly Olds (PROMAN) and Andrea Dvorak (Colavita). I was in the chase group along with my teammate Anne. Our group whittled down to 8 riders by the time the race was over. On the last lap, Anne told me to move up into position. I came into the last two sweeping corners 4th wheel. I made sure not to open up a gap because I knew things would light up at the bottom of the hill. I rode tempo behind a few girls at the bottom. Once it got closer to the top, I gave it my all. Kat Cheetley of Colavita was next to me. I could see her out of the corner of my eye and I just kept going. I came across the line 4th place, 14 seconds behind Kristin Armstrong. This was by far the best race I’ve ever had.

After the race, I learned I had moved into the lead for the white jersey. I won by 5 seconds. It was a close race. The young rider jersey wasn’t a goal for the team when we started the race. Anne was our G.C. rider and ended up moving into 5th place overall, just 1minute and 11 seconds behind Kristin Armstrong. I moved into 9th place overall, 1minute 57seconds down from the lead. Our guest rider Edwige Pitel finished 14th, 4minutes and 43seconds down from Kristin. LipSmacker had 3 riders in the top 15. It was a great result for us. We finished 2nd in the team G.C.!

Now I’m in Wisconsin for the Tour of America’s Dairyland. I won’t be doing all of the races. Tomorrow is the start. It’s the Blue Mounds road race. The course is the purposed 2016 Olympic course. Should be a good time. That’s all for now!
-A

Mankato Road Race

Another beautiful day in Minnesota. We lined up for a start time of 1:50. It was perfect riding weather. Sunny, a slight breeze, and mild temperatures. Plan of the day was to keep Anne in 4th and possibly move her up in the G.C.

The racing didn’t start for quite a ways into the 92mi stage. After the first two sprint points, TIBCO started throwing down some attacks. Our guest rider Jessica Phillips was in a break for a long time with 3 other riders. When they were caught, I was near the front and ready for the counter. Meredith Miller of TIBCO countered, and I latched onto her wheel. The break didn’t stick. There was another counter. Eventually 4 riders flew up the road. The break included Rhodes, Bausch, Miller, and Benjamin. No one wanted to chase. A little later on, two riders bridged to the break. The riders were Evans and Dillon. Most of these riders were quite a ways down on the G.C., but top G.C. riders needed to keep an eye on them. The break eventually grew to almost 4 minutes! Still, no organized chase. Everyone was trying to make Kristin Armstrong do the work. Once again, Kristin proved why she is truley one of the best riders out there. Not only is she super strong, but she’s super smart. At the end of the day, Kristin still leads the G.C. by 11 seconds.

We hit the finishing circuits and the lead group quickly whittled it’s way down to 20 riders or so. I managed to stay with the group until the last lap up the hill. I chased as hard as I could, but I was cooked. Managed to come across the line 25th place. Anne was 23rd. Alexis Rhodes ran away with the race. Very impressive! Unfortunately, she was caught in a crash during the Cannon Falls race and moved back to 40th in G.C. Her win during the Mankato road race moved her up to 2nd in G.C. She won the stage, collected the climber’s jersey, and also is in the young rider’s jersey. I am 1:32 down from the lead in the young rider competition. Today at Stillwater, I get to start in the white jersey since Alexis is starting in the climber’s jersey.

One more stage to go. It’s the hardest stage (in my mind). Nothing like ending a 6-stage stage race with a brutal criterium . More to come later!
-A

Uptown Minneapolis Criterium

Today’s crit was in uptown Minneapolis. It was a pretty sweet course. A few long straight-aways, and a couple good corners. Not to mention, it was FLAT. The course was fun, but the race was pretty much just a speed workout. We averaged nearly 27mph.

So about my race: I started near the back. It took me quite awhile to finally move up into the top 30. But I made it, safely. Our goal for the day was to ride safe and make sure Anne didn’t get into any trouble. She is our top rider in 4th, and we are hoping to keep her there or move her up in the next two days. Anyway, I followed Anne’s wheel around for a lot of the race. Avoided some sketchy riders. Had some fun figuring out the right lines in corners. The last couple laps came and I moved closer to the front. I never did make to the top 10 in this race. Anyway, TIBCO pulled off the win with Brooke Miller showing us all how to sprint. There weren’t any changes in the G.C. on our team. I pulled off 23rd place in the crit.

Today’s stage is a hard one. It’s a 92mile road race. The finishing circuit is extremely hard after a long day in the saddle. It has a good climb in it. We do 4 circuits. More to come later! Thanks for reading!
-A

Cannon Falls Road Race

I went for a spin earlier in the day. It was just too beautiful out to pass up the opportunity. Plus, I was getting pretty bored and running out of things to do online. Stillwater really is a beautiful area. Lots of rolling hills in the trees. It was perfect.

The road race didn’t start until 5:30pm. It was strange to be doing a road race that late. The first few miles were neutral, so nothing interesting happened there. It was a pretty fast neutral though. Shortly after the race was “on”, there was a QOH point. Yes, Queen of the Hill, not Queen of the Mountain . This got the pace going. A VeloForma girl was off the front for a while, but never got more than 15 seconds away from us. Eventually we swarmed her on a hill. The second QOH came and I found myself towards the front. Figured I’d give it a shot. But go figure, I went too early. I still managed to pull off 4th place, but I don’t think there were any points outside of the top 3. After this, Tibco started throwing down attacks. We tried to be in as many as we could. None of the breaks stuck and nothing really got over 15 seconds off the front. Everyone was trying to make Kristin Armstrong work. I only saw her chase down 2 attacks, one of which I was fortunate enough to be on her wheel for. She’s got some major horse power! Anyway, there wasn’t anything too interesting that happened until near the end. There were a lot of crashes throughout the day. It was a very sketchy race.

Near the final right hand turn onto the circuit, there was a huge crash that took down a lot of the top G.C. contendors. My teammate Kacey was stuck in it as well. She is alright. Her handlebars broke and her helmet is trashed, but otherwise she is ok.

A huge group missed the right hand turn onto the dirt section. It would have been nice for there to be flaggers there directing us. The moto had made the turn, but was quite a ways in front of us. Half the group went straight and the other half went right. Unfortunately, I was on the left hand side of the group and missed the turn. Had to shift gears, turn around, and high tail it down the hill.

The first lap of the circuit was brutally hard. It was strung out single file and I could barely hold the wheel in front of me. Things calmed down after 2 laps of the circuit but it was hard. We did 5 laps total of the circuit. With two to go, Colavita started getting organized. I tried to make my way to the front, but couldn’t hold position. The last lap was hard. The finish was on top a slight power hill. Anne, Edwige, Toni, and I were in the main pack.

Things changed a lot in the overall G.C. Here’s the team results:
Anne is 4th in G.C. (0:48 off the lead)
Edwige is 13th in G.C. (1:19 off the lead)
I’m 15th in G.C. (1:20 off the lead); 2nd in the Young Rider (0:01 off the lead)
Toni is 31st in G.C. (1:55 off the lead)
Jessica is 44th in G.C. (2:46 off the lead)
Kacey is 98th in G.C. (14:49 off the lead)
As a team, we moved up to 3rd in G.C., 24 seconds off the lead – SWEET!!!

Tonight is a criterium in Minneapolis. It doesn’t start until 6:30 tonight, so it will be another lazy day of lounging around. Maybe some pool time?? That’s all for now! Update on the crit to come eventually!
-A

Downtown St. Paul Criterium

After a lazy afternoon of lounging around, we finally headed over to the crit course. It was about a 30min drive from our host house. We left plenty early, mostly out of boredom. After a quick coffee break on the course, we sat down for the team meeting. The plan was to stay safe. This crit is notoriously known for being a crash fast, especially in wet conditions. Lucky for us, the sun was out and the course was dry. Either way, it was stage 2 and we didn’t want to get into trouble.

Anne and I both got call ups. Anne was called up because she is the reigning Canadian National Time Trial champion. I got called up for being a 2008 Ryan Collegiate All Star alumni. Pretty sweet! 118 riders started the crit, so start position was very helpful. The gun went off and Kristin Armstrong strung things out. Webcor, Tibco, and Colavita did a good job at keeping the pace high. I worked on holding my position in the top 20 riders the entire race. I thought about going for a few time bonus sprints, but couldn’t position myself in the right spot for them. The race was pretty uneventful. There were a few attempted attacks, but nothing stuck for more than a lap. The final laps came and there was never an organized lead out taking place. I held my spot and finished 22nd. All of the team finished the race and made the time cut.

Here’s the standings for the team after Day 1 (Stage 2):
Anne Samplonius is 5th in G.C. (0:48 off the lead)
Guest rider Jessica Phillips is 15th in G.C. (1:05 off the lead).
Guest rider Edwige Pitel is 22nd in G.C. (1:19 off the lead).
I’m 24th in G.C. (1:20 off the lead); 5th in Young Rider (0:33 off the lead)
Toni Bradshaw is 48th in G.C. (1:55 off the lead).
Kacey Manderfield is 97th in G.C. (6:09 off the lead); 25th in Young Rider (5:22 off the lead)
As a team, we are 4th in the G.C. (0:36 off the lead)

Today is the Cannon Falls road race. It’s a 70mile road race with 4 finishing circuits. We don’t start until 5:30, so it’s another lazy day. Updates to come about tonights race soon!
-A

St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial

The time trial is done and over with. Woke up this morning to moist air. It was raining here at our host house in Stillwater. Fortunately, it was dry at the course in St. Paul. It did start raining some before more start though. I was off at 8:40am. Ouch! I think I was the 20th rider to go. I hopped on the rollers around 7:50 and started my warm-up. I didn’t get a great warm-up in because I needed to pre-check my bike position, stop by the bathroom one last time, and change my wheels. After a small issue airing up my front wheel, I headed back to the start. Rolled up to the check-in area and made it through. I stood there for a few minutes while they called a bunch of numbers, other than mine. Finally, they started calling my number. I had 15seconds on the ramp. Go figure, I couldn’t get clipped in. I was pretty frazzeled at the start, but tried to gain composure as I started. I found my rhythm and went. I should have pre-ridden the turn around again, because I went way too fast into it. The barriers came a bit to quick and I had to come to almost a complete stop. I sprinted my way out of the turn around and got back into the rhythm. I saw I was gaining on my 30second person and tried to catch her. I close the gap even more once we got to the hill, but never closed it completely. She was about 5 seconds ahead of me at the finish. When I came across the line, they said I had the 4th best time of the day. Sweet! However, I knew this wouldn’t last. I was pretty early to go off and there were a lot of fast girls behind me. My time was 15:08 which was good enough for 25th place.

Kristin Armstrong rode a 13:48:55. Alison Powers road at 14:01:14 and Errine Willock rode a 14:36:95. My teammate Anne finished 4th with a time of 14:36 something. Our guest rider Jessica Phillips rode a 14:52 for 13th place. Our other guest rider Edwige Pitel rode a 15:07 for 23rd place. Toni rode a 15:43 for 51st place and Kacey rode a 16:10 for 76th place.

Downtown St. Paul Criterium is later tonight. I’m hoping it warms up and the rain stops. Update to come later!
-A

Nature Valley Grand Prix preview

The 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix kicks off tomorrow (Wednesday). This 5-day, 6-stage stage race is one of the most prestigious races in the country. Last year, I raced on the Ryan Collegiate All-Stars composite team. It was my first NRC race and my first stage race. I had a blast and am really looking forward to racing it again this year.

Tomorrow starts off the St. Paul Riverfront 6 mile time trial. Here’s the course and profile:
Last year, the time trial was in the middle of the race. This year, it starts the race off. I think it is better the way it is this year. The course is pretty flat, as you can see. However, the last bit is straight uphill. It’s a pretty significant climb, and a brutal way to end a hard effort. Racing starts at 8:30am.

Tomorrow evening is the Downtown St. Paul Criterium. The 60minute criterium starts at 6:00pm. Here’s what the course looks like:
It’s going to be a fast and flat race. Hoping to keep things safe. Last year, rain caused this event to be neutralized after the race (meaning results weren’t counted in the General Classification).

Thursday’s stage is the Cannon Falls road race. Our race is 60miles. Here’s the course:
There’s a short gravel section leading into the circuit. Position will be key for this as it does get a bit sketchy. Wind will likely be the deciding factor of this race. Once we hit the final circuit, the women will do 4 laps. The finish ends on a pretty decent climb. I don’t remember a whole lot of this race, other than wind and a big field.

Friday’s race is the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium. This 60minute race starts at 6:30pm.
Another flat, fast race.

Saturday’s stage is the Mankato Road Race. The race is 86miles long, with 4 laps of the finishing circuit.
This is a brutal race. The wind was pretty bad last year and I was put in the gutter most of the race. There’s a few good hills, but the finishing circuit is the hardest. Attrition will be key for this stage.

Sunday’s stage is the Stillwater Criterium. Last year this was my best race. It’s brutal!
The hill is super hard. But I’m looking forward to it .

Check back throughout the week for updates!
-A

Liberty Classic

I flew from Denver to Philadelphia Saturday morning. We arrived in Philly late afternoon. Toni and I went for a short spin before heading out for dinner. The next morning, we arrived at the course plenty early. With Philly being 2 hours ahead in time zones, I was dragging. Nothing like starting a race when your body thinks it’s 7:10am.

There were 120ish starters. I was pretty nervous. The field was stacked. The biggest race I’ve ever been in. Here’s just a few of the names I was in the presence of.
Ina Teutenberg (Columbia-High Road)
Trixi Worrack (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung)
Amber Neben (Equipe Nurnberger Versicherung)
Mara Abbott (Columbia-High Road)
Judith Arndt (Columbia-High Road)
Not too mention, there were the usual US top contenders that I’ve been racing with at the rest of the NRC races. It was pretty amazing to be racing amongst them.

The course:
There were a lot of flat sections of the course. It started off with a tricky construction zone. Lots of man hole and drain covers and some road-narrowing. The first major climb (Manayunk Hill) is where things started to break apart. Apparently by the end of the first lap there were a large number of riders off the pack. After Manayunk Hill we went over two smaller hills (Strawberry Hill and Lemon Hill). At the top of Manayunk and Lemon there were Queen of the Mountain points. The pace stayed pretty high. We actually caught and passed the men’s field pretty early in our race. It was a pretty big deal and very cool. The last lap Columbia-High Road showed why they are the power house to reckon with. They controlled the entire lap. Heading up Manayunk for the last time, they lit it up. It was the fastest time we went up it. Unfortunately, I had poor positioning going into the hill and had to navigate my way through slowing riders. By the time I had made it to the top, I was off the back of the lead group by about 50 meters. I couldn’t close the gap. The leaders were drilling the pace as we went down the hill into a headwind. I sat up and started rotating with the girls in my pack (about 20 of us). Two of my teammates – Anne and Toni – made the front spilt, thankfully! The other 3 of us (Kacey, our guest rider Jessica Phillips, and myself) were in the 2nd group. Of the front of the lead group were 12 very strong riders. It made it very hard for us to catch the 1st group. The first group was trying to catch the break as we were trying to catch them. Needless to say, we never caught the group. Ina Teutenburg took the win, Joanne Kiesanowski (TIBCO) was 2nd, and Shelley Olds (PROMAN) was 3rd. Anne was our top finisher in 19th place, Toni was 28th, Kacey was 53rd, I was 65th, and Jessica was 67th. It was a super fun race, actually. According to VeloNews, this race was the fastest it’s ever been in the race history. The field was pretty stacked, so that makes complete sense. I was happy to finish the race, and of course happy to not have crashed. Like I said before, it was just an honor being in the field with those types of riders.

We flew to Minneapolis Monday morning for the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Racing starts tomorrw (Wednesday). More updates to come as possible
-A