Road Bike Racing - Back From the National Championships!

It's been a long two weeks of racing! Reports will follow eventually...when I find the time to put them up. But...to save you all the suspense (it's not like results aren't all over the place on the internet, or anything), one win, two fourths, and a second place.

Thanks to everyone who wished me luck!

CONGRATS TO VELO!!! WTG. Where can we get more info on your races? I for one would love to hear about female racing.

Congrats... What was the win? I see you had great time in the TT -- back 8 seconds! -- and I can see that the sprint in the RR and crit must have been intense!

Way to go!

oceanrider - I don't know of any articles that are too great, it's just the results that can be found at multiple locations. www.velonews.com (http://www.velonews.com) and www.usacycling.org (http://www.usacycling.org) had some coverage, but nothing special.

velocipedio - I won the track omnium in Indianapolis the week before the road portion of nationals began.

Yeah, I really wanted to win the TT. But, it didn't work out. Good I dusted everyone else though, the rest are a minute + back! The road race sprint had four all within a wheel length of each other, I got the short end of the stick there! The crit, I got pushed out in the final turn, and couldn't make up the distance up the "wall".

Reports to come!

Velo,
Way to go! I hope you are as proud of yourself as all of us are!

For those interested, results can be found at veloresults.com. If you have trouble finding her results, here are a couple of hints. Velo's initials are KG, and she races for East Coast Velo. Right, Velo?

Check the jr. road race, tt and criterium results as well as the jr. track, 2km scratch race.

Saturn called. They are keeping a place warm for you! :D
Regards,
Raymond

Originally posted by RainmanP
For those interested, results can be found at veloresults.com. If you have trouble finding her results, here are a couple of hints. Velo's initials are KG, and she races for East Coast Velo. Right, Velo?

Check the jr. road race, tt and criterium results as well as the jr. track, 2km scratch race.

Saturn called. They are keeping a place warm for you! :D
Regards,
Raymond

That's all right, Raymond.

That's actually very funny; that's been the talk of this nationals - Saturn! Everyone I know seems to be convinced they'll be knocking on my door for the up-coming season. I hope so! I'll finally be old enough for them!

velo

Here's the first installment of my reports. The road championships will follow shortly...





Wednesday, July 24, 2002 –
Saturday, July 7, 2002

The past four days have been spent racing at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The last time the Junior National Track Cycling Championships visited Indy was in 1999.

The velodrome is one in very good condition. When it was built, it was based on the Lehigh Valley Velodrome, so it is very, very similar. Some characteristics are different, however. There is a tunnel, and the apron is huge. It is used for small racing cars during the off-season. The banking is a little shallower in the straights, and a little steeper in the turns than our velodrome, so it makes the transitions more abrupt. Overall, it doesn’t take much getting used to except the slight bumpiness.

Our group was the largest of all of the girls groups. This is usually how it is on the road and track. The biggest number of girls in the country who race bikes are my exact age; thus we move up together every year!



The racing started with the longest scratch race, the 5k. This was the most nervous race of the 4 because we didn’t start with a time trial, so you’re not sure how everyone is riding.

The race started out with a sort-of stroke of good luck for me, and a stroke of bad luck for my friend, Cassandra. Just a lap into the race she jumped to go with acceleration, and she pulled her wheel. She popped her chain off, and slid way to the bottom of the track. The race was neutralized until she was fit to get up. Cassandra was definitely one of my main contenders, but with her crash, she lost out on valuable omnium points.

My plan for the race was changed then. The original was to sit in and wait for the sprint and make sure Cassandra didn’t get away, because we were sure she was going to attack a couple times. She doesn’t have the speed that I have. So, I decided to slid underneath the pack and make an attack. I got a pretty good gap; it was a little over a quarter track. I held it for about three laps, which was very good.

After I was caught, it came down to a sprint. I ended up leading it out, which I didn’t want to do, but was forced into doing because of the way it worked out. The finish was very close. Natalie Klemko, from Wisconsin, came over the top and lost the sprint by maybe a half a wheel length.

A win is a good way to start off the omnium, but the sprint was very close, so I had to be careful in the next couple of races.



The second race was the 500-meter time trial. The past two weeks before racing started in Indy, we worked a lot on starts and short sprints for this event, especially, because the time trial is the tiebreaker if it should come down to that.
I felt my ride got off to a slower start than I wanted to, but I finished up very strong. I was the only rider to ride under 40 seconds, with a 39.7. This is the first time I’ve rode a 39 at nationals; I’ve done it plenty of times in training. So, I was happy with the ride.



The third race was the shortest mass-start one, the 2k scratch race. Tactics for this race were similar to the 5k. I was to sit in, and make sure nobody got away. The major thing was, though, to make sure Natalie did not beat me. She got second in the 500, also, so if I won I would have the omnium tied up. If she won, I would still have to work hard the next day.

The race worked out perfectly. Nothing got away. With one lap to go, the race shifted to the bottom of the track, and I was sitting second wheel. I had to get to the front, though, because there was a girl coming over the top, and she would have boxed me in.

I kicked it in then, and opened up a large gap. The faster girls got caught up behind slower ones, and I cruised across the line for the win. Natalie ended up getting third (in another close sprint), so the national track title was mine a day early.



The fourth and last race was the 45-lap points race. It’s good way to end the races for me, since I’m an endurance rider. Really, I could do whatever I wanted in the race, since I had the omnium all wrapped up. I knew that Gil wanted me to win it (he made it apparent) and Leigh did, secretly, too. So, I decided that I wanted to, too.

To put 45-laps short, I won many sprints, and placed in all except the last where I sat up and let the other girls have some glory because I knew I had it won!



A clean sweep of every race is the way to win the omnium! I must say, I never got so many hugs and kisses before in my life! I also got massages for the first time in my life, compliments of Leigh. They’re great! The jersey is mine. Again.

Thursday, August 1, 2002

The 2002 Junior National Road Cycling Championships were held in Clemson, South Carolina. Clemson is a very small college town that could easily win the national award for “the most color coordinated town in America”! Almost every road is decorated, somehow, with orange and blue tiger paws or some other kind of school spirit.

Once you got slightly out of the town, there were some very nice roads to ride on. The criterium, however, wasn’t held on some back country roads, but rather quite near downtown Clemson. Located just on the other side of the football field, the course was different from a regular crit course. From the start/finish line, it headed downhill to a right hairpin turn (!), flattened out in a long backstraight. Halfway through the backstraight, the road kicked downward again, into another right 90-degree turn. The road flattened again, and then kicked up slightly upwards to a 90-degree turn that was uphill. From there was a very steep hill. When you were at the bottom of the hill, you could not see the top. It was just shallow enough to make it over in your big ring at race speed.

My tactics for this race were to sit in, and wait for the sprint, because Leigh and I decided that there wasn’t anyone who was faster than me when it came down to the end. If I was feeling good though, I could get in a break if I felt in necessary. That’s how the earlier races were being won.

The race started off fast. There weren’t any attacks, just pace making at the front by miscellaneous girls. The first attack came from Cassandra, which wasn’t a surprise. Leigh and I knew that Cassandra would be the one to keep trying to get away. She got a sizeable gap, but kept looking back, which I feel is one of her weaknesses. She’s good enough to get off the front and hold it, she’s just not confident enough to go all out without paranoid little looks over the shoulder that slow her down.

Because I’m well known, I was well marked when I went to the front to chase her down. I wasn’t content doing all the work, and when I eased up, looking for some help, nothing came. A few words were spoken, and I guess the others who were interested in winning the race decided that I wasn’t kidding, and came to help.

We caught Cassandra within a good couple of laps. After that, the pace was still kept high, but with no attacks. It came down to about 8 laps to go, when Cassandra and her coaches decided that it was time for her to start making moves again. Every time up the hill, she would power it. I must admit, she did a very good job. Every time over the hill, my legs were screaming for relief. Some laps, she would get a small gap with another girl (sometimes myself), but nothing materialized.

So, the race would come down to a sprint. Coming into the final lap, I was sitting in perfect position, second place. Because of the hill, you had to be very near the front, if not on it, because the flat section at the top was not long enough to make up ground lost from being too far back at the uphill. Coming around the third corner positions changed, and I slipped to third behind Cassandra, and another good rider, Lauren Trull. At the fourth and final uphill turn I made my mistake. I got pushed out to the outside by a girl coming on the inside. I lost way too much ground. I fought all the way up the hill and on the other side, but it wasn’t enough. I ended up fourth, with a Texas girl sneaking around the outside and nipping me at the line to take third.

I wasn’t happy with my mistake, and I knew I would have definitely been in the mix for first (first and second were very close) if I had made it. But, that’s the way bike racing goes, and it’s still a medal, so that is very good. There were a lot of girls who I expected to do well, but the hill, pace, and heat were too much for them. All in all, it was an okay day.

Interesting reports. Good job in the races! (especially in the Velodrome I'm sure you are most happy with :D )

Saturday, August 3, 2002

The second race of the 2002 Junior National Road Cycling Championships, after a rest day, was the road race. The road race was a 7.75-mile rolling loop held on very nice country roads. With whatever the USCF was thinking about for the criterium, they surely made up for it with the road race. All of the roads were very smooth, with little traffic. It wasn’t actually in Clemson, but in a town just as small, that had some historical qualities, called Pendleton.

Our road race went off at almost 11 o’clock, and the weather was just getting hot and humid. We had 4 laps of the course, totaling 31 miles, which is a large jump from the 13-14 group, which had a whole 2 laps…

My tactics again for this race were to sit in. And, if I felt good enough, try to get in a break. The stretch up to the finish line was downhill, then flattened out with about 300-meters left, and then about 50-meters slightly uphill. So, it made for a very fast finish. It would be a good finish for me.

The race started out at a decent pace. It lasted for about 2 laps, then Cassandra, Lauren, and I decided that the only reason it was going at a decent pace was because we were keeping it there. So, we decided to go to the back. The pace was crawling for the third lap. It was nice though, because Cassandra and I were having some fun at the back. Also, I didn’t mind because it fell into my plan very well. I was surprised that Cassandra went for it, though, because I thought her tactics would be different.

So, the fourth, and last, lap came up quickly. The three of us who had retreated to the back, returned to the middle to front. There were some small attacks like the previous laps, but nothing that hurt my legs. The attack from Cassandra came where I expected it to come. Up the largest hill by the feed zone, she accelerated up the outside. I was right on her wheel when she did this, but I could tell it wouldn’t be enough to stay. I took a pull through, because we had opened up a small gap, but once I pulled off the rest were right on. The next attack I was expecting from her came through the hairpin left turn. I took the turn a little too conservatively, and let Cassandra get a gap before she jumped. This was a mistake, but fortunately, some of the other girls were willing to take up the chase, so I could sit in. We caught her fairly quickly.

The last three kilometers were pretty fast. About three kilos out, Cassandra took up the front, and I was beside her. With about two kilos to go, I slipped somewhat behind her to conserve the energy stores. I would have been there earlier, but everyone was crowding around to get positioning, and I didn’t want to let mine go. With a kilometer to go, the pace was very high, and we were stacked up all across the road. With the finish coming up, I sneaked up on the outside a bit, not totally into the wind. I felt that if I stayed where I was, I was going to get boxed in in the final stretch.

It worked out that I didn’t get boxed in, and probably started the sprint a little too early. But, I still held my position all the way to the line. There were four of us within a wheel length at the end. I got the short end of the stick, taking fourth. It hurt to be so close. But, Cassandra won it, so I was happy for her.

Overall I was disappointed that I was so close, and still couldn’t make it happen. But, I knew that the next day should be good, the time trial.

I think it is a gift to us that you are a terrific writer as well as a terrific racer. Thanks for your well-crafted, exciting reports.

Thanks, UncaStuart. I'm planning on having the last one from nationals up in the next couple of days. :)

Great racing, Great reports! Any pictures to go with them?

Cheers,
Jamie

Originally posted by jmlee
Any pictures to go with them?


Yes! I don't have any from track nats., but there's a site that has pictures from road nats.

Here's the link to the main site (all age groups): Bird's Eye View (http://www.worldatmydoor.com/siteAlbumList.asp?cat_id=18839&site_id=160602)

Here's one of me from the crit.: Crit. (http://www.worldatmydoor.com/siteAlbumImage.asp?site_id=160602&album_image_id=670297)

The road race: road race (http://www.worldatmydoor.com/siteAlbumImage.asp?site_id=160602&album_image_id=659431)

And time trial: (report soon to come!) time trial (http://www.worldatmydoor.com/siteAlbumImage.asp?site_id=160602&album_image_id=665124)

I'd put one of those in my profile, but the site is so protected, you can't save, copy, or do anything with the pictures! :mad: But yes well, hope you like them.

Sunday, August 4, 2002

The third and final race of the 2002 Junior National Road Cycling Championships was the time trial. It was held about 15 minutes away from Clemson, in Anderson. Don’t get excited though, Anderson is almost as dismal as Clemson. But, a good thing for bike racers, the roads are nice with very little traffic.

The race was run a little differently than your normal national championship time trial. The two older age groups had two laps of a 6-mile course (younger had one lap). This is very different. As long as I’ve been racing, it is always an out-and-back course.

When you first went off, the road was a short downhill section for about 600-meters, then went upward at a pretty decent grade. After the first climb, which curved upward to the right, the road was rolling for a short section until you hit a short part of rough road. This short tree-covered section was the only rough part of the course, and it was rough enough that it was difficult to ride in the aero bars. After you left the rough stretch, and the trees, you made a right turn (turns are another interesting part that made the course different) onto the longest road that was rolling to downhill. At the end of this part, you made a right hairpin turn onto the finishing stretch. The finishing stretch started out as a fast downhill, and then the last 3 kilometers were a false flat all the way to the finish line.
I felt a little stiff from the previous day’s road race on the trainer, but once I rolled down the starting ramp (which was the shallowest one I’ve ever seen) and was up over the first hill, I started to feel very good.

The whole first lap went very well for me. I went pretty hard, but saved up enough for the second. The second was all-out. The first part of the lap hurt like the devil, and the false flat felt the same, but that’s not a big surprise in a time trial. I finished up very well at the end.

My time trial was good enough for second place. I really wanted to win it. I was definitely disappointed with second. I know I went all out, and couldn’t have gone any harder, but loosing it by 8.5 seconds really rotted. No road jerseys this year, but I’m glad with the track races this year. I rode well and as hard as I could, and that’s what counts.