Sarah Ms Report

My first race took place at the Santa Cruz Classic Crit in Santa Cruz. The date was April 9th, and this was my second crit ever. It had been really rainy and drizzly leading up to the race, which was a bit nerve racking due to the technical nature of the course, but we woke up that morning, and it was actually sunny! Yeah!! Claire, Rita and I took a nice long ride to warm up and then it was race time. There were 8 women total in the Cat 4 race, and most of them seemed to be �sprinters�. Going into the 5th or 6th lap, just before the 180 degree hairpin turn, another racer twitched into my line; I leaned, she didn�t, and her rear wheel clipped my front as she went down. We both went down pretty hard into a large curb. She seemed to have gone down much harder than I did, as I was able to get up and check over myself and my bike, and see if everything, including her, was alright. I was fine and so was my bike, so I jumped back in the race and finished up the remaining 6 or so laps, and ended up finishing 6th, which was last at that point. At 2 laps to go, I noticed that the girls were slowing down significantly, which I knew was a bait of some sort, but since I like being out in front, I just went for it and set the pace. I set it at a pretty mellow tempo, and because they were just waiting, no one attacked - until the little kicker hill that led to the straightaway and into the finish. I realized then that if you are attacked from behind, it is almost always too late to react to it and catch on. That is why they were just fine with someone leading them out. I was still okay with being out in front, as I love it and don�t mind taking all of the headwind, but now there is a logical, strategic reason behind not being out in front towards the end. The other interesting thing that takes getting used to being the mountain biker that I am, is the beginning of a road race. Everyone just takes it real easy in the beginning, then gradually accelerates towards the middle, and then takes it easy again towards the end getting ready for a sprint finish. A little different than going as hard as you can at the beginning and then settling in for the long haul! The race overall was a great learning experience, and I am glad that I got my first crash over with. I received only a minor bruise on my leg and hand, a little tear in my seat and a scuff on my left shifter. Pretty good all things considered.

Ritas Report

! was worried there would be some fast women in the race... and it turns out there was every reason to worry. Santa Cruz is a technical course -- one that Id never done before -- and its still early in the season for me, so I wasnt sure how I would fare. But I was excited to race my first criterium flying NorCal Velo colors, and have teammates Claire and Hillary to race with. The Palo Alto, Cheerwine and Proman girls set a blistering pace from the start, and it seemed women were dropping out left and right or getting pulled from very early on. Alas, I eventually was one of those girls to get pulled. I was able to stay with the pack for about 10 laps before the gap between me and the main group began to grow. When I realized I was never going to catch back on, I figure I would continue to push for as long as possible. Heck, I came all the way down to Santa Cruz, why not get a workout in? So push on I did. Made it to the halfway point -- yippee!! -- and when the referee finally gave me the signal that I was done, I had two words for him... "Thank you." It was indeed a hard day of racing.

Its always good to have the chance to race with the big girls. Challenging, yes, but also I think it makes you stronger. Sure, I was disappointed that I was unable to hang on until the end. When I got pulled, there were 25 girls of the originally 42 starters left in the race. An additional 3 were pulled soon after, and only 22 finished. I guess theres some consolation in having lasted 15 laps, and also outlasting a few women who often finish ahead of me in the crits. And this gives me motivation to try and work harder, do better next time. All in all, Santa Cruz was definitely a positive experience. I may even consider doing this race again next season.

On a side note, it was great to see Sarah M race her first criterium! Go Sarah!

Claires Report

The heavy hitters came out to play today, and I just hung on for grim death. The pace was real quick right from the start, and I can only recall a few brief moments of respite during the race. Most teams seemed to have called up the troops for the day. McGuire had 6 or 7 women, PABW had at least 5, PROMAN had a truckload. Ouch:

But the course is so flippin fun! The descent after this hairpin turn is THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorites for sure, and well worth every bit of suffering. Check it out:

Doesnt that look fun? So the race was 30 (million) laps long, and by the end of it my legs were toast. My lungs felt fine and I dont think my heart rate was too out of control, but the legs were gone. I tried to move up on the final climb, but its kinda hard to sprint when you cant move your legs. So I finished in LAST place. 42 women started, and only 22 finished; I was #22. It was a really tough race, maybe the toughest so far this year. I cant wait to race this one again next year!

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