BENICIA CRITERIUM...VICTORY!

Sunday was the Benicia Town Race - a crit, with a nice roller on one side, and a downhill to a flat sprint finish. I liked the course, but last year I crashed out at this race in the 2nd to last corner and dislocated my shoulder, so I was a little wary of that. Once the race started though, I didn't think about the crash any more, my thoughts were only focused on getting a top three finish, in order to get the points I needed for my cat 1 upgrade.

We had a solid team - me, Mary Ellen, JV and Lori, and everyone knew what they had to do.

At the line....We wanted to get me into a break if possible, and if not, the plan was to set up a solid leadout for the final sprint. I went up the road with Mel Metzger in an early break, but we got pulled back in a few laps.

Karla off the front...

(photo courtesy of Paul Doran http://www.flickr.com/photos/vicarioussojourn/ )

The chase effort....

photo courtesy of Paul Doran ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/vicarioussojourn/ )

Then there was a counter attack and a break formed with Mary Ellen in it. Eventually that break came back too, and the field got antsy again. Lori and JV were doing a great job covering any moves that went without me.

Lori covering...
photo courtesy of Paul Doran ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/vicarioussojourn/ )

Then, there was a prime lap, and I decided to use it as a trial run for the final sprint. Since it's a long final straight, I stayed about 4th wheel after the last corner, and waited until I saw someone coming up behind me. I jumped into her draft and then sprinted around to take the prime. I think it was right on that lap that the next break was established. I was a bit cross-eyed after the prime, but I saw three fast ladies (Jane, Virginia, and Liza flying past me, so I did everything I could to get on that train.) I was so busy trying to hang onto a wheel, that I didn't quite notice we had a break, but then I looked back and the field wasn't there anymore. So off we went, a break of 6 (including 2 others that bridged across). We rode hard for a couple laps, but then settled down, and I knew my teammates in the field were doing everything they could to control it.As we came through the start/finish, I heard them ring the bell for another prime, and heard, "$175". So I thought to myself, "dang, that's a good bundle of cash, I would like to get that." Even though there were just a few laps to go, I decided to go for it. It was Jane and me battling it out down the final stretch in a really long sprint, and in the end, she got me by about a foot. Ooops. So I burned a lot of matches for nothing on that one. (After the race, I was told that it was actually $175 towards a VO2 test, NOT cash (!) Next time, I'll try to listen a little bit better).

Pretty soon it was 2 laps to go, and it was time to think about sprinting. I sat 4th wheel until the last corner, behind Jane, Virginia, and Liza. Around the final corner, Liza moved up on the outside and led out the sprint. With a couple hundred meters to go, I jumped and sprinted hard, just barely beating Jane to the line. It was a great win for me and the team, and got me the rest of the points I needed for the upgrade. It's now been submitted, and I'm just waiting for it to be official...Thanks so much to my team - they all were totally committed to helping me win the race, and we pulled it off! To put the cherry on top, Mary Ellen won the field sprint out of the main field for a 7th place finish as well. Nice work everyone!

Women's podium L-R, Virginia Perkins 3rd, Karla 1st, Jane Despas 2nd

Thanks for reading,

Karla

GIRO...TOP 10!

The Giro landed on a perfect day - the weather was gorgeous, but for a variety of reasons, much of our team wasn't able to make it to the race. So it was just JV and me toeing the start line. And JV had let me know before the race that she wasn't feeling well - upset stomach, stress - but I knew that she would do what she could.

The field was probably the most stacked "local" field we've had all year - Christine Thorburn and Karen Brem of Webcor, Brooke Miller and her Tibco squad, Sarah Bamberger and Stacy Marple from Cheerwine, Kat Carroll (Aaron's), Martina Patella (VAC) Shelley Olds, Virginia and a few more Proman, along with Vanderkitten Liz and Mary, a squad of Code 3 riders, Dolce Vita, and a bunch more strong ladies.

Start line Giro di San Francisco (photo courtesy of Garrett Lau http://flickr.com/photos/garrettlau/ )

The race started out fast and stayed fast - never a dull moment! The course was also great, 6 corners, a slight rise, and LOTS of rough pavement. My strategy was to mark wheels of the other pros that were there without a team - since it was just JV and I, I knew we wouldn't want to use much energy chasing or attacking - I tried to just be in the right place at the right time. At one point during the race, we were coming into turn one, and a guy rode his bike off the sidewalk directly into the front of our peloton. I think just about everyone was screaming, and he somehow didn't get hit. Unfortunately, a few girls went down as a result - I hope you're all OK!

Karla holding position at the front (photo courtesy of Garrett Lau http://flickr.com/photos/garrettlau/ )

In the second half of the race Christine Thorburn launched herself off the front of the pack alone and put on a time trialing clinic. She is incredible! In the last few laps the field was chasing really hard, and I was working really hard to hold my position. It came down to the end of the last lap - around the final corner, I was about 5th wheel, and we took off sprinting. Martina won, catching Christine in the final fifty meters, but Christine managed to hang on for 4th. I came across the line in 6th, and we were quite happy with that, considering the caliber of the field. JV rode strong for the entire race, and stuck with the field, even feeling sick! She was caught near a crash (hope you heal up quickly, Shelley!) in the final lap - fortunately she didn't go down, but she lost momentum, and didn't contest the sprint. It was a really fun and aggressive race, and I loved the course! Now we're looking forward to the Twilight Crit.

Thanks for reading,

Karla