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