San Dimas Stage 2 - San Dimas Hospital Road Race

Another day another stage. Although it is great to sleep in your own bed the 6am alarm clock hurt this AM. I woke up starving and since we did not have eggs at home on my way to Jenn X’s I have to admit that I stopped off at good old Mickey Ds to get an Egg McMuffin. I know it is bad but I figured with a 56 mile road race those extra calories would be used up. Picked up Jenn and off we drove to San Dimas. There was cloud coverage on the way out and we noticed that the temperature was hovering around the mid 50s. I actually would have preferred a little warmer.

We parked and went to sign in and gave Morgan and Christen the heads up to where we were parked. The usual pre-race prep was on with determining which clothing to wear weather wise and when to start warming up as they were about 20 minutes late on the start time for the day.

At about 10:25am we were off on our journey. With such a high level field I knew the pace would be high from the start and I immediately worked my way up to the front part of the pack. We completed the first lap (7 miles with climbing) in just 20 minutes. The 2^nd time up the climb was a Queen of the Mountain points sprint. Morgan wanted to try for this jersey and placed herself well up the climb but just missed out. She did a great job as the pace was pretty intense. Myself not being the best of climbers I tried to start every climb at the front of the back and then maintain contact with the group to the top. This was working well for me.

The 3^rd time through the finish line was the first Sprinters jersey points competition. Game on! From the climb two riders (ValueAct and Team Highroad) had gone up the road in an effort to break from the field for the points. The chase was on and I decided to go for it. You cannot get points unless you are there to get them. We got the two girls and I ended up being in the front too soon and got 5^th in the competition. No points for me! However, I felt good about taking the chance and going for it.

Every other lap there is some type of QOM (even laps 2,4,6) or Sprinters (3,5,7) competition. Jenn X, Morgan and myself were riding well near the front of the pack during the entire race and it is still a mystery how 2 Highroad riders Kim Anderson and Alex Rhodes got off the front. It appears that they went on the 2^nd QOM on lap 4. Entering the 2^nd sprint point on lap 5 I was able to get myself in great position and then my teammate Jenn X gave me a great lead out. I misjudged the distance to the finish and was passed by Rachel Tzinberg (Bicycle John’s) at the line. Ugh!! That frustrates me to no end! Afterwards Rachel and I think realized that there were two riders up the road and she got the last points as they only go 3 deep. Bummer for me!

The chase was on now by team ValueAct as they had a rider sitting in 3^rd place GC. We rode the rest of the laps at a pretty good pace. On the 7^th time up the climb Mara Abbott (Team Highroad) took off and we did some chasing but she is so fast uphill that she took the 3^rd place sprint points that were available. At least I was up there ready to sprint again.

Lap 8, finally! The pace was a little on and off and Morgan took advantage of this and took a flyer off of the front for quite some time. I was so hoping her move would stick but unfortunately the pack was attentive. Rachel motioned to me to have a go and I kind of went with her but was thinking that I really did not want to blow my wad because a field sprint kind of works for me. Off of that move Tracey Kubas (Bicycle John’s) attacked and her and Leah Goldstein (Team ValueAct) went up the road for a bit. Being the last lap the pace was fast and they were eventually caught. It was great to see my teammates up the road and I hustled to try to get to the front again for the last time up the climb. I dropped off the group but was able to fight my way back on the downhill and the flat before the finish. I went straight up the right side and was in pretty good position and then Jenn X went right to the front and drilled it. This time I was patient and sprinted for a 4^th placing in the bunch sprint and a 7^th placing overall for the day as there were the 3 other riders up the road. Although I did not accomplish my goal of getting sprint points I felt that I had a pretty good day. Team Highroad is an awesome team with very talented riders (they race in Europe) and considering the pace I feel pretty good overall. My teammates finished 18^th and 19^th. Pretty good for three local riders to finish in the top 20! Rock on sistas! We finished the 56 miles in about 2hours and 40 minutes. My computer showed that our average was 21.7mph.

Back home we drove after getting some food. After a good shower I am resting and writing the blog. Next I have to do some laundry and get things ready for tomorrow. Luckily our start time is at 2pm so I can sleep in a bit! Tomorrow is the final day of the stage race and it is a criterium which I love! Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Myself – 7^th for the road race and now 23^rd overall in the general classification

Morgan – 18^th RR and now 15^th overall in GC

Jenn X – 19^th RR and now 12^th overall in GC

Christen – 52^nd RR and 52^nd in GC – Christen’s chain came off twice again and she is just coming off of an excellent track season (National Jersey in the Scratch Race and medaling in the team pursuit so she picked a doozy of a stage race to do for her first road race back. Kudos to her as she is doing an awesome job!)

Morgan showcasing the Advil needed after a rough day in the saddle.