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Time for a change: The Kimberly Bruckner Journal 2003
Last year the 2001 US Road Champion Kimberly Bruckner left the number one ranked women's team in the US after two years with Saturn and joined the growing force that is Team T-Mobile. With her sights firmly set on the Worlds in Hamilton and the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, Kimberly's diary is sure to provide compelling reading.
T-Mobile vs Rona at Redlands, part 3
Stage 3 - April 4: The Sun - Panorama Point Road Race, 73km
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As if yesterday's aggressive road race wasn't enough, the Redlands Classic promoters decided to add a new circuit race to the already grueling line up. I'd gladly take a time trial right about now instead! But of course it wasn't up to me. We had a rather short but tough four lap circuit with a five mile flat start loop. The race bible warned us that the steepest part of the climb reached a 20 percent grade. Duke, slap that 27 cog back on my bike! I've never ridden a 27 so much in my life after these past two weeks.
The start loop was pretty much controlled by RONA and Saturn, but it wouldn't have mattered much if a break had gotten up the road. They would have been quickly swallowed up once the circuits started. By mile six, we were at the start of the circuit which began with the climb. And that pretty much set the race right there. Genevieve took off with Amber, Lyne, Manon, and me in hot pursuit. Also in our mix was Felicia Greer of the Basis team; she was having a great ride.
By the top of the climb, our group still had Genevieve in our sights with the rest of the field a fair amount back. Willing to work together, the T-Mobile and Saturn girls started rotating to slowly reel Genevieve back in. I think we reeled her in a little too quickly. We should have let her sit out there in the wind a bit longer.
The circuit was about 15km long and we were back mixing it up with the little RONA wonder as we crossed the start/ finish line going into our second lap. So once again, Genevieve gunned it up the climb, this time succeeding in dropping me hard, right off the back of the group. Amber managed to stay with Lyne and Manon and that was that, I didn't see them again the rest of the race. Two and a half laps on my own. I thought the field would eventually catch me since I had a super hard headwind along the entire downhill section, but they never did. I think the field was a bit disheartened by how the race had turned out and no one was super motivated back there to keep racing.
Since Lyne and Manon were working together to catch Genevieve, and I had no one to work with except for me, myself, and I, I continued to lose time to the four girls up the road. I started getting worried that due to my little lack of performance here today, my T-Mobile team would no longer take me to Sea Otter! But that was just a bit of crazy thinking in my over-worked state. Genevieve stayed away to take her third courageous stage win of the race and 15 more bonus seconds. As if she needed them. Lyne, Manon, and Amber came in about a minute or so behind her. I didn't even want to see how much time I had lost on this stage, but with the field about three or more minutes behind me, I knew I had fifth place in GC solidly tied up. Fantastic.
Stage 4 - April 5: Beaver Medical Group Criterium, 60min.
No big surprises on this day in the racing. Crit day was the one day in this whole stage race that a non-climber could really aim for. So they did. I got a huge surprise though, as I was warming up on the trainer for the start of the crit, my fiancé's parents walked up. They had driven to Redlands that morning all the way from Phoenix, Arizona just to watch me in the criterium! It was a five hour drive! Chris's mom told me she came to watch me win. I hated to tell her that she truly picked the wrong race to watch me win; the day I win a crit like Redlands is the day the whole peloton crashes behind me. Nonetheless, I tried to stay as close to the front as possible so I was at least visible to them during the race!
With a lap to go in the race, Ina-Machina Teutenberg made a powerful attack and was off for the win. Cathy Marsal attacked after her and held on for second. Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite), won the field sprint for third. Our T-Mobile team needs to get a sprinter.
Stage 5 - April 6: Redlands Business Center Sunset Road Race, 99.5km
I've got to admit, I had trouble getting myself psyched up for today's race. I had to really dig deep for some motivation. With Genevieve almost certainly out of reach and GC seemingly set in stone, I just wanted to start recovering for Sea Otter. Sunset's a tough circuit too: eight laps of about a seven mile loop with a two and a half mile winding climb every lap. And just like the past two years, Genevieve took off like a shot as soon as the neutral flag was dropped at the start of the circuit. She was off for her 100km time trial. We tried in vain to go after her but it just wasn't happening today. The field regrouped at the top of the climb and the women just didn't seem very motivated to race.
For about two more laps, we cruised around the circuits, expecting Genevieve to actually lap us at any time. Would they pull the whole field if she lapped us? By lap four, things started to pick up. Lyne and Manon started attacking as a pair trying to get away from the rest of the field but were eventually caught again by the feed zone. But they tried every lap and it was starting to tire out the field. With two laps to go, Dede attacked hard with Amber on her wheel in an attempt to launch Amber off and away from Manon. Amber wanted to try and make up a few minutes on Manon and garner herself a podium position. But Manon wasn't letting her go anywhere.
Once Lyne and Manon caught Amber, they started working together to put their distance into the field. Once again, I was stuck in the middle, gapped off of the three in front of me but having quite a distance on the field behind. So why not? Magli Le Floch from RONA was with me, and together she and I worked for the rest of the race. It was definitely better racing to the finish like that and ending on a tough note. Hopefully the next race goes a little better for us.
Talk to you soon,
Kimberly
