Tri-Peaks Race Reports

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Elodie and Rochell (Image credit: Rochelle Gilmore)

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Racing in America is A LOT different to racing in Europe. I lost a drink bottle on the first descent and was permitted (by race officials, via race radio) to take a new bottle from my race car during the first 20km… In Europe it would be "tough luck - wait until feeding starts!" Then the girls called for a pee stop. I found this amusing and took a stop just for the novelty of it! There were about 10 girls who stopped for a pee while the rest of the bunch cruised along at about 15km/hr!

A group of 5 riders got away with 40km to go and Elodie once again put herself in that break-away group for our team – "Specialized Menikini". The five riders in the break were Amber Rais (Webcor), Chrissy Ruiter (Cheerwine), Elodie Touffet (Specialized Menikini), Andrea Dvorak (Colavita) and Moriah MacGregor (Sport Development). We didn't know the strength of the other riders she was with so we took a gamble and let it go. Elodie took turns in the break but only with about 70% effort.

I totally missed the finish line. I thought we had another kilometre or so to go and I was looking ahead for a finish banner. We arrived at the finish line on a fast descent! I was sitting about 7 riders back when I realized the finish was only 100m away. I got out of the seat, and in a frantic panic did what I could but I failed to pass one rider in our group. Even though I would have only finished 7th… I still feel very frustrated that I didn't get to have sprint after doing so well on such a long climb!

Today's stage was definitely more taxing than yesterday! I'm not sure if it was the terrain, the speed, the jet-lag or simply just fatigue. The race started with an 8km climb out of Haw Creek Falls. The climb started at 114m above sea level and finished at 472m (367m in 7.9km). I got dropped in the first 2km due to starting cold, very cold! I thought I'd come good once I got into my own rhythm but in fact, I felt pretty average all day.

After 5km of climbing I found myself in a group of five riders. Among us was a team-mate of mine, Karol-Anne Canuel and also a Kiwi - Catherine Cheatley (Cheerwine). It was Catherine who drove our little group for the next 40km! She absolutely amazed me; I could not believe her strength. On the climbs I was only just holding her wheel. When the course turned flat or downhill I would try to take a turn but I'm sure I was just upsetting her rhythm.

I knew of Catherine's strength from riding World Cups with her on the track, but after today I have a huge amount of respect for her talent at as roadie! I'd love to have her as a team-mate in Europe. Further to my respect for her as a bike rider, I witnessed a very rare but impressive trait from a cycling racer today. During our chase back to the main group we had a team director in a race car trying to pace his rider/us/our group back to the leaders….

Catherine moved to the side of the road and refused any assistance from the car, even though two other riders from our group were taking a free ride. Catherine continued to push the wind at the same pace and I continued to follow her wheel, she didn't say a word to the other riders, she just continued her race with a respectful attitude. Catherine towed the four of us for over 30km and then watched a couple of riders move away on the back of a car without saying a word… wow, fantastic!

With 5km to go (climbing) the bunch calmed down, I expected more aggression and was totally unmotivated and fatigued. We arrived at 1km to go all together and I tried to get geed up for a sprint. I was sitting about 3rd wheel with 200m to go thinking I'd leave my move until 100m to go as I could see the line and it was on top of a rise. I got jumped; Amber Rais from Webcor (who won yesterday) flew past us and put about 30m into us, I kicked from third wheel to chase her and had trouble finding the right gear, but she was gone… I didn't even reach her wheel. I was 2nd, again.

Sometimes a crit during a tour can be quite boring and uneventful as it's not likely that riders will take a lot of time (on GC), and trying to do so can use up a lot of power and energy around such a tight circuit. Even though the peloton knew they had to 'back-up' for a TT this evening, they still raced hard. There were a few break-away attempts during the race, some by Elodie, my team-mate. I feared one particular group of riders would stay away but fortunately my team-mate Marie-Pier Bedard was able to pull them back.

With 3 laps to go I started my attempt to stay near the front - within the top 5 riders. This proved to be more difficult than I expected. The American women have brilliant criterium riding skills and I had to fight hard for position until it strung out with half a lap to go. There was an unfortunate crash with 500m to go which saw a strong Webcor rider, Katheryn Curi fall hard. She dislocated her shoulder and took some skin off, but I'm sure she'll be on the start line this evening.

I was ahead of the accident and heard the tangling noise of bikes behind me and tried to stay focused on the finish. It was an Australian friend of mine, Tiffany Cromwell who had started a lead-out for her Colavita team mate, Alex Wrubleski. I was on Alex's wheel in 3rd position. Tiff's lead-out was amazing; she took Alex around the last corner until Alex kicked with 200m to go. I kicked off Alex and kind of came to a stop next to her and felt like we were drag racing, I had to find a little extra power with 30m to go and throw for the line! I only just beat her, she's a strong and stylish rider. I watched her all day and she was floating with poise.

The 8.7km TT course was flat but not so fast with the wind coming from all directions. I was relaxing in the sun before the start admiring all the nice TT bikes, disc wheels and aero helmets. I was so jealous! I was starting the TT on a standard road bike, no skin-suit, no bootie covers, no aero helmet, no TT bars and no disc wheels. I even gave my race wheels to Elodie for the TT so I was racing on my training wheels.

I had no ambitions for the TT – I also had no reason to conserve energy. I was just out there to ride. I settled into a rhythm and rode on the white line, the first rider passed me after 2.5 km, than another… then another! 3 or 4 people passed me. I finished 2:25 behind the leader and had no particular feelings about the result afterwards, only that riding a TT on a standard road bike is tough. My arms were so fatigued after a few kilometers, I couldn't get comfortable and I was continuously trying to find an aero position that didn't hurt my wrists or forearms.

Finally one of my attacks was successful. I had five riders with me, but only two women would help establish the break. The three of us worked hard to take the break out to two minutes. The other three riders, Betina Hold (Cheerwine), Katheryn Curi (Webcor) and Tiffany Cromwell (Colavita) did not take one single turn. They were instructed by their directors to sit on. This was extremely frustrating for me and the other two women (Heather Sborz and Jane Ziegier).

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Rochelle Gilmore...