Carroll solos to victory
Strong start for TIBCO as they look to defend Crit Championship
Katharine Carroll (TIBCO) won the Downers Grove warm-up race in the best way she knows how: Solo. She attacked a late-race breakaway companion with three laps to go and held off the bunch kick ahead of Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutter Home) and Shelly Olds (Proman-Hitsquad).
"I don’t want to stereotype myself but I definitely like going off the front," laughed Carroll at the podium presentation. "It’s a lot easier to sprint out of two or three than a field. I felt like I had decent legs and it was the right timing and good position."
Some 80 women lined up to test their legs on the eve of the US National Criterium Championships. Team Type 1 kicked off the race in an aggressive style sending Samantha Schneider off the front followed by defending national champion Brooke Miller (TIBCO) and Amanda Miller (Lip Smackers).
Melissa Sanborn (Vanderkitten) and Rebecca Larson (Value Act Capital) tried to separate themselves from the field on separate occasions. Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) was the next to go and ended up on a four-lap flyer that gained nearly 30-seconds.
Carroll initiated her first attack with five laps to go followed by Theresa Cliff-Ryan, a former national criterium champion. The pair worked together and did not contest the lucrative primes offered on the next laps. No organized chase formed however, multiple attempts to bridge across caused the margin between the break and the field to reduce to several hundred metres.
"Katharine is always a dangerous rider," said Pic, who announced recently that she will retire at the end of the 2009 season. "We were kind of using this race as a warm up and it was okay to have a rider up the road because we didn’t want to blow up tonight. It was all right, we tried to cover stuff but we are more geared toward tomorrow. A national championship is always important and we are really going to go for it."
Carroll made her winning move when she attacked Cliff-Ryan with three laps to go. Seehafer along with members of the Colavita-Sutter Home team put forth a strong chase, however, it was not enough to bring the soloist back in time to sprint for the win.
"I saw that I was pulling through a little stronger than Theresa," said Carroll. "I looked back and saw the field coming and that there was a prime coming up. I thought the field would be focused on that as we started getting closer. If there was any opportunity, that was it."
The TIBCO team will be vying for the defense of the US National Criterium Championship, won by Brooke MIller last year. "Our team is so strong that anyone can be up there," said Carroll. "We always want to be optimistic that any of us can win, but I think it would be a mistake for everyone to assume that we are just going to bring it down to a sprint for Brooke."
1 | Katharine Carroll (Usa) Team TIBCO | 0:44:00 |
2 | Tina Pic (Usa) Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
3 | Shelley Olds (Usa) PROMAN Hit Squad | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
4 | Christina Smith (Usa) Veloforma | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
5 | Sinead Miller (Usa) | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
6 | Rebecca Lawson (Usa) ValueAct Capital Cycling Team | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
7 | Kacey Manderfield (Usa) Team Lip Smacker | Row 6 - Cell 2 |
8 | Amanda Miller (Usa) Team Lip Smacker | Row 7 - Cell 2 |
9 | Lauren Tamayo (Usa) Team TIBCO | Row 8 - Cell 2 |
10 | Erica Allar (Usa) BMW - Bianchi | Row 9 - Cell 2 |
11 | Mary-Ellen Ash (Usa) SugarCRM | Row 10 - Cell 2 |
12 | Samantha Schneider (Usa) Team Type 1 | Row 11 - Cell 2 |
13 | Kirsten Davis (Usa) BMW - Bianchi | Row 12 - Cell 2 |
14 | Alison Powers (Usa) Team Type 1 | Row 13 - Cell 2 |
15 | Tiffany Pezzulo (Usa) DFT p/b Treads | Row 14 - Cell 2 |
16 | Laura Van Gilder (Usa) Mellow Mushroom | Row 15 - Cell 2 |
17 | Tricia Carnila (Usa) Verducci Breakaway Racing Po | Row 16 - Cell 2 |
18 | Shontell Gauthier (Usa) Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki | Row 17 - Cell 2 |
19 | Anna Mcloon (Usa) Altarum Women's Team | Row 18 - Cell 2 |
20 | Nichole Wangsgard (Usa) Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki | Row 19 - Cell 2 |
21 | Leigh Hopkins (Usa) VanderKitten Racing | Row 20 - Cell 2 |
22 | Kristin Wentworth (Usa) Team Kenda | Row 21 - Cell 2 |
23 | Devon Haskall (Usa) Team BH USA | Row 22 - Cell 2 |
24 | Toni Bradshaw (Nzl) Lipsmackers | Row 23 - Cell 2 |
25 | Jen Purrell (Usa) Team Hotel San Jose | Row 24 - Cell 2 |
26 | Elizabeth Morse Hill (Usa) Hub Racing | Row 25 - Cell 2 |
27 | Christy Blakely (Usa) BMW - Bianchi | Row 26 - Cell 2 |
28 | Hilary Billington (Usa) Team Lip Smacker | Row 27 - Cell 2 |
29 | Amy Mcguire (Usa) Hub Racing | Row 28 - Cell 2 |
30 | Kristen Meshberg (Usa) Team BH USA | Row 29 - Cell 2 |
31 | Sheba Farrin (Usa) Hub racing | Row 30 - Cell 2 |
32 | Jessica Prinner (Usa) ABD | Row 31 - Cell 2 |
33 | Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Usa) Verducci Breakaway Racing Po | Row 32 - Cell 2 |
34 | Kristen Lasasso (Usa) Mellow Mushroom | Row 33 - Cell 2 |
35 | Meredith Miller (Usa) Team TIBCO | Row 34 - Cell 2 |
36 | Melissa Sanborn (Usa) VanderKitten Racing | Row 35 - Cell 2 |
37 | Stacy Marple (Usa) Colavita Sutter Home p/b Cooki | Row 36 - Cell 2 |
38 | Rebecca Wellons (Usa) NEBC/Cycle Loft/Devonshire D | Row 37 - Cell 2 |
39 | Lauren Hall (Usa) Absolute Racing | Row 38 - Cell 2 |
40 | Starla Teddergreen (Usa) SugarCRM | Row 39 - Cell 2 |
41 | Karla Kingsley (Usa) Sugar CRM | Row 40 - Cell 2 |
42 | Martina Patella (Usa) ValueAct Capital Cycling Team | Row 41 - Cell 2 |
43 | Carrie Cash (Usa) Team Revolution | Row 42 - Cell 2 |
44 | Catherine Walberg (Usa) Team Kenda | Row 43 - Cell 2 |
45 | Jacquelyn Crowell (Usa) Team Type 1 | Row 44 - Cell 2 |
46 | Arielle Filiberti (Usa) | Row 45 - Cell 2 |
47 | Ashley Anderson (Usa) Proman | Row 46 - Cell 2 |
48 | Amber Rais (Usa) Team TIBCO | Row 47 - Cell 2 |
49 | Kori Seehafer (Usa) Team Type 1 | Row 48 - Cell 2 |
50 | Brooke Miller (Usa) Team TIBCO | Row 49 - Cell 2 |
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
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