In my race, we had the usual suspects – Tamara Bassette, Lisa Curry, Lindsy Campbell, Amy C, a few other NRO riders…oh, and Lindsey Corbin…who just won the Coeur d’Alene ironman as a pro!!!! Lindsey pushed the pace hard on the first short hills, which completely softened the field. When we hit the big climb, I told Lindsey I figured everyone would hang for at least a couple of miles. I turned around, and we already had a gap. We pushed it hard up the hill, and unbeknownst to us created a huge gap. We worked together along Georgetown Lake and then down to Anaconda (roughly 6 mile gradual descent). We then took a lollipop to head back up the hill — into a headwind. Meanwhile, we could see an orange kit about a mile back. Thinking it was Lisa, we upped the pace even harder. Turns out it was John Curry winning the pro1/2 race. In any case, I managed to work myself out and just plain got tired. Lindsey didn’t get tired. She eventually just rode away from me…on a gradual incline. As she rode away, I was thinking ‘I bet she can do this for 5 hours…and then run 26 miles…’ How’s that for humbling?

There was nothing I could do. I finished the last 22 miles alone. Rough duty! Into the headwind, etc. The worst was riding along the lake…it took a ton of self discipline to not get off my bike and dive in. Gorgeous blue water lapping along the shore…meanwhile, I’m suffering like a pig, riding into the wind, hot, etc. Even the big descent required pedaling because of the wind. I ended up finishing a few minutes back from Lindsey. Tamara was another 15 minutes or so back, and then it was another 10-15 to Lisa and Lindsy Campbell. That was a rough 78 miles, let me tell you. But fun nonetheless. It’s pretty cool to race against someone who is so damn strong.

Because Lindsey Corbin is a Cat 3 (she’s raced so few road races, she’s doesn’t have enough points to upgrade and had to beg Don Russell to make her a Cat 3 for this race) I by default won the state championship. Too funny. State Champion…but I came in 2nd.

~ Amy Frykman

Mollie and I raced against 22 year old Kara DeWalt (NRO ) at Tour de Bozeman (winner of the RR and the GC) and knew we had a tough race ahead of us, with just the three of us riding in the women’s Cat 4 field. We did, however, know that we all would get podium spots if we finished, so we figured we could experiment with things a bit. Amy encouraged us to use the 2 on 1 advantage we had against Kara and attack her repeatedly, especially on the final uphill to the finish.

Mollie and I warmed up on our trainers prior to the race; there weren’t a lot of trainers in evidence because I think everyone knew they had a hot grueling race in front of them and it was already hot out, but our 38-39 mile course wasn’t nearly as difficult as the other courses and Mollie and I both had the Bohart Bash to work out of our legs. We started the race pretty casually; we had a long neutral zone out to the highway that let us relax and try to get the legs working. The first six miles was very friendly and flat and Kara took the front. I came up around her to pull and then Mollie came up; Mollie’s legs were obviously much happier than mine at that point because mine felt like they were weighted down with lead as I struggled to stay on her wheel (not a good feeling at the beginning of a race with the upcoming hill profile stamped in my brain). We switched to what I consider a normal front to back peloton rotation, but Kara didn’t seem inclined to rotate off the front, and I didn’t see the point of wasting energy accelerating up to the front so we let her pull up the incline.

As our course steepened, my body protested and Kara pulled away; I told Mollie to go ahead and I would try to catch up on the downhill. (I did it in Tour de Bozeman; I figured I might be able to pull another rabbit out of the hat in this race.) When Mollie caught Kara about 2/3 of the way up the first climb, Kara sat up and I was able to catch up. I stayed with them the rest of the climb, plotting modified race strategy. It was pretty obvious Mollie and I were not going to give Kara much trouble on the climbs and, unless something changed, we wouldn’t be anywhere close to challenge her on the finish, so I decided I’d test her on the downhill. (She’d been coasting on some of the earlier downhills in the lead position, annoying to me because my bike accelerates like crazy in the draft on any downhill.) I also knew that, for me to have any chance in this race, I had to be starting up the return climb ahead of Kara and Mollie or I’d be off the back again; it didn’t seem likely that I would accomplish that, but hey, you don’t know until you try.

As we neared the crest of the climb, I touched Mollie’s back, signaled that I was going, and immediately attacked before Kara figured out something was up. My acceleration felt pretty good, for having just felt so awful going up the hill. I got a bit of a jump on Kara (Mollie said Kara looked pretty surprised; of course, Mollie was pretty surprised too since we hadn’t discussed this) and hammered into the downhill as hard as I could go. I didn’t take the time to look back, but Mollie indicated later Kara was never very far back. Anyway, I tried to make her work hard on the downhill, hoping she didn’t get to take advantage of my draft and get any rest, and sat up near the bottom when I saw her 20 feet back. I looked back for Mollie, expecting to see her near Kara’s wheel. Uh oh. Mollie was a long ways back and Kara seemed inclined to surge ahead. Having just attacked, I figured all bets were off as far as Kara sitting up for us again. So I glued myself to Kara’s wheel and let her pull, making sure I stayed in the optimal drafting position to rest up as much as possible for the return climb. The wind was now becoming a factor, which I knew wasn’t going to make Mollie’s job any easier. I hoped that it might be having some effect on Kara, but she never rotated off the front, so I let her continue to pull me.

We made the turn and met up with Mollie as she approached it; I asked if she wanted me to wait and she said no, so I continued to hang on Kara’s wheel. (At this point I was feeling pretty guilty about sitting in, but I knew that any chance I had on keeping up on the hill meant I had to rest.) I did feel stronger on the return climb, but I still watched Kara ride steadily away from me. And she was no where in sight as I started down the far side. So, I continued on my lonely ride, knowing that things can happen in a race and hoping that I might somehow catch her.

Things were going pretty well on the lower descent until my head-on collision with a fairly large bee. He smacked into my lips at high velocity, and was entering my mouth as I quickly brushed/spit him away. Not quick enough, though, as the increasingly intense pain told me I had been stung on the INSIDE of my lip. At some point in all of this I noticed my bike was wobbling all over the place; I guess due to a combination of my gyrations and the rough road. So common sense finally took over as I got my bike back under control and considered stopping for the next mile as I do tend to react somewhat to bee stings, though it’s not the severe allergic reaction that closes the airway. I decided the state medal was worth it and eventually got back into rhythm, with my lip getting bigger and bigger. At some point later, I brushed my hand over my lip and the swelling started decreasing almost immediately; the stinger must have still been there all that time.

I looked back for Mollie, but couldn’t spot her, as I continued back to Highway 1 to make the turn to complete the final 6 miles with no additional excitement, other than experiencing riding totally “in the zone” for a few miles. I sprinted the finish just to practice it, at least five minutes off of Kara’s time. Mollie finished a few minutes behind me.

~ Laurie Shammel

Laurie Shammel (2nd), Kara DeWalt (NRO, 1st), Mollie McKiernan (3rd)

Thanks to all of you who participated this weekend, by volunteering, spectating, and/or racing. It was a great weekend!

And a special thank you to our teammate, Amy Frykman, for her hard work and organizational skills in making the Tour de Bozeman happen! This stage race would not exist without Amy’s efforts.

And thanks also to the tireless efforts of folks like Bill Cochran and Jerry Coffey and several others; again, this stage race could not happen without their contributions.

Highlights from the weekend:

Seeing our new teammate, Carrie Taylor, complete her first time trial, and sharing her excitement at having done so.

Amy, as race official at the start of the Cat 4 Women’s road race, directing her gaze and smile on Mollie and I: “Good luck, ladies!”

Seeing all those volunteers in Team Delphine blue cheering us on at the feed station near the top of the west climb up Battle Ridge… and Lara running along beside me as I gasped for air, giving those words of encouragement and that extra little push.

Watching Mollie get stronger and stronger as the road race progressed, and seeing that grin as she told me after the race she had hit 46 mph coming down Battle Ridge.

Hearing that Patricia saw a black bear eating off a carcass as the Cat 1-2-3 women’s field headed up Battle Ridge!

All those people cheering at the finish line at the top of the hill as I struggled to stand up for a painful sprint up the hill, thinking to myself, “Uh oh, I guess I’m not done quite yet, with all these people watching I have to make this look good.”

Jason Armstrong at the finish line: “Good race! Would you like a beer?”

Overhearing a comment from the Cat 1-2-3 Women’s 1st place winner of the Battle for Battle Ridge road race: “This is a classic road race course. You have to be an overall rider to do well on this course. It has it all: steep challenging climbs, fast technical descents, rollers, flat sections.”

NRO racer after the road race: “I love Tour de Bozeman. They feed us!”

License plates in the parking area: Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Canada, … I’m sure there were more.

~ Laurie Shammel

So why the heck would you want to enter a mountain bike biathlon? Well, for one thing, it’s a way for someone like me, with trashed knees from years of bashing moguls, to compete in summer biathlon. My sister introduced me to summer biathlon at least 15 years ago up at Bohart Ranch, but I just wasn’t into running or the fitness thing then. Now my focus is on fitness and the thought of competing in a MTB biathlon peaked my interest.

Last year was the first year West Yellowstone offered the MTB form of the summer biathlon, but it conflicted with the Beartooth Burn, a 22 mi road cycling time trial starting from Red Lodge and finishing at Vista Pt after climbing the switchbacks of the Beartooth Highway. How do I get myself into this stuff, anyway? Teammates… This year the Beartooth event won’t be held until the end of August (at some ungodly hour of the morning) so I promised myself I would do the biathlon. I’ll have to admit that the 2010 winter games helped to increase my fascination in the sport of biathlon.

I guess you’re thinking “she must have a lot of shooting experience.” Well, not really. I grew up on a ranch and did have the opportunity, but honestly, the fun part about hunting season was to get out with my Dad and brothers, as they hunted, to trudge around in the mountains. I sometimes secretly hoped they wouldn’t fill their tags so we would have another opportunity to get out. Several years ago, my ex-husband took me out and taught me the basics of shooting a hunting rifle; that was the last time I had fired a gun.

Strangely enough, the fact that a biathlon involves shooting at targets didn’t really hit me until a couple of days before the competition. My cycling season started late this year, due to an extended eight month Nordic season. (Yes!) My fitness level transferred quite well, though, and my road cycling season ramped up fairly rapidly. My first and only MTB ride of the season prior to the biathlon competition went really well. (I now understand what people mean about building a base; I finally established my MTB base last fall and it, along with my Nordic fitness, came through for me!) So I entered this competition confident on my bike but totally unprepared for the shooting aspect. And when I looked at the list of registrants and noted at least half of them were National Guard members from all over the country, I knew I needed to rely on my cycling strengths. This left me with no expectations and the opportunity to learn and have fun.

Prior to the last two years, I had very little experience with competing in races. So, I’ve been learning how to deal with the nervousness associated with preparing for competition. (If you don’t believe me, watch my jitters prior to any of the Tues evening practice races.) Each time I compete in a race, it becomes a little easier for me, and the opportunity to compete in this biathlon with no expectations, no pressure, was wonderful.

Laurie Shammel attempting to hit tiny little targets 50 meters away

This biathlon consisted of 12.5 km of biking, with four shooting sessions (two prone and two standing) interspersed between 2.5 km laps. The challenge of a biathlon is to be able to balance the increased heart and breathing rates from the exertion of completing the laps with the ability to concentrate and remain steady while shooting. A good understanding of your body, as well as a high fitness level and ability to recover quickly, is required to be able to do this.

The range protocol requires that all competitors walk the entire time they’re on the range, and rifles are carried by the barrel (pointing up). Those of us without our own rifles were not allowed to carry the rifles at all. Our bikes were shuttled by volunteers from the entry point to the exit point. During a MTB biathlon, the rifles remain at the range. During a Nordic event, the rifles are carried by the athletes on the course as well, though that is not allowed due to safety concerns at the sport level. So we didn’t have the added difficulty of figuring out how to haul a rifle around safely on our back while sailing over bumps on our bikes.

Laurie Shammel completes the fourth and final shooting stage

The mountain bike course is intentionally not a highly technical course; I think there is a recommendation that it be a minimum of 3 meters wide. So, if you desire a terrifyingly technical single-track course, this might not be your sport. The course did, however, have a series of short climbs to get the heart rate up, and a swooping rough downhill to tire out the arms and vibrate the body. I was glad that I did a couple of warm-up laps to become familiar with the course. And, because I ski so often at Rendezvous Trails, I was very comfortable on my “home court”. Earlier this spring I spent some time doing V2 interval training on part of the course.

There were lots of surprises for me during my race. It’s impressive to watch competitors calmly walking through the range when they’re in the middle of a timed event; it makes sense on entry because you’re trying to drop your heart rate, but I expected to see people forget and run out after shooting. The calm entry/exit actually helped me focus on the next step of the race and plan accordingly.

I was pleased with my strength and fitness on my bike, and surprised that I was passing (and lapping) both male and female competitors. And the comment from one of the guys, as we commiserated about “not being able to hit the broad side of a barn,” that it didn’t matter for me since I was such “an animal” on my bike (as I was passing him on the course) didn’t hurt my ego.

I was having so much fun during the race that I actually found myself breathing too hard, not from exertion, but from excitement! I’ve never encountered that issue in a race before; from nervousness or exhaustion, definitely, but not from excitement.

I have been a victim of getting caught up in the race within the race several times while competing this year (little picture vs big picture) and making strategy decisions based on the little picture rather than the big. I was surprised to find out that I never encountered the two women that beat me in the sport class during the entire race. I was the first woman to start, and I never had a woman pass me on the course. I was aware of the position of the woman that started behind me and worked hard to stay ahead of her, especially when we overlapped during some early penalty laps. I managed to leave her behind for good when I hit two during my first standing bout and only had three penalty laps to her five. But, I never thought about the woman that started several intervals back and slowly caught up to me, evidently passing me when she shot well and was able to skip the penalty laps that I was cranking out. And, I never thought about the woman that started far enough back to gain a minute on me that never had to pass me at all.

And, I was glad to see that my Qi Gong training came through for the shooting. It helped me get my breathing under control entering the range. And, because Qi Gong combines breathing, specific movements, and intent, it was easy to breathe as we had been instructed when firing the rifle (fire on a slow controlled exhalation).

But the biggest surprise was the absolute exhilaration I felt from competing in this awesomely fun sport. It’s a sport that involves thinking and strategy in addition to fitness and specific skills. And, despite my lack of shooting skill (hitting only 2 of 20 targets), I finished 3rd in the women’s sport class.

~ Laurie Shammel

I love racing my bike! There is something so gratifying in the simplicity of pedaling a bike and the complexity of racing. Competing in a stage race requires focus and patience. I am learning, and re-learning, to develop both.

Women’s Cat 3 field: 20 women started. We raced in a combined women’s field; about 60-65 women total.

Stage 1 (Friday): 76 mile road race, 6515 feet of climbing
I was psyched for the road race. I won stage 1 last year as a Cat 4 and my goal was to win stage 1 this year as a Cat 3. Things didn’t really go as I planned.

Around mile 47, on the second feed zone climb, I was in my rhythm, pedaling, sitting on a woman’s wheel. We were working together up the hill, riding a good pace. When the hill pitch increased, she stood up out of the saddle, threw her bike back, her back wheel hit my front wheel. I tried to go with the bike, relaxed, tried to stay upright, but went down. Hard. Crashed on the hill. Bloody right knee. Bent right hood. Back on the bike. Chain fell off in crash. Damn. Focus. Re-group. Ride. Catch women in front of me.

I got to the top of the hill, grabbed 2 water bottles. Washed off my knee while riding, drank water, ate, descended. Fast. I caught and passed a few women on the descent. Then we came out onto some rollers. I caught onto a group of ~15 riders. We worked a rotating paceline trying to catch the leaders. On the hills I worked with another woman and we dropped the field. On the descents and flat sections the rest of the field caught us. I knew we had a final climb at the end of the race and figured if I was able to drop riders on hills, I could drop them on the final climb. Patience.

I was patient and when we got to the final climb I again rode my own pace. I was on the front pedaling, breathing, looking forward. Slowly things around me got quiet. I looked back and the leader of the master’s category was with me. The rest of the field was gone. We agreed to work together to stay away from the field. Somewhere along the final climb I dropped her. I kept looking forward, seeing people ahead of me and picked them off. With 3K to go and a downhill/flat section end to the course, I went for time. I buried myself and finished 7th on stage 1, a few minutes off the main pack. Not bad after a crash.

Stage 2 (Saturday morning): 11.3 mile time trial, 411 feet of climbing
My goal: pace myself. I went out slower than usual, maintained consistent power, caught 4 rabbits on the way out. After the turn around I headed back in, into the wind. Finished the race not really knowing how it went. It was a time trial. My legs felt empty, no snap. I gave it my best. I was surprised and psyched with my 2nd place finish. Patience pays off again!

Stage 3 (Saturday afternoon): 40 minute criterium, flat
Super fun course. My goal for the crit was to stay in the front, maintain my position during the race, set myself up for the sprint. I love crits. I was relaxed, in the zone and at one point in the race I realized I was smiling going around the corners at top speed! With 5 laps to go I set myself up for the sprint. On the last lap, I went for the sprint too late, worried I would be someone’s lead out. I finished 3rd in the Cat 3 field, 5th overall. Patience did not pay off in the crit. Still learning.

Stage 4 (Sunday morning): 103 mile road race, 7075 feet of climbing, 8 mile finish climb
Sunday morning I woke up at 530 to rain and cold temperatures, similar to last year. This year, however, the temps were in the 40s and it wasn’t snowing on top of Dooley Mountain. Race was a go!

We started at 8AM and because the race is long, the pace was relatively slow. As my teammate Amy described it we basically did a 92 mile group ride with hard efforts on the 3 shorter climbs, all leading up to the final 8 mile climb finish.

For the first 2 hours of the race I was cold and wet. I literally could not feel my legs, feet and arms. I was shivering on my bike. I was a bit worried about using extra energy trying to stay/get warm. I started eating and drinking and hoped I would warm up on the climbs. Eventually I thawed out a bit.

We all stayed together during the race. During the last 35 mile stretch, with about 5 miles to go before the last climb, a gal from the Cat 3 field took a flier off the front. I was sitting in the front third of the peloton and saw her go. Instead of other teams chasing her down, they were cheering her on. I talked to Amy and she said, it doesn’t look like anyone else is going after her, you better bridge. So I did. I went to the front of the peloton and reeled her back in. It took me a while to catch her, but I caught her and managed to bring the peloton along with me.

At the bottom of the climb, a select group took off. I didn’t go with them. In my head all I could think was: this is a 30 minute climb, go at your own pace, start slow, gain momentum and catch people as they pop. That was my strategy. It worked okay. I climbed strong, worked with and caught other riders along the way. Gained position on the switchbacks and sections of the road where the grade pitched up. With 1K to go I was alone on the road, fog set in, riders still in front of me, in my sight. I worked to catch the 2 remaining gals in front of me, but ran out of road. I finished the road race in 3rd place and managed to finish 3rd in the general classification in the women’s category 3 field.

Cat 3 Anna Grace Christensen (first), from Portland, OR, with Patricia Dowd (third).

~ Patricia Dowd

We started with a 76 mile road race on Friday, featuring a long climb at mile 45 (about 3 miles), followed by a series of rollers leading to a second climb (another 3 miles) just before a short descent leading to the finish straight.

They raced all of the women together, with a field of around 65 riders. Things were pretty uneventful leading to the first climb. The pace was nice and speedy, but not strenuous. We hit the climb, and as can be expected, the race blew apart. I was with the leaders as we pushed up the first half of the climb. Early on, all you could hear was hard breathing. Then, things got quiet as the lead group got smaller and smaller. Eventually, we were just 7 ladies. One woman – Jen Halliday – pushed the pace and got off of the front. The rest of us finished together. In our group, we had a woman from Cucina (Talor…a pro), Teri Sheasby (last year’s winner), a couple of gals from Cuchina (included one cat 3) and a woman named Gabriella. We worked together to reel in Jen Halliday after the first roller.

Unfortunately, at this point I was hurting. I had realized just before the climb that I was basically screwed…I’d done my calculations wrong and didn’t have enough food. Basically, I timed my pre-race meal wrong, which threw everything off. It was so stupid…I should know better. But, there I was, halfway through the race with just one larabar and a two gu shots left, and 30 more miles of tough riding…and I was hungry and feeling bonky already. I tried to conserve energy as best I could, all the while knowing the race would basically come down to the last climb. I metered out my food carefully, did as little work as possible, and hoped for the best. Just before we hit the climb, I mouthed my last bite of larabar. All out. Horrible. The climb was horrible. I watched the leaders drift away from me and could do nothing about it. I pushed thing as hard as I could, but could not hang on. About the thirds of the way up, I caught up with one of the Cuchina gals, who’d been shelled. We rode together for awhile, and then she said, “I forgot my inhaler.” I replied, “I didn’t bring enough food.” she said, “I have extra…want some?” At this point, both of my arms had gone numb and there were dark shadows on the edges of my vision. I said “YES!!!” she gave me two cliff shots, and they were the most wonderful things I’d ever had. After a few minutes, they started to work their magic, and I got a little surge of energy and finished the climb alone, coming in strong and finishing 4th in my field.

So, huge stupid mistake. Especially considering Elkhorn was my priority race. After that race, I was down 2+ minutes and sitting in fourth in the general classification. Needless to say, I ate a ton Friday night (under the careful supervision of my husband Brian), and then again Saturday morning. Saturday morning was the time trial. I started fourth from last (they start folks according to the finish order from the last race, with the leader going last). The TT was an out and back. I paced things perfectly, making sure I didn’t go out too hard to ensure I’d have plenty of matches for the way home. when I got to the turnaround, I saw that Taylor was only 5 or so seconds back. That was all the motivation I needed to spend everything on the way home. I ended up gaining another 20 or so seconds, finishing third and 8 seconds behind Taylor. Jen creamed us all, beating Taylor by over a minute!!

Saturday night was the criterium. Jen Halliday abandoned, which pushed me into 3rd in the general classification. Taylor was in first, and Teri Sheasby in 2nd. The crit was uneventful….I basically tried to expend as little energy as possible and we all finished as a big group.

To this point, the weather had been fantastic – 70s and sunny. Sunday was different. We awoke to 45 degrees and steady rain, with a forecast for a high of 55 and plenty of rain. Sunday’s race was the big one: 102 miles with four big climbs. The first three occurred in the middle of the race, starting at about mile 29. Each is about 3 miles long, lasting roughly 15 minutes. The last climb started at mile 93 and lasted over 8 miles.

We were up early to eat as many pancakes and eggs as possible and to shuttle our car to the base of the descending climb (the race finishes 20 miles from town, at the top of a mountain, meaning a 10 mile descent and then a 10 mile flat ride back to town..after a 102 mile race…not fun…plus it was raining).

The women started at 8:00 am. Because the race is so long, the pace is relatively slow. We basically did a 92 mile group ride with hard efforts on the 3 shorter climbs (but not heinously hard), all leading up to the main event: the final climb. I brought a ridiculous amount of food and basically focused on not crashing, staying warm, and constantly eating and drinking. We hit the last climb, and the pace ramped up quickly. Again, it started with the sound of hard breathing, and then things got quiet. About half way up, there were five of us. I was doing everything I could to hang on, but it was rough. Every time we’d hit a switchback and the gradient kicked up, I’d find myself fading back, and would have to do a little acceleration to stay in contact. Eventually, I just couldn’t do it. I slowly faded back over the second half of the climb, and ended up finishing 40 or so seconds back from the leaders. I managed to hold my 3rd place general classification finish, but definitely didn’t post much of a threat to my competitors!

So there you have it. Moral of the story: Start a 76 mile race full!!!

~ Amy Frykman

Patricia Dowd and I had an awesome time at the Whitefish stage race. First, the weather: sunny, 70+ degrees, green, flowers, no wind….unbelievable. We even soaked our legs in Whitefish Lake after the TT…it was that warm.

The crit was uneventful…decent field, Tamara Bassette took the win (and the 10 second time bonus…this is a timed event, so that’s a big deal). Did I mention I can’t sprint? Patricia ended up 4th.

Then, the TT. It was a tough, technical course. Lot’s of changes in pitch, several 90 degree corners and horrific road conditions in parts meant you had to be ridiculously alert. And it meant ton’s of shifting…very hard to get a steady pace going and meter out the effort. The competition was fierce: Tamara, who has a long history of winning Montana TTs and Jen Leubke, a pro-triathalete.

We didn’t know who had won at the end…had to wait until later that evening to learn that I’d managed to put 20 seconds into Tamara and 15 into Jen, and that Patricia was sitting happily in 4th. Awesome! So at that point, I was 6 seconds ahead in the stage, with only a flat 50 mile circuit remaining on Sunday. Patricia was in 3rd, just behind Tamara (Jen had been lapped in the crit…had a bad start, and therefore had lost a ton of time).

The circuit was both boring and rough. Two laps had time bonuses for the sprint – 3,2,1 seconds for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Meanwhile, Tamara had a strong team of 5 to protect her and lead her out. Did I mention I can’t sprint to save my life? Our plan was to have Patricia kill it in the sprints and take those points away. She was right there, but the NRO lead out train was too fierce and Tamara won both sprint laps. I organized a perfectly timed counterattack after the 2nd sprint lap, taking advantage of the immediate lull and confusion after the sprint, and got away with Jen Leubke for a bit. Should have been perfect, but that course is so flat, the NRO 5-woman team took about a mile to reel us back in. We tried lots of attacks and counter attacks, working with some other unaffiliated riders, but nothing stuck. Meanwhile, Patricia’s race really started when she got caught out in my sprint lap attack and had to chase back on (which is really hard to do..took her 7 or so miles!!).

On the last lap, I figured my only chance would be to hit the final corner (a fast, hard right) in first and attack there, taking advantage of the slowdown for the pack in the corner. I did so, and got off with Jen Leubke for a quarter mile or so, but the NRO lead out train soon caught up. I gave it my all in the sprint and came in 4th, a second behind Tamara, who was 2nd. But, she got the 5 second sprint bonus, which, when combined with her other sprint points left me 6 seconds behind, in 2nd. Rough! So it was Tamara in 1st, me, and then Patricia in 3rd.

As Patricia’s brother said on the phone last night, “wow, it took 6 NRO gals to get just one spot on the podium?”

In any case, it was a super fun race.

In the men’s field, there were two big teams in town – Lenovo from Seattle and Xergy. And the Montana boys managed to stick it to them. Brian Williams from Missoula won the crit. Brian Frykman won the TT by a second and was first in the GC going into things yesterday. By working together, they managed to undermine an almost inevitable Lenovo win and put a Montana boy on the podium. Brian Williams took first, a Lenovo guy was in 2nd (by one second) and Brian Frykman was in 3rd (by one second). Crazy! And yes, the Montana boys worked together, figuring a Montana win was worth it.

~ Amy Frykman

Stage 1 report:

Separate Cat 3 field; 28 women.
40 mile course; 2 laps on a loop.
1 mile climb x 2.
Wind.
Sorella Forte had about 7 women
Bridgetown Velo had about 5-6 women
Bend Bike ‘N Sport had a few women

At registration yesterday, I learned I was marked by the Oregon women. They remembered me (and Amy and Marjo) from Elkhorn. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me, and was excited about the day.

Rolled out in the group. The climb was 11 miles into the race. I moved toward the front for the climb and set a nice pace. Riders dropped off; Bend Bike N Sport gal and I rolled up the hill on the front. I felt great. The group split to a group of ~7. Then I heard a very bad noise. SSSSSSSSSSSSS. I got a flat. Front flat. So slowed down, fell off the group, and the stragglers. Pulled over; took off front wheel; waited; changed my wheel. Then I got back on my bike and pedaled.

I caught 1 gal along the way. Worked with her for a while. She fell off, so I rode solo for the rest of the race. NOT FUN. But the ride was pretty, so I enjoyed some time in the sun. 40 mile road race done. 9:57 off first. That’s a lot of time. GC is out; now I look at doing my best for each stage. And I’m putting on the tubulars tomorrow. No more flats for me, fingers crossed.

Stage 2 race report. Circuit Race.
6 laps @ 6 miles/lap. 36 miles. 3000 feet of climbing.
Tubulars. No flats!!!

Today was so fun! I had nothing to lose so took a lot of chances and spent most of the race in breakaways and on the front on the climbs (not good strategy, but I was trying to make up some time, and really wanted to make a breakaway stick. To no avail). The course was WINDY! with 2 fairly good climbs, headwinds on the downhills, side winds throughout the course. The wind made it hard to get away and stick the breakaways. As did the mid-race neutral. The Cat 4 men’s field caught us, so our race went neutral. Most of the field came back together, again.

Final result: group finish, finished with a small group, 37 seconds off first.

Tomorrow morning: damn early TT start. 8:22. OUCH! Then a crit in the afternoon.

–Amy Frykman

Amy and Patricia travel to Oregon to represent Team Delphine at the U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross, Saturday, December 5 & 6, in Portland, and then head on to Bend for Cyclocross Nationals, December 11 & 13.

In Portland, Amy and Patricia will be racing in the Elite Women’s race on Saturday and Sunday. The course looks fast and fun. Depending on weather conditions, it could be super sloppy and muddy! Amy and Patricia raced USGP last year and said it was a blast! Hundreds of fans on site, ringing cowbells, … This year, they’re stepping it up a notch and racing with the Elite Women. They’ll be rolling up to the line with the nation’s and world’s best in women’s cyclocross.

In Bend, Amy and Patricia will be racing in the Master Women’s 35-39 age field on Friday, December 11. They’ll race in a combined category of 1, 2, 3, 4 women age 35-39. Then on Sunday, December 13, they’ll race in the Elite Women’s field.

4 races in 9 days!

We’ll keep you posted on how the races shake out. In the meantime check out Missoula cyclist Shaun Radley’s website on cyclocross.