GSTS Women's Race Report

Saturday:
Cat 4's: Elizabeth Brady and Kristen Phillips were our two entries in the 4 race. KP arrived a little late to the line, and somehow ended up racing with the 1/2/3's instead (more later). Brady rocked the race with a third place finish in a rather large cat 4 field. She even put in a hard attack the last time up golf course hill, stringing the field out a little. Way to ride, girl!

Cat 1/2/3: Weinacker and I had decided to race a little on the conservative side, this being the first race of the year (and her first 1/2/3/race?). Two ladies got away early on the first lap, and their teams did a good job of controlling the pack. The race ended up being pretty slow. No one else could get away, despite a number of efforts. At the end of the first lap I was surprised to see KP in our race. This being her first race, she wasn't mentally prepared for all the yo-yoing and hard accelerations. It was a good first experience for her, but she would have had a more pleasant time with the 4's I think :) We waited for the field sprint, and tried to get near the front a little too late. Both Weinacker and I got boxed in a little, and had to go around a big group of girls about 200m from the line. We ended up 8th and 9th.

Sunday:
Cat 4's: Brady kicked butt, I think she finished third again(results aren't posted so I'm not sure). KP rode well, staying at the front. With around three laps to go she got together with two other girls and went down. She has some nasty road rash, but is excited to go at it again next weekend. She said she was feeling strong the entire race.

Cat 1/2/3: I didn't want a repeat of Saturday's race, so Sam and I decided to take turns going with each attack. We pretty much followed that plan the entire race. Sam was even off the front by herself for a few laps (which is impressive considering the brutal headwind on the back straight). The constant attacks and chasing dwindled the field down by the half way point of the race. Due to a miscue from an official, Sam missed out on the finishing sprint (I'll let her tell you the story, it includes an impressive effort on her part). I told myself to sit on Cynthia's wheel coming out of the last turn. She had a powerful jump, and ended up winning. I got 3rd and Sam, who would have definitely been in the mix if not for the miscue, held on for 8th.