7/24/07 VICTOR
9 Women, great weather, perfect night for racing.
And the racing was nothing less than perfect. I haven't been around for a couple months so it was good to get back into the coaching of the WGVCC. The first lap was neutral and we focused on the technique of attacks and counter attacks - we even stopped on the side of the road once to review some fine details. Laps 2 through 6 were on fire as I witnessed no less than 20 attacks and counters (probably closer to 30), by everyone in the field - truly inspiring! This training night was not a follow-the-leader type of event with riders waiting for the primes and finish sprint. Rather it was filled with racers constantly testing each other and themselves with no regard to the option of perhaps getting dropped. I'm going to leave these women nameless (in regards to who finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc) because what really mattered tonight was that they crushed every minute of every lap and I don't think anyone left anything on the table. Anyone that has road raced can say in an instant that it is much easier to just draft and react (defensive), but that never happened tonight as it was offensive from the start. And that is the whole point of a "training race" - train yourself to race your bike, learn new things, try new things, get out of your comfort zone and don't concern yourself necessarily with winning or getting dropped. You all did exactly that tonight - awesome!
I will say that one of the best parts on the night came after the finish in the parking lot. Jen mentioned that she did NOT try to just leave the field in TT fashion (a serious strength of hers) and instead became somewhat frustrated while engaging in all the tactics that were being thrown at her (like all of us, she likes to win). You did the right thing tonight. You worked on your weaknesses instead of just going with your strengths. You were awesome, you attacked hard, raced your bike like a Champ and you'll be better for it. You shouldn't be frustrated, you should be proud of yourself.
All of you should be.
- Scott
5/8/07 CHILI
10 Women attended – beautiful weather and speedy racing!
An eight lap race with the first one being neutral, the group worked well together and the pace line was tight and controlled. Things heated up quickly as the field crested the finish line and the pack hung on as Yvette amped up the pace. It wasn’t too long before just three were in the break, Yvette, Jen and Shana. All three worked well together to gap the field and Yvette kept things honest with great accelerations in her drops up all the little ascents. At the end of lap 4 Yvette and Jen cranked up the watts over the top of the finish line hill leaving Shana to fend for herself – awesome job hangin’ for 4 laps though! The two rode away into the prime lap on 5 with Yvette taking it and Jen right behind. Shana was eventually caught by the chase group led by Mary doing some strong pulls and all the girls worked well to keep the pace up and the racing aggressive. Coming home on lap 8 saw Michelle gap the field into the base of the climb, Shana took the lead towards the finish and Marianna came around with about 5 meters left to take the field sprint – great effort! So in the end it was Yvette 1st, Jen 2nd, Marianna 3rd, Shana 4th, Leah 5th, Michelle 6th, Mary 7th and Amy 8th.
Great job from everyone on a course that had strong headwinds and was way tougher than expected.
Scott
5/1/07 MENDON
9 Women attended – and as usual, great racing!
The first neutral lap went well with good pace-line drills and the field rode in a very safe manner (as everyone did for the entire race) - one of the biggest accomplishments so far for the WGVCC is their ability to respect each other and be competitive at the same time.
Once the finish line was crossed to start lap two, the pace quickened through the first turn and some serious speed was ramped up on the ensuing slight downhill. Amazing how many attacks randomly went off during the first two laps of racing – just fantastic! The pace was hot all the way into the Prime on the end of lap three – won by Heather! And then the hammer came down by Yvette as she placed a smart move by accelerating right after the prime. Ann, Abby and Heather kept her wheel as Shana got caught out in the dreaded “no-mans land” and then had to pull hard at max effort just to keep them close. Abby noticed and dropped back to lend some draft (very cool teamwork!) and just as the two caught the group Yvette casually accelerated up a small climb soloing out to a 15 second lead (another nice move). The next two laps witnessed some of the most dig-deep-and-never-give-up racing I’ve seen in a while. Ann, Heather, Shana and Abby worked together and chased Yvette like it was for the World Championships. Yvette would pull out to 40seconds and the chase group would pull it back to 20 – over and over. With about ¾ of a lap to the finish Yvette put in another hard effort and crushed back to a solid 40 second cushion, easily on her way to a solo win. I bridged up to her and asked if she would race in with the chase group instead, and she graciously accepted – thank you very much. So with a little less than ½ lap left, Abby, Yvette, Heather and Shana raced to the finish, and finished in that order. Clean field sprint, high speeds and plenty of tactical maneuvering all the way in – awesome job! Ann finished just a few seconds behind the field in 5th, followed by Marianna, Jess and Betsy in 6th, 7th and 8th – great job! Truly amazing efforts out there.
Scott
4/24/07
Rush:
15 Women attended – awesome turnout and great racing!
After the first neutral lap the racing heated up with Jen easily taking the 2-point prime on lap 3 – Heather McLendon grabbed the 1-point second place prime after a great climb up the major ascent on the course. Lap four witnessed the field breaking apart while trying to stay with Jen on anything resembling a rise in the road (this girl can climb!). Great efforts pursued as Marianne chased and caught Jen over the top of the backside climb, 1K later a Heather and Jess worked together and turned it into a four-person break. Less than a K after, Abby and Shana surprised everyone by bridging – this proved to be the final 6 towards the finish. Everyone worked well together when they needed to and a few attacks took place to keep things aggressive (great job Abby!). Jen destroyed the field in the last climb and TT’d to the finish, Heather gapped and rode in hard to get a well deserved second and 20 seconds later the field sprint went to Abby followed by Marianne and Shana. Jess sadly dropped her chain on the final climb but was able to re-group and finished a strong sixth. Overall it was an awesome night of racing and it is very apparent that all the women are progressing at a rapid rate – riding smart, safe and learning whatever gets thrown at them!!!!!!!!
It was also very inspiring to see Anne August come out and race with the girls – give her about three weeks and she’ll be gunnin’ for the win!
4/10/07
Wheatland:
13 Women attended – great turnout for such a cold evening!
1 lap of neutral and just as last week the field did an awesome job of working on pace line and communication. Once the women crossed the finish line to start the 2 laps of racing the pace quickly heated up. Half way through the second lap the field whittled down to 6 riders all working very well together to keep the pace hot – Jen Wagner, Abby Newell, Angela Schnuerch, Shana Lydon, Mary D’Angelo and Marianne Fleckenstein.
The racing stayed intense all the way to the finish as all 6 women showed amazing work ethic while a few accelerations kept things exciting. On the last turn towards the finish Jen put in an absolute perfect move and accelerated hard out of the corner. This gapped every rider and it became a drag race to the finish with Jen deservedly winning the night!
The results from 1st to 6th were Jen, Shana, Marianne, Angela, Mary and Abby.
Heather and Michelle also put in a great effort while working together all the way to the finish – two is stronger than one!
Another amazing evening of racing – great job to all the women!
4/3/07
Season Opener and 1st WGVCC Race
16 Women showed up and scored a 10 out of 10!
A little tension in the beginning but it faded quickly as the women got to work during the 2 laps of neutral racing. The pace line drills were great, communication was good and most importantly, the environment was safe.
Once neutral ended and the field crossed the finish line Shana Lydon waisted no time by grabbin’ the drops, getting’ out of the saddle and launching an attack. The field soon started to pull apart as Jen Wagner and Yvette Labombard countered by gapping at about 15 seconds over the top of the climb at the end of the 3rd lap. A chase group of Abby Newell, Angela Schnuerch, Leah Valvo and Lydon worked together and kept the distance at about 12 seconds to the end. Very exciting to say the least! Great effort and big smiles on all the womens faces tonight – you all did an awesome job out there!!!!!
Also, many thanks to the “A”s that stayed and watched the finish – thanks for the motivation!
Scott
News:
The next meeting for Women’s GVCC will be at Full Moon Vista Bike & Sport on Sunday, March 11th at 5 p.m. Call the shop at 585-546-4030 for more information.
Interested in joining in the fun? Find out more through the Women’s GVCC yahoo group.
WGVCC Mission:
The Women’s GVCC is a group of enthusiastic women interested in learning more about the sport of cycling. The Women’s GVCC strives to encourage more women to get involved in cycling. By encouraging increased participation, women’s cycling will continue to grow throughout the Rochester area and the country.
Expectations:
The members of the Women’s GVCC are expected to:
- Value personal safety and the safety of fellow riders above all else.
- Maintain a positive attitude.
- Promote a productive and fun atmosphere.
- Take racing seriously while keeping in mind, that we are out here to have fun.
- Help the entire women’s field learn more about the sport and racing in general.
- Practice proper racing etiquette.
- Maintain realistic goals.
- Learn and apply proper riding and racing techniques.
Races:
The Women’s Group will be racing on Tuesday nights at 6:00 p.m., immediately following the Men’s As. Check out the official schedule for complete information.
