This past weekend, TEAm Lipton made the long trek to Auburn, NY to participate in the second annual Owasco Stage Race. We arrived at our host house Friday night, from our various homes in the Northeast. The race promoter, Dean Furnia, volunteered his brother, Patrick, to house a team of starving female athletes. He decided four women in one house was too many, so flew the coop for the weekend, leaving the house in our hands. Although we were sad to see Patrck go, we were thrilled to be staying at his house because it was only about 500 meters from the start of both the Time Trial and Road Race.

Stage One: East Lake Time Trial

The first stage of the race was a 16-mile out and back time trial along the east bank of Lake Owasco. The first half of the course proved to be the most challenging. There were two false flat sections and a head wind that the riders had to battle before hitting the halfway mark. Once you hit the turn-around, however, the return trip was relatively smooth sailing. The first wave of riders took off at the early hour of 8AM. Usually the early bird gets the worm but today this was not the case. Earlier in the morning, there were dark clouds inhabiting the skies above, the temperature was cool, the roads wet, and there was a strong headwind and crosswind that greeted riders on the first half of the course. TEAm Lipton was racing in the Women Pro1/2/3 field so we went off at 10:50 AM. Luckily for us, about an hour before the race the clouds parted, the wind died down and sunny clear skies greeted us at the start line. I guess our dance to the sun god the night before was not in vain. In the past, I have struggled with my time trialing. This season, however, with each race, I have been steadily improving and gaining more confidence in my ability. The TT is no longer like the dreaded trip to the dentist. Today, I got to borrow my TEAmate, Julie Upton’s, time trial bike, and wow, what a difference it made. Although I was suffering like a dog, I was actually having fun and had one of my best rides ever. Usually during a time trial, I get caught from behind by a couple of riders like I am standing still, but today I was the one doing the passing. I finished in 5th place with a respectable time of 39:45, about two minutes down from the winner, Merrill Collins. Anna Milkowski had the best finish of the day for TEAm Lipton finiahing in 4th place at 39:30.

Stage Two: Prison City Downtown Criterium

Stage two took place Saturday evening so there was not much time for the riders to rest and recover from the hard effort earlier in the day. The close proximity of our host house to the course, however, gave us ample time to shower, eat, relax and plan our strategy. Our goals for the race were to try and gain some time for one of our top placed GC riders by contesting the bonus sprints and also getting a podium finish. The course was a 1.5km oval with no sharp corners. The Women Pro1/2/3 field was racing 14laps about 20km. About an hour before our start the dark clouds from earlier in the day decided to return and as we lined up for the start the raindrops were falling on our heads. The race started out fast and furious and with each successive lap the rain came down harder. Eventually the streets were flooded and we would have been better off racing in kayaks. Every third lap there was a time bonus for the first five riders who crossed the start/finish line. Zoe Owere and Anna Milkowski were able to capture a few of those precious seconds. Several of our riders attempted to attack at various points during the race but everything was being chased down. Towards the end of the race, TEAm Lipton had a bit of bad luck. With two laps to ago, Elisa Gagnon got a flat. We, however, did not have any wheels in the wheel pit. Despite having an excellent race, she unfortunately received a pro-rated time. Also on the second lap, Zoe Owers, thinking it was the last lap made a huge attack, outsprinting everybody to the finish line only to find out that there was still one lap to go. Despite our efforts, we missed out on the podium again and were still 4th and 5th on GC.

Stage Three: Owasco Challenge Road Race

Stage three proved to be TEAm Lipton’s day of redemption. Despite missing the podium in the first two stages, we were planning to make some noise today by winning the stage and moving one of our riders up into the top three GC. We had the largest team in the field so we were determined to use this to our advantage. The race was 124km long and there were three Queen of the Mountain time bonus sprints in addition to an intermediary sprint time bonus. Time bonuses were being awarded to the top five finishers across the line. Anna and I were about 2minutes from first place and a little over a minute from second and third place. Our goals were to win as many of the time bonus sprints as possible, and then try to get one of us off the front of the field towards the end of the race.

The race started out at a leisurely pace. The first QOM was only 5miles from the start so no one was going to waste any energy beforehand. About a kilometer from the QOM, the pace quickened as riders tried to jockey for position near the front. When we hit the base of the climb, I was not in a very good position so started my sprint from a little too far back. As the hill steepened near the top I was able to pass a bunch of riders running out of gas and managed to get fourth place.

For a few miles after the first QOM, the pack decided to go on a Sunday stroll in the park. No one wanted to take up the responsibility of pace setting because there were only about 12 miles until the next QOM. For fear of finishing the race after dark, our TEAmmates, Katie Lambden and Zoe Owers got to the front of the pack and set a reasonable pace leading us into the next climb. The second QOM was 1.2 miles long with an average grade of 7% and had two sections the second section being a little steeper. I attacked about midway up the climb and got a little gap and got first place across the line. The climb split up the group a little and apparently the third place GC rider had been dropped on the climb. Anna, Zoe, Katie and I were in the front group so we decided to drive the pace to increase the time gap. Despite our efforts the chase group caught us and the field was back together again.

About 25 miles to go in the race, Anna attacked and got a small gap on the field. She was able to hold=off the chasing pack for about 10 miles. As soon as Anna was caught, Elisa, counter-attacked with about 15 miles to go in the race, and gapped the field. The pack, however, was not letting anyone go and chased her down. Laura Schmidt, from Team Terry attempted to attack about 1km from the final QOM, I got on her wheel and counterattacked. I got a small gap on the field to take the third and final QOM. After the QOM, I still had a small gap so I continued to drive the pace in hopes that I could get away. A small group of about 10 riders caught back on, including Anna and Zoe. The third place rider on GC was in the chase group so we drove the pace to the finish. A few kilometers from the finish line, the Mens Pro1/2/3 field caught us so our field sprint for the finish got a little messy. Zoe somehow managed to pass through the men and nip a Diet Cheerwine rider at the line to take the stage win. Anna and I moved up to 3rd and 4th overall in GC so TEAm Lipton ended the weekend on a good note.

This past week I had the good fortune to race in a very serene part of the country, Silver City, NM. The desert southwest has its own charm and beauty, big skies and vast expanses as far as the eye can see. The Tour of the Gila is a five-day stage race that covers about 250 miles with over 16,000 feet of total climbing. My teammates Anna Milkowski, Liza Rachetto, and I arrived at our host housing Monday afternoon ready for the challenge. One of the best experiences about racing across the country is living with a local family and getting to know the lives of people with different interests and backgrounds. This trip was no exception. Our hosts, Ron and Noni Parra and their sons Royce and Ryan along with their dog Ruby and her 10 newborn puppies, were fantastic hosts and a pleasure to spend time with.

Stage One

The first stage of the Tour of the Gila is the Tyrone Time Trial. The race is a 16 mile out and back course with about 1000ft of climbing. The days leading up to the race, I had been feeling a little bit under the weather so my initial plan of attack was to not push myself too hard and save my energy for the stages to come. During my warm-up, however, I magically started to feel better. As soon as I shot out of the starting gate, my competitive juices got flowing and my plan to go easy was thrown out the window. I felt stronger than I thought I would so was able to maintain a steady hard effort throughout the ride. When it was all said and done my finishing time was good enough for 19th place about 5 minutes down from the winner, Genevieve Jeanson of Rona.

Stage Two

Now that my stomach was feeling better, I was pumped and ready to go at the start of the second stage. This was the first of three road races. It was a 70mile point to point race starting in Silver City and ending at the top of a 3 mile twisty climb. Up until the finishing climb, the race was mostly flat and downhill. My plan was to stay out of the wind sheltered in the pack to save my energy for the race uphill. Early on in the race, Laura Koepsch from T- Mobile and Maggie Williams of Landis/Trek/VW broke away from the field. Other riders attempted to attack and bridge up to them but were unsuccessful. They were finally reeled in about 50 plus miles into the race. The defining moment of the race occurred about 10 miles from the finish. The pack was heading into a short uphill when the T-Mobile team started to drive the pace at the front of the pack. Riders started to drop off left and right and as we crested the top there was a small group of about 5 who took the lead. I was in a second group of about 10 riders giving chase. For several miles the leaders were only about 500 meters or so in front of us but we could not close the gap. Before we made the final turn into the climb I made a desperate attempt to catch them but failed. At this point I was a little out of energy and just hanging on to the back of my group, trying to recover a little. Other riders from the group were trying to bridge and finally Dotsie Cowden of Colavita and Sima Trapp from Subway were able to catch the leaders. When we hit the last three miles, Katheryn Curi of Webcor attacked my group at the bottom of the climb and made a small gap. I decided I would do better to go up the hill at a steady pace so did not try and respond. Part way up the climb, I found myself in the front of my group, setting the pace. With about 1 mile to go, I looked back and only Brooke Ourada of T-Mobile was on my wheel. We were closing in on Kathryn. At the 1000 meter to go mark, Brooke jumped by me and with about 500 meters to go, caught and passed Kathryn. I finished a few seconds behind them in 9th place a few minutes back from the winner Kim Baldwin of T-Mobile. My effort for the day moved me into 9th place overall.

Stage Three

Stage Three was perhaps TEAm Lipton’s crowning moment of the race. All three of us rode aggressively and made our team’s presence known in the pack.

This was the second of the three road races and was a 77.8 mile loop with about 5,000ft of climbing. The race started out steady until we approached the first feed zone about 20 miles into the race, at the top of a short climb. Leading up to the climb, I was frantically trying to get myself to the front of the pack because I knew this could be a spot where the field would break up. Sure enough, the pace quickened and I had to quickly get myself around the slower climbers. As we hit the beginning of the feed zone, Genevieve Jeanson increased the pace, Kim Baldwin and Lynn Gaggioli were right on her wheel and I found myself hanging on the back of them for dear life. I managed to crest the top with the three leaders, gasping for air. On the downhill, we had a small lead but the pack soon caught up. Once we reached the bottom of the climb, Cat Malone from Webcor attacked and our own, Anna Milkowski, went with her, The pair was able to stay away for about 40 miles but finally got caught about 15 miles from the finish. With about 8 miles to go, Ina Teutenberg from T-Mobile, attacked at laser speed and made a huge gap between herself and the field. I was still feeling good at this point and wanted to try and go with her but was caught on the inside of the pack and could not get out. As I made my way to open space, several riders tried to bridge to Ina but were unsuccessful. When I got to the open side of the road, my teammate Liza was moving to the front of the field so I got on her wheel and used her as a launching pad to make my attack. As I looked back, I saw I had a small gap but could see the field in strong pursuit. I put my head down and just went as hard as I could go. For the next 7 miles, I could see the gap between Ina and myself closing and with a mile to go I finally caught her. I was trying to make as much time up on the field as possible, so once I caught her, I got in the front and basically drove us to the finish. I would like to be able to report that there was a hotly contested sprint finish but basically with 200 meters to go Ina shot by me like I was standing still to take the stage win. Ina is one of the best sprinters in the world so unless she had a complete meltdown, I did not have much of a chance. I was thrilled to get second place and ended up gaining one minute on the field and moving myself up into 7th overall.

Stage Four

Stage four was another exciting day for TEAm Lipton. Today was the downtown criterium, in you guessed it, downtown Silver City. The course was a 4corner circuit with 60 feet of climbing per lap. We raced 25 laps, a little over an hour of racing. Team T-Mobile had the race lead so today they were more concerned about protecting the pink jersey than getting a stage win. It was a perfect day for riders, not a threat to the overall lead, to break away. As soon as the gun went off my teammate, Anna, made a heroic move and attacked the field. Usually when a rider attacks so early in a race, no one will respond because they do not think that the break will last. Anna, however, is super strong (and maybe a little crazy) so was able to hold onto her solo lead for about 10 plus laps. When it was apparent the field was not going to catch her, several riders attempted to bridge-up to her. By the end of the race, only a few other riders were able to join her. Despite a valiant effort, Anna was out-sprinted at the line and took 3rd on the day. I had a fairly uneventful day, finishing in the pack and maintaining 7th place in GC.

Stage Five

Today turned out to be the hardest of the five days for me. In addition to being the last day of racing, I was having stomach problems so started the race a little low on energy. This concerned me because today’s race was 70 miles with another 5,000 feet of climbing that ended on a 10mile uphill. Once the race got underway, I tried to drink and eat as much as I could but I don’t think it was enough. Like yesterday, T-Mobile was only interested in protecting their overall lead so it was another great opportunity for riders not in contention to get away. As a result, during the first few miles of the race there were a flurry of attacks. Finally my teammate, Liza, and a few other riders broke free. After they were clear of the field, a few more groups of one or two riders left the pack to try and bridge-up to Liza’s group. T-Mobile was content to let them go but set a steady pace at the front of the field so that the leaders did not get too far away. About 10 miles before the final climb, T-Mobile picked up the pace and the field got strung out. Anna helped me get into a good position at the front of the pack and I was able to head into the climb a few wheels back from the T-Mobile train. I could not have been in a better position. At the bottom of the climb, Kim Baldwin got a break on the field and everyone including me was scrambling to catch-up with her. I started the chase feeling strong, passing Genevieve, Lynn and a few other riders and found myself in second position chasing Kim. This, however, was short-lived. I could not maintain my pace and completely cracked. All of the riders I passed earlier flew by me. I was able to recover a little further up the climb and catch back onto a small group. I ended up finishing in the top 20 for the day but lost a place in the GC standings ending up 8th overall for the five days. Although, I was a little disappointed with the way my race ended, my teammate, Liza, did not get caught until right before the finish so she was able to end the race on a high note for the Lipton team.