Athens Criterium, Georgia, USA – 27 April 2002 – 15^th

Conditions: light wind, 70F, (about 20C),

Time: 7.30pm with hundreds of screaming people lining the course.

The forecast for the evening predicted possible showers so it was with relief that the skies remained overcast but dry.  The atmosphere in downtown Athens, a real college town, was truly incredible.  The streets surrounding the criterium were blocked off for the entire weekend with jazz music and other festivities creating a full weekend of entertainment.  The novelty events started in the early afternoon providing plenty of action for the thousands of thirsty spectators who sat at pubs and cafes around the course.  As the evening progressed, I saw spectators hanging out of 2^nd storey apartments and even climbing streetlight poles to get a better vantage point.

Our hosts in Athens, Wanda and John Culpepper suggested we park in a parking lot on the back straight of the course.  We found a park only 20m from the course which was perfect so if it rained we could warm up in an undercover area.

Petra and I set up our trainers right near the railing on the back straight so we could warm up and watch the category 3 men race.  About 55 girls registered, however only 37 managed to finish the criterium.

The course was a clockwise rectangular circuit.  The back straight had a small rise over 70m followed by a gentle descent over 150m.  Right on the crest of the hill was a one metre square 10cm deep hole which I somehow managed to find several times during the race.  This section of the course also had two round grates that were best avoided but was often unavoidable if you find yourself in the middle of the peloton.  The short side of the rectangle following this back straight was a really fast downhill section and was just 40m long so it was almost one corner followed immediately by the next corner.  And just in case, hay bales were set up on this 2^nd corner leading into the home straight as it was really tight to get around.

The girls started lining up at 7.15pm to get prime position on the line.  As they opened the barrier for us, I sprinted for the line and pushed my way right to the front.  It was a sprint from the gun and I got 4^th wheel into the first corner.  The pace remained high but I settled in at 4^th wheel and felt really comfortable and strong.  The sprint primes kept the pace going and eliminated any early attacks developing.

At about the 30min mark, we received the whistle for a sprint prime and I decided to attack.  We got around onto the hill and I launched out.  Tina Mayola-Pic (Diet Rite) jumped on my wheel and we soon had a good gap.  She came around me down the back straight and was keen to work.  I took the lead from her again on the home straight but realised I was in a bad position for the sprint.  I had no choice but to lead out and thought I had it until I saw her wheel come past me just before I hit the line.  She won it by only 2cm, however I was more interested in getting away for a podium finish.  We worked hard for another lap but then I saw the peloton closing us down and we were quickly swallowed up.  Shortly after we regrouped a Genesis Scuba rider rode solo off the front and dangled there for 3 laps until we reeled her back in.

On the next lap, I looked across into the mechanical pits and saw Petra being pushed out to rejoin us.  She had amazingly ridden over a screw that had gone through her tire and had embedded itself into her rim, but fortunately her rim wasn’t permanently damaged.

Along the back straight with 7 laps and on a sprint prime lap, I attacked again and no-one came with me.  I quickly got 50m on the peloton and successfully took out the last sprint prime.  I kept driving hard, hoping the peloton weren’t interested in chasing.  I did another lap on my own but with 5 to go they decided to bring me back for a bunch finish.  As I rejoined the peloton, another rider attacked and the peloton chased hard.  Our speed on the straights hovered around 48km/hr.

With 4 laps to go, Saturn, Diet Rite and Trek all had riders at the front and were now keeping the pace high to avoid any final attacks.  I was trying to recover from my break away and was struggling to move further to the front.  With 2 laps to go, the pace was really high.  I was too far back, in about 20^th position.  Girls were swerving everywhere and it was getting rough.  With one lap to go, I still hadn’t got to where I wanted and knew I was running out of time to get a top 10 finish.  I heard Petra scream out to me to move up but I was boxed in.  I took the inside on the final corner, as the bunch spread across the road in a frenzied aggressive finish.  I have a solid sprint but didn’t have enough time to pass more than 5 girls to finish in 15^th place.

Ina Teutenberg (Saturn) narrowly won over Tina Mayolo-Pic (Diet Rite), with Becky Conzelman (Freddie Fu) rounding out the 3^rd podium place.  My team mate, Petra, recovered well from her wheel change to finish in 28^th position.

Shortly after the race, my back tire went flat from a staple I had found in the final lap.  Luckily it was a slow leak but didn’t happen earlier as there are no free laps in the final stages of a criterium.  We watched the men race and then headed back to our host family’s house who had freshly baked bread ready for us to eat – (compliments to the chef), we devoured the entire loaf!!!

In the morning, we travelled back to New Jersey and luckily missed the tornado that swept through Marylands later that day.  Now its back to some solid training in preparation for our next important race – Danbury, Housatonic.

Until then…..happy pedalling.