Bear Mountain – Sunday 12^th May 2002 – 4^th

Conditions: 50F (10C) heavy rain, 9mph winds

Course overview: 4 laps of a 22.4km circuit (14miles) – 90km

The weather today could only be described as miserable.  It was overcast at the start but shortly into the first lap it started to rain.  At first, it was a light drizzle, but it grew steadily heavier until we were all completely soaked.  Visibility was extremely poor and the rain was sleety at times, stinging any exposed skin.

The women’s field was small with only 32 riders braving the start, perhaps partially due to Mothers Day celebrations but my guess is that the rain and cold frightened them off.  One of today’s challenges was what to wear.  I predicted that it would rain throughout the race so a number of layers work best to try and trap some warmth.  I opted for full leggings and booties, bib & brace knicks, an undershirt, a long-sleeved thermal top, a short-sleeved jersey, a windbreaker, arm warmers over the top of my thermal top and long gloves.  I was actually too warm until the rain started, but then I zipped up everything and didn’t feel at all cold.

We had 7 Verizon-Wireless Cervelo riders tackling natures best, including Erinne Willock, Hiroko Shimado, Petra Ford, Ann Marie Miller, Julie Monagle, Yvonne Ilton, and myself.

The course was a 22km loop.  It started with a steep 1km straight descent (which was neutralised on the first lap) followed by a sharp hairpin and straight into a 5km climb.  The climb had a nice gradient but with a few steeper sections midway up.  After the main climb, there were 3 or 4 sharp little climbs before the road dropped down to a roundabout and along a lake for about 10km.  This section was undulating but also exposed with a strong cross headwind.  After another hairpin, we again faced a climb but only 1km long.  It gradually flattened out onto a false flat for another kilometre.  The final section of the loop was almost flat, although with a headwind with a gradual descent through the finish line.

Yvonne showed some true aggression by attacking early in the 1^st lap and staying away solo until midway through the 2^nd lap.  This move forced Trek Plus to chase and allowed us to sit in and rest.  As soon as Yvonne was caught both Ann Marie and Petra launched separate attacks, again forcing Trek Plus to chase.

The peloton was all together going into the climb on the 3^rd lap until Erinne decided to make her move.  Erinne attacked on a steep section of the 5km climb and only Laura Van Gilder (Trek Plus), Catherine Powers (CRCA-Prenissance/Terry) and I were able to go with her.  My legs felt really ordinary today which was attributable to the 4 hard days of training this week.  However, I should see the benefits of this training throughout the season.  I really struggled over the climb and ended up 50m off the back of the break.  I dug really hard but chasing three girls, it took me nearly 3km before I caught them.

We worked well together but were shocked when we noticed the peloton still had us in sight at the beginning of the last lap.  Erinne attacked again up the 5km climb and I couldn’t respond.  I rode at tempo and hoped to hold off the peloton.  Catherine Powers (CRCA-Prenissance/Terry) was also suffering and soon lost contact with Laura and Erinne.

Catherine hovered about 200m in front of me and once we got over the climb and out onto the flat windy section, I got into the big ring, stood up and did a sprint across to her.  I knew that once I caught her I could sit on and recover and I wouldn’t have to work as hard, but that sprint to get to her was absolute agony.  It was into a headwind and my legs were numb with cold and fatigue.  I rolled onto her wheel quietly and spent the next few minutes just focusing on breathing.  Unfortunately, my bike made a noise over a bump and she realised I was sitting on for a free ride.  We started working turns and started closing the gap on Erinne and Laura.  We had them in sight only 300m in front of us.

Over the last 3km, Laura sat on Erinne and then attacked her with 200m to go.  Erinne, having worked hard on the hill, had no answer to this final attack and had to settle with 2^nd.  Catherine and I were about 40sec behind and as we reached 1km to go, I forced Catherine to instigate the sprint.  I jumped on her wheel and let her lead me to the line.  It was a downhill sprint, and unfortunately I misjudged my timing, and didn’t give myself enough time to come around her.  We crossed the line in what looked like a dead heat, however the photo finish showed her cross in front of me so I had to settle with 4^th.  Given the hard week of training I’d just done, I was reasonably happy with my result, although I was kicking myself for misjudging the sprint finish and being off the podium.

Petra attacked the peloton up the final climb and finished in 6^th, while Ann Marie rode strongly to finish 10^th.

Final results were:

1          Laura Van Gilder                     Trek Plus
2          Erinne Willock             Verizon-Wireless Cervelo
3          Catherine Powers                     CRCA-Prenissance/Terry
4          Helen Kelly                 Verizon-Wireless Cervelo
6          Petra Ford                                Verizon-Wireless Cervelo
10        Ann Marie Miller                     Verizon-Wireless Cervelo