Joe Martin Stage Race – Fayetteville, Arkansas Stage 1 – 9 May 2003 – 112km (70 miles) point to point road race Conditions: hot, humid and windy – 80F The first stage of the Joe Martin Stage race was a 70 mile point-to-point road race starting at Natural Dam and finishing in the centre of Fayetteville.  The organisers transported all […]

Stage 5 – Redlands Business Centre Sunset Road Race – 100km Today I had the pleasure of wearing the green jersey and enjoying the final stage without any pressure.  The race consisted of a 10km loop that we completed 8 times.  The climb was done at a leg shattering speed and eventually the front group that Joan and I were […]

Stage 4 – Beaver Medical Group Downtown Criterium – 60 minutes Today is the last day where sprint points are available so whoever accumulates the most points today, wins the sprinters jersey for 2003.  The 3 sprints to be contested were held at 45 and 30 minutes to go and 5 laps to go.  Each of us wore lime green […]

Stage 3 – 73km – The Sun Panorama Point Road Race This race consisted of a separate 7.6km loop that we rode once only before completing 4 laps of a 16km hilly circuit.  The circuit had a steady 2km climb with short 20% gradient wall about midway up, followed by another more gradual rise. There were 2 sprints on lap […]

Stage 2 – 130km Oak Glen Road Race Today I pulled out the silver Sockguy shoe covers and received a comment from Ian Prime (photographer) that I was getting serious about the sprinting today.  I just agreed with him and told him that TDS would be wearing the green jersey at the end of today’s stage. Today, Anne, Shawn and […]

Winning the Green Sprint Jersey Just to clarify to those reading this report, there were 3 different jerseys being contested at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, 2003.  The yellow jersey is the jersey worn by the leader of the race whose cumulative time for completing the race is the fastest.  The sprint jersey is a green jersey that is worn by […]

TDS Journal Entry A cold wet day Joan and I travelled 7 hours to Merced on Friday 21 March to race the McLane Pacific Cycling Classic criterium and road race.  Our plan was to compete in both races and then continue northward to Fairfield where we will meet the full TDS team for the Solano Cycling Classic. The criterium was […]

Great start to season Well, our first National Calendar Race is over and we had both fun and success.  We stayed with the friendliest hosts, Josh and Dawn.  They opened their doors to us, (and their garage, 3 bedrooms, pool and hot tub) and we made ourselves comfortable.  To compensate for our invasion, we cooked for Josh and Dawn each […]

TDS Professional Women’s Cycling Team TDS Telecom is the main sponsor of a new national-level women’s cycling team. Team TDS will compete throughout the United States and Canada, while focusing on National Racing Calendar (NRC) events. The team will consist of six riders: Emily Gloeckner – Denver, Colorado Shawn Heidgen – Elburn, Illinois Rebecca Loney – Madison, Wisconsin Ann Samplonius […]

Helen settles into life in Southern California I flew into LA on 1 March and was met outside Don Bradley International Airport by my team mate and host, Joan Wilson. I met Joan in 2001 when we rode the HP Women’s Challenge in Boise, Idaho as part of the Office Depot team.  We raced against each other in 2002 and […]