Stage 4 – 60 mile circuit race

Today I rode a neutral Litespeed bike as my Giant has a dura Ace bottom bracket problem.  Shimano neutral support tried to remove the bottom bracket before the race and although it isn’t cross threaded, it is completely jammed and unable to be removed.

With a 9.30am start, I watched nervously at 9.15am as Chad Contreras and another Shimano mechanic tried unsuccessfully to remove the bottom bracket.  By 9.20am, my Easton seat and Selle Italia seatpost were put on a neutral 56cm Litespeed, along with my Look pedals.  I rolled around the car park, gave the Shimano guys the thumbs up symbol and rolled straight to the start line.  Luckily, we had a 10km neutral roll out to give me a few minutes to become familiar with the bike.  The headstem was a 13mm and as I usually ride a 9mm, I felt stretched out like superman.

Today, our plan was the same as yesterday – to protect Joan’s GC position, but for us to look for an opportunity at getting into a break and onto the podium.  We completed 8 laps of a twisty technical 10km circuit before heading back to the centre of Fairfield and onto yesterday’s criterium circuit to the finish line.

On the 2^nd lap of the circuit, Anne Samplonius attacked and soon she was into a well represented break which included Sandy Espeseth (Amoroso), Ina Teutenberg (Saturn), Erin Carter (Canadian National team) and Catherine Marsal (Rona).

The break split into 2 towards the final stages of the race with Sandy Espeseth, Ina Teutenberg, Catherine Marsal making the front group.  Ina rode strongly to take the win from Sandy and Catherine.

Unfortunately, Anne’s chances of a top 10 were shattered as the motorbike official incorrectly led Anne’s group off circuit in the final 1km, with our peloton sweeping them up as they did a U turn to get back onto the course.

Joan helped position me towards the front of the peloton but with tired legs I wasn’t able to sprint very well, finishing 12^th.  Thankfully, Joan retained her GC position and gained some valuable NRC points for her placing.

And now, I need to get some rest but more importantly, get my Giant fixed or get my Salsa shipped to me as Redlands starts the day after tomorrow.

Stage Results:

12^th Helen Kelly                             TDS
14^th Joan Wilson                             TDS
16^th Shawn Heidgen                        TDS

Overall General Classification
10^th Joan Wilson
23^rd Helen Kelly
38^th Shawn Heidgen
44^th Anne Samplonius
53^rd Emily Gloeckner