Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove Recap

I'm very happy to report Whitney and I had a very successful first race back as teammates!

Friday's time trial was a bit of an opener for the both of us, and after some generous help from Jose Alcala from SRAM,  I was good to go for the TT and pleased to have a solid paced ride that got the legs moving just fast enough to make the time cut.

Whitney finds shade before the race

The heat was a major concern Saturday and definitely took it's toll.  The Tour of Elk Grove courses are through residential areas and while flat, are pretty darn technical.  With some 180 degree turns, the field came to almost a standstill, and then accelerated back up to WTF single-file speed lap after lap.  With the heat and humidity, this type of riding definitely wears on you and almost 20 riders were in groups off the back of the main field.  Despite a 2 month hiatus from riding, Whitney rode super well and had no hesitation throwing herself back into the mix, attacking and getting some announcer coverage for Paceline Projects p/b Veloforma.  Too far back with 6 to go, Whitney told me it was time for us to move up and as we were doing so, erratic riding in the middle of the field caused some chaos and there was an unpleasant crash.  While we were caught up in it, we both were fine and got to the pit just before the free laps ended.  Our bikes got sorted out, new wheel for Whitney, and the officials and Shimano guys did a great job of putting us back in the field safely.  While we made multiple efforts to move up in the last several laps, I think we were both pretty spent and just couldn't get to where we needed to be for the finish.  Whitney came in 33rd and I rolled  in at 37th.  We were very thankful to the Loughlin Family (Judy, Terry & Conner) and the Rossman posse (Matt and superfans Hannah and Jesse) for their cheering and support.  *Hannah managed to score me a whole leg's worth of ice in some pantyhose just before the start.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have finished otherwise.  We spent the rest of the night relaxing with our friend the Irish Wolfhound Daisy and the Loughlins
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After the storm Saturday evening, the weather cooled down and was perfect for Sunday's circuit race.  Since we were not going for GC or sprint points, we decided to go for the mid-race $1,000 prime.  Whitney was in a number of moves in the beginning of the race and one that appeared to be promising before the mid-race sprint.  Unfortunately, no one else in the move was willing to work, so Whitney came back and found me.  In the last 1K, we took a sharp 90 degree turn which spits you out on a narrow road that bends and twists slightly before you hit the line.  I was probably 20-30 back coming into the corner, but what the heck, I went up the right side of the road all the way to the front.  Just as I got there Meredith Miller from Tibco and Theresa Cliff-Ryan from Exergy started their sprint.  *Read no chance for me.*  I came across the line in 3rd which meant nothing for the 1 place prime, but provided some useful information for the finish.

On the last lap, some riders in the middle of the field thought we were suppose to turn when we were actually continuing straight down the road and caused a big crash.  I was on Whitney's wheel and went safely around as she brought me up towards the front.  She then found herself on the front with me sitting second wheel still well over a kilometer from the finish.  Not ideal, but with all my difficulty getting and maintaining good position in these finishes, I was willing to hurt a little more to be safer and give this approach a chance.  Whitney kept it up as long as she could and then I was on the front heading to the last corner.  I glanced back and knew I was going to be swarmed in the corner by Tibco's train.  I made an effort to keep my speed up even though I was starting to crack (I didn't want the corner to be super sketchy when they blew by me and I was going at a snail pace.)  Made it through the corner without incident and got on the back of their lead-out.  I was sitting about 5 or 6th wheel just outside 500 meters to go, thought SWEET, and planned on starting my sprint to the left.  Unfortunately, there was absolutely no space for me to get out as the road bent and Tibco hugged the left side of the road.  When another rider from the right came over into me I was forced to hold up to avoid going into the curb.  Lots of riders passed at this point, but we finished with an encouraging 20th place team effort.  We are psyched to race together again in St. Louis for the Gateway Cup at the end of the month!

Again, many thanks to all the folks who make it possible for us to race.  We greatly appreciate your support!  Judy, Terry, Connor & Daisy, Hannah & Jesse, and Matt and all the nice folks we met at the race, thanks for a great Chicago weekend!

Kat, Judy, and Whitney