Well, today was my first time at seeing a cross race.

It was a typical New England Fall day. Temps in the lows 50's, stiff wind out of NorthEast and clear skies. My road racing team mate races for VeloBella Elite CycloCross women's team and so my motivation for going was to really make a fool of myself from the sidelines, screaming to motivate her.

Watching the race from the side was a strange feeling for me and made me realize just how much I love to be a part of the action and not watching it. Not to mention the friendships you build with the other women when you're in the mix.

So much of my road season there would be groups of us that would get together and just shoot the breeze for a while after the race whether it was at the venue, a local dive or Mc'Dee's (of course we always had the water and side salad :P).

From the word go the women went all out. the course would take about 9-11 minutes to complete each lap. Several barriers, single track, off camber sections and some paved. Overall a very fast course. Jumping over those barriers you could easily tell the ones who had been at it a while and the ones who had just upgraded to elite.

Watching all this made me wish my knees were good and that I had never had that ski accident that caused me to tear 3 of the 4 ligaments in my right knee. Even walking can be painful for me but as with so many things I have learned to cope and learn my limitations.

Yes Cross looks like a ball, hard, fun, fast, challenging but my knees would probably blow out the back of my legs and that is never a pretty sight. No, I'll stick with Road Racing and maybe I'll give track a try (after I am sprinter!).

It seems to permeate the sports news these days, Landis, Hamilton, Basso, Riis, Zabel and even Barry Bonds. All these names have made the news because of either admitting to or having been found in competition to have used performance enhancing drugs (Floyd Landis is still appealing). But the bigger question is why is this happening now and what implications does it have for sports in general and our society?



In an age where child hood obesity is on the rise, eight out of ten Americans are overweight, 78% of Americans are not meeting basic activity levels and there has been a 76% increase in Diabetes, Athletes who cheat are part of the problem why this has happened.



I am sure that there are those that disagree with me on this but let me explain why I have said this.



When an athlete cheats whether it is with EPO, HGH, Testosterone, or tweaking their equipment to give an unfair advantage it jades the way people look at athletes competing in that sport. As an elite level athlete in cycling, I believe that this sport is fighting for its survival and this is due in part to the cheaters who are caught and the continuing scandals that plague our sport.



Because sponsors don’t want to soil their names or reputations they decide not to continue sponsorship after the season has ended. Attracting new sponsors becomes increasingly difficult, the fan base shrinks, race promoters decide not to hold any more races and less people try the sport. Children who may have had an interest are encouraged to not do the sport because of the cheating and are instead told to try another sport or to do something that yet reduces their activity level.



Instead of admiring an athlete for a mind blowing performance we immediately suspect that athlete as having done something that was illegal. When that happens we lose faith, interest wanes and we decide not to watch, participate or even give up because we don’t want to be associated with the sport soiled with these problems



I want to see this sport grow, I want to see more people watch it and it covered on the TV more often. In my humble opinion there is no other sport that is as difficult and as challenging. Yeah sure I am biased but who wouldn’t be, I am passionate about this sport and am no different then the die hard baseball fanatic. The problem is that the cheaters that permeate cycling are causing the sport to shrink. For our sakes and the sake of our sport we all must do everything we can to promote the sport, stay clean and be ambassadors.



We all need to do outreach events, bike safety, get involved with development programs, put together programs to encourage kids to ride their bikes. Our sport needs us more then ever. Sadly I feel if we don’t then the sport will die in the US, flounder in Europe and American children will continue their fight with obesity.



I won’t let that happen, will you?

Well everyone,

   After much consideration and review I made my decision this past week to sign with Sunapee/S&W Sports/Continental Paving Elite Women's Team. They seem to have a good organization, solid team management, talented riders and dedicated sponsors. Given from what I have seen with the 2008 roster there is no doubt that we can be a dominant force in New England Women's Cycling. I am very excited about the opportunities that this will open up, mostly in allowing me to compete at the national level with top level pros and teams. It will likely be the hardest season thus far but also the one that can reap the biggest rewards. 

More to come later......

From the Portland Press Hearld:



A pair of riders from New Hampshire make charges down the stretch take the top spots.



http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=122457&ac=PHspt



What an awesome day for NorEast Cycling!! The weather could not have been more perfect.



For the Women, it was just Melody Chase and I. Even though NEBC clearly had the numbers and had it set on controlling the entire race we marked them right. I knew that NEBC was going to try and control the race and most likely try to set up Rebecca Wellons for the win. I also knew that Linscott Real Estate Racing was there and was going to try and pull off a repeat from their last year 1st place win. Melody and I were to just sit quietly in the pack letting the other girls chase the false breaks and set tempo on the front. On the 4th lap we moved to the front, Mel set some good steady tempo for a while. NEBC came around us, we integrated back into the pack. On a $50 dollar prime one of the NEBC girls tried to go, my legs were feeling good and her push to the line I matched. Last 50 meters I moved around her and took the prime.....that one was for Melody for helping me.



Next lap was a $10 dollar prime, Still feeling good and fresh I followed the next NEBC rider out and waited till the last minute to get around her, it was a little closer then I wanted but I managed to take that prime as well.



The last lap and the hard push did not come until we hit the descent leading up to the hard right then up a short but steep hill. It was on the descent that Melody and I got swallowed up by NEBC moving in around us. I managed to find a line in the gutter that no one was following (partly due to the fact that it was in pretty bad condition and very jarring). I moved quickly to the front again getting 3rd wheel back by the time we hit the hill. I pushed hard up the hill one girl was already trying to go off the front. Then there was myself another NEBC rider doing a lead out whom I was directly behind and a few others (quite honestly I had no idea who was behind because I was so focused but Mel was watching my back) . The gap was growing to the woman off the front, I swung around NEBC and pushed hard to catch this woman's wheel. I managed to catch it with about 300 meters from the line. That was enough for me to have a brief rest. Using her to slingshot me I got around, up on my pedals, digging as hard as I could, knowing that lurking behind me was my old rival Rebecca and most likely Debony Diehl. I spun up to about 130 sat down for a few seconds then stood back up for the final dig and throw. I got to the line only .1 seconds ahead of Debony and .2 seconds ahead of Rebecca.



What a mind blowing experience!!



I am still in awe that Melody and I were able to effectively shut down NEBC and tactically read the race to perfection.



Special Kudos to Melody, who helped me tremendously. Setting Tempo, pulling me up that hill. reading the race along with me. There could not have been a better combination for that race!!



Melody earned herself a 8th place finish placing ahead of many Cat.2 and 3's. and for any of my old competitors reading this........ I'm BAaaackk

As Posted on team website

Race Report on Claremont Criterium, Another personal report



There are races where we suffer, hurt, gasp, hanging on by that proverbial thread hoping that the elastic wont snap and we go rocketing off the back faster than a Studebaker at a Nascar race. Then we have those races where we feel neither good nor bad but as Pink Floyd once said “Comfortably numb.” Suffering a little, recovering but not quite making it to the right place at the right time, we seem stuck in that "purple haze". Finally there are those races where our legs feel like pistons on a locomotive, efficiently moving around in circles, a blur to the bystander. With our race face on, we read the pack like a psychic reads tarot cards and when the stars align it is our day to take one for the team and a win for ourselves!



I certainly have had my share of good days and bad days. Coming back to racing from a nearly 4 year hiatus and to return to a level that is as good or better then when I previously raced has not been easy and somewhat discouraging. It can be quite intimidating knowing that some of the rivals you use to race with are now Cat. 1’s racing with the Pro’s and have been at nationals. Exeter was my worst day on a bike in a race. Fitchburg I felt better but I think in retrospect it was a little premature of me to attempt a shot at GC. I should have stuck with what I am good at, sprinting. Now, I finally feel like my sprinting legs are back and my form has returned.



Hello my name is Samantha and I am a sprinter.



The Claremont Criterium while it was a very small field there were some strong women there. Namely Teresa Garcia from Brown University as well as Frances Morrison from Fitchburg Cycling.



For the women it was a strange race. It started out in a typically fast fashion with us clocking a pace faster then the men’s cat. 5 race did earlier in the day. On the first prime Teresa jumped and I followed being about 4 bike lengths back I decided it would be better to let her take it rather then try and follow and burn myself out. After the catch the pace settled down…..down…..then down again. At one point we were doing 17mph. It was a race gone training ride. I, however was not going to let the women soft pedal and keep their energy for the last lap. I attacked, shot the pace back to a more reasonable 23mph. That kept up for a few laps then it went down again….. this time to only 18mph, I attacked again. Surely I was going to make them suffer every bit as much as I was going to.



Now I have this to say, the first 4 attacks I laid in all got caught, bad positioning, mostly but tactically I was not playing it right. Teresa and Frances both had the legs to catch me after I laid in my accelerations because as I would shoot by they could quickly match my speed by 2-4 bike lengths. Time for something different and maybe the cycling goddess herself would grant me my great escape.



Pace went soft again this time only coming down to 19. I let myself roll to the back of the group (only 5 of us at this point), sized the situation and then soft pedaled off the back by about 2 bike lengths. It was about at that time I dropped a sprocket stood up prayed to the almighty diva herself and let out a screaming attack, 20, 22, 25, 27, 29, 31. By the time I went by on the inside past Teresa whom was pacing these soft pedaling women I was already tipping out at 32 miles per hour. It was the most successful attack made during our race. Well, the almighty herself did not grant me my wish, I got caught after about 2 laps but that did the trick, pace was now finally staying more reasonable . It was about this time that Teresa tried an attack, I countered and caught her, Lesli Stevens from Anthem tried right after that, I countered again catching her. Wow, this is great, finally some aggressive racing!



Peg Mitchell from Team Placid Planet had been dropped by the pack at about the half way mark. As we were about to lap her with 7 to go Caroline Cole a local girl made a brilliant tactical move, one I don’t think she realized she made. Caroline attacked as we were beginning to lap Peg on a corner. Now even though Peg stayed to the inside it forced the others and me to take a wider line losing ground to Caroline. Because we were forced to take that line our speed came down a fraction allowing Caroline to gain more ground on us. Brilliant move, and I wish I had thought of it (put that one in my bag of tricks for next time), I managed to catch her wheel after about 30 seconds of some moderately hard pulling.



Last lap Teresa attempted to go hard out of the corner on the back side of the course. I was on her wheel, did not come unglued and as we rounded the last corner she was out before me which meant she was already up on her pedals. Where she made her mistake was swinging a little too wide. I managed to keep a tighter line and even though I was already 2 bike lengths behind her after the corner I was carrying more momentum. That allowed me to spin up, catch her and beat her by 2 bike lengths. Fun race, wish it would have been a bigger group but it was



still challenging and fun

As posted on the team website 1st week of July

For those of us who race there are those races that we look forward to all year. Preparing, training, battling the cold, bitter temperatures, the boredom of sitting inside on our trainers, the early AM and PM weight workouts we do all this because yes we like to ride but also those races define our whole year, it's that first big "A" race.



Fitchburg was that for me and while I do have other "A" races that I have planned this was the big one.



Stage racing for those who have never had the "joy" of experiencing one can be simply defined as addictive torture. The first day or two your bodies seem to cope with the stress and while we all have those training rides where we push ourselves and intensity is high it is very often not race pace for 4 or more days. Day 3 your body is complaining. Day 4 it stopped complaining and is now trying to convince your brain that it needs to be somewhere else and trying to coax it with sleeping in, breakfast in bed, hot long showers a day relaxing, mud slides, pina colada's heated pools, yada yada yada.



Day one (Bars End): 6.55 mile time trial.



The course this year definitely favored climbers, with an average grade of 3% for almost 4.5 miles, I managed to pass 2 women and almost overtake a third by the time I crossed the line.



Notables:

I managed to squeeze in ahead of an IBC girl by only .6 seconds for a solid 12th place finish (so remember, never stop pedaling until you cross that line).



Day two (Movin on up): 3.1 mile circuit course with a climb, false flat then another climb to the finish line.



This course can be deceptive. The top side of the course is relatively flat but when the peloton makes its sweep onto John Fitch Highway it descends at about a 2% grade all the way back to the finish. Because your on your brakes hard leading into the corner up the climb there is no chance you will be carrying to much momentum with you when you start. Unless you get a good line or are at the front any chance of contending for sprint points or a stage win are pretty much out of the bag.



Notables:



A near crash had me take off about an 1/8th of an inch of plastic off my cleats. An attack laid in by me after about 3 laps got caught, I was out for about 30 seconds before they caught me again (BAH).



Day 3 (I'll get you my Pretty!!): 11.6 mile road course.



Starting point was at Mount Wachusett down mile hill road then on to route 140, to route 31 then up Princeton Hill onto Mile Hill road again. The final lap is up mount Wachusett itself, 8% grade for about 2 KM (Where is Fish when you need him )



Notables:



2nd lap with about 1.7KM to go from KOM/QOM I was on the front and middle (three lines going). Looking left then right I stung. I laid in an acceleration so hard and so fast I rocketed off the front and immediately put about 15-20 seconds on me and the peloton before they were able to stop the carnage. When I glanced back the three lines had strung into one and the chase was on. I buried myself pushing past my lactate threshold. Another glance back and I saw an IBC rider bridging to me but the peloton was still on the defensive. Another minute passed, she had caught me and passed me, I tried to catch her wheel and managed to hang on, barely. She took 1st and I took second on the QOM. I wanted this break to work!! Tucking up onto my bars I descended as fast as I could touching near 60MPH, passing the IBC rider trying to encourage her work. It was to no avail, she got swallowed and I did too shortly after I turned onto Rt 140 again. Now that the women saw what I was capable off no one would come around me and so with that move I was on notice. They knew I had a ferocious kick and I wanted to get away. I paid the piper for that move as they hung me out to dry on the front. That more or less did me in as I was not able to recover for the final climb and lost ground on the leaders. Moving from 12th back to 19th. Still it was an epic day and worth making some of the other women suffer a little!



Day 4 (Turn and Burn): .8 mile 3 corner criterium. Slight rise to the start finish line, then a downhill run to the 2nd corner a short section with lots of lumpy patchwork then turning back onto main street to the start finish.



This is a place where technical riders and sprinters can do well. It is also a place where you will go down if you do not pay attention. can be a very fast course.



Notables:



I managed to get a perfect lead out from a Velo Bella Woman at the second bell. While she overcooked the turn back onto main street it set me up to follow the green jersey's wheel. At about 100 meters to go the green jersey attacked I followed then jumped out of her slipstream and managed to take first on the sprint. The next bell I got stuck on front did a hard pull, a CRCA rider came around me, I caught her wheel then countered her move again, that lap was a photo finish and the judges had to replay the footage to see who took it, in the end I was 2nd but it moved me up from 6th in the points competition to 2nd. The women were awfully twitchy in this race, 3 crashes one of which I only barely avoided and 3 near crashes. Ivy Luhrs hit her brakes trying to avoid the crash in front of her, this caused me to plow my front skewer into her derailleur, my back wheel came up and it was a near endo for me before I was able to shift my weight back to get the wheel back down. The other 2 times were when I cross wheeled with someone because they either hit their brakes or swerved into me through the corners. One of those cross wheels happened on the final lap and caused me to slip from near front of the pack to the back, taking 28th. Overall I took 19th out of starting group of 61 women, Managed to get 2nd in the points competition and made a lot people pay for their lack of attention on day 3. Great fun and good memories!!



Special thanks to Tom Luther (Applauds) who along with others form NorEast Cycling worked the feed zone for fellow NorEast'ers.



To our sponsors thank you! SmuttyNose (who made one girl smile when we were suffering through the climbs on day 3), Timberland, la Festa, Papa Wheelies, Exter Cycles, Portsmouth Brewery and the other great sponsors that make it possible for me and others to race under the NorEast banner!! Maybe next year I'll be able to break through to a top 3 GC finish!!



So there you have it ladies and gents, my race report