Fitchburg Journal

By Karen Ulrich

Day One—The Time Trial

With the cat. 3’s and 4’s racing together this year, the field grew to 82. There were lots of names that were new to me, and other than the reputable Silke Wunderwald (Mystic Velo), I wasn’t sure what to expect. The TT course was different, ending with an ascent to the Wachusett Mountain parking lot, but I’d ridden a few local TT’s at Frenchtown, NJ, and had trained hard, so was ready for this and got the jersey with 17:08. Silke wasn’t too far behind with 17:26. Sally Annis (NEBC/Cycleloft) took third with 17:33.

Day Two—College Circuit Race

The majority of the field stayed together on this one, though there were a couple of crashes that helped break things up. I wasn’t sure if Silke would try to get away, so I stayed close. The powerhouse Joanna Peters who was 12th in the GC took all three sprints and got the green jersey, it seemed no one could match her speed. And on the last lap Natalie Dumont of Wheelworks, sailed away up the second tier and finished with a six second gap. Nice.

Day Three—Wachusett Mountain Road Race

I lost the jersey here last year, when Laura Spector slipped away after the Feed, so I knew I had to be careful. We started slow, but Peters had no interest in maintaining such a pace and got the girls riding hard. I had my eyes on the top five in the GC, and saw everyone riding near the front, expect for Annis, who was quietly tucked away in the pack.

The pace was nice and steady up the Feed Zone hill, and to no one’s surprise, Peters took both sprints, seemingly without effort. We were neutralized on the third lap, after the descent, and again on the final lap between the Feed and the KOM. There were a few attacks, but nothing stuck, it seemed most were saving it for the final climb.

When they let us resume, Julie Bellerose (Salon XL/AAVC) attacked off the front, and since she wasn’t in the top five (but was 6th) in the GC, I wasn’t going to chase her down. Silke got on the front and narrowed the gap, but Bellerose still had a slight advantage when we turned into the final climb.

I’m not sure how many were in our group but there were around five in front of me that stayed together for nearly half the climb. Sometime before the final right turn into hell, where one can hear the announcer that still sounds so far far away, at the point where the road gets steep, I began to slip back as I watched Silke and a few others ride on. I gave it all I had, but it wasn’t enough to match the strength of the two sitting behind me on the GC. Sally Annis took off and finished first with a 12 second gap (amazing!) on Silke who took second. I’d lost the orange jersey again and dropped down to third, this time 41 seconds behind first, a substantial gap. Darcy McGuire (Team International) took third and moved from 7th to 5th in the GC. Nice job ladies!

Day Four—Workers Credit Union Downtown Criterium

Since I didn’t expect that I could lap the field and close down a 41 or 29-second gap, I wanted to ride safe and secure a spot on the podium. Much to our dismay, it started to rain as they called us up to the line, and through it’s a great course, there’s lots of wide bands of paint on the road. It was a bit of a crash-fest; I’d heard that girls went down soon after the whistle was blown. With the ground barely wet, at this point, I was hoping for pouring rain, which we soon got.

I was feeling good, but when my wheel slipped and my crank hit the ground on the top turn, I stayed upright, but the experience definitely shadowed any thought of a last lap attack. The amazing Peters took four out of five sprints, and only missed the last because she crashed with a few laps to go (though she did finish with a borrowed bike and secured her green jersey).

The race finished with a field sprint, which was won by Eve McNeil (Harvard University). Sally Annis took second, and Wheelworks took third and forth—Kathryne Carr and Natalie Dumont.

Annis took first in the GC, followed by Silke in second, and me in third.

It was an amazing experience and the women were great—so supportive, encouraging, and strong. I’d like to thank them all for such a positive experience. I’d also like to thank Coach Carlos Restrepo, without whom this couldn’t have been done. And much love to Team Comedy Central/New Canaan Cyclery, for all their awesome support.