Joe Martin Stage Race : Stage 2

Some of my teammates went for a spin to get coffee this morning.  I stayed back.  Moments after they left, I heard, and felt thunder reverberating through my hotel room.  Then it started to pour outside.  Good choice to stay back.  Lucky choice.

The beginning of the race was going to be wet and chilly.  This is how I got prepared:

1. a) Embrocation on: 

      my arms

     my legs

     my feet

     my chest

     my, ahem, glutes

     and a little behind my ears.

1. b) I slathered a thick layer of petrolium jelly over my legs to make sure the embro would stay on through the rain, and to create an extra barrier against the cold.

2. I wore latex gloves underneath my long-fingered gloves
3. I taped the holes in the bottom of my Specialized S-Works shoes with electrical tape

Good news. The whole scheme worked.  I was comfortable the whole race.

None of the day's attacks stayed away.  But my teammate Lauren Romanski stayed away SOLO the last few miles, and it was cool to see her gain over 20s.  The field caught her just before the end of the race.  Our finish wasn't very spectacular...we didn't manage to get on the podium or score any bonus seconds.

There are 2 days left though.  We've got some work to do, and we're looking forward to it.

Joe Martin Stage Race: Stage 1

Stage 1 at the Joe Martin Stage Race presented by Nature Valley is a 4km uphill time trial.  The course reminds me of my favorite place in the world to ride: The Parc National de la Mauricie just north of Shawinigan, Québec in Canada.

I was the third rider off today. Our team director Kurt Stockton said I was sitting in the HOTSEAT (first place) for quite a while. I had no clue though, I was busy racing.  Plus by the end, I was oblivious to almost everything but the feeling in my legs anyway (which was "BURN").  I was juicing out every last ounce of effort that I had left in me.  Heck, I was going so hard that my field of vision was reduced to probably something around 5 degrees. 

I just read a motorcycle driving manual a couple of days ago that stated: for every 15km/h faster you go, your field of vision is reduced by 20%.  I won't do the calculation here but I don't think this rule applied to me today... the PAIN factor overrode it.

I was one of the 5 riders to finish in under 10 minutes. (Finishing in 5th, just like I did in 2011!). My teammate Alison Powers just barely missed the victory but had an EXCELLENT ride and finished in 2nd.  NOW and Novartis for MS is now in the first place for the team classification.

But there are three stages to go, and we want that leader's jersey...

Joe Martin Stage Race 2012 Wrap-Up: PINK, GREEN, WHITE, and perhaps best of all, ORANGE.

The fourth and final stage of the Joe Martin Stage Race is a criterium on a course that I love: a few downhill sections and a great kicker and some tight, but not too tight, corners.

Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies successfully defended all 3 leader’s jerseys.  The jerseys switched hands a few times amongst our riders during the Joe Martin Stage Race

·          The pink leader’s jersey (or winner’s jersey, in other words) was passed from Carmen’s shoulders on to Jade Wilcoxson in the 4^th and final stage.  Carmen had also started out with the green points jersey, but the way our strategy played out, Jade also ended up in green at the end of the stage race.

·          Emma Grant began the stage race with the white jersey (for the best rider under 23 years of age) which was passed on to our teammate Courteney Lowe on day 2.  After riding up in the break for the 4^th and final stage, the jersey was passed back to Emma. 

·          We rode aggressive, sometimes we rode defensively (I can admit that I find that part significantly less fun then when we get to launch attacks like a wild storm of bombshells, but it’s part of the game).  Some of us went up the road and some of us stayed back to make sure the right people were chasing. 

I’m happy with the way the race turned out.  We all rode hard, we all rode strong, and we all did our jobs.  Our team director, Rachel Heal cooked up some excellent plans of attack, our mechanic Adrian Hedderman maintained our bikes in perfect condition and spruced up the leader’s bikes with matching bartape and barhoods, and our soigneur Jeremy Fliss helped us recover with primo massages after every race, and his notoriously excellent sandwiches.

Good job team, we got the pink jersey, the green jersey, the white jersey, and we’re all proud to have OPTUM ORANGE on our backs!

Stage 2: Joe Martin Stage Race 2012

Stage two of the 35th annual Joe Martin Stage Race was tough, because we wanted it to be tough.

After lots of attacks, counter attacks, getting away from the peloton and being dragged back by the other teams, (even Anna Barensfeld who was sick as a dog blasted off the front and made the pack hurt several times, what a champ!) Carmen Small, Courteney Lowe, and Jade Wilcoxson got away with one rider from team Rouse.  I was in the chase group with Emma Grant who was wearing the white jersey, as the leader of the Best Young Rider Classification.

The break stayed away and we let FCS-Rouse, the Colombian National Team and Tibco do the chasing.  Emma rode strong through the last section of the course, winning the bunch sprint with me on her wheel (5th and 6th place).  Up ahead, Carmen had won the race, Jade got 3rd, and Courteney came in 4th.  Annie and Anna who sacrificed everything for the team raced in afterwards.  Textbook teamwork. 

Optum Pro Cycling now has all three leader's jerseys.  Carmen is in the Pink Leader's Jersey and has the Green Sprinter's Jersey as well, and the White Best Young Rider's Jersey was passed over from Emma to Courteney (who won it in the 2011 edition as well!)

It wasn't an easy day, and that's what made it so fun. 

Joe Martin Stage Race Prologue 2012.

Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies is in first place for team classification after the stage one prologue at the Joe Martin Stage Race.  How did we do it?  Super aero and light gear from Orbea and HED, perfect warm-up on Kinetic Trainers, fuel from Clif, and good ol' piston power.

Carmen Small is our top rider in 4th place follwed closely by Jade Wilcoxson in 5th. Anna Barensfeld is in 7th, and I just missed top 10, coming in in 11th.  There are two road races, and a criterium to come.  This is going to be fun.

The full results:

1	Amanda Miller (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:09:59.47
2	Kathryn Donovan (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:01.12
3	Maria Luisa (Colombian National Team)	0:00:02.41
4	Carmen Small (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:03.49
5	Jade Wilcoxson (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:08.35
6	Anna Sanders (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:16.88
7	Anna Barensfeld (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:20.54
8	Rachel Warner (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:21.95
9	Lauren Hall (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:00:22.74
10	Lauren Stephens (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:00:28.52
11	Lex Albrecht (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:36.01
12	Jennifer Wheeler (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:00:39.67
13	Emma Grant (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:00:44.02
14	Katherine Williams (Team Belladium)	0:00:48.45
15	Amity Elliot (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:00:59.14
16	Cara Gillis (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:00:59.82
17	Courteney Lowe (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:01:01.87
18	Joy McCulloch (Helen's Racing)	0:01:14.53
19	Scotti Wilborne (Leborne)	0:01:16.21
20	Jennifer Purcell (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:17.97
21	Annie Ewart (Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies)	0:01:19.04
22	Jerika Hutchinson (Fremont Bank Cycling Team)	0:01:21.28
23	Meredith Miller (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:26.30
24	Jessica Prinner (Hotter'N Hell Hundred)	0:01:34.46
25	Samantha Schneider (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:37.31
26	Amy McGuire (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:01:44.16
27	Kendall Ryan (TIBCO - To The Top)	0:01:48.45
28	Kim Jennings (Bicycles Outback p/b Jubilee Mitsubishi)	0:01:50.75
29	Lauren De Crescenzo (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:01:55.43
30	Jennifer Perricone (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:06.41
31	Mary Maroon (FCS-Rouse  p/b Mr Restore)	0:02:13.64
32	Jennifer Mix (787 Racing)	0:02:27.24
33	Krystal McNutt (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:32.63
34	Lindsey Durst (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:40.32
35	Jacqueline Denny (Team Kenda p/b Geargrinder)	0:02:48.41
36	Michelle Montoya (Bicycles Outback p/b Jubilee Mitsubishi)	0:04:32.15