Tour of California Women’s Criterium

(by Giana Roberge, PROMAN/Paradigm, Team Speed Queen)

Showcasing women’s racing, the inaugural Women’s Tour of California Criterium had a strong show of support from both competitors and fans. Held on the streets of downtown Santa Rosa, the four corner course was longer than a standard criterium course at a little over a mile. With 60 minutes of racing and a very competitive field, the NRC schedule opener was anyone’s to win.

The strong NRC teams were represented with Cheerwine, Tobco, Aaron’s, High Road, and Proman all sending challengers. The regional teams with Metromint, Norcal Velo, and Touchstone all coming out to test themselves against the best in the country.

It was fierce from the gun with primes of substantial cash winnings called out almost every other lap. A few attacks stretched the field, but the eagerness of the teams to see a field sprint brought the group “compacto” to the finish.

Winding it up the last three laps, Cheerwine put on a great show giving their sprinter, Laura Van Gilder a smooth ride to the finish, with Proman equaling their efforts for their sprinter, Shelley Olds. A final big effort by Olds’ teammate Megan Guarnier saw Olds finding Miller and Van Gilder’s wheels in the final turn. Tucked tightly in the group of sprinters was the young Swedish rider Emilia Fahlin (Team High Road).

Coming hard out of the final corner, with the city of Santa Rosa cheering the women home, Van Gilder made her bid for the line, with Miller and Fahlin responding. Olds jumped hard to the left and the drag race to the finish was on. Digging deep, Miller swept by Van Gilder with Fahlin making her run at the line for third. Olds came in a strong fourth, with her Proman teammate Virginia Perkins in seventh.

A quick note of thanks to the city of Santa Rosa for hosting a women’s race in downtown, as well to Laura Charmeda, race director, for ensuring that the women received a strong support from the media, spectators and sponsors. The race can only be considered a success, and hopefully it bodes well for additional racing for the women’s teams surrounding the Tour of California in the future.

Does Proman have what it takes to win?

(By Giana Roberge)

As the 2008 preseason begins and thoughts turn toward racing, it is time to evaluate the Proman recipe for success. What makes a cycling team or any partnership successful? Everyone knows that cycling is about teamwork, but what is the essence of teamwork? Why does one partnership win when another blessed with the same quality equipment, talent, and financial support not see the same successes?

Teamwork is the combined effort of the group to achieve a common goal. Key components to the formula are that the common goal is agreed upon by every person in the collective, and that each person in the team works, to the fullest of their ability, to achieve the goal. If there is one person within the group who has any hesitation about the goal, and does not fully commit to the achievement of that goal, the team will not succeed. There will be distrust within the group should one member hold anything back for herself. All people must believe that the common goal of the team is going to benefit each individual as well, and be willing to sacrifice her own personal goals for the betterment of the group as a whole.

In this day of individualism and the destruction of the nuclear family, it is a rare thing to find a group of people all in agreement on working toward a common goal that does not have the individual front and center. Even the amazing Discovery Team had Lance front and center; every athlete knows that Lance would not have had the palmares he did were it not for the hard work, dedication and sacrifice from his Discovery Teammates.

When the group coalesces it is magic and the magic is contagious. Once the group believes in the formula, they can overcome almost any challenge. I have been blessed to work with two teams that have woven this magic. The first was the 2001 – 2003 Saturn Team. We used to say, “It does not matter who wins the race, as long as it is a Saturn Jersey on the Podium.” With this as our mantra we won the World Cup Series twice and were the Number One ranked UCI Team for two consecutive years. The second team is the Proman Squad. The mutual respect and teamwork begins at the top with Niki and me working side by side to ensure that our teammates have what they need to achieve the goals of the team. We work to balance personal goals with those of the group and in return ask each teammate to set aside her own goals when asked in order to form a cohesive, winning team unit.

A good team and a great team are separated by fractions of an inch at the finish line. Riders on a great team will fight until they are empty to ensure a team victory, whereas an athlete on a good team will keep something in reserve for herself just in case she finds herself in a place to capitalize on an opportunity leading to personal success. It is difficult to teach personal sacrifice for the betterment of the team; those who ride it, live it in their daily lives and treat all of humanity as part of their community with respect, love and trust. When asked to sacrifice for the team, they are willing to do so, trusting that their work will benefit the unit and in doing so, ensure the continuation of the team and therefore benefit them and their sport.

The teamwork formula is delicate. Tread upon by disrespect, dishonesty, or selfishness, it us uprooted, shattered in dismay and can rarely be rebuilt. I have been witness to this many times. Big years, like Olympic years, pose real threats to teamwork. Although an individual qualifies to represent her country at the Olympics it requires a team to get her there. Lean sponsorship years also wreak havoc with a cohesive team unit. When there is less to go around, the typical response is one of individual greed, and in doing so the individual shorts her teammates, thereby denying the necessary ingredients for the team’s success.

Teamwork requires each individual to come to the group with trust in the mission, love for their sport and an understanding of what is required of them as members of the team. The 2008 Proman squad will be tested in the year to come, but I am confident that the team that Niki and I have assembled from our sponsors, to our athletes, to our partners has what is required to face the challenges head on and finish at the top of life’s podium.

invitation for Q & A

After a 20 year pro cycling career including 2 overall wins in the NVGP, I'm retired from cycling and running a bike store & transport planning in Palmerston North New Zealand. If you have any questions about the NVGP or pro cycling you would like me to try and answer, please fire away. Regards, John

From the Director's Seat

I had the honor of directing the Saturn Women and assisting the Saturn Men to wins at the 2003 Nature Valley Grand Prix. As a director, you are privvy to an inside look at the mechanics of a race - from the volunteer organization, to the sponsorship side, to the official's handling of the actual race, to the promotion of the race to the media, to the host housing, etc. Many riders do not realize the tremendous amount of work that a crew of several hundred people put into the NVGP.

The army of volunteers, officials, media required to ensure the continuance of this event in such mainstream cities has been so successful, in my observation, due to two reasons. The first is the leadership that David LaPorte provides to his staff and support he provides to the teams. The second is the hard work of all the staff; their love of the sport and appreciation for having the some of the top athletes in the world compete in their backyard.

David and I got to know each other when I received a phone call from him asking for ideas on how to draw more women to his race. Way back when (2000, 2001, 2002) NVGP and the HP Women's Challenge (back then one of the top women's Tours on the UCI calendar) overlapped. David tried to entice women with prize money - but that did nothing to peak the teams' interest.

After much brainstorming, David and I created a laundry list of ideas to draw the women's teams. Many still exist today (The Yoplait Women's Summit, for instance). David's hard work and dedication to the women's teams has paid off nicely. NVGP is one of the highest regarded races on the women's calendar, and to win a stage or be in the top ten on GC, or a jersey winner, is a very high honor on a woman's palmares. NVGP is what I would consider the crown jewell in the Women's Prestige Series, and rightly so. It tests all types of athletic abilities, and requires not only all around talent, but a strong tactical plan, and a dedicated team.

But I digress. The year that I mention in the preface to this blog submission the Saturn Team had the honor of being on the top of the podium in both the men's and the women's race. Both races were spectacular. In the men's race the Saturn Team passed the jersey from Viktor Rapinski to Trent Klasna as Trent handily won the final stage. It was Katie Mactier taking home the honor of NVGP champion with an outstanding ride in both the Time Trial and Saturday's road race.

However, the race that year was an exhausting one. We began the race by putting the riders on a plane in Philadelphia, PA, then the staff breaking every speed limit out there to get all the vehicles necessary to MN. The race began that year up in the Iron Mountain Range - a far bit from St. Paul. Although beautiful and challenging, the amount of transfers wore on everyone - staff, riders, officials, and race crew. When David asked me what changes I would like to see, like many teams' staff members, I said "Please, not so much driving - hard on riders, harder on staff."

And like a great leader, David concured, and the following year the race was far more manageable, yet retained its challenging courses and state-wide fan base. And that is only one of the reasons why the Nature Valley Grand Prix will always be one of America's top events: a race director who listens and adapts to the teams' needs instills trust with the teams, and support within the competitive cycling community. David can count on the best athletes of the country duking it out at the NVGP, and can sell that to sponsors and the media. This in turn brings more awareness to the sport, and more positive support of our sport. This becomes an upward spiral, benefiting all involved.

In 2008 I will return to Nature Valley, with the Proman Women's Team in tow. I am excited to return to a race I have such fond memories of and to see how it has grown. I feel like I knew the NVGP when it was just a small child and now it has matured into a young adult. MN - here we come!