Nature Valley Grand Prix to Air on Universal Sports

Top ranked stage race featured dramatic finishes in men’s and women’s races

The Nature Valley Grand Prix, the top race on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar held on June 10 - 14, will air on Universal Sports, the event’s worldwide broadcast partner. Originally slotted for a half hour, the program has been expanded to a full hour because there were far too many compelling story lines to cover in the shorter program. Airings will be:

Saturday, 6/27, 2:00 PM
Sunday, 6/28, 6:00 PM
Tuesday, 6/30, 11:00 AM
Sunday, 7/5, 4:00 PM
Monday, 7/6, 6:00 PM

(All Eastern Time)

This was three-time defending champion Kristin Armstrong’s last race in the United States before her retirement after the World Championships at the end of September in Mendrisio, Switzerland. With none of her Cervelo Test Team teammates to support her, Armstrong faced the daunting challenge of a stacked peloton that seemed to be on a unified mission to deny Armstrong her fourth consecutive win. She maintained the yellow jersey at the penultimate stage in Mankato, but by only 11 seconds. The race was decided with a dramatic finish in the Stillwater Criterium.

http://www.minnbikefest.com/NVGP/Results/2009NatureValleyGrandPrixResults/St6Women/tabid/102/Default.aspx

Following the race, Armstrong took the microphone and said an emotional “Farewell” to US racing. After her retirement, she’ll focus her efforts on the Kristin Armstrong Academy, a development program for women under the age of 23.

http://www.KristinArmstrongAcademey.com

The men’s race was equally dramatic, with Bissell’s Tom Zirbel taking the lead over Rory Sutherland (OUCH) at the opening time trial. Zirbel, an unlikely challenger at 6’4” and 198 pounds, held the lead through the Mankato Road Race, despite the extreme hill on that race’s finishing circuit. The race was settled at the brutal Stillwater Criterium, where Sutherland’s teammate Floyd Landis played a key role, earning Landis the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider jersey and setting up a dramatic finish.

http://www.minnbikefest.com/NVGP/Results/2009NatureValleyGrandPrixResults/St6Men/tabid/103/Default.aspx

The program will also stream from www.UniversalSports.com

About the Minnesota Bicycle Festival & Nature Valley Grand Prix

The Minnesota Bicycle Festival is one of the nation’s top celebrations of the bicycle culture, with tens of thousands of cycling enthusiasts, pro athletes and avid recreational riders converging on Minnesota each June. Its professional racing event, the Nature Valley Grand Prix, began as a one-day criterium in Saint Paul in 1999. Ranked as the premier stage race on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar, the 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix included stops in Saint Paul, Cannon Falls, Minneapolis, Mankato and Stillwater. The Minnesota Bicycle Festival is a volunteer run event, with all proceeds donated to Children’s Hospital’s and Clinics of Minnesota, the festival’s benefiting charity. For more information, visit www.minnbikefestival.com/.

About Nature Valley

Nature Valley, the brand that created the granola bar category in 1975, brings great taste to healthy, active consumers looking for wholesome snacks. Nature Valley comes in a variety of delicious bars, Crunchy Granola, Trail Mix Chewy Granola, Chewy Granola with Yogurt Coating and Sweet & Salty Nut Bars. Visit www.NatureValley.com

About Universal Sports

Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related and lifestyle sports programming available on television and online. Universal Sports is a 24-hour television channel available in 45 million television households in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Reno and Omaha. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.

A Successful Race

Team Type 1’s Jacquelyn Crowell finished her second Nature Valley Grand Prix in 56th place, 13:33 behind overall winner Kirstin Armstrong. Throughout the event, the University of Florida student (pictured below, middle, with teammates Alison Powers and Kori Seehafer) shared her experiences. This is her final entry.



These last two days have been tough, but there was an end in sight. Now it’s over. Looking back, we accomplished a lot as a team. Ali (Alison Powers) got third on the general classification, which was awesome and it makes me proud to be part of Team Type 1.

Our team raced well and we’re learning more about each other every race. We’re getting better. As long as we’re getting better, we’re successful. So this race was a success.

Saturday’s Mankato Road Race was tough because I haven’t ridden over two-and-a-half hours in nearly two months. I’ve just been racing and I wasn’t able to crash after my crash in Wilmington. So I’ve just been going from race to race and not really training. So the 91 miles was really tough for me. Of course, the finishing circuits were horrible because I haven’t seen a hill since Collegiate Nationals in Fort Collins, Colo., and before that at the Redlands Bicycle Classic. So it’s tough coming from the flatlands and trying to compete.

Sunday, I went into the race with a more relaxed outlook. It was the last day and the end was in sight. You only had to do three laps to finish the stage race. I got pulled after seven or eight laps. But I lived. I’m happy about that. Now I get some time off. I get to start training again and it will be a perfect ramp-up for nationals.

It’s been a great experience sharing my story with everyone. I’m glad that there’s an interest out there to see what Team Type 1 has to offer the sport. It is the spectators who keep it alive and fun. It was awesome going up the big hill Sunday and having people cheer and many of them don’t even know who you are. It makes it so much better for the riders. You’re in so much pain, but when they’re cheering for you, it gives you that extra boost.

I saw a lot of amateur women riding around before the race Sunday and hope we’re an inspiration to all women out there that we can do this too and achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl or how old you are – you can go out there and be competitive.

Until next year, take care.

A Grand Finale

Carson Miller, racing in the NVGP for Land Rover-Orbea, has provided us with another entry after yesterday's final stage in Stillwater. Enjoy!

Today's stage unfolded in spectacular fashion. Straight out of the blocks, and all 140+ starters were sprinting up Chilkoot Hill, trying to make up positions, after being stuck on the starting grid for what seemed to be an eternity. I think that the first trip up the hill, was also the last time we were all together. While the group seems to usually maintain a fairly low rate of attrition for the first half of a criterium, today was an exception.

No where was the magnitude of the day's extreme demand more obvious than in the race officials generous time-cut; requiring that riders only complete 25% of the 20 lap race. Yes, after only 5 laps of racing, riders were eligible for a pro-rated time. What a deal! Although I had no intention of using such a generous time cut, it turns out that I benefited from such generosity.

Before the race started, I knew that I would be facing up to one of the hardest criteriums in the country. The Stillwater crit is something of a legend in the domestic peloton, as everyone knows of and about, the Chilkoot Hill. At 250 meters with an average gradient of 18%, and ramps as steep as 20%, each lap would be a brutal test of mental and physical strength. With my warm-up completed, and the legs feeling ready for one last fight, I picked up a fresh ice-cold bottle of Hammer Heed before making my way onto the starting grid. Seems the entire field, except for a few of us, believed that a good start position would be worth more than a good warm-up. Huh. Interesting idea, and I am not sure which ended up prevailing, as the truth is that we always end up sitting around for a good number of minutes before the race gets started.

I was going to be in the last row no matter what. With everyone else ahead of me, I had to accept this. My teammate Jim Camut, also found himself in a similar situation. We decided that if we were going to be last, we might as well keep the legs moving. Rather than sitting on the line with one foot down, Jim and I rode our bikes in slow and lazy circles behind the nervous peloton. A few others joined, making for an almost comical looking side show. Inside of 10 seconds to go, and Jim and I were executing track-stands right behind the field; ready to explode into the race, with both of our feel already clipped into the pedals.

The first time racing up the hill was brutal. Imagine sitting in your car, simply idling at a stop sign, and in one instant, you stomp on the accelerator, and drop the clutch. Yeah, a real shock to the system. From a comfortable track-stand with my heart-rate hovering around 80-90 beats per minute, I exploded into the race. Over the top of the hill, and I couldn't pump enough blood through my body.

Within the next few laps, I began to feel settled in the race. The rhythm of each lap was starting to flow, and I knew what points on the course were my strongest and weakest. As I began to work my way forward through the field, I was feeling better with each passing lap. Those first few laps, as I got into the race, I was ready for a battle right up to the end. Ready to fight hard, and to suffer. Coming over the top of the course on my second or third lap, (I don't remember the exact one) I came across a group of riders who had gone down. Ordinarily, I would have ridden straight passed. In this situation, I found my teammate, and potential U23, winner Bobby Sweeting picking himself up with his bike.

Before I even came up to them, I had already gone into "autopilot." I had shifted my bike all the way to the hardest gear, 53x11, to ease the changing of wheels should that become necessary. A quick exchange of words with Bobby, and I knew he was good. As he wheeled off to the pits for his free-lap while sorting out any unnoticed mechanical issues, I was being harassed by an official. All he seemed to see was that I had stopped despite not crashing. After listing to repeated yells along the lines of, "Number 113, you did not crash! You will not receive a free lap. You must continue..." I rolled off. Of course I knew I didn't crash, and I wasn't looking for a free lap. I was looking after my teammate who stood to win, or lose, more than I did.

A few more laps of riding, and the hard charging field was coming up behind me. After just 5 laps, I was pulled from the course. Although it was the least of my worries, it turns out that the unusually low time-cut worked in my favor today. Of course, I wasn't really worried about how I finished, but it is nice to at least know what I made it, technically. If I had ridden all the way, who knows how things would have turned out.

In the end, my teammate Bobby Sweeting won the U23 competition, and Mike Northey followed yesterday's strong ride with another big performance today. By limiting his losses, Mike finishes the week 3rd on the U23 race. This last week has been a fantastic week of racing and experiencing Minnesota. For many of us, this year was our first time racing in the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The racing has proven to be some of the best, and I will look forward to coming back for more racing in the years to come.

Thanks for reading and thanks for following along with me this week.

Keep the Rubber Side Down,

C-

Stage 6: Women's Race Report and GC

Kristin Armstrong Wins Fourth Nature Valley Grand Prix Title With A Teary Goodbye At Her Last American Race

By Cynthia Lou

Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) may have fiercely defended her yellow jersey at the Stillwater Criterium, leaping off the start line with determination in her eyes, but she left the Nature Valley Grand Prix well decorated and with a teary goodbye at the last American race of her career. A triumphant end to a win-filled career, Armstrong won the overall general classification, the Jelly Belly Sports Beans Best Climber Jersey and the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) and Andrea Dvorak (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) followed Armstrong’s attack in the second lap to take second and third for the stage, respectively.



Kristin Armstrong (Cervelo Test Team) raises a pumped fist as she crossed the finish line to win Stage 6 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Armstrong also won the general classification in her final pro race in America. Photo by: Matt Moses Images

A quickly shattered field saw mix ups in the final general classification, with Olds moving to second overall and Allison Powers of Team Type 1 moving up to take third overall.

“I had a lot of nerves today, thinking that it was my last race in America and knowing I had only 12, 11 seconds – there’s just no room for mishaps, mechanical or anything,” said Armstrong. “I rode up that first hill at 85% to string it out. I wasn’t worried about who would work with me or who wouldn’t. I looked at it as an hour race, and knew that I didn’t want to leave it up to the last climb.”

“Those girls were there, and they really worked to stay on. I didn’t want to leave them so the peloton would catch them,” said Armstrong, ever the mentor, who waited patiently until the last few laps. “I thought that if I waited until the last lap they would be able to hold off the peloton that was about 45 seconds back. I really respect Andrea Dvorak from Colavita and Shelley Olds from Proman, they are both up and coming talent in America. I was happy to have them up on the podium with me.”

It seems that Armstrong’s determination and climbing abilities are widely known by everyone.

“Kristin was keeping a good tempo up the hills – she was just practicing for Worlds or something!” Olds said with a laugh. “I would have loved to have helped, but it took us the whole downhill to recover.”

Olds went home with the Wheaties Sprint Jersey and a second overall on the general classification. “I knew that if I could stay on Kristin’s wheel – which was inevitable – that I could settle in to a good pace. This is the kind of race that you have to settle in to, and everyone else is going through the same thing, so if you can settle into it with a gap, then you just have to keep reminding yourself to keep going...I had my director in my ear reminding me to chill, keep my own tempo, stick with them on the climb.”

On the famous 700 meter long Chilkoot Hill that averages a 22% grade, the role of directors play a huge role in inspiring and motivating their riders in addition to relaying messages and tactics.

“I knew to line up near Kristin,” said third place finisher and breakaway companion Dvorak. “When [Armstrong] started to go up the road with Shelley and get a little gap, my director said into my ear, ‘Close that gap, close that gap! It’ll be worth your while.’ So I put in an effort, caught them, and off we went.”

Often times it’s necessary for riders to generate their own internal inspiration, which has been the case for a teammate-free Armstrong throughout the race.

“Originally I was going to go out from the gun, but I ended up going the 85% to calm my nerves. When I saw it was strung out I felt that I had some control back and took it as hard as I could on the second lap.”

Sometimes the mental game of a race like this is to simply go for it and do your best, as was the case for APC’s Best Young Rider Jersey winner Amanda Miller (Lip Smacker).

“Today was a race of attrition. I was just riding, and I didn’t even know where the leader was,” said Miller, who wasn’t aware she had won when she crossed the finish line. “I didn’t find out until I got back down here [to the announcers stage].”

Team Tibco put in stellar performances throughout the week, winning the Team Competition by taking a stage victory and racing consistently and aggressively every day. The Nature Valley Top Amateur Jersey went to Sydney Brown (Nature Valley Cycling Team).

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is also the third stop of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. Allison Powers (Team Type 1) was the new Overall Leader as well as the Sprint Jersey Leader, while the Women’s Prestige Series Best Young Rider Jersey went to Rebecca Much (Webcor Builders).

Men's Race Results: Stage Six & GC

Sutherland repeats; Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness shines in last stage of Nature Valley

By James Lockwood

In cycling, sometimes it’s more about your opponent’s weaknesses than your own strengths that can win you the race.

Going into the last stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, only seven seconds separated Bissell Pro Cycling’s Tom Zirbel from OUCH-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland. But, in terms of racing tactics, that gap turned out to be greater.

Sutherland used his teammates to lead him out two laps to go at the bottom of the infamous Chilkoot Hill in the Stillwater Criterium to launch him ahead of Zirbel, who got caught out of position behind Sutherland’s teammates and had to dig deep to match Sutherland’s momentum.

The tactic was enough to propel Sutherland, the defending champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, 10 seconds ahead of Zirbel at the finish and win him the overall championship of the Nature Valley Grand Prix by three seconds.

“We had our plan this week, and we were always just one off,” Rory said. “Finally, we made our plan work.”

“Our tactic was to go as hard as we could the last three laps,” OUCH-Maxxis director Mike Tamayo said. “We knew what Zirbel’s weaknesses were. We wanted to make it really hard going up the hill and then set a blistering pace going downhill.

“We knew that going into that hill few people could stay with Rory. So, we set a lead out for Rory to go as hard as he could.”

Zirbel said he got caught in that lead out, having to check his breaks behind Sutherland’s teammates, and that little loss of momentum made the difference between first and second overall.

“It was a matter of exploiting my weakness,” said a visibly dejected Zirbel after the race. “They used their legs, and they used their tactics.

“Today, it wasn’t for a lack of legs that I lost. If I could have kept the momentum going up the hill, I could have stayed with Rory. They are smart racers.”

Zirbel’s teammate, Ben Jacques-Maynes, had other words to describe OUCH’s tactics. He accused OUCH-Maxxis of purposely checking their brakes coming out of the last corner going into the hill, forcing Zirbel to brake while Sutherland accelerated.

“Winning with their legs wasn’t going to win it for them,” said Jacques-Maynes, who last year lost to the jersey to Sutherland in the second to last stage. “[Zirbel] should hold his head up high. He was awesome.”

On the day, Sutherland finished third and Zirbel fifth. Both came behind Phillip Mamos of Amore & Vita presented by Life Time Fitness-Velo Vie, who sprinted up the finishing climb to win by two seconds ahead of Anthony Colby of Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light and Sutherland. Zirbel finished in a group of three with Luis Romero Amaran and Tyler Wren, both teammates of Colby.

It was Colby’s attack with five laps to go near the top of the 6th Street climb – coming after Chilkoot Hill and a false flat – that put he and Mamos into a position to win.

“I wasn’t really sure if we would stay away, but I thought, ‘What’s it to [Bissell and OUCH] if I go,” said Colby, who entered the day 42 seconds down to Zirbel. “I tried to stay one step ahead.”

“The Colavita guy attacked, and I was on him,” Mamos, a German living in Italy, said. “Rory comes through, and it was perfect. I knew he was strong, and I thought, ‘Just stay on his wheel.’

“I waited as long as I could, and then I just attacked [Sutherland and Colby]. It was good to win.”



Philip Mamos celebrates his win at the Nature Valley Grand Prix's final Stage 6 in Stillwater on June 14, 2009. Photo credit: Matt Moses Images.

“The goal was to come here to win a stage. We’re very happy,” said Mamos’ teammate, Chad Gerlach, who finished second in the Mankato Road Race and earned the Jelly Belly Sports Beans King of the Hills Jersey.

All day, the riders from Colavita-Sutter Home and Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness worked the break, but it was OUCH’s Tim Johnson and then Floyd Landis who lighted up the day. Johnson, who has been on four winning teams in the Nature Valley Grand Prix going back to the days of Saturn Cycling, started things from the gun in the second lap of the 20-lap race and then was replaced by Landis on lap four. Both men were within a minute of the lead going into the day.

With Landis ahead, Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness sent Volodymyr Starchyk ahead with Colavita-Suttter Homes’ Kyle Walmsley and Jim Camut of Land Rover-Orbea benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The four maintained a tenuous gap of 15 second through half the race until Colavita started sending more riders to up the road.

All the time, Bissell led the peloton, maintaining the gap.

“It’s tough to get a lot of time on that course,” Landis said of his chances to win. His efforts, though, working the break for 10 laps, earned him the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Jersey. “It was a good course for Rory, and a good course for the team.”

Sutherland said it was difficult through the whole stage, mostly because he had to be patient. As Amore & Vita/Life Time Fitness and Colavita-Sutter Home sent guys ahead and worked the break, Sutherland bid his time behind Bissell’s train.

“It’s different to have to wait and hedge your bets,” Sutherland said the OUCH’s plan. “The longer you wait, the more daunting it is.”

“My eyes were closed going through the last two corners, literally. The goal today was to win the race, not the stage,” he said.

Sutherland described the overall victory this year as more nerve-wracking than last.year, when he went into the Stillwater Criterium defending the leader’s jersey rather than chasing it.

“Seven seconds, it’s a pretty long time,” he said. “I’d rather come in sixth than come in second, no disrespect to Tom.”

In fact, there was nothing but accolades for the way Bissell defended the jersey from the start of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

“Bissell did an awesome job,” Sutherland said.

“They did a great job defending,” said his teammate, Johnson.

Other jersey winners on the day included Land Rover-Orbea’s Bob Sweeting, who won the APC Best Young Rider Jersey; Tom Soladay of Team Mountain Khakis presented by EP-No who won the Wheaties Sprinters Jersey; and Matthew Busche of IS Corp Cycling team who won the Nature Valley Best Amateur Jersey.

Nature Valley Rocks Mankato

Carson Miller, racing in the NVGP for Land Rover-Orbea, has provided us with another entry after yesterday's road race in Mankato. Enjoy!

Another stage down, and things are getting better. The last four days of racing have been filled with aggression, tactics, and battles fought down to the final meters of each stage, and today was no different.

Following a gross mis-calculation of the time it would take to drive into Mankato, we pulled into the venue parking lot with no more than 25 minutes before the race was scheduled to start. What followed was mostly-organized chaos that bordered on madness. Somehow, we all managed to get our bikes ready, dressed, and pockets filled with food, all before racing over to the sign-in table via the porta-johns. As the type of person who much prefers to meticulously measure, place, and prepare everything, this test of rapid preparation was perhaps the most stressful part of my whole day.

The race started with a short neutral section as we worked our way out of town, and onto the rolling farm roads that surround Mankato. Those few minutes of easy pedaling were a blessing, as they afforded me the opportunity to get the legs moving, and some blood flow going, all before the racing got up to speed.

Rolling up onto the plateau that surrounds Mankato, and the racing was full throttle. For fifty minutes, the racing was aggressive as riders worked to establish the day's main breakaway, which was almost certain to go. Along with my teammates, we all took turns covering breaks, initiating moves, and hoping that today would be "our day." In the end, it was my team-mate Mike Northey's day. Mike made the key selection with thirteen other riders who would hammer themselves over the course of the next two-and-a-half hours before finishing their efforts on the closing circuits around the streets of Mankato.

For the rest of us in the field, things slowed down. Way down. With no riders or teams taking up the chase, the break quickly built up and almost astronomical advantage of 8 minutes. Finally, the Ciclismo Racing Team took up the pace making, sensing that they had "missed out," and that no other teams were in a position of needing to chase. Coming back into town, the peleton began to gain some impotence, as teams worked to get themselves sorted out for the four finishing circuits around downtown Mankato.

The first time we came through, and the 3 riders who remained from the original group of 14 held just over a three minute advantage on the peleton. As the top GC riders and contenders began taking turns attacking each other, the 3 leaders quickly saw their advantage disintegrate with each climb up the Main St Hill. With 3.5 kilometers remaining, they held just a slim margin of 34 seconds over a select chase group of riders who were being driven by the Bissell Pro Cycling Team, as they worked to protect Tom Zirbel's race lead. At the line, and that advantage had been cut in half.

After a terrific and sensible day of racing off the front, Mike put in some stellar efforts on those closing laps to take 3rd place on the stage, while also taking over the lead in the APC Best Young Rider competition. For all my wanting, trying, and hoping that I would make it into today's break, I am even happier for my teammate Mike and the success that he found on the roads today. Clearly his legs were better than most, and I will look forward to working with my team tomorrow as we work to protect his lead in the APC Best Young Rider competition during th challenging 20 lap race in downtown Stillwater, MN.

With the laundry started, and my eyes drooping, I think we will have to shut down Guitar Hero as I get ready to rest up for one final day of racing here in Minnesota.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all in Stillwater tomorrow afternoon.

Keep the Rubber Side Down,

C-

Stage Six: Stillwater Criterium

The Minnesota Bicycle Festival returns to historic downtown Stillwater for the Grand Finale.

The Stillwater course features a trek up Chilkoot Hill every lap. This lung-busting hill climb along with the heart stopping downhill turns that will stretch the riders’ bike handling skills to their limits combine to give this criterium an international reputation as the hardest in North America.

The pack will shatter on the climbs in Stillwater, with the lead pack shrinking on every lap. The yellow jersey will be under serious pressure, with challengers pushing the pace to try to make the leader crack. The jersey often changes hands on this final day of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Event schedule:

10:30 AM – Expo opens & Stunt Rider Shows
11:00 AM – Kurt Kinetic amateur race
12:00 PM – Women’s Pro/Elite Race: 50 minutes
1:00 PM – Shimano/Hoigaard's Tour de Kids fun race
1:30 PM – Men’s Pro/Elite Race: 60 minutes
3:30 PM – Expo closes

Stage Five: Women's Race Report

Alexis Rhodes Takes The Stage Win At Mankato, Blasting Into Second Overall Just Twelve Seconds Behind Leader Armstrong

By Cynthia Lou

Redemption was sweet for Webcor Builders today. After the unfortunate series of crashes that took them off the podium and out of their competition jerseys at Thursday’s Cannon Falls Road Race, Alexis Rhodes road away from Dotsie Bausch (Jazz Apples) and Brooke Miller (TIBCO) to take the stage win, the Queen of the Mountains Jersey, and the Best Young Rider Jersey. Teammate Kathryn Curi Mattis took the day’s Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider’s Jersey.

“How tough are they to be able to keep fighting and never give up,” beamed Webcor Builder’s director Laura Charmaeda. “Not only did they not give up, but they came out here to stomp the race again. That’s just plain tough.”

Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) extended her lead in the Wheaties Sprint Competition by winning the first two sprints. Sprint competitions three and four were absorbed by the breakaway groups.

While all early attacks were brought back, with TIBCO, Webcor Builders, and Colavita staying active near the front, the attacks picked up approximately 28 miles into the race, after the second Sprint Competition. Webcor Builder’s Kathryn Curi Mattis escaped on a solo breakaway, later joined by Team Type 1’s Veronica Leal, Tibco’s Julie Beveridge, and Lip Smacker’s Jessica Phillips. The break grew to over 2’ 15“, putting Leal in the virtual yellow jersey, before Armstrong fought to bring it back with the help of Colavita.

This was a blessing for Webcor, who took advantage of the opportunity to rest while the break was being reeled back.

"The group of four were caught just as we were turning left into some crosswinds," explained Charmaeda. That’s when I said, ‘Girls, make it hurt now,’ because that’s when you can effectively launch an attack. That’s when Alexis got away."

Dotsie Bausch, Assistant Director and in-race mentor of the professional development squad Jazz Apple Women’s Cycling Team saw the break forming and knew she had to take action. "Marina [Duvnajk] was awesome, she was off the front all day going for break after break, and Steph was back getting bottles. I saw two major teams go, then the third, and I knew we had to get somebody on this so I went for it. I just gritted it out because I wanted to get a podium for the girls."

The four-woman break of Rhodes, Bausch, Brooke Miller (Tibco), and Kelly Benjamin (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) quickly grew to two minutes before the field reacted. Olivia Dillon (Nature Valley Cycling Team) and Nicole Evans (ValueAct Capital) chased for approximately 20 miles until they caught the lead group. Together, the group of six grew their lead to nearly four minutes, with little response from the peloton.

"When the break got up to three minutes forty [seconds], I couldn’t believe that every team out there was happy with this break,“ said Armstrong, explaining that she kept expecting other teams to come forth to help.

Rhodes started the day 2’ 07" behind race leader Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team), secured a 15 second time bonus for her stage victory. When Rhodes and her lead group of six entered the finishing circuits, they were 3’ 10” ahead of the peloton. The lead was whittled down over the course of the four nail-biting two-mile circuits around Mankato that included a one-mile long Queen of the Mountains climb with an average grade of 14%.

“I knew I was climbing really well, and I thought if I could drop Brooke on the last lap that would be good,” said a very calm Rhodes. “But I dropped her on the first lap so I guess, even better. I’m climbing really well at the moment, so I guess the [four laps of the tough QOM] climb were really a blessing in disguise.”

As Rhodes took off, it was a battle between Bausch and Miller for second.



Alexis Rhodes (Webcor Builders) climbs the 14 percent grade, mile-long hill in Mankato on her way to a Stage 5 win in the Nature Valley Grand Prix. (Matt Moses Images)

“I knew that I had to conserve on the downhill,” said Bausch, drawing on her years of experience as a climber. “I just focused on catching Brooke the fourth lap. I knew that if I could just make it to the fourth lap relaxed and with full oxygen I could give it my all up that last climb and all the way down the backside.”

Though there was a lot of excitement around whether or not Armstrong lost the yellow jersey today, the general consensus of the field is that Armstrong will take home her fourth Nature Valley Grand Prix overall win tomorrow evening.

“Kristin is without question the best climber,” said Miller. “One of the things she has in her favor is that tomorrow’s race is everyone for herself. It’s difficult for any kind of team dynamic to play out.”

When asked about challenging Armstrong for the yellow jersey tomorrow, Rhodes replied with a laugh, ”I felt pretty awesome today, but Kristin’s just a class above the rest of us. I’ll try my best to hold her wheel, and we’ll see how it goes.“

Catch the final stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix at the Stillwater Criterium in historic downtown Stillwater, Minn. The festival starts at 10:30 a.m. CDT, with the women’s race beginning at Noon.

Catch the action at http://www.Twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or http://www.minnbikefestival.com/, link "Live Updates" to follow the action live!

Stage Five: Men's Race Report

Amateurs Make Mankato Their Day in Nature Valley Grand Prix, Almost Upsetting Leaders

By James Lockwood

OUCH-Maxxis knew the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix well, having won the course the previous two years in its former incarnation as Health Net.

Bissell Pro Cyling knew this course well, too, having lost the leader’s jersey last year on the course’s mile-long climb during the four laps of the finishing circuit.

So, each knew what to expect from the 92-mile Mankato Road Race. But what transpired surprised most people, turning the showdown between powerhouse North American teams into the amateur hour – or 3 hours and 30 minutes, as the case may be.

Winning one of the biggest races of his career was Wheel & Sprocket’s Andrew Crater, who, at 31, continues to race on an amateur team despite having a professional background. He, along with Chad Gerlach of Amore & Vita presented by Life Time Fitness-Velo Vie and Mike Nothey of Land Rover-Orbea benefitting the Lance Armstrong Foundation outlasted a breakaway of 14 riders to take the top three places in the stage.

It was a move that was initiated 14 miles into the race, and few thought it would go to the end.

“I didn’t know [if we could last],” Nothey said. “I thought we would get caught in the finishing circuit.”

Instead of being caught, the trio finished 17 seconds ahead of a charging pack that included all of the overall contenders, including the current leader, Bissell Pro Cycling’s Tom Zirbel, and his teammate Peter Latham; OUCH-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland; Sebastian Haedo of Colavita-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light; and a host of other riders from Jelly Belly Pro Cycling and Team Type 1.

Zirbel said losing only 17 seconds was good.

“We lucked out,” Zirbel said. “I didn’t think [the break] was going to come back.”

The break that everyone ended up talking about included – at its peak – 14 riders who had built a gap of eight minutes nearly halfway through the race. Zirbell said there seemed little motivation for anyone to initiate a chase, with all five major teams represented, including Jelly Belly’s Jeremy Powers, OUCH-Maxxis’ Tim Johnson, Bissell’s Cody O’Reilly and Kirk O’Bee, Colavita-Sutter Home’s Davide Frattini, and Team Type 1’s Aldo Ino Ilesic.

Not until Fort Collins, Colo., amateur team Ciclismo Racing decided they needed to take charge about 40-miles from the finishing circuit did the gap start to fall. Zirbel tipped his hat to Ciclismo’s work as well as CRCA/Empire Cycling Team presented by Northwave.

“It could have been so much worse,” the Bissell rider said. “The amateur teams went to the front and really brought that break back. We would not have had a chance to catch the break if they hadn’t worked.”

“Today, we really showed we could go up there and tide up front,” said Ciclismo’s Nick Frey, who entered the day leading the points for both the APC Best Young Rider Jersey and the Nature Valley Best Amateur Rider Jersey but lost both on the climb in Mankato.

“We were going really slow about mile 25,” he said. “We assessed who was in the break, and every major team was represented. I thought Colavita might move up for Haedo, but they weren’t willing to sit on the front.

“So, we decided to put two to three guys up front. Then we said, ‘Let’s everyone go to the front.’ We sat up there for 45 miles.”

The assumption was that the guys in the break would not have the energy to finish strong on the two-mile circuit.

“We knew the break was going to be fried going into the finishing circuit,” he said.

As it turned out, they weren’t fried enough.

It wasn’t the group of 14 who were in the break that entered the circuit, though. Instead, it was a more selective group of eight, and of them, it was only O’Bee and Ilesic who remained of the big teams. The group also included Nicholas Clayfield of HagensBermanCycling, Ben Raby of TradeWind Energy/The Trek Stores, and Ty Stanfield of Kenda Pro Cycling presented by Spinergy.

It was Stanfield’s move at the fourh sprint line at mile 64 that created the split and drew out Gerlach, then O’Reilly, Nothey and Crater.

“I was just trying to get something going,” Kenda’s Stanfield said. “The break was going slow. I was hoping to get a little help, and Chad bridged up. Chad was like, ‘Attack the group. Attack the group.’”

It had not been the first move Stanfield had initiated. He and Clayfield had originally missed the move that formed the winning break. Together with local amateur Chris Doig of Flanders/Minnesota Bicycle Racing Club, the three worked over 12 miles to catch the leading 11.

While he ended up being caught by the chase in the finishing circuits, he finished 17 and earned the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Jersey, a target of the team’s coming into the stage.

That jersey could have easily gone to Gerlach. While working with Stanfield to push the pace after the sprint line, Gerlach attacked again at the 78-mile mark with Team Type 1’s Ilesic as they moved for the King of the Hill points. By mile 80 – 2.5 miles from the circuit – Gerlach had dropped Ilesic and moved 30 seconds ahead of the field.

“Today, I felt really good,” he said explaining his solo move. “Those guys just all started to look really slow when it got hilly. Once we were coming into town, it was really cool.”

However, he had never seen the hill in the circuit.

“The hill just hurt,” he said. “I really lost it the third time up the climb.”

It was the second time up that the chasing seven – with Gerlach just up the road – started to split. Nothey made his move, riding away from his fading breakway companions, and Crater dug deep to stay on his wheel.

“I couldn’t attack,” Crater said. “That guy was just going. It was all I could do to stay with him.”

“We were going really slow, or at least I thought,” Nothey said, explaining his move.

Nothey said he thought Gerlach had gone out too early – 10 miles from the finish – to be able to stay away. That spurred him on to catch the Amore & Vite/Life Time Fitness rider.

Once the three hooked up, Crater said it took both patience and pain to win the race.

“I knew I could beat [Nothey] in the sprint if I could stay with him,” Crater said.

“I didn’t want to slow way down and they have to jump,” Gerlach said of his tactics in the final lap. “I know that means I gave a lead-out to Crater.”

“I figured if I could jump in the second to the last turn, I could beat them,” the Wheel & Sprocket rider said.

Even then, the win almost slipped away from him, literally. Coming out of the last corner onto the finishing straight, Crater’s back wheel skipped out from underneath him, giving the rider a momentary scare.



Andrew Crater (Wheel & Sprocket) celebrates his Stage 5 win in the Nature Valley Grand Prix on Saturday, June 13. (Matt Moses Images)

“I figure, you are either going to crash, or you are going to win,” he said. “Today, I won.”

And, for another day, Bissell’s Zirbel took home the leader’s jersey.

“We decided to take a risk and say, ‘We believe in Kirk,’” he said. “All I had to do was follow Rory.

“It worked out in our favor. I didn’t have to work all day until the finishing circuit.”

“It was the plan that we didn’t want to ride tempo,” Bissell road director Eric Wohlberg said. “We wanted to just be in a position where we didn’t have to ride.”

While the team didn’t, Cody and Kirk did, and Wolhberg said that made the difference for the team.

“Cody and Kirk did a fantastic job today. They saved the day for us.”

Going into the final, sixth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix – the Stillwater Criterium featuring the infamous 18-percent-grade Chillkoot Hill – Zirbel maintains his seven-second lead over Sutherland and a 10-second lead over Haedo, while a scrum of 22 riders representing eight teams all are within a minute of the lead.

Post-Race Surprise

Team Type 1’s Jacquelyn Crowell is the only female competitor sharing her behind-the-scenes observations and experiences from start to finish at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Through four stages, she leads the APC Best Young Rider competition (for racers younger than 26) and is 14th overall, 1:19 off the lead.

This entry is a little shorter than my previous ones because the late starts have made for some late nights and we have a long day ahead Saturday.

During Friday night’s Uptown Minneapolis Criterium, we were basically trying to keep it upright and hopefully maintain our position in the overall or move Alison Powers up (she is currently second). I was also allowed to race for myself a little bit, but that didn’t end up happening because I didn’t ride very well.

Our director, Jack Seehafer, let me ride for myself because I am still in the Best Young Rider’s jersey. But my lead is pretty slim – one second, in fact – over Amanda Miller (Lip Smacker® Professional Women's Cycling Team). So I really wanted to get a time bonus. But I ended up not riding, just thinking too much.

After the race, we went out to dinner at an upscale place called Figlio, which was right along the course. I actually had to get up in the middle of the dinner to go to the women’s podium ceremony and receive my Best Young Rider jersey. I returned in time to have a nice dessert that came complete with a sparkler on it. I guess they wanted to honor me because I won something.

After that, we got back to the Team Type 1 van and found it had been tee-peed. It was quite a surprise. I guess this gives us the right to harass all the other teams since we don’t know who did it. But it’s on now!



Saturday’s Mankato Road Race is 91 miles and it’s going to be a long day for us after three days of racing. To have the longest stage of the race this far into the event is going to be tough – mentally and physically. Once I push through that, there’s just the last day (Sunday’s Stillwater Criterium) after that. The end is in sight.

Flying Through Nature Valley

Carson Miller, racing in the NVGP for Land Rover-Orbea, has provided us with another entry after today's Uptown Minneapolis criterium. Enjoy!

Another pleasant and relaxing day here in Minnesota culminated in a blur. With the Nature Valley having been comprised of late afternoon and evening races until now, the riders and teams have begun to settle into a daily routine.

After sleeping in, probably later than normal for most, we awake to our coffee pots which have been pre-programmed to turn on. The coffee is complimented by breakfast and time spent in front of the TV and computer. Some riders check the news, others update their Twitter pages, and the rest of us fill our time with e-mails and phone conversations back to our homes and family.

With breakfast and the first cup of coffee consumed, some riders will head out for an easy one or two hour spin, and the rest of us choose to keep our reclined position on the couch until the last possible moment; only leaving the couch for a massage or to refill the bottle from which we have been drinking out of. As the riders return from their morning rides, they get their turn on the massage table before returning to the couch.

Lunch and a brief nap come next, before we depart for the day's race. Many riders climb into the team vehicle with some snacks and a steaming hot cup of coffee for the drive. Upon arriving at the race, it is go time. With the vehicles staged for the race, riders begin their pre-race routine. Different riders will have a different way of preparing for each day's race, depending on their job for the day, and their style of riding.

This week I have been focusing on trying to find my way to the front end of the race, making and following moves that look to have promise. When I am not covering moves, I have done my best to look after our protected riders, ensuring that they have plenty of food and drinks to get them through the day's stage.

Tonight's criterium was run around downtown Minneapolis on a very fast and fun challenging circuit. With fans lining the entire length of the course, and the battle for the overall General Classification becoming tighter, it was sure to be fast - from the gun. And it was. After spending what seemed like an eternity on the start line, I could feel my heart rate slow, and my legs bristled with goose-bumps. Not exactly what I want to feel. Sitting there with my heart beating only 60 times per minute, I knew that my world was about to be rocked. Out of the blocks, and I was summoning every ounce of strength I had, trying to push the pedals faster and more forcefully.

Twenty minutes passed before I was finally feeling comfortable on my bike, and on the course. The remainder of the evening was a blur as the peleton raced around the course. Near the 1-hour mark, and with 10 laps remaining in the race, several crashes took place. With some riders starting to feel fatigue, while other teams were setting up lead-out trains, the tight corners became chaotic, and I found myself caught out on two separate occasions.

Initially I gave chase, hoping that I would be able to regain contact with the peleton, but realized my efforts were in vain after several laps of riding flat out, only to maintain the same gap between myself and the field. With the writing on the wall, I sat up and rolled across the line. My day ended a little bit early, but I knew that there was no point in wasting energy that will be valuable over the final 2 stages.

With tonight's race behind us, we have returned to our host house for showers and dinner. Tomorrow's stage will be a change of pace as we again hit the open roads of Mankato, MN for nearly 150 kilometers of racing in the middle of the day. Between now and then, I have some serious resting and recovery. Hopefully I can find some freshness in the legs tomorrow, and with that, I might find my way back to the sharp end of the racing.

Thanks for reading. See you all in Mankato tomorrow afternoon.

Keep the Rubber Side Down,

C-

Stage Four: Women's Race Report

Brooke Miller Wins Uptown Minneapolis Criterium; Armstrong Still In Yellow

By Cynthia Lou

No trip to the Nature Valley Grand Prix would be complete for Brooke Miller (Tibco) without a victory, with Miller celebrating a criterium victory two years in a row. Today’s aggressive race to the end saw Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) taking both second place on the podium and the Wheaties Sprint Jersey, while veteran sprinter Laura Van Gilder (Altarum Women’s Cycling) rounded out the podium with a third place finish.



Photo Caption: Brooke Miller (Tibco) crosses the finish line in first place followed closely by Shelley Olds (Proman) and Laura Van Gilder (Altarum) in Stage 4 - the Minneapolis Uptown Criterium - of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Photo: Matt Moses Images.

“It was a very aggressive race. I had to throw a lot of elbows and do a lot of aggressive moving, but that’s what you do when your team is putting themselves on the line for you – you make sure you deliver,” said Miller, who had her first big NRC victory at the Nature Valley Grand Prix in 2006 and continues to win stages every year.

Though there was speculation that the beginning of the race might be a repeat of Wednesday’s St. Paul Downtown Criterium, with race leader Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) taking control of the front, it soon became clear that the teams were not going to just sit back, actively seeking to shake up the general classification and tempt Armstrong to work.

Riders from Tibco, Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Webcor, and ValueAct Capital sent riders up the road with attack after attack, nothing gaining more than 10 seconds before being caught.

The 25-lap race had three sprint competitions, plus an additional prime competition to keep the race active.

The Sprint Competition alternated between Kirsty Broun (Riverstone CDA) and Shelley Olds, with Olds taking the first sprint and Broun taking the second. It was Olds’ victory at the third sprint competition that finally won her the Sprint jersey.

“I’m just happy to be in the jersey for the day,” said Olds. “It’s not necessarily my priority. I’m just doing the best I can in all of the competitions. A stage win would be really nice, so, tomorrow’s a new goal.”

Tomorrow’s Mankato Road Race will indeed be another opportunity to mix up the general classification. Armstrong has traditionally ridden away from the field on this race, so the teams will be sure to keep close watch over her.

The Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider’s Jersey went to Tibco’s Katharine Carroll. Shelley Olds captured the Wheaties Sprint Jersey. All other jersey results remained the same.

Follow the action tomorrow as Stage 5 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix moves to Mankato, Minn., starting with the festival opening at noon, with the women’s race beginning at 1:50 p.m. Catch the action at http://www.Twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or http://www.minnbikefestival.com/, link ”Live Updates“ to follow the action live!

Stage Four: Men's Race Results

Nature Valley Grand Prix Turns into Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home Show with Third Win

By James Lockwood

Sebastian Haedo stood before a monstrous crowd after the fourth stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix waiting for his team director to translate the questions coming from the race announcer.

The Argentinean who rides for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light speaks no English. But, nothing was lost in translation with his performance Friday evening in the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium. His team lines up, he sprints, he wins.

Haedo took his second win of the six-stage race, and along with the second place he earned leading out his teammate Alejandro Borrajo in the team’s victory in the Cannon Falls Road Race, he now sits third overall with the bonus seconds that came with his placings.



With arms raised, Sebastian Haedo (Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home p/b Cooking Light) celebrates his victory in Stage 4 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Visit www.minnbikefestival.com/teams for full results. Photo: Matt Moses Images

“This victory is awesome,” he said. “It was a good day for me and it was a good day for Colavita. We all did our work today, and we were able to put together an important win for me.”

The third team victory for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home put the team in good position going into the 95-mile queen stage Saturday, the Mankato (Minn.) Road Race. It was something other teams were noting.

“On paper, we didn’t want Borrajo to get any time,” said OUCH-Maxxis’s Andrew Pinfold, who finished third on the stage. “Not that Haedo is not good, but Barrajo is a little better climber.”

“I think we are getting the old Borrajo back,” said Team Mountain Khakis’ Tom Soladay, who used a Bissell-controlled peloton to protect his sprinter’s jersey for the second day. “When he is on form, he is dangerous.”

For Friday, though, it was Haedo getting the accolades for his second win. The victory was not certain, however, as the team could not get its sprint train lined up until one-and-a-half laps to go in the 40-lap race.

“It was a brothel out there,” said Jelly Belly Cycling Team’s Brad Huff, who finished second. “Every team wanted to be at the front, and not everyone should have been at the front.”

“From lap 15 to lap three [to go], it was just mayhem,” Pinfold said.

Much of the race was uneventful. From the start, few riders were able to break away, and Bissell Pro Cycling marshaled the front with its whole team, setting a steady but comfortable tempo to keep breaks in check and its overall leader, Tom Zirbel, safe.

“I had an armchair ride the first 30 laps,” Zirbel said.

“It was all about protecting Tom tonight,” said Bissell road director Eric Wohlberg. “In a crit, being on the front is the best place to be.”

Soladay said that worked out to his advantage trying to protect the Wheaties Sprinter’s Jersey, a goal of his for the Grand Prix.

“I knew that Bissell didn’t want any of the sprint points. That was great for me. When I went up, I had eight guys between me and the rest of the field who might challenge for the points,” he said. “With Bissell up front and the tight corners, you really had to light a match to get away.”

Until the last 10 laps, Soladay and Bissell served as the show.

Then Jelly Belly moved forward with its train, and the jockeying began.

“It was a little too early with the sprints out of the corners, but it worked out for me. It allowed me to rest in the train,” Huff said.

“It worked out for Brad,” Pinfold said. “He didn’t have to fight through the laps. He stayed fresh, and it showed at the end.”

For Pinfold, his teammate John Murphy, and Colavita, it was not so easy. As Jelly Belly came to the front, Bissell as a team went back, OUCH attempted to form its train for Murphy, and individual riders from various teams tried to get onto the right wheels hoping for the victory.

“Tim Johnson was just sheparding myself and Murphy through,” Pinfold said. “Everyone was fighting for wheels. I think everyone just wanted to get the win on this stage.”

As the laps counted down, Jelly Belly started to fade, and it opened the door for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home and Haedo.

“What we came here for we got,” said Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home’s director Sebastian Alexandre. “The team did a very good job.”

Despite the convincing victories in the past three stages, Alexandre remained coy about the team’s chances to make it four in a row in the Mankato Road Race, featuring a circuit finish that includes a mile-long climb averaging 14 percent.

“Tomorrow is going to be a different stage,” he said.

Bissell’s Wohlberg concurred. Despite Haedo’s move up the general classification, OUCH’s defending champion Rory Sutherland – winner of last year’s stage in Mankato – still sits seven seconds back of Zirbel, and OUCH, Bissell, and Jelly Belly all have riders within a minute of the lead.

“Colavita is closing the gap to us,” he said. “The next two days will be a little more suited for our guys. We’re going to see who can get up that hill and see what happens. We’re going to try to turn the tables.”

Stage Five - Mankato Road Race

Racing continues on Saturday with the Mankato Road Race. This will be a test of endurance and racing tactics. The races will start and finish in the City of Mankato. The final 30 to 45 minutes of each race will play out with multiple laps on a finishing circuit inside the City during the community festival.
Cross winds could shatter the pack on the 80-mile rural loop and the best climbers remaining in the lead group will then attack each time up Main Street Hill.

Women's Pro/Elite Race: 86 miles
Men's Pro/Elite Race: 86 miles
Finish: Four laps of the Mankato finishing circuit

Event schedule:

12:00 PM – Expo opens
1:15 PM – Men start
1:50 PM – Women start
2:00 PM – MN Iron & Metal Amateur racing
4:35 PM – Men finish
4:45 PM – Shimano/Hoigaard Tour de Kids fun race
5:40 PM – Women finish
6:00 PM – Expo closes

Crash Course

Kacey Manderfield, of the Lip Smacker Cycling Team, was so kind to write a report about her race in Cannon Falls yesterday. Enjoy!

It seems to be my luck that this particular course is just out to get me. Last year in 2008 I made it though what I remember as a more difficult race, as we had to fight wind across the fields unlike the calm air we experienced this year. However, after making it safely onto the final circuit last year and even making the lead break, I ended up surfing the pavement on my rear as a rider slid out in front of me leaving those behind her no where to go. This year the frustrations of poor bike handling skills continued and once again I’m left with no options.

The Cannon Falls race course in general is a fast one for a road race. There are no truly defining climbs and with a calm wind day like we experienced this year the chances of a break getting off and sticking were quite slim. This of course results in the majority of the pack staying together in a massive group, which also means it only takes one bad decision or move to take down numerous riders. As I recall there may have been a few small encounters early on in the race that caused havoc for some. In general holding a good position and staying away from the back can keep a rider out of harms way, but sometimes even those in the best positions somehow end up in a mess. If I had to name my strengths as a rider, I think one of the first things on my list would be positioning. I generally have a good idea of a smart place to be and I can generally get myself there and maintain my spot. Yet somehow this race has managed to result in pavement contact for me two years in a row.

This year we were only about 5K from the dirt section (my favorite part!) and entering the finishing circuits and I was in good position, getting ready to navigate my way to a good spot for entering the dirt. Before I got a chance to start advancing and with no warning at all a few girls in front of me just seemed to tangle and go straight for the pavement. I don’t crash often because I’m typically pretty good at avoiding such situations but there was no getting out of this one. In no time I was on the pavement and all I really remember was hearing my helmet scrape along the ground as I came to a stop tangled in the bikes and girls in front of me. I tried to tuck my head into my arms as I was curled up on the ground and prepared for what I knew was coming – a pummeling from all the riders behind me! Sure enough one after another, a wheel in the back and two or three strong hits to the back of my helmet. Then it all stopped and I just laid there on the bottom of a heap, waiting for bikes and bodies to clear off the top.

When I finally opened my eyes I was staring at the grayish black pavement less than an inch away from my face, my Rooly glasses lying next to my head were undamaged. Once I sensed that everyone has gotten of the top of me I started to move, a bit nervous about what I might discover, but lucky for me everything on my body seemed to be alright. By the time I was uncovered and on my feet our mechanic, Max, was right there and getting the chain back on my bike. The wheels were spinning and I jumped back on the bike as Max pushed me off to continue riding. I had felt the hits to my head but nothing was enough to cause any throbbing or ach there, and other than that I could tell my left forearm had taken a pretty good blow but I could still grip the bars and as I double checked there was no bone fracture pain! At this point it was clear the day’s race was over for me and anyone behind me, but I needed to finish so I was able to start the following day’s stage.

The finishing circuits brought more comic relief to the situation. Coming out of a corner I got out of the saddle just to stretch my legs and put some more pressure on the pedals when all of the sudden I heard a noise equivalent to splintering wood, simultaneously my left hand felt the breaking fibers of my carbon bars as they snapped at the bend. As it turns out the grinding of my carbon fiber bars against the pavement during the crash had compromised their integrity. At that point the drop of my bar remained in place only because of cables and bar tap. I was expecting to be pulled from the circuits as I was so far behind the main bunch but after being told I was suppose to complete all the laps I just sat on the tops of my bars, avoiding any pressure on the left hood, and rolled around the last few laps until the race was complete and I was assured the ability to start stage 3.

Although my bars and helmet need to be replaced and I was sure to have a few scrapes and bruises, it is all just part of the sport. It is always good to ride away from a crash and at the end of the day a bad day on the bike is still better than a bad day in a cubical!

Stage Four - Uptown Minneapolis Criterium

New for 2009, The MN Bike Festival welcomes the inaugural Uptown Minneapolis Criterium as the Nature Valley Grand Prix moves from downtown Minneapolis to the Uptown neighborhood for the Friday evening event.

The course will have competing pro teams race past Calhoun Square on a 1-kilometer course that comprises six tight corners and a furious race to the finish line.

With a long straightaway across the finish line into a very short run between turns one and two, speeds will descend from a brisk 35-plus mph into the low digits before ramping up again out of turn five on Lake Street. Strong racers and teams will stay up front to control the tempo and avoid accidents.

The real spectacle comes near the end of the course as riders make turn six onto Hennepin Avenue and into a long, wide one-block straightaway to the finish line.


Event Schedule:

4:30 PM Expo opens & Stunt Rider Shows
6:00 PM Kids' race
6:30 PM Women pro race
7:45 PM Men pro race
8:45 PM Racing ends
9:00 PM Expo closes

A Satisfying Day

Throughout the Nature Valley Grand Prix, Jacquelyn Crowell is sharing her observations and experiences as a first-year professional for Team Type 1. Through the first three stages, the University of Florida student leads the APC Best Young Rider competition (for racers younger than 26). She is 14th overall, 1:19 off the lead.

I went into Thursday night’s Cannon Falls Road Race with the goal of keeping my teammate, Alison Powers, protected and possibly moving her closer to the overall leader, Kristin Armstrong. We also hoped to help Ali get a time bonus at the finish. But that didn’t work out. Fortunately, Kristin didn’t get a bonus, either.

The 66-mile race went well for us. We kept it upright, which was good, since there were quite a few crashes. We are working together as a team better than we have in the past, but there is still room for improvement.

This was a hard race. The wind wasn’t as bad as last year, but it was still a deciding factor. I tried to stay in the front and out of the wind while still covering attacks. Finally I was able to do something for the team! I felt really bad Wednesday night because I wasn’t able to do anything for the team during the criterium in Downtown St. Paul.

There was a big crash a few kilometers before we made a right turn onto an 800-meter dirt section as we neared Cannon Falls. Right up until it happened, I had been fretting because I didn’t think I would be able to get to the front before we got onto the dirt. Our director, Jack Seehafer, had told us how important it was to be at the front going into that section. So here I was, thinking I hadn’t done what I needed to do, when there was suddenly a crash on the right. All the girls who had been in front of me were gone and there I was at the front!

I loved the dirt section. It was awesome. Some girls actually missed the turn on the outside and my teammate, Samantha Schneider, and I dove to the inside and passed about 20 people. That was great.

We came onto the finishing circuits in good position and with all five of us from Team Type 1. It would have been six, but Morgan Patton, one of two riders on our team who has Type 1 diabetes, didn’t make the time cut Wednesday. It’s always a blow to the team when you lose a rider because we’re like a family, not just a team. But Morgan is still around and helping us out. She was even cheering us on in the feed zone.

The highlight of Thursday had to be when I got called up to put on the Active Performance Complete (APC) Best Young Rider jersey. I was fourth in the standings heading into the stage but ended up first by the end of the race. I don’t know what happened to the other three girls who were ahead of me, but if I can keep the jersey, that would be awesome. I have kind of been in a slump after collegiate nationals and a crash at the Wilmington criterium. So it feels good to finally be first at something.



I also want to use this platform to thank our host family for making dinner for us after the races. It’s awesome to come home each night and have a nice dinner waiting for us. And a big thank you to the race organization of the Nature Valley Grand Prix for letting me share my thoughts with you.

I’m looking forward to Friday night’s criterium in Minneapolis. It will hopefully be an easier day for the team. It should also be a semi-recovery day for the upcoming stages. We need to make sure we are ready for Saturday.

Sharp End

Here's another race recap from Land Rover-Orbea's Carson Miller:

The Nature Valley Grand Prix hit out for the open roads today. The racing was aggressive right from the start. Only 5.6 kilometers into the stage, and we crested the first of several KOM sprints on the day. I have noticed that Minnesota, at least this area, has no mountains. In fact, to highlight my point, the officials here have changed the KOM (King Of The Mountains) competition to a KOH (King Of The Hills) competition. As a rider who prefers extended climbing to the short and punchy hills that we are currently facing, my duties today would involve covering and initiating break away attempts, as well as fetching bottles from the car if the need should arise.

As I mentioned yesterday, with the legs starting to come around to the efforts, I am wanting to move towards the front end of the race - the sharp end of the action so to speak. Last night's one hour race was just what I needed to sharpen up my systems, and I felt like I was firing on all cylinders today. Rolling along after cresting the first hill, and the peleton was getting settled into the rhythm of today's race. As we wound through the countryside and farmland that surrounds Cannon Falls, MN, I put in several digs trying to escape the stranglehold which the Bissell and Ouch teams had on the field. No luck, just some moments of suffering.

I drifted back into the field taking a few minutes to evaluate the racing, as well as to take the opportunity to get down some food and drinks. Another 20 minutes down the road, and I was starting to feel frisky, again. Looking for the right opportunity for another attack, and I finally found my chance. A rider from the Colavita Sutter Home Cooking Light Team came down the left gutter, and looked to be headed up the road. I was right on his wheel, which initially resulted in disappointment when he arrived at the front of the peleton and stopped going forwards. With one lone rider up the road, and a hill coming quickly, I thought I had a good chance at getting away. Over the top of the hill and I had finally escaped from the peleton. Finally, it has been many days of racing and trying to get away, and today that success came - for a few short and agonizing minutes. I poured on the gas, hoping my gap would grow. When 3 riders from Bissell and 1 from Ouch came across, I thought we had it made. A few attacks and counter attacks from Bissell and I was blown to pieces.

After quickly being reabsorbed by the peleton, I hit the bottles and food again. I focused on staying out of the wind, and trying to get some energy back into the legs for the remainder of the stage. We rolled back into town at a furious pace which only quickened upon starting on the 5 technical finishing circuits. Another 20 minutes of all out effort racing around city blocks and the finish line was within sight.

Rolling across the line, my head hung low, with my tongue nearly scraping the pavement. After finally managing to get up the road, I was feeling a bit of success and joy, which was overshadowed by the pain and suffering of the previous two-and-a-half hours of racing. After a few minutes of spinning the legs, I rolled into our team tent and collapsed into a chair. Changed and ready for the drive home, we loaded our cars and return to our host houses for dinner, massages, and now bed.

Today was a fantastic and challenging day of racing here in Minnesota, and we are just getting things going. My legs are feeling better with each day, and I am finding my way towards the sharp end of the racing here. Three more challenging stages lay ahead of us. Time for another massage, and then it will be lights out for me.

Thanks for reading. I will see you all in Uptown Minneapolis for tomorrow night's criterium.

Keep the Rubber Side Down,

C-

Erica Allar Wins Action-Packed Cannon Falls Road Race; Armstrong Retains Lead

By Cynthia Lou

It might have been a beautiful day in Cannon Falls, Minn., but racing in Stage 3 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix was active and stormy, with Erica Allar of Value Act Capital emerging triumphant through crashes, a missed turn, and endless breakaway attempts. Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) finished second, with Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) third.



Erica Allar (Value Act Capital), center, won Stage 3 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix on June 11 in Cannon Falls, Minn. Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home) far left, and Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) second from left, finished second and third respectively. (photo courtesy of Steve Pottenger)

“We missed the turn [onto the 1-mile stretch of gravel road] so we had to stop, turn our bikes around, chase through the dirt section and make it back to the front,” Erica recalls, fresh off her win. “After I missed the turn I said to myself, ‘Well, there goes my race’, but I wasn’t willing to give up. Yesterday we didn’t have a very good day. We were itchin’ for a better day and it couldn’t be any better than this.”

The action started from the beginning, with the first Queen of the Hills (QOH) competition at 3.6 miles, won by Ruth Corset (Jazz Apple Women’s Cycling Team). An early attack by Christina Smith (Veloforma) launched after the first QOH marked the only notable break, gaining up to 20 seconds before getting caught within 4 miles.

“It was non-stop,” said yellow jersey wearer Kristin Armstrong, who stayed within the top 10 throughout the race, dropping back to 30 just briefly after reeling in several breakaways in a row.

“All the teams were represented in the breaks. Everyone looked at me [to bring back the breaks]. It was a lot of work for me at the end of the day, but you know what – that’s what I’m here for. I respect that everyone’s out there racing their bikes. It’s so much fun, that’s what bike racing is.”

Not only did breaks separate the field, there were several crashes that left chunks of the peloton chasing back to the field.

“I crashed a few miles before the turn onto the dirt road,” says Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light), who finished second today. “We were last onto the gravel part, and we missed the turn,” Tina said, noting that “If it wasn’t for my teammates, I wouldn’t have been able to do so well – I thought I was done after I chased back onto the pack!”

Tiffany Cromwell won the Sport Beans Queen of the Hills Jersey, and today’s winner, Erica Allar, took over the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Kristin Armstrong maintained the leader’s jersey, while the Wheaties Sprint Jersey stayed with Kirsty Broun (Riverstone CDA). Jacquelyn Crowell (Team Type 1) will start tomorrow’s Uptown Minneapolis Criterium in the APC Best Young Rider Jersey, and Kate Veronneau (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team) in the Nature Valley Top Amateur Jersey.

Racing resumes in Minneapolis on Friday, June 12, with the women’s race starting at 6 pm.

Catch the action online at http://www.Twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or http://www.minnbikefestival.com/, link ”Live Updates“ to follow the action live!

Stage Three: Men's Race Results

Colavita Olive Oil makes it two in a row as leaders maintain positions in stage 3 of Nature Valley

By James Lockwood

One good turn deserves another.

So it was for Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, who used its two star sprinters to perfection to take its second win in a row in Stage Three of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. After leading out his teammate, Sebastian Haedo, for the win in Wednesday’s Downtown St. Paul Criterium, it was Alejandro Borrajo’s turn to take home the spoils Thursday in the 64-mile Cannon Falls Road Race.

“He came through for me,” Borrajo said of Haedo, his friend of more than 10 years. “With 40 meters to go, Sebastian led out, and it was perfect for me.”

“Ale has been riding good,” said Colavita’s director Sebastian Alexandre. “He has been leading out Sebastian for many races, and today, I told him it was his turn. With the hill at the end, it was a course that was good for him.”

“They are a classy outfit,” said Bissell Pro Cycling’s Peter Latham, who overcame a crash nearly halfway through the race to help his teammate, Tom Zirbel, keep his leader’s jersey.

OUCH-Maxxis’ John Murphy, who finished third on the stage, said Colavita is taking full advantage of the fact that OUCH and Bissell are currently sitting atop the standings while it sits in the wings.

“They’ve got a little more room to win the sprints, and they are doing a good job of it,” Murphy said.

Still, OUCH did not give the win to Colavita. After spending 54 miles in the east central Minnesota farmland staying out of trouble and monitoring attacks, the team entered the two-mile finishing circuit intending to set up Murphy for the win. With three laps to go in the five-lap finish, OUCH went to the front of the peloton to push the pace.

OUCH director Mike Tamayo said it was probably a little too early to go to the front.

Murphy said he got jammed up in the sprint coming off of his teammates’ wheels, but he wasn’t totally disappointed with the finish. His third place came with a six-second time bonus, erasing the six seconds he lost in the second stage crit and moving him into the top five in the overall classification.

“It was good to get a little time back,” he said. “We wanted to try to put a little pressure on Bissell, but it didn’t work out.”

Zirbel kept the leaders’ jersey, maintaining his seven-second lead over OUCH-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland, but he said the race was not easy for the team. In addition to having Latham hit the deck, Frank Pipp also was involved in the crash. With no breaks allowed to get away, it kept the team on edge the whole race.

“People wanted to get in a break the whole day,” he said. “That just made it hard.”

The most successful break of the day was made by Chad Gerlach, riding for Amore e Vita presented by Life Time Fitness-Velo Vie. After trying twice in the first half of the race, Gerlach finally made a break look promising 31 miles into the race. Soloing for 10 miles, he built a lead of 50 seconds, but with 15 miles to go, it all came back together.

“I just wanted to make the ride harder,” said Gerlach of his non-stop attacks. His effort earned him the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider jersey. “I had really good legs.”

Alexandre said he was not surprised that no breaks got away. With a rolling course with no real hills, perfect weather conditions, and top teams with an eye for the overall win, he said this is a race of strategy, not necessarily of tradition.

“Today, everyone wanted to sprint. Everybody wanted the stage,” he said. “With three stages coming up, as soon as a team does something wrong, it’s over for them.”

Borrajo said, though, it won’t be over for Colavita.

“We plan to win again,” he said. “It’s important. If we win one more stage, we are maybe on the podium.”

Amanda Miller's Stage One/Two Report

We're lucky enough to have been given access to Amanda Miller's website and race reports. Amanda races for Lipsmackers Professional Women's Cycling team and was so kind to submit her thoughts from yesterday's two stages. Enjoy!

This morning was the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial. We woke up to moist air and damp pavement. It was raining here at our host house in Stillwater. Fortunately, it was dry at the course in St. Paul. It did start raining some before more start though. I was off at 8:40am. Ouch! I think I was the 20th rider to go. I hopped on the rollers around 7:50 and started my warm-up. I didn't get a great warm-up in because I needed to pre-check my bike position, stop by the bathroom one last time, and change my wheels.

After a small issue airing up my front wheel, I headed back to the start. Rolled up to the check-in area and made it through. I stood there for a few minutes while they called a bunch of numbers, other than mine. Finally, they started calling my number. I had 15seconds on the ramp. Go figure, I couldn't get clipped in. I was pretty frazzled at the start, but tried to gain composure as I started. I found my rhythm and went. The course was flat and fast going out. There were some tricky sections with lots of pot holes in the S-curve. I should have pre-ridden the turn around again, because I went way too fast into it. The barriers came a bit to quick and I had to come to almost a complete stop. I sprinted my way out of the turn around and got back into the rhythm.

I saw I was gaining on my 30 second person and tried to catch her. I closed the gap even more once we got to the hill, but never closed it completely. The hill was pretty brutal but went by fast. When I came across the line, they said I had the 4th best time of the day. Sweet! However, I knew this wouldn't last. I was pretty early to go off and there were a lot of fast girls behind me. My time was 15:08 which was good enough for 25th place.

Kristin Armstrong rode a 13:48:55. Alison Powers road at 14:01:14 and Errine Willock rode a 14:36:95. My teammate Anne finished 4th with a time of 14:36 something. Our guest rider Jessica Phillips rode a 14:52 for 13th place. Our other guest rider Edwige Pitel rode a 15:07 for 23rd place. Toni rode a 15:43 for 51st place and Kacey rode a 16:10 for 76th place.

After a lazy afternoon of lounging around, we headed over to the crit course in downtown St. Paul. It was about a 30min drive from our host house. We left plenty early, mostly out of boredom. After a quick coffee break on the course, we sat down for the team meeting. The plan was to stay safe. This crit is notoriously known for being a crash fast, especially in wet conditions. Lucky for us, the sun was out and the course was dry. Either way, it was stage 2 and we didn't want to get into trouble. The course was a square. The backside was a slight uphill, and the finish was a slight downhill. There were lots of man hole covers to manuever so it was a pretty technical course. The 2nd to last corner was pretty tight and you had to be careful not to be pushed into the fence.

Anne and I both got call ups. Anne was called up because she is the reigning Canadian National Time Trial champion. I got called up for being a 2008 Ryan Collegiate All Star alumni. Pretty sweet! 118 riders started the crit, so start position was very helpful. The gun went off and Kristin Armstrong strung things out. Webcor, Tibco, and Colavita did a good job at keeping the pace high. I worked on holding my position in the top 20 riders the entire race. The race was pretty uneventful. There were a few attempted attacks, but nothing stuck for more than a lap. The final laps came and there was never an organized lead out taking place. All of the LipSmacker team finished the race and made the time cut.

Today is the Cannon Falls road race. It's a 70mile road race with 4 finishing circuits. We don't start until 5:30, so it's another lazy day up until then. Ah, the life of a bike racer :)

Hilary's Road Home

Hilary Billington is a professional cyclist for Team Lip Smacker. Her path to and fro the NVGP has been rough, and now she's headed back home. Read about it:

I am on an airplane now, heading home. This is not where I want to be. I want to be with the team, resting up before the crit tonight. But I'm doing the right thing, I keep telling myself this, through my tears of disappointment. Three weeks ago I was in urgent care. As I was hooked up to an IV, I realized that even though I did "everything right" to get better from my cold the week before, well some things you just can't control. In a matter of hours, I went from going for an easy ride, but with good legs, to full blown Pneumonia with two-thirds of my left lung filled with fluid. So, off went Philly from my schedule. But, we were hopeful and my coach (Michael Engleman of the USWCDP) and I thought Nature Valley would still be a good possibility. As things progressed, and I kept getting healthier, things were looking better and better. I had 2 solid workouts, so we figured I was good to go. I knew I would not be 100%, but my team was super supportive and a new plane ticket was bought.

The problem is, I have 2 little germ factories at home that are named Shaw (7 years) and Carleton (5 years), and contrary to what Michael might recommend, I'm not giving them up for adoption! Four days ago Shaw brought home a cold that I thought I would avoid. Apparently my immune system was not up for the challenge.

The irony in all this is that today is the one year anniversary of the day that Michael (and the USWCDP) started helping me. One year ago Michael responded to the message from "me" asking for help. I was new to the sport, and I had no idea what I was doing. But my husband knew this, and knew that I needed some direction. He also knew that I would not listen to him, no matter how much research he did. So my husband crafted the email asking for help, sent it off, and Michael responded with - "Call me, we should talk". Scott came home that night, and filled me in on the latest developments in my email account, with the caveat that if I was really mad at him, I just didn't have to call Michael. So, Michael and I have had many a laugh about this over the past year - he claims false representation. My answer is always the same - I know a good lawyer (my husband).

You see, last year I was in a similar predicament, I got Pneumonia and being brand new to this level of racing, I did some stupid things. I got sick, took 2 days off, then pushed it, and kept pushing it, till 4 weeks later, my asthmatic lungs said enough, and pneumonia set in.

But this time I was smart, this time it was supposed to be different. This time I had Michael's direction; direction I was listening to. Something that is not always so easy for me. So as frustrated as I am, I know that I did the right things. My Pneumonia cleared up this time. But my immune system couldn't handle another hit so soon after, and the first germ I came into contact with made its home in my system.

So, with "the rug pulled out from under me", I've had some time to reflect. I went into this year thinking I had no where to go but up. I thought, look at how far I've come in the last 2 years. Just think how far I can go in the next 2 years. But, as my team mate Anne Samplonius agreed, the mountain gets much steeper the closer you get to the top. But forward I move, because I'm not about to turn around now.

Jackie Crowell Diary: The First Day

Throughout the Nature Valley Grand Prix, Jacquelyn Crowell is sharing her observations and experiences as a first-year professional cyclist for Team Type 1. After the opening day of this year’s race, the University of Florida student stands 23rd overall, 1:19 behind leader Kristin Armstrong.

I don’t even remember what I did Wednesday. It was such a long day. I woke up at 5:20 and was raring to go because I got so much rest on Tuesday.

The time trial in St. Paul went really well. Like I said in my earlier diary, I always do better the second time I do a course, just because it’s more familiar and I’m more mentally prepared. I think I did pretty well.

I got 24th place, which makes me want to look up what I did here last year and compare to it. I’m sure I improved. Plus, I had the added benefit this year of some very awesome equipment. Team Type 1 has special Louis Garneau Superleggera time trial helmets and we ride Orbea Ordu time trial bikes that look like stealth fighters – and go as fast as fighter jets. Both of those pieces of equipment give you a significant advantage. Plus, I paced myself well and finished with a good feeling.

So I’m fourth now in the Active Protein Complex Best Young Rider competition. That’s something I’m shooting for this week.

I tried to take a nap in between the morning and evening stages. But I’m reading “Twilight” (a young-adult vampire-romance novel written by Stephenie Meyer) for the second time. I thought it would put me to sleep. But unfortunately, it’s a little exciting with all those vampire tensions...



The main thing in last night’s Downtown St. Paul Criterium was to keep my teammate, Alison Powers, up toward the front and analyze any breaks once they happened. We wanted to roll them if they were to our advantage or block them if they weren’t. Alison is in second place overall, just a handful of seconds behind Kristin Armstrong, who has won this race three times.

Time bonuses were huge for us on Wednesday night’s stage. But unfortunately I didn’t see the front to help out. I wasn’t feeling the vibes. So I’m a little down but Thursday is another day. And the road race is on a course that is better suited to me.

Stage Two: Women's Race Results

Leap of Faith Lands Kirsty Broun on Top of Podium;Armstrong Controls The Race to Maintain Lead

by Cynthia Lou

“Then I’ll have to win the race,” joked Kirsty Broun (Riverfront CDA) to the announcer. Win she did, with an early jump into the last corner of the fast 40 lap criterium – she secured a win at stage two of the Nature Valley Grand Prix – the Saint Paul Downtown Criterium. The race was deemed a success all around, with fans pouring out to enjoy the nice weather and very fast racing. Most of the race was single-file, strung out from the beginning by a blistering pace set by Kirstin Armstrong (Cervélo Test).

“I knew [Kristin Armstrong] was going to drive the race and try to get away, and we had a really strong team so we just stayed near her,” explains Kirsty. “I stuck to Webcor and Colavita. We all tried to work together to keep Kristin under wraps. I just tested my legs out in a couple of the intermediate sprints, and...I knew I had to go before the last corner.”

“The strategy was to be patient and to try to suck some final air before the final sprint,” Kirsty notes.

Armstrong executed to her plan to stay near the front, not only to stay out of harm’s way but also to keep the pace high and use her excellent time trialing abilities to keep herself at the front for many laps, though she was not able to break away.

In fact, no one was able to break away, save for two small groups who dangled off the front for less than one lap each.

The top contenders kept each other in check: Armstrong and Allison Powers (Team Type 1), only 13 seconds behind, stayed close to each other, while Tibco, Webcor and Colavita/Sutter Home alternately held the front.

“It was my job to work for every time bonus sprint to keep them from the other teams,” said Gina Grain (Webcor), who took third in the Wednesday night race and won one sprint bonus. “We had riders in the top 10 of the GC,” she explained, “and we knew others’ teams would be going for those time bonuses too. I tested out my legs [in the time bonus sprints], and felt good. When I saw people jumping around our lead-out between the second and third corner I knew I had to go for it.”



Top three finishers of Stage 2 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix - the Saint Paul Downtown Criterium - were: first place, Kirsty Broun (CDA), Joanne Kiesanowski (Tibco) in second and, Gina Grain (Webcor) third. (photo courtesy of Steve Pottenger)

The final women’s podium in stage two was Kirsty Broun (CDA), Joanne Kiesanowski (Tibco) and, Gina Grain (Webcor), taking first, second and third, respectively. There was no change in the General Classification after Stage 2: Kristin Armstrong will continue wearing the yellow leader’s jersey, with second place Allison Powers just under 13 seconds back, and Erinne Willock (Webcor Builders) in third place and 48 seconds back.

The Wheaties Sprint Jersey shifted from Allison Powers to Kirsty Broun, who now also holds the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey.

Alexis Rhodes (Webcor Builders) will wear the APC Best Young Rider Jersey, while Kate Veronneau (Altarum Women’s Cycling) will wear the Nature Valley Top Amateur Jersey.

Tomorrow’s course is the Cannon Falls Road Race, which is 62 miles leading through some of the most beautiful scenery in Minnesota and finishing with a circuit through downtown Cannon Falls.

Catch the excitement via our Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or through live broadcast available at http://www.MinnBikeFestival.com

Stage Two: Men's Race Results

Colavita Strikes in Last Lap for Stage Win; Bissell Protects Leaders Jersey in Nature Valley Grand Prix

By James Lockwood

Riding what could be called a textbook race, Colavita Olive Oil-Sutter Home delivered its sprint ace Sebastian Haedo to victory in the second stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

But it was Team Mountain Khakis Thomas Soladay who really put on the show for the fans in the Downtown St. Paul Criterium on Wednesday, June 10.

Soladay, an amateur looking to make the jump in his cycling career, set out to redeem himself from a flat he incurred in the morning time trial in the first stage of the six-stage race. Representing one of the smaller teams in the grand prix, Soladay attacked six laps into the 45-lap race and ended up staying out in front the rest of the race, only losing to Haedo in the closing meters of the race.

“This is my bread-and-butter,” Soladay said after finishing second to Haedo after the nearly hour-long effort. “In the last meters, I was just pedaling out of pure anger. I wanted this in a bad way.”

For Colavita and Haedo, sprinting is their bread-and-butter, and while Colavita had Tyler Wren in the break that Soladay initiated, when the team realized the break would be caught, they made the decision to line up its lead out for Haedo.

“The team worked good all day,” Haedo said. “With three laps to go, we decided to do the lead out.”

“We wanted to have a guy on the team win,” said team director Sebastien Alexandre. “As soon as we got within 10 seconds of the break, we decided to go.

“We always race for the best. This is a team,” said Alexandre, explaining the decision to go with Haedo rather than count on Wren for the win.

With Jelly Belly Cycling’s Will Routley in the break with Wren and Soladay, it was doubtful that the break would stick. Routley came into the stage only 33 seconds back of the overall lead, and with 45 seconds in bonuses available on the stage, there was a possibility he could take the leader’s jersey.

But the three riders, along with Texas Roadhouse’s Adam Bergman, made a win from the break look probable. Halfway through the race, the quartet had built a 24-second gap, and it was not until about 10 laps to go did the gap start to fall, with OUCH-Maxxis’ Floyd Landis setting tempo at the front of the peleton.

Bissell Pro Cycling’s Tom Zirbel, who wore the yellow leader’s jersey after winning the morning time trial, said the team was never in doubt of losing the jersey to Wren in the break, and allowing OUCH-Maxxis to bring the break back worked out for his team. Bissell’s sprinting ace, Kirk O’Bee, had crashed earlier in the race, and while he rejoined, the team decided the stage win was not in its best interest.

“OUCH had to bring the break back,” he said. “In order to get the jersey today, they had to work for the time bonuses.”

“They needed to win more than we did,” said Bissell’s director Eric Wohlberg. “Had our sprinter not hit the deck, we would have been up there contending for the win.”

OUCH-Maxxis’ Rory Sutherland, who went into the stage sitting 13 seconds back of Zirbel and finished fifth in the race, said riding up front was more out of necessity than desire to win the race. “It keeps us safe. The last laps were dangerous. There were guys crashing and gaps forming. I kind of gassed myself trying to bridge back from one of those gaps,” he said.

Wohlberg said despite the appearance that OUCH and Colavita did much of the work, his team did not get a free ride in the 60-minute criterium, and the riders don’t intend on letting other teams dictate Bissell’s fate.

“We’ve got a lot of guys up on GC,” he said. “We intend to fight until the bitter end.”

The Nature Valley Grand Prix continues Thursday with the third stage Cannon Falls Road Race, a 62-mile race through the rolling hills and farms of east central Minnesota.

Sharpening Up; Moving Forward

After the first day of racing here in St. Paul it seems like the legs are starting to come around to the efforts which I am asking of them. With Monday full of travel, and then just trying to get things moving yesterday, I think today was when everything started to finally come around.

This morning after almost one hour of riding, I arrived at the start of the 10-kilometer time trial just like I wanted to; confident, hot, sweaty, and armed with a solid plan for how I would approach each of the following 10-kilometers. I was aiming to finish the first test of the week in 13 minutes and some seconds, even a 13:59 would have been "successful." In my last time trial, I set a goal which would have placed me in the top 25 finishers from the previous year, and I beat that goal. So today, I was confident for the time trial and my goal. Unfortunately, I was never able to find my rhythm on the course, and ended up finish a long ways down, losing nearly 1:45 to the fastest man, Tom Zirbel.

With my race getting off to a rocky start, I rode from the time trial back to our host house in Mendota Heights. The 20 minute ride was the perfect cool down, allowing me to pedal a light gear with a good cadence as I cleared the lactic acid from my legs.

The middle part of the day was lazy and relaxing. After getting back, I made a quick lunch, before taking a nap. After awaking from my nap, I jumped onto the massage table for a quick rub. Off of the massage table, and I was back to the couch where I remained for the rest of the day. I passed the time by checking in on the news, and then picking up a good book. Off the couch, it was a light pre-race snack, and then back to the couch for a few minutes before kitting up for the evening's criterium.

Kitted up and ready to go, I rolled out with my roommates for the short 25 minute ride into downtown St. Paul for the criterium. It is no secret, and I make no fantasies about my criterium racing skills. In the world of domestic stage racing, crits are certainly my Achilles Heal. Driven by the morning's frustration, along with a host of other emotions, I managed to ride one of my strongest crit's of the season. Although I really accomplished nothing of note in the race, I did manage to stay in what seemed to be the top half of the field, finishing within the main pack.

As the legs start to come around, I am still a long ways down in the general classification, and I am hoping to continue the positive trend, moving farther towards the sharp end of the racing, maybe even off the front in the next few days. We will see what the future holds, but for now, I have a few more minutes on the couch before I crawl into the sheets for some much needed sleep.

Thanks for reading. We are off to Cannon Falls tomorrow afternoon for some autograph signing at the library, which will be followed by an all out throw-down over the course of a challenging 107 kilometer parcours.

Keep the Rubber Side Down,
C-

Stage Three - Cannon Falls Road Race

Cannon Falls, located just 35 miles from Saint Paul, is one of Minnesota's favorite tourist destinations. It is the trail head for the Cannon Valley Trail, the Midwest's premier bicycle trail, which runs from Cannon Falls to Red Wing. Cannon Falls also offers the Cannon River Winery, excellent antique shops and great places to eat in its historic downtown.

The Cannon Falls Road Race winds through scenic Goodhue County before finishing on a circuit in downtown Cannon Falls. This race proved to be decisive in 2006, with small groups gaining minutes on the chasing packs in both the men’s and women’s races. Riders who failed to make it into these breakaways had no shot at the yellow jersey for the rest of the Nature Valley GP.

Cross winds can break up a race just like long mountain climbs. The Cannon Falls Road Race course offers little shelter, so expect the pack to shatter if it’s a windy day.

Women's Pro/Elite Race: 60 miles
Men's Pro/Elite Race: 60 miles
Finish: Four laps of the Cannon Falls finishing circuit

Event Schedule:

4:30 PM – Expo opens & Stunt Rider Shows
5:00 PM – Men start
5:30 PM – Women start
6:15 PM – Shimano/Hoigaards Tour de Kids fun race
7:20 PM – Men finish
8:15 PM – Women finish
9:00 PM – Expo closes

Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 1 TT - Women's Race Report

Armstrong Takes Top Spot At Opening Time Trial Of The Nature Valley Grand Prix.

By Cynthia Lou

Opening the last U.S. stage race of her career with a victory, Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) blazed up the finishing hill of the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial to take the yellow jersey in the first stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Close behind Armstrong’s finish of 13’ 48.55” on the rainy six-mile time trial course is current U.S. Time Trial champion Allison Powers (Team Type 1), 12.59 seconds behind at 14’ 01.14”. Erinne Willcock (Webcor Builders) finished third 48.4 seconds behind at 14’ 36.95“.

“This is one of my favorite races,” a beaming Armstrong said. “Minneapolis is very welcoming,” she added, noting that the community and fan support at the Nature Valley Grand Prix helps her prioritize this race over others when deciding her racing schedule.



Kristin Armstrong (Cervelo Test Team) finished the Stage One of the Nature Valley Grand Prix in first place among 119 women following the Saint Paul (Minn.) Time Trial held June 10, 2009. (photo courtesy of Steve Pottenger)

That she gets to start off the race with her strongest discipline is an added bonus.

“We’re looking forward to tonight’s crit, where there are 30 seconds worth of time bonuses,” said Allison Powers (Team Type 1). “We have a full team of eight, and we’re a strong crit team.”

Although Kristin Armstrong lacks teammates, she is not alone, “There are others who might also be riding alone, who are looking towards the top 10 spots. Hopefully we can work together.”

“If it’s still raining tonight,” she added, “we will definitely try to stay in front!”

Rounding out the leaders jerseys are Alexis Rhodes (Webcor Builders) with the Best Young Rider Jersey, and Kate Veronneau (Altarum Women’s Cycling Team) with the Best Amateur Rider Jersey.

With the teams fighting for the time bonuses, tonight’s Downtown St. Paul Criterium is sure to be exciting. Will Kristin Armstrong maintain her lead? Will Allison Powers and Team Type 1 take the yellow jersey? How might the podium shuffle around?

Follow the action at http://www.Twitter.com/MNBikeFestival or http://www.minnbikefestival.com/, link “Live Updates.”

Nature Valley Grand Prix Stage 1 TT - Men's Race Report

Bissell, OUCH-Maxxis Dominate Opening Time Trial of 2009 Nature Valley Grand Prix

By James Lockwood

While the order of the stages changed from 2008 for the start of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, beginning the five-day, six-stage race with the Saint Paul Time Trial did little to change the outcome of the stage. Bissel Pro Cycling dominated the standings, and Rory Sutherland came out of the stage in second place, followed by Peter Latham (Bissel Pro Cycling).

Unlike last year, though, Bissell hopes to use the momentum from the stage win and dominating presence in the top 10 to take home the overall classification this year.

“Last year, we did the same thing and didn’t finish too well,” said stage winner Tom Zirbel, who put in a blistering time of 12 minutes, 36 seconds and the 7.2-kilometer course, beating Sutherland by 13 seconds. “We have some stronger guys on the team this year. Hopefully, we learned from last year and will do better.”

Last year, Bissell came out of the time trial with Ben Jacques-Maynes wearing the leader’s jersey and his team dominating the top 10 standings. In the end, though, Jacques-Maynes finished fourth overall, losing time to overall champion Sutherland in the fifth stage Mankato Road Race.

That result had OUCH-Maxxis’ Sutherland pleased, if not overly happy, finishing second to Zirbel.

“I think we are in the best position,” said Sutherland, whose teammates John Murphy – second overall last year – Karl Menzies (2006 champion) and Tim Johnson also finished in or near the top 10, all within 30 seconds of Zirbel. “If it comes down to the climb in Mankato, I would rather be chasing Zirbel than chasing Ben. I think I am a better climber than he is.”

Sutherland cautioned, though, there was a lot of riding to do before getting to that point.

“There are 15 guys who could be in the yellow jersey after the crit tonight,” said OUCH-Maxxis’s director Mike Tamayo.

Among those 15 include Jaques-Maynes and his brother, Andy, and their teammates Frank Pipp and Peter Latham. Latham briefly held the best time before losing it to Zirbel 12 minutes later. He finished third on the day.

Cracking the top 10 and disrupting the Bissell-OUCH showdown was Team Type 1’s Mike Creed, a recent addition to the team after financial turmoil ended his tenure at beleaguered Rock Racing. Creed finished the stage in sixth, 22 seconds back.

“It’s unbelievable,” Creed said of his performance and place on the team. “I was really, really surprised. I just got the bike. It felt good from the start.”

Happy to be racing on the team, he said his expectations riding against the juggernauts of Bissell and OUCH-Maxxis are in check for the overall classification. “We have some strong sprinters on the team. Crits will be our focus,” added Creed.



Floyd Landis (Ouch p/b Maxxis) leaves the start house in Stage One of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Landis finished in 28th place among 144 men. (photo courtesy of Steve Pottenger)

Stage Two: Downtown St. Paul Criterium

The Minnesota Bicycle Festival continues in downtown Saint Paul’s Lowertown district with the second stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

This is a wide-open course with a gentle incline to the finish line and is likely to end in a big pack sprint. With the time trial earlier in the day the winner may not claim the Nature Valley Grand Prix yellow leader’s jersey, but they should be able to don the Wheaties Sprint leader's jersey.

The Downtown Saint Paul Criterium will favor powerful sprinters. Sprinters often struggle in the time trial and hilly weekend races, so this will be a stage for the sprinters to shine.

Event Schedule:

4:00 PM – Expo opens & Stunt Rider Shows
6:00 PM – Women's Pro/Elite Race - 60 minutes
7:15 PM – Shimano/Hoigaard Tour de Kids fun race
7:40 PM – Men's Pro/Elite Race - 60 minutes
9:00 PM – Expo closes

Stage One: St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial

The time trial is often called “the race of truth”. There will be no hiding in the pack or drafting behind teammates as each rider must test themselves against the course alone.

This will be a no-frills slug fest, with riders flying up and down Lilydale Road in this individual race against the clock and back by popular demand is the finish on top of the Ohio Street hill.

Although the riders will complete well over 200 miles in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, this 4.5 mile race will likely be decisive. Losing just a minute in this time trial could cost a contender five places in the final standings.

Men's Start List / Women's Start List


Event Schedule:

8:30 AM – First woman starts (TT Start Times)
9:45 AM – First man starts (TT Start Times)
12:00 PM – Racing ends

Jackie Crowell’s Race Diary: Ready To Go

Throughout the Nature Valley Grand Prix, Jacquelyn Crowell is sharing her observations and experiences as a first-year professional cyclist for Team Type 1. Also a student at the University of Florida, the 21-year-old has seven victories to her credit this season.

The day before the race was terrific because I was a champion “napper.” I woke up, went downstairs at the house of our host family and had a bowl of cereal. Then I went back upstairs and back to sleep. Then I woke up again a few hours later and had a second breakfast – this time a bagel with organic strawberry jelly and a banana. That’s the beauty of waking up twice. You can eat breakfast twice.

After my second breakfast, we rode together as a team. First, we rode our road bikes to the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial course. There, our director, Jack Seehafer, met us with our time trial bikes. That gave us the opportunity to ride the course on our time trial bikes. The general consensus is that we like the course. It’s the perfect distance for me because it doesn’t give me enough time to lose focus. It’s pretty short – about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). I raced on this course last year, so I know exactly what to expect.



After that, we rode back to our host house. So it ended up being about a two-and-half hour ride, which is a little longer than I wanted. But Avery May, our awesome soigneur, gave me a great rub to get my muscles ready for the race.

Our host father, Russell, is a great chef. We had sort of a Jambalaya mix for dinner. Our host mother, Sheila, was out playing the bagpipe as part of a band. That’s the great part about traveling to races like this. You get to live with host families and meet all kinds of people you wouldn’t get to meet normally.

I can’t wrap up my account of the day without mentioning Paul Mazurek, our fantastic mechanic. He probably spent 11 hours or so in the garage today getting both our time trial and road bikes ready.

First up for Wednesday will be oatmeal right after I get up at six. Then it’s off to the time trial course at 7 and I’m down the start ramp at 9:18 sharp.

Hope to see you there.

Getting Ready for NVGP

Carson Miller is a professional for the Land Rover-Orbea team, which benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He'll be blogging daily during this week's Nature Valley Grand Prix, so keep tuned to the TRIA Orthopaedic Center blog for some more PRO insight during the race. Enjoy!

With the team having completed a successful first year induction to the TD Bank Philadelphia International Championship, we were all on the road again. I was flying from our team base in Portland, Oregon to St. Paul, Minnesota, and the rest of the team was flying from Philadelphia to St. Paul, MN where we would all meet up to prepare for the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

After spending nine hours in planes, airports, lines, and public transportation systems, I finally connected with the team which had come into St. Paul on a different flight. With the Rovers loaded up, it was off to find our host families for the week. Despite having a GPS enabled LR3, as well as 2 iPhone’s, and 2 BlackBerry’s, I have learned that we almost routinely make several u-turns. And it is definitely easier to pull u-turns when you are not driving an SUV that is towing a 16-foot trailer. Turns out that our “3 u-turn policy,” was almost fulfilled. After some stumbling around, and 2 u-turns, we finally found our way here.

We got things rolling today with a hospital visit in St. Paul. The team was founded and came about as a way to “pay forward” the generosity of the Lance Armstrong Foundation as well as the cancer community that was so terrific in supporting David and Norrene, our team managers, while Norrene’s mom fought her battle with cancer. Part of that mission, is to visit approximately 1 children’s hospital per NRC event that we race in. During these visits, we get to share the joys of cycling with the children while handing out LiveSTRONG wrist bands and telling how they too can LiveSTRONG.

After returning from the hospital, we made ourselves some lunch and prepared the bikes for an afternoon training session. The team rolled out for a couple hours to get the legs moving again. Our evening was simple and low-key; shower, eat dinner, team meeting, and then some time in front of the TV before bed.

With all of the final preparations made for the coming 5 days of racing here at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, my eyes are getting a bit heavy, and tomorrow will get off to an early 9:45 start as we all take a crack at the challenging 7km TT.

Thanks for reading. As a side note, I am going to be keeping daily updates coming here. As part of this week’s racing, I have agreed to keep some daily updates, and you can all find them right here. Until tomorrow…

Keep the Rubber Side Down,

C-

What If...

Bill Metz, from OptumHealth, will be a frequent contributor to the blog. This is the sixth of many posts that Bill will be making, dealing with a variety of topics within the life of a recreational cyclist.

When not working, I have spent much of past couple of days finalizing plans for Team UnitedHealth Group and the MS 150 ride.

Unfortunately, the ride overlaps with the NVGP and I will miss the last three days of the race. On the other, I will be spending two and a half days with thousands of cyclists riding 150 mile through some beautiful Minnesota countryside while my workmate, Chris, is actually racing the NVGP. Having started cycling in a more serious way rather late in life, I often wonder if I could have gotten to the level where I was able to compete against the best pro riders in the US of A. As a 50+ year old, “what if?” becomes a much more frequently asked question.

What if I would have had access and connection to a biking club that was into racing and I got involved. Would I have been able to develop a bigger engine and run with the big boys? Would I have been a sprinter? Would crits have been my thing or time trials? Or would I have been forever a cat 4 rider with just enough left to finish in the middle of the pack?

What if I would have kept that old Schwinn 24 incher and used some of my brother’s motorcycle parts to modify it for off road trails? Would we now be riding WAM’ers (William A Metz) instead of Gary Fishers?

What if I would have instead stripped that old Tornado down and fixed the gearing so you always had to pedal and didn’t provide a brake. Would I now be all tatted up with a cool bag that I sling over my shoulder, (which I would have also invented) delivering documents in NYC?

What if? What if I would have started sooner, ridden harder, pushed it longer, suffered a bit more, or not let up? Would I be stronger? Faster? Better? Would I be racing with Chris? Would that be better than the MS 150, or just different? The good news is: it is ours to decide.

So, it is the right question, just asked the wrong way. What if I start now?

The Time Has Come

Robin Farina, a professional rider for the ValueAct Capital Cycling Team, will be gracing the blog with her writing presence throughout the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Here's her pre-race day post. Enjoy!

Well the time has come. It's less then 1 day till show time. All the prepping is taking place today. All the cooking, laundry and team meetings will take place throughout the day. Our last rider finally showed up just minutes ago. Many of us have just come from races. I was at Mt Hood doing the stage race over on the Left Coast last week while the other half of the team gave a great showing at Philly this past weekend. Needless to say everyone is serious and in race mode.

Most everyone has been gearing up for this race. It's the biggest field of the year and all the heavy hitters are going fast right now. My team, ValueAct Capital, feels very confident for the upcoming week. We have a well-rounded team of sprinters, climbers and all-rounders that can excel on the varying types of MN terrain. We will be on the offensive and looking to take stage wins along Team GC.

Tomorrow's double day will be super hard on the legs but the Cannon Falls stage is where the real racing starts. Not a whole lot to report until after tomorrow evening's crit. Stay tuned and be on the lookout for ValueAct Capital to come out swinging!

It's For The Kids!

Coryn Rivera isn't your average professional cyclist. Far from it, in fact. At just sixteen years of age, Coryn has amassed 26 national championships, on both the road and the indoor cycling track.

In just a few days, Coryn will be starting her second Nature Valley Grand Prix. That's right. She rode the NVGP as a fifteen-year old! As the youngest participant in the race for two years running, she will most certainly feed off of last year's experience, as well as her results from 2009.

More recently, she was one of four riders to earn an automatic bid to the 2009 UCI Road and Time Trial World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

As impressive as she has been thus far, the future looks amazingly bright for this young professional. Come out this week to see her, and the rest of the PROMAN Hit Squad in action!

Jackie Crowell: Recalling NVGP Last Year

During the NVGP, we're going to have a few riders on the board blogging during the week. This will give us, the recreational cyclists, a closer look into what professional riders do, think, hear and say during a six-stage bike race. Jackie Crowell, from Team Type 1, has her first entry below:




This is my first entry in what will be a series of blogs that share my experience “behind the scenes” at this year’s Nature Valley Grand Prix.

My name is Jacquelyn (more commonly referred to as “Jackie”) Crowell and I’ve been riding a bike my whole life…but this is my first year as a professional. I started racing seriously three years ago and it has brought me to where I am today.

I’m very proud to be racing for Team Type 1. I also race for the University of Florida, where I major in mechanical engineering. I get a kick out of how much the two – engineering and cycling – can complement each other. A lot of what I study, I can apply to what I see in my cycling equipment.

I am also very supportive of collegiate cycling and recently got runner-up at the omnium at the National Collegiate Cycling Championships in Fort Collins, Colo.

We have two riders on Team Type 1 who have Type 1 diabetes, one of whom will be at this year’s race – Morgan Patton. Last year, she was my competition and now we’re teammates. I didn’t realize until last year’s race how much having Type 1 diabetes can affect your performance. Hopefully, we’ll both be able to tackle this race because we’ve both learned a lot about racing after doing the NVGP last year.

When I raced here for the first time last year, I had a good time, and it was definitely the hardest race I had done up to that point. This year, I know what is coming and will hopefully be prepared to tackle the competition, help the team do well and do well myself.

What I remember from last year’s race is that Kristin Armstrong, the former world time trial (and eventual Olympic time trial) champion was there. I also remember it being very windy. I had never really had to deal with the wind being a big factor in a race. Usually it’s the climbs that break things up, but at last year’s race, the wind was the most difficult thing. Watching Kristin and the Aaron’s team go on the attack while I was dying at the back was certainly a struggle. This is one of the things I’ll avoid this year.

In 2009, I also have team obligations to perform here (covering breaks, leading our sprinter out, getting bottles, etc.), which I have never had to do. It’s going to hurt, that’s for sure…but I’m OK with that.

I’ll be sure to keep the devoted readers up to date as the race nears, and provide some insight during the race week.

The Race Week Is Upon Us!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, cycling enthusiasts and those who just enjoy bikes riding above the speed limit, the week of the Nature Valley Grand Prix is upon us!

Starting Tuesday, we'll have the stage-by-stage preview, with a map of the route, as well as the current standings and, if applicable, the winner of the previous stage. Keep your browser pointed to the TRIA Orthopaedic Center blog for the most up-to-date results, pictures, information and carnage, because it's bound to happen!

Remember that it's not just about the bike! There will be fun for the entire family during the races, so check out the Minnesota Bike Festival website for more information!

Here's a quick rundown of the races and locations:

Wednesday, June 10th:

STAGE 1: St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial (8:30 am to 12:00 pm)

STAGE 2: Downtown St. Paul Criterium (pro/elite women at 6:00 pm; pro/elite men at 7:40 pm)

Thursday, June 11th:

STAGE 3: Cannon Falls Road Race (5:00 pm men; 5:30 pm women; all racing done at 8:15 pm)

Friday, June 12th:

STAGE 4: Uptown Minneapolis Criterium (women's pro race at 6:30 pm; men's pro race at 7:45 pm; all racing done at 8:45 pm)

Saturday, June 13th:

STAGE 5: Mankato Road Race (1:15 pm men start; 1:50 pm women start; all racing done at 5:40 pm)

Sunday, June 14th:

STAGE 6: Stillwater Criterium (pro/elite women at 12:00 pm; pro/elite men at 1:30 pm; all racing done at 3:00 pm)

We hope the 2009 edition is the best yet. Come see it live!

The Minnesota Qualifier Series

The Minnesota Qualifier Series wrapped up on June 2nd. This is different from the Nature Valley Pro Ride, which selected amateurs at events around the country for trips to ride on a Nature Valley composite team.

The results can be found here.

Since the men's race fills with top riders (pro and amateurs) from across the country, we ensured that local elites would have a chance to participate by reserving twelve spots for riders from Minnesota. The race organizers then challenged the teams to come up with their own selection system. They picked four local races, awarding points for the placings in each race. The top two clubs won the right to send teams of four riders each. The other four spots went to individuals who scored well, but were not members of these two top teams. These individuals will form a composite team although, since three of them are from the same club, they'll probably recruit the fourth rider to rider under their club colors for this one race.

In some ways, it's similar to the Nature Valley Pro Ride to the extent that amateurs receive invitations to enter the Nature Valley Grand Prix, but it's only for Minnesota riders, the teams themselves organized the Series and they have to pay their own way (but then they already live here).

All Blogged Up

Bill Metz, from OptumHealth, will be a frequent contributor to the blog. This is the fifth of many posts that Bill will be making, dealing with a variety of topics within the life of a recreational cyclist.

Work. Remodeling. Commitments. Weather/Wind. It’s a conspiracy! They are all working to keep me off the bike, and, so far they’re winning. My mileage has taken a serious hit this year and if I don’t find out who is behind all this, I will record my lowest totals in 10 years. Lacking a CSI team when I need them, I decided to do my own investigation.

Work:

Big projects demanding more time, bad economy, high unemployment, I have a good job that 10 other poor devils would put a hit on someone to be in my shoes….Guess I better bag the ride and attend that noon meeting.

Remodeling:

Big project demanding more time, kitchen in the spare bedroom, washing dishes in the tub, one too many microwave dinners….Guess I better bag the ride and varnish the baseboard.

Commitments:

Big events demanding more time, 80th birthdays, graduations, mom needs help with dad and the garden. Gladly bag the ride to spend time with those that have given me so much.

Weather / Wind:

Big winds, I mean really big, unseasonably cool temps, no one to go with so I can draft, rain and sometimes snow…Guess I will bag the ride and wait till it warms up in the afternoon.

Like most conspiracy theories, this one has turned out to be just that, a theory that, in this case, has proven out not to be a conspiracy but something called life. Sometimes the balance tips away from riding to the other forces that demand my time but I have been around long enough to know that it is a balance, and sooner or later it will swing the other way, if not this year, then next.

Now, if I wasn’t doing this blog I could get some serious miles in...

Hub Racing's Finest

Our next guest blogger is Liz Leyden, who rides for Hub Racing, out of Washington, D.C. Liz is originally from Australia, so racing state-side is something she, along with the rest of her teammates, are looking forward to. See what's up below:

So this is my second time back racing in the States with a fantastic International Women’s pro-racing team: Hub Racing.

I arrived in Washington DC in the middle of May and am staying with our wonderful team owner, Shawn (Bega) Blumenfeld, along with another international teammate, Josie Giddens, who is from New Zealand. We’re currently based in Silver Spring, Maryland and have easy access to Rock Creek Park for some great training rides during our stay.

Speaking of training rides, last Monday, Sheba Farrin (Team Director), Josie and I decided it would be a good idea to do several hours of training in Shenandoah National Park. Well, during the last hour of the ride, within thirty minutes, I couldn’t believe my eyes when we saw not one but three bears!! The first one was while I was with Sheba - we both saw a bear crossing the road. The second one was while I was climbing a steep hill. I saw the rear of the bear heading back into the woods (phew)! The third time (yes, things really do happen in threes), the bear was on the side of the road eating when it saw me about to pass. Yes, it made eye contact and all I could think of was “why isn’t this downhill, instead of uphill??” Fortunately, I passed Yogi safely and lived to tell this tale!!

Our first stage race will be Nature Valley Grand Prix, which is one I am looking forward to. Being partial to hills, I feel some stages should suit me well, but I also know it’s going to be a very challenging race. We will also be racing Fitchburg in early July, so the NVGP should help us gauge our fitness and prepare for that race simultaneously. At Nature Valley we will be staying with hosts, which is always a great way to meet real families and experience some good ol’ US hospitality, which the Minnesotans are so very, very good at!

We look forward to representing Hub Racing in a few weeks and hope to excite the crowd!

Liz Leyden
Hub Racing

Ask The TRIA Orthopaedic Surgeon

During our rides, the heat tends to get to us. Sometimes, it's an environmental issue. Other times, it's the bottom of our feet that get hot, but it may or may not be due to the ambient temperature. It could be another issue altogether.

For this answer, we asked again asked Dr. Fernando Pena, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon with the TRIA Orthopaedic Center, whose specialties include foot and ankle issues, reconstruction, and sports medicine. Here's what he thinks about the cycling "hot spots:"

The commonly known "hot spots" are foot blisters or at a minimum, early stages of a blister. The reason why a blister takes place is because of the separation between the different layers of the skin. The separation creates damage to the skin and fluid leaks into it by loosing the ability to contain or seal the water inside our body.

The reasons to create that type of damage are many but for the most part all of them follow the same principle; having the skin moving back and forth against the shoe instead of being static. The skin on our feet is very mobile. You can put your finger on it and move the skin almost on any direction while your finger is on it. If from previous injuries or surgeries a scar is developed, the skin will be scarred down to the bone and therefore the ability of the skin to move back and forth is more limited.

Given proper time and a well planned progressive increase in activities, a blister will transform into a callus and remain as such until the activity is stopped. Calluses don't represent any increased damage to the skin by themselves, but they may still be painful.

A good fitting shoe is mandatory to prevent this type of injuries. If the same spot continues being a problem, try to protect the painful spot by applying some protection to the area (foam or felt donuts) that you can hold in place with athletic tape.

If the "hot spots" are over the bottom of the foot, likely you will need some type of shoe insert to make the pressure over the ball of your foot more even and decrease the increased stress over that portion of the skin.