PackFodder

The Dolce Divas hit Madera in style this weekend. What a season they are having. Oliva won the Cat 3overall, Janelle got 5th overall and Starla got 2nd overall in the 4s. Jessica flatted her ass off but she's still Queen Rock Star. Other results:

crit
olivia - 5th
janelle - 7th
starla - 1st [cat 4]
jessica - flatted, but finished

TT
olivia- 2nd
janelle - 5th
starla - 2nd [cat 4]
jessica - ?

RR
olivia - 1st [for the entire field...including 1/2s]
janelle - 5th
starla - 2nd [cat 4]
jessica - flatted in 2nd lap but finished


[Olivia's Race Report]
I hit the road to the hot Central Valley with Janelle on Friday afternoon. By the time we got to Livermore the temperature had reached the high 80’s and when we got to Madera it was 95 and expected to be that hot all weekend, yikes! I just kept telling myself well at least its not east coast humidity but it was still really hot. We pre-rode the TT course and as expected it was flat and hot but good to spin the legs after the journey. Starla and Jessica arrived late that night so we did not see them until the am. First up in the stage race was the criterium on Sat morning, the 10 mile TT was Sat afternoon and the 68 mile road race was on Sunday. The Women’s Cat 3s (Janelle, Jessica and I) raced with the Women Cat 1,2s for the entire weekend but were picked separately. While it is great experience to race with the 1,2s it is difficult to strategize. Starla was racing with the 4s. In the crit there were 5 sec time bonuses awarded for 2 primes and the final top 1, 2, 3 got 20, 10 and 5 sec time bonuses for overall GC. Jessica was our sprinter for the day and Janelle and I planned to contest the primes for the times and to watch for breaks. The course was 4 corners with good pavement and quite a few bot-dots. The pace started reasonably fast and it took me a while to get into a groove. There were lots of lone attacks but nothing was sticking and the pack was patient in reeling people back in. On the first prime the pace increased dramatically and I went for it and I think I crossed the line in 3rd but I found out later that the first 2 were Cat ½ so I got the 5 sec bonus for Cat 3. The race was fairly uneventful from there but Janelle and I found each other easily in the pack but we couldn’t find Jessica. We find out later that she flatted but was able to get back in for a little while. We changed the plan and Janelle was sprinter on my lead-out. On the last lap the pace was high and there was a lot of jockeying. I got caught mid-pack for a while and wanted to get out on the right side but couldn’t. I saw Janelle further up on the left side so I worked hard to get up there after the second to last turn. She told me she was on so I drilled it but on the right side others jumped after Kelly a Paramount racer in red. I had to go wide on the turn and lost some ground but I thought Janelle was still on my wheel but I had gapped her a little on the turn. I sprinted towards the line and sat again (???) but drilled hard and crossed the line with 2 other Cat3s, nosing out one and getting nosed out by the other. Janelle came in right behind. We did not know results until that night and I ended up with 5th and Janelle got 7th. Jessica finished behind the pack so was still in for the GC. I was disappointed that we did not get a better team result as an opener to the stage race but we learnt a ton and crits are so much fun. Starla will report in on her victorious performance in the Cat 4 crit!!
The goal for the afternoon was to stay cool and hydrated before the TT after 3pm. I felt pretty nauseous all morning and after eating lunch but started to feel better as the TT approached and as I got my core body temp down through Janelle’s hand in ice bucket regime. This event was key to the GC standings and I knew I had to gain time to have a chance at the overall. Time-trialing is what I did before bike-racing so I put myself under a lot of pressure to kill it. We kept our warm-up to a minimum and tried to stay out of the sun. It was a holding start and we went 30 secs apart. I planned to go all out for the entire thing and die when I crossed the line so that’s pretty much what I did. I focused on the riders ahead of me and passed 1 then 2 then 3 and almost 4 at the line. The first turn was not marked well and I was paranoid about missing it and wrote the course on my arm as the road names were confusing. Although it was a short course drinking was a must because of the heat. I crossed the line at approx. 26 mins gasping as I really went all out. I heard later that the course was actually 10.5 miles so my pace was 24.15mph for a time of 26.05. We did not get TT results until Sunday morning so we had no idea of overall standing but we heard that Kelly the Paramount racer who won the criterium did a 25 something. I rolled back to the finish and saw Janelle rocking over the line absolutely dying. It was obvious she gave it everything. Jessica had a bit of a mishap as she passed the badly marked turn but gave a solid performance as well. Starla was pleased with her TT but had no idea how other Cat 4s did.
That night the goal was keep cool, eat early, rest and hydrate. We went out with the CVC ladies for Mexican that took forever but we had fun. The day’s results were supposed to be posted by 8 but it was 9 before the crit results went up and then the TT results never materialized. We would have to wait until the am to strategize for the road race.
The road race was not starting until after 11 so again we would be subject to the brutal heat so we tried to keep cool and hydrated. We got to the ranch for road race registration, a very remote but cool spot in the middle of vast farmland. We rushed to check results and it turned out that Kelly from Paramount beat me by 24 seconds in the TT and with her 20 sec time bonus in the crit less my 5 sec time bonus she was 39 seconds ahead of me in the GC. What does this mean….I have to get away!! Allie from Metromint was in 3rd aprox 2.35 down and Karla (independent) was close to her in 4th and Janelle close to Karla in 5th. Janelle got 5th in the TT nice job!! The competition was fierce and racing with the 1/2s was complicating things further. Jessica was further down the GC and planned to help us as much as possible. Most people warmed up in the shaded barn but I headed out on the road. This is the first time I have raced a course without pre-riding it so I was nervous but the word was it was flat to rolling but no major climbs.
We rolled out after 11 and the pace was pretty slow. I spent time making sure I recognized the contenders and also kept an eye on the 1/2s that might attack as my plan was to go with them. The heat was brutal but I was very vigilant about hydrating and eating. We hit a bumpy section in the road and it continues for a while and it gets even bumpier. Nobody mentioned this!!! It is brutal and goes on for miles. You have to grip your handlebars so hard to keep upright and I think about having to do this 4 times, yikes. At the end of the worst stretch of road I have ever ridden on there is a right turn into the rollers to the finish. After the finish more rollers into the feedzone. Each time we go to the feedzone it is chaotic probably because everyone is so anxious to get as much liquid as possible. At one stage a feedzone volunteer falls in front of riders while trying to give bottles and another time the tent comes crashing onto the course in front of us and we are yelling let it go. Fun times.
Jessica does a lot great work at or near the front and looks strong. This is her type of course, even the bumpy bits (???) so I feel she is going to do well. Then she flats again, absolute bummer. There are no real attacks until lap 2 when just past the feedzone the touchstone riders who have been pulling a lot go so I race after them and a few other Cat1/2s join. We have a gap and Virginia (CRC) and I alternate pulls as no-one else is willing. I don’t see Kelly from Paramount so I think this is the chance and work hard to push the pace. However, I am concerned that this happened after the feedzone but I did not start it so I am not sure of the rules. The pack soon catches on and Virginia and I sit up and chit-chat at the front. This proves very valuable as she helps me formulate a plan. We come off the front and I sit in for most of the rest of the race. I have not seen Janelle in a while and start to get concerned, then she rolls up beside me saying check this out and nodding at her arm. She is all cut and bloodied. Apparently we hit a narrow stretch in the road and a rider had to veer left and got close to another rider who panicked and went down with Janelle behind her. Janelle said she quickly assessed that there were no broken bones and just a banged hip and arm so she fought her way back to the pack. Huge props in my opinion for this, not sure I could have done that. The pack seemed to be getting smaller, the heat and the bad road was taking its toll. On the third lap I did not feel great so started increasing my water and gel intake. Kelly from Paramount was sitting in which is all she needed to do but in the fourth lap Karla went to the front and increased the pace, which dropped more riders and somehow managed to get Kelly to trade off with her. I was thrilled to see she was expending more energy than me. As we hit the bumpy part again I move towards the front to execute my plan, which I had shared with Janelle. I had to win the road race to get the 20 sec time bonus, which would bring me within 19 sec of Kelly and if I attacked on the rollers before the finish I might pull it off. We go into the final turn at a decent speed and start climbing the first roller. We have the whole road after the turn so I see people crowding me on the left. Crap I need to get out so I get aggressive and move out, then I launch and go all the way left and gun it over the top and down the first hill and up the next and down and I take a quick look before the approach to the finish and people are scrambling but it’s all a blur and I grit my teeth harder and sprint up the hill and I cross the line in first place overall. I beat the Cat 1/2s as well and am ecstatic but I doubted it would be enough for overall GC. Jane Robertson a Cat 2 comes in behind me and is thrilled to hear I am a Cat 3 as it means first place for her. I catch up with Janelle who finished strong and got a Cat 3 5th placing beating Allie from Metromint who is ahead of Janelle in the GC so she will also gain time. Kelly from Paramount gets 4th but I have no idea of the time difference.
We roll back to the ranch and wait for results. We find Jessica later who was able to fix her flat and get back in the race, nice one! We find Starla who gets 2nd in the road race and the GC leader who was only 1 sec ahead of Starla before the road race got first.
The results for the road race come out and I can’t believe it, Kelly was 24 seconds behind me in the road race, which means I win the Stage Race by a mere 5 seconds. Whoohooo!!
Janelle get 5th in the GC, whoohooo! Jessica gets 13th in the GC, whoohooo. Starla gets 2nd in the Cat 4 GC, whoohooo!
It was a fantastic Dolce Vita weekend!