Housatonic Hills Road Race, Southbury, CT
Presented by Zephyr Cycling Team
Cat 4 Women — 27 miles
Course description: Rollers and substantial climbs with some merciful flats and down hills.
"Is this ever going to end?" is what I kept thinking during the race. Racing a course I'd never seen before was full of surprises—hill, after hill, and ending with a final big hill.
Women's Cat 4 started with the juniors leading the field. I was at the front with them for the first 5 miles or so. I was having fun, but they were a bit reckless. Then, my teammates called me back; the women wanted to separate. The first big climb split the women's 4 field. Andrea, Liz and I were in the front pack for a while, but the pace up the hills was pretty fast. I held on to the front pack (minus Ellen Moses-CRCA/Foundation who escaped in a breakaway that I didn't even notice—Go Ellen!, soon to be Cat 3, we hope).
I led the pack into the hills and drifted 4-6 riders every time. Once I even got to ride almost an entire long climb at MY pace with the field following behind. The pace on the flats and down hills was slow, so when I got tired of setting the pace, I urged the gals to move the pace along so that the riders behind didn't close the gap. They got the message and we picked up the pace. I didn't feel confident enough about attacking and I didn't know anyone that I could enlist to make a big move with me. Maybe next time, I'll find one or two women and try something ballsy. The women I was riding with were very strong on the hills.
My only big mistake was at the finishing climb. I let too many riders get ahead of me going into the climb (at the bottom), thinking I could pace myself toward the finish while others pooped out. Well, that was true for about 4 riders; the other 9 gained just enough distance to beat me to the line. Next time, I will assert myself much more when nearing the finish. I was afraid to burn out before the final sprint. I had an exciting sprint with 2 other girls; one of whom beat me by inches. I got 12th place. 37 women finished the race. I was very close to finishing in the top 10—so cool. This race was wonderful for my confidence.
Senor Swanky's were great out there. Congratulations to Liz, Andrea, Ann-Marie, Eve, and Courtney who crossed the finish line in that order. Ellen Moses (CRCA/Foundation) won the race and we gave an enthusiastic cheer as she was called to the stage to receive her prize money.
—Emma "CANNONdale" Nelson
Cat 4 Women — 27 miles
Course description: Rollers and substantial climbs with some merciful flats and down hills.
"Is this ever going to end?" is what I kept thinking during the race. Racing a course I'd never seen before was full of surprises—hill, after hill, and ending with a final big hill.
Women's Cat 4 started with the juniors leading the field. I was at the front with them for the first 5 miles or so. I was having fun, but they were a bit reckless. Then, my teammates called me back; the women wanted to separate. The first big climb split the women's 4 field. Andrea, Liz and I were in the front pack for a while, but the pace up the hills was pretty fast. I held on to the front pack (minus Ellen Moses-CRCA/Foundation who escaped in a breakaway that I didn't even notice—Go Ellen!, soon to be Cat 3, we hope).
I led the pack into the hills and drifted 4-6 riders every time. Once I even got to ride almost an entire long climb at MY pace with the field following behind. The pace on the flats and down hills was slow, so when I got tired of setting the pace, I urged the gals to move the pace along so that the riders behind didn't close the gap. They got the message and we picked up the pace. I didn't feel confident enough about attacking and I didn't know anyone that I could enlist to make a big move with me. Maybe next time, I'll find one or two women and try something ballsy. The women I was riding with were very strong on the hills.
My only big mistake was at the finishing climb. I let too many riders get ahead of me going into the climb (at the bottom), thinking I could pace myself toward the finish while others pooped out. Well, that was true for about 4 riders; the other 9 gained just enough distance to beat me to the line. Next time, I will assert myself much more when nearing the finish. I was afraid to burn out before the final sprint. I had an exciting sprint with 2 other girls; one of whom beat me by inches. I got 12th place. 37 women finished the race. I was very close to finishing in the top 10—so cool. This race was wonderful for my confidence.
Senor Swanky's were great out there. Congratulations to Liz, Andrea, Ann-Marie, Eve, and Courtney who crossed the finish line in that order. Ellen Moses (CRCA/Foundation) won the race and we gave an enthusiastic cheer as she was called to the stage to receive her prize money.
—Emma "CANNONdale" Nelson
posted by liz @ 5:48 PM
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