Master Nationals Interviews

Below are two interviews of Arrietta and Diane following the National Championship races:

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Riders Go After Multiple Stars and Stripes Jerseys
By Amanda Miles in The Bulletin

Arrietta Clauss picked the perfect day to win her first road race.

A 57-year-old Madison, Wis., resident, Clauss dropped the only rider still with her inside the final 10 kilometers of the 84K women's 55-59 road race and held on for victory on Friday, the third day of the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships.

“In Wisconsin, we don't have any masters, so I'm always racing against women a lot younger than me, so if I finish in the top third, that's really nice," Clauss explained. “And out here racing against women my own age, it's really interesting. It's really fun."

Clauss, finished the race in 2 hours, 52 minutes and 1 second, defeating Matthews, N.C., resident and runner-up Marianne Holt by 1 minute, 4 seconds. Clauss has been one of the stars of the 2012 masters nationals thus far. She picked up her third consecutive stars-and-stripes jersey (reserved for national champions) in the time trial in Prineville on Wednesday. The rise to the top of the masters age group ranks has been a quick one for Clauss, who works on the editorial staff of the Journal of Chemical Education. She fell in love with cycling in 2004 on a seven-day cycling trip to France with her husband and five children but only seriously took up the sport in 2007.

“Each year, I learned more, matured with it, gained both mechanical understanding and mental understanding," Clauss said about cycling. “And still, I think my mental understanding is a little weak, and that's why I was so proud to win the road race, because in a time trial you're a very constant speed. It's very difficult, but you're in control. However, on a road race, somebody else controls it, so you go very fast, you almost redline it, and then you have to realize that that's going to be over and you can continue. So that's something I've had to learn."

Clauss will be racing in her division's criterium, scheduled for Sunday in Bend's NorthWest Crossing neighborhood. Clauss is one of four riders, along with Paul Tetrick (men's 80-84), Melinda Berge (women's 65-69) and Lisa Campbell (women's 45-49), who have won their respective time trial and road race events at these championships and could sweep the races in their respective divisions. Among the four, only Campbell is not listed on the masters nationals website as being registered in the criterium.

Even if Clauss does not win, she likely will not be too crestfallen, as cycling means much more to her than that.

“I'm lucky because I'm winning, but I've met so many wonderful people by doing this," Clauss said. “The workouts ... any time you feel a little down about your life, the endorphins kick in, you feel great. Learning how to tune my bike and putting it together has just been empowering as a woman. So there's been so many positive aspects. Winning is sort of icing on the cake, but cycling is good for anybody that wants to do it."

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Final day, first win, Denver cyclist claims first title at the Masters Road National Championships in Bend
By Amanda Miles in The Bulletin

Diane Ostenso saved her best result for last. The diminutive Ostenso, of Cottage Grove, Wis., came flying out of the pack in the finishing straight to take the women's 55-59 criterium. Ostenso, 58, spent some time at the front of the pack early in the race before her Trek Midwest Team teammate in the race, fellow Wisconsinite Arrietta Clauss — who had won the women's 55-59 time trial and road race earlier in these championships — moved toward the front late.

“Crit racing is a lot more technical, and I'm really good at technical, so with these corners, I feel most comfortable being in the front," Ostenso explained. “I can take my own lines, and so I just felt more comfortable at the front. But then I know I need to rest a little bit. I can't do all the work the whole time, so (Clauss) helped me rest when I needed to rest for the finish."

This year's masters nationals made for a triumphant return to Bend for Ostenso. Among her several national titles, she won the women's 55-59 division at the 2009 USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships, also in Bend, but missed last year's road nationals while recuperating after breaking her ankle in a cyclocross race the previous November. That injury required 15 screws and two plates, but Ostenso, who has been racing bikes for nearly 30 years, is back now.

And good as gold once again at masters nationals.