Lake Geneva CX race

The course was spectacular, my first lap I was not. I hit the first lap too fast and slipped 4-5 times allowing 3-4 riders go by each time. Once I knew the slippery spots I did well, but missed any top 10 placement. All good though because it was quite fun, got the first race of the season under my belt and will make Jay work harder to beat me next time – battle is on!
Speedy Michael took home the win in his race and Greg got a 3rd.
Good to see all of you out there and thanks for the photos, Chad Brown!

Fat Tire 40 2013

Well couple days away from another Fat tire 40.  Rolling on some XXX wheels this time around.  They claim to have "unparalleled awesomeness" which was what I was looking for. (they have a weight limit!)
Also over a cup of joe today in my special mug I was pondering:  roll to the line with a clean bike or dirty? ...and does either choice cast different levels of intimidation?

J.CASSADY

GMSR- final thoughts

I planned to post a race summary today (I was too nervous to post anything during the race), but my team mates took care of that for me!  I agree with Eric, this race is definitely going on the calendar for next year.  The whole weekend was well organized, the races were challenging, and the scenery was amazing.  On top of that, Amanda and I met a lot of great women in the race this year and I'm already looking forward to racing with them again next year!

Lisa

Green Mt Stage Race Final Day

Today was the final day of racing, a 6 corner crit in downtown Burlington. The course was great - had a long uphill to the finish line, brick cobbles on sections of the course, a few technical turns, and a wicked fast downhill to the final corner. The only thing that could ruin the day was the forecast - rain!

Mike and I showed up early to pre-ride the course, and since the course was still wet from rain early that morning, we decided to watch for a bit as there were a number of guys already on the course warming up. Even at non-race speeds, rear wheels were sliding as guys hit the final downhill corner (which had a brick cross walk and large painted strips), with one guy crashing - not an encouraging scene!

But the race gods were smiling today, as the rain that was forecast never came, the course dried out, and the racing was great.

Lisa and Amanda raced first, and they provided a lot of excitement as Lisa, in the leader's jersey, found herself in a group 30 seconds or so back from a lead group that contained her main rivals for the overall. Even though she had over a minute on her main rival, she could not afford for her chasing group to lose more ground, and she was really working hard to keep the gap from growing (I think she was just trying to make the race suspenseful as the spectators were loving the "drama"). In the end she finished with a comfortable margin and was crowned the 2013 Champion!

In our race, two guys managed to escape about half way in, and although the rest of the race was pretty animated (with about 15 guys getting shelled and then pulled), it came down to a field sprint for 3rd. We tried to set up John Van Susteren for the sprint, Mike led him out, and John ended up 2nd or 3rd in the sprint. All in all, a great 4 days of racing - Mike ended up 14th on GC and I ended up 9th.

Post-race Lake Champlain ice cream was the perfect recovery food while watching the remaining races. We definitely plan to go again, and hopefully with even more teammates (hint, hint - put it on your calendars for next Labor Day weekend!). It was a great race, fun courses, strong competition, and lots of fun!

Green Mt Stage Race Day 3

Today was the tough queen stage, 70 miles with a mountain-top finish (check the profile below), with the last 1 km hitting 20%!!  Huge crowds out cheering, chalked messages on the road - a great setting for the queen stage.

Another awesome day for the ladies, as Lisa won the stage and significantly increased her GC lead, and Amanda finished 4th and moved into 5th place on GC with the podium in sight!  Way to represent the team!

Mike and I (and John V) did not fare quite so well. Three guys attacked right after the neutral roll-out, from three of the leading teams, and stayed away to the end, and also ended the GC race as the top 3 positions are now gone. Mike and I were near the front when they went, looked at each other and thought "It is way to early, the GC leader and 2nd on GC are not in the break and they do not seem concerned, ..." and neither of us tried to bridge. Only a couple guys were interested in trying to bring back the break, and with 30+ guys sitting on, the rest of the race was pretty much tempo until the final set of climbs. Once on the climbs the field pretty shattered, and toward the top "paperboy" climbing seemed to be the norm for many of the guys!  At the finish, I ended up 10th, Mike 15th, and John 20th.

Post-race beers never tasted so good!  And you can see Mike in the pic below passed out on this woman's table (note the beer in the arm of his chair) as she is trying to revive him!