Team BH in a Calendar

Team BH is featured twice in the sweet Chicago Bike Racing Calendar. Check out Miss February and Miss April! (and check out the cool calendars!)

Illinois State Road Race

The Illinois State Road Race was disappointing on a lot of levels. First there were only 4 competitors for the elite women. I know that IL doesn't have that many elite women racers but come on, I know there were a bunch of you out there that could have raced but chose not to. I know it's late in the year and maybe some still had a bad taste in your mouth from last year. We still had a small field last year, I think it was 9 or so. It was a short loop and we were on the course at the same time as the 1/2 men. Our race kept getting neutralized, and at one point we had dropped some riders that were allowed to catch back on during one of the neutralizations--as if our racing is so lame that it just didn't matter. After multiple discussions throughout the year on how prize money would help draw a bigger field for the women, our prize money was still incredibly low compared to the men's even though we had to pay the same entry fee to race. Not that I am complaining after the fact--it was great that they stuck to the payout even though only 4 people showed up to race, it just makes it hard to recruit women to travel to race, especially this late the season, with such a low payout. On a positive note the course was very nice this year, a 10 mile loop around beautiful forest preserve tree lined smooth paved streets with a nice hill that was big enough to make a selection.

Even knowing that it could possibly be lame, Team BH USA felt it was important as residents of Illinois to do our part to support our state road race so we fielded 2 of the four racers. Anne doesn't even live in Illinois, but drove 5 hours down from Wisconsin to do her part for the team. The biggest bummer of the day came 5 miles into the 50 mile race when I got a flat tire. Anne gave me her wheel but instead of waiting for us to get it fixed, or even soft pedaling, one of the other riders took off and time trialed the 45 miles. It took us about 2 minutes to change it and I chased hard for 45 miles but couldn't close the gap. Anne rode the flat tire back to her car, changed it, and then continued on to finish the race. It was a gorgeous day and fortunately Anne and I like riding our bikes so at least we got in some nice hard riding. Anne was the ultimate teammate! Having a teammate there to give me her wheel was the kind of situation that I usually only can dream about, not to mention her driving all that way to ride with me, in what we knew would most likely be a pretty lame race. Thanks Anne! You are awesome.

On a personal level, I and the sponsors of Team BH USA are doing all we can to support women's cycling here in Illinois. As we are sending our own Devon Haskell to the ranks of a national level pro women's team, we now have a whole new bunch of women racers coming up through the ranks in Illinois and it is my hope that one day we will have a huge field for all of our IL state races!! It's our personal mission to be a part of the solution.

After the race we grilled out at the Cuttin Crew bus and helped celebrate their team's win in the men's cat 4 race. Congratuations Cuttin Crew!!

-Kristen

Congratulations Devon!

Devon Haskell will be leaving Team BH USA to ride with Team Tibco next year!

Good luck Devon, it was great riding with you.

Sincerely,

Team BH USA

Tour of Missouri Women's Series (Also known as Gateway Cup)

(Friday night under lights, Lafayatte Square, Kristen getting nipped at the line for a prime at 6 to go by Laura Van Gilder doh! and no that is not a smile it is total pain face!!)

photo courtesy of Robert Bilbrey

Gateway Cup is an awesome 4 crit series in St. Louis that has been around for I think at least 15 years, with at least one of the races, the Giro Della Montagna, in it's 23rd year. They have always meant great regional races for the women with a few pros showing up and cleaning up. This year, with the Tour of Missouri set to start on Monday, the organizers made a big push to bring pro women into the Tour of Missouri. The plan is for the Tour of Missouri to one day include a women's tour, but in the spirit of "baby steps" they started this year by making the 4 crit series of Gateway Cup a pro women's event. They invited all the big pro teams to St. Louis and we had a star studded field: Colovita, Tibco, Webcor, Team Type 1, Lipsmacker, as well as all the usual strong regional riders who usually show up. We ended up having fields of around 60 women each day and it was super cool riding around with women wearing world champion stripes on their jerseys as well as current and former national champions.

BH USA had planned to have three of us there, but Madeleine was stricken with a horrible stomach virus that has been going around the women's peloton. I had it a couple weeks ago, and we heard there were also several other riders that were unable to race this weekend due to illness. So Anne and I headed down along with Janette Rho from Chicago who was racing in the women's 3/4 series. We got hooked up with some awesome host housing, (thanks Marsha!!) and were pretty much blown away by how welcome we were made to feel during the whole series.


Now the races:

Friday night was LaFayette Square. The course was a wide flat sprinters course around a gorgeous park surrounded by huge cool historic houses. Our race started at 8:30 pm, so we were racing under street lights and also huge lights placed on the corners. The sides, especially the back side, were pretty dark, and even though I was fairly scared going in, it ended up feeling just fine. The whole race felt pretty reasonable and at 6 to go I was in good position to try for a prime. Nobody was leading it out, so I started to ramp it up but felt like I was pedaling through molasses. Nobody was coming around me so I kept it up only to get nipped at the line by Laura Van Gilder (see above photo.) Curses! This seems to be a reocurring theme for me this year! I was pretty blown up from that effort, plus my feelings were hurt so I just sort of gave up and rolled in. Anne finished a respectable 32nd. Tibco did a fantastic leadout train for Brooke Miller to win and Tina Pic rode for her local teammate Kelly Benjamin who got third to Laura Van Gilder's second place finish.


Saturday: The Hills. This was a new race this year, also in a very cool neighborhood surrounding a park--sort of theme for St. Louis. I loved this course. It was great pavement super wide, slightly uphill on the s/f side and slightly down on the other side. The race was fairly uneventful, but I just loved it! It's hard to explain but there was just a really laid back vibe going in the peloton. I felt really comfortable and like I belonged. I stopped braking in the corners and was able to maintain my position in the pack. After two years of riding in women's domestic pro pelotons I finally started to feel confident and good! I managed to move up a little in the final laps and sprint at the end. Even with the wide road I got super boxed in, but hung on for 17th place--in the money! Anne was not far behind and we both felt good. Brooke Miller and Tibco pulled off the win again. Kelly Benjamin was second and Sam Schnieder the U23 National Crit Champion from Wisconsin made the podium today.


Sunday: Giro Della Montagne "The Hill". "The Hill" is The Italian Neighborhood of St. Louis. This race has been going on for 24 years so the residents all are familiar with it. There is a slight hill on the back side, and a downhill for the finish. This race starts in front of a large Catholic Church and I'll never forget in 2001 when I did this race as my first "open" race after racing cat 4 all year a priest came out and said a prayer while we were all at the line waiting to start. After the prayer he put his hand on my shoulder (I was in the front row) and said directly to me "have a good race". I ended up having the best race of my career up until then! So I have always had fond memories of this race. It started to rain at the start of our race and it gradually got more and more wet until the course was fully soaked. A couple laps in after a drink from my bottle I was replacing it in it's cage when the next thing I know my hands are flying off the bars and my bike is jerking around. How I did not totally bite it I don't know. I heard somebody yell behind me, but I kept it together and got nothing more than a pounding heart. I just assumed I did a spaz move of some kind and put it out of my head. Then about 2 laps later there was a massive pile up in that same spot. I escaped with no injury and only a slightly bent derailleur hanger that Jose from SRAM was able to fix. Anne wasn't so lucky and took a nasty tumble into a rider who had fallen directly in front of her. Several riders were seriously injured and had to be hospitalized so they neutralized us. Anne was bleeding and bruised but she heroically finished the race. Turns out there was a huge unmarked divet in the pavement on that spot. After they spray painted it orange they restarted us. Spectators said later that every lap someone hit it, but we managed to finish the race without any more crashes, even though unfortunately for her Tina Pic blew a tire right after the free laps had expired--she kept her cool and no one crashed. Even though I finished in the unfortunate spot of 21, just out of the money, and Anne was just a little behind that I was feeling great after this race. I feel like I am finally able to feel comfortable in a pro field! Also noteable for this race was Jessi Prinner from ABD, fellow Chicagoan, Junior Worlds rider, bridging up solo and riding in a break of 3 for most of the race. It was a gutsy move since Tibco or Colovita weren't represented, but as always I am in awe of her guts and heart!! Brooke Miller and Tibco were 3 for 3 with Kelly Benjamin and Sam Schneider in second and third.


Sunday: Downtown Tour of Missouri Women's Criterium. COOL urban course. We were right under the St. Louis Arch and saw it on the start finish stretch. The back side was pretty bumpy which scared me every time, and the corners were a bit narrower than the other crits of the weekend, but I was consistantly taking them well. After racing for $1800 every day we were racing for Big Money $9000 today!! I was in ok position at 3 to go but I had trouble maintaining it and felt like in order to avoid moving backwards I had nowhere to be but on the outside in the wind going all out for about the last lap and a half. As a result when I hit the final sprint I had nothing left. I made myself go 100% and knew I was gaining on the person ahead of me but the finish line came too soon and I couldn't get her. I was pleased to end up finishing 20th--the last spot of the money yipppee!! Anne finished 32nd. Brooke Miller continued her winning streak, with Tina Pic finishing second, Sam Schneider in third.


Anne and I had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed all of the races. We love St. Louis! I got to hang out with some old friends and I think I had more fun racing this weekend than anywhere all year!! I'm super excited to have these be my final crits of the year and end on such a positive note.

One more racing weekend left: Illinois State Road Race Championships this Saturday!!!

-Kristen

Soldier Field Cycling Series

I decided to head down to the Soldier Field Cycling Series last week. It was a combination of my regular babysitter cancelling so I couldn't do my regular Wed ride, the availablity of last minute child care (thank you Barry!!) and wanting to see what all the fun I'd been hearing about all summer was about. I had heard that all year there had been large crowds, but it was pouring rain that day so it scared away a lot of participants and spectators and the podium girls and guys I had heard about. When we were racing the rain stopped so we just had lots of puddles to deal with.

I highly reccomend this series for people that work or live in the city and want to get some crit riding in. For a parking lot course it was pretty fun! Nice place to practice high speed cornering. The women's field was combined and small, only 6 of us, but I was super impressed with the other riders, especially the Track Cat Rosette! Great job out there. The event was very well run and lots of fun!

-Kristen

What a good lookin team!

National Criterium Championships

As a team, Devon and I finished 19th and 25th, and Anne also finished with the field though her result is mia. Personally National Criterium Championships was the highlight of my year. Depending on perspective I can be disappointed or happy with my finish. I was disappointed because I was hoping to be in the sprint this year. But if I'm honest, it was the first time I've ever finished with the main field at Downer's Grove, so it was the best I've ever done and I should be happy. Being a perfectionist, I usually choose disappointed but realistically I know I have made a lot of improvements this year and am trying hard to focus on that. I guess it just means I have to keep training and give it another shot next year!

Congratulations to Tina Pic! National Champion once again. She announced her retirement after this race and what a way to go out.

Check out this cool video footage of our race courtesy of Rene Cudal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCIKyVc1IEk

-Kristen

Glencoe Grand Prix!!

The women's 1-2 race at Glencoe was a small field, but there were a lot of strong riders on the line. I'm not sure why a bigger crowd doesn't show up as Glencoe always puts on a fun and super well run venue. The promoters even work hard to put together good prize money and great primes for the women which we really appreciate. Thanks to all the sponsors - ATT (i love the iphone), Alberto's cycles, First Bank of Highland Park, the Village of Glencoe, and many more... Also, thanks once again to Shelle Jewelers for supporting the women's sprint prize with a beautiful watch. Hopefully the word will start to spread to the midwest women about what a great race this is so that more new women come out to try racing and more experienced racers put Glencoe on their calendar.

The fact that Glencoe is a great race was no secret to Team BH, and we showed up in force with our full squad! We were hoping to have a strong showing as we comprised almost half the field and no other riders had teammates (it was not really fair). Jen of Vanderkitten and Jeannie from team Mack started the race off fast and furious, and with some early primes thrown in there the pace continued to be high. Madeleine attacked hard early on and held a gap for over a lap.... but her escape attempt came to a quick halt when the skies opened up and started dumping buckets and throwing down lightning (yikes). The race took a bit of an intermission waiting for the lightning to stop...

Round 2: after about 10 minutes, we all lined back up on the start line for a new shorter-versioned race. The rain was still dumping, but it was a welcome reprieve from the day's sweltering sun. Again Jen and Jeannie led out with a bang and the combination of rain and fast pace caused the field to string out and begin to split. After a couple laps, Kristen attacked hard for a prime and had a bit of a gap... meanwhile, I was hanging on wheels letting others chase back up and as soon as they did, I attacked. The field was split now and Jeannie of team Mack was the only chaser. Kristen took this opportunity to sit on her wheel and take a break while Jeannie and I went into all out time trial mode. It was a tough battle trying to stay away, but there were lots of people hanging out in the rain and providing encouragement with all their cheers! In the end I was able to stay away for a Team BH win! Kristen came around the last corner in the chase group of 3 with fresh legs (sorry jeannie!) and took the sprint for 2nd! Anne then came in with the rest of the field and let out her speedy power to win the field sprint for 5th! Overall a great day for Team BH!!

We are looking forward to another big weekend of racing at Downer's Grove. If you are in the area Friday, come out to The Bike Shop to talk bike racing and meet the team!

Party!

Grayslake

It was monsooning in Milwaukee on Saturday morning as I called up Kristin and Devon to see if we'd even be able to race; but they were game to head to the race and since it was Devon's first back in the states with us after a successful series in France, I loaded up to brave the weather and construction in IL! :)

We met up under surprisingly blue skies at an interesting horseshoe shaped course. It was a women's open field and a good size though we were the only team with numbers. We decided to make it hot from the start and boy did we! We had about 10 in our front group pretty quickly and after Devon took a hard attack, Kristen countered and found she had a nice gap. She kept it up while Devon and I patrolled the front and she was quickly out of sight. After letting a few girls wear themselves out chasing, Devon and I took turns attacking. I was off the front with a small gap when Devon countered past me and off she went as well!

A girl had managed to go with Devon but could only hold her wheel so long (understandable! I'd hate to be in that position!), we let her hang out there for a bit and then our small group organized to catch and attack past her.

Meanwhile, we finally starting getting some primes; Aspen yelled out at me to give them a go to prep myself for the final sprint. The first prime I was coming in hot, clearly set to take it when my cleat snapped and I barely kept it up. I was happy to save it and got back in. Next lap I was much more careful and didn't pull to hard and was able to drill it into the last corner to get a gift certificate for Wildfire. With two to go I hear the pace car behind us and Kristen came barelling through our field, straight to the front! I jumped on her wheel and she drilled the whole last lap and easily crossed the line first! It was quite exciting to have a full podium sweep for Team BH USA! (pics to come soon!)

After a very fun day, we will be headed to Glencoe with the addition of Ann!

Elk Grove Village

(Sunday's Podium)

(Madeleine at the front)

First the soap box: Elk Grove Village is a race that exemplifies the disparity between men's and women's cycling. The men get three days of NRC racing, with a total purse of $152,000. This year, the women got two criteriums on the same course; Saturday's purse was $3000, and Sunday's was $5000. Also, the 3/4 women got their own separate race on Saturday. This was a big improvement over last year, so we want to thank the Mayor of Elk Grove Village who is the promoter of this race for listening to us. However, from what I understand because the men's race was NRC, even though the women's race was not, the women's race still needed to be sanctioned under NRC rules. This meant that we would not get NRC points for our race, but they would cut our prize money on both days. Not exactly sure what we ended up racing for, but it was much less than $3 and $5k. This was USA Cycling's rules, not the Tour of Elk Grove. But bottom line, the women who showed up to race were penalized.

Now the racing! I was surprised to find at registration that my entries for both days had been comped and I would get to ride as #1 since I had won last year. This has never happened to me before and I have to say it was cool. Thanks again Elk Grove Village! Very exciting for the women's race we had Joelle Numainville and Laura Van Gilder show up to race. Joelle is a young Canadian who is riding for Kenda and she just won the Pan Am games in Mexico. Laura Van Gilder is a many time national champion, and someone I have admired in the sport for years. The course this year was shortened a bit with a nice section through a neighborhood, but they kept the hairpin turn in corner one and the finishing stretch was still super long, about 600 meters. It started to rain on Saturday before our race and it was terrifying but I got more confident as the race went on. We had tons of primes, and I tried a surprise attack for the midrace prime, starting my sprint wide and way back, but Laura Van Gilder was on it and easily came around me. Anne, Madeleine and I all stayed upright but with 4 laps to go, just when the free laps ended Joelle crashed taking her out of the race. Then Kristin Wentworth and Laura Van Gilder went off the front and it started to look dangerous. The pace picked up and the field was shattering. I was in the back when this was happening but was able to work with another rider to get up to the front. We now had an 8 person split and I was glad that we had a break because I wasn't feeling very snappy and knew the sprint would be tough. On the final lap, Jeannie from Mack did a spectacular attack and I was able to cover it, but couldn't come around her. Laura Van Gilder shot around both of us for the win, and Catherine from Kenda nipped me at the line so I ended up fourth. I was bummed to miss out on the podium, but was happy that we all stayed upright, and that Team BH USA all finished in the money.

Sunday's race was mostly the same folks but also included some of the cat 3's who had raced the day before. It was a gorgeous sunny day, so even though we were racing the same exact course as the day before it felt different. I felt much better too. Madeleine did a fantastic early attack causing Kenda to chase, and Anne and I maintained our positions. The race was fairly uneventful and in the final lap I moved up to the front after the hairpin turn. On the radio, Barry told me to wait for the Kenda leadout and sure enough I was ready and able to jump on when Wentworth did a great leadout. She singlehandedly continued it until the final straight away. No one was taking over so when she slowed I slowed slightly until I felt Laura Van Gilder and Joelle fly by. I tried desperately to get their wheel but it wasn't even close. Then I felt Carrie Cash from Team Revolution coming up on the right side and I so desperately wanted to be on that podium that I dug in and unleashed I don't know what, but it got me across the line before Carrie and Jeannie from Team Mack who was also in hot pursuit. People watching said it didn't look weird but I felt like I was completely out of control and my power tap (we are so lucky to be riding carbon tubular powertaps provided for us by The Bike Shop in Glen Ellyn) showed a new max wattage. Anne finished in the money and we had a great day for Team BH USA.


After the race I'm afraid I babbled incoherently to Laura about how much I admired her and what a big deal it was for me to be on the podium with her. She was very gracious and polite and thanked me for the compliments. :)

-Kristen

Chicago Criterium

(Kristen in the final sprint. Joelle Numainville is on the right. Photo credit Ed White)

The team was back together again (minus Devon) for the Chicago Crit. What a cool race! Downtown Chicago, close to "The Bike Shop" with tons of cycling fans and friends lining the course. We saw a lot of people riding BH's! Word is getting out on how nice these bikes are. The women's field was small, 30-40 maybe? I felt pretty good and got in an early break with Ashley James from Kenda for a couple laps. Anne was at the front blocking for us, and I think it was Laura Van Guilder who closed it. Determined not to get boxed in, I was at the front at the end for the final 2 laps. Madeleine did a fantastic attack for a gambler's prime at 1 to go. She didn't get it but it helped position me for a bit until Kenda chased her down I still ended up at the front. On the final lap I was neck and neck with LVG, and no one wanted to lead it out. I wanted Laura (or anyone!) to come around me so I could get her wheel but that didn't happen and when we hit the final corner my instinct told me to go now! and I exploded first out of the corner. I knew it was early, but thought if I waited I'd get swarmed. "When in doubt--lead it out!" As it was I managed to hang on for 6th place. I felt given the circumstances I finished the best I could, and though I would have liked to have placed higher I was pretty happy with this result. Anne finished in the money and we rode well as a team and all had a great time crit riding through the streets of downtown Chicago. Joelle Numainville, a young Canadian from Kenda was able to outsprint Laura Van Guilder for the win.

-Kristen

Superweek=Superfun

(Team BH USA at the front at the Evanston Superweek Crit Photo Credit Mike Ferren)

Superweek has begun and this year the women get two weeks of racing! Though we are not targeting the entire series, there are a couple of "can't miss" races. I've jumped in a couple already and it looks like Anne, Madeleine and I will be racing this week at Racine and Kenosha. The above picture is from the Evanston race on Sunday, a super fun course with a great home town crowd. I did not get a great finishing result (though I did snag a $100 prime) but I had an absolute blast racing! It's always fun racing when you have a huge crowd and tons of people cheering for you. Thanks everyone!!

Up next on our schedule: Chicago Crit!! Hope to see you all there.

-Kristen

Anne's in Iowa Again

Another weekend, another trip to Iowa. While it might not be so great to do these small races every weekend, they are in some ways a nice break from the high intensity races done previously this season.

The weekend consisted of two races in picturesque Clear Lake, Iowa, famous for the Surf Ballroom, the last place that Buddy Holly performed before his death. Some of you may have heard of him :)

Saturday evening's criterium was a fun, technical course near the business area of town, and along a city park where a blues festival was also going on. The fields were small overall, but the atmosphere was festive, the weather was great and the event was well run.

My field was indeed small. I was not feelin' it that evening. I really struggled to feel like I was actually racing. I gave 90% effort for a few prime sprints but quickly realized it was not going to be my day. I gave it my all at the finish, and thought I could pull off second place. However, I got nipped at the line and ended up third. Tomorrow is another day, right?

Sunday morning we met at the Surf Ballroom again for the 42-mile road race, a large loop in the pretty flat and windy countryside south of Clear Lake. Because there were so few of us, we started with the Master's 40+ men. We got to sit in with their equally small field for awhile, before they started attacking each other. We (the women) all got dropped at that time, but really liked the idea of riding a few more miles with the men, so we put in a valiant "team time trial" trying to catch the master's 40+ "team time trial". We lost. They rode away from us, giving us the impression they didn't want us barging in on their race (hard to imagine!!). We simply kept time trialing as if we were in a well-organized breakaway. There were so few of us, we did not really want to start attacking each other.

The finish for the race is tricky only in that for some reason the exact finish line is hard to determine. Despite it being well marked, people always jump too early or too late because they just aren't sure. I had this knowledge on my side. I had also warmed up in the area so I could get a feel for where the finish would be.

One of our foursome jumped pretty early, and I figured it was meant to be a ploy to make the two of us who were not her teammates chase her, therefore allowing her teammate to counter. Her teammate did counter, but it still left us all a pretty long way from the finish. I sensed that we all inwardly groaned when we realized the finish was in sight, but a long sprint away. We were all sort of in a line across the road, heading into a decent headwind. I realized I needed to go now or risk being caught off guard. I jumped, fully expecting someone to come blasting past me. It did not feel like a great jump or even a great sprint once I got going. However, I thought I actually might make it, as the line got closer. All of a sudden, the IS Corp girl who nipped me on Saturday was right in my peripheral view. The line came, and I saw her catch me at it. I couldn't believe it, to be caught right at the line two days in a row!

These races have awards ceremonies for every category. When they did the women's ceremony, I got ready to go up after they called the third place girl to the podium. Much to my surprise, they called the IS Corp girl up for second. Thank goodness for the finish line camera! What a nice surprise.

(Too close for me to call!)

(Hey, why am I up here, and why is there a beer in my hand??)

Apparently, the "312' beer was a sponsor of the race. We were all give these as we were up on the podium.

As an aside, the promoters are really invested in providing a good venue for women's racing and would love to see more women at the event next year. The courses were fun and safe, the event was very organized, and the prize list was good.

Soon, it will be off to a race or two of Superweek, and then the weekly trips to Chicagoland, where I can finally hook up with my teammates again!

--Anne

Iowa State Criterium Championship

With the conclusion of the Tour of America's Dairyland and the team taking a bit of a break from our scheduled races, I decided to travel solo to downtown Cedar Rapids, IA to take part in the Iowa State Criterium championship. The weather was great, the course was fun and the event was very well organized. The best thing about this race was seeing old friends and teammates whom I have not seen for awhile.

Our field had both local talent and riders visiting from far away, including California and New Zealand! After awhile, the lead group was whittled down to 6 after some hard post-prime attacks. On the last lap I made a move on the back side of the course that was good enough for second place. Thanks to the promoters for putting on a nice event!

(Showing off the team colors in Cedar Rapids)

--Anne

Toured America's Dairyland

Team BH finished off 10 days of racing at the Tour of America's Dairyland this past Sunday. We battled steep climbs (they exist in WI!), endured hot and humid weather, and competed against strong fields.  With Verducci, Kenda, and Lipsmackers fielding strong riders, we had an intense battle for the overall jersey.  We were able to wear yellow for a couple days, but ended up 2nd in the overall to a very strong Verducci squad (Congrats to Jessi and the team!).  

Throughout the individual races, we also fared quite well with a number of top 10's and 4 podiums!  Here is Madeleine taking 2nd after her last minute solo breakaway at the Fond Du Lac crit (sorry for the poor photography):

Here is Devon standing on the top step after the Greenbush RR drinking the winning recovery drink (chocolate milk --- mmm!):

Overall, ToAD was a super venue!  The races were well run and a ton of fun!  The promoters also prioritized the women's racing -- putting out great primes and a prize list that was competitive with the men.  The women's field wasn't huge this year, but hopefully the good word gets out about this series so that the numbers grow in years to come.  

Team BH now has a short hiatus in our race schedule... for some of us Sunday was race number 16 in the last 19 days -- time for our legs to get a rest!  

Touring Through America's Dairyland

We are in the midst of a 10 day series of racing throughout Wisconsin in the Tour of America's Dairyland.  So far, we have had great venues, well-run races, and strong competition... with representation from Verducci, Kenda, and Team Lip Smacker.

We started off with the toughest road race course in the midwest on Thursday (and the proposed Olympic Course for 2016).  After two top 10 finishes for Team BH, we then headed into a series of criteriums over the weekend in Waterloo, Grafton, and Manitowoc.  Along with several top 10 finishes, we also managed to win the leader's jersey for a day!  

After a day off of racing, the full squad headed up to Fond Du Lac for race #5.  The sun also came out in full force with temperatures reaching the mid-90's!  (yikes!!)  The race started out slowly... i think we were all a little intimidated by the sizzling sun.  However in lap 2 out of 6, the racing began and after a series of attacks a break of 7 formed.  The break worked well together and stayed away for the next 4 laps.  In a close sprint to the finish, Team BH took home a W and we'll get to wear the leader's jersey for another day.  With other teams trailing very closely behind in the overall, it should turn out to be 5 more days of exciting racing!!

Outside of racing, we have gotten to tour other sides of America's Dairyland... particularly the frozen custard.  This is one of the best culinary delights that Wisconsin has to offer.  The cool delicious treat especially hits the spot after a hard day of racing.  My favorite place to go is Kopps -- they have a variety of yummy flavors, nicely sized portions, and some pretty good cheeseburgers too.  I'm looking forward to a butter pecan cone tomorrow -- MMmmm!

Tour of America's Dairlyand

We're now in the midst of Tour of America's Dairlyand. Check out this promotional video featuring Team BH USA's Madeleiene Puissant!


We're racing for 10 days at different venues all around Wisconsin. Yesteday was day 1 and we raced the proposed 2016 olympic road race course in Blue Mounds, WI. Our series is off to a great start with two top ten finishes including Devon on the podium in second place!

Nature Valley Grand Prix--details

For a stage race there are so many logistical things that need to be taken care of. This time everything went really smoothly. Thanks so much to Leah from the Bike Shop in Glen Ellyn for putting together the awesome care package! For the race we had Molly from Cuttin Crew working support. She was great and we can’t thank her enough for a job well done. Also Devon’s brother and mom were out at all of the stages and were wonderful at cheering and providing delicious food at exactly the right moment.

This race was exciting because it was Kristin Armstrong’s last US race before she retires. She won the gold medal in the tt in last year’s olympics and she’s been a world champion and has won this race numerous times. She came out solo and beat all the pro teams. She is an inspiration to us all and it was very exciting to be a part of it and to be there to witness first hand.

Our team worked well together and Devon was our best finisher in 26th overall. On the whole it was a great experience.

Results can be found here

Here’s Kristen's blow by blow--

Day 1
Am TT: Given my history with the tt I was legitimately nervous. I got myself all worked up and as a result felt terrible. It was out and back on a long flat stretch finishing on a terrific hill. I went out too hard and could not maintain my power on the way back on the flat part but when I hit the hill I felt good climbing it and was able to go hard. Felt like I could have gone faster and was terrfied about missng the cut. It was a big relief to have our whole team legitimately make it, and I think we were all excited to get it out of the way. Devon was now 53rd in the GC.

Pm St. Paul Crit: We all got to the start line late and had to line up in the back. Crazy fast from the gun, Devon managed to work her way to the front of the race, and Madeleine, Anne and I spent the first laps picking people off and moving up. I made it up to the main field, but it took a lot out of me and then I just decided since I had made the cut to quit fighting and save my legs for the rest of the week. In hindsight, I wish I would have just finished. Madeleine and Anne weren’t so lucky and that ended their race. We were bummed, but they decided to stick around for the rest of the week and help us, and they were a great support. Devon’s Power Tap file from the race was interesting. The first half of the race where she was fighting to move up at the back compared to the second half of the race where she had made it to the front, was the same speed; but the second half averaged 30 watts lower!

Day 2
Cannon Falls RR: I had done this race last year and it played out almost exactly the same. Crazy hard moment at the beginning, where I had to fight to stay on at the back, then the rest of the race was fine. This race was fun because Kristin Armstrong was hanging out in the field and I confess I was a little starstruck to actually be riding next to her in a race. We had a “moment’ when a huge piece of metal debris came flying through the field and we exchanged “what the heck??” glances. I know, I am a huge nerd :)

For this race we rode out of town on a big loop and then come back into a finishing circuit via a gravel path. Fine for those cyclocross types (Devon!) but super scary for me. I did just fine though, and had already avoided lots of crashes during the race, including the big one that took out most of Webcor and half the field, and I hit the gravel section with the front group. Here again I went into survival mode and just rode around to finish. Hindsight being 20/20 I could have/should have made up some time here. Devon rode strong and finished with the front group.

Day 3
Minneapolis crit: . Fun downtown crit within riding distance of our housing. Huge rowdy crowd. I admit to having some high hopes for this race. Got a good starting position but messed it up clipping in. Was caught behind an early crash, caught back on, then rode around at the back until I made the time cut. Legs did not feel good today. After I made the time cut I made a huge effort to move up and it only got me to about the top third of the field. I then immediately blew up, couldn't maintain the position and gave up, not wanting to ride around fighting at the back. I had hoped to do better and was disappointed. Devon finished just fine midfield. Super fun to have my family out to watch, and afterwards we went back to our house where our host Deborah and her daughter had made an incredible spread of food for us!! It was just what we needed, and I’m convinced that’s why we felt so good the next day!

Day 4
Mankato: 91 mile RR. Same deal with the loop and the finishing circuit. Not sure if it was intentional or what but I did not check out the hill on the circuit beforehand and I had no idea it was waiting for me! It was like Stillwater but 3x as long. I was wondering why the first 81 miles were so easy. Needless to say I was blown away when we hit it the first time. It seemed like a cruel joke. The first time approaching the hill I was caught up in a crash--I didn't go down but I had to stop and chase back on but I think I ended up riding the hill ok. I was able to go hard at the top of it and go fast on the way down. Legs felt good after today--definitely tired but not totally dead. I had enough left at the end to muster up a sprint for 72 place which I lost, doh! but I think I did ride as hard as I could today and it felt great. Devon had a spectacular day and finished 18th, moving her up quite a bit in the GC.

Day 5
Stillwater: The race was 13 laps and we only had to do three to finish. This race is snake alley steep without the switchbacks but it’s kind of the same, up hard, down scary. Prior to having kids, this race was my best finish ever. In 2002 I made the break and finished 14th. There was quite a bit of luck involved, but still I have fond memories of this race and was looking forward to it. I got a great start, went as hard as I could and feel pretty good about getting 6 laps in before getting pulled. I then hung out with my family and got to watch Devon’s strong finish for a 26th GC placing as well as the impressive finishes of Amanda Miller and Kristin Wentworth. Not to mention Kristin Armstrong’s amazing win. When I started watching she was riding in a break fo 3, and seemingly effortlessly dopped them and finished solo at 1 lap to go. I was glad to be there for that.

I am amazed at how well my BH Cristal handled. I felt extremely comfortable on it and it handles beautifully. On the whole I’m super excited to have finished, but I of course now wish that I had not been so conservative at the beginning and would have aimed for a GC finish a little higher than 83rd. I think that’s the addicting part of bike racing….there’s a lot I can improve and next time I will do better!!

Thanks so much to our amazing hosts Deborah, Jack and Susan, and Rick who put us all in touch. You guys were great! Also thanks to my mom, aunt Sue, uncle Tim and the rest of my family for all their help hanging out with my kids and making sure they had so much fun. Couldn’t do it without you guys.

Pictures to follow

Nature Valley Recap (Haiku Style)

Day 1 (part 1): Individual Time Trial

started flat and fast

steep steep up to the finish

success all around

Day 1 (part 2): St. Paul Downtown Crit

zoom zoom right away

wish we had a better start

two survive the cut

Day 2: Cannon Falls RR

course in the country

gravel road to finish loop

where fans cheer us home

Day 3: Uptown Minneapolis Crit

fun boisterous crowd

zip around many corners

woosh through the finish

Day 4: Mankato RR

long long long hot jaunt

before hitting monster climb

tough grind to finish

Day 5: Stillwater Crit

steep steep steep steep steep

zoom down and begin again

yay for the finish!

A Thank You:

wonderful house hosts

supportive family and friends

generous sponsors

Nature Valley Grand Prix

Nature Valley Grand Prix: this is one of our pinnacle events of the year: a 5-day, 6-stage race in Minnesota that is a Pro, 1, 2 Invite only race. The best women in the country and even the world converge for the week and we are excited to be amongst them!

The schedule:
Wednesday-
Stage 1: Saint Paul Riverfront Time Trial
Stage 2: Downtown St. Paul Criterium

Thursday-
Stage 3: Cannon Falls Road Race

Friday-
Stage 4: Uptown Minneapolis Criterium

Saturday-
Stage 5: Mankato Road Race

Sunday-
Stage 6: Stillwater Criterium

Be sure to check for updates everyday!

WI State Championship Race

This weekend Team BH got together once again to test the legs out at the WI state road race championships held in Spring Prairie, WI before we head out to one of our biggest races of the year, Nature Valley Grand Prix (which starts this Weds and runs a brutal 5day, 6stages course through Sunday!).

The day started quite cool and grey with thunderstorms threatening and Devon let us all know on our race radios that no arm warmers or knee warmers might not have been a great idea after all ;) as we started our neutral roll out up the "big climb." The course of the day was quite nice, rolling hills with one big kicker, a 200m steep surge that definetely makes you feel the burn and is also the final obstacle before the finish which is about 200meters after the top.

Our starting group was impressive, about 30 women with some strong Kenda, ISCorp, and MadCity Velo riders we knew it'd be tough! We stayed together as a group til the first time up the hill when the selection was made. We were quite pleased with the shake-up as the break of 8 held 3 BH riders! However, with Kristin Wentworth of Kenda, Rachel and Kaitie from ISCorp, Heidi from XXX, and a lone MN rider as well as lots of riders chasing we had no room to relax.
Kristin and Devon threw multiple attacks and Madeleine watched for attacks and covered wheels as the race continued to be fast. We worked well as a team, setting up some great attacks to tire out the other riders and helping keep the pace high. After five times up the hill we prepared ourselves for the finish. Kristen threw out a blistering attack as we came into the climb, Devon hopped on Kristin W. and Rachel's wheel and we all started the last brutal slog up the climb. Devon was flying and was able to come around Kristen to take the WIN!
All in all, a great day for Team BH USA-two podiums (for the WIN and the state championship) and just always a good time to be racing our beautiful BH bikes together!And thanks again (and again and again!) to The Bike Shop, Glen Elyn for Christmas in June! We got beautiful new Sidi shoes, petals, cleats, and socks!!! We are SO lucky to be sponsored by such a generous and top-notch shop! Stop by or check them out online!

AND...look for our Nature Valley reports! Kristen headed out today to make the drive with her family and Molly who will be our "jack of all trades" (thanks Molly!) for the weekend, Devon, Anne, and I all head out tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!

Taking a break

(My daughter Lucinda on the podium at Wonder Lake Criterium--I was racing the men's race)

The big happening in women's cycling this weekend was the Tulsa Tough weekend. As a team we did not have these races on our schedule, and decided this weekend to take a little breather, race close to home, get some good rides in and face time with our families. We've got a huge month coming up and want to be mentally fresh. On Saturday I did the Flatlandia group ride. We got a sitter so Jason and I could both go. My first big group ride of the season and it was so nice to see friends and have a great group of guys and gals to ride with. We rode hard and we left crazy early in the morning and even though we had some flat tires we had a lot of fun. That afternoon I took the kids to a birthday party where the glow sticks they got in their goody bags inspired Jason to camp out with them in the backyard for the night. I stayed inside :).

Sunday we decided to go visit Grandma Sue out in Woodstock, IL and then ride over to the inaugural Wonder Lake Criterium. It was a fabulous day, sunny and 70's. Just gorgeous. We were able to leisurely get up and enjoy a lovely family breakfast before we jumped in the car and drove out to Woodstock. We dropped the kids off with Grandma, and she drove them over to the race so Jason and I could ride over together. Lovely ride. There's lots of new development out that way but there are still some really pristine country roads. It was a real treat to get to ride with Jason two days in a row!

When I got to the race it was a major bummer that no other 1/2 women were there. The cat 4 (but soon to be cat 3) racer Jannette Rho, who had soloed to victory earlier in the day in the cat 4 race, was still there and was game to jump in the race. We convinced another cat 4 woman from Get-a-Grip to race making our field 3. We asked the officials if we could race together with the men's 1/2 race and just score us separately, but they told us no because Janette and Get-a-Grip were cat 4's--I think that was a wise decision on their part--But they told me I could race with the men 1/2's directly after the women's race.

At the start of our race I told Janette I would not attack until the end of the race but would be game for riding hard. So we traded pulls during the race. Janette did her share and we did get a good hard ride in until 1 to go when I attacked and stayed away until the end. I did feel a little bad--I remember when I was a cat 4 never really enjoying having to race against cat 1/2 women. But sometimes it's just good to try to ride a little harder than you think you can handle...which is why I jumped in the men's 1/2 race directly following ours. It was a small field of maybe 15 or so riders. I went into the race with the goal of trying to actually race it rather than just hang on for dear life so early in the race when there was a break of two off the front I tried to bridge up solo. I was alone for about half a lap before I blew up and when the field caught me I could not catch back on. Instead of chasing, I rested and waited for them to lap me and then was able to jump back on. At this point I was just trying to ride around with the group. I thought about quitting but our old friend and cycling mentor Jon Grell was there watching. Not wanting to disappoint him I pressed on determined to finish the race. A couple times there were some hard accelerations where I blew up and thought "ok I'm dropped" but then I would look up and see the field slowing and think "oh $%*& now I have to keep going" :). So I would catch back on and managed to make it to about a half a lap to go when they accelerated and did not stop until the finish. Also being a lap down I didn't want to be anywhere near the sprint. I was happy with the effort, and definitely rode a lot harder than I wanted to.

On the whole it was a great family weekend. The Wonder Lake Crit was a great course. Nice sweeping corners and smooth roads. I hope they have this race again next year!

-Kristen

The Bike Shop, Glen Ellyn, IL

Anyone who rides or races know that cycling is one of the most expensive sports out there. The equipment is ridiculously costly: bikes, shoes, helmets, gloves, food, bottles, sunglasses; and with having to train and travel so much, working full-time can be a tricky thing to fit in. Many of us could not do this without the support of so many people who are keen on helping developing and talented riders reach their potential.

For Team BH USA so much of this support and help comes from THE BIKE SHOP, Glen Ellyn, IL. Rich is the owner and Leah is his right-hand (wo)man and without all the help and support they have given us, we would be lost. The very first day we all got together as a brand-new team, they gave us the full pro treatment. They custom built our bikes, professionally fit us with a high-tech camera system to make sure we were comfortable and powerful on our bikes. They provided us with wheels, powertaps, and Sram Red to make our bikes the lightest and most advanced possible to allow us to race for the win in every race we attend. They gave us helmets, sunglasses, shoes, waterbottles, cages, tires...you name it. The Bike Shop has been the cornerstone of allowing Team BH USA to be as successful as we've been this season and we are SO excited and grateful for all they've done.

If you're in IL, thank them for their support for women's cycling and for their support of us by stopping in; or check them out online. Their shop is beautiful and equipped with all things for your cycling needs. Not to mention their knowledgeably and friendly sales staff and mechanics who are experts in all things bikes.

So from our team, Team BH USA, and from each of us: Kristen, Madeleine, Devon, and Anne, to THE BIKE SHOP: THANK YOU so much for everything-we will continue to make you proud this season!

Memorial Weekend Fun!

Team BH was back together again for a second full weekend of racing fun traveling down to Iowa for three (or four days in Devon's case!) of racing.

Friday: Devon jumped into the super-fast Cat 3 Men's road race that ended in Burlingtion, IA and got a great 1hr+ motor pacing session to get her legs ready for the weekend.(Devon climbing "the snake" in a break of three)

Saturday: SNAKE ALLEY! Several of us have a love-hate relationship with "the snake" but we were all committed to finishing it. Devon was definitely more on the "love" side and she placed third for a podium finish despite dropping her chain on the last climb. Kristen had some wheel trouble and had to stop at the top of the hill and fix it, but she and Madeleine and Anne all finished strong.Sunday: HOT HOT HOT at Weed Park. We all found the legs were a bit peaked from the day before but we gave it our all. A long course with a fast descent, a scary speed bump, a decent uphill, and a twisty finish was the course-several more strong finishes made us happy but excitedly looking forward to Rock Island and a flat crit!

(Kristen working the break at Quad Cities)

Monday: Rain once again threatened the 8corner, flat, fast crit we were doing; but luckily only few drops fell during the race. It started out hot and heavy with Madeleine on the front and then Kristen, Devon, and Anne trading off chasing down riders or working the breaks. Kristen made the winning break and worked hard and took second to Tibco pro, Meredith Miller. Devon attacked with five to go and with Madeleine and Anne covering any attacks drove it home for 7th; Anne took fourth in the field sprint.

(Quad Cities Criterium Podium. Photo Credit: John Greenwood)

Here's what happened from Kristen's perspective:

I don’t even think I realized I was in a break until after it had been established for a while. My goal was just to stay near the front. When I did finally assess the situation, we had Tibco, two Lipsmackers, and one each of ABD and Kenda. I knew my teammates were back in the field covering everything, and that was a great feeling. I held my own and was able to cover a couple of really strong Tibco attacks. With one lap to go, ABD went for a prime and tried to hold it for the finish. It was a bold move and earned her the most aggressive rider award for the race. It also worked well strategically for me. I played it cool and finally Tibco chased hard and I fought for her wheel. We passed ABD on the back stretch and my plan was to ride Tibco’s wheel to the final corner, take the inside line, and come around her for the win. However somewhere around corner 7 I bumped into Kenda who was trying to do the same thing to me by coming up on my inside line. I lost some momentum but was able to hold on for 2nd. Afterwards I found out Devon had managed to break free from the field and had ridden solo for the final 5 laps of the race to hold on for 7th. We were thrilled to have two podiums for the weekend!
(Team BH USA patrolling the front of the field)

It was a great way to end a fun weekend that started out with a ride to Iowa on the super comfortable Cuttin Cruiser. I was also thrilled to have finished Snake Alley which I can honestly say was directly impacted by being wildly cheered for every single lap by the Cuttin Crew folks and tons of friends parked on the hill. Thanks guys!! Another highlight of the weekend was watching the women’s cat 4 race at Quad Cities. What an aggressive bike race! There were attacks, bridging, solo efforts and teamwork. It was great to see that we have a new group of good women bike racers coming up the ranks.

Thanks SO much to Anne's cousin, Rachel, who hosted us at her beautiful art gallery/studio and found us terrific local restaurants to gorge ourselves at post-race. Also thanks to Barry White for making the trek down to pump us up, motivate us, and cheer for us. Thanks to Jason Meshberg for being "the Voice" on our radios-always knew the right thing to say and when to say it!

MoM-WoW!

Team BH was back together again this weekend -- leading to good times, fun racing, and a taste of victory!

The weekend started off at Monsters of the Midway.  The "chicago" contingent of Kristen and I showed up to a small field (but I was happy to see a large women's field in the Cat 3 and Cat 4 races!).  Since we were both in the mood to practice our cyclocross starts, we took off hard from the gun.  I think our tactic left the others surprised and only Francine from Alberto's hung on to our wheels.  We worked hard for several laps to try to get away on our own and eventually we both escaped and entered time trial mode for the rest of the race.  It was fun crossing the line 1-2 in our first race back together and in front of the great UofC crowd :)

Sunday we would have the whole BH squad out for Wheels on Willy up in Madison, WI which was good because we were up against a big and strong field.  Madeline started the race hard with another "cyclocross start" (she was sad that she missed out on the fun start at Monsters).  She immediately got a gap and set a high tempo that would start off a fun and fast paced race. (check out this sweet picture!)  With team Kenda in the field and several other strong women, Madeline wasn't going to get away easy.  Once the pack reeled her in, the race continued with attack after attack.  Our team worked well at either sending attacks off or reeling other's attacks in.  Madeline and Kristen also snagged some primes in the process.  Late in the race our teamwork came together beautifully.  Anne reeled in a strong Kenda attack and then I launched a late attack of our own.  I was away with a gap and 4 to go, but would soon get caught and "plan B" was put into action... Kristen was on my wheel yelling "allez allez" with one lap left... I tried to keep the pace high and pulled hard to the final straight where Kristen called on her "go-go gadget sprinter legs" and secured another "V" for Team BH USA!   A good all around team effort!

Joe Martin Stage Race--Do Over

Missing the time cut in the women’s race by 1.4 seconds really stung. Thankfully I was given another chance to race in the Men's cat 3 race. Their race started on Saturday morning with the exact same time trial, Saturday Road Race, and the same crit on Sunday. So the only thing I didn’t get to do was the Friday Road Race. Typically Men’s Cat 3 races are almost the same pace-wise, though not quite the same competitive-wise as the pro women. For the record I did knock a couple of seconds off of my tt time, enough to have made the cut in the women’s race. Would have been nice to post that time two days before….. but at least I know I can do it. Later that day I made the time cut in the men’s road race, and my time also would have made the cut in the women’s race. The crit on Sunday was super fun. It was a long course with an uphill side and a downhill side and lots of turns. Very Cool! I finished enough of it to get an overall GC placing. I finished the Men’s Cat 3 stage race 44th out of 67 starters. I was hoping for a GC finish in the women’s race, but I’m cool with a finish in a Men’s Cat 3 stage race.

Since the men’s crit on Sunday was later in the day, it moved my departure from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning. This meant I could attend the post-race all-you-can-eat tacos and all-you-can-drink beer party at a local Mexican restaurant in town with my super cool host Jennie, and housemate Amy from Hub Racing. I met some fellow-racers and socialized, something I am usually unable to do while racing!

I had a good experience at Joe Martin and can’t thank the people in charge enough—Stephen Ray Stafford our rider coordinator, Bruce Dunn the race director and Bonnie Walker, the chief referee. All of these people were sympathetic and supportive. Most of all thank you to our super-accommodating host Jennie Horton—who opened her home for as long as we needed, got on the phone and lobbied for us, and cracked a bottle of wine when all hope was lost. My plan is to come back next year and knock a minute off my tt time!!

Unfortunately my car did not like the trip and after driving almost 11 hours (by myself—after leaving at 4 am—after getting 3 hours of sleep—after doing a stage race) on Monday my transmission broke on I-55 in Plainfield, IL. I was able to find a good repair shop thanks to Jason’s Uncle Alan who lives in Plainfield. Since I was anxious to get home to see my monkeys after being away for so long I packed up my messenger bag, hopped on my bike and rode to meet Jason who drove the opposite way in rush hour from downtown Chicago to meet me. I’d be lying if I said he didn’t find me on the side of the road in a heap somewhere near the theaters on Woodward Rd., but I made it home in time to play with the kids before collapsing into bed.

-Kristen

Au Revoir France

My last week in France has been one of the best...

It started out with a trip to the track (the first and only track i've ever ridden -- it's amazing that you can ride on that steep bank and not fall off... weeee!)

On thursday, we road 100km over 13 hills to the Mediterranean Sea (my first time to the sea!)

so pretty...

ahh...

Friday we did a smaller race not too far from Limoux.  The course was a hilly 7.5km loop -- it had a steep kicker followed by a false flat into another hill... then a short down around a sharp turn and up once more before a final long twisty descent.  A fun fun course!  A teammate of mine was off in a break of two and one lap later, i got away solo... i rode alone for 6/10 laps and almost caught the initial break by the end (but not quite).  We ended up getting 2nd and 3rd -- a good ending to our French racing!

and lots of pretty flowers...

Saturday we went out on a beautiful 100km loop from Limoux... 

with pretty hills...

a castle...

and a breathtaking descent that i unfortunately don't have pictures of... it was so amazing that I almost fell off the road a few times by looking at the scenery

Today, we ended our french trip with the perfect ride -- a climb in the Pyrenees up the Col de Pailheres, an hors category climb from the Tour de France (and my first climb up a real big mountain!).  It was a long and steep climb, but the views riding up and the scenery at the top were well worth the hard work.

(a small) part of the climb...

riding up...

view from the top...

The bike is now packed up and I head home in another day.  It will be sad to leave France, but at the same time I can't wait to come back... i miss home.