Podium in Agen

**

This weekend we headed to a "local" race in the town of Agen, two hours from were I live in Limoux.  The race was a criterium which consisted of a long straightaway, a right turn onto a narrow 300m "big ring" climb, another right turn onto a slight downhill, with a final right onto a winding downhill ramp, where a 180 waited at the bottom to take us back onto the long start/finish straightaway... a very fun course!  Since the race was not a French Cup or UCI race, it was a bit smaller than the 100's of riders we are now accustomed to, but we still had a large crowd of racers.

The organizers were welcoming of our American contingent: they gave us a callup to the front at the start line, proceeded to wish us luck (I think they were wishing us luck...my french is not so good...), and then we were off.  Our goal in this race was to be aggressive and initiate lots of attacks.  I went hard the first time up the hill to try to string things out early and then my teammates took turns launching attacks for the next couple laps.  Alison took a strong pull for one lap and when she let up the pace briefly, I jumped to start the next round of attacks.  I got a bit of a gap and one girl (in green) bridged to me bringing a fellow American, Megan, with her... 

We quickly started trading pulls and tried to open up the gap we started. Meanwhile, my teammates were controlling the peloton and preventing any attacks from catching us.  Being only 4 laps into a 40 lap race, we had a long long way to go!  After about 10 laps it was clear that the girl in green was not going to help us pull very much so Megan and I went hard up the hill and dropped her.  Then we were down to two of us... with lots and lots of laps to go... and many many climbs ahead!  Luckily, my teammates were doing a great job at controlling the attacking peloton and we continued to open up a gap on the field.  In the middle of the race, the winds picked up and the rain started coming down (even France gets bad weather every once in a while)... we still had 20 laps to go and I was convinced that the lap counter was taking a nap because the laps didn't seem to be going down very fast.  Megan and I were beginning to question why we started our break only 4 laps into the race.  But the break seemed to be strong so we just kept plugging along.

Finally, with 4 laps to go, the peloton was in sight ahead of us, but we decided to stay back and avoid mixing in with the crowd given the wet and slippery conditions. It was clear that our break was a success, but now the race was getting close to the end and soon working together would have to stop... After working for an hour and a half with a breakaway buddy it is hard to transition to racing against each other, but we both knew that one of us had to cross the line first for the win. We decided to keep up the teamwork until the final straightaway... we made sure that we both rounded the final slick 180 turn safely and then we raced to the finish line. Luck was on my side and I ended up with my first French victory!  The rest of the USA squad swept the top spots -- Alison broke away with 1 lap to go to finish solo for the final podium spot.  Sinead broke out her mad sprinting skills to win the field sprint and Lindsay (who claims to not be a sprinter) finished closely behind.  A great day for team USA.

The podium presentation was a lot of fun... we were all given trophies and flowers and showered with kisses (that is the French way... no handshakes).  I was also presented with a cool framed poster of the event.  Unfortunately, there is nothing corresponding to podium girls for the women's races... we had older men handing out the congratulations... it doesn't seem fair! But these were the men that helped make the race possible and gave us a very warm welcome to the venue -- I very much appreciated the great race that they put on!

~devon

**notice in the podium pic that we were not actually on the podium... my head went into the rafters when i stood on top... it was not made for tall people :)

Old Capitol Criterium, Iowa City, IA

Being on a team is a new experience for me and it’s hard to explain how happy I am with how we rode this weekend since we did not get the best results. But I am! Saturday’s road race was good aggressive racing and we battled it out as a team and we are proud of our efforts. We weren’t sure what was going to happen in Sunday’s crit since we were outnumbered again. This historic crit is not your typical boring four corner deal. It’s got a screaming descent into a sharp corner, a short but hurtful hill, and then a tricky twisty section that is hard to advance in. This is a course that requires some mad skillz! The sharp corner at the bottom of a treacherous descent proved to be the deciding factor for us. Madeleine and I both had a hard time with that corner and while Anne was fine (she has won this race several times in years past!) we really needed all of our team to be aggressive and “on”. Every lap I found myself at the back after the descent and making a huge chase effort to catch back on and then re-positioning myself on the hill. When 2 Kenda riders attacked early in the race taking another rider with them I was not in good position to go, and while Anne was up there to lead the chase she could not do it alone. When I finally got positioned, I was able to try to bridge with another rider for a couple laps, but we were unsuccessful and were reabsorbed. It’s hard to be fast when you are riding your brakes like a maniac. After we were caught we slowed things down and the break of 3 was able to lap us, and at 1 ½ laps to go a Kenda rider attacked at the top of the hill, taking Kristin Wentworth (one of the Kenda riders from the break) with her. Again I was not positioned because of the cursed descent. On the last lap I had time to get repositioned on the hill and after a quick check with Anne was able to attack in the tricky twisty section before the finish. I got a good gap on the field which secured fifth place, but I was hoping to catch the two Kenda riders for fourth place (Kristin W was from the break so she had the win locked up) but they held me off. Anne got third in the field sprint, but one rider ahead of her was Catherine from the break, so Anne took seventh. Not much to say except that this year we have lots of hilly racing planned so I am confident our descending will improve with practice.

-Kristen

Just about there..Road Racing in IA

This weekend, Team BH was excited to get together again (at least with all state-side members in attendance. We miss you Devon!) in Iowa for a fun weekend of racing.

The weather looked quite dreary and with a tough road race ahead we were a bit nervous about the severe thunderstorms and 30mph winds that were predicted. But SO very lucky for us, that never materialized! While the skies were grey and the wind was present, we were only lightly sprinkled on and the winds were about half what we expected.

At the line, pinned and pumped, we sized up the competition. It was alot of strong regional riders though the only teams with more then a rider or two were Kenda, ISCorp, and ourselves. From the gun Kenda proved to be wildly aggressive throwing out attack after well-planned attack in quick succession. Being outnumbered 2:1 we valiantly went with or chased down everything we weren't in. A couple strong riders chipped in, but we found ourselves having to cover most moves. Not wanting to be on the defensive only, we all took turns throwing some hard attacks of our own. By lap number 3 of 4, we (along with Kenda) just wanted a break to stick but it just wasn't meant to be. But not from lack of trying all the way until 4miles to go...

A short neutralization (as the Pro Men passed us for their finish) was personally frustrating to me as I had just attacked up the hill and hoped the pace would stay high and commence the start of the "race to the finish" strategies. Re-organizing quickly, Kristen and I moved to the front to try to keep things going; Kenda continued to be aggressive but we held our ground. The last hill and the finish loomed and we set our faces and got up to go and found not a match left in the box.

After all our hard work, we didn't get the finishing results we wanted. But at the same time we were quite pleased. As a brand-new team with only 3 team races under our belt, we have shown we can race well together and quite aggressively. We have learned lessons and learned each others strengths and styles of racing. And we are hungry to turn these into the finishes we know we are capable of!

Thanks SO much to Robin (as well as her husband Kyle and their awesome pup, Mattie) of Mercy Specialized who put us up for the weekend, recommended delicious eats (like Atlas!) and also presented great competition in the races!

A Weekend in Wisconsin

This past weekend Kristen and I (and our Chicago friend Molly) did a few races in my neck of the woods, a real treat for me, since I do not normally get company, or a chance to race close to home! While western Wisconsin is not exactly France, it can serve for some good racing, and we drove to a remote area near Durand for a road race on Saturday.

I carpooled with a racing friend, which ended up adding some additional interest to the morning. My friend became distracted enough while driving that we got pulled over for speeding. Kristen, not knowing the directions to the race, pulled over with us. Luck was on our side, and we only got warnings. Thank goodness!

The course was a 13 mile loop that we would do twice. While there were no huge hills on the course, there were plenty of them, and a few were rather demanding. Our race was a Women's Open event, so we had quite a few riders starting. One of the good things about racing in new places is that you get to ride with/against people with whom you are not necessarily familiar. It teaches you to ride smart and pay attention, since you don't know quite what to expect from other people in the race. I think Kristen and I were reminded of that lesson in this race. One of the girls from Flanders started out pretty aggressively, and after a few times of chasing her down and dragging the whole field with her, Kristen felt it was time for someone else to do the chasing. It proved to be a decision we would regret, as no one took up the chase (I was boxed in, honest!) and the girl was strong enough to get a good gap and hold it. We tried to rally a chase but our group had dwindled to a handful, including two teammates of the Flanders girl up the road. We contemplated trying to do a two-person time trial and take matters into our own hands, but it seemed like we would not be able to get away by ourselves. We settled in for a rather boring second lap. I don't want to say much about my finish, because it was not pretty. I jumped early but inexplicably faded very quickly, despite feeling adequate during the race. Kristen pulled off the field sprint win, though, even more impressive since she did more work than anyone else in the race, in my humble opinion.

But wait, the excitement did not end there. We wanted to ride a few extra laps for milage, which was fine. It did, however, make us one of the last cars to leave (I had arranged with my friend that I would ride back with Kristen since we would be staying longer). Turns out we had left the back hatch of Kristen's car up for the entire time we were out on the course, and her battery was now dead from the dome light having been on......here we are in the middle of seemingly nowhere, with a dead car. Again, luck was on our side, as the good folks of Brone's Bike Shop were still there with their RV. They were able to get the car going again, and we were off to mingle with the millions of motorcycles that were on the roads for a rally nearby. We got some funny looks as we drove by with three bikes on the car, right in the middle of a string of nearly 100 motorcycles.

Sunday I joined Kristen in Madison for a criterium in a technology park on the west side. Kristen had to be home by 4pm and I had to get up early Monday, so we opted out of the 5pm women's event and chose a master's men's race. The weather was threatening but the rain held off, mostly, and despite the cold and wind we got some good speed work in. I was surprised at how good I felt after putting in quite a few miles in on Saturday and not getting a very good warm up on Sunday due to my delaying getting out of the car until the rain stopped (wimp, I know).

I think I rambled enough. Since every blog post deserves at least one photo, here is how the dogs felt after a long day at the races...

(Grace and Winne)

Forgive any weird errors on this blog. It's my very first entry!
--Anne

Couldn't resist adding a couple of highlights from my weekend:
Traveling with Molly. We like coffee and the same sandwich at subway. She also likes to drive and doesn’t mind learning stickshift on the highway on the way to a race.
Getting out of speeding ticket. That officer was lucky he let us off with a warning and I did not have to employ my “bat shit crazy” technique of getting out of a ticket (it doesn’t actually have a success rate).
LaCrosse, WI. I am ready to move there. It is a gorgeous place. I have family in MN so I have traveled right by there so many times, but have never gotten off the highway to see how wonderful it is. So excited to be heading back on May 3 for a crit.
Staying with Anne & Peter: What a lovely and comfortable place. Molly and I both felt like we were away at a bed and breakfast. Peter made us a several course breakfast both days including some of the most wonderful pancakes I have ever had and packing us travel mugs with additional fresh coffee. Thanks so much!
-Kristen

Ronde van Gelderland

This weekend we drove up to the Netherlands for the Ronde van Gelderland.  In the Netherlands, people talk funny (Dutch is a weird language), chocolate is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food (either as a spread or in sprinkle form), and everyone rides a bike!!  A perfect place for a bike race!

The race was the biggest I've ever done, with over 200 people on the start line!  And it was a UCI race so these 200 racers were strong.

(Here is a picture of the start... people don't actually all line up behind the start line... i think you can see my helmet in this picture)

The first 7km of the race was a "neutral start" -- this may conjure up an easy group ride to the starting line, but the neutral start was no such thing.  With 200 people in the race, the neutral start becomes a fight to get a good position in the pack and is probably one of the most difficult parts of the race.  People will ride off road, onto sidewalks, up on burms, on the other side of split roads, etc... it was crazy!  I was able to hold position in the first half of the pack, but still have some skills to work on to make my way to the front.  

Once the race began, it was still a fight for position.  I held ground around 50-80th position... then we hit the crosswinds (these are common in the Netherlands).  The pack was strung out and people at the back were starting to fall off.  I could see the front of the pack, but it was a long way off.  I started trying to move up one by one in the cross winds.  I was slowly making progress and then CRASH!!!! (link here)  A girl went down in front of me and I grabbed my brakes.  I thought I was going to be able to come to a stop and then BAM - I get hit from the side and thrown off balance... I go down in slow motion and then see people starting to fly over me (yikes!!).  I'm able to get up and though a little dazed, I feel fine.  Then I grab my bike and see that one of the hoods is bent out of place.  A little "whack" and the bike looks good to go -- I hop on.... and then notice that my derailleur is hanging a little low :(  Unfortunately the race is over... 

My team car rolled up and after helping another teammate get back on the road I jumped in the car.  Now, I thought the peloton of 200 riders was crazy, but I soon found out that the caravan is even crazier....

100km/hr --- to 0 km/hr --- to 100km/hr

BRAKE!!! Accelerate!!!! 

Are we on the road??? It doesn't look like we are on the road...

(Seatbelt on? -- check!!!)

Roundabout -- we aren't going around -- BUMP -- over the roundabout

BRAKE!!!!  Sharp Turn!!! ACCELERATE!!!!!

(Seatbelt on?? -- check!!)

Car Ahead!!  We are not on the road -- definitely not on the road 

 ...pass the car...

RIDER!! Watch out for the rider!!! HONK HONK HONK!!!  

...we are by the rider...

(Seatbelt on??? -- check!)

CAR!!  The road is one lane wide -- we can't pass this car

...we are past this car...

HONK VROOooooM HONK!!!!

AHHHHH!!!!

I'm actually a little surprised that I survived riding in the caravan. There were some moments that I was prepared for us to roll into a ditch or spin out on the side of the road.  But our director Chris has some mad driving skills.  When we finally reached the front of the peloton, things slowed down and I was able to watch the race in progress... it was hard to sit there with a broken bike on top of the car...

(broken bike on top of car)

I wanted to be out racing!!  I wanted really badly to jump out of the car and hop on a bike.  We hadn't even hit the fun hills yet... But, I learned a lot riding in the pack of 200... and managed to get by with only a couple elbow bruises and some minor scrapes.  It was a good learning experience.  And there are more races to come!!  

(and my BH bike is OK!  Thanks Kristen for the derailleur hangers)

~devon

Pujols

Monday was the Prix de la ville de Pujols -- Pujols is the lovely town where we raced 5 times around a 14km loop which included a good climb and a narrow decent.  I don't have many pictures this time, but just to see how beautiful the course was, here is the view out my hotel window -- the race went through that amazing scenery!

Below is my play by play race report from the day...

race was pretty good despite being a little sick..

i was not feeling great during the race -- i felt like i wasn't recovering super fast...

and there were a couple times that i though i might just fall through the pack and go sit in the car...

i was probably out front a little too much early on which also tired me out...

then on lap 4 (out of 5) there were lots of attacks and i was feeling pretty drained..

a few had a small gap... then i saw jeanie longo winding up

and i wasn't far behind her, but i was zonked and i couldn't get to her wheel and I had two teammates right there

i yelled up up, but they didn't go either...

so then there was a group of 5 with jeanie off the front

ugh!

this was right before the downhill... and i got out front and tried to go fast down the down (but i am not fast down the downs)...

and then i was pulling trying to catch up

and there were a couple others working...

and they weren't getting away, but weren't getting a lot closer

my teammates then came to the front and were chasing hard and others started trying to bridge and we finally caught them!

yay

but i was pretty tired

things came together

there were some attacks and i tried to go with them...

after attempting to go with a few i fell back a little

then there was an attack of 3

and the three got a gap and the whole pack slowed...

and i was like uh -oh

this is not good...

but i was stuck behind some people

so i didn't jump on it

but the pack was crawling...

so I finally squeezed through to the front and I jumped hoping some others would come and we could bridge

i looked back and the whole pack was just crawling

and i was out there all alone

with 3 way up the road

poor devon

so I just went...

and my hard wasn't super hard

but i was getting a gap because the pack was crawling...

and then i hit the hill and the hill was probably 1.5km ish...

and the last .5 is steep and ouch

ouch

and i tried to go hard up it

and i got to the top without the pack catching me...

but the 3 were well down the road

and i didn't know what the gaps were because i wasn't hearing anything over the radio

and i didn't really understand what the signs meant...

but i knew the 3 were like 40ish ahead

i just tried to keep going

after the top of the hill it flattens, but there are some false flats that are hardd...

and that is when things would pick up in the pack so i was worried that they were coming strong

and at one point i saw the big group behind me

its hard to judge distance/time

and i was so sad that they were right there... but i just kept going and then came the downhill

and then i tried to eat a fig newton...

but it was super chewy and i was tired so i threw half away

but I took a drink

and then i was on the mostly flat section and i just kept tempoing it (it was tempo at this point... it was not recovery tempo!  it was ouch i don't feel good tempo)

and then i got to the hill

well... this is the little hill in the loop not THE hill... except the last time around... this little hill goes to THE big hill....

and i wasn't sure how much longer, but i knew the end was close...

but i knew i had a lot of hill left...

and i kept peaking behind me to see if the pack was coming... and the motorcycle guys went "ok" and were giving me thumbs up like i was in the clear

which was a relief, but i was still scared and going as hard as a could (which was not many watts)... 

and then right after i had recieved the thumbs up...

the motorcyle guys started going "allez allez" and pointed to the big giant fast moving pack rounding the corner up the hill

and then i topped this little initial hill and connected to the end hill (the 500meters of steep hill to the finish)

and the front of the pack was looking strong...

and i hit the 400m sign

and they were probably at the 500m sign.

and they were coming fast

and i tried to turn and turn my legs

but it was so steep and the legs wanted to stop...

and there were people all lining the hill...

and speakers all up the hill

and i could hear them say my name

and everyone was cheering me on

and then it was 200 to go...

and it gets a little flatter which made me so happy...

but i could barely turn the pedals and they were getting closer

and people were clapping for me

and finally i saw the line and i crawled over it... and came to a pretty fast slow...

and then the front 5 people blew by me...

and then there was the blow up arch in front of me...

and for a second i thought -- oh no --- is that the finish?

but it wasn't

the line was!

so i made it!

i got 4th... not quite the break... but the next best that i could do.

According to the results I ended up only 4 seconds ahead of the pack (i think that might have been generous timing too)

Click here for the live feed from the day (in french, sorry)

Easter

(cousin's easter egg hunt at Uncle Joe's farm)

My Grandma passed away last week. She was 93 and until 3 years ago, she lived alone and happy in her house in central PA. She was a special lady and I will miss her dearly. She held a bachelor's degree and a master's degree and taught school for 41 years. In college she played field hockey and I am built just like her--I have her to thank for my strong legs.

I grew up in Chicago and spent a couple weeks every year visiting her. She was always a big supporter of everything I did, including cycling. Because my Grandma lived right there, when I was a cat 4 and just getting started I went out and did the Tour de 'Toona. Participating in a race of that caliber as a beginning bike racer was very exciting and one of the reasons I got so into this sport.

My family is pretty spread out over the country and we all traveled to the area to remember her. We came from California, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington DC, and all over Pennsylvania.

It was very sad because I will miss her very much, but it was a great thing to have all of our family together and during the extended weekend I was able to squeeze some rides in.....

(Descending Blue Knob)

(Climbing Sproul Mountain)

-Kristen

Ronde de Bourgogne Feminine

This past weekend I ventured up to Dijon, France for a mini stage race.   The whole weekend was a cool experience.  We arrived Friday afternoon to meet up with the French team that was putting on the race (ASPTT Dijon).  Since our director was arriving later, the team kindly offered to take us for a ride around the TTT course and the circuit course and arranged dinner for us afterwards.  None of them spoke much English and none of us spoke much French, but we somehow managed to communicate with our sparse set of overlapping vocabulary and had a fun evening together.  That night we settled into our dorms where all the teams stayed for the weekend.  We would also eat with all the other teams for the remainder of the event -- it was a pretty neat setup.  

(TT Preview)

(Dorm)

The next day we started off with a breakfast of pasta (not my typical bfast food) and then headed to the road race.  Before the start of the race we had to go up on stage as a team and sign in -- they then announced our names (and other things which i could not follow) as we stood up on stage.  They also gave us a gift basket with Dijon treats!  It's fun to get prizes before you even start the race :)

(Treats)

On to the races...  The first race of the weekend was a 106km road race with 8 climbs.  The race started out with a neutral start and proceeded to be a slow and bunched up race until we hit the climbs.  After the 2nd climb, I was off the front in a pack of 7 riders, including a teammate, Amanda Miller.  We tried to work together to stay away, but our efforts weren't well coordinated and the race came back together.  This scenario would repeat itself over many of the climbs.  The race would break up into small groups and slowly reintegrate back together... with the pack getting smaller and smaller along the way.  The hills got tougher and tougher as the race went on and at one point I was pretty sure I had a flat... so certain that I looked back at my rear wheel several times to check on it.  Turns out it was just steep hills and tired legs giving the impression of a flat tire.  By the end of the race, the pack of 100ish riders had dwindled to 20some with Jeannie Longo solo off the front.  I came in with the front group, but didn't have much left for a sprint at the end and finished midpack in 12th.  

Climbing...

More climbing...

Amanda and me in one of many breaks...

The finish!

The next morning, we prepared for a team time trial.  This would be my first ever team time trial (with more than 2 riders).  The 6 of us had practiced together for only a week and lacked the high tech aero equipment that made the other teams look fast.  However, good teamwork and hard pedaling put us in 3rd place -- a finish we were all super happy about!  

TTT

A little lunch and nap after the TT...

Mmm...

Zzzz...

 ...and then we were racing again that afternoon in a "crit" -- the Europeans consider 20 times around a 3.7km loop to be a crit... it was more like a circuit race with a good climb in the middle, a fast downhill into a turn, and a flat and fast stretch to the finish.  Everyone was pretty tired by this race, but the US squad did a good job staying up front, going with all the attacks, and making attacks of our own.  In the end, we tried to set up a leadout -- I went hard to the last straight away, where Amanda took over with a strong pull down the final stretch... but we lost our sprinter... Ooops.   It was a fun attempt at a lead-out, especially since this was only our 2nd race together.  

US on the front

It was a weekend full of Fun Racing!  Monday we head to Pujols, France for a hilly circuit race -- should be fun!

~devon

Hillsboro-Roubaix

When I pulled up and saw the huge motor home in the most prime location that had The Bike Shop sign on it, I was even more excited to be in southern IL getting ready to race the Hillsboro-Roubaix RR. By the time Kristen and Anne got there and the weather continued to get nicer by the minute (65 and sunny!) the excitement of our first team race since California was overwhelming.(Warming up, getting prepped pre-race)

(Jason Meshberg making sure everything was ready to go, thanks!!!)

We got warmed-up, pinned, hydrated, radioed up (how pro!), on the line and ready to go-it also felt alot like Christmas, we got our beautiful new Saris Powertap race wheels, Giro helmets and gloves, and lots of other goodies thanks to all our sponsors and most especially The Bike Shop. (Thanks SO much to Leah, her husband, Scott, their kids, and Jason for all their amazing help and support. Also congrats to Leah for a very strong 3rd place finish in the Cat 4 race even after all her hard work for us!)

Our field was about 40 strong with lots of strong regional ladies ready to start the 2009 season in the Midwest. Notables like Kristin Wentworth, Bri Kovac, Carrie Cash, and Rebecca Much among others made it apparent that it would be a tough race.

(And the P123 Women's field rolls out)

The gun sounded and we were off. We all quickly positioned ourselves towards the front and as the first hill approached, I found myself dangling a bit in the wind; never one to waste any effort I figured if I was already there, might as well make it interesting so I pushed it hard up and over stringing things out a bit, knowing that Kristen and Anne were ready to cover anything.

As I kept the pace high, I saw Much on my wheel and waved her through, she pulled through, then a Kenda rider keeping the pace high. The next rise Kristin Wentworth attacked and things got crazy! I managed to go with 5 other girls but a gravelly corner that I almost overshot had me dangling off the back and then falling back to the field. Kristen drilled the front while I recovered then then the two of us worked as hard as we could with Carrie Cash and her teammates and ISCorp to try and draw the break back. Unfortunately for us, most of the strong teams had a rider in the break so our attempts were frustrated.

(Team BH keeping the pace high! Pic thanks to Dennis Fickinger)

I attacked several times with Kristen on the front blocking but hanging alone in the wind trying to catch a power-packed break wasn't meant to be. Second lap we settled down a bit. We patrolled the front, trying to keep the pace high and limit losses. I tried a few more attacks but Kenda and Mercy were quick to react. Kristen and Anne conserved some energy for the final sprint, covered anything that looked like a threat, and helped keep the pace high.

Pushing it to the bottom of the final climb into town, I was excited to see Kristen and Anne come around me and fly up the hill. I had burned almost all my matches and worked hard to stay with the group over the climb, wanting to see all our efforts pay off. Unfortunately, my chain slipped off the outside of my chainring and I watched in disappointment as the group slipped around the corner to make the descent over the cobbles into town. Kristen and Anne positioned themselves wisely and safely, coming around the last corner in perfect positions, they took first and fourth in the field sprint!!!!

(Kristen flying in for the field sprint win!!!)

So while we were quite disappointed to not have any representation in the break, we worked well together as a team putting up a fight, trying out some tactics, and winning the field sprint! Not a bad end to our first spring race and it left us hungry for another chance to flex our legs on our beautiful BH Bikes and show that this season Team BH USA will be a force!

-Madeleine

Owater!

Team BH USA is coming soon to an Owater bottle near you... many stores throughout Chicagoland carry the delicious beverage.  It's a refreshing alternative to plain water which comes purified and enhanced with electrolytes to help your body replenish after a hard ride/race. The infused owaters are tasty, but not toooo sweet like many drinks on the market. Owater also comes in an unsweetened yet flavorful variety and a pure sport version.  Team BH USA kept hydrated with Owater during our training camp in CA.  Some of our favorite flavors include lime lemon (madeline), black raspberry (anne & devon), and pob (kristen).