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