Race Report by Kristin Wentworth

Ashley James followed by Kristin Wentworth at the Wheels of Willy Crit (Photo by Peloton-Pix)

LaRue-Denzer-LaRue (LaRue, WI -  Sat May 15)

Saturday was a 40 mile road race in the hills northwest of Madison. The course was a 20 mile loop with two mile long climbs each lap. A field of 16 with myself, Jill, and Meredith represented Team Kenda.

Over the first long climb we were down to a group of five with both Jill and I making it over the top. A lack of organization by the riders caused a few more to catch back up. Jill got a separation over the top of the second climb but saw the group coming back together and eased up. Again a lack of riders willing to work together caused the group to remain at seven. We were pretty frustrated by a few riders and decided to really attack the next climb. I gave it a go midway up and saw Jill pull up next to me. The other girls were just slightly behind and I told Jill to give it her all. A gap quickly formed and I sat on the remaining three riders as they struggled to get organized. That hesitation was all Jill needed to increase her lead and soon get out of sight. Being an unselfish teammate I sat on the other three until the final climb. One rider upped the pace and I sat on until near the top when I attacked hard and got a gap.

With five miles to go and I knew the other girls were getting tired from the day’s effort. Luckily I was able to hold them off and came across the line for 2nd. Jill had a good TT effort on the day and rode 14 miles solo to take the win. An awesome display of teamwork and a satisfying finish with the old 1, 2 punch!

Wheels on Willy Criterium (Madison, WI – Sun May 16)

Sunday was the Wheels on Willy Criterium in Madison. Team Kenda came out in full force with nine riders toeing the line in a field of 30. Team Kenda was represented by Ashley, Beth L., Beth E., Jill, Lindsey, Meredith, Monique, Shelley, and myself. Not everyday you can comprise a third of the field! With those numbers the pressure was on and we wanted nothing less than a win.

The plan was to be aggressive and get two of us in a break. From the start attacks came from Jill, Ashley, and Beth keeping the pace high and the field strung out. Nothing quite stuck until about 10 minutes in when Ashley attacked with an ISCorp rider in tow. A gap formed and some of the other rider began to try to chase. The field got a bit closer and I saw the ISCorp rider falling off so I attacked hard and bridged up to Ashley. We began to work together to hold off the hard charging field. Ashley was taking strong pulls and I did my best to equal her effort. Soon we saw our gap increasing and we knew we just needed to ride steady for the next 30 minutes.

Back in the field a chase ensued and the remaining Team Kenda riders were covering any bridge attempts and doing what they could to keep Ashley and I off the front. It was another perfect example of strong teamwork and soon we saw two laps to go and the field not far in front of us. Electing to stay off the back, rather than ride back into the field, we enjoyed a slightly easier last lap and raised our arms in victory as we crossed the line. Ashley, who instigated the move and worked really hard to make it stick, took the win and I was again thrilled to take 2nd to my teammate. A last lap attack by Jill nearly stuck but she was pipped at the line – still finishing a strong 4th. A fantastic race and incredibly fun with the Team Kenda chicks!. We had wanted to get two of us in a break and little did we know that there wouldn’t be any other riders with us! Congratulations to all the Team Kenda riders at the race – go team!