Race Report by Jennifer Rasmusson

(from L to R) Jen Rasmusson (Team Kenda), Leslie Jennings and Sarah Iepson (Cawes Powered By Specialized)

Team Kenda from the Mid-Atlantic Elite Team (Marni, Janelle, Chris Kelly, Tracy, Heidi, Jenn M) and myself, from the NRC team showed up for a tenacious weekend of racing in Maryland. Our pre-race plan was to try to keep two Kenda girls in contention for general classification (GC) all the way to the criterium if we could and make the field split who to chase.

The road race was a challenging rolling course with a couple of steep leg-breaking pitches and the humidity and heat did nothing to ease the day. The team road well while attacking and covering moves. In addition, Tracy and Heidi both got away for potential breakaways. Unfortunately, the field wasn’t interested in letting anyone go up the road alone and going into the bell-lap it was clear it was going to be a field sprint.

Starting the first set of stair-steppers, I dropped my chain and after my immediate horror, much to my delight both teammates Jenn M and Marni dropped back to help!  They staggered themselves from the group and launched me from one to another, so I could essentially leap-frog from one teammate to the next and then finally the field. After I connected, we settled in for the finish and it ended in a two hill – uphill field sprint and Kudos to Heidi for taking 5th and I finished 7th within 6 seconds of the leader. (before time bonus’ awarded)

The time-trial was where we planned to take the lead. Jenn Max and I had an awesome day and we went into the final stage with me leading the GC by 41 seconds and Jenn M sitting in 8th position.

The criterium was hard and hot. The goal was to keep me near the other general classification (GC) riders and work at getting Jen. Max some sprint premes in order to try and move her up a little further in GC.  Oh how plans change… Tracy unfortunately crashed and went to the hospital for X-rays. (Thankfully nothing is broken but she has lots of road rash and contusions.) Then with 7 laps to go and no free lap remaining, only 13 riders left from a 40+ rider field, I flatted on the downhill corner… Heidi and Marni selflessly dropped back: Heidi gave me her wheel and Marni gave me a pull to get me going and not to mention threw out as many words of encouragement as she could get out and still pedal at the same time. (I still don’t know how she did it!) Jen M. was in the field and tried to slow the remaining riders down, but once they knew the GC leader was chasing solo they weren’t very interested in waiting.

I chased for the last 7 laps and at one point had the gap down to about 50 seconds, but couldn’t keep it going down. In the end WE finished 2nd in GC, but it was certainly well deserved and well fought 2nd place final GC by all Kenda racers. (Washington County, June 19-20)

Full General Classification Results

Team Kenda will be represented at the Nature Valley Grand Prix (NVGP) by the following riders:

Amity Elliot
Jennifer Greenberg
Ashley James
Jackie Kurth
Anna McLoon
Denise Ramsden
Melissa Ross
Silke Wunderwald

The NVGP is scheduled to run from Wednesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 20. The NVGP is the third stop in the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series.

In addition, a number of our riders have been busy writing contributions to the NVGPs blog,  we invite you to check what they had to say below:

Denise Ramsden:  Bringing International Racing to the NVGP

Melissa Ross:  A Quest to Remember

Anna McLoon:  There’s No Place Like Home

Melissa Doherty: Nature Valley Grand Prix Dreamin’

Heidi Goldberg talks to the DC Examiner about being on top of cycling in the Mid-Atlantic. Read about it at http://tiny.cc/o6mil

Jen Rasmusson talks with the DC Examiner for a recent interview.  Check it out by clicking here.

Race Report by Jen Rasmusson

(Poolesville, MD – Sat May 15) It was a great day for a 42 miles bike race! The weather was crisp and it hadn’t rained the night before as the weathermen had predicted, (Thank Heavens!) Our Women’s 1,2,3 field was quiet small (13 in total), as many of the up in coming women 3′s were racing in the afternoon to fight for their upgrade points, or many other riders stayed home because the just don’t like riding in the dirt. Poolseville Road Race is infamous; being successful on this course comes down to two things, 1st being lucky and not getting a flat and 2nd, being tenacious all the way through to the end.

The 1st two-laps were the expected slow grinding down of the legs including never forgetting the accelerations and attacks through the dirt section. Additionally, due to our small field there wasn’t much room for hiding or opportunity to get up the road solo as everyone wanted to get up the road.

Towards the end of lap-three you could feel girls getting tired and the CAWES Cycling team started throwing in some attacks, somewhere in amongst the counters teammate Heidi Goldberg (two-time Poolesville Winner) ended up off the front with one other CAWES Cycling rider. Soon after unattached, Leslie Jennings (current MABRA BAR Champion) bridged realizing this was the break that would stick I made the move to get across the gap to solidify a four-woman break for the bell lap.

The four of us worked well together. For the 1st time this season I was starting to feel some life in my legs again and Heidi Goldberg. has been riding extremely well. Having two Team Kenda riders in a four person break certainly gave us the advantage and the only trick was going to come down to splitting the group to take the win. Heidi and I talked and I really wanted the field sprint opportunity, but our advantage was that either one of us could go for it, depending on how the race unfolded.

About 1.5K out Heidi attacked and Leslie was able to make the move, but the CAWES Cycling rider seemed finished and had caused a big gap. Knowing the race was up the road I made the decision to try and get back up to them and attempt another counter to maybe still get rid of Leslie Jennings, or at least make it really tough.

I attempted another attack only to discover I too was cracked!!! Hmm…no superman legs yet…maybe not a good idea. At this point, we were about 600m from the finish and Heidi was sitting on my wheel. I heard Heidi say the infamous sprint words “Jen, I’m here” and that was it… I wound it up and drove them in to the 250-200m mark. The three CAWES Cycling racers had managed to bridge back on, attacked for the final field sprint… Heidi putts a valiant effort in, but getting nipped at the line by Leslie Jennings (unattached). Team Kenda finished with a great showing of 2nd and 4th place at one of the hardest Road Races MABRA (Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association) has to offer.

Check out the photograph here Photo Credit:  Jim Wilson Images

Race Report by Jen Rasmusson

(Carlisle, PA – Sunday May 23, 2010)  My 1st 40K in 2 years… How does that sound? I think it sounded awesome! After my 1st eye-opening and some what disappointed experience back into the world of  National Racing Calendar (NRC) racing at the Wilmington Grand Prix the day before I felt like I had something to prove.  My teammates had been awesome and supportive, recognizing the road back from injury can be longer than any of us want it to be, but today I had something to prove … I could still race a bike.

I’ve always felt Time Trialing would be one of my strengths if I just buckled down and did them, so this year that was my goal. The Carlisle Individual 40K TT is out on a course in beautiful rolling hill Pennsylvania.

As most of us know, an essential part of a successful Time Trial is a good warm-up. To make sure this happened I left that my house that morning at 4:30 am, to arrive by 6:30 and be ready to go by 8:30… Unfortunately, between the rain, the fog and poor navigating skills, by 8:15 I was still in my car, calling the promoter “calmly” asking him to tell me where I was when the only reference points I could give him were “I’m by some cows and an intersection of a County Rd” Perrrrfect.. no the deal warm-up.

I finally found the start-finish line (marked by the corner of a dirt road and a different feed yard, through on my kit, pulled the TT bike out of the car, rolled up to the start, apologized for my “insanity” and thanked the promoter one more time for letting me race and was off!

During my 40K I had 1 mantra – “If it wasn’t hard then everyone would do it.”… I felt surprisingly good and my body started to adjust and open-up to the effort as I focused on keeping the power steady. As I started to roll, rain drops started to fall and as if to add to the drama of the morning, as soon as I took the right turn from 3K out it started to pour! All 33K of the 40K race it was a complete downpour!

As my mantra rolled on… “If it wasn’t hard then everyone would TT” … the Kilometers started to check off, 3K, 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K… then once 25K hit it started to hurt! What had been uncomfortable just 5 minutes prior now started to become unbearable… “If it wasn’t hard, then everyone would do it.” … chanted through my mind as I felt myself trying to relax and fight to get a handle on my rapidly tiring body … 30K … the cramping was starting to sink in … “pedal, just pedal I told myself … “you know this is hard, that is why you are doing this…” 35K, 2K to go, 1K, 500M, 250M …. Finished!!!!

I rolled across the line, now allowing fatigue to set-in and relish in the satisfaction of what I had just accomplished. I felt good about my performance and although had an estimation of my time, I was looking forward the final results.

Back at registration we waited and to my astonishment I was awarded a Sub-Hour t-shirt + picture! I had raced a 59:04, in the pouring rain, with no warm-up… the fastest Women’s time not only that day, but looking back through the times, possibly ever on the course and not to mention a top 10 time overall on the course that day (excluding the Team Time Trial!)

Check out Anna McLoon’s contribution to the Nature Valley Grand Prix (NVGP) blog by visiting http://bit.ly/dxllLQ

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!

(from left to right), Susan Jones (Greenville Women's Cycling), Catherine James (Team Kenda), GOLD Medal; Nicole Johnson (Team Kenda) Silver Medal

Race Report by Nicole Johnson

Team Kenda- Southeast raced The Pivotal Race Weekend in Charleston, SC. The team was represented by: Christy Keely, Catherine James, Jackie Blackwell, and Nicole Johnson. Addy Albershardt represented Kenda in the Women’s Cat 4 field.

On Saturday we raced the criterium in a beautiful neighborhood called Ion Village. The race was fast and active. Ex-Pro Rebecca Larson immediately got away from the group and the race was split by the chase. Christy and Nicole were able to jump across to the group bringing the lone rider back. Catherine and Jackie worked really hard to bridge across but remained in another chase group behind us. Christy and I had a plan to be the first two through the last corner resulting in a 2nd- Nicole Johnson and 4th-Christy Keely in the field sprint. Catherine James finished 14th and Jackie respectively came out with a mechanical.

On Sunday the South Carolina State Criterium Championships were held. I was the defending champion; as a result, we had to have a plan that would shake up the peloton. The race was very active with lots of attacks. With one lap to go I launched an attack to throw the field off. As I was caught with half a lap to go, Jackie Blackwell lined up the girls in a perfect lead out train resulting in Christy Keely clinching 2nd overall, Catherine James, GOLD and Nicole Johnson earning a Silver medal.

Addy Albershardt (Team Kenda) finished 3rd on Saturday and 4th on Sunday in the Women’s Cat 4 fields.

This weekend reflected great team work by Team Kenda. (Charleston, SC; Sat/Sun April 17/18)

WI riders take time out for a photograph prior to the race

Race Report by Shelley Smith

A wonderful sunny day coupled with warm temperatures greeted the Women’s Open race containing eight Team Kenda riders of a field totaling 23 women.  The Gregg Bednorski Memorial Spring/Great Dane #1, a Wisconsin Cycling Association (WCA) race marks the first time many of us would race together as teammates.

Within a few laps, a break went up the road comprised of Kristin Wentworth (Team Kenda), Kelley Hess (Team Kenda) and Rachael Eichers Roessingh (ISCorp Cycling Team).

Our goal was to have two riders in the break. With that accomplished Beth Lauer, Kaitie Antonneau, Lindsey Durst, Meredith Peterson, Monique Karlen and myself remained in the chase group thus adding insurance that anyone attempting to bridge up to the escapees would be brought back by any of the Team Kenda women. We managed to discourage chasers from getting away and our efforts allowed the breakaway to gain a half lap lead.

The three leaders basically time trialed their way to the bell lap where the final sprint was won by Kristin, Rachel Eichers Roessingh (ISCorp Cycling Team) coming in second, Kelley Hess in third.

Rounding out the top ten finishers were Kaitlin Antonneau who won the field sprint, Beth Lauer and myself.

Overall it was a very positive experience for Team Kenda with a great show of teamwork and camaraderie.  (Sunday, April 11 Madison, WI)