Canadian Cyclist Interview

May 11/10 - Team Profile: Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery

"After stepping onto the podium in every race this season, the Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery women's cycling team has proven that it is one of the teams to beat in the Ontario/Quebec cycling scene."

Read more from the interview recently posted on the Canadian Cyclist 4 Women (C4W) website conducted by Leigh Hargrove.

http://www.canadiancyclist.com/cycling4women_features.php?id=18969

Springbank Race Report

May 2, Race Report for Springbank Classic

Like the other races last weekend, the forecast called for rain all day in London. We had some good luck though and the rain stopped before the first race-and began again just after the last race.

The course was a 2.2km loop with a small decent and a small rise—tough to launch a breakaway. There were quite a few attacks during the first half of the race, especially from Krystal Jeffs and KK Michener from NanoBlur-Gears (and a few by me) but nothing stuck. Finally, a prime lap was announced. I lead KK out for the sprint. (If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em : ) Suzie Brown from P-K Express came with us and suddenly we had a gap on the group. At that point, KK flatted and Suzy and I were left to shatter ourselves trying to stay away.

We definitely shattered ourselves but also stayed away—so I finished in second place. I was excited to represent Stevens on the podium!

Good luck to Tricia and Mel at Albion and congrats to Annick and Michelle on bringing in another podium finish for the Stevens team at the Granby ITT!
-- Rachel

Race Report for May 2 GP Brossard Crit
Forecast called for thundershowers but the sun was out and it was very warm - a good start to a fun race!

It went fast right from the gun as Annick, who had been called ahead to the start line as the 2009 Provincial Masters Champion, went to the front and pushed the pace. She even attacked from the front on the first lap.

As soon as Annick got caught, Sarah went. This turned out to be the decisive move when five other riders covered Sarah's attack. The group worked well together and quickly managed to establish a solid lead over the main pack. In the peloton, Michelle, Annick and I monitored any bridging attempts but unfortunately missed one from two riders who, after a long battle, caught up to Sarah's group with 4 laps to go. We also each tried to get to the two riders but got covered every time.

Sarah came 3rd in a sprint finish and Michelle broke away from the main pack with one lap to go to come across the finish line alone in 7th place. Annick and I kept the pace high through the last lap to avoid any other attacks and finished in the top 10.

Another great team effort and another podium for Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery!
-- Soph

Hollenbeck Spring Classic

Race report for May 2 Hollenbeck Classic, Virgil, NY

Glad I made it to Virgil New York this past weekend for the Hollenbeck Spring Classic RR. My attempts at the podium in '09 were thwarted by the well organized, strong Stevens girls who got the 3 top spots and I the 4th place. Even though I wasn't going to have any team mates with me I needed to go back and race Hollenbeck again. It's a nice race-2 long laps, beautiful countryside, a couple good climbs, decent roads, very little traffic and great cookies at the end!

I almost didn't make it as I got stopped at the border and questioned inside at immigration. I have a U.S. work VISA in my passport that for the 1st time made it difficult getting into the country! I finally convinced them I was not going there to work and was eventually back on the road.

Race morning was beautiful! Hot and sunny! The other girls mentioned how relieved they were to see I had no team mates with me. They all remember the wrath of Stevens Racing last year!! This year the race was one of attrition. The 1st climb was at a good hard pace and lost half the girls. There were a few half hearted attacks but nothing significant. The pace stayed quite high the 1st lap and I did my best not to pull. The 2nd time up the main climb Cynthia Wilson (Ride with Rendall) got away! Exactly what Sue did last year in about the same spot! We crested the climb and proceeded to chase her down. We got quite close but it was at this time that a few of the other girls stopped pulling thru. There was lots of yelling going on but nobody would go to the front. Some simply couldn't, others wouldn't! The pace slowed significantly and alas Cynthia time trialled to the end. Up the 2nd climb 'The Wall' I could tell who was starting to suffer. A Bethel girl who pushed the pace the 1st lap especially on the climbs was hurting and I knew she probably wouldn't be a threat. I felt pretty confident that when we made the right turn and the road went up to the finish that I would be in 2nd place. The road tilted up and all of a sudden I was alone. Nice.

Little cool down, a gigantic cookie and a long drive home with my $15.
-- Leigh

Sarah on the podium AGAIN :-)

April 25 - GP Ste-Martine played out to be a long criterium. The course was about 14km long, although it felt like 5. With only 4 laps to do, we knew we were in for a short and quick day. The announcer made it clear that the yellow line rule would be strictly enforced...however most of the race happened on the other side of it! The race started right from the gun. With a small group of girls hanging off the front of the peleton for almost a full lap. Annick, Michelle, Sophie and I all made some good strong attacks off the front, however with the wind being the main factor in the race, and with no other teams willing to work, it was hard to stay out for very long. Sophie was able to catch a group of girls who attacked off the front and Michelle made one of the strongest breaks of the day (Cancellara style!) with a lap to go.

Although the race was very jumpy, it was also very nervous. Girls were fighting for position the whole race. One moment you would be right at the front, and the next you were squeezed to the back! This was especially the case in the last 10km. Not only were we all fighting it out for a good sprint position, but our race was neutralized twice (the elite men were passing us), creating a lot of panic within the pack.

When we were about 3 km out I found myself right at the back - my least favorite spot to be. I found Sophie’s wheel and decided to stick to it because she always seems to get out of a tough spot in a race. With a bit of gravel riding, we managed to move up, and I put myself behind one of the stronger riders in the race. As we were coming up to the sprint, the Elite men had crashed about 100 meters from the finish only minutes before. Having to squeeze through a truck parked on the road and a few riders still down, the sprint just seemed to explode - with some riders going for the win, and others opting for staying up right. I weighed the pros and cons pretty quickly, and went for the sprint. I managed to pull out a second place, however I am most happy I managed to keep the rubber down. I can't remember exactly, but I am pretty sure Annick was put into the ditch 3 times at Ste Martine - we should invest in elbow pads!

The team worked really well together, and definitely made racing a lot more fun. Next week at Brossard will be another chance to try things out and go for a win!
-- Sarah