Photo Courtesy of iLLumixStudios.comColumbia HTC, Tibco, Peanut Butter & Co, Webcor, and a few Colavita riders were among the pro women's field at the Merco Credit Union Foothills Road Race. It turned out to be a beautiful day in the Central Valley, with sunny skies and warm temps. Cody, Susannah, and Eileen (cat3) lined up with over 60 P1/2/3 women - it was going to be a fast 72 miles with the caliber of riders in the race and the Wells Fargo women were ready to keep the pace.
The race started well, with Cody and Susannah covering moves and keeping an eye out as the larger professional teams attacked each other and the group. Even when larger groups of riders got a gap on the peloton, nothing was ever organized enough to stick. With many of the great current and up-and-coming sprinters in women's pro cycling among the group (Ina Teutenberg, Shelley Evans, and Brooke Miller) we assumed the race would finish in a sprint. Eileen looked strong in the first two laps - keeping good position. Cody and Susannah felt good, took a few turns at the front and tried to stay out of trouble. Cody eventually got a flat, but the super SRAM support car got her fixed up and she was back in the group without any real trouble.
Knowing the finish was going to be very fast, on the 3rd and final lap, CCG and SBB tried to stay as close to the front of the race as possible. With about 1 mile to go, Susannah got taken down in a very unnecessary crash. Luckily, the SRAM support car was there once again and got her bike back together and she was able to finish. Cody avoided the crash and finished with the lead group, where apparently another crash almost happened in the final several hundred meters.
Big thanks to our P1/2 manager and director sportif, Mark Deterline. He sacrificed his race to be in the feed zone all day supplying us and other Wells Fargo riders with fresh bottles and words of encouragement. Next up - Madera Stage Race!
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