Tour de Murrieta 3/12 - 3/14/2010 - Race report written by Bonnie Breeze

Tour de Murrieta was a three day event beginning with a 20k time trial, followed by a fast and furious criterium on Saturday and grueling 3.5 mile circuit race on Sunday. Points were given at the end of each stage and accumulated for an overall placing at the end of the three events.
Team INCYCLE/Time to Track showed up in full force to compete in the three day event. Here is their story:

Stage 1 The Time Trial took place on Fiesta Island in San Diego. The course was an approximate 3.5 mile, flat as a pancake, loop around the island. Each rider rode three laps to complete a distance of 20k. The time trial was won by California State TT Champion Ruth Clemence, followed by Shelly Evans and Lauren Tamayo, both from the Peanut Butter & Company pro cycling team. Team INCYCLE/Time to Track’s own Dotsie Bausch landed in 4th just mere seconds off Tamayo’s time. Team INCYCLE/Time to Track’s Pam Schuster and Bea Rodriguez finished 6th and 7th respectively, and me 9th. Those girls are smokin’ fast!! Impressively, Team INCYCLE/Time to Track placed all of our riders in the top 15 spots.

Stage 2 The Grand Prix stage consisted of a fast, technical six corner, one mile loop through the downtown streets of Murrieta. Prior to the start of the event, world class tacticians, Pam and Dotsie, developed the plan for the day. POINTS, POINTS, POINTS!! With the entire INCYCLE/Time to track team placed in the top 15, and four riders in the top 10, our plan was to get as many points as possible to stack the top ten with the INCYCLE/Time to Track flag. What transpired from the criterium was nothing less that absolutely amazing. As with most criteriums, the race started out hot off the blocks. A few laps into the race Lauren Tamayo attacked and obtained a substantial gap on the field. After what I witnessed from Lauren yesterday, I believed this to be a very dangerous move, and I launched a scud missile in her direction in attempt to bring her back. Once my match was burned, Pam took over and turned the grip full throttle! Approximately a lap and a half later, Lauren rejoined the group, however, that didn’t stop the madness. From that point on, a prime was offered every lap, which kept the pace high and the field safe. Attacks made by Team Now, Team Helens, and Paramount racing made this a top notch criterium. I have to give super kudos to the NOW girls, who have demonstrated they have stepped up their cycling program and are not afraid to be aggressive. That makes for awesome racing!
When it came down to the final lap, it was the Team INCYCLE/Time to Track and Peanut Butter & Company all over the front. Lauren won the sprint and her teammate, Shelly, was second. Leah Guloien was third. I finished 5th, Pam was 9th, and Bea was 13th. Mission accomplished! POINTS, POINTS, POINTS!!

Stage 3 The Circuit Race was an approximate 3.5 mile loop that was mostly flat with a few big ring rollers. The finish, located in downtown Murrieta, was fast and technical and with criterium type flair. This course was a definite MUST BE TOP 10 to win and or avoid casualties during the charge back into town.
I entered the stage as the Team INCYCLE/Time to Track GC leader, in 3rd place. Pam was one point behind me in 4th. Tammy Wildgoose (Paramount) and Leah Guloien were, a few points back, but definitely within reach of the podium.

Our Mission, again developed by the strategic specialists, Dotsie and Pam, was to win the stage and keep our podium spot. Pam and I were advised to keep eyes on riders who threatened our position. The rest of the team was amazing, as they covered every move and reacted with counter attacks. In my book, the MVP award goes to Priscilla Calderon (aka PC, or “Not so PC”), who after covering numerous attacks, launched a solo attack off the front resulting in the opposing teams need to chase this dangerous move. Once PC was caught, this set up the winning move where Team INCYCLE/Time to Track’s Katie Donovan took a flyer with five laps to go and separated herself from the bunch by almost two minutes. Katie crossed the line solo for the victory. The move by PC was so critical for our win.

Once again the field sprint came down to a wave of blue (Team INCYCLE/Time to Track) and white (Peanut Butter & Company) at the front. The field sprint was won by Coryn Rivera (PB&), followed by Shelly Evans (PB&C), & Anna Drakulich (LaGrange/Herbalife) pimped Pam and I for 6th and 7th respectively.

Mission Accomplished!! Team INCYCLE/Time to Track won the stage and Pammy and I tied for 3rd and a spot on the podium. Bea also picked up the 5th spot in the overall GC and Katie moved herself up to 9th with her stellar performance in stage 3. Since Pam had to split, I took the Kodak moment with the Peanut Butter girls!! Woot woot!!

That’s the facts, brought to you by INCYCLE/Time to Track and most definitely presented by EMPOWER COACHING SYSTEMS!

Santiago Canyon Time Trial

Incycle/TTT presented by Empower Coaching rips through the canyon to break the course record!

Saturday March 6th.
Ok, so breaking the course record was not the plan I had going into this race. It was more of a tune-up race for Track World Championships which I will compete in with Team USA in Denmark in late March. All training, recovering, eating and focus is set towards that race in the Bausch house right now. I had my fabulous teammate and Empower client, Ms. Bonnie Breeze talked into doing the time trial as well to shake the TT cobwebs out in prep for next weekends Tour of Murietta. She blazed in on her road bike no less for third place on the day. Very impressive.
I have done this TT multiple times, given its in my backyard. I knew the course record was set on 2/28/09 by Ruth Clemence in a time of 27:02 because I raced it the very next month and missed the record by 8 seconds. It was a fast day on the 6th of March this year and the speeds were blazing. Made for a really fun TT! After the climb, about halfway through, I don't think my speed dropped below 32mph. It was smokin fast. My husband started behind me and I kept waiting for him to pass me, and when he didn't 3k from the finish line, I thought, "its game time!" I know how fast I can go for 3K! He got me literally 100 meters from the finish line. Its ok. Our dogs still show him love around the house. I still smoked home in a time of 26:06, shattering the previous record and hopefully in good form leading into this weekend with my incredible and inspiring team mates to do some more damage on the race scene.
My girls really inspire each other to keep stepping up their game. They have not been off the podium in one race so far this year. Talk about a stellar start to 2010! And I watch them reach out to newer riders and share smiles and encouragement, spreading our vision for growing women's cycling one nudge at a time.
Dotsie

CBR, Dominguez Hills, 7 March 2010

Women 1-3, 40 Minutes, 4 corners



Priscilla (1st), Pam (3rd), Bonnie, Katie, Lea, Beatriz



No rain and clear skies, we were off to a good start. With Pam and PC leading the series, the plan for the day was to set up for PC. After what the team unleashed at the last CBR, we were all confident in being able deliver PC. What actually happened was even better, as Bonnie put it, “unpredictable.”

Lea attacks off the line. And we’re off! Helen’s, SDBC, and LaGrange had a good showing, sending out attacks or covering ours. Nothing was going up the road. Everything was being chased, even when a motivating gap was established. The pace would quicken and speed up, tiring people out and making for some twitchy corners (and more yelling than I’ve heard this season).

It seemed we were all in a separation that seemed promising at some point during the race. Next thing you know its five laps to go and its time for the “Woot Woot!” Train to start rolling. With three laps to go, Debbie from Helen’s and Jen from LaGrange were strong contestants for PC’s wheel. Pam started us off, with Katie, Bonnie, Lea following and me behind PC ready to sweep. Helen’s get brave and send out an attack, but we are right on it, taking the Train on a small detour. We get things back under control when at one lap to go Debbie attacks and Bonnie is on her wheel and trying to keep the Train alive so hard she does not realize they have a small gap, but we are now at the second corner and the field is gaining on these two. As we get closer I see a hesitation from the separation and the field so I decide to just GO!, knowing the Train must keep going and NOW. Heading into the third corner I glance back hoping PC and Train are on my arse, (hoping it doesn’t hurt this bad in vain), when I catch a glimpse of PC out of the saddle and a Helen’s kit on my wheel. That’s when I dig even deeper through the corner and somehow find the strength to push as hard as I can up the incline between the third and fourth corner. I put in my last effort through the last turn and PC takes care of the rest. As the field swallows me up and Pam punks the youngins for third place, the crowd is amazed and confused for a second, only to realize… That was a SPIDERMAN that just happened!

I finally cross the line, out of breath, but with a smirk on my face… Damn, it’s good to be part of Time To Track/Southern California Velo presented by Empowered Coaching Systems/presented by INCYCLE/”WOOT WOOT” Train!

Callville Bay Classic Race Report – By Katie Donovan

Who Raced :
Katie Donovan ( 2nd GC ), Bea Rodriguez (2nd Stage 3, 6th GC), Pamela Shuster (3rd Stage 3, 9th GC), Priscilla Calderon, Bonnie Breeze, Lea Adams

Stage 1 Time Trial - The time trial was 3.39 miles on rolling terrain with a short section near the end at about 6%-7% with a slight tail wind. The team raced this stage on road bikes, with Bea using clip on aero bars, which was probably the best decision. The first half hurt and then the second half hurt even more. I ended up 2nd, less than a second behind Alicia Welsh from Peanut Butter & Co. Teammates Bea and Pam were also in the top 10.

Stage 2 Road Race- There were no time bonus in the road race and no QOM. The race started in the rain, so the first half of the race was pretty tame with few attacks and mostly some pace making at the front. A few attacks started half way through the race, but no one was committed to a break getting out there. The race didn't get aggressive until the last mile. With 1k to go we were told that there had been a crash at the finish line and that the finish line was going to be moved. A few minutes later, someone in a car yelled "400 meters to go" and people started sprinting. The improvised finish line was some dude waving a tarp. I'm not quite sure how many people actually realized it was the finish line. Nichole Wangsgard won the stage, LaGrange Anna Drauklich got 2rd, and Kirsten Darley from Colovita got 3rd. I finished right behind Alisha so no changes in the overall GC.

Stage 3 Crit - The crit course was fun and a little bit technical. There were a ton of primes throughout the race and lots of attacks, but nothing got away. With 2 laps to go, Ruth Clemence (3rd GC) attacked and got away for a couple laps. She was chased down by PC and Bonnie and caught. With 1 lap to go, my teammates were on the front and I was on Pam's wheel as planned. The plan was to try to get me a time bonus for the win, or for my teammates to get the time bonuses. I braked in one of the turns and lost Pam's wheel. Bea and Pam ended up sprinting for the time bonus and got 2nd and 3rd. I finished just behind Alisha in the stage and kept my 2nd place overall. Bea was able to advance to 6th place in GC.

CBR Simple Green Race Report - By Priscilla Calderon

Wm pro 1,2,3, had a good sized field of about 40. The field contained very good sprinters which included Anna Lang, Jennifer Wilson, Tiffany Pezzolo and the Helen’s squad was out in full force. Helen's being the more "dominate" team as far as numbers goes. Once the whistle was blown and off we went a few attacks here and there and all of the SC Velo - Incycle/TTT girls were on every move. Lea was on everything that looked dangerous yet promising. There were only a few primes, but Incycle/TTT managed to collect them. If there was a move up ahead Incycle/TTT was being represented. With 4 laps to go it was obvious that it was going to come down to a field sprint. Just by instinct we all meet at the front of the field for a perfect lead out train. A girl from NOW-MS told me after the race it was a sea of blue n orange at the front. Our team captain, Pam, had discussed before the race how she wanted the lead out train to go down and who would pull where and how far, and it happened exactly like she said it would. Katie started the lead out with Bonnie delivering Pam and I off at last corner. I was battling for Pam's wheel for laps on end it seemed like. That's a VERY popular wheel by the way. Jen Wilson trying to over take my wheel countless times with one to go, In the last turn Wilson tried one last time to overtake Pam's wheel by taking the turn inside, but to no success. Pam started to sprint with me closely on her wheel, I looked back to see that we had a pretty descent gap to roll in first and second WOOT WOOT!!!

Complimentary Photo by Tom Shao @tomshaophoto.com