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.