Masters Road Nationals(women 50-54) - By Pam Schuster

My expereince with National championships are that they are always a little different. My first ever Master Road Race was no exception. At the elite level I have always seen less team work at these events for numerous reasons and this was even more so at the Master's level. At the elite level many times your teammates are foreigners and are not eligible, so you have less teammates. The other reason is that the event has a title and more significance than winner of the XYZ road race. At the elite level the title is also many times a ticket to the Worlds team and the National team. At the Master's level many of the competators do not have teammates because of the different age groups and I personally only knew one other athlete in my race. Sue McDonough was unbeatable back-in-the-day when her and Karen Bliss won 90% of the National level criteriums in the country. Not a person I thought it would be wise to take to the line. Loisville Kentucky decided it was tired of the heat and decide it was time to rain. The fun course was not so fun in the rain with the fear of carnage at every bend. I am only thankful that it was the road race and not the criteriun taking place on this wet slippery day. The first 2 laps were all about staying safe. I either pulled the field or gave my self plenty of room. On the third lap 3 riders went down and I had to come to complete stop. I chased back on to the 7 leaders knowing the urgency after watching the previous races and the effects of the crashes. Numerous attempts by myself and others to get away were made. This was the fittest group of advanced aged women I had been with and we all wanted a chance at those stars and stripes. I thought about where I wanted to punch it chewy, did just that and it all worked out this time! Show me the jersey!

The criterium 2 days later was a different story with nice, dry weather(my 2nd Master's Crit....I did one as a 30 year old when I was a cat 3...got dropped of course!). The races prior to mine on this fine August 7th day all ended in a field finish. I was licking my chops because my sprint has been working and I think it is due to the lunges, squats and step-up routine I learned from Dotsie at one of her camps a few years ago. It's a great little routine and I throw it in when I am short on time(I am short on time 10 times a day!). I tried to work at the front to de-motivate the group from attacks. It worked great until 4 laps to go when Christine Schryver (Rochester, NY/Genesee Valley Cyclng) launched an attack that caused all us sprinters to hesitate until we realized she was gone like a frieght train. Even when we all decided it was over and started working she was gaining time on us. She so deserved this win and title! With 20 secounds and the dwindling pack exhausted I gave my final effort with one lap to go to claim the silver.

I learned not to take your medal home in your carry-on. TSA didn't know me(Can you believe that? TMZ does!) and wasn't sure if I should be allowed to swing it around with all my bags. I was just too elated to bring home the medal for my team who has been so supportive this year! I thank all the sponsors for believing in us and helping us be able to do what we do. I now have National RR win in both elite and Masters but only a 2nd in both elite and Masters! How ironic is that!

Ontario Mid Season Criterium - May 16, 2010 - Report by PC Calderon

Racers: Katie Donovan, PC Calderon, Pam Schuster and Bea Rodriguez

After our long ride home, and getting only a few hours of sleep, 8 o'clock in the morning came entirely tooo early. With our race at 10 o'clock Katie seemed to be the only one that was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Pam gave us a much needed pep talk before the race and told us how the race should go down, and if it came to a field sprint Katie would start , Pam would take us to the last turn with Bea following her wheel, and me sweeping.

At the line, Helen's came with their full squad, La Grange rider Morgan, Jen from B&L, Squad of possibilities riders, SDBC, Colivita and a few lone rangers .... We had a field of about 35 girls, and this time our race was only 50Min's. With a couple of good attacks made by Helen's, nothing was sticking, Katie did an awesome job with keeping the pace up, and having a few solid attacks herself. Every attempt for a break was unsuccessful, with 3 laps to go, SC Velo/Incycle/TTT girls meet at the front to start our lead out. I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty physically tuckered out from the race and drive from the day before and Maria from Helens was definitely testing my mental game, I was battling behind Bea, fighting for her wheel, Maria is very savvy when it goes to steelin wheels. Katie started the lead out and Pam took us to the final corner. Bea came around Pam and started her sprint with me on her wheel sweeping and Maria puttin the pressure on. I could feel her coming up hard on my left, so I had to sprint and secured the spot for second place and Pam (who lead us out) finishing strong for 3rd, and none other then BEEEEEEEATRIZ ROOOOODRIGUEZ winning the field sprint. WOOT WOOT! 1, 2, 3! awesome racing, awesome team, awesome job.

Scotts Valley Grand Prix - 5/15/2010 - Report by PC Calderon

Racers: Bea Rodriguez, PC Calderon and Pam Schuster

Lining up at the line, with a full squad of Tibco, Peanut Butter, Third Pillar and Colivita was an eye opener. Every team was well represented. The whistle blew and off we went for an hour of fun! The field was very agressive. With tibco and pb launching attacks and counter attacks, with scvelo/incyle/time to track representing (woot woot). Just as it seems like NOTHING was going up the road, a strong attack was made by vanderekitten rider jen x, riding solo for a lap or so. She was quickly countered by a tibco, pb, rooster and a third pillar rider, which made a break of six up the road with seven laps to go. As it turns out the break up the road was committed and that break stuck, but not without a fight from the field. Bridges were attempted by those who were not represented in the break, including us. With one lap to go the break had a mere ten seconds on the field. Coming out of the last turn (which btw was super sketchy) we brought the ten seconds down to five. Pam sprinted for an overall finish of 11th, bea 13th and myself finishing 14th...

Fast, hard and agressive would sum up today's Scotts Valley Grand Prix, which makes for a good day of quailty racing.

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!