April 24, 2010 - Albuquerque, NM - The RoadRunner Classic is a new race on the calander this year in Albuquerque, NM. The promotors are trying to grow the event into a good add-on for teams coming out for Tour of the Gila the following week. Webcor sent a small, but strong team of Katheryn, Andrea and Erinne to support the race and also gain some time at altitude before Gila. The race is a omnium format, which means there are points awarded for finish order in each stage and the greatest points total wins, instead of the usual stage race format determined by time.

Here is Katheryn's Report:

Erinne, Andrea and I joined up in Albuquerque, NM for the 1st Annual Road Runner Classic, a one day omnium that included an individual time trial in the morning and circuit race in the afternoon.

We were met at the airport by Dave, who had driven down from Portland, OR in our wonderful sprinter van. After loading ourselves and our stuff in the van, we went off to a bbq held by the race promoter. It was a great opportunity to chat with other racers and have some really really good food. As we were all tired after a long day of travelling, we said our goodbyes and headed off to our host families. The weather took a turn for the worse as we rolled out and we were greeted with hail and snow! Hopefully this was just a passing storm system and not a sign of things to come.

Fortunately the next day was clear, although a bit cool, and we took the opportunity to sleep in a bit before heading out to the course to check things out. The TT and circuit race was to be held on the same course so that made things very easy. It took a bit of figuring out to determine exactly where the course was but with the help of Colavita, we sussed it out and got set up. Although the skies were dry, it was wicked windy and made for an interesting pre-ride. As this was the first time on our race bikes and Andrea and Erinne on their TT bikes, we took quite a bit of time to make sure that things were set up correctly. Before we knew it, time had flown by and it was already after 5. We quickly loaded things up and headed back for a quick shower before needing to get to registration and another racer dinner.

Despite being in its first year, the race organization did a great job of supporting the participants and with full tummies and enough numbers to pin both our skin suit and jersey, without repinning, we headed home to get a good nights sleep.

The alarm went off way too early at 5:30am as the first woman would be off at 8:30 and all three of us wanted to make sure we had enough time before our respective start to digest. The last thing you want to be doing in a TT is retasting your breakfast. With plenty of time to get set up and warmed up, we arrived at the race. Unfortunately, things were delayed an hour due to the barriers not being set up in time; so, we hung out in the sprinter while Dave got things all prepped.

The Snake Course is a 6.3 mile circuit that starts out flat for 2 miles before entering the rolling hills of the Snake.  The course descends off of the escarpment for 2.25 miles before returning back up to the start finish line (out and back). The final climb has a 7% grade and flattens out for about 1000 meters at the finish.  There is a total of 407 feet of climbing.

I was the second of the Webcor riders off and unfortunately the wind was just as strong as it was the previous afternoon. Unfortunately for me, ever since getting blown over and breaking my collarbone in New Zealand, I am a bit nervous riding in windy windy conditions and the conditions definitely caused me to be much more cautious.

I did not have the most stellar ride as I just could not get in the groove and seemed to be battling with myself to keep control of the bike in the wind. My effort was good enough for a 4th place finish. Erinne finished 6th and Andrea was 10th. Alison Powers won, Carmen Small was 2nd, and Robin Farina was 3rd.

As the circuit race was the same course, we hung out at the race venue and did our best to stay relaxed and out of the sun and win. A racers area was set up in a near by building and a few of us took advantage of the respite from the weather.

With only 17 women in the race (Vera Bradley had 5 and Colavita had 6), we were a bit unsure as to how things would play out and with it being an omnium, we had to be aware of who had how many points and where people finished to secure what we had or move up.

The wind had not let up at all and another factor that played a major role in the race was goat heads, obnoxious thorns that get stuck in your tire and cause very very slow leaks. I got a goat head in my front tire half way through the second lap and with no follow vehicles, I had to ride the wheel to the "neutral" wheels support that was about half way between the start finish line and the u-turn. The two guys in the "pit" handed me a wheel and it was up to me to change it out. This was a less than ideal situation but better than flatting out completely.

Andrea dropped off the back of the peloton to help me get back on and this left Erinne all alone to cover a very aggressive Vera Bradley. Unfortunately, once the group hit the u-turn and the tailwind section, they were gone and Andrea and I did our best to minimize the gap. I made up a bit of ground on the climb coming into the start/finish but this dropped Andrea, I decided it best to continue on to try and catch the group and hope that Andrea could catch back on if the group slowed down.

The group did slow down once it made its way around the other end of the course and hit the headwind and I thankfully caught back on and Andrea did a few k's later.   Whew.

Kelly B. (Colavita) put in a strong attack coming into the u-turn and it was covered by Kristen Sanders (Vera Bradley), as Andrea had just caught back on and Erinne covered things while we were off the back, I bridged up to the two off the front, bringing along Cath Cheatley (Colavita) and Carla Swart (Vera Bradley) and a regional rider. As we were in the tail wind section, we gained a good distance from the group pretty quickly. The two Vera Bradley riders did not work as I was a GC threat and even though Colavita had Carmen in 2nd and by working could have forced Vera Bradley to work, they sat on as well. I rolled through with the regional rider and we stayed away for about a lap before being chased down.

The next lap was pretty mellow, yet Erinne got a flat coming through the u-turn. She had to go to the "neutral pit" and Andrea and I monitored the front to make sure nothing got away without us. Coming through the start finish, I saw Erinne throw down a great attack as she used her momentum from chasing back on to launch herself off the front. She was covered by Kristen Sanders and Modesta V. (Colavita). Initially, Colavita was happy with the break but soon changed their mind and put three of their riders on the front. They chased down Erinne's break and as soon as they were caught on the uphill, headwind section, I attacked hard and drew out Robin and Carmen. As Alison was not with us, Carmen and I drove it hard. We later learned that Alison got a flat. Coming through the u-turn, we could see Alison on the front driving it so Carmen and I pushed on. Coming up the finish climb, Cath bridged up and immediately went to the front to drive it. With the tailwind, I did my best to come around Carmen for the finish but I had nothing left in the tank and finished 2nd.

With the way the points worked, Carmen moved into 1st, Alison dropped to 2nd and I moved to 3rd. Erinne still held her 6th place and Andrea moved into 8th.

Despite being a very long day, we had a great time and hope the Road Runner Classic continues for years.

Print | posted on Monday, May 03, 2010 8:59 AM