July 2, 2010
Amber Neben went straight from Bend, OR to Italy for the Giro d'Italia Feminile to race with the US National team.
Here is her report for the first stage:
Muggia-Trieste - July 2, 2010 - The American team for the Giro is Mara, Shelley, and Sinead from PB2012. Carmen and Theresa from Colavita. Alison and Amanda from TIBCO, and me (Webcor!)
We started this year's Giro with a short 55km stage (from Muggia to Trieste) instead of a prologue. Having raced in Italy before and knowing that a) the circuit was flat and short b) everyone was fresh and nervous, and c) the winner was guaranteed to be in the pink jersey, I totally expected craziness, chaos, and speed. I was joking with the other American veteran in the peloton (Kim Anderson) at breakfast about what was to come. Her comment was that we better put our diapers on. Well said...At least for the majority of us non bunch finish specialists.
I am happy to say that goals #1 and #2 were accomplished for the American team. We all stayed safe and nobody lost time. The 3rd goal was to try for a stage win with our sprinter, Shelley. We didn't get that, but we will go for it again tomorrow.
Other than those details, there is not a lot to say. There were no breaks, a handful of crashes, and we finished in about 1:20.
The good news is that we are out of our no star housing. I am hoping that the next place will not require me to wade through a flooded bathroom in my flip flops! We are driving now. Tomorrow's stage is 132km of flat racing again.
Stage 2 & 3 Reports:
As can often be the case in the Giro Feminile, the heat is a factor. And being Italy, of course the hotels are typically not air conditioned, making sleep sometimes difficult. Amber continues to built back her form with a solid TT today, placing 8th. The TT was won by non other than one of the world's best female sprinters, Ina Tuetenburg! She continues to prove her amazing versatility!
Here is Amber's Report:
Whoa it is hot here. Puts Philly to shame. I saw 104 on my SRM while warming up today, and I think it got hotter! Then add humidity and stew. Soggy conditions. Same yesterday. Hydration is critical: Liters in must be Liters out!!!!
Stage 2: Sacile-Riese Pio X - July 3, 2010 - With 8 more stages, the heat, and the mountains on the way, we had a fairly mellow 130km, flat race. There were only two significant breaks of non gc threats during the stage. One had 2 riders and one was solo. Neither had any chance of surviving, but they did dangle because the peloton wasn't concerned until the circuits.
The last 30km of the race was a 10km circuit repeated 3x, and once we got there, the action and speed picked up. With another stage on the line for the sprinters, things got fast and crazy. My USA team did a great job of taking the lessons from the previous day and putting them into play today. Winning a sprint here is both skill and art. The art takes a little time to figure out, but Shelley, Theresa, and Carmen are very close to dialing in the final 1km. Shelley finished 4th in the sprint today, improving on her 7th the day before. Meanwhile, there was a huge crash in the front, less than 1k to go, that took out a large portion of the bunch. Thankfully, all of the usa girls avoided it!!
Stage 3: Caerano S. Mark-Biadene Montebelluna - July 4, 2010 - 17km FLAT TT.
I love TT'ing during stage races. Well, I simply love TT'ing. In a stage race, though, the TT is a day to race away from the bunch, and sometimes it is nice to not have to deal with the elbows and chaos that is a normal part of racing.
The course was flat and not ideal for me. However, I never count myself out. When I am going well, I can still compete. I actually had a good ride. And all things considered with my build, the course, and the heat, I am certainly happy with the ride. I hit it hard the entire time. It was really hot, though, and I was wishing I had the special belly cooling/aero devices that some of the others had! BUT se la vie... I managed it (the heat) well, and only lost time to 1 GC threat, Judith Arndt. The other usa girls who went for it, Shelley, Mara, and Alison, also rode very well. Mara had a super TT and is set up very well for the mountains. Shelley is hanging around, too, and you never know what could happen. I am feeling stronger every day, and I hope that bodes well for being a useful teammate or team leader when the massive climbing starts the last two days.
Tomorrow appears to be an innocent flat stage, but sometimes those days turn out to be very dangerous. We will be alert for sure!
Technorati tags:
cycling news,
webcor