September 8, 2010
Pescadero, CA – Team TIBCO/To the Top took a trio of wins on the East and West coasts, as well as in between in St. Louis, on Monday. Megan Guarnier got things started at the Green Mountain Stage Race in and around Burlington, VT. She won the final-stage criterium in Burlington, grabbing the overall in the sprinter’s competition and sealing 4th overall in the four-day race.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go for the sprinter’s jersey,” Guarnier said. “There were also a pair of GC points sprints along with the two sprinter’s hot spot sprints. But my main goal was to win the crit. Knowing the course and really wanting to win there were pretty motivating.
Guarnier stayed near the front the entire race. “It was strung out the whole race,” she said. “I wanted to stay near the front because I didn’t want to miss any moves. I couldn’t let any attacks go. I wasn’t going to gamble. I didn’t initiate anything but I covered just about everything.”
There were four sprints throughout the crit. She was boxed in for the first sprint, which rewarded time bonuses for the general classification. But Guarnier took the two hot spot sprints as well as the final gc sprint, putting her in position to grab the sprinter’s jersey from Anna McCloon of Kenda.
“I stayed in the top four the whole race,” she said. “With two to go, Kenda strung it out trying to set up Anna. With one to go, Olivia (Dillon, Peanut Butter & Co.) and Kristen (McGrath, Peanut Butter & Co.) were on the front and I just went for it in the sprint.
“I felt really good for this race. Kenda had five riders there, Nanoblur had four. Even the two Peanut Butter riders were really strong. Considering I was on my own, I was really happy to be able to win Monday and take the sprinter’s jersey.
“Nine of my family members, including my parents, drove up from upstate New York to watch the race Monday,” she continued. “My boyfriend flew in and a bunch of my friends from college in Middlebury were at the race, too. So to win in front of all those people who’ve been so supportive of me all these years was really special.”
Guarnier finished 4th overall behind the two Peanut Butter riders, with McGrath taking the overall ahead of her teammate Dillon by 0:14. McCloon finished 3rd overall, just a few seconds ahead of Guarnier.
Schneider wins in the Midwest
In St. Louis, Samantha Schneider closed out the four-day Gateway Cup Women’s Series with a win in the Benton Park Classic Criterium. “I actually hadn’t planned on starting the race because I had really bad allergies the whole weekend,” she said. “I didn’t do too well the first few days because it was hard to breathe, and I was going to head home but I was here with my little sister and she wanted to race so I hung around.”
“I started the last race and five laps in, I was ready to pull the plug, but to be honest, I’d never dropped out of a race before and I didn’t really know how. So I decided to keep going and try to help Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) in the overall since she was solo against a pretty big squad from Colavita.”
But on the final time around the 1.8-mile circuit, she found herself in good position. “Coming out of the last corner, I was sitting fourth wheel so I figured I’d have a go,” she said. “Everybody went one way so I went the other with Shontell (Gauthier, Colavita-Baci). I think I was hyperventilating by the end of the sprint.”
Schneider also picked up a 4th place in the opening round of the Cup on Friday. Her younger sister, Skyler, pulled off a pair of top ten finishes in her first races for the Team TIBCO Juniors squad. She finished 9th in the opening round and 6th in the final leg racing in the Category 3/4 races.
Junior McCormick wins the P1/2 Giro di San Francisco
14-year-old Tara McCormick of the new Team TIBCO Juniors squad took the start with her 14-year-old teammate Katrina Howard in the elite women’s edition of the Giro di San Francisco on Monday and pulled off the win in a sprint finish. The junior national champion and junior record holder in the 500-meter time trial, finished at the head of a strong NorCal field to take the win.
“The race was fast and aggressive from the start,” said Rob Jensen, the team director for the TIBCO Junior squad. “Tara and Katrina were at the front mixing it up the entire race.”
In fact, Howard even won two mid-race primes. But when it came down to the finish, she turned her attention to working for McCormick. Coming into the bell lap, McCormick and Howard were sitting in ideal position in third and fourth wheel.
Out of the final turn, about 300 meters from the line, Howard allowed a gap to form, essentially putting McCormick in a three-up sprint with Kimberly White (Dolce Vita) and Mary Maroon (Touchstone). Despite running junior gearing, McCormick was able to put her track power into motion to come around the experienced duo and take her first elite-level win. Despite working for her teammate, Howard still succeeded in cracking the top 10, finishing a fine 9th.
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