Louis Garneau Factory Team

Like any good race, and any good race report, it’s best to start at the start line. We learned some tough lessons yesterday in Tybee Island about getting a good start position at the line before the call-ups. It’s like a National Geographic documentary on penguins – they all pile up on the edge of the ice; nobody wants to be the first in the water and eaten by a whale. Then one gets knocked in and survives and the floodgates open. Watch the staging before the race next time and you’ll see, nobody moves until that first wheel gets on the course, then it’s mayhem to get to the line and hold a spot.

Cheryl, Nancy and Elizabeth rolling off the front row down the straight

Unlike yesterday, we got great spots right on the front row before call ups. Position is everything in these races. With the attacks and the primes, there’s few lulls in the action to move up from where you are. And when there is one, there’s 50 other women who have the same desire to move up. It’s a tough fight to stay on the front, but an even tougher one to get there from the back.

The team holding ground in turn 4.

As usual, the race starts with a prime on the first lap. The pace was high with a flurry of attacks early on. Unfortunately a rider crashed in turn 3 on lap 7 and the race was neutralized. While she was being taken care of, the group was staged at the start finish line for about 15 minutes. By the time the race restarted, it had been shortened by 2 laps to make up for the time lost.

Prime after prime, attack after attack, nothing could break up the field. Yet another race was determined to come down to a sprint finish. The drag race really begins on the back straight because turn 3 and 4 are so close together and turn 4 is so narrow that there’s little room to maneuver before the finish line. The leadouts need to be lined up and ready to go and the sprint is on coming out of that last turn. We ended a fun race in Walterboro with a 17th place finish in the field.

Cheryl in turn 1 on the bell lap

Today we get a break from the action but tomorrow we begin the last phase of the week in Spartanburg, SC!

Tags: elite team, results

New for 2013, Tybee Island presented the riders with a challenging course. With the narrow roads right along the beach, the 1km course was tight and fast. The ocean breeze felt great warming up but turned into a stiff headwind making the racing that much harder.

As always, there was the race to the line for good starting position. With a huge field, a small road, and call-ups, position was tough to earn. Making matters worse, the riders were held at the start line for close to 20 minutes while some incidents from the Men’s 2/3 race were being addressed. And our reward for getting cold at the start? A prime on the first lap! Thanks so much as always Chad!

The turns were technical and bumpy and the only place to move up through the field was on the back straight. This meant it was a fight to hold position into the turns and a mad sprint coming out. The racing stayed fast the entire night with prime after prime and attack after attack.

Eventually the elastic snapped and a group of 3 riders escaped off the front. But with the biggest team represented in the break, the work to chase was left to key sprinters who missed the move. Lap after lap, the field charged but the gap increased and the breakaway was never coming back.

With a 22nd place finish added to the points, the Louis Garneau Factory Team p/b Fuji moved into 10th place in the team competition! With some of the biggest, fastest, and safest womens fields we have ever ridden with, we’re looking forward to moving on to our next stop in Walterboro, SC before our rest day tomorrow.

To make it even better, Cheryl is a local celebrity! Autographs are available, stop by our tent!

Tags: elite team, results