Alex Howes and Phil Gaimon watch Tom Danielson receive the 2014 Tour of Utah yellow jersey on Powder Mountain
The 2014 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah concluded with Garmin-Sharp’s Tom Danielson winning the overall for the second consecutive year.
The race unfolded over seven days instead of last year’s six and with a 32 percent increase in elevation gain for a total of 57,000 feet (17,374 meters). The stage ending on Powder Mountain for the first time threw more steep terrain at the riders and provided a thrilling uphill finish for spectators.
Danielson said the race in total was “way harder” than last year’s ninth edition, citing the entire climb past Brian Head resort, Powder Mountain, crosswinds that stirred up nerves and siphoned off energy, and 2,000 extra feet (610 meters) of climbing on the way to the Snowbird finish.
“But the field was arguably stronger as well and that made much more aggressive racing. You saw all those big groups, lots of chasing,” the Garmin-Sharp rider added.
“I don’t think we ever really stopped and chatted very much this year. Maybe today just was the first time; we kind stopped for a pee and it was like, whoa guys, that was crazy. Did we just go 45 kilometers in 45 minutes, wait, is that 60. Whoa. So yea, it’s been pretty fast.”
Tom Danielson greets Park City crowd
But the primary difference between the two years resided in the man who won.
This year Danielson appeared serenely confident. Missing was the lingering self-doubt he referred to last August that had held him back from taking charge prior to the 2013 race. That confidence translated into calm decisiveness under pressure, a sense of control that likely raised the confidence and dedication of his young team in Utah.
For example, on Saturday Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) drove a breakaway that at one point gained enough minutes to place Evans in the virtual lead. When asked if he was at any time concerned about the break threatening his lead, Danielson quickly replied, “No.”
He tried not to focus on anything that could upset his bid to win a second time. Instead, he said, he focused on what he could control and on executing the team’s plan each day which included specific tasks for each teammate.
“Really that was the key strategy of the week, was making tasks and accomplishing them and not worrying about what other people are doing.”
In fact the only time the overall leader appeared concerned was Sunday morning on the last day of the event. Having missed the rider entrance to the start line in Park City, he couldn’t immediately find a way through the massive Park City crowds and onto the course.
Another change from year to year in the Tour of Utah is the crowd size. Every year it gets bigger.
The 2015 Utah tour is scheduled for August 3 to 9 and the event’s president, Larry H. Miller, indicated the race could visit parts of Utah it hasn’t previously seen.
2014 Tour of Utah overall podium (l-r): Chris Horner 2nd, Tom Danielson 1st, Winner Anacona Gomez 3rd
Gallery
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- Waiting for the start of Stage 7
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- 2014 ToU overall: Horner 2nd, Danielson 1st, Anacona 3rd
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- Cadel Evans wins his second stage in Utah
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- Minutes to start of Stage 7
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- Cannondale’s multimedia bus
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- Carpenter, Schmalz, Rosskopf
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- Official start after parade laps
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- Utah’s Robbie Squire
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- Matthew Busche
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- Magno Prado Nazaret
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- Lucas Euser
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- Luca Dodi
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- Janier Acevedo
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- Adam Phelan (center) home safe
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- 2014 Tour of Utah jersey winners
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- Daniel Eaton
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- Jai Crawford and Jesse Anthony
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- Carter Jones, 6th on Stage 7
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- Brendan Canty, stagiaire with Drapac
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- Tom Danielson wins Utah twice in a row
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- Serghei Tvetkov leads the third group home
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- Calvin Watson and Ben Day
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- Drapac before start of Stage 7
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- Ilia Koshevoy placed 13th
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- Lampre-Merida best team
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- Brent Bookwalter catches up
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- Lachlan Norris (r) finished ninth
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- Podium for Cadel
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- Alex Howes shares laugh with Kiel Reijnen
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- Danilo Wyss
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- Flavio De Luna
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- J. Osaguthorpe first Utah winner
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- Finish line fun Bissell
Lucas Euser 8th at Snowbird after racing the entire Stage 6 in a breakaway
Kiel Reijnen leaned over his bike just past the finish line at Snowbird, absolutely spent from an effort that had actually concluded 37 kilometers before he arrived at the end of Stage 6.
Since day one of the 2014 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Reijnen and UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling teammate Lucas Euser had been looking for an opportunity to race in the breakaway together. It arrived on Stage 6 which offered a hilly course designed for Euser’s climbing skills.
“When we start uphill like that it’s really good for me. I don’t do well when it’s one punchy climb at the finish like Powder Mountain; that’s a little bit tough for me,” Euser said at the post-race press conference. “But when it’s hard all day, climb after climb after climb, it’s usually when I do the best.”
Kiel Reijnen chasing Jens Voigt on Little Big Mt. after the start of Stage 6
After the break of 15 had established almost from kilometer zero with both men a part of it, Reijnen rode hard at the front with several BMC Racing Team riders. His job: drive the break at an insane pace to give Euser a chance to contest the win at Snowbird from a small group.
“He [Reijnen] came back to me a couple of times and said, ‘Man I am so done. My finish line is the bottom of Guardsman. You go from there,’” Euser recounted. “I was like, that’s fine.”
Euser then attacked Guardsman Pass and the remaining 37 kilometers to the finish line with Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team), Joey Rosskopf (Hincapie Sportswear), and Trek Factory Racing’s Riccardo Zoidl. Evans descended like a rocket and Euser followed close behind, placing his hand on the BMC rider’s back occasionally to signal his presence.
The previous day on Stage 5 Euser and the UnitedHealthcare team whipped up the speed at the front of the field to place Reijnen in a good position to sprint for the win. Stage 5 represented the last chance for a sprint finish and Reijnen placed third. He missed out on Stage 3 and Stage 1 in Cedar City where the rise to the line seemed made for him. Minutes after the race ended in Cedar City he pedaled slowly down a street near the arrival arch, disappointment weighting his shoulders.
With each day comes new opportunity and on Stage 6 the two men seized it on arguably the toughest of seven days of competition in Utah. For his effort that day Euser would won the most aggressive rider jersey.
Lucas Euser in the most aggressive rider jersey
The lead group of four held off the GC chasers until the very end. With about two kilometers remaining Euser tried to go solo.
Evans, Rosskopf, and Zoidl caught him and the energy Euser spent took its toll; he couldn’t respond to the threesome’s subsequent attacks.
“I thought I could get a jump on [Evans] and not have to go to the line with four guys. These are guys that I know can out-sprint me. It was kind of all or nothing.”
Euser came home eighth. It was the fourth consecutive year he’d placed high on the stage. In the parking lot after the finish he rolled slowly on his bike under the hand of his soigneur as he processed the last couple of kilometers. He pounded the handlebars.
“I thought I could catch them off guard and it was a bad idea,” he said then, because he got dropped.
But later teammate Reijnen indicated his satisfaction with their overall efforts.
Gave everything I had for @lucaseuser today. He gave it his all in the finale. Go big or go home @theTourofUtah
— Kiel Reijnen (@Kielreijnen) August 10, 2014
And in the end, Euser found similar satisfaction in a day he shared with a man that lives within five blocks of his home in Boulder and with whom he’d trained during the three weeks prior to the Tour of Utah.
“The dude was awesome. That guy was unbelievable,” Euser said of Reijnen while he ate a post-race recovery meal of rice, eggs, and parmesan cheese.
“You saw three BMC guys and my teammate Kiel put their finish line at the bottom of Guardsman Pass,” he said. “There’s nothing more selfless than that.”
And ultimately Euser remembered his part of the partnership. “I said yesterday I’m going to go from the gun and I’m not going to stop until I cross the line. I think I did that,” he said.
“You always go back and think: I could change this, I could change that. But ultimately I had a lot of fun out there. I had a smile on my face all day.”
Kiel Reijnen after Stage 6 finish at Snowbird
Alison Powers wins the 2014 Cedar City Grand Prix ahead of Samantha Schneider and Tina Pic
Today Cedar City, a Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah host locale, put on its first USA Cycling sanctioned women’s race, the Cedar City Grand Prix, and the world watched a fine selection of elite women cyclists fight for the win over sixty minutes of heated racing in southern Utah. Triple national champion Alison Powers (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team), long-time icons of the sport Tina Pic (DNA Cycling p/b K4) and Laura Van Gilder (Guru), and other national standouts lined up on Main Street alongside Utah’s best elite riders.
A new women’s event means so much to all of the athletes, but this one held special value for the local ladies who usually must travel a good distance to compete with the country’s best. Ogden’s Jennifer Vollmer (Livewell p/b Bountiful Bicycles), for example, normally wouldn’t race with a broken wrist. But she did today, even though she probably knew she would have to pull out before the finish.
Kaytie Scott and Jennifer Vollmer
“I did it because it’s the Tour of Utah, and it’s the inaugural [Cedar City Grand Prix] and I don’t know if I’ll ever get this chance again,” Vollmer said. “It’s pretty spectacular to be a part of it. So I had to get in and do it.
“It’s awfully exciting for women to have the chance to race at this level. A lot of us work full-time jobs, have kids, have to manage everything and to be able to come down and throw down and race hard with amazing people like Alison Powers and Coryn Rivera, it’s incredibly exciting.” Vollmer, mother of three, currently works as a newspaper editor for an Air Force base in Arizona. She had to pull out after 25 minutes.
Amy Charity tries to make a run for it in Cedar City
Vollmer’s teammate Kaytie Scott is a respiratory therapist. She’s also from Ogden and made a move to get away early on in the race. So did Vanderkitten’s Amy Charity. Colavita-Fine Cooking, Jet Cycling, Guru, Pepper Palace, and other teams tried to send riders up the road, but the pack kept a tight rein on every breakaway attempt. Each rider who tried to slip away was quickly reabsorbed.
With about five turns around the criterium circuit remaining Pepper Palace set a tough pace at the front, lining out the field to work for their sprinter, Sarah Fader. Teammate Meredith Miller later described a hectic last few laps. “In the last two to three to go things started to get shuffled around and people started swarming. So then I found myself on the front coming in one to go and I was just drilling it as hard as I could up this finishing stretch just to keep it fast and lined out…It was tough because of the wind. It was a little harder to follow wheels than you would expect.”
Pepper Palace takes charge
UnitedHealthcare had arrived with their young sprint superstar Coryn Rivera who just earned the best young rider distinction at La Course by Le Tour de France with her sixth place result. The team had planned to make the day hers and found their way around to the front. But Rivera had disappeared and would finish minutes behind the winner, her teammate Powers.
“Going into one to go, someone ran into my rear wheel and took out three spokes,” Rivera said. “I was hoping to just ride it through the finish, but it just wouldn’t spin through my frame so that was the end of my race…Bad luck happens and it’s unfortunate, but luckily we have a strong team and we were able to pull off the win.”
Powers was positioned as the last rider for Rivera’s lead out. “Scotti [Wilborne] at just under one to go went full gas. Usually with Coryn you don’t ever have to look back and wonder if she’s on the wheel because you just trust that she’s there,” Powers said post-race. “We didn’t look back and then I took my turn for the lead out. I looked between my legs – you can see if there’s a wheel, and there wasn’t a wheel on my wheel.”
At that point Powers knew it was her game to win or lose.
UnitedHealthcare, most aggressive team at the Cedar City Grand Prix, Coryn Rivera on tippy-toes
“I wanted to win this race so badly, for the team. I don’t care who wins as long as it’s us. It was like, we can’t get beat. So this is it you have to go, you have to go. At one point I looked up and the finish line seemed forever away so I just stopped looking at it and just kept going until I crossed it with my wheel.”
Pic and Team TIBCO / To the Top’s Samantha Schneider had launched their sprints into the uphill finish and headwind as well, and at the line the three women finished within inches of each other, with Schneider second and Pic third.
The Cedar City Grand Prix also awarded sprint competition and most aggressive team prizes. Colavita-Fine Cooking’s Olivia Dillon won the sprint award. UnitedHealthcare came away with the team classification.
Cedar City’s race is one of two new women’s races this week. The Tour of Utah is launching a women’s edition on August 6 at Miller Motorsports Park.
Olivia Dillon won the sprint competition within the Cedar City Grand Prix
“Races are stepping up. People are stepping up,” Powers said about the new events. “We wouldn’t have this race if it weren’t for Nicki [Wangsgard], and we wouldn’t have Wednesday’s race if it weren’t for Larry H. Miller and their organization putting on for the women. It’s awesome.”
Wangsgard called Powers months ago to ask what it would take to have the UnitedHealthcare team in the Cedar City race. Powers assured her they’d be there.
The Cedar City race organization ensured local riders would have a chance to ride too. It formed a composite team, Canyon Bicycles. While some on the composite team sat out the final laps, likely they’d agree with Odgen’s Scott who said, “It was an amazing experience. It feels like a good step in the right direction for women’s cycling.”
2014 Cedar City Grand Prix podium (l-r) Samantha Schneider, Alison Powers, Tina Pic
Red rock desert. Mountains for escaping. A hilly city circuit. Last year’s Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah expanded the race’s traditional miles into the southern portion of the state then returned north, highlighting Utah’s stunning natural beauty as well as the rider’s efforts to tame its challenges.
These images from each 2013 stage presage what to expect during this year’s seven-day edition from August 4 – 10: more incredible backdrops and exciting racing where the climbers may well decide who will spray champagne or beer from the final podium in the race’s tenth year.
2013 Stage 1, Brian Head Resort to Cedar City
Greg Van Avermaet wins Utah’s 2013 Stage 1 ahead of Michael Matthews and Ty Magner in Cedar City
This year’s Stage 1 will cover similar ground in a loop that starts and ends in Cedar City. There’s more climbing in 2014, but still a very good chance the field or a large pack will catch the breakaway by the time riders complete the three finishing circuits in town. The last 300 metres of so of this year’s finish is uphill.
2013 Stage 2, Panguitch to Torrey
Peloton in Red Canyon
Again in 2014 day two from Panguitch to Torrey traverses some of Utah’s signature scenery and national treasures: Red Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, the Dixie National Forest, and Capital Reef National Park. Last year’s stage winner, Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEDGE) said it was like riding through a movie. Another sprint is expected on the same course this year with Kiel Reijnen (UnitedHealthcare), Freddie Rodriguez (Jelly Belly), Luis Amaran (Jamis-Hagens Berman), and Rick Zabel (BMC) among those hungry for the prize.
2013 Stage 3, Richfield to Payson
Lachlan Morton’s solo push over Mt. Nebo earned him the Utah yellow jersey in 2013 and the world started to pay more attention to his “license plates”
The single climb up Mt. Nebo near the end of the 119 mile (192 kilometre) route decided the outcome of last year’s Stage 2. Lachlan Morton (Garmin-Sharp) broke away there and soloed to the finish in Payson. In 2014 the Lehi start pays homage to the Tour of Utah’s early days when riders departed from the Thanksgiving Point Museum and Gardens. The one KOM in Eureka takes place early so the final circuits in Miller Motorsports Park should deliver a big sprint finish if the wind doesn’t wreak havoc on the field at the track.
2013 Stage 4, Salt Lake City Circuit
Francisco Mancebo leads uphill in the 2014 Salt Lake City circuit breakaway. Craig Lewis earned the most aggressive rider’s jersey and Michael Matthews won the stage.
Will this year’s 128 riders miss the classic Salt Lake circuit with the repeated short but steep climb up to the state capitol? The non-climbers among them might not when they stand on the pedals during the uphill finish on Powder Mountain, this year’s new climb for Stage 4 that’s generating a lot of attention. During the last two-thirds of the six mile (10 kilometre) ascent the grade doesn’t dip below seven percent and it reaches 15 percent not once but several times. The 2014 Stage 4 begins in Ogden and offers alpine views and glimpses of Pineview Reservoir. Powder Mountain could well decide the final general classification.
2013 Stage 5, Snowbasin to Snowbird
Chris Horner slipped past Tom Danielson for the Snowbird win in 2013 and took the yellow jersey from Lachlan Morton.
The finish at the ski resort of Snowbird is one of the Tour of Utah’s signature finales. In the 2014 edition it appears on day six. Every year the event seeks to add something new and 2014 is no exception. Stage 5 will start out of state for the first time, in Evanston, Wyoming. Wind, the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, and Bald Mountain Pass at 10,759 feet (3,280 metres) elevation will spice up the stage before it ends in Kamas, Utah in a sprint unless a crafty breakaway can hold off the fast finishers.
2013 Stage 6, Park City to Park City
Final 2013 Tour of Utah jersey winners: Michael Matthews, Michael Torckler, Tom Danielson, Francisco Mancebo, Lachlan Morton (l-r)
Empire Pass is a decisive climb in this loop which makes for a thrilling conclusion to the overall race. In the last two years the first man over Empire won the stage. In 2013 it was 5-Hour Energy’s Francisco Mancebo. Tom Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) came in third, enough seconds ahead of Horner to score the top prize of yellow. This loop will again be featured on the closing day of the race in 2014 which takes place on Stage 7. This year’s Stage 6 ends on Snowbird and the field contesting it includes several former winners: 2008’s victor Jeff Louder (UnitedHealthcare), Garmin-Sharp’s Alex Howes (2009), Drapac’s Jai Crawford (2010), and Chris Horner (Lampre Merida).
2013 Stage 7 was a gleam in Larry H. Miller’s eyes
At seven days long the 2014 Tour of Utah is now as long as the USA Pro Challenge. While it’s one day shorter than the Amgen Tour of California, it exceeds the May race’s mileage and climbing distance. In 2014 riders will cover 753 miles (1,212 kilometres) and climb 57,000 feet (17,374 metres). The climbers will likely rule again this year. The only question is who will spray the champagne (in 2013 it was beer bubbly).
Will Danielson repeat, Horner step up to the top, or others like Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) or Lucas Euser (UnitedHealthcare) or Trek Factory Racing’s Matthew Busche or Matty Lloyd (Jelly Belly) claim first? Follow the race online with TourTracker to find out.
Final 2013 Tour of Utah overall podium: Chris Horner 3rd, Tom Danielson 1st, Janier Acevedo 2nd
Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb finish at over 14,000 feet elevation
[updated 7/31/2014]
In this day when bike races are more likely to be shortened or canceled than extended,* the Mt. Evans Hill Climb endures. Close to 1,000 Gran Fondo and competitive cyclists aiming for the state hill climb championship prize took on the 14,265 foot summit in the 49th edition last Saturday, July 26.
The event has been called the Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb since 1981 in recognition of Bob Cook who died from cancer at age 23. Cook was an amateur cyclist who could tangle with the best professional uphill specialists; he won the ascent five times and made the 1980 US Olympic team.
Mara Abbott wins her third Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb
Past winners of the men’s elite race include Alexi Grewal, Ned Overend, Jonathan Vaughters, Scott Moninger, Peter Stetina, Tom Danielson, and Todd Gogulski. Tammy Jacques-Grewal, Kimberly Bruckner, Jeannie Longo, and Mara Abbott have claimed first for the elite women.
Days after Cook’s death the New York Times published a biographical story about him. It describes a humble man whose dedication to training and a top athlete’s nutrition plan kept the scale tipped at 140 pounds while he stood 6’1” tall.
From the start in Idaho Springs cyclists would cover 27 miles and climb 6,915 feet to reach to top of Mt. Evans. Riders in each class, including the Gran Fondo with 400 participants, soon spread out along the road as they found the rhythm that suited their fitness and ambition.
Marmot on the edge of the world at Mount Evans
With twelve uphill miles remaining the trees disappear and riders face a landscape of rock-strewn slopes dotted with green under a wide open sky. If they’re lucky, a chipmunk or marmot might skitter across the road ahead or a breeze might ripple a clutch of low lying yellow wildflowers and remind them that yes, despite the barren vistas, life does exist there. It’s a small but important consolation during a challenge they must face alone.
In the New York Times story about Cook, Steve Tesich, the screenplay writer for the movie Breaking Away, describes that challenge well.
”When you become as good as Bob was,” Tesich said, ”it’s that ability to do things alone, to suffer alone, to come through alone, that stands out. You get formed by it or you drop off. It’s so much easier to go on a football field with 40 guys and get a group feeling to pump you up. There’s something very fitting about the West, the mountains and being alone. It’s a quiet form of heroism, and Bob symbolized that.”
The 2014 heroes
On Saturday the thermometer registered 45 degrees Fahrenheit at the top. While storm clouds gathered in gray clumps to the west, by some miracle the wind didn’t howl. Riders of different ages and sizes arrived in a steady stream.
The fastest Gran Fondo rider, Gregory Dobbin, crossed the line after 2 hours 12 minutes. Men who hauled ten or even twenty extra pounds into the thin air hung over their bikes, breathing rapidly. Some rolled in on knobbies. Several shared the journey with a partner on a tandem. Lean super-fit masters riders stood on the pedals into the final stretch to the finish line. Many hooted and hollered as they reached the summit. Older juniors appeared, one curious to know if she had bested the record in her 17-18 age category.
Everyone seemed happy to be there, even those who had walked bikes around the final bend on the highest paved road in the US. Elite riders crossed the finish line next.
Fortunato Ferrara wins the 2014 Bob Cook Memorial Mt. Evans Hill Climb men’s elite race
Fortunato Ferrara from New Mexico, 10 minutes off the record still held by Tom Danielson of 1 hour 41 minutes, escaped early from the men’s pack and stayed away until the end. Ferrara, second overall at this year’s Tour of the Gila in the cat 1-2 group, celebrated his first win on Mt. Evans. In a sprint to the line Howard Grotts (Specialized) edged out Bissell Development Team’s Keegan Swirbul for second, leaving the young rider with third.
Abbott, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team member and former Giro Donne winner, took the women’s race after speeding away from her partner on the road, last year’s champion Annie Toth (Groove Subaru / Excel Sports), in the final kilometer. This was Abbott’s third victory on the peak. Toth came in second and Lindsey Knast (Primal/Audi Denver Women’s Racing) third.
As the elite riders descended they passed the last Gran Fondo rider. He finished after 6 hours 37 minutes and likely more alone than anyone else. By the time he reached the top race staff were packing up early due to the proximity of the storms.
Like Cook, he needed to finish what he’d begun.
*One notable exception is the Redlands Bicycle Classic which expanded from four to five days with the 2014 edition.
Robin Eckmann begins his descent from the top of Mt. Evans
Gallery
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- Gran Fond riders by Echo Lake
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- Elite men’s chase group, 1k to go
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- Emerson Oronte leads another rider into the finish at the 2014 Mt. Evans hill climb
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- Yearling bighorn sheep on Mt. Evans
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- Howard Grotts 2nd, Keegan Swirbul 3rd (l-r)
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- He did it his way
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- Hurry hurry
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- Tony Splendore from VA
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- Bristlecone Pine & Maureen Boyle
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- Cade Bickmore, the new jr 15-16 CO champ
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- Aaron Bouplon at work
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- Boulder Junior Cycling bus
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- Howard Grotts attacks
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- Lead tandem by Echo Lake
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- Julian Kyer
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- Lindsey Knast
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- Luis Lemus
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- Passing Summit Lake
Meredith Miller and Krughoff will ride Focus Mares with SRAM, ENVE and Clement tires for the 2014-15 cyclocross season
Front Range fans love to cheer at races for the professional athletes they share roads and trails with on the bike. So when they heard that Meredith Miller, third at cyclocross nationals last January in Valmont, would retire after the 2013-14 cyclocross season concluded, they begged her to change her mind. And when they learned that Allen Krughoff, a member of team USA at 2014 ‘cross worlds who funded his trip there in part by selling tee-shirts adorned with his signature gopher, was at the moment team-less, they held their breath and crossed their fingers that his search for a new family would yield results.
Now those fans can celebrate because Miller will race this coming fall and so will Krughoff. And they’ll be on the same team. In a press release issued today Krughoff and Miller announced that they have signed Bellvue, Colorado-based Noosa Finest Yoghurt as title sponsor for the newest cyclocross program in professional cycling. Krughoff, formerly of Raleigh-Clement, and Miller, formerly of California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized, will function as team co-owners and team co-managers while racing a domestic schedule for the 2014/2015 cyclocross season.
Meredith Miller after crossing the 2014 cyclocross national championships finish line in third place
“Having been with Cal Giant since I first started racing ‘cross, this is all a really big change – but it’s an exciting one,” said Miller. “I’m stepping into unknown territory in owning and running a team, and it definitely comes with a new sense of responsibility to our partners and the sport. We’ve only signed Noosa for one year, but it’s my hope that we’re laying the foundations for a program that will grow. I’d love to see us add more riders to the program as early as next season.”
Kathy Krughoff, Allen’s mom, in super-fan mode at Valmont
“As part of an established program, you have much less to worry about but also much less control,” said Krughoff, echoing Miller’s sentiments. “It’d be far easier to join an established program and be told where to be and when to be there, but this has been much more exciting as everything has started to come together. Both Meredith and I are going to take a lot of satisfaction in making our partners happy and racing fast this year, knowing we made it all happen.”
Krughoff and Miller considered Noosa an obvious choice when searching for a title sponsor for their program. The young company, a collective of Aussie ex-pats and Colorado natives who have brought the best tasting Aussie style yoghurt to the U.S., has been involved with the sport on the local level for several years.
“Noosa has a history of sponsorship in the cycling world with a local team and local races up in Fort Collins,” explained Krughoff. “Last year, they were involved with the National Championships here in Boulder. Their brand manager has worked for IZZE and EVOL in the past. Both companies have had programs that support and value partnerships in cycling, specifically cyclocross. The partnership with them made sense, so we reached out. They didn’t need much convincing.”
“Noosa Yogurt has always been a supporter of cycling,” said Koel Thomae, Co-Founder of Noosa Yoghurt. “We’re thrilled to be taking our support of cycling up a notch with the sponsorship of Allen and Meredith. The fun and spectator friendly sport of cyclocross is a great fit for our brand and we’re excited for the upcoming season.”
Never heard of @NoosaYoghurt until they announced @NoosaCX w/@mmcyclist @Krughoff #sponsorshipWorks pic.twitter.com/aNe0xMN88x
— Mike Heenan (@mywifeinc) July 28, 2014
The co-owners of Noosa Professional Cyclocross Team also represent the new squad’s entire roster. The duo will be supported by two team mechanics Daimeon Shanks and Erik Maresjo. The team will be riding Focus Mares equipped with SRAM, ENVE and Clement tires throughout the 2014/15 season.
“For me, this is an across the board change except for SRAM,” said Miller. I’ve been on the same equipment for the last six years. This is a new frame, new wheels and new tires. It’s a big change. Any hesitations I might have about making such a major switch have been completely put to rest by our budding relationships with Focus, ENVE and Clement. Allen and I approached all three companies fairly late in the game, and they stepped up to support us in a huge way. It’s extremely humbling to know that these companies are committed to supporting what we do and are excited to see what we can do for them in return.”
Castelli will supply the team with the full range of clothing necessary for the vast range of conditions encountered during the fall and winter cyclocross season.
“I was really impressed with the quality of clothing I had from Castelli last season,” said Krughoff. “Sticking with them for another year is great. I place a big focus on social media engagement with the cyclocross community, and Castelli is fantastic about embracing what I do. They reached out to me recently to check in on my plans for the season, and we signed them up. We plan to deliver high quality content to all our sponsors throughout the season, and it’s great to hear how much this matters.”
Miller’s cycling career spans 15+ years. The lifelong athlete made a name for herself as a super domestique on the road and has been amongst the top-ranked American women in cyclocross for the last five seasons. Her career highlights include winning the 2009 USA Cycling Road National Championships, representing the U.S. at the UCI Road World Championships and the UCI Cyclocross World Championships within a four month period (2009-2010), and cracking the top ten at the Tabor World Cup last year. Miller announced her retirement from road racing in August 2013 following a five-year stint with Team TIBCO, four as road captain.
“For the last six years, I’ve gone straight from the ‘cross season into the road season and from the road season right into the ‘cross season,” said Miller. “It’s been different this year. I didn’t touch a bike for nearly the entire month of February, and I’ve been riding a ton since March but without a training plan. This has been my first big break in seven years.”
Meredith Miller in the Rhyolite Park sand pit
“Rather than racing full-time on the road, I’ve been able to ride for myself,” Miller added. “Riding has been about having fun instead of preparing for some sort of race-related goal. Some weeks that means I’m on my ‘cross bike, my road bike and my mountain bike all in the same week. I’ve gone on short rides, long rides and epic adventures. This has allowed me to mentally reset and refocus. I just started working with my coach Neal Henderson again two weeks ago, and I’m looking forward to seeing what a more laid back approach this spring and summer will mean for me this fall.”
Krughoff has enjoyed a quick rise to the top of the sport that began when he won a professional contract with Raleigh-Clement two years ago. He finished in fifth place at the 2014 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships. The result secured his spot on the six-rider team that represented the U.S. at the 2014 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in the Netherlands last February. Krughoff is an accomplished commercial photographer and film producer and uses the skills he’s honed behind the camera to create exceptional digital content for his cycling season partners.
Allen Krughoff, 2014 Colorado state cyclocross champion
“My goal this year is to break into the top five consistently at national level races,” said Krughoff. “I’ve seen big improvements from myself every year. Last season, I wanted to consistently score top-ten results. This year that bar will be set even higher. I also plan to contend for a spot on the world’s team again. With the type of support we’ve put together with our partners and staff, I think it’s completely realistic to expect that Meredith and I will be competitive against the other top professional teams.”
Miller and Krughoff will debut their new colors at CrossVegas in September. Their race calendar includes nine race weekends nationwide in the build-up to the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Austin, Texas. While partnerships with Noosa, Focus, SRAM, ENVE, Clement, Castelli and Kinetic support this schedule, Krughoff and Miller continue to seek additional sponsorship.
“We’re both very excited about the incredible program we’ve put together,” said Krughoff. “We still have opportunities available for other companies or even individuals looking to partner with us. We’ve done our best to identify interested parties, but we know that we’re probably missing some. If that’s you, reach out and let us know. It’s not too late to get involved.”
About Noosa Finest Yoghurt
Noosa Finest Yoghurt was founded in 2009 by a collective of Aussie ex-pats and Colorado natives who set out to bring the best tasting Aussie style yoghurt to the U.S. Noosa Finest Yoghurt is sold in more than 5,000 grocery, natural and specialty stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Target, Safeway, Kroger and The Fresh Market. Noosa is available in 13 flavors and is sold in 4-ounce variety packs and in individual 8- and 16-ounce cups.
For more information, please visit: http://www.noosayoghurt.com and “like” us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/noosayoghurt.
Dodgeball dozen post-game
How did a dozen women, among them professional and amateur cyclists, a triathlete, a sister, and a friend end up in a one-night contest of cookies, ball slinging, and evasive maneuvers?
More than likely the idea emerged from a rash of organic silliness on the part of one or more of the participants.
For example, a dispute that arose between amateur trackie Amanda Cyr and track ace and UnitedHealthcare rider Cari Higgins during a shopping trip. “You can’t wear that.” And why not? “Because you look like you’re going to play dodgeball.”
Or, perhaps it all started with cookie-making moms bent on seeking revenge and unable to come to terms with Katie Compton’s baking confidence and prior string of bake-off wins?
Just made more @crankymommys for practice. GF chocolate cherry chunk. How’s your baking going? Good? #nofilter pic.twitter.com/k4So9uQxqf
— Katie Compton (@KatieFnCompton) June 6, 2014
Or maybe Tijuana had something to do with it?
@steevshuruhmezu @butterflywriter asked the same thing today. I made a bunch of stuff up. I said @KatieFnCompton lost a bet in Tijuana. — Katie Macarelli (@crankymommys) July 2, 2014
Actually, to precisely define how it all started would be contrary to the spirit of the event – its exuberance, spontaneity, and the simple joys of cookies and rubber balls that call to mind field day in elementary school.
So on to the action.
The showdown took place at the Golden Recreation Center on a Monday evening. Festivities began with the cookie competition. The main competitors in the chocolate chip category were Compton and amateur cyclist and mom Katie Macarelli. Higgins and Flora Duffy registered late and entered the event with their best monkey and chocolate chip concoctions.
Compton’s winning gluten-free cookie
Three tasters circled the modest sample table at the Rec Center venue while the women huddled in two dodgeball teams and some began their warm-ups.
The tasters were instructed to score one of the four as best of the bunch. To prevent bias and unbridled attacking the bakers concealed the identity of their cookies. However, those in the room who had glanced at the pre-event smack-tweets could easily identify the sample provided by Compton; uniformly circular and sized, plump, with a crackled surface.
Tim Madden and Steve, evaluating taste and texture
Tension escalated as the tasters revealed the results: a three way tie. Children and Rec Center staff were recruited as additional tasters, though some of the latter returned to their work stations with the loot and didn’t vote.
In the end, Compton prevailed with her gluten-free recipe.
Macarelli’s “Ho” dodgeball team consoled her.
“I’ve been preparing for this my last three ‘cross seasons,” Macarelli said, as she struggled to hold back tears, and referred to an empty win column. “I will keep shining and baking with gluten,” she added.
Compton high-fived her “Pro” dodgeball mates. How did it feel to beat a mom at the cookie-game? Compton shrugged. “I guess I have more time to bake,” she said.
Katie Compton and Katie Macarelli practice good sportswomanship before the bake-off
The fine-tuned athletes had waited long enough. They made a bee-line to the start line in the gym where Tim Madden, USA Cycling official now in his inaugural debut as dodgeball referee, lined up the blue, green, and red balls on the centerline.
Unanswered questions hung in the air as the Pro’s and Ho’s took their places on opposite sides of the grid. They appeared fit enough in spandex and tank tops with cut biceps, but were the Ho’s out of their league? Had the Pro’s come into the event overtrained and under-recovered from the last US Cup mountain bike race? Did Madden know the rules?
With a countdown and drop of an arm by Madden women on both sides commenced elimination game one with the rush. They zoomed to the balls, collecting as many as possible for their respective teams. Then they retreated to the end zones. Assessing each other’s ammunition and potential weaknesses, players hurled and rolled balls at the opposing team. Catch a ball and the thrower is out. Get tagged by a ball and you’re out.
But never, ever, give up.
Katie Compton’s jump shot
Game one fell quickly to the Pro’s. The Ho’s regrouped to review strategy. They engaged a coach from the sidelines. They got smarter and learned from mistakes like overcooking the dash to the line.
Still, the Pro’s emerged victorious from game two – or even three. No one was really counting.
The Ho’s finally notched a win in the next game. They hooted and hollered. They jumped. They could have touched the ceiling. Over in the Pro’s camp, the women seemed unruffled. Afterall, it was just a race – uh, game.
Ho’s assess Pro’s mental strength half-way into the contest
The Ho’s joy was short-lived.
Subsequent games fell to the Pro’s. After one last round, team captains Macarelli and Compton called it a night.
“At least it wasn’t a shut-out,” Macarelli said, as her soigneur toweled the moisture off her neck. “I’ll actually have to train next time.”
It turns out Compton knew how it would all play out. She’d traveled from Colorado Springs to recon the gym a week prior and been practicing her throw with husband Mark Legg, a.k.a. @MrKatieCompton. But she wouldn’t admit she’d meticulously prepared.
“We knew we were going to win two weeks ago,” Compton stated. “We didn’t have to train. We’re just that good.”
In the ensuing days the smack talk continued.
Apparently the stakes have been raised.
There is a 4th of July “dance off” happening in our house now until fireworks. I’m training for fall “dance off” against @KatieFnCompton. — Katie Macarelli (@crankymommys) July 5, 2014
Pros:
• Katie Compton, 10 time national cyclocross champion and twice World Cup queen. Trek Cyclocross Collective rider and bike designer.
• Abby Mickey, TWENTY16 team member. Road racer who can really climb.
• Crystal Anthony, dirt diva. Cyclocrosser with Optum Pro Cycling p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies and mountain biker with Riverside Racing. Visiting from Massachusetts.
• Cari Higgins, UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling rider. Track star. Seventeen-time national champion.
• Caroline Mani, French and living in Colorado Springs. Raleigh-Clement crosser and MTBer. Previous French cyclocross champion.
• Flora Duffy, triathlete born in Bermuda, Commonwealth Games competitor, XTERRA Asia-Pacific Champ.
• Allie Dragoo, collegiate road racer with criterium and time trial wins, and newly crowned dodgeball MVP.
Ho’s:
•Katie Macarelli, cyclocross and criterium racer, sometimes triathlete, contributor to 303cycling.
• Lisa Hudson, totally ripped Feedback Sports bike racer and employee, runner.
• Jen Barbour, BRAC board member, Naked Women’s Racing rider in road, ‘cross, and MTB, promoter, and intimidation factor.
• Lynnette, really good with a dodgeball and sister of Macarelli.
• Dawn, really good at dodgeball.
• Amanda Cyr, Naked Women’s Racing trackie, knows how to transform life through cycling.
• Cristienne Beam, creative professional, Tough Girl cyclist, foodie, artist, cyclocross fanatic.
Cookie tasters:
• Tim Madden
• Chris McGee
• Steve
• Assorted kids
• Golden Recreation Center staff
Note: This story is mostly true, and part fiction.
Gallery
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- Pre-contest, Pro’s and Ho’s visit, await cookie judging
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- Katie Macarelli concedes cookie contest
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- Ho’s pre-game
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- Flora Duffy dodges
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- Caroline Mani is ready
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- artsy legs
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- Crystal Anthony vs Cristienne Beam in the rush
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- Allie Dragoo’s strong arm
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- Cari Higgins: come get me
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- Costumes optional?
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- Crystal Anthony’s windup
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- Ho’s celebrate their one game win
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- Match over
Katerina Nash and Emily Batty, with Catherine Pendrel ahead, going after Georgia Gould
Even riders with scores of wins search for that elusive accomplishment, the prize that somehow has slipped through their fingers.
On Saturday Luna Pro Team’s Katerina Nash scooped up the one that had eluded her, the final overall lead of a US cross-country series. She won the last race of the USA Cycling US Cup Pro Series, in north Colorado Springs, which handed her the overall series mountain bike victory.
Speaking after crossing the finish line Saturday, Nash said, “This is actually a really cool moment for me because I raced in the US for a really, really long time and this is the very first time I won the series overall for cross-country.
“It’s a little bit humbling to start in early 2000 with all the local heroes like Alison Dunlap, and chasing those guys and being inspired all those years and hoping I can make it out there one day. I’ve definitely had a lot, a lot of success, but the overall cross-country series is something I’ve never done before so this is a special day for me.”
Race summary
The last 2014 Pro Series US Cup / Kenda Cup event took place in the Pulpit Rock Open Space at an elevation of about 6,300 feet.
Pulpit Rock Open Space, Colorado Springs
Dirt portions of the course looked like classic high desert country after a dry spell: dusty single track with loose rock through fields of Prickly Pear cactus, spiky yucca, and tall native grasses overlooked by massive creamy gray rock formations. The land rose to the east away from the start line; juniper and pine shaded rare portions of the higher elevations, but almost never the trails.
The pro women completed seven laps of the 3.4 mile circuit in a fast time of one hour 43 minutes. Course surfaces also included pavement, double track, and wide gravelly path.
Nash came to Colorado Springs as the series leader, but teammate Catherine Pendrel and Trek Factory Racing’s Emily Batty had accumulated enough points to jump over Nash if she had a bad day.
Mid-way into the race, after aggressive riding by Georgia Gould, Batty rode in the middle of a Luna Pro Team sandwich anchored by Pendrel and Gould with Nash on Pendrel’s wheel.
Catherine Pendrel, Kaetrina Nash, Emily Batty, and Georgia Gould swing by Pulpit Rock
“Halfway through the race it was kind of obvious that Emily [Batty] was going to sit in and not really try to lead because she is from a different team,” Nash said. “So we sort of slowed down a lot.” Realizing their lead might fizzle out if they just played tactics, the group sped up. Erin Huck (Tokyo Joe’s-VCGraphix), Daniela Campuzano on the Mexico national team, and Chloe Woodruff (Backcountry.com) each chased alone ahead of the rest of the field.
Georgia Gould on the attack
Then Gould attacked again.
Pendrel took responsibility for carrying Nash and Batty after her teammate. Evelyn Dong was moving up and would join her Backcountry.com teammate, Woodruff.
Feeling strong with about one lap to go, Nash took off. She passed Gould who held on but couldn’t pull the series leader back. Nash won by just under two seconds ahead of her Colorado teammate, Gould.
Gould salvaged her day with another prize. The race doubled as the Colorado state championship. She was the first Colorado rider to finish, which earned her the state title.
Batty and Pendrel placed third and fourth which secured top three for both in the overall series competition. Daniela Campuzano completed a strong day with fifth.
2014 US Cup Pro Series final overall podium (l-r) Evelyn Dong 5th, Emily Batty 3rd, Katerina Nash 1st, Catherine Pendrel 2nd, Georgia Gould 4th
Gallery
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- Caroline Mani
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- Crystal Anthony
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- Chloe Woodruff passes Pulpit Rock
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- View of finish, Rampart Range and Pikes Peak
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- Katie Compton flying
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- Katerina Nash wins the US Cup / Kenda Cup in COS
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- Rachel Lloyd finished 12th
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- (l-r) Katie Compton, Megan Carrington, Amy Beisel, Teal Stetson-Lee
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- Emily Batty
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- Erin Huck, quarry in sight
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- Filming from Pulpit Rock
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- Nina Baum fighting to stay in the race
Emerson Oronte drilling it in the final lap to help Fabio Calabria to the win
[See part one of this story.]
Given the potential for a windy day on the high open plains, it seemed likely the winner of the men’s elite race at Deer Trail on Saturday would emerge from the shelter and help of a sizeable team. Team Rio Grande had eight riders scheduled to start. Horizon Organic / Einstein Bros Bagels team registered six as did Natural Grocers. The winner, if he met the eligibility rules, would don the Colorado road race champion’s vest.
The question was, which rider would fare best on the rolling, exposed terrain east of Denver and finesse the relentless wind if it decided to unleash its fury?
Horizon Organic / Einstein Bros Bagels team’s strength, depth, and recent success singled out its men as favorites.
- Would it be veteran Chris Winn, a guy with several wins already this season? He’s a three-time master of the storied Superior Morgul Classic’s road race which concludes with a climb, albeit it longer than the approach in Deer Trail.
- Fabio Calabria showed his strength and versatility during all three days of Superior Morgul. The wily Aussie also has experience riding in the wind in Europe.
- And then the young Emerson Oronte deserved consideration. He’s fared well this year with fourth overall in the Joe Martin Stage Race and a criterium win in May.
With a disappointing start to the road season, Team Rio Grande would be hungry for a win.
- Jim Peterman is a powerhouse, consistently strong in time trials with hills, and a man of enough watts to drill it up the Deer Trail’s rollers.
- Nick Bax placed 5th at the same venue in 2013. Though the distance measured just 58 miles then, he knew the course. He’s raced internationally. In 2012 he won the Pennsylvania state road race championship, but wasn’t eligible to claim the title.
Natural Grocers
- With his consistency and experience, Jon Tarkington just can never be counted out of any race. Ever.
- And what about Ian Holt? He finds the top 3 several times a season.
Tom Zirbel’s calf muscles are legendary
The favorite list wouldn’t be complete without Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), a former national time trial champion powerful enough to single-handedly defend against any force of nature.
According to Calabria, who spoke after the Deer Trail winner had been decided, his guys didn’t start the day with a plan to support a particular rider.
“We just wanted to come here and race and the best way for us to do that is to be aggressive…I think the best form of defense is offense, so that’s the way we like to race.”
The team accomplished that mission from the opening moments of the 87 mile race, folding two riders into the early break, Mac Cassin and Kit Recca. Tarkington (Natural Grocers) and Matthew Gates (Rocky Mountain Cancer Center Masters Team) joined the Horizon Organic / Einstein Bros Bagels teammates.
Early break (l-r) Kit Recca, Matthew Gates, Mac Cassin, Jon Tarkington
By the time this foursome had gained an advantage of almost two minutes, the wind made things more interesting.
In a team meeting a few days earlier, the Rio Grande men had discussed how they might take advantage of the wind, Bax said. “But the forecast on the morning of the race said it wouldn’t be that strong (max speed of 8 mph) so I think most of the field didn’t really anticipate it.
“About an hour into the race, the wind shifted and somewhat unexpectedly got a lot stronger and my team immediately knew what to do which gave us a big advantage.”
Post-race Panache pow-wow
Mid-way into the race the strongest riders peeled off the front with the early break nearly caught. Riders too fatigued to hang on splintered off the back into groups, pushed on alone, or pulled over to the roadside to watch the remainder of the contest.
The ten or so strong men included Calabria and Oronte with a third Horizon teammate, Andrew Clemence (Team Cycleton), Kevin Selker (Groove Subaru / Excel Sports), Michael Dessau (Hagens Berman), Zirbel, and Tarkington. Rio Grande didn’t miss this group; Bax and a teammate made the split.
At that point, according to Oronte, a plan emerged to help Calabria whom he had assessed as “definitely the fastest,” among the leaders.
“With less than one lap to go I told Fabio to sit on the group and conserve,” Oronte later explained, “in case he needed to follow moves later, and I would keep rolling through.”
As he told it, with 15 kilometers remaining Zirbel attacked. Calabria and Bax responded, forming a lead group of three. Giving it all he had to bring Horizon Organic / Einstein Bros Bagels the win, Oronte bridged up to the group and worked to keep Zirbel and Bax in check.
Emerson Oronte likes the classic cycling cap look
“While they did try a few times to get away, they couldn’t shake Fabio…” Oronte recalled.
Calabria said Zirbel “backed me out with one kilometer to go,” trying to distance him from his teammate and Bax.
So the Aussie attacked with about 700 meters to go. He bested Zirbel by a second for the victory, smiling broadly as he enjoyed his first win in what he estimated to be about two and a half years. Bax placed third.
As Bax approached the finish, he knew Zirbel wasn’t eligible for the state title and didn’t believe Calabria qualified either.
“As soon as we shook Emerson I knew I had it [the championship],” Bax said. “It was a bit of an anti-climactic finish because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to outsprint either of the guys I was with and I was disappointed I didn’t have the opportunity to post up on the finish line but nevertheless winning the state championship was really gratifying, not just for me but for the whole team.”
Saturday’s result was Bax’s first Colorado state championship. As a junior in Maryland, he estimates he earned about twenty state championships. Bax attended college and resumed “serious racing” in 2012.
“I can say for sure that the level of competition in Colorado is higher than on the East Coast,” Bax noted, “and I’m definitely really proud of this championship.”
Like the women’s elite winner and champion, Calabria and Bax both benefited from the self-sacrificing efforts of their teammates. They were quick to acknowledge that.
That evening Bax wrote on the team’s Facebook page, “I want to publicly thank all of my teammates for riding like bosses today. There’s no way I would’ve gotten the championship if they hadn’t laid it all out on the road for me.”
For Calabria’s part, he said, “It’s exciting. It’s always nice to come away with the win. We’re a local team, from Boulder, so it’s nice to show the team jersey coming across the line first and repay all the boys for helping me out earlier on in the race and bring it home for them.”
Of further note
Colby Lange, a junior from Edwards near Vail, won the men’s cat 4 race out of a field of fifty-six with thirty-three finishers. Lange’s road racing age is 15.
For full results see the Bicycle Association of Colorado website.
Deer Trail elite men’s podium (l-r): Tom Zirbel 2nd, Fabio Calabria 1st, Nick Bax 3rd and state champion
Gallery
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- Split managing cross wind
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- Galen Stilgebauer celebrates finish with stoppie
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- Liam Dunn (Panache)
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- Deer Trail local color
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- Eric Brunner and Cade Bickmore call it a day
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- Chasing the early break
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- Smiles for the shooter
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- More local color 4
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- Jim Peterman and Oliver Flautt made the top ten
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- Maxx Chance, windbreak
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- Shawn Milne (right) rides again
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- Cat 3 field at U-turn, near finish
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- Deer Trail, site of the world’s first rodeo
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- Congrats for Colby Lange on Cat 4 state road title
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- Troy Reynolds out of cat 3 field
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- Plow art
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- Colby Lange takes cat 4 home
Deer Trail women’s elite race early leaders with a tailwind out of the south
[updated 6/25/2014]
Cycling borrowed from ball sports terminology Saturday when both men’s and women’s elite Colorado state road championships came down to a finish between the final four.
In the men’s race Horizon Organic/Einstein Bros teammates Fabio Calabria and Emerson Oronte, Tom Zirbel (Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies), and Nick Bax (Team Rio Grande) neared the climb to the finish in rural Deer Trail together. In a tight competition for the top three, Calabria bested Zirbel by one second to win. Third place Bax came across right after Zirbel. Oronte, spent from his effort from one kilometer to go to assist Calabria, followed for fourth several heartbeats later.
Deer Trail elite men’s podium (l-r): Tom Zirbel 2nd, Fabio Calabria 1st, Nick Bax 3rd & state champ
A state champ must be a US citizen and Colorado resident; Australian Calabria doesn’t meet the first criteria. Members of a UCI registered team can’t qualify, so that excluded Zirbel. The state champ gold medal, therefore, went to Bax. The Rio Grande man, whose road racing age is 24, hasn’t missed a year of bike racing since 2003 when he competed with junior gears. In the past month he’s placed second in three challenging local hill climbs.
Similarly, the women’s championship title passed not to the day’s winner from the four strongest riders, Coryn Rivera (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling), but to second place Gwen Inglis (Groove Subaru / Excel Sports). Inglis’ teammate Annie Toth placed third, and Heather McWilliams (Boulder Orthopedics) fourth.
2014 Colorado state road championships elite women’s podium (l-r) Annie Toth 2nd, Gwen Inglis 1st, Heather McWilliams third
With the original Westcliffe venue cancelled, the Deer Trail event supplied a fitting proving ground for earning the 2014 road laurels. A melange of relentless hills, hot sun, and cross-winds progressively diminished both fields as the races played out on the rural, wide-open high plains countryside east of Denver.
Riders in all categories abandoned due to the conditions; some suffered from excruciating cramps with at least one rider screaming in pain, alone on the road with only a course marshal and prairie birds to hear his cries.
By the time the elite winners crossed the line, about 50% of the men’s field had called it a day early and pulled out; non-finishers among the women were fewer, perhaps 10% of the starters.
Women’s race
Making the final four in those conditions required a combination of cooperation and the strength to take on the wind.
“I think the wind was so brutal, that if you weren’t in good position and anybody made an effort, it was easy to pop off the back,” Inglis said. “So every few minutes it seemed like we were dropping more people.”
After a short neutral start the riders headed north with a tailwind onto the first leg of the L-shaped circuit. About eight miles later they took a tight U-turn into the wind.
“Once we turned around in a headwind I did push the pace a little bit more,” Rivera said. The UnitedHealthcare rider is currently spending time at altitude in Boulder to prepare for July European races. Rivera has enjoyed a handful of wins already this month on top of a dozen others this year.
Elite women (left) on their first pass of the east-west portion of the Deer Trail circuit
Turning east onto the second out-and-back portion of the circuit, also a distance of eight miles, the field encountered strong cross winds.
When asked whether others in the lead group shared the workload during Saturday’s 57 mile race, Rivera indicated the local women didn’t expect a free ride on her professional form.
“I went to the front and started rotating and it seemed like people respected that and started rotating, and everyone who was there rotating pretty much made that split. And those who weren’t wanting to pull through, they got pinched off the back,” she said.
“I think that’s the beauty of cross winds and echelon is that, if you are willing to work and put your wheel there, you will definitely make the echelon.”
Eight riders made the split in the first lap: Kate Powlison (Natural Grocers), Abby Mickey (Twenty16), Ann Donley, Jennifer Triplett (Boulder Orthopedics), and the final four.
According to Inglis that number reduced to six as the group began their last pass on the east-west section of the course.
Toth, a strong climber who last weekend won the Guanella Pass Hill Climb, subsequently put in an effort that shelled two more women. “She kept the effort just right. She tired us all out but didn’t drop me,” Inglis said about her teammate’s work.
That brought the leaders to the circuit’s other U-turn before the final stretch to the finish. Inglis attacked but couldn’t shake Rivera. Behind them, Toth waited and sacrificed herself for Inglis, not wanting to jeopardize Groove Subaru’s chances for a championship by bridging up to her teammate.
The ladies’ final four: Coryn Rivera, Annie Toth, Heather McWilliams, and Gwen Inglis come out of the eastern U-turn
“If the four of us came in together, we (Groove Subaru / Excel Sports) could have ended up with third and fourth,” Toth explained. “So I let Gwen go.”
Inglis described the last moments of the race. “So then Coryn and I had a gap – she’s a fifty-some time national champion – so I knew what I was up against and figured my only chance was to attack her and maybe get a gap.
“I attacked her a couple times in the two miles or so that we were away. I got a little bit of a gap. But she caught me and with 300 meters to go she went and I just couldn’t go with her.”
A strong second earned Inglis the championship title, an outcome she had not expected when the riders had pushed off the line in the quiet town center of Deer Trail.
“I was hoping one of us on our team – I didn’t care who – made the top step. We managed to do that so it was a good team effort and it’s exciting,” she said during the podium presentation.
“I’ve been Colorado state criterium champion but never a road race [champion]. That’s something new for me, so that’s exciting. And I think it’s exciting for our team because it’s a first year women’s team, so to get out there and win a road race championship is pretty cool.”
Rivera’s result was also a victory for a first year women’s team, as UnitedHealthcare launched the ladies’ squad this season. The Deer Trail women’s winner said the race figured into her preparation for the Giro d’Italia Femminile where she’ll help Mara Abbott defend her crown.
“I definitely wanted to get a race in before I head off to Europe and start tapering next week…luckily there was a race here and I had a lot of fun racing with the locals here in Colorado and spending some time in Boulder.”
Rivera enjoyed more fun on Sunday. She won a local criterium in Wheat Ridge, a community north of Denver in the Rocky Mountain foothills.
For full results from Deer Trail see the Bicycle Association of Colorado website.
See Part 2, the men’s race and photo gallery.
Deer Trail women’s elite race podium (l-r): Gwen Inglis 2nd, Coryn Rivera 1st, Annie Toth 3rd. Podium ceremonies were held in a vintage rodeo grounds building.
Photo Gallery (more to come)
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- Local fan at the Deer Trail rodeo grounds
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- Coryn Rivera wins by a 5 second margin
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- Happy to be there, Molly Van Rheen’s big smile
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- Storms held off until the final four finished
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- Finish line traffic
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- Deer Trail Rodeo Grounds hosted registration & podiums
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- Gwen Inglis at the finish line
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- Women sharing the work 32 miles in
ProVéloPassion 