2009 Blogs
The 25th annual Philadelphia Liberty Classic took place on Sunday at the crack of 9am. Whilst the rest of the team were well oiled machines on this course, it was my maiden voyage. On our recon of the course on Saturday, the team did a splendid job of showing me the course, talking me through the key sections and thoroughly preparing me for the following day.
Before a delish team dinner the boss, Karen laid out the game plan for Game Day. Plan A was a sprint finish for Gina. I was to be her bodyguard for the day, attempting to keep her from doing a lick of work. Erinne planned to be Queen of the Mountain. The rest of the team were assigned to chasing things down, keeping things hot, and overall maintaining good position through the technical and usually crash-infested race.
The race began at a good clip with Nurnberger being the main aggressors. Flurries of attacks kept the race strung out and the field on their toes. As usual, the first attacks were covered and killed when riders were fresh and jacked on nerves. It wasn’t until the second lap that any break gained distance. Katheryn got off with 10 other riders, but Tibco wasn’t represented and the other players in the break weren’t good for us. Shortly after we swallowed up that break, we began seeing the caravan from the men’s race in front of us! Officials neutralized the men’s race, which started 10 minutes in front of us so we could safely pass. That time up the wall I heard confused spectators screaming “Wait, those aren’t men! Those are the women! By golly, the women passed the men…inconceivable”, just as Karen congratulated us for ‘girling’ the entire professional men’s field.
The women were to complete 4 laps, and it wasn’t until the final ascent up the Manayunk wall that the final selection was made. Jockeying for position, Webcor tried our best to be at the front for prime positioning. Columbia turbo-ed up the Wall, setting a pace that only 11 others could hold onto. Unfortunately every strongbad team was represented, except for Webcor. We tried our hardest to close the gap, but Columbia played their cards perfectly and had 4 riders driving the break.
So the second group rolled to the finish behind the break, Gina taking 13th. I was the top U23 rider. The rest of the green train rolled in right around each other. Not a great day but you gotta pick your battles.
Before a delish team dinner the boss, Karen laid out the game plan for Game Day. Plan A was a sprint finish for Gina. I was to be her bodyguard for the day, attempting to keep her from doing a lick of work. Erinne planned to be Queen of the Mountain. The rest of the team were assigned to chasing things down, keeping things hot, and overall maintaining good position through the technical and usually crash-infested race.
The race began at a good clip with Nurnberger being the main aggressors. Flurries of attacks kept the race strung out and the field on their toes. As usual, the first attacks were covered and killed when riders were fresh and jacked on nerves. It wasn’t until the second lap that any break gained distance. Katheryn got off with 10 other riders, but Tibco wasn’t represented and the other players in the break weren’t good for us. Shortly after we swallowed up that break, we began seeing the caravan from the men’s race in front of us! Officials neutralized the men’s race, which started 10 minutes in front of us so we could safely pass. That time up the wall I heard confused spectators screaming “Wait, those aren’t men! Those are the women! By golly, the women passed the men…inconceivable”, just as Karen congratulated us for ‘girling’ the entire professional men’s field.
The women were to complete 4 laps, and it wasn’t until the final ascent up the Manayunk wall that the final selection was made. Jockeying for position, Webcor tried our best to be at the front for prime positioning. Columbia turbo-ed up the Wall, setting a pace that only 11 others could hold onto. Unfortunately every strongbad team was represented, except for Webcor. We tried our hardest to close the gap, but Columbia played their cards perfectly and had 4 riders driving the break.
So the second group rolled to the finish behind the break, Gina taking 13th. I was the top U23 rider. The rest of the green train rolled in right around each other. Not a great day but you gotta pick your battles.
