Race Report: Central Coast CX Series #3:
Manzanita Park

Submitted by Yvonne Walbroehl | November 28, 2006

Yvonne Walbroehl on her way to a commanding win at CCCX#3

What better way to burn off some of those excess Thanksgiving calories than to tear it up at a cross race? So I went down to Prunedale on Sunday to do the CCCX #3 race. Most of the fields were pretty small, partly because this is a smaller series (compared to Pilarcitos or Surf City), but probably also because some folks were still recovering from the holiday. Anyway, when I arrived I saw plenty of familiar faces, but none of the usual suspects from the C races I've done so far this year, and no teammates - the first time this season.

So I didn't know what to expect from the race. I warmed up on the course and knew right away that this course would be a good one for me. The course had a little bit of something for everyone - a little technical singletrack, some bumpy fire roads, barriers, chicanes, a sand pit, and three elements that played to my strengths: A steep run-up (only Barry Wicks managed to ride it), a significant amount of smooth, flat fire road, and a long uphill on pavement at the start/finish. I could not have asked for a better start/finish.

The barriers were quite a bit shorter than the Pilarcitos barriers, which meant it was less of a struggle for me to lift my bike over the barriers with my bad shoulder. And the sand pit became a non-issue after the Men's 35+A's created a nice line through it. After my pre-ride, I knew my race plan would be to get the hole shot, go hard on all the flat sections, scamper up the run-up and drill it up the start/finish hill each time.

I did my practice laps either alone or with people I knew from the masters group, so I had no idea how many C racers there would be or anything about their abilities relative to mine until I lined up at the start. It turned out there were four of us - myself and three rank beginners, Katerina from Los Gatos High School, and two others.

I saw Katerina pre-riding the course with her dad (who raced A's right after us) and she appeared to have good skills. I knew nothing about the others except they said they were beginners. However, I've had my butt kicked by first-timers before, so I made no assumptions.

As soon as we started, it was apparent that Katerina would be my only competition. I got a lousy start and didn't get clipped in on the first try, so she was ahead of me for a little bit. We left the other two ladies in the dust. On the second try I got clipped in, stood up out of the saddle and zoomed up the hill, zero-to-puke in ten seconds, passing my young competitor well before we got to the hairpin. I put some more distance on her on the uphill dirt sections, but she caught back up to me on the downhill.

Each time she got close to me, I stepped on the gas and put a little distance between us, but she kept finding her way back to my wheel. I got a bit of a gap on her at the runup, which I maintained through the final barriers, then I drilled it up the hill again.

The second lap went pretty much the same way, until the flat section and the chicane where I was able to pass some of the slower masters and B racers. By passing one of the slower masters racers just before the chicane, I made it more difficult for Katerina to get back on to my wheel. Then I drilled it up the hill even faster than I had the last time, and she was not able to catch me again. Because the course doubled back on itself from time to time I was able to keep track of where Katerina was. While I was never really threatened again, I kept the speed up just to make sure she didn't catch back up to me.

Only on my last trip up the hill toward the finish line did I relax, because I knew that the gap was insurmountable and I had won. Woo-hoo! OK, I have to admit that I had a tremendous advantage of having raced before, but I'll take a win any day.

Performance vs goals:

  1. Look hot in my skinsuit: I looked about as hot as I could in cold, cloudy overcast weather (though the rains held off until I was on the way home).
  2. Get the hole shot: Got the hole shot and never lost the lead once I got it.
  3. Go for the win: With such a small and inexperienced field, I had to go for the win. Since I've never won before I didn't know if I could pull it off, but when I was ahead at the end of the first lap I was pretty sure I could do it.
  4. Burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories: Goal achieved, but then I went home and ate more pie.
  5. Suck less than last race: Hard to say how I did here - this course was better suited to my strengths than last week's. I don't know that I rode any better than last week, it's just that the course was better for me.

What a way to end a wonderful holiday weekend! Hope all of you had just as nice a holiday as I did.
Founded in 2002, Velo Girls fielded our first little "race team" for the Livermore Hills Road Race in 2002. In the fall of that year, we announced the formation of the Velo Girls Racing Team. The team, comprised of almost 40 brand-spanking new racers, was developed as a true grassroots program. We provided skills clinics and training all fall before making our racing debut in 2003.

That team has continued to develop, now completing four full seasons of racing action! And we've grown beyond the development phase, with women competing in national pro events and regional CAT 2 through CAT 4 races. We've also got a strong masters presence. In 2004 and 2005 Velo Girls was the winningest women's team in northern California and Nevada, with individual racers ranked at the top of the NCNCA BAR, the Bay Area Women's Cycling Association Points Series, and the USA Cycling national rankings. Since 2002, Velo Girls has developed close to 150 new women racers through the team and our highly successful racing development program.

In recognition of our commitment to developing cycling in the US, Velo Girls was selected by USA Cycling as the 2003 Women's Club of the Year and the 2004 Division II Club of the Year.

In 2006, Velo Girls was once again honored by USA Cycling as Women's Club of the Year, and further recognized as the top team in Northern California and Nevada for developing and retaining more new racers than any other club in the district, winning the NCNCA Club Challenge. It just doesn't get any better than that!