Race Report: Sacramento Cyclocross Series #1,
Folsom Rodeo

Submitted by Erin Dennis | September 27, 2006

Lorri Lown and I headed out bright and early Sunday morning to our first race of the new CX season. I was all nerves, being a racing virgin and all, but Lorri was great company the whole way which was an amazing help. We arrived and were surprised by the number of women at the event. I think we had 10 women in the C class compared to the 2 Kim Natzel had reported from the year before. Maybe girls are catching on to cross? I'll definitely be jumping on that bandwagon. So we got dressed and took off for a few exploratory laps of the course getting back in time to watch the Men C group start. After they took off we fixed a few mechanical issues, got hydrated and took one more lap.

Erin Dennis, Sacramento CX#1
Erin Dennis on her way to her 4th place finish at Sacramento CX #1 (Folsom)

They started the Women C group 15 minutes after the A & B's. It was a Le Mans style start over a mountain of wood chips. Pretty fun but very unstable. On to the bikes and the race had really begun. We had a slow start but luckily I was able to catch up and hang behind Lorri as she passed most of the girls who had gotten a better start. Stayed that way for the first 2 1/2 laps until Lorri had a fall before one of the barriers. Silly me was still not really in a "race" mentality and was about to stop and help her up but she urged me on with a forceful "go, go, go!" So away I went.

At that point I was out by myself with no one I could see in front or behind me so I pushed as hard as I could. By the last lap I had a side stitch and was pretty much hyperventilating but once I heard the magic words "one more lap" I continued to give it everything I had. The finish was right after a nice fast descent and it couldn't have come sooner for me. Velo Girls represented with me, Lorri and Kim taking 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.

The course was a mix of barriers, fast fun single track, a little pavement, some grass, one very tight squeeze through a gate and a very muddy "creek" crossing. Great race, great company and an all around fantastic time. I'm totally hooked now and am ready to go for the season!



Come hang with the Velo Girls at our party tent at the Bay Area Super Prestige Series races beginning October 8th at Hellyer Park in San Jose. (www.pilarcitos.com/Cross2006.htm)
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!