Race Report: Superweek - Part 1

Submitted by Jill Eyres | July 21, 2009

THE NORTHSHORE UNIVERSITY HEALTHSYSTEM GRAND PRIX
Evanston, IL - July 19, 2009 - Cat 3/4 Women

Our first race at Superweek was in downtown Evanston, not far from where I grew up. Eighteen laps of a flat, mostly counter-clockwise course, with reasonable pavement but a couple of slick and depressed manhole covers interrupting what would otherwise be good corner lines. It was a combined Cat 3/4 race, with about 30 racers starting.

It was a fast race! After the start, there was a lot of movement in the pack and unsteady lines in corners. Between the headwind from the north and getting squeezed out on corners, I got dropped off the back soon after the first lap. I worked with two others -- including a Dolce Vita -- for a couple of laps, and then we picked up a fourth girl as well. I was struggling, though, and at about six laps to go, they dropped me.

When the main pack passed me with two laps to go, I was happy to see Emily still hanging in there. I was desperately hoping that I would get pulled, but no such luck -- I had to finish the rest of the race by myself. But I finished, safely, and so did Dana and Emily, despite a crash that took out a couple of girls in the main pack at some point. Emily and Dana celebrated with a free massage in the vendor tent area; I had to settle for Chicago pizza :-)....

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!