Superweek Day 7 - Whitefish Bay Classic-plus final overall results

Whitefish Bay Classic was the last day in the Superweek Women's Category 3/4 racing series. It was yet another flat crit with two over-90 degree corners. Christy was the only Wolverine woman racing. She got in a break with another woman, but the other woman wasn't strong enough to hang with Christy and fell off. Christy rode a few laps solo and decided there was too much race left and decided to sit up and wait for the peloton. The finish was a pack sprint and Christy pulled in a 4th place finish. She was on the wheel of the series leader and said she couldn't believe how much power this woman could put into one pedal stroke.


The Wolverine Women had a fantastic Superweek! Christy finished in 8th place overall after only racing 3 of the 6 days. Kelly finished 11 overall after finishing only 3 of the 6. She started 5 races, but crashed on the last turn of one race, and DNF the next day. Maia started and finished only 3 of the 6 races and still finished 21st.

Check out all the action at
http://www.internationalcycling.com/

Superweek Day 6 - Wheel & Sprocket Brewers Hill

Wheel & Sprocket Brewers Hill Criterium in Milwaukee was a 4 corner crit with a hill on one side and a descent on the other. Of course the finish was up the hill. About a quarter of the field didn't finish the race.

Christy and Kelly rode strong and smart the entire race and were dancing on the pedals up the hill each lap. Feeling battered, beat up and tired, Kelly took no risks in the last corners and finished 11th. Also cautious in the corners, Christy finished 8th.

Superweek Day 5 - Chase Food Folks & Spokes

Chase Food Folks & Spokes in Kenosha was a flat 4-corner crit with a little chicane. The inside of the course had an awesome festival happening with arts and crafts, food, rides (the barf machine), and lots of spectators. The organizers of Superweek do an amazing job organizing the events, moving the equpiment, organizing volunteers, posting results, etc. It's amazing how fast the men's P/1/2 results are printed after they finish with 160 guys. If you're a racer, and you've never raced Superweek, you're missing out on a fantastic experience.

Christy was really pumped and excited at the beginning of the race and showed her strength during an incredible race. There was a four woman break that took off after a crash that Christy got tangled in when the woman in front of her went into the barricade. Christy whent to the Sram tent, Jose fixed her brake and gave her a new wheel and she jumped back in. A couple laps later she executed a perfect attack to bridge to the break-away taking another woman with her.

They worked together really well and caught the break in about 8 laps. It was a thing of beauty.


The sprint finish was exciting and Christy almost caught the race leader on the line for a beautiful 2nd place finish.

Maia finished 17th. She was reminded again of the importance of trying to move up before the finish. She got boxed in and lost position in the corners. She attacked a few times during the race and won one of the primes. She had a great race series and learned a lot at Superweek.

Kelly pinned on a number, but feeling the pain from the previous day's crash ended up with a DNF.

Superweek Day 4 - PCW Cycling Heritage Square

PCW Cycling Heritage Square Criterium in Sheboygan was in a neighboord with one small big-ring-able hill. The race was good and fast with primes thrown in like crazy. Kelly and Maia launched their version of the "Wolverine Cannon" attacking and counter attacking and countering the counter. It was a blast. Maia says that before Superweek she didn't feel comfortable handling her bike in a pack, and after three races, she says "Now. Yeeeeaaaaahhhhhhh". (Translate: I feel comfortable and feel like I know what I'm doing.) It started raining with 2 laps to go. Kelly was sitting in 4th wheel in a break a few seconds ahead of the pack. Perfect. Take that last turn. Same line as everyone else. Not too fast. WHOOOOOOOOSH. There goes the back wheel. Crash. There goes the win. Dang.
Maia remembered to work hard to move up near the end and did it well. She was trying to bridge the small gap and get on Kelly's wheel. She was almost there. Saw Kelly go down. Slammed on the brakes. She says it was just like the track. She sprinted from a dead stop and crossed the finish line in 10th place. In the money. Yay Maia!!




The day's results.

The overall results put Kelly in 8th and Maia in 18th.

Superweek Day 3- Bellin Health Village of Howard Cycling Classic

Bellin Health Village of Howard Cycling Classic in Green Bay was a nice flat crit with a strip mall on one side and a farm field with big bales of hay on the other. Strange.

The race was full of attacks and counter attacks. Maia and Kelly mixed it up as well. Kelly got in a two woman break, but it didn't stick. There were lots of attempts at breaks, but nothing really got too far away. The back side of the course had a slight up hill rise and had a pretty good head wind. Coming into the finish, Kelly jumped too early and had a good gap, but couldn't hold the 34.8 mph to the line and ended up 4th. Maia finished 16th and thought it was a really fun race.

Overall, Kelly ended the day in 3rd, and Maia ended in 21st.

The money winners for the day. (Well, John Coyle took 24th, but his daughter didn't race.)

Ray finished 6th in the 40+ and then doubled up in the P/1/2 race later.

Brent took a flyer on the last lap and motored home for a W in the Cat 4!!

Kroske rode strong and finished 7th in the Cat 3 race.

Luke finished 20th in a race won by the Aussie Olympic Gold Medal Pursuit winner.

Superweek Day 2 - Cedarburg Classic

The Cedarburg Classic is a slightly hilly crit in a quaint little neighborhood with 0.9 mile laps.

Kelly and Maia had a nice big field for a change. The race included many attacks and one very brief solo break and came down to a pack finish. Kelly finished 7th and Maia finished 22nd. The uphill finish was pretty challenging. Kelly was sitting in 7th wheel around the last turn thinking she might pass a few in the sprint, but the field finished right in the order they were sitting. Maia felt pretty strong for the day and was pretty happy about her finish. She learned not to sit too far back and get mixed up with the women who brake around the turns. I'll add the pics from Tim's camera when I get them.

7th was in the money. So was Dybo's 15 place in the 40+ race.


In the 40+ race there were 9 away and 5 in a chase group. Ray pulled a "classic Ray move" to bridge up from the back of the peloton to the chase. It was a thing of beauty.

Watching the Cat 3 race.


We laughed our heads off cheering Kroske on after he got lapped multiple times and refused to give up. I guess taking a week off the bike to take your kids to Cedar Point is probably not a recommended training tactic.

One of the funniest things was when Tim borrowed a bull horn from a kid who bought it at a garage sale for $2 and chased after Kroske.

Superweek Day 1 - Travel Day

7 hour drive wasn't too bad. Blue skies and I robbed the piggy bank for the toll road through Chicago.


The boys got the sweet set up.



The money winners for the day at Holy Hill.

Waiting FOREVER for dinner at the Mineshaft.

Welcome Christy Keely!

The Maillot Jaune Road Race wasn't a very good day for the Wolverine Women. Renee, Mary and Maia don't really like climbing hills, and Kelly had a bad day, so she decided to save her legs for Superweek next week and dropped back to keep Renee company and enjoy the beautiful course.

The best news of the day was that we added the talented Christy Keely to our squad. Her first race as a Cat 3 was Cedar Creek and she did an aweome job there. Christy finished 7th in Fenton after the squirrly Cat 5 men's pack took down two women (Christy being one of them) when they passed. Small damage to the body and bike. She's also got one of the coolest personalities around. For formality sake, in the following picture from left to right is Mary Ward, Maia Orabi, Christy Keely, Kelly Paterson, Renee Schroeder.


The course in Fenton is absolutly beautiful and it was awesome to see such large women's fields in both races. Thank you to CycleFit and everyone else who did such a great job organizing a fantastic event. The brand new vehicles for chase cars were really cool too. It was also very nice to see another women's team emerge. Haggerty (insurance company) had several women in both races. The had the cool Brick Wheels logo on their shoulders as well. (Traverse City Trek Dealer)

And, of course, no visit to Fenton is allowed unless you stop at the French Laundry for an oatmeal cookie, Italian soda or a sandwich that is big enough that you're not sure whether to eat it or do bicep curls with it. There is a picture floating around. I'll post it when the electrons get here.

Mary says...

"It was great to get back racing again after having a bad year for crashes. This one was perfect as I had no one to crash into or to crash into me! After falling off the eventual first place finisher (now I know not to pull too much and get tired!), I felt like I was racing by myself. It was only after lapping another racer twice that I knew there was someone else out there!"

Editor's Note:
Mary had a very serious hematoma on her thigh from a crash. If you want to be grossed out, check out some of these photos of "Battle Scars" from bike crashes. Mary's thigh and hip were as bad if not worse than some of those photos.

Caution - photos not for the faint of heart!
http://www.more-mtb.org/galleries/browseimages.php?c=11