Jennifer Schweitzer

Russel, Thanks for the race report and the tips! I'm looking forward to attending one of your clinics.

-Jennifer

Russell @ Upper Echelon Fitness

Sorry for the confusion about the clinic today. The race official made an
executive decision to start the race rather then let anyone know about the
clinic (where/when to meet, etc). So, the clinic wasn't possible. I guess
the race needed to start on time and there wasn't time for the
announcement. Anyway - thanks to the women who showed up for the race
despite the, ummm, less than ideal conditions. It was a good race! Thanks
to Tina who drove up from Salem to help out and to Martha who came down from
Seattle to help out. If interested, it was proposed we move the clinic to
next week for B-Belt #4? Maybe the weather will be better and the fields
even larger? I would be happy to come out again. I would have to ask Tina
if she is interested, as well. The weather, unfortunately, is out of my
hands.

As for the race, nice work to all who were there! The race started out
quick with some attacks by the "Ironcladies" who, along with Sorella Forte
represented the largest teams in the race. Followed closely by Hammer
Velo/Team Tedder. As the largest teams on a cold and wet day, it makes
sense to be active and send riders up the road. Wet ad cold can induce a
lackadaisical field. And this was attempted. With an Ironclad rider going
solo for a good portion of lap 1, and a Sorella rider off on lap 2.
Interestingly, though, both teams missed the winning move when Lindsay Fox
"outfoxed" (I know, not very clever) them all with a solo move for the
majority of the last lap. Having seen her results to date this year, I
would have made sure to mark her as one of the strongest riders. She has
been at the top of each race so far. She is the only women on her team
(Team Oregon) and has a bright red kit, so I am surprised no one followed
the move. She kept about a 15 second gap for most of the last lap and while
the pace increased, there were no solid attempts to bridge, surprising. Did
the field underestimate her strength? Did they think she would come back at
the end? Hard to say. But there were a few teams with the strength to
either 1. Bridge a rider to the lead, or 2. Bring her back. None of those
teams did that today and they were left to a field sprint for third after
another solo rider attacked the field at 1k and held this to the line.
Overall, the race was great! I often hear that there is not any strategy
used in women's cat 4 racing and this isn't true. I saw the larger teams
rolling the dice today and being aggressive in the race, playing their
strengths. Yes, they missed the move, but by being aggressive and using
their numbers the odds are in their favor for a win soon. I could go
on...there's more... but maybe we can try again next week if there is
interest. Or if you have questions, feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks again and good job to those who came out and made a good race today.

RC

Russell Cree, DPT, CSCS
Upper Echelon Fitness, LLC
www.upperechelonfitness.com
503.501.8121 Phone
503.345.0999 Fax