Women U25 and NZ Update

Newsflash from New Zealand where Phil and Barry Fink just finished the 100 mile Source to the Sea race.
Phil placed 6th out of 380 finishers in a time of 4'24". Top pro time was 4"23" It was a sprint finish. Barry did 4'54" . Both are now in Christchurch visiting the local pubs.

Today Julie Guthrie placed 1st in the 3/4 Women's CX race and 2nd in the 1/2/3!! She is now leading in the CX series in the 3/4's.

The U25 Women's Team came to Santa Monica this weekend for a training camp. We have just filled the roster and are very excited about 2010 (see photos on Flickr).

On friday night I introduced them to my former boxing coach (Redwood a pro fighter), for a hard core upper body workout. You could hear the painful howls from Pasadena. It is fair to say cycling robs you of the ability to do push ups and throw medicine balls further than an inch. More howls were let out on saturday morning as the girls dragged their painful muscles from bed to their bikes for the 7:30 ride.

Kit and Marc came over to talk to the girls on Friday night. Kit talked about how he markets himself as a cyclist. It was very insightful and hugely helpful. Thank you.

Saturday morning we did the group ride up to Trancas. We even had primes organized. It was great to introduce the 7 girls (who live everywhere but the westside, or LA for that matter) to the club.

That afternoon the girls joined Antony for some crazy leg speed drills on Westchester Parkway. Imagine a train of riders trying to hit 200RPM!

That night Eddie came over for "team talk" with his future women's team recruit (Sienna). Thanks Eddie.

This morning the girls hit the Nichols ride and were joined by Dora who screamed up the hill leading the charge. Mike Novitch looked after us when two of the girls took the wrong turn and got lost.

The team ended the day with hip hop lessons from Christine, the youngest, and a photo session on the front lawn. The women's team know where to find a camera lens!

This weekend was a great chance for the newest members of an ALREADY strong women's team, to bond and plan ahead for next year.

For those of you coming to the training camp in Solvang, Jan 2010 (thank you Julie for organizing) you will meet the girls then. You might want to challenge them to an arm wrestle competition or press ups, because you are bound to win (well except Julie of course. She's the reigning champ amongst guys and girls)

LK