Valley of the Sun-women's race report

What: Valley of the Sun Stage Race

Who: Julia Lafranchise, Kendall Ryan, Jenna Kowalski, Christine Barron, and me-Lauren Liscinski
Where: Sunny Arizona
Why: Because we needed to get the early season kinks out

Theme of the weekend: Overcoming Adversity

WARNING: This will take a few minutes to read. If you are in a rush DO NOT READ. Come back to it later though, its mildly amusing.

For any of you that spoke to me this weekend you are already aware that this weekend was anything but smooth. For all of you, pull up a chair; this should at least provide moderate entertainment and will hopefully induce some laughter. Bear in mind, all these events really happened. This is NOT a dramatization.

Day -1: The drive. My car's name is Thelma. She is old and not too keen on long road trips anymore, but after some convincing and bribing her w/ an oil change she accepted the challenge. And a challenge it was. 4 boxes of tires, 5 boxes of GU product, 3 bikes, 3 bags, 1 sleeping bag, 1 box of team clothes, 1 box of water bottles and 2 women eager to make it to Az. Oh, and Thelma is not a truck...she is a Toyota Corolla. She was bogged down. Flooring it on a descent only allowed for 75 mph (the speed limit on the 10 in AZ is 75 and I was getting passed by Semis. Awesome). 8.5 hours later and after picking Julia up in Scottsdale we arrive at my Oma's (Julia was forced to cuddle my TT bike in the back seat for thirty minutes). Off to bed ASAP since we had to be up at the bcod for Ms. Barron's TT in the am.

Day 1: 630 am came way too soon after getting in just after 1 am. Everyone braved the day like champions though and we were out the door in a flash. Christine experienced the beautiful pain of time trials as this was her first one and put in a very solid ride for her debut! The men and women kept the steam rolling throughout the day without any real glitch. The course was mostly flat, w/ a slight headwind on the return. I personally had a great TT for myself as I was actually consistent the entire 36:51 as opposed to speeding up and slowing down and speeding up and slowing down. 21st-I'll take it. Came home, cooked some dinner, watched the Opening Ceremony, then off to bed.

Day 2: This is where the stars really aligned.... AGAINST us. Kurt was scheduled to pick Christine up at 6:20 am for her early start time so Julia and I could get some sleep (we are SO thankful). However, Christine's alarm had some dysfunction and I awake to Kurt's call. Christine is just as fast in the am as she is on the track! In just 10 minutes she was out the door! Amazing! Next on the list Julia and I head off in the am, make a stop for gas and a stop at walmart for some last minute snacks. 9:10 am and we are perfectly on time! Until I look in my car and see my keys taunting me from the front seat. Of course. I am panicking and Julia, always the level-headed voice of reason, simply hands me her AAA card. They arrive in a short twenty minutes. Only problem is they cant unlock the door, and they do not carry a slimjim. Another phone call and another forty minutes or so and they send out a lock smith who gets the job done in about 3 seconds. I throw Julia her bag to change in the car as our race starts in 1:20 and it is an hour drive-with no traffic. Some how we make it, Kurt has found me a front wheel (THANK YOU JENNA-this will not be the last time) since mine has gone flat, I change like lightening and have just enough time to hit the porta potty, sign in, and we're off. We are racing. An hour ago this did not seem possible. The race goes really well, besides being neutralized a few times for the men's fields to pass us. The RR course at VOS is not too selective as the only hill is neither long or steep enough (I know this because if I make it over with the main group it cannot be too bad of a hill). It comes down to a pack sprint which is quite messy and only slightly terrifying. Julia, Kendall, and Jenna kill it over the top and I was too far back, was almost taken out, then sprinted on to the back of the field. Everyone was riding strong even if the results dont show it. Team dinner in the evening is great until the fiasco trying to sort rides/bikes/cars afterward. Turns out post-race decision making throws logic out the window. After moving Christine's belongings back into our car it is her turn to cuddle with my bike in the back seat. While on the freeway I realize that our lack of communication has gone ENTIRELY too far. While looking back to change lanes I am confused as to why my view is obstructed and panic when I notice my trunk is open! Our race just got 20x harder in my mind. It must have been, there is NO other explanation for why we would forget to close the trunk. Luckily nothing flew out and we made it back home without any other issues.

Day 3: The crit. FINALLY. I let young Christine take my car in the am for her race since I hand wrote her directions and she has a Garmin so there should be no problem. She gets there just fine and KILLS it. Ms. Barron outsprints not only all the Womens 4 field, but the masters women as well! She's only 16! Upgrade coming soon I hope! The problem occurs coming home. The Garmin does not realize there is a detour on the freeway coming home and Ms. Barron has to resort to asking people on the street which way home is. 40 miles and 90 minutes later she arrives to pick myself and the Julia up. We make it there no problem. Jenna, however, forgot her shorts at the house and had to drive all the way back to get them. These things just dont stop happening to us! Pre-race meeting and the plan is to ride for primes and the finish and to not drift past top 20% of the field. Things are going smoothly and it is a fast course so not too dangerous. They ring the bell for a $50 prime and I see Kendall right in front of me so I ride up to her and pick her up. That hurt. I barely had anything by the last corner and it was all I could do to stay with the pack but she got the cash so it was worth it. Around the next turn though I hit a hole so hard that my pedal comes unclipped, someone runs into me, I think I'm for sure going down and somehow I dont. I regain my bearings and go to catch on the back, but something doesn't feel right and I'm going nowhere. I ride to the pit and it turns out my rear wheel had been knocked loose. They restart me with 4 laps to go. On the backside Jenna tells me she's not feeling too hot and at this point I realize my wheel is now flat as well. She offers me her wheel (THANK YOU AGAIN JENNA) so we cruise to the pit together (second time in two laps) and we quickly pop out the rear wheel. Only then do I realize it is a front flat. UGH! She is super quick, pops out her front, and I now have a completely new wheel set on my bike. Rad. They let me off with 3 to go and I am near the front. I drift back to find Kendall and finally find her with one to go about 20 wheels back. That was a crazy last lap. Trying to move up on the outside, losing Kendall, hearing Julia behind me so I take her out into the wind for an open path then do whatever I have left. Kendall pulls off 2nd, Julia 5th, and me 11th (ugghhhhhh missed top ten by 1!!!!!). Sad I had such bad luck because I really felt great during the race, but we had some great results to show for it! I cant imagine what will happen when we are firing on all cylinders. Good things to come. Throughout all that happened we still managed two podiums and two top-20 for GC. Not to bad for the fiasco that was this weekend.

Things learned:
-When things fall to pieces your teammates WILL hold it together. I would NOT have made it through this race if it had not been for them. From keeping me calm, giving me wheels, food, everything. We are truly realizing that we are a TEAM. Not a group of individuals wearing the same kit.
-I NEED a hide a key.
-Although it is not ideal, it is possible to race after arriving to the event center ten minutes prior.
-ALWAYS check to make sure someone has closed the trunk.
-Set two alarms. Maybe three just for good measure.
-Check which wheel is flat BEFORE taking it off in the wheel pit.
-The NOW-MS Womens team is going to KILL IT this season!

Sorry for the novel....It had to be explained...

Best,
Lauren Liscinski
U25 Women's Team Captain