Dee Places; Jason Wins State Road Race

Dee took 4th in the State Road Race championship finishing behind a strong team showing by the Mercy Specialized team.  Riding solo, Dee was able to hang close to the front group throughout the race but teamwork will almost always beat a solo effort.  Kudos to Dee for tackling this arduous course and representing the Pink Team in true style.

Our Sakari sponsor Jason won the Men's Cat 4 race to claim the state title.  It has been awesome to watch his progress this past year as he moved up from Cat 5 to Cat 4.  What an accomplishment to beat the whole field to claim this crown.  Even though his race jersey is green we know he is wearing pink somewhere underneath!

Your Roving Race Reporter,

Luann

Pink Gals Shine at East Village Crit

A spectacular Saturday came after the the dark thunderstorm and VeloRosa showed up to sponsor this crit and to race.  The final turn was manned by ladies and men in pink attire cheering on the competitors and keeping order as the bike whizzed by quickly.

The opening women's race was the Cat 4.  Five pink clad ladies toed the line and shot off with the start.  The hard work put in on Monday evenings certainly paid off as two of the regulars broke out with the lead group.

Heather O and Lisa C

held with the leaders to place fourth and fifth.  The course is comprised of a killer down hill where it is not uncommon to hit 25 mph then a 90 degree right turn to a block of flat pavement.  The next three blocks are a climb.   The first block is deceptive with the race not really realizing that there is an incline.  After a sharp left the climb is short and steep.  About the time that your legs are screaming at you to stop, there is the 90 degree right turn to the crux of the climb.  A long block where the climb never seems to end.  That is where the teammates cheering helped push the pink racers over the top.

Lee hung on to place in the money by taking 10th with Ali in 11th and Abby in 13th to round out a great showing.

The CAT 1/2/3 race featured our stellar races Dee and Megan.  This race was packed with elite racers but no other teammates worked together more efficiently than these two.  The pack of the first three were off like a shot.  There was a gap, then an Mercy racer and then Dee and Megan.  They worked together lap after lap slowing tracking down the Mercy gal.  With two to go, Megan put on her game face and picked up the pace.  Dee held with her and they

passed and moved into 4th and 5th.  After charging up the last hill, Megan beat Dee to the to take 4th.

What a testament to team effort this was as five VeloRosa racers took home money, the entry and swag tables never had a hitch and corner #5 was safe throughout.

Your Roving Race Reporter,

Luann

VELOROSA LIVES!!!

Well it looks like Luann was released from solitary confinement! I know that you all missed the blog so hopefully this will be an awesome update. Lots has happened this summer and I am sure some of it will be missed. But don't be a hater, just drop me a line and let me know (and send some photos). It is especially hard to know what took place at Race Like a Girl.  There are no sports updates where Luann has been hanging out!

 So back in June on a hot and muggy night, Grinnell hosted a twilight crit. The women's Cat 4 race featured Lee, Sara and Abby. The race ran concurrently with the CAT 123 ladies which made for a very fast race. Lee hung on for a 7th place finish nipping Nancy L while Sara and Abby came in 10th and 13 respectively.

June 15 brought another evening crit at State Center for the Rose Fest.

Boy 2012 was not the year for evening crits are the temps were very high and storms loomed all around. Your Roving Race reporter hung out under a tent with injured VeloRosa racer Erika.

It was much better to be under the tent than to be Lee and Abby out there racing for their lives. This race was fast. It was technical due to the wet pavement along with the sharp 90 degree turns and a doggone steep climb into the wind. That Lee can tuck in and hide behind a blade of grass which proved to be valuable on this gusty night. The roses smelled sweet for Lee as she took 4th place. Abby hung on and placed 11th.

The next day was the road race where Carp made her debut. She hung with the lead group while Lee was in the chase group. Abby worked with a group further back to eventually take 11th place. The sprint at the end of this hilly course is uphill for about 700 meters. Lee had the lead pack in her view when she lost sight of Carp. She continued toward the line only to see Carp getting up off of the pavement. Now at this point you may say: 1. Lee  was a great, encouraging teammate; or, 2. She is heartless. Either way, she is our own Velo racer! She yelled at Carp to get back on her bike and finish.

Carp got her bike back together and took off for the line. In the meantime Lee finished 3rd and Carp came in 5th. OK to be fair to Lee, she did immediately render medical aid to her badly bleeding teammate, Carp; found her a ride to the finish and then cleaned out her wounds (not that the latter was appreciated at that time!). In an all out team effort, Abby located a gas can to fill Lee's gas tank (Lee is still a city kid where gas stations are plentiful). Being nice Iowans, the folks near by gave up a few gallons of gas so that Lee could get to a town and fill up before taking Carp to the doctor. Overall, this reporter, gives the Pink Gals an A++++ for the team effort.

Your Roving Race Reporter,

Luann