TRIA Orthopaedic Center Your Cycling Blog

By Cynthia Lou, Nature Valley Grand Prix

Stillwater, Minn. – Giorgia Bronzini (Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light) attacked at the bottom of Chilkoot Hill Sunday to secure her third stage win at this year’s Nature Valley Grand Prix as Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) held on to win the race overall.

Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12) attacked the penultimate time up the leg-breaking climb that was packed with spectators, hoping to repeat her previous years’ success at the Stillwater Criterium. But Neben’s HTC-Highroad teammate, Evelyn Stevens, and Bronzini jumped after her. Bronzini’s win was the reigning world road race champion’s third of the five-day, six-stage race.

Giorgia Bronzini (Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light) wins atop Chilkoot Hill Sunday at the Stillwater Criterium, the final stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

“I have no words for Evie (Stevens) – she made the race,” Bronzini said, laughing. “I tried to save my power for the last climb because I came here with all of the best climbers and I’m a sprinter. So I tried only to follow (wheels) and save my best sprint for the final.”

Between attacks from Team TIBCO/To The Top and Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 and the sheer difficulty of the 18 percent average grade on Chilkoot Hill, an elite group of riders quickly separated themselves from the peloton. The decisive breakaway group formed within five laps of the 13-lap race and featured a mix of experienced veterans and promising newcomers. It included Bronzini, Neben with teammates Stevens, Ally Stacher, and Amanda Miller, overall runner-up Erinne Willock (Team TIBCO/To The Top) and teammate Joelle Noumainville, defending champion Armstrong and teammate Kristin McGrath, Anne Samplonius (NOW and Novartis for MS), and Jade Wilcoxson (Nature Valley Grand Prix Pro Ride).

As the teams battled for the general classification, Armstrong and Bronzini were able to sit in the pack and save themselves for the finish.

“I wanted to sit and let Highroad do their work to protect the jersey,” Armstrong said. “I knew two minutes would be too much to gain today so we went for the stage win for the team. I tried my best, I tried to go with two to go but everyone out there was really strong. I just couldn’t get that extra acceleration.”

Neben said it actually was a very easy day for her because her team was so good.

“I didn’t really have to do anything but just watch them,” Neben said. “It went according to plan. I’m proud of them, they rode really well this week. I have the yellow, but really, we all won.”

The HTC-Highroad team protected overall winner Amben Neben on the way to also winning the team classification Sunday at the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Stevens’ performance earned her the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider jersey.

“Ally, Amanda and Chloe raced their hearts out,” Stevens said. “Amanda and Chloe took it on the back, then I would take control on the climb. I think it was perfect teamwork – no one could get away. It was really exciting.”

Before the race, Stacher was honored with the “Carla Swart Sportsmanship Award,” recognizing the female athlete at the race who sacrificed her own chances for the good of her team. Swart was a South African Olympic hopeful and the most decorated collegiate rider in U.S. history who died when she was hit by a truck during a training ride.

We raced how Carla would have raced,” Stevens said. “She was just an amazing woman, and I know Ally was her best friend. I can’t think of someone better than Ally to wear that jersey. The way she rode today, she rode her heart out. It’s just incredible, the whole team.”

Stacher’s performance also won her the Tria Orthopaedic Best Young Rider jersey, and HTC-Highroad won the Team classification.

Riding for the Nature Valley Pro Ride team, Wilcoxson finished with the front group of elite riders to win the Nature Valley Grand Prix Best Amateur.

“I was really nervous to start it, but it turned out to be a really good course for me,” Wilcoxson said. “I kind of shocked myself as well. I was really surprised to hang with the big dogs like that. I just wanted to be able to finish the race today, so, I’m really excited about the results.”

Leah Kirchmann (Colavita Forno D’Asolo) held onto her Sports Beans Queen of the Hill jersey and Wheaties Fuel Sprint Competition jersey.

Jersey winners of the Nature Valley Grand Prix Sunday (left to right): Sports Beans Queen of the Hill and Wheaties Fuel Sprint Competition winner Leah Kirchmann (Colavita Forno D’Asolo), Tria Orthopaedic Best Young Rider Ally Tria Orthopaedic Best Young Rider, Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider Evelyn Stevens, overall champion Amber Neben and Nature Valley Grand Prix Best Amateur Jade Wilcoxson.

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by Cynthia Lou, Nature Valley Grand Prix

Menomonie, Wis. — It was a battle of a pair of former world time trial champions Saturday at the Menomonie Road Race as Amber Neben (HTC-Highroad) took over the yellow race leader’s jersey from Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12) at the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Rising star Lisa Kirchmann (Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light) took the stage win and rode aggressively enough to claim three classification jerseys: the Tria Orthopaedic Best Young Rider, Wheaties Fuel Sprint, and Sport Beans Queen of the Hills.

As Amber Neben (left) and Erinne Willock charge to the line, Leah Kirchmann (Colavita/Forno d'Asolo presented by Cooking Light) begins to celebrate her win Saturday at the Menomonie Road Race of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

Neben will start Sunday’s Stillwater Criterium with a 21-second lead over Erinne Willock (Team TIBCO/To The Top), 38 seconds over third-placed Leah Kirchmann (Colavita/Forno d’Asolo presented by Cooking Light), and 52 seconds over Armstrong, who slid to fourth.

The atmosphere was reverent, but competitive, at the start of the race, as riders lined up with memories of Friday’s crash-cancelled stage still top of mind. Rolling out of the neutral start, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 controlled the pace and set out to protect Armstrong’s jersey.

At first, it looked like a repeat of Thursday’s Cannon Falls race was on, with all early attacks being brought back. But within the first 14 miles the decisive break that would change the complexion of the race was launched.

Figuring in the break were: Inga Cilvinatte (Diadora-Pasta Zara-Manhattan), Kirchmann, Megan Guarnier and Samantha Schneider (Team TIBCO/To The Top), Ally Stacher (HTC-Highroad), Anna Barensfeld (Missing Link Coaching Systems presented by Specialized), and Tayler Wiles (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12). The escapees quickly grew their lead to a minute.

“Immediately on the feed zone climb (at Star Hill), we were able to get her (Armstrong) isolated,” Neben said about her team’s strategy. “It was once I was able to get across to the break that I thought we would have a chance. There were enough numbers in the break to ride with me. It came down to the length of the day, and we were motivated at the front to keep going.”

Wiles dropped off the pace at the third Queen of the Hills competition and returned to the peloton to support Armstrong, who was beginning to slip out of the overall lead.

”It was really aggressive today,“ Willock said. ”We had two girls up in the break, and Joelle (Numainville) drove it hard over the top of the third KOH, and it was over the third KOH that I bridged across.”

”Before Erinne and Amber were in the break, I was the leader of the group and we all worked pretty evenly to keep it away,” Kirchmann said. ”But as soon as they got there, I wasn’t leading the race anymore so I could save my legs for the sprint.”

The seven entered the finishing circuits with a 33-second lead that increased to 45 seconds, then stretched to more than a minute, thanks to Neben and teammate Stacher working to extend the lead over the hilly four-mile finishing circuits. Back in the second group, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12 was doing the majority of the chasing.

”I knew there was a chance to move up onto the podium on GC, and that was our goal,“ explained Willock. ”Leah didn’t do any work all day, and that’s fine, and that’s the way the game goes.“

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By Cynthia Lou, Nature Valley Grand Prix

Cannon Falls, Minn. – World champion Giorgia Bronzini (Colavita Forno D’Asolo presented by Cooking Light) sprinted to victory in Thursday’s Nature Valley Grand Prix Cannon Falls Road Race to win her third race on American soil in 11 days.

Giorgia Bronzini takes the sprint finish in the Cannon Falls Stage 3 road race.

Having two very strong sprinters on one team is an advantage, giving the team more options in chaotic sprint finishes, Cliff-Ryan said.

“The sprint was going to be for me today,” she said. “I lined up behind Shelley (Olds) with Giorgia behind me as a sweeper. That gives us a chance if I screw up the sprint so Giorgia can come. I chose to be on the left side and had to go onto the curb because the peloton came up the left. Halfway up the hill I yelled to Giorgia to ‘go.’ With Giorgia first and me third, it’s a good result.”

“We tried to do the same sprint today as we did yesterday,” Bronzini said of her plans with teammate Cliff-Ryan. “She is strong, and I hope she win tomorrow.”

Bronzini sprinted to victory in Wednesday’s Paul Downtown Criterium Wednesday night to go along with her victory June 5 at the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia.

The majority of Thursday’s 66.5-mile race traveled through gently rolling farm lands surrounding Cannon Falls. Several teams set out to make the race hard and attacks were launched nearly continuously.

“We’re going to be aggressive and race smart,” Evelyn Stevens (HTC-Highroad) said before the start. “We have a really incredible team here, and we’re sitting in second and fourth overall, so we have a lot of options. We’re going to see how the race plays out, what the other teams do, and take it from there.”

The most prominent break of the day gained nearly a minute’s lead in anticipation of the first Sport Beans Queen of the Hill competition. Leah Kirchmann (Colavita Forno D’Asolo), Rachel Warner (Missing Link Coaching Systems/Specialized), and Amity Elliot (Team Kenda presented by Geargrinder) took the top points, respectively, up the first QOH. But they were caught shortly afterwards.

Women's Peloton - Cannon Falls Road Race

From then on, no other breaks were allowed more than 20 seconds of freedom, with all teams contributing to the chasing. Yellow jersey wearer Kristin Armstrong (Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY12) even brought back two herself.

“It was a really good race and there was always something going on,” said Rushlee Buchanan (Colavita Forno D’Asolo), wearer of the Trio Orthopaedic Best Young Rider jersey. “The race went really fast, we were always concentrating. I think every team was out today to draw everybody out. It was good out there and the wind wasn’t too strong. We knew we had good sprinters in the bunch, so either way we knew we had good cards to play.”

All of the jerseys remained the same after today’s race, including the Freewheel Bike Most Aggressive Rider jersey that went to Shelley Olds (Diadora-Pasta Zara-Manhattan). The jersey typically changes shoulders on each stage.

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By Kristin Armstrong
Peanut Butter and Co. Team TWENTY12
Four-Time Nature Valley Grand Prix winner, 2006-2009

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, I completed the biggest achievement of my career by winning the gold medal in the women’s road time trial competition on August 13. It was a childhood dream to compete in the Olympics and is one of the most amazing days of my life representing the United States at the highest level an athlete can reach.

I love cycling and I love competition. After a year-long break to start a family, I’m proud to be racing this year on a team that I also am part owner of: Peanut Butter & Co. Team TWENTY12.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is one race I’ve always looked forward to each year. Typically, I excel at the time trial, but the opening stage of the Nature Valley Grand Prix, the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial, is very different. We aren’t allowed to use time trial specific equipment in this race! This nuance creates a unique challenge for me. As a time trial specialist, I’ve always benefitted from using aero bars, disk wheels and a time trial bike frame specially designed for speed. The dynamics of this technical course, plus riding a traditional road bike for the stage, slightly changes my strategy for the race. It still favors time trial specialists like myself, but my training for the time trial will focus on my road bike rather than my time trial machine.

Every cyclist has an opinion about time trials: You either love or hate them. While many cyclists prefer not to do a long, solo effort, the ability to time trial effectively is handy whether you actually do stand-alone TT events or not. How can you benefit from this training?

• Time trial training helps any rider who has an opportunity to break away from the pack in a race. The ability to push your cycling skills and knowledge to the edge and hold it there for extended periods requires mental and physical toughness.
• Riders can train for both skills. If you know you can nail a steady speed, power or heart rate output for an extended period of time, you’ll have more confidence in the saddle. When time trialing, I mentally challenge myself to tap every ounce of energy I have and fight through any physical pain in order to compete and achieve my goals.
• Time trial training can also benefit recreational riders who never pin on a number and race. The power and aerobic capacity that make you a successful time trialist also make you a strong all around rider.

The key to success for the St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial is to stay smooth, calm and powerful on the course. There is no hiding in the pack or drafting behind teammates. Each rider must test herself against the course. This course is all about power and efficiency as riders traverse the out and back on Lilydale Road and then face the steep climb and turns up Cherokee and Ohio Street. Finesse and endurance will help everyone get to the finish. Without the aid of time trial bike technology, riders will need to stay focused. Riding time trails is a great way to get strong and will help your solo training or during the Gran Fondo rides when you find yourself breaking the wind.

In our world, we call time trials “the race of truth.” Although my peers and I will complete more than 200 miles of cycling in the Nature Valley Grand Prix, this 6.1 mile race can be a decisive factor – showing who the true contenders are for the overall win. Losing just a minute in this time trial could cost dearly in the final standings.

Cheers from spectators – especially up the hill climbs and at the finishing straight – always help motivate riders to the finish line. So bring your breakfast and coffee and watch us go for it!

Kristin Armstrong (born August 11, 1973) is a professional road bicycle racer and Olympic gold medalist, the winner of the Women’s Time Trial at the 2008 Summer Olympics and also 2 World Time Trial Championships. Before temporarily retiring to start a family in 2009, she rode for Cervélo TestTeam in women’s elite professional events on the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and UCI Women’s World Cup. She announced a return to competitive cycling beginning in the 2011 season, competing for Peanut Butter & Co TWENTY12 at the Redlands Classic.^[1] Armstrong earned a bachelor’s degree in sports physiology from the University of Idaho in 1995, and currently lives in Boise, Idaho. Kristin Armstrong and Lance Armstrong (known to women’s cycling fans as “the other Armstrong”) are not related.

About Time Trials:

An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: contre la montre – literally “against the watch”, in Italian: tappa a cronometro “stopwatch stage”). There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials (TTT). ITT’s are also referred to as “the race of truth”, as winning depends only on each rider’s strength and endurance, and not on help provided by team-mates and others riding ahead and creating a slipstream.

Source: Wikipedia 

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Minneapolis – The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series resumes this week when the 24th annual SRAM Tour of the Gila begins Wednesday in Silver City, N.M.

Ina-Yoko Teutenberg (HTC-Columbia) leads the individual and sprint competition but is not among the 75 women registered for the five-day National Racing Calendar event.

However, second-placed individual Katharine Carroll and her Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 teammate, Mara Abbott – who leads the best young rider competition – are part of the field. Abbott won the Tour of the Gila in 2007 and Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12 currently leads the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series team competition.

”The SRAM Tour of the Gila is a great addition to the Series,” Women’s Prestige Cycling Series co-founder David LaPorte said. “Kristin Armstrong’s team, Peanut Butter & Co. TWENTY 12, is fielding a very impressive squad, but they’ll face tough competition. The event will also get a lot of attention because Lance Armstrong (no relation), known to women’s racing fans as ‘the other Armstrong’, is participating again this year.”

Four events in four different states comprise the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. It began at the Redlands Bicycle Classic in March. Still to come are the Nature Valley Grand Prix, June 16-20 (Minnesota) and the Bend Memorial Clinic Cascade Cycling Classic, July 20-25 (Oregon).

The Series awards the top overall individual, best young rider, best sprinter and top team. Clothing manufacturer Champion System provides special jerseys to identify the leaders in the individual classifications.

For more information about the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series, visit the official website, www.WomenCyclists.com, or send an e-mail to: wpcs2010@womencyclists.com.

About the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series

The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series was created following input at the 2003 Women’s Cycling Summit Conference, hosted at the Nature Valley Grand Prix. The inaugural edition of the Series was held the following year. The goal of the Series is to promote women’s racing by giving them a spotlight that they do not have to share with men. The Women’s Prestige Cycling Series is considered the heir apparent to the HP International Women’s Challenge, a fabled women’s stage race that ended its 19-year run in 2003.

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Kristin Armstrong Wins Fourth Nature Valley Grand Prix Title With A Teary Goodbye At Her Last American Race

By Cynthia Lou

Kristin Armstrong (Cervélo Test Team) may have fiercely defended her yellow jersey at the Stillwater Criterium, leaping off the start line with determination in her eyes, but she left the Nature Valley Grand Prix well decorated and with a teary goodbye at the last American race of her career. A triumphant end to a win-filled career, Armstrong won the overall general classification, the Jelly Belly Sports Beans Best Climber Jersey and the Freewheel Most Aggressive Rider Jersey. Shelley Olds (Proman Hit Squad) and Andrea Dvorak (Colavita/Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light) followed Armstrong’s attack in the second lap to take second and third for the stage, respectively.

A quickly shattered field saw mix ups in the final general classification, with Olds moving to second overall and Allison Powers of Team Type 1 moving up to take third overall.

“I had a lot of nerves today, thinking that it was my last race in America and knowing I had only 12, 11 seconds – there’s just no room for mishaps, mechanical or anything,” said Armstrong. “I rode up that first hill at 85% to string it out. I wasn’t worried about who would work with me or who wouldn’t. I looked at it as an hour race, and knew that I didn’t want to leave it up to the last climb.”

“Those girls were there, and they really worked to stay on. I didn’t want to leave them so the peloton would catch them,” said Armstrong, ever the mentor, who waited patiently until the last few laps. “I thought that if I waited until the last lap they would be able to hold off the peloton that was about 45 seconds back. I really respect Andrea Dvorak from Colavita and Shelley Olds from Proman, they are both up and coming talent in America. I was happy to have them up on the podium with me.”

It seems that Armstrong’s determination and climbing abilities are widely known by everyone.

“Kristin was keeping a good tempo up the hills – she was just practicing for Worlds or something!” Olds said with a laugh. “I would have loved to have helped, but it took us the whole downhill to recover.”

Olds went home with the Wheaties Sprint Jersey and a second overall on the general classification. “I knew that if I could stay on Kristin’s wheel – which was inevitable – that I could settle in to a good pace. This is the kind of race that you have to settle in to, and everyone else is going through the same thing, so if you can settle into it with a gap, then you just have to keep reminding yourself to keep going…I had my director in my ear reminding me to chill, keep my own tempo, stick with them on the climb.”

On the famous 700 meter long Chilkoot Hill that averages a 22% grade, the role of directors play a huge role in inspiring and motivating their riders in addition to relaying messages and tactics.

“I knew to line up near Kristin,” said third place finisher and breakaway companion Dvorak. “When [Armstrong] started to go up the road with Shelley and get a little gap, my director said into my ear, ‘Close that gap, close that gap! It’ll be worth your while.’ So I put in an effort, caught them, and off we went.”

Often times it’s necessary for riders to generate their own internal inspiration, which has been the case for a teammate-free Armstrong throughout the race.

“Originally I was going to go out from the gun, but I ended up going the 85% to calm my nerves. When I saw it was strung out I felt that I had some control back and took it as hard as I could on the second lap.”

Sometimes the mental game of a race like this is to simply go for it and do your best, as was the case for APC’s Best Young Rider Jersey winner Amanda Miller (Lip Smacker).

“Today was a race of attrition. I was just riding, and I didn’t even know where the leader was,” said Miller, who wasn’t aware she had won when she crossed the finish line. “I didn’t find out until I got back down here [to the announcers stage].”

Team Tibco put in stellar performances throughout the week, winning the Team Competition by taking a stage victory and racing consistently and aggressively every day. The Nature Valley Top Amateur Jersey went to Sydney Brown (Nature Valley Cycling Team).

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is also the third stop of the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. Allison Powers (Team Type 1) was the new Overall Leader as well as the Sprint Jersey Leader, while the Women’s Prestige Series Best Young Rider Jersey went to Rebecca Much (Webcor Builders).

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Olympic Gold Medalist Kristen Armstrong is a three-time and defending champion of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. She currently rides for the Cervélo Lifeforce Pro Cycling Team, and will be appearing at this year’s NVGP. Kristin is also launching her cycling academy for young women this July.

BOISE, IDAHO: 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong and USA Cycling announced today the launch of the Kristin Armstrong Cycling Academy, a junior development camp this summer for women of racing age 15-18. Sponsored by USA Cycling, the innovative camp will be held in Boise, Idaho from July 14–19, 2009, and will provide licensed riders with the additional opportunity to race alongside Armstrong before a crowd of thousands at the 23rd Annual Twilight Criterium in downtown Boise.

The new camp was developed for women who have some race experience and are looking to improve their skills, and offers an opportunity to discover what it means to be a professional cyclist. All riders must hold a valid 2009 USA Cycling annual license to participate.

“In the United States, during the year you turn 19, you go from racing with your 15-18 year-old peers to racing with 19-35 year-old pros. It can be a shock, and if not prepared, young riders feel like they’ve been thrown to the wolves—U.S. Cycling loses a lot of promising female riders in this process,” said Armstrong. “My coaches and I want to have a hand in helping young women really advance through a more focused training program, like the one that helped me realize my Olympic dream. My goal, and I think it’s realistic, is to see a graduate of the Kristin Armstrong Cycling Academy bring home the Gold for U.S. Cycling.”

“The Kristin Armstrong Academy is an ideal program that will guide aspiring young women as they attempt to make the transition from a successful junior career to the elite ranks,” commented USA Cycling director of athletics and Armstrong’s coach Jim Miller.” As an Olympic champion, Kristin will inspire, educate and support dozens of future world-class athletes with these efforts as part of a tremendously valuable initiative designed to ensure the future success of American women.”

Armstrong has worked with youth since she was in her mid-20’s, and says she’s uniquely qualified to help girls bridge the gap from Junior to Senior racing. The camp offers a mix of classroom sessions, racing clinics, and off-the-bike lifestyle tips tailored to young women ages 15-18. A registration fee of $1,250 includes lodging, meals, daily instruction and social opportunities. Riders who wish to enter the Twilight Criterium will register separately for the race.

Riders and parents should visit www.kristinarmstrongacademy.com, call 208.286.4859 or email info@kristinarmstrongacademy.com to learn more. Participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited. Please visit http://new.sportsbaseonline.com for online registration.

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