Hutchins World Champion

Tam Cycling News
CAROLYN HUTCHINS WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/2 IRONMAN

Tam Cycling's Carolyn Hutchins took first place in her age group 45-49 at the Ford 1/2 Iron Man World Championships. The world championships in Clearwater Florida were invitation only and she beat out 36 other athletes in order to take the win.
Total time was only 4:48!

Tam Cycling News

Tam Cycling News
CAROLYN HUTCHINS WINS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1/2 IRONMAN

Tam Cycling's Carolyn Hutchins took first place in her age group 45-49 at the Ford 1/2 Iron Man World Championships. The world championships in Clearwater Florida were invitation only and she beat out 36 other athletes in order to take the win.
Total time was only 4:48!

Giro de San Francisco

by Katie Kelly

September 4th, San Francisco, CA.

Race: Giro de San Francisco

Where: Around the Levi Strauss Plaza.

Course description: Mildly bumpy with one turn oversome railroad tracks, and even one left hand turn,just to keep us on our toes.

When: Yesterday morning.

Teammates: Laurie Fenech (Team Taylor)

Result: 19th out of 20 but wait.

As this was my first race as a Cat 3, I knew I would need the help of a teammate, if only to motivate me to even show up to the line. My friend Laurie and I also had discussed some team tactics weeks prior tothis race. Having a a tactic is a great way to distract your mind from the reality that you may be in over your head.

Because we'd be in two different team kits, we thought this might be to our advantage as no one would knowthat we would be employing a "team strategy".

Our strategy was to attack and to counter-attack MetroMint's attacks for which they've grown famous.

Then what happened was the race started. My typical habit of yelling, "Hey, wait up," wasn't going to work here. These are Cat 3s, hardened byyears of racing experience.

The brisk pace soon became uncomfortable. I spent the first four or thirteen laps dangling off the back, inspired by friends on every corner of the race, all yelling something to the tune of, "Hang inthere, Katie!"

This isn't what champions want to hear. Champions want to hear something alluding to the pain they are inflicting. But we count on our friends for their honesty. This is why they are our friends. I probablywould not have finished without them cheering for me.

During the race, I reminded myself of all of the latest research that says that lactate is actually used by your muscles as fuel.

Off of the front, I could see MetroMint and other racers staging attack after attack. Somewhere in there, there was Laurie. That I was somehow still withthe group, barely, even by lap 18, was nothing shortof a miracle to me.

With one and a half laps to go, I remembered our team strategy, the one about all the attacks.

And then, another thought: how many times in my life have I let golden opportunities go by, only to wonder, what if. Katie, think of the stories you can tell your grandchildren one day. That you don't even havechildren is not of consequence at this moment. It's just the idea, the principle, that one day, you will have a good story to tell.

I jumped off the front.

"Who is that, is she in our race?" I heard someone say.

Now I was spinning furiously through the start-finish line, too afraid to look behind me while pretending to look collected in front of the cameras and screaming fans.

"There's Katie Kelly, stringing out the pack," said the announcer.

By the time I reached the railroad tracks, I could only breathe via coughing as my throat was blocked by phlegm which I told myself was really fuel.

Could I hold them off during the ascent?

No. They swarmed around me so close, in hindsight, I should have grabbed onto someone's pocket.

"Hang in there, Katie!" I heard, again, as I was spit out the back.

For some reason, I passed MetroMint's Sarah Lightfoot, who was obviously doing work for teammates.

"That was awesome," she said. That felt good.

We coasted in 19th and 20th. She let me win.

After the race, I caught up with Laurie, who managed a pack finish.

"Well, I had to change my strategy," she said. We had a good laugh.

Devyani Kamdar Reports from the World Xterra Scene

by Devyani Kamdar, Tam Cycling News World Correspondent

I've really been enjoying reading everyone's stories. Here is a race
report from a different sort of race. I'm sorry that this is so long. It is actually three race reports in one. I'm hoping I can get some of you mountain bikers to come do some Xterra off road triathlons with me! They are really fun. If you are looking for something new to try.....

I just returned from Europe where I did two Xterra races. I'm
thinking of trying to start a tour company for triathletes with some of the tours taking athletes to races overseas, so I needed to check out some races in Europe as possible tour destinations.

The first was Xterra Italy which takes place on the island of Sardinia. The race was on June 4th and my daughter was graduating from high school on June 1st, so I flew out of SFO on the morning of June 2nd and arrived in Sardinia at 7:00 pm on the 3rd. Unfortunately my bike box with my bike, shoes, helmet, etc., didn't make it and they weren't quite sure where it was. Perhaps in Rome?

To make a long story short my bike arrived in the nick of time the next morning. However, having given up on it the night before, when they still didn't know where it was, I'd been out drinking a Sardinian herbal liquor called Mirto with Dave Nichols, the Xterra "Big Kahuna"
and some of the staff, while the rest of the athletes were getting a good night's sleep! So I started the race jet-lagged, hung over, and with only half a bottle of water as that was all I could bum off other athletes in the transition area. Hey, I didn't get the bike box until an hour before the race (delivered by another athlete who'd picked it up at the airport after midnight. He'd been waiting for his bike, which never came, but he found mine and very sweetly brought it to the race start for me. By the time I had changed my clothes in the back of a truck, built my bike and thrown my stuff together I made it to the transition area just as they were closing it and calling athletes to the start.

The rest of the race was less eventful. A slow swim (no surprise there and can't blame the jet-lag or the mirto for not being able to swim straight), a long hot bike where I really missed my camelback. I did take advantage of those moments I'd usually take to grab a drink to
soak in some of the beautiful views on the course as it wound up the mountainous interior of the island. It was a road biker's course. All fire roads. All hard pack. All about fitness. Unfortunately, fear wasn't a factor, and bike handling skills didn't really come into play, so I just had to work hard. Some of the climbs were so steep I had to fight to stay on the bike. I was sweating up a storm, there was only one aid station, and no shade on the entire course. By the time I got to the run I was spent. Exhausted and dehydrated. I didn't walk the run, but it actually might have been faster. I was running so slowly it was more of a shuffle. People doing their second lap passed me on my first. On my second it seemed I was out there on my own. You know what though. It didn't matter. I was still smiling. I had made it to Italy. My bike had made it to Italy. I was going to finish. And I'd heard that Villacidro had the best after race party of any Xterra in the world!

I wasn't let down. The party was great. The whole town seemed to be there and it went on for hours. More Mirto surfaced.. And some Limoncello... I came in second of three women in my age group and even won a helmet. Xterra age groupers usually just get a medal so it was really fun to actually win something.

After a few days recovering on Sardinia's white sand beaches I flew home. I gave the helmet to my son, who was thrilled to get something besides the usual tee shirt.

A week later the kids and I flew to Frankfurt en route to the second European Xterra race in the Czech Republic. We arrived mid-morning and picked up the rental car, which, luckily happened to have navigation and spoke flawless British English, so we made the car journey to Hluboka from Frankfurt in good time - about 7 hours. Once again my bike hadn't made the flight. However, this time Lufthansa was in control. They knew exactly where it was (It had been left in San Francisco because the flight was full and overweight so they had to leave some baggage behind.) If I'd known that was their policy I'd have objected to the new overweight fee I was charged to get the bike on the plane! Anyway, the capable agent in Frankfurt insisted that the bike would be delivered to me at my hotel in the Czech Republic. And it was. They flew it to Prague and then had it trucked to me in Hluboka. After which I no longer resented the $50 overweight charge. It was acually easier than hassling with the big box myself.

I don't usually have my kids at my races. I'm divorced and I only get them half the time, so I usually travel for races only when I don't have them. I have to admit, though, that Xterra Czech will always be a special race for me. Having my sons there cheering for me gave me such a lift. We swam in a muddy river, starting just beyond a pontoon bridge and going upriver to the turnaround and back. I had a good swim. The river was narrow so I couldn't swim too far off course and the buoy was a big bright orange one which was easy to sight off of. The bike course took us up and down and around the extensive private grounds of the Hluboka Castle. Some fun single track, a few creek crossings, a few climbs, some rocks, some loose leaves and roots in the forest, some fast road sections.... The race had a little of everything but nothing really technical. I had brought my hardtail and was perfectly happy with that. The run was fun. Of course I wasn't exhausted and dehydrated like I'd been in Italy, which helped. We ran up to the Castle and and even used ropes to get up an extremely steep section that was, well, almost a cliff. That's the fun of Xterra. You never know what you'll find on the course. It is always an adventure.

I finished not sure if the other woman in my age group (I race 45 - 49 and often don't have a lot of company in my age group.) was ahead of me or behind me. I hadn't passed her on the bike or run so I thought I must be behind her. Almost no one is a slower swimmer. Evidently she
dnf'd or didn't show though because they called me up to the podium alone. The mayor of Hluboka came out to give me my award and in Xterra Czech you win crystal. Real lead crystal. They must have felt sorry for me being up on the podium all alone, because I got a gorgeous crystal covered candy dish! The awards for Xterra Czech were in the evening and they had a great BBQ, drinks and a band. The Europeans do know how to party after a race.

The European races were really fun, but they don't count in the USA series, so after I returned to the US I had to do a little Xterra qualifier in Snow Valley in the San Bernardino mountains. The series counts your three best races and I only had two. Luckily I came in first and snagged my spot for the National Championship race in Tahoe in September. Since I won the Regional Championship race in Temecula and now have two other regional wins I've earned the title of Regional Champion, too! Last year I didn't even qualify for Nationals, so I am very happy with my racing so far this season. Of course I'd be happier if there were more women out there racing with me.

If anyone is interested in trying an Xterra the Xterra Nevada race is the day before the National Championship race at Tahoe. It is the exact same bike course (on the flume - one of my favorite courses) but has only a half mile swim and a short 4 mile run. Check out Xterraplanet.com for more info.

Hope to see some of you out there some day!

Howell Mountain Challenge Results

Good results for the dirt lovers on Tam Cycling!

Cammie Urban took 1st in Expert 35-44 (and her husband, Chris, got 1st in Expert 45-49)
Tricia Wallace took 1st in Masters 45+ (and her son, Stephen, got 3rd in Junior expert)

and Alexander Price took 3rd in Beginner 30-34!

Our hero Pat Bush cracked his frame after a short battle with a manzanita bush. Bush v. bush and the manzanita pervailed.

Good Job All!

Albany Crit versus The Beach

by Robyn Berry

Albany, CA -- Beach day. That’s what the weather, my family and my legs were telling me. Sunday was definitely going to be a beach day. Then, like always, I get an annoying little e-mail (you got it too): “I’m doing the Albany Crit this weekend – it’s close – anyone else want to do it?”

Usually, it’s easy to ignore these race reminders from Katie. First of all, anything in the 209 area code is automatically off my list – that eliminates most of the road races around here. But Albany is in the 510 – that’s practically next door. It did not qualify for my normal list of excuses – too hilly, too long, and too tough of a field. No, it was flat, short, and a cat 4 only race. After a long racing break, Katie had finally sent one that piqued my interest. I waited until the last minute, cringed, then, gave Active my credit card number. Darn Katie!

At the start line, they informed us that the mentors in the race would be picking the “winners” based on their use of skills and racing techniques. Perfect – I might have a chance! This concerned Katie, who was poised and ready on the front row. “Uh, aren’t you going to count the actual winners for points?” She and the rest of the front line were assured that, yes; the top riders across the line would receive the points. The rest of us now had our goal: we were racing for style!

The whistle blew quickly, and the sound of sixty sidis clipping in was followed by the whir of thirty bikes traveling as one. I had missed this adrenaline-inducing hum – the sound of the peleton. I was glad to be back, now just waiting a few laps for the burn to kick in.

Katie’s race experience showed, as she always remained toward the front of the pack, taking her turns leading, too long, she said. I raced inefficiently – first in back, then in front, devouring the corners, and losing places on the straights. I was just happy to be part of the race. A highlight was when Katie and I both shared the front briefly during the middle of the race – not an ideal time to lead - but a thrill nonetheless. A tip from Taitt Sato, one of the mentors helped me. She advised me to get out of the saddle coming around the 2nd turn. This is a minor uphill stretch on the course. I did it every lap, and passed riders every time.

Katie finished a very strong 6th, and ever closer to her goal of becoming a cat 3 racer. I still do not know my place. This is what happens in a crit – if you can count the riders in front, you have placed – if not, you are middle of the pack and you have to wait for the posted results.

Four days later, the results still aren’t posted, but no matter. I showed up. I raced hard and well. And, I still had time to go to the beach.

BurlinGame of Death

By Pete Billington

At first I thought it was the 7am start that kept most of the CAT4 Tam Cycling riders from making an appearance at the 19th Annual Downtown Burlingame Criterium. Nick Agate and I arrived by 6am in order to warm up and recon the course. At least the recent hot weather would not be an issue. In fact, I had to put on my leg warmers it was so cold.

Once I did a few laps on the course, I realized that there may be another reason some of the more experienced "Tammers" had chosen not to participate. The course consisted of a downtown "L" shape, with a fast right-left-right chicane over brick and cement. The last turn was more of a sweeping right hand curve than a turn, with a 100 meter sprint to the finish. The start/finish had a small crest at the line, which immediately narrowed by one rider-width from the left. Not merging meant hitting the curb, or worse the metal fences. There were no hay bails on the course.

At the beginning of our race we were informed that there were a few cars left out on the course, and that the officials would attempt to remove them between LAPS! WTF? How about removing them between races? Or better yet, before our race? By lap ten all of the cars had been ticketed and towed out of the way, and we were able to take full advantage of the course. The pace started fast, but slowed down after about lap 15. Pescadero was the day before and many of the riders had burnt up a lot of energy climbing in the heat.

Both Nick and I sat in the top of the field. Waiting for the opportunity to move forward. The chicane made it difficult to move up, and the sweeper was a very dangerous place to pass. With 10 to go I heard the first rider go down right behind me. After the race a guy named Russ from Galaxy Granola came up to me and told me that he was the one who had gone down. "I was in your draft when someone crossed my wheel. You block a lot of wind, so I thought it was a good place to be, but apparently so did someone else."

Nick was caught behind this crash and had to fight to move forward. I saw him get into the top twenty on the inside line. I had elected to stay on the left side so I could carry more momentum through the right hand turns. The race was shaping up nicely. I was in a good position and needed to move up again with 2 to go. But Nick was not putting down the hammer. At the time I didn't realize it, but he could not see the lap cards from the inside line. With 1 to go he thought that there were 10 laps left.

As it started to stretch out through the chicane it was impossible to pace. The pace was fast and into the sweeper another guy went down. I had to pull up and lock the brakes. The race was over for me. A guy from Roaring mouse had endo'd and landed on his head. When I came around on the cool down lap I stopped and talked to him. He had a nasty cut around his eye, but was in good spirits. He joked, " I will live to race again." Nick had managed to avoid the crash on the inside and came in for a mid-pack finish.

I decided to stay and watch the rest of the day's races. It was like watching re-runs of our race in fast-forward. A crash at the beginning of the sweeper, and a crash at the end of the sweeper. Over and over, the same thing. What is it about a gradual turn that is so much more dangerous then a sharp one? The pro race was amazing to watch. I walked around the course twice, observing all of the subtleties of their lines.

Halfway through the race Andy Jacques-Maynes of Cal-Giant led a three man breakaway that managed to get a turns-length on the field. Once they were out of sight, their lead increased. One rider was dropped and the finish was down to a two man sprint, followed by a pack sprint for third. As the field came through the start/finish on the last lap, a rider clipped the curb on the narrowing left side. He careened into the peloton and twelve riders went down. It was awful. They blasted into fences, knocking a whole section into the crowd. Two riders were hurt badly and could not be moved. In seconds the finishing sprint would be coming through the same area. It was a very dangerous situation. The safety officials did a great job of flagging the remaining riders to the right side of the course. Andy won the sprint. It was a very exciting and terrifying race.