The month of June was a busy one for the women of the Aaron’s Pro Women’s Cycling Team.
For those that like statistics:
On the road for 33 days
Competed in 14 races
Had 2 bikes “lost” in transit by the airline
Won the Team Classification at the biggest International Women’s Race in the US
Won a Hank Aaron autographed baseball for each team member
Earned 18 top 10 finishes
Spent 12 days and 7500 miles traveling to races
Visited 4 different Aaron’s stores
Stayed in 11 different “houses”
1 TT bike lost in a fire
Waited out 1 hail storm in a parking garage
Two consecutive days of barn fires in Amish country
1 new Sudoku player
Celebrated 1 wedding anniversary
Attended one swim meet (as spectators)
Learned that you never pass the President on a ride
As the women of the Aaron’s team have all headed home to recover from the long road trip in preparation for the tough month of racing that August holds in store it is a good time to reflect on what happened on the road. Everything kicked off on Memorial Day weekend, where the women had a podium finish at Raleigh and solid top tens at Baltimore and Somerville, NJ. The weekend was tough as Shannon was trying to recover from a head cold in the midst of traveling and racing. Catherine, Candice and Jeremy stayed the week in D.C. and did some training in the city streets and bike paths even getting the chance to stop by the shop that works on the President’s bike, where they learned that the Pres likes to go hard on rides and if you ride with him there is only one rule…,”you can do whatever you want, but don’t pass the President.”
The next weekend started out strong before the racing even began. On the good side the women were able to meet a number of the store managers and employees in the D.C, region, which is always a nice opportunity. On the downside, Shannon’s bike had been lost by the airline which added another little challenge for the team. The bike was retrieved late Friday prior to the race and Saturday the Women hit the CSC race with a vengeance and Sunday began the Triple Crown of Cycling in Lancaster, PA. The team had a solid top ten and CSC and really found their legs with a top 5 in Lancaster. Both of these races were some of the fastest and hardest criterium events of the season truly showing the depth of talent and ability on the women’s field today. The Aaron’s team stayed in the West Chester, PA area with three host families that took the team on rides. The team rounded out the Triple Crown of Cycling in extremely strong fashion coming through when it really mattered. They did so with consistent finishes at Reading and then at the Liberty Classic in Philly, the day that represented the biggest International Women’s Race held in the US, the team garnered top honors in the Team Classification with 4th, 10th and 22nd places overall as well as winning the Queen of the Mountains competition. The 2 additional riders that made this all possible were Annette Beutler of Switzerland and Helen Kelly of Australia. They worked incredibly well with the existing Pro Team to make these results possible.
Without even time to let the glory of Philly sink in the team jumped in the Hank Aaron Jaguar and headed on a long (emphasize long) journey to the twin cities in Minnesota. Late the next day everyone rolled into the Martin residence that hosted the team for the next week, went straight to bed and woke up to go pre ride the Time Trial course and sign in. To help conquer the race the team brought on an additional recruit in National Collegiate Road Champion, Rebecca Larson. The next 5 days truly pushed the team to the limits! As our team is built mainly for single day criterium and fast road races the team was aimed at top places in individual days vs. an overall timed place. The team accomplished this despite some tough circumstances including the weather! The women pulled off incredibly respectable finishes in the 1st Road Race with Rebecca earning 5th and Catherine 11th among a very select group of riders to even make it to the finishing circuits together. At the criterium it was an inspiring event to watch as Shannon, Rebecca and Catherine work the front group in the race that was held minutes after a torrential hail storm. Shannon worked her way from a spot that was 4th from last and clawed her way through the field as riders continued to get dropped one by one she moved up until she was in the top ten on the final lap and finished 6th.
Following Nature Valley Catherine, Mackenzie, Shannon and Jeremy packed the car back up and headed to Ohio for a smaller scale race to round out the trip. With a bit of breathing time between races the team took the opportunity to visit with the host family and community, attending swim meets and going on rides with the neighborhood kids. All of the rest proved to serve them well as they swept the podium on the first day. Catherine put in a furious attack early on and rode solo for the entire race, while Mackenzie took the opportunity with 1 lap to go and attacked the field solo as well, Shannon then finished off the sweep by winning the field sprint giving the Aaron’s team a clean sweep of the podium. The next day was nearly the same yet some of the other teams worked together to handle the power of the Aaron’s squad and the end result was a first, second and sixth for Catherine, Shannon and Mackenzie respectively.
Now the team is preparing for the next big push that contains the Altoona, PA Stage Race from July 24-31, the Bank of America Criterium in Charlotte on August 5, The Tour of Elk Grove in Chicago August 12 and13 and finally the Criterium Nationals in Downers Grove, IL August 19 and 20.
Following Nature Valley Catherine, Mackenzie, Shannon and Jeremy packed the car back up and headed to Ohio for a smaller scale race to round out the trip. With a bit of breathing time between races the team took the opportunity to visit with the host family and community, attending swim meets and going on rides with the neighborhood kids. All of the rest proved to serve them well as they swept the podium on the first day. Catherine put in a furious attack early on and rode solo for the entire race, while Mackenzie took the opportunity with 1 lap to go and attacked the field solo as well, Shannon then finished off the sweep by winning the field sprint giving the Aaron’s team a clean sweep of the podium. The next day was nearly the same yet some of the other teams worked together to handle the power of the Aaron’s squad and the end result was a first, second and sixth for Catherine, Shannon and Mackenzie respectively.