Joe Martin Stage Race: From the Perspective of BFF

Sending a composite elite team from the Midwest to a UCI stage race in Arkansas is, not surprising,  something of a logistical challenge. From travel to food to bottles to laundry and sleeping arrangements, there's a lot to keep track of. 

As such, the team recruited three Cat 3/4 riders from BFF Bikes Racing to come along on the ride and provide support during the races. This blog post documents some of the key learnings from our experience, and hopefully provides some guidance for amateur racers who get involved with Chicago Women's Elite in a supporting capacity in the future. 

Annie Byrne, Cat 3 rider from Chicago, IL

Responsible for preparing bottles and race nutrition for the riders and LAUNDRY! 

Annie hammers during the amateur road race on Saturday, April 23rd.  

Tell us about your experience supporting CWEC at Joe Martin. 

Playing soigneur to CWEC was quite the experience! There were so many details to think about and it was just about non-stop so felt pretty intense. I really liked being in the action and seeing what they are putting themselves through-- I was eager to do whatever I could to help.

Did you learn anything that you can take back to Chicago and share with other racers?

Before this race, I knew pro racers were incredibly strong but after seeing them race first hand and riding the same course, I have a whole new understanding and appreciation. So I guess what I learned more deeply than I had known before is the ceiling is HIGH. That is motivating to keep challenging myself and work hard to see how much I can improve. I also learned in a new way how important and useful it can be to set very specific race goals. I'll work on finding opportunities to try new things and make race specific goals that are really challenging.

What was your favorite memory from the week?

My favorite memory was being in the feed zone at the first road race and seeing the pack come charging forward. It was the most intense experience I have had in any race situation. They were like a herd of wild animals moving at full speed, and having driven the course to get to the feed zone, I knew what they had ridden. I was stunned at how fast and hard they were riding.

*Bonus Footage of Annie!* Fayetteville's Channel 5 News interviewed her on Thursday about the upcoming race. Check it out here! 

Gina Heiss, Cat 4 rider from Chicago, IL

Responsible for planning breakfast and dinner mealtimes for the riders & support staff. 

Gina holds her prize money after placing 6th in the General Classification for women 3/4 at Joe Martin.

Tell us about your experience supporting CWEC at Joe Martin. 

Alison’s words that stuck with me from the first call we had with her in preparation: "A thinking races is not a good racer. This statement kept coming back to me throughout the whole week at Joe Martin, not just everything we were doing to support the team but everything that Alison did and ask the team to do was to make sure they were best prepared and did not have to think about anything but giving their best during the race.

What did you learn that you can take back to Chicago and share with other racers?

1. Sighting the course/final miles of the race
2. Meetings every night before the races to talk about the next days schedule (so the morning is relaxed and everyone knows what to expect) and what preparation was expected from the team- i.e. - Study the route sheet and note queues for yourself on a stem tape to break the course down
3. check the weather forecast
4. Keeping all the racers highly together during race days and traveling to the start line
5. Race strategy meetings are held only shortly before the race (so they don’t forget anything because the meeting was too long before the race)
6. Preparation helps to be more confident not having any feeling of unknown and uncertainty. Puts your mind at ease. Clears your head for racing.

Annicka Campbell-Dollaghan, Cat 4 rider from Chicago, IL

Responsible for social media updates and blog posts, as well as helping with meal & bottle prep.

Tell us about your experience supporting CWEC at Joe Martin. 

The entire experience was really interesting to me, but one thing that sticks in my mind is something that Alison (CWEC Directeur Sportif for Joe Martin) did. Every day, Alison would organize a morning spin around the neighborhood and along the bike path that runs through Fayetteville. Anyone was allowed to join; nobody was required to attend. The ride allowed everyone to "spin out the legs," but it also gave the team a chance to ride together in a very low-pressure and social way. She would lead the route along a stretch of the next day's course to review key features as well. I think the riders appreciated that Alison was able to get everyone to come together every morning for a little bonding and learning. 

What did you learn that you can take back to Chicago and share with other racers?

Guest rider Amber Pierce shared a piece of advice during a team meeting before stage 2. She noted that being stuck at the back of a large pack can be discouraging - how do you start to move up when there's 80 other fierce women blocking you? Her solution was to chunk up the task - focus on moving past two sets of handlebars. Then another two sets. Then another. The other CWEC riders said that her strategy was really helpful, and I tried it out myself during the amateur road race on Saturday. I'd never been in such a large group of riders. But instead of panicking about being near the back at the start, I just focused on passing two sets of handlebars, then another two. It totally worked! 

Joe Martin Stage Race: Dispatch from Downtown Fayetteville, Stage 4 & Results

Chicago Women's Elite Cycling is racing Joe Martin, a nationally and internationally contested UCI race in Fayetteville, AK, as a composite elite team. Follow our Instagram and Twitter for photos, commentary and race updates. Want to support CWEC? You can donate here! 

A member of the support crew, Annicka Campbell-Dollaghan, is posting updates from the field. Special thanks to team manager Cathy Frampton for texting live race updates to Annicka all week for sharing in social media. Cathy's great play-by-play updates form the narrative of this blog post. Also thanks to SnowyMountain Photography for their beautiful photos. 

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One thing I learned while supporting the Chicago Women's Elite Cycling team at Joe Martin: it's easy to become so focused on the racing & race preparations that everything else - the day of the week, your age, the city you're currently occupying - recedes into the background. As such, it was hard to really believe that Stage 4, a criterium in downtown Fayetteville, was going to be the last race of the week. 

Sunday morning dawned bright and cool, though the temperature climbed steadily into the 70s and even 80s by afternoon. Kevin Pietka had woken up bright & early to claim a good spot for the CWEC team tent & van, right at the first corner after the start at Church & Mountain streets. As the team warmed up under the tent, they had a perfect view of the Cruiser Parade and Kid's Race running on the course just prior to their start. 

From R to L, Christine Thornburg, Anina Blankenship, Sierra Siebenlist and Nicole Mertz warm up. After being caught in a crash during Stage 3, Nicole Mertz (L) rides on a bike borrowed from CWEC manager Cathy Frampton. 

The UCI women would be racing for 50 minutes, starting at 2pm. The course itself offered a delightful mix of uphill & downhill features, as well as eight different corners and a chicane. 

DS Alison Powers & mechanic Bobby Kaufman.

The start / finish line was at the very top of a long, steady climb. At 1:40pm, the field had already begun to line up to claim territory after the top riders were staged. Chicago Women's Elite did a good job of positioning themselves at or near the front.

At least four CWEC riders are visible just a few seconds after the start, including Sierra, Nicole and Anina. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

The first lap of the course was relatively smooth, Sierra took her experience at the "pointy end" of the races earlier in the week and replicated it in this race, spending the first lap on right on the front of the peloton, with Daphne, Amber and Nicole right behind her. 

Sierra bombs corner 4 with the leader group. Notice the US National Crit Champion Jersey of Lauren Tamayo? Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

Things picked up quickly on the climb during the second lap. The pack strung out in particular at turn 4, just after the chicane and heading into a long downhill stretch. A racer's strategy at this point in the course was a gamble: use the long downhill to push harder and make essential passes to get further to the front, or catch a few quick seconds of recovery and risk being passed by others. Alison encouraged the CWEC riders to aggressively push on the downhills in order to move up and maximize speed. 

Anina and Christine work together. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography. 

15 minutes into the race, Rally, Tibco and Dallas DNA riders had teamed up to create a break, while United Healthcare controlled the pack. The peloton had started to splinter apart, with Amber in the lead group, Daphne and Nicole in the second group and Sierra in the third group. In response to the threat of the gap becoming insurmountably large, Daphne got to work at the front of the chase group to try and hunt the leaders down. 

Amber was riding well in the lead group when three riders attacked and opened a 5 second gap. The lead group accelerated to catch them, and the new pace increased the gap between the lead group and chase group. With the chase group's pace slowing, the race officials pulled the group, which included Daphne and Nicole. This meant that Amber was the last CWEC rider in the race (the other team riders had also been pulled) with the clock ticking down quickly.  

With about ten minutes to go, Amber was sitting third wheel. She moved up and suddenly there was a slight gap off the front. The crowd (and especially the CWEC crowd) roared as Amber was second over the hill with two laps to go. The announcer on the loudspeaker even gave her a shout-out  - "Amber Pierce of Chicago Women's Elite Cycling on the front!" 

Spectators watch in awe as Amber powers up the finishing climb. Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

At the bell lap, Amber was 5th, with Skylar Schneider in front of her looking solid. The finishing sprint uphill was chaos, but Amber was able pull out 32nd out of about 80 riders who started the day. 

The race ended Sunday and the team scattered immediately. In Cathy's words, "There was no time for team reflection - it was go, go, go!" Alison and Nicole were off to the airport at 3:30 (race ended at 2:50 - that's some impressive packing). Anina and Sierra left for St. Louis. Cathy picked up an ISCorp rider, Josie, to take her to St. Louis. Then the Chicago bound caravan hit the road about 4:30pm, rolling into town at about 4am. 

How did the overall results look for Chicago Women's Elite at Joe Martin?

Not only did guest rider Amber Pierce offer seasoned advice, tips and encouragement to CWEC throughout the week, she also finished an incredibly strong 17th overall in the General Classification for the stage race, just 1:12 back from overall winner Coryn Rivera of United Healthcare. Amber also collected points during stage 4, putting the team in the points classification. Way to go, Amber! 

Of the 104 elite women who started the race on Thursday, only 65 made the final time cut, including three Chicago Women's Elite riders - Amber Pierce (17th), Nicole Mertz (46th) and Daphne Karagianis (65th). 

Perhaps most importantly, Chicago Women's Elite finished in the team classification for their first UCI race. 17 teams started...11 survived, including CWEC! It's a huge indicator of the teamwork, determination and real grit that this amazing team of women with their fantastic support crew put forth throughout the week. 

These results and experiences are in the books forever - the team's first experience at a UCI stage race, and certainly not the last. Congratulations to Anina, Sierra, Daphne, Nicole, Amber, Jannette and Christine on a great week of racing and learning! 

Photo by SnowyMountain Photography.

After stage 4, Christine and Daphne enjoy the fruits of their labor - err, beer, peanut butter and pretzels. 

Joe Martin Stage Race: Dispatch from Hogeye, Stage 3

The Joe Martin Stage Race is a nationally and internationally contested cycling race in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 2016 will mark the 39th anniversary of the amateur races; 14th anniversary on the USA Cycling Pro Racing Tour (PRT) and 2nd year to be on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) America Tour calendar. 

Chicago Women's Elite Cycling is racing Joe Martin as a composite elite team.  Follow our Instagram and Twitter for photos, commentary and race updates. Want to support CWEC? You can donate here! 

A member of the support crew, Annicka Campbell-Dollaghan, is posting updates from the field. Special thanks to SnowyMountain Photography for their beautiful photos. 

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Day 3 was the day of the “lollipop,” as it’d come to be known: two loops of a 24 mile course with a 10 mile "stick" of the lollipop in to the finish (here's the course map. You can see the lollipop, right?). The day was hot and sunny as the Chicago Women's Elite Cycling support team set up camp in a subdivision in Prairie Grove, AR.

After a neutral rollout of the pro/elite women at 11:50am, the action began quickly, with a small group off the front after just a few minutes. That group was reabsorbed quickly, but a rider from Tibco and Beth Hernandez from Colavita countered and quickly had a 25 second gap on the group. 

Lesser known role of a DS - helping out with helmet tech. Alison lends a helping hand to Nicole Mertz.

Alison reviews the day's plan with the team.

The night before, Chicago Women's Elite Directeur Sportif, Alison Powers, set a goal for the team: experience the pointy end of the race. She wanted every single rider on the team to get a feel for being at the very front of the pack. As she said, “even if it’s only for 30 seconds, 30 seconds will turn into 5 minutes in the next race, and 10 miles in the next race, and 30 miles in the next race.” 

The pointy end of an international UCI race is really, really difficult to reach and maintain. A field of 100 pro women all share a singular goal: get to the front. It’s home to action, opportunity and even recovery (at least mental recovery) in a race. 

With the gap holding steadily, rider after CWEC rider got to the front of the peloton to feel it out. The images below from SnowyMountain Photography tell the story of, as we say on Twitter, a true #CWECVictory. 

Amber & the CWEC team are well-positioned in the fierce pack.

Sierra Siebenlist, Daphne Karagianis and Nicole Mertz at the pointy end.

Sun's out, tongue's out. Nicole, Daphne and Sierra continue to work at the front.

The highlight of the course loop was a tough climb they call “The Wall.” Positioned 8 miles into the 24 mile loop, The Wall was where the big attacks were predicted to come, and the predictions were correct. The field split up, and four CWEC riders (Christine Thornburg, Anina Blankenship, Jannette Rho and Sierra Siebenlist) teamed up with a larger group to work back to the leaders. 

As riders climbed across The Wall, the attacks at the front continued. Lenore Pipes (OrthoCarolina) and Gillian Ellsay (Rally) created a break at the beginning of a “flatter” section of the course traveling through a little town called Hogeye. They were reabsorbed and countered by two riders from Tibco and Weber Shimano. 

At mile 14.2, Cari Higgins (United Healthcare) drafted through the caravan, trying to regroup with the peloton. The first intermediate sprint at mile 15.4 was quickly approaching, and the current break’s gap had grown to one minute and thirty seconds. The United Healthcare team went to the front and proceeded to cut the 1:30 gap in half. 

Amber Pierce in a sea of riders. 

At the feed zone, Kevin Pietka of CWEC support crew and Morleigh Schneeberger of SnowyMountain Photography were able to successfully deliver Osmo and water bottles to Amber Pierce, Nicole Mertz and Daphne Karagianis in the lead group - an impressive feat during a stressful, crowded cluster of riders & feeders trying to make contact. Morleigh and Kevin repeated the feat when Christine, Sierra and Anina came through as well. #CWECvictories! 

 I'd distributed water bottles to the CWEC riders in the feed zone during Stage 2 on the previous day. Being in the feed zone gives you a unique perspective on the pro peloton. You know how they always look calm and collected on TV? Seeing, feeling and hearing a group of 100 racers barreling past you at 30mph is anything but calm. Just standing on the side of the road as they went by was an amazing adrenaline rush. Luckily, my feed zone inexperience was trumped by the excellent bike handling skills of the CWEC riders, who grabbed the bottles without issue. The other thing that struck me in the feed zone was just how much the entire peloton was suffering. A reminder that racing never gets easier, even for the pros - you just get better at suffering. 

Christine Thornburg, Sierra Siebenlist and Anina Blankenship battle the hills of Hogeye.

Daphne works with the chase group.

The day topped out at around 80 degrees.

Anina and Sierra team up.

Back at the front of the race, UHC successfully brought the group together again. The peloton braced for the counter attack. Would it come from Rally, who had ridden aggressively in the previous day’s race? At mile 37, the lead group split in two. It was tough to see where the CWEC riders were positioned as the attacks continued. 

At the second sprint location, Amber and Nicole were back with the first group, with Daphne in a chase group about a minute behind the leaders. 

Coming back into the finish perhaps 10k out, Joanne Kiesanowski (Tibco) attacked in the front group and got a small gap. At 5k to go, UHC was working to close it, but Joanne's gap was holding. 

With 3k to go, UHC successfully reeled the her in. At 1k to go, Nicole Mertz attacked with another Tibco rider, but it didn’t ultimately stick. With about 200m to the finish, Nicole was well-positioned in the group, but was suddenly caught up in a crash in front of her that took multiple riders out of contention. Amazingly, she was able to finish after a fast bike change from CWEC mechanic and fix-all, Bobby Kauffman. Amber was forced to come to a complete stop behind the crash but was able to finish and place well in the results. Daphne finished with the first chase group, and Sierra, Anina and Christine finished with an additional chase group. Jannette had flatted behind the caravan, a disappointing end to her race, but turned around and provided support to her teammates and support crew. 

It was a hot, tough 64 miles for our riders, but they achieved their goal and then some. They didn’t just experience the pointy end of the race - they were even able to control and influence it. Mission accomplished, CWEC! 

Today's race report is a composite of live race updates texted from CWEC manager Cathy Frampton, who was watching the race from the follow car (seen here)! Thank you, Cathy!