This past weekend the Juice Plus+ Women’s Pro Cycling Team added to their already impressive resume` of results. 

The first came with a phone call on Thursday evening from Rachel who was racing the Fitchburg Stage Race (NRC) in Fitchburg, MA with only one guest rider to help her.  In the opening mtn time trial Rachel got 10th place.  Her report will be out soon so you will have to wait and see how she did in that very prestigious race.

The next day (July 4th) Holli was in Louisville, KY for the Masters National Criterium Championships.  Apparently someone had been doing the rain dance because it poured the entire race.  As the gun went off Holli went straight to the front and drove the pace really hard for about 5 laps.  This really disappointed a lot of riders since they found themselves struggling so early in the race. 

As the race went on Holli and one other rider (the defending champion) covered the front.  At one point they got away in a break together but the field found that to be way too dangerous and worked to bring them back.  Eventually the rubber band broke that the decisive move was up the road.  There were 4 riders total with one being the defending champion and another being Holli.  They got a gap very quickly as the laps counted down.  With one lap to go the defending champion attacked on the back stretch and Holli was quickly on her.  They took the last two corners at blazing speeds.  Remember, this is in the pouring rain.  As they exited the final corner they started their sprint.  Not wanting to jump too early, Holli held back and waited to pip her on the line.  Unfortunately, she waited a little too long and it was too close to call.  It turned out that Holli got 2nd by the width of her finger nail.  Disappointing but 2nd is still a silver medal and now she can take her frustration out tomorrow night at the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium. 

After Master’s Nationals Holli met up with Laura in West Chester, PA for one of the stops of the USA Crit. Series, the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium (July 5th).  Both riders arrived and were supper excited about the race.  After all, this is one we put on the schedule that we wanted to win. 

There was a huge crowd out to watch tonight’s race in the beautiful setting of downtown West Chester, PA.  It was estimated at 20,000 people.  As the race started there were attacks from the gun.  It was Webcor, Verducci Breakaway, Vanderkitten and Aarons trying to tear the race apart.  Holli and Laura stayed calmed and did what it took to keep things so that it would come down to a sprint.  They even took several premes in the process.  Holli got away in a small break but was only there to make sure that it didn’t go anywhere.  As the riders came through and saw one lap to go a Tibco rider (who had been sitting in the entire race) attacked with one other rider. As the peloton passed across the finish line Holli went to the front with Laura in tow to bring back the attacking duo.   Around turn one, and then turn two, Holli was drilling it to try and set up her sprinter.  Down the back stretch and approaching turn three Laura came around Holli with a vicious attack.  Out of turn 4 Laura still had some ground to make up but was closing fast.  About 12inches before the line the Tibco rider, Sarah Caravella, went to raise her hands to celebrate her victory when a blazing Laura got her by half a wheel at the line.  Holli, even after her huge lead out was still able to sprint and hold on for 9th place.

The girls will be taking the next couple of weekends to do some local races and some of them will be attending a Juice Plus+ conference in Atlanta, GA.  The next big weekend is the Presbyterian Invitational in Charlotte, NC on August 2nd and the Hanes Park Classic in Winston Salem, NC on August 3rd. 

Thank you for all your support. 

Fitchburg Race Report

Another Fitchburg has come and gone, and I have benefited from another learning experience. This year the stage race was back on the NRC schedule, which made the race a bit harder this year. I was looking forward to the challenge. Here is how the race went stage by stage.

Stage 1: 10K TT on a bumpy and mostly uphill course. I started just slightly gently, but after a few hundred feet the hill started, and I could not contain my enthusiasm and start digging pretty hard at the hill. I may have done the first part of the race just a little too hard, but I kept pushing until the end, and ended up with the 10th fastest time; 50 seconds off the winner. I was very happy with this performance. Our guest riding teammate, Laura Cook, rode well to get 22nd on the TT in her first ever pro stage race.

Stage 2: 70 mile RR on a hilly 11 mile circuit with a 2 mile mountain top finish. I finish 19th on the stage and slipped to 13th overall. I was expecting a little more out of myself, but did not have the best legs, but I hung tough and finished up as best as I could. That day I matured a bit, and kept racing even though I was becoming very frustrated with my legs. Laura hung tough and was just behind me on the stage.

Stage 3: 35 mile circuit race on a 3.1 mile loop with a 400 meter 10% grade stair stepped climb. I expected my legs to not be that great, but they were not to bad. I was happy with how I was riding. I applied the lessons that our director, Bill, had been teaching me. I stayed up front most of the race, but at the end I could have done slightly better in positioning for the sprint. I did not loose any time, and kept 13th overall. Laura also had good legs, and finished just a few spots behind me, and she also defended her G.C. spot.

Stage 4: 27 mile crit race on a 9/10th mile loop that was a long drag up on the start/finish stretch with a shallow decent on the back stretch. The course had a tight 180 degree turn at the top of the course and two sharp turns at the bottom end of the course. We had to do 28 laps. My legs still felt pretty good, and I was racing to maintain my position in the G.C, and try a break if there was an opportunity. The race for the green jersey was being hotly contested so a breakaway would be hard so I just stayed out of trouble. Laura and I finished in the same group at the same time as the winner, and she moved up to 25th in the G.C.. I stayed at 13th.

It was a good race this year, and I am looking forward to next year. It was fun to see all the racers, hang out with our guest rider and her friend who tore it up in the women ¾ race. My coach, Aidan, who raced the pro race paid me a very nice complement to my racing by saying “I was a very rewarding person to work with”. That comment made my day, and has given me extra motivation to train to even higher levels and race hard for Juice Plus.

The Juice Plus+ team scored two victories this past weekend.  

Laura and Rachel raced in New Jersey at the Giro de Jersey.  This race had a time trial, road race and circuit race. 

Stage 1 (time trial) saw Rachel take 3rd and Laura 4th.  The next day was the road race.  Today Rachel and Laura would work together to try and take the overall lead.  They did just that.  Laura sprinted away at the end for the victory and Rachel held on for 4 after leading Laura out.   Going into stage 3 it was clear that nobody could sprint with Laura and again she took the win with Rachel getting 3rd.  This put Laura as the overall winner and Rachel finishing up as 3rd overall.  GOOD JOB!!

While Laura and Rachel were dominating in New Jersey, Holli was racing the North Carolina State Games.  This was a circuit race on a very beautiful rolling course.  She absolutely crushed the competition and sprinted away for another victory.  After the women's pro race Holli then jumped in the men's pro race and showed the boy's that the girls can do it too.  She finished in the front group under extremely rainy conditions.

Good Job to all!!  The next race up is Holli racing the Masters National Championship on the 4th of July, Rachel is headed to the Fitchburg stage race, and the Holli and Laura are doing the Iron Hill Twilight Criterium in West Chester, PA on July 5th.

Well, our team photographer has done it again.  Look at these great shots from the Philadelphia Triple Crown.

http://leister.smugmug.com/gallery/5177703_e2H7f#313743577_2Xuqn

Feel free to contact me if you would like to use any of these photos.

Thanks for your support

http://cyclingnews.com/road.php?id=road/2008/may08/wilmington08

Today we raced in Wilmington, DE, A race that we have looked forward to since the beginning of the season, a race we wanted to win! 

Arriving in Wilmington on Friday afternoon we found that it was cold and raining.  The plan was to do the Iron Mike Time Trial as an opener to prepare for Saturdays race.  But the rain made the roads so slippery that it didn’t make sense to risk a crash.  Especially since there was a 20% climb of cobblestone on the famous Monkey Hill.   The girls decided to ride their trainers instead.

Saturday the team started out by doing a photo shoot with team photographer Todd Leister (www.leisterimages.com).   After the photo shoot we went and grabbed some lunch and headed to the race. 

Today we would only have three girls lining up (Holli, Laura, and Rachel) since Gina was still recovering from a horrible crash at Speed Week.  The plan today was to be aggressive and confident that we are strong and ready to race.  As the gun went off Rachel went straight to the front and started to drive the pace, HARD!!  Knowing that she has two very fast sprinters in Holli and Laura, Rachel stayed at the front and kept the pace high.  She was covering attacks and keeping things single file.   Eventually the rubber band broke and Rachel found herself off the front in a break with an Advil rider and a Kelly Benefits rider.  They started to get a nice size gap when the Advil rider was told to sit up.  It appears that they were not sure which Juice Plus+ rider it was in the break and didn’t have 100% confidence that they could win the race.  This would prove disastrous for them…

As soon as that break was caught Jen McCrae (Advil/Chapstick) counter attacked and got a huge gap.  Because the Aaron’s and Cheerwine riders were still in the group there was no reason for us to chase.  About 3 laps went by and then Laura VanGilder (Cheerwine) attacked.   This was now serious!  The next time the field came through the start finish stretch it was a beautiful sight.  Laura McCaughey had brought Holli to the front and they had the rest of the field in serious trouble.  There were gaps opening girls getting shot out the back.  As VanGilder raced past the announcer she heard that Juice Plus+ was on the front and closing in and had to do a double take when she saw that they were almost on her. 

As our McCaughey was closing in on VanGilder  Holli realized that there are still about 10 girls left right behind her and that when they caught on it would just all come back together.  Using her experience she then told Laura to GO!!  As Holli eased off the pedals, so did everyone behind her.  This created an instant gap and McCaughey reached VanGilder and soon they both reached McCrae who was still off the front.  The rest of the race Holli sat second and third wheel trying to discourage any organized chase.  Rachel, hanging on for dear life now after her heroic efforts early on is starting to fade off the back.  Job Well Done!! 

With no real chase ever forming the breakaway trio would soon gain ¾ of a lap.  Now the question is “Do they lap the field?”  The answer for Juice Plus+ would be NO.  Rachel is now a lap down in the field and is told to go to the front and drive the pace again to keep the break from lapping.  Note:  If the breakaway laps the field Jen McCrae would have 6 teammates to help her with the sprint.  With 5 laps to go the break is starting to play games and now the concern is that they are going to get caught.  Rachel is soon told to get off the front and sit back.  McCrae and VanGilder are watching each other and probably wondering who the Aussie is that’s with them.  With 1 lap to go it’s clear that the break is going to stay away but the closeness of the field is preventing Rachel from leading Holli out for the field sprint.  As the break rounds the last corner VanGilder jumps left and McCrae right.  McCaughey is tucked in on McCrae’s wheel and with 200m to go she passes McCrae up the right side and takes the win with about 2 bike lengths to spare. 

The field sprint is close to follow and Holli gets out from being boxed in and takes 4th in the sprint for 7th overall.

This was an awesome effort by the entire team.  They were able to dictate the race from start to finish and prove that they are a force to be reckoned with.   We now have a 1st and 3rd in NRC.

Next weekend is Bike Jam in Baltimore, MD on Saturday, RFK Crit in DC on Sunday, and the Tour of Somerville on Monday.

Thanks to all our sponsors and we look forward to next weekend with a ton of confidence. 

I just wanted to send a quick update.  There will be a more detailed update soon. 

So far Walterboro, SC on wed has been out best result with Holli taking 3rd place and a preme.  everyone is starting to pull together and we are going to win one of these races. 

I have attached some pics of the last few days.  In Walterboro the girls spent their time before the race with a group of special needs kids.  They rode their bikes around with them and gave them some Juice Plus+ socks.  It was very touching.

Detailed race reports to come.......

http://www.leisterimages.com/gallery/4771845_AqqFo#283082932_mipqw

Check out these pics of Laura from the Lower Providence race in Pennsylvania this past Sunday.  She got 5th place and will be ready to tear it up at the Athens Twilight Criterium on Saturday night. 

The Juice Plus+ Women's Cycling Team has another successful weekend of racing, just two weeks before the team hits the road together.  Great Job ladies!

Rock Hill, SC - Holli

A three day omnium race started out with street sprints on Friday night in which Holli took 2nd place.  The next day was a rainy criterium that she WON!!  Sunday she took 2nd in the road race.  That gave her more than enough points to win the omnium.

Tyson's Corner, VA - Rachel

Rachel braved the cold damp circuit race and came out with a fourth place.

For details about how each race went please see our blog (http://juicepluscycling.blogspot.com/).

Thanks

"Smackdown Win!

I have now gotten the first races of the season under my belt! I had fun, and had a successful weekend. I traveled with my friend, and fellow racer Amity Elliot. Our trip started off a little late, but after a few direction boo boos we did not arrive at the motel until about 1 am. We had to wake up at 6:30am for the race on Saturday. The motel was a little seedy. For example, after I waded through the crack heads, a drunk guy kept asking me for a metal clothes hanger, but we survived. So onto the races. Saturday was a 30 minute on a .5 mi. circuit rough pavement surface crit at 10am. I checked in and got an ok warmup in, but had to set tempo and launch extra attacks during the race to get my legs going. With about 3.5 laps to go a rider from a team called Tripower (Sally) launched a very good attack, and I was quick to be on it. I looked back and saw we had a gap. I helped maintain the gap for the rest of the laps and then pulled off beside her to have a side by side sprint. I was able to take the sprint which gave me a win in my first race of the season. My friend, Amity, was super strong during the race, but got boxed in. She raced some of the 30+ mens race later in the day to get some extra workout in her legs. Sunday was a 40K TT...well it ended up being around 41.5K. The course was pretty much an out and back course with a tailwind out and a headwind back. Due to a few more direction errors, we arrived late at the TT course, so we only got in about a 15 min. warmup, but despite this my legs started off fine. I got my heart rate right up at LT and was able to hold it. It came to 92% of my max heart rate. I was able to win the TT by 1.5min. I felt good through the TT, and was able to keep a very steady pace with my heart rate only varying a few beats a minute. It was a fun weekend, and I cannot wait to race again."

Rachel

I just wanted to let everyone know that we the Juice Plus+ Women's Cycling Team has their own gallery on http://leister.smugmug.com/   Right now it's just the jersey, but check back as the season goes on and you will see some great pics of the team.

Thanks for your support!

While we were all sleeping on this side of the world, Laura McCaughey of the Juice Plus+ Women's Cycling Team, won the Australian National Championships in the scratch race.

Women's scratch race
By Mal Sawford in Sydney

Tasmanian rider Laura McCaughey of the Juice Plus+ Women's Cycling Team rode the race of her life to upstage her more fancied rivals, including fellow Tasmanian Belinda Goss, to claim the scratch race title. "I can't wipe the smile off my face, it's starting to hurt but I'm so incredibly rapt. It just shows that believing in yourself and backing yourself really works," the elated winner said. "It's the first time I've really done it and thank god it paid off!" McCaughey and Toireasa Gallagher (NSW) slipped away from the field with 13 laps remaining, joined two laps later by Jessie MacLean (ACT) and Josephine Butler (WA).

The opening ten laps were run at a solid tempo, before the first two attacks came from Josie Tomic (WA). Goss lead a group of six soon after the half way mark, but was reeled in with fifteen minutes remaining, setting up McCaughey's counter attack. A fall involving one of the pre-race favorites, Skye-Lee Armstrong (NSW) and Esther Pugh-Uren (Victoria) soon after the winning attack made little difference to the final result, with the combined efforts of Goss, Josie Tomic (WA), Kirsty Broun (Queensland) and Tess Downing (Victoria) not enough to close the half lap gap to the leaders.

McCaughey jumped away from her tiring companions, coming into the final lap and taking the win well clear, with MacLean holding on for the silver medal ahead of Gallagher. The 26 year-old winner is a former state level runner, who turned to cycling after a serious back injury. Coached by Jame Carney, the US track star who has been a regular visitor to the Tasmanian Christmas carnivals, McCaughey said she had gone into the race with "no tactics, just instinct. I wasn't marking anyone, because I know that with a scratch race if you race it ten times you'll get ten different winners."

Good Job Laura!!!  We are very proud of you!!

Team web site:  http://www.juicepluselitecycling.com