Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 9

Bittersweet

I would have loved to move into the top 20 on the final stage from Sanrico to Bergamo but it was not the end to the Giro Donne that I had hoped for.  Once dropped from the front group on the climb a big group formed out of all the smaller groups behind that were just riding easy to the finish.  It is never nice to finish a tour with a “recovery” ride but looking back at the race as a whole I am happy with how it went.

Ashleigh Moolman finished the final stage in 12^th place and 10^th overall in the general classification.  I moved down a couple of places and finished 25^th overall. 

We headed to the airport straight after the race and then had to kill some time before the flight late at night.  There was a big shopping mall just across the highway from the airport and as it goes with girls the temptation was just too big.  We walked to the shopping mall and then almost missed our flight back to Belgium as we were taking our time enjoying some pizza and fries.  Never a dull moment!

Swan Song of the Giro Donne 2012 - View at the start of the stage in Sanrico



How many things can you find to do with a shopping cart while killing time? 1) Felt a bit like a homeless person having to fly without taking a shower but the shopping cart definitely was the best seat in the house after a long stage waiting for the airport bus 2) Had great sports using the shopping cart when our luggage got too heavy to carry while shopping



Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 8

8 Down 1 to Go!

The stage today turned out to be a good stage for an all-rounder with the climbs on the 3 local laps not being very steep and not very long either.  It was a technical circuit with a lot of corners and downhills that had the bunch strung out for the most part.  The bunch split on the 2^nd local lap and a group of about 55 of us stayed away.  After the local laps the route was flat all the way to the finish.  With an average speed of 45km/h for the last hour of racing hearing that the race had been shortened back to the original distance of 116km was the best news I have received so far here at the Giro Donne.  Trying to go back to the car for bottles in a race this fast is not easy and a puncture at a critical point in the race when the attacks were going off the front did not make things any easier for me.  A break with three of the top riders (Marianne Vos, Judith Arndt and Evelyn Stevens) got away with about 25km to go.  Cherise Taylor just finished outside of the top 10 coming in 11^th.  I finished in the middle of the bunch in 31^st place.

Tomorrow is the final stage from Sarnico, over two category 2 climbs, to Bergamo with a total race distance of 106km.

Me and Cherise after the stage today

The only thing we got to experience passing through Milan was the crazy traffic.  Definitely not the shoe and designer clothing shopping trip you associate with a city like that.

View from our hotel for the last night

Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 7

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta and More Pasta

I am learning so much everyday but the one big lesson I have learned here at the Giro Donne is to never call a stage a Tea Party like I did for stage 5.  Since then it has been full gas racing from start to finish.  Today was nothing different.  The race was over 130km from Voghera to Castagnole Delle Lanze.  Again the stage started extremely fast with a lot of teams trying to get into the early break.  A break of about 10 riders did eventually get away during the first half of the race.  The profile of the route changed from a flat first half to a more rolling and hilly second half with one significant category 2 climb 11km from the finish.  The bunch split a couple of times before about 15 of us, including all the race favourites, got away on a section with rolling hills.  We caught the breakaway just before the climb and several groups formed on the climb and the downhill towards the finish.  Ashleigh Moolman got her 3^rd top 10 finish with a 9^th place today.  I finished in 22^nd place with riders 16th-23rd all 3:43 down on the stage. 

Today was a long day with an hour and a half transfer to the start and another hour and a half transfer after the stage.  We got to the hotel tired and hungry but nothing a massage and yet another huge bowl of pasta cannot fix.  I must say that I am reaching the maximum pasta intake capacity slowly but surely.  Luckily I avoid this dish at all times when not racing.  Really do not know how some of the ladies here eat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We just heard that they added 12km to the original 116km route for tomorrow from Crugnola Di Mornago to Lonate Pozzolo.  It will be another long and hard day of racing.

Voghera Town Square at the start of the stage today

Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 6

The Fast and the Furious 2

Today there was not much time to worry about the heat with the bunch averaging 43.9km/h over the 109km from Modena to Salsomaggiore Terme.  This was the fastest race I have ever done with attacks left, right and centre.  The route was a bit more technical than the previous stages with a lot of turns, traffic circles and traffic furniture.  At no point during the race did any of this slow down the pace.  After letting one rider ride away yesterday the bunch did not want to let anything go today.  At times there were breaks going off the front but it was all brought back quickly by the teams not represented in them.  Cherise Taylor made it 2 top 10 finishes in 2 days with an excellent 9^th place in the sprint to the line holding her own against the biggest names in the sport.  I was badly positioned in the last 2km after covering a move and lost a few seconds in the last kilometre of the race.

Tomorrow the stage starts in Voghera and finishes in Castagnole Delle Lanze after 130km.  The relatively flat first half of the race and hilly second half which includes one category 2 climb should make for some interesting racing.

Fat people and skinny people welcome?  Interesting decor in the hotel lobby.  Strange Italians.

Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 5

Tea Party

When I looked out my hotel window this morning and did not see a hill in sight I was sure that it would be a day for the sprinters.  For a moment at the start of the race I thought that I was back in Belgium between the windy corn fields.  One rider, Tiffany Cromwell, of Team Orica Green Edge got away about 20km into the race and the bunch seemed happy to let her go.  By the look of things the general classification riders were taking a “rest’’ day.  The rider quickly got a huge gap on the bunch which by that time settled nicely into a tea party vibe with people chatting along.  It was only in the last 10km that the pace picked up again when the teams were trying to set up their sprinters.  Cherise Taylor did an amazing job navigating through the treacherous bunch to finish the race in 10^th place.  The rest of the team, including me, all finished in the bunch.  Tomorrow should be another relatively flat stage that starts in Modena and finishes 122km later in Salsomaggiore Terme.

The difference between the after race snacks of the riders and the staff

Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 4

Learning Lessons the Hardest Way

I am getting new max readings on my SRM in the temperature department with the temperature reaching a whopping 45°C today.  It is not getting any cooler here in Italy and the heat is not slowing down the bunch by any means.  The race again started out fast through the first relatively flat 66km.  A break, with no real significant riders, got away after about 30km and the stronger teams went to the front and brought it back before the climb which kept the pace high.  I really needed water and went back to the car which was a terrible idea as the bunch quickly got completely strung out.  I was chasing back and started the climb at the back of the bunch and never could catch back up to the front groups.  So we learn the hard way…  Tomorrow is the flattest stage of the tour.  It is a 119km stage from Polesella to Milonella.

Race Report: Giro Donne Stage 3

And so the climbing begins…

 

I wanted climbing and today that was exactly what I got.  Before a race like this you prepare for how hard you think it will get but you can never fully anticipate just how hard it will actually be on the day.  The stage today covered 124km (77mi) with total elevation gain of 1808m (5,832ft).  Between the start at Vernio Po and the finish at Dei Pepoli there were two categorised climbs and it was always going to be a tough day out.

The race started really fast through the streets of Vernio Po with an average speed of over 50km/h (31mph) for the first 10 minutes.  It was only when we hit the first climb (category 2) around the 27km mark that the pace slowed down.  We went over the top of the climb with a group of about 55 riders.  The second climb (category 1) of the day was where the real damage was done and from there it was only 14km to the finish.  That felt like the longest 14km of my career.  Racing in average temperatures of 39.5°C (103°F) take its toll.  At the end of the stage the time difference between the winner, Evelyn Stevens of Team Specialized Lululemon, and the last bunch out on the road was 41:49.  I finished the stage in 25^th place (riders 17-27 all with the same time) and moved up to 26^th on the general classification.  You always want to do better but I am very happy with that result.  Ashleigh Moolman did a great job finishing 8^th 2:22 behind the winner.

Tomorrow is another climbing day with one category 2 climb after 66km.  The stage starts and finishes in Montecatini.

Giro Donne survival kit (the unhealthy stuff are considered essential to balance out all the pasta)