Radical Does it Again-Report By Maria

Sturbridge Road Race Pro123 4-26-08

Ashley, Erica, Elena and I represented the team in the P123 field. 45 miles, 3 laps. The new course had plenty of climbing and the finish line was at the end of a 3-4 mile climb.

The field was together on the first lap but broke up on the climb. At one point I found myself taking lots of wind up front and Erica jumped in to rescue me right when I needed saving. What a teammate! Our group was about 1/3 of the field on the second lap and included Elena, Ashley and myself. We did a fast rotating paceline to assure no stragglers joined us and maintained our tight little group until the finish line.

The pace throughout the race was challenging. I was happy I left my HR monitor in the car! I wouldn't want to know what numbers were appearing on the little screen. When we hit the final climb I waited for Anna Milkowski or Beth Miller to attack. I knew that they both were amazing climbers and one of them would be first to go. I got on a Terry Bikes girl's wheel as we approached the summit. I wanted to come around her so badly, but I kept repeating "patience, patience, patience" to myself. It was a head wind coming up the climb and Terry girl was tall and a perfect draft. Then, Anna went at around 200m, and a Terry girl followed her immediately. I came around The Terry girl as fast as I could, and made some ground toward the line, but couldn't get them. I almost pulled off 2nd since that racer's chain dropped just feet from the line, but she was far enough ahead that her placement was safe by a good wheel's length.

As a team we did awesome! No question we were the best team out there with 3 top ten finishes. Me in 3rd, Elena in 6th and Ashley in 9th!!!! Amazing team work and presence. :)

Radies on Fire! Grants Tomb Domination

GRANT'S TOMB 3/4 RACE March 15, 2008-
Through Maria's eyes

It was great to be racing with so many teammates in the field and on the sidelines. Radical Media dominated the race from start to finish. We controlled the pace much of the race, put in some beautiful attacks and had every attempted attack by others immediately covered.

On the last lap I jumped on a woman's wheel who seemed determine to win. I wasn't sure if the field was with us or not, so I just focused on staying on her wheel. After taking the final sweeping turn, I realized the pack was with us and I was second wheel. The pack was beginning to swarm around us and I feared getting blocked in, so I powered between the two women in front of me. I wanted so badly to give the team a win, so I went as hard as I could. I figured at any moment someone would nip me at the line, so I continued to give it everything I had until I was way past the line. I WON!!

It was a great win in the 3/4 field. The best part was and we got 4 top 10 places. What an amazing race

Central Park CRCA Club Race-April 12, 2008

Nice shot of Maria after a weekend of hard racing


Sunday, April 13, 2008 Central Park

It was a damp morning with slippery roads. Not the best day to have hill sprints up Harlem Hill. There were a good number of women at the start line considering the weather. Elena, Ashley, Cecelia (she's back!!) and myself represented the team.
The first lap didn't have the hill sprint, but Ann Marie took off on the hill and we all chased her down. On the descent to the second hill (the first hill sprint), there were ambulances on the right and riders and bikes on both sides of the road. Chaos! We all slowed down until the bottom of the hill and I took off early, just wanting to get away from everything and everyone. I ended up giving Sarah a great leadout by mistake! She took first in the sprint and I took 2nd. The following lap had another crash and a bike was in the middle of the road. A few of us shouted to the group about it, but a rider didn't see it and went down. I ended up taking 2nd in most of the hill sprints, Cecelia got us some points on one of the hill sprints and Elena took 3rd in the final sprint. At the line, I got 4th and Cecelia and Ashley were also in the top 10. With all of the points added up from the hills and the finish, Sarah took 1st, I took 2nd and Nancy took 3rd. As a team I believe we not only kept our lead, but also may have increased it by a few points. A scary race, but we all stayed upright and felt we raced well as a team.

Bethel CT It was Maria and Elena all the way!

Bethel, CT. April 13th -last race of the series

I warmed up on the road for a good 25 minutes and then lined up at the start. The pace was steady and the race was pretty uneventful. Lisa did a nice job of jumping to the front on the hill and increasing the pace a bit, but the field wasn't letting anything get away.

I rode on Ann Marie's wheel most of the race and took quite a bit of wind. The goal today was to work hard and have fun. On the last lap I fought other riders for AMM's wheel and on the last climb up to the line managed to stay right behind her. Then Andrea unexpectedly flew by us. I jumped to catch her and almost got AMM at the line. Andrea took the win, AMM took 2nd and I took 3rd. Elena took 6th.

When I went to confirm my placing the promoter told me to stick around for the overall series podium photos. Somehow with my 2nd place last week and my 3rd place this week, I managed to get 3rd overall in the series. It was a pleasant surprise for me. Nice. A trophy and $! Elena got 4th overall in the series and took home some cash as well. A good day for Radical Media in CT!