Sinead Miller wins Midwest Collegiate Criterium

1st Sinead Miller

Alisha Welsh secures GC at Callville Bay Classic Stage Race

1st Alisha Welsh

Shelley Olds wins Stage 6 of Tour of New Zealand & GC

photo: Pete Bruggeman

Stage 6
1st Shelley Olds

General Classification
1st Shelley Olds USA
2nd Amber Neben USA



Team Classification
1st USA
Congratulations to Janel Holcomb, Jessica Phillips, Shelley Evans, Alison Starnes and Amber Neben and Manel Lacambra for his first GC win for Team USA.

USA National Team’s Shelley Evans has claimed the Women’s Tour of New Zealand overall victory on debut in an International Cycling Union (UCI) ranked stage race. Evans sealed the overall title in emphatic style, winning a 20-strong sprint to claim her fourth stage victory and add another 10 seconds to her winning margin.

Complete Story Here:
CYCLINGNEWS

Ruth Winder (16yrs) wins Snelling Road Race (Cat 3)

Cat 3
1st Ruth Winder (16 years old)
(Ruth has upgraded to cat 2 now)

Yesterday was my first road race of the season, Snelling.
Luckily when the race started at 12:30 the rain had stopped and the sun came out. The roads were mostly dry apart from the huge puddles(or lakes as people were calling them). They had gone down significantly by the time I raced, though it was still like having a bucket of water dumped on you every time you went through one of these puddles.

Going into the race I knew that I wanted to attack and try and get away in a break. I attacked once on the first lap and that was chased down right way. I went with a few attacks but they all came back. The second lap was very uneventful, a few attacks but they all came back. At the start of the third lap I attacked at the crest of the finish line hill, hoping someone would come with me...no such luck. I was caught at the feed zone. It was the longest I have been off the front of a race before, by myself at least! After I was caught I sat in a little and rested. The rest of that lap was a few attacks none stayed away.

Start of the fourth and final lap, I attacked again but didn't have as much luck as the first time and I was brought back right away.
Myself and a few of the other girls tried to get a break. Nothing was going to say away though. There were no teams there everyone was racing for themselves.

Coming up to the finish line it wasn't very fast. I was 4th wheel coming around the last turn I followed wheels and went for it.

Second year in a row I have won Snelling. Last year it was my last race as a 4 this year it was my last race as a 3. I feel totally ready to upgrade to a 2 now. I feel I have proved to myself that I am strong enough to upgrade; attack, cover attacks, help pull on the front, and still win. Hello cat 2 upgrade and big girl scary races!

Ruth Winder





Cat 1/2
9th Katharine Carroll




Get ready for 'Cooking with the Carrolls'

Alisha Welsh wins Calville Classic TT

1st Alisha Welsh

Sinead Miller wins Murray State Collegiate Road Race

1st Sinead Miller

Shelley Evans wins Stage 5 of Tour of New Zealand

Photo: Pete Bruggerman

1st Shelley Evans

A break escaped and team USA led by Neben with 10k to go, drilled it caught them and then set up Shelley for the sprint. Shelley Evans back in yellow. One more stage to go! Amazing team work everyone worked really hard as a cohesive unit.

With just one stage remaining Shelley Evans (USA National Team) looks set to repeat Amber Halliday’s feat of 2009, winning her debut International Cycling Union (UCI) stage race. Evans regained the leader’s jersey by winning today’s stage, taking it off the shoulders of team-mate Amber Neben.

Evans again proved to be the quickest in the final sprint, taking the win from Australian national champion Ruth Corset and China’s Xin Liu (Giant Pro Cycling). It was Evans’ third stage victory at the event, with the 10 bonus seconds on offer putting her six ahead of team-mate Neben on general classification.

Complete Story Here:

CYCLINGNEWS

Lauren Tamayo trains at the UCI World Cycling Center- Aigle Switzerland

Feb 15-25th, 2010

This past week I had the opportunity to travel to the UCI World Cycling Center, in Aigle, Switzerland. After some crazy travel, delayed and missed flights I ended up arriving in Switzerland about 5 hours after my scheduled arrival. I was greeted at the airport by someone from the center, and after a gorgeous drive we arrive. Before the trip started I had no idea what to expect about any of the experience really. I was greeted by some very friendly UCI employees who do an amazing job keeping the Center running in amazing order. I was handed a set of keys, which I later figured out each corresponded to my townie bike, my cage at the track for equipment storage, and for my locker in the locker room. After getting the lay of the land at the track, Ben Sharp met me and we road our townies to where we would be staying for the week. Once you figured out the routine of the Center it was so organized and easy to follow. Nothing was ever out of place.

Our mornings usually consisted of eating breakfast at the dorms, then packing up and heading to the track for a morning roller session. Lunch and dinners were served at the track in the La Velodrome Cafe, so after the morning session we would clean up and then grab some lunch before our afternoon track session. Our scheduled track training was from 2-4pm everyday and we took advantage of every minute on the track. At first it took a bit to get adjusted to the track. This track was unique in distance- 200 meters around and it always seemed to be a little chilly inside. But after a few sessions it now seems like a normal track. That extra 50 meters can make a big difference, but it was definitely fun figuring out how to ride it. We had some great training days both inside and out. I only wish it would have been a little warmer to take advantage of all the beautiful roads that the area had to offer. It seemed there were endless bike routes. In general it was an amazing facility to train at, every detail was thought of for you. We just had to show up ready to hurt and get in some good work. What more could you really ask for when it comes to the training and focus you need to be a top level athlete.
~Lauren

Shelley Evans 5th Stage 3 and 2nd Stage 4 Tour of New Zealand

Photo: Pete Bruggeman

Stage 3
5th Shelley Evans

GC
Ist Shelley Evans

Irene Digenis (Prime Estate Team) won the Women’s Tour of New Zealand’s third stage, just seconds ahead of the peloton that failed to catch her. Behind Digenis, fellow breakaway riders Gayle Brownlee (Handy Rentals Team) and Yvette Hill-Willis (Litespeed Team) rounded out the podium places.

Brownlee followed an attack by Hill-Willis on the second of three laps in Ashhurst, after several previous breakaway attempts had been thwarted by the USA National Team of race leader Shelley Evans. The move was followed by Digenis and Sia Svendsen (Handy Rentals Team), which was a suitable combination for the peloton thanks to the two minute deficit on general classification to the nearest rider.

Complete Story here:

CYCLINGNEWS

Stage 4
2nd Shelley Evans

GC
1st Amber Neben (USA)
2nd Shelley Evans (USA)

The Women’s Tour of New Zealand is the USA National Team’s to lose after Amber Neben time trialled her way to victory on stage four, taking the general classification jersey off her team-mate’s shoulders. Former race leader Shelly Evans (USA National Team) showed she could lay down a respectable time trial over the short 11 kilometre route, finishing 24 seconds behind Neben to put her four seconds down overall.

Complete Story Here:

CYCLINGNEWS

Shelley Evans wins Stage 2 of Tour of New Zealand

Photo: Pete Bruggeman

1st Shelley Evans

Evans and Team USA hold on to yellow jersey.

Shelley Evans (USA National Team) showed she’s going to be hard to beat in the sprint stages at the Tour of New Zealand, taking her second win from as many stages. Evans held off a two-pronged charge from Giant Pro Cycling in the final sprint, which landed Wong Wan Yiu and Liu Xin in second and third places respectively.

Complete story here...
CYCLINGNEWS


Photo: Rob Evans

Shelley Evans wins Stage 1 Tour of New Zealand

Photo: Pete Bruggeman

1st Shelley Evans

Shelley and Team USA and Director Manel Lacambra take Stage 1 of Tour of New Zealand!

American Shelley Evans (USA National Team) spoiled the day for the home team by taking out the sprint from a group of 24 riders that formed a successful breakaway on the opening stage. Evans bested Australian National Champion Ruth Corset (Nashua Ladies Pro Cycling Team) and her teammate Cherise Taylor after taking advantage of a botched job by the New Zealand lead-out train. Evans, previously known as Shelley Olds before her marriage, credited her team for putting her in a good position coming into the finale.

Complete Story Here:

CYCLINGNEWS

Photo: Pete Bruggeman

LAVRA Winter Cup

Omnium
2nd Hanan Alves-Hyde

Tempo
1st Hanan Alves-Hyde
Points
2nd Hanan Alves-Hyde
Match Sprints
2nd Hanan Alves-Hyde

K-Edge Official Sponsor of Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12

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The original one-off K-Edge prototype was used in Kristin Armstrong’s 2008 Gold Medal Ride. It attracted enough attention from the pro cycling world that the new production K-Edge debuted in the Pro Tour peloton at the 2009 Paris-Roubaix.

PURCHASE YOUR K-EDGE HERE!

Shelley Evans by Rob Evans

Report from Qatar - Sinead Miller

The Racing Begins

Hey everyone,

The 2010 racing season is underway and it is already bringing great things. I am now a part of the Peanut Butter and Co./Twenty 12 team, which is a dream come true, and I just raced the Tour of Qatar this past week!! Some big changes have occurred during this off-season for me and I am so excited to see what all 2010 will bring.

Last month was a busy month. I started up at school again, went to training camp, and received the great news that I was invited to race Tour of Qatar with the U.S. Women’s National Team. This race was the biggest race I’ve ever competed in, so of course I was ecstatic when I heard the news that I’d be going. Racing in Qatar also gave me the chance to race with three of my other teammates from Peanut Butter and Co./Twenty 12, Shelley Olds-Evans, Lauren Tamayo, and Kat Carroll. It was awesome being able to race with these women. I learned so much from them just in the short time we were racing together. I can’t wait to see how much I improve and learn over the course of this entire season.

I arrived in Qatar two days before the start of the first stage with the rest of the team. This is when I first met Rob Love, who is now the U.S. women’s team marvelous mechanic/sleep walking extraordinaire. Little did I know, I was soon to learn that Rob Love not only can adjust shifting with precision beyond compare, but he also can keep you entertained for hours with stories about himself fighting in the Vietnam War. I think Rob’s time at war has helped him become a fabulous mechanic. He can hang off of the side of a car going 100 kph while fixing rear brake calipers with no hesitation. This shows real character.

I met the U.S. Women’s National Team director, Manel Lacambra. I had heard of him before because he was the women’s Cervelo Test Team director for the past few years, but that’s all I really knew about him. I got a good vibe from him right away. During this trip Manel taught me so much about racing. He helped me learn where it was best to position myself in the field, especially when the winds were intense. Also, Manel taught me how important it is to work together with my teammates, which proved to make the presence of Team U.S.A. felt during the Tour of Qatar. I haven’t had so much fun at a race since I can’t even remember when. Manel and all the girls on the team kept me laughing constantly, but when it was time to race we all were serious and got down to business.

All of the teams were put up at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha and this was by far the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at in my life. I really enjoyed my furry, Ritz-Carton slippers, as well as my bathrobe. Also, I managed to get a Ritz-Carlton toilet paper cover, which will now be put to use in the bathroom of my dorm at school. I like to keep it klassy.

After a day of getting settled in we were ready to race and stage one came along before I knew it. The first stage was flat and windy, which was basically what the conditions were like every day of the race. The only variation each day was the direction of the wind, but most of the time it was a head cross…or as Manel liked to say, ‘Front lateral, cazzo!’. Stage one didn’t go according to plan for the team. We were not in the front positions at vital points in the race and I unfortunately crashed 45 Km into the stage. Going in to stage one I was way too tense and I needed to just relax. I learned from this though and stage two went much better.

Anyways, the second day of racing went better for everyone on the team and each day we improved as a whole. At the beginning of stage two there was a huge cross wind and it was so important to stay protected and in the draft. I took the advice of my fellow teammates and tried to stay towards the front of the field, which allowed me to make the front group when the field split in the heavy winds. For the remainder of the race some attacks were made, but nothing stuck and the race came down to a field sprint. U.S. team member Lauren Tamayo got a fifth on stage two, which was great. We still wanted to improve though as a team in the third and final day of racing.

Stage three proved to be the most exciting day for our team and every girl on the squad raced tremendously. The third day of racing started with a big head wind. We raced into the wind for about 60 Km and nothing very exciting happened at first. Then, with 40 Km to go in the race we got into the circuits and attacks started going off left and right. Our goal was to work for Lauren and put her in a position to win the stage, so we all did everything we could to cover attacks and try to protect her. With 5 Km to go and only one lap of the circuit left before the finish, the field was together and the race was going to come down to another field sprint. All of the U.S. women did a great job of helping keep Lauren towards the front of the field and Shelley gave her a huge lead-out for the sprint. In the end, Lauren rounded out the podium for the day with a third place finish!! She really delivered an outstanding result for the day and all the U.S. women raced great, especially as a team. It was a very positive way to end the Tour of Qatar and I am so excited to see what more this season has to bring.

Stay tuned for more from the Peanut Butter & Co.TWENTY12 team!!

Sinead Miller

Thanks to Manel and Team USA for making Sinead's first major race experience a positive one!

~ Nicola

CHERRY PIE CRITERIUM

Junior Girls 13-14
2nd Claire Jensen

Junior Girls 15-18
1st Nikka Van Den Dries

Lauren Tamayo 3rd - Ladies Tour of Qatar, Stage 3

3rd Lauren Tamayo
13th Shelley Olds
21st Sinead Miller
Katharine Carroll



IMAGES: Ben Delaney
More images here:
VeloNews

Lauren Tamayo 5th Stage 2 Ladies Tour of Qatar

5th Lauren Tamayo
Sinead Miller
Shelley Evans
Katharine Carroll

Incredible winds shortened today's stage from 107k to 86k and approx 60k into a headwind. The heat was on with 10k to go and Tamayo positioned herself on a good wheel to move up and eventually sprinting for 5th.
Congratulations Team USA, its coming together.