The International (Tour de Toona) : Altoona, Pennsylvania 2002

The time trial was held along a gradual uphill road which climbed approximately 800ft over 5km. The humidity was really high with temperatures in the 90's (30C), and after adding a solid headwind, the 5km felt really tough.

I warmed up well, lifting the heartrate several times so I was opened up at the start. I went out at about 90% and tried to lift the pace towards the end. I finished 1min 10sec down on the winner Manon Jutras (Rona), putting me in 31st position on GC.

Ann Marie finished 1min 22sec down, whilst the other team members finished around 1min 30 to 2mins down.

Tuesday 28 July, 2002
Stage 1: Johnstown Circuit Race - 120km	40km	Conditions:

Today's course was a 40km undulating loop that had a gradual QOM at about the midway point of the loop. It was a gradual climb that could be climbed in the big ring. I got into a number of attacks but none of these lasted more than a few km's. I missed a break in the 2nd lap, when a group of 9 got away, but strong chasing by Trek soon brought the field back together in the final loop, to set up a field sprint for Laura Van Gilder (Trek).

The final 5km of the course are very technical with the course weaving its way through rough narrow streets. It was imperative to be up near the front to have a chance at a top ten place. With 3km to go, Nicole Freedman (Rona) took an inside corner and as she wiped out, Laura Van Gilder (Trek) and Susan Sonya (Saturn) tumbled over the top of her in a spectacular crash. I managed to dodge through the carnage, and get back into the remains of the peloton. Amy Jarvis (Rona) attacked at the 2km mark and I went with her. We gained 5 seconds on the field but we were swarmed with 1km to go. I jumped back into about 20th spot and at 500m the sprint started. I gained a couple of places to finish in 16th position, while Julia Farrell finished in 14th place. Hiroko Shimado and Ann Marie Miller got caught behind the crash but chased back on to finish with the peloton. Erinne Willock was also stopped by the crash but combined with an asthma attack, she lost a minute or so on the peloton. Julie had a tough day, and after losing contact with the peloton somewhere in the 2nd lap, had to a long ride alone but made the time cut.

There was no change to my GC position and Manon Jutras (Rona) remained the tour leader.

Wednesday 29 July, 2002
tage 2: Johnstown - Altoona Road Race	160km	Conditions: Hot and Humid

Today was one of the toughest stages I have ever ridden. We started at 1pm with temperatures hovering around 95F. The humidity was so high that we were sweating before we even started.

I spent 30 minutes on the trainer to warm up as the profile showed a 7 mile climb only 1 mile from the start line and I knew it was important to get any soreness from yesterday out of the legs. I also put new look cleats on this morning and our mechanic commented on how they appeared to be about 1.5cm too far from the ball of my foot. We moved them forward 1.5cm and as they felt okay, I nervously decided to race 160km in the hills with this new cleat position. Secretly, I prayed I would be able to walk when I got to Altoona and knew it was risky to try out a new position during a tour.

We climbed at a steady pace up the first climb, with the peloton splitting over the top. About 15 of us had a 30 second gap on the peleton but it was a long day, so we sat up and let the peloton regroup. Julie lost touch with us on this first climb and did 60 miles alone before she got in the car at the feedzone. She wasn't the only casualty so early in the stage, with a number of riders struggling with the hills and heat.

It was so hot that I had drunk my first bottle in the first 12km and the second one by the 20km mark. Fortunately, we were able to drink at any time, so Ann Marie, Julia and Hiroko took it in turns to go back to the car for water. At about the 25km mark, Erinne flatted and with the strong headwinds and hills, couldn't get back to the peloton. Hiroko dropped back to pace her back on, but after going about 1km behind the caravan couldn't find her and had to give up and chase back to the group. Erinne rode to the next feedzone and decided to pull out.

Only minutes later, Ann Marie's tyre exploded and after a fast front wheel change, Ann Marie was chasing hard through the caravan. At almost the same time, I chased a Rona attack and got into a break of 8 riders. The break was well represented and it was a hard decision to work and establish the break, knowing it may cause the field to chase and hamper Ann Marie's chances at getting back on. The girls in the break weren't working well together and soon we were back in the field and Ann Marie made it back.

The pace became slower and slower as the heat took its toll. Heather Albert (Goldies) rolled off the front on one of the many climbs and everyone watched her go, without attempting to follow. We all thought she was crazy to try to ride 130km on her own. The field continued on at a slow to steady pace, climbing one hill after another.

Unfortunately, Julia lost touch with us after the first QOM, leaving Hiroko, Ann Marie and I in the peloton. The 2nd QOM was situated at the 125km mark, and both Rona and Saturn attacked at the bottom. The peloton was strung out into a single line as we hit the 7km climb. The gradient varied from 10 - 15% and with the humidity, the sweat was pouring off us as we climbed. The peloton split to pieces up the climb and Hiroko, Ann Marie and I ended up in the 2nd group, containing about 18 riders.

The profile showed a few small climbs to the finish, but the organisers had grossly underestimated these small climbs. We had 10km of brutal hills with gradients exceeding 15%. We were almost zig zagging up the road trying to maintain momentum. We rolled into town, over 8 minutes behind Heather Albert (Goldies), who had done an amazing solo effort, taking over the yellow jersey.

I moved to 28th on GC. I really liked the new cleat position and think it made my pedalling stroke far more efficient. Our masseur gave us a really firm massage to clean out the legs and then I collapsed into bed, with my whole body pulsing with fatigue.

Thursday 30 July, 2002
Stage 3: Hollidaysburg Circuit Race	96km	Conditions:

I felt remarkably good today. I warmed up for 20mins on the trainer and felt great. I decided today I wanted to get into a break. The course was a 32km technical undulating loop, with a 1km climb to the QOM, situated in the last 5km of the loop. The course meandered through narrow roads, over bridges, through cornfields and felt very European with its technical twists and sharp turns.

The attacks started thick and fast in the first lap. I sat on Sandy Espeseth (Boise) and I went with every attack she made. After the first lap, we were all back together but there had been a number of small attempts to get a break formed. About 2km into the 2nd lap, a well-represented group of 7 got a gap on the peloton and their respective teammates were suddenly all over the road blocking, and slowing the peloton down. I was kicking myself for having missed this break. I moved up to the front and watched in frustration as the break rolled away. I stayed on the front for another km and then as we hit a particularly steep little hill, I climbed it hard and then kicked down the other side and put a gap into the field. Once I saw the gap, I put my head down and never looked back.

The break had 2mins on me when I started chasing, and I was hoping they wouldn't work too hard together, so I could bridge across to them. I had a cross headwind, but managed to hold 40km/hr and soon started to reduce the time gap. After 20km of chasing, I reached the QOM which was only 5km from the start/finish line, and was only 20sec behind the break. I could see the caravan and knew I was almost there. However, the break accelerated over the QOM and the start/finish line as the girls sprinted for QOM and sprint points and they lengthened their lead to 50 seconds.

I maintained a 1min deficient for another 30km and then my legs started to cramp as I hit the QOM for the final time. I went as hard as I could over the final 5km and finished a little over 2mins behind the break in 8th position, with Laura Van Gilder (Trek) winning the stage. The peloton finished over 4mins behind me, which moved me up into 18th position on GC. I was disappointed that I wasn't strong enough to bridge across to the break, but happy that I had moved into the top 20.

After my 60km time trial, my legs felt pretty trashed. As soon as we got back to Blue Knob Resort where we are staying, I kicked my legs in the pool, and then suffered a painful massage to clean out the legs. I ate as much as I could physically stuff in and then headed to bed. I woke up at 4am for another meal and then managed to sleep for another 5 hours.

Friday 31 July, 2002
Stage 4 - Martinsburg Circuit Race	128km	Conditions:

Today, my body felt generally tired but my legs were pretty good. I can thoroughly recommend Eric Carlson (our masseur) who does an awesome job at repairing my tired body.

The Martinsburg circuit race consisted of 4 laps of a 32km loop with sprint points at the start/finish line on laps 1, 2 and 3. We started at 10.30am today, but it was just as hot and humid as every other day this week. The peloton was feeling the heat and we started out slowly. In fact, we were so slow that the category 3 & 4 men caught us, so the commissaire neutralised us for 10 minutes whilst they went past. Our peloton took this opportunity to have a 'group pee' and refill our water bottles.

I was still keen to get another top 10 result and so I hovered around the front of the peloton and got into a few breaks, but nothing substantiated. At the end of each lap, the peloton was strung out as we came into town for the sprint. The course turned into a technical criterium course, weaving left and right through a number of streets.

Julia crashed heavily and bent her back derailleur of her Cervello on the 3rd lap. She decided against taking one of Pedro's spare bike and pulled out of the tour, reducing our team to 3 riders.

I finished 11th in the bunch sprint, while Laura Van Gilder (Trek) won the stage. There was no change to my GC position.

Saturday 1 August, 2002
Stage 5 - Altoona - Blair county Road Race	150km	Conditions: hot and humid

Today was a really tough day. We started just after 8am, so it was a huge struggle to drag ourselves out of bed at 5.30am, after sleeping in until 9am most days.

The weather continued to be really hot and humid, and even at 8am it was uncomfortably warm. We had three QOM climbs today. The first climb was 10km and reached 3,000ft in altitude, climbing over the top of the Blue Knob ski resort.

Rona attacked aggressively in the first 100m and the field was strung out in a single line for the first 30km, as one attack after another went up the road. I felt tired today and kept eating and drinking to make the most out of what was going to be a tough day. A number of riders were dropped during these early attacks, including Ann Marie who after experiencing back problems, decided to pull out. This reduced our Verizon Wireless-Cervelo team to only two riders, Hiroko and I.

Manon Jutras (Rona), Susie Pryde (Talgo) and a Trek rider slipped away at the 40km mark. Within 5km, we heard on the radios that Manon was alone and the other two riders were soon back in the peloton. I can only guess that she counter-attacked them and wanted to ride away solo. Manon quickly put over 2mins 30sec into the peloton, before flatting which reduced her lead to about 2mins.

Boise were not content to let Manon go, as Espeseth's and Goldstein's (Boise) overall positions were threatened, so they were on the front, driving hard to the first QOM. I sat in about 10th wheel and enjoyed the free ride. My legs felt heavy and I was dreading the 10km climb. As Manon was still away at the foot of the climb, the pace was hard as the peloton hit the climb. I stayed with them for about 1km and then started to struggle. I found my own rhythm and went as hard as I could. On the descent, I could see 5 riders regrouping about 1km in front of me. I descended really fast, but still in control and caught them by the bottom. A Trek rider about 50m in front of me, misjudged one of the corners and wiped out across the road, landing in a dusty heap on the edge of the road. I heard she finished the stage but was a little battered.

Our chase group was 4mins down on the main field which was reduced to 18 riders, and although we worked steadily we were unable to catch them. The next QOM was situated at the top of 2km of rough gravel road. It was too steep to stand and it was hard to maintain any momentum whilst seated. The 3rd QOM at the 130km mark, was easy in comparison, with a two lane highway leading up a gradual 5km climb. The final 20km were relatively flat which was lucky, as my lower back was aching from all the hard climbs.

I finished 22nd today and maintained my 18th position on GC. Hiroko finished 26th and has now moved to 23rd on GC, up from 31st. A break of 4 including Heather Albert (Goldies), Jessica Phillips (Saturn), Maria Calle (Talgo) and Leah Goldstein (Boise) escaped after the first QOM and stayed away until the finish. Albert (Goldies) won the stage, from Phillips (Saturn) and Calle (Talgo). Albert continues to hold the yellow jersey by 8mins 41sec.

We met two Verizon Wireless directors after race, who were able to experience first hand, how fatigued we look after suffering for 4.5hrs in the hills. They were filled with admiration and amazement as we began our post race recovery and stuffed food and Gatorade down our throats without any concern for table manners.

Only one stage to go - I can wait - humidity and heat are wearing me out.

Sunday 2 August, 2002
Stage 6 ­ Altoona Criterium	50km	Conditions: 95°F

The women raced at 3pm in 95F heat. After yesterdays epic stage, the peloton looked tired and happy that this was the last stage. The course was a mile long with a short uphill climb and 7 left and right turns, making it a fast and technical loop. There were time bonus seconds every 5 laps which caused many attacks from Trek, Goldies and Diet Rite but Boise worked hard to close these down to safeguard Leah Goldsteinšs and Sandy Espeseths (Boise) overall GC positions.

Eventually, Sarah Konrad (Defeet/Cycles de Oro) attacked and the peloton let her go. She went on to win by about 19 seconds, with the field coming in for a bunch sprint behind her. I attacked weakly with 1 lap to go, but the legs just didnšt have the kick and the peloton were right on my wheel. I rolled over the line with the bunch, feeling content that I had secured 18th position on GC. Another rider pulled out today, which moved Hiroko up to 22nd on GC while Heather Albert (Goldies) won the tour with a margin of over 8 minutes.

It is now time to pack up and fly home to Australia in preparation for the State Championships, Club Nationals, followed by a well-deserved rest.