The Tracey Gaudry Diary 2000The Local East Coast Australian Time is
Tour of the GilaNew Mexico, USA, May 3-7, 2000As I neared the end of the thirteen hour journey to arrive in the Gila region - the area surrounding Silver City, a town in New Mexico named after its historical silver mining days - I wondered what was really in store for us. What could be out here in the middle of nowhere? It had taken three planes and two driving stints to get here (and I was already in the U.S to start with!), and the final flight was on a 12 seater buzz-box with full view of the cockpit and pilot's outlook (that bit was pretty exciting) which lurched and swayed with every gust of wind which blew and blew relentlessly (that bit was more nerve wracking than exciting). After all that travel, I figured the tricky thing to do would be to ride from the to our nearby accommodation before it got dark to 'spin the legs out' before the race started the next day. My little spin turned into a twenty-mile headwind grovel, uphill all the way to Silver City. I arrived nearly in the dark, with my heart in my mouth as road-trains barrelled past me on the interstate highway. Having arrived somewhat dishevelled but sound of mind and body, I was most pleasantly surprised by this traditional New Mexico township where absolutely everyone was most friendly and welcoming, and I learnt the names of five previously unheard of authentic Mexican dishes in my first dinner outing. The popularity of this tour for all categories of male and female cyclists was evident as I saw hundreds of team cars and vans parked at the various motels about town. A good night's sleep and we were in the thick of the Tour of the Gila! Wednesday, May 3, 2000 Tyrone Time Trial, 15.7 miles I'll have you know that there are not many tours which commence with a prologue of considerable distance, so I was happy to read in the race bible that the tour was actually a 15.7 mile time trial. The full range of my gear selection was certainly going to be used today: 39/54 chain rings, with an 11-21 cassette. The course was either uphill or downhill, with galeforce winds buffeting in all directions. I conservatively started in the small chain ring. Within a mile I was already buried in a 39/17 and it wasn't getting any easier - the 21 cog ended up getting a solid work-out! It was a great course, but I was feeling the effects of 2000m altitude, having come from sea-level the night before. My legs and lungs were absolutely screaming - for this amount of hurt, I wanted to be going much faster. I focussed on catching riders in front of me to keep the pressure on and shut out the pain. At the turnaround, I saw I hadn't gained any time on Julie Hanson (Saturn) who had started 30 seconds behind me. I was both crestfallen and impressed to see Mari Holden already hot on her heels, having set off 2 minutes behind me! Now the key to good time trialling on undulating and hilly courses is to ride the climbs steadily, in control, and to punch over the tops to 'get on top of the gear' quickly. This strategy was forefront in my mind, but so far removed from my body's capability that I nearly laughed at myself out loud. Both Mari and Julie passed me on the climb after the turnaround, but I was able to wind up the 54/11 in the tailwind and pass Julie with about a mile to go. Mari's performance was great, and it was now a waiting game to see how Jeannie Longo had fared. Very well indeed, if you look down to the results. All of Timex finished in the top dozen, which was a great start for us. 1 Jeannie Longo 39.14 2 Mari Holden 0.26 3 Julie Hanson 2.26 4 Tracey Gaudry 2.53 ... 9 Odessa Gunn 4.20 11 Kim Smith 4.30Results Thursday, March 4, 2000 Stage 1: 71 miles Today was the first of three long stages, each of them tough. There were no major climbs during the stage, but a long climb at the end, of questionable grade. We wanted Mari to be fresh for the end, so it was planned that we would nullify dangerous breaks and hopefully try to get someone away in a safe move before the end. The altitude had caught up on me, and I felt as if my legs were full of lead. I covered as much as I could, mostly doing short chases while Kim and Odessa deftly went with all the moves. About midway though the race, Odessa broke away with another rider. Five others bridged across. The rest of us maintained an easy tempo and the breakaway gained nearly five minutes. This was a bit worrisome as several strong riders were out there including Sarah Ulmer (Elita) and Andrea Ratkovich (Autotrader), threatening the overall lead. Jeannie Longo rode tempo with us to keep the time gap under control. At the bottom of the final climb the gap was just under three minutes. The climb turned out to be absolutely brutal, my legs protesting severely at the 23 cog I had - I'll know better for next year! Up the climb the breakaway group shattered as did ours. Longo and Mari were away, gradually reeling in the breakaways. The climb was lethal, especially when the distance markers were a mile too short. The '1 Mile to go' sign was actually at two miles, and when you are only doing 8-10 miles per hour, that extra mile was mentally and physically excruiating. Longo attacked Mari up the climb in a fierce fashion to gain some very valuable seconds, and extend her lead. The stage honours though went to Andrea Ratkovich who held off the late attack from Longo. Odessa finished a very promising 6th in the stage. I had lost contact with the lead climbing group at the bottom and came in some minutes behind, happy to make it over the line still on the bike. Friday, March 5, 2000 Stage 2: 73 miles Today's race proved to contain more of the same brutal conditions and terrain as yesterday. We aimed to set Mari up for the two intermediate road sprints to capture some valuable bonus seconds - ten per sprint. I set up to lead Mari out for a sprint just after a corner, only 'just after the corner' turned out to be 1/2 a mile in a block headwind! Job done and that was it for me as I went straight out the back, taking 5 miles to regain contact with the bunch. I was managing okay, until Longo attacked in the feed zone, not the best display of professional racing etiquette. We should have known, as Jeannie had two bidons on her bike today and she mostly always carries only one. At only 20 miles into race, 50+ miles to go, I was in for a long day.I formed a small bunch with Odessa for a while and eventually I settled in with three others as we rode a solid tempo to the finish. I had fun on the technical steep descents, and knew this terrain would have been favourable for Mari as well. It was sooooo windy, we were nearly blown backwards up the long climb after the second feed zone. I found new respect for my 25 cog, when I would normally only have used a 21 on a day like today. That tells the story in itself. I was praying that Mari and Kim were taking the race over up front. I was overjoyed to find that Mari had dropped everyone on the same descent I had had fun on! She rode solo, until Kim Bruckner (Autotrader) bridged across and together they took over four minutes out of the bunch which contained a very frustrated Jeannie Longo. Kim did a great job making sure that no other threats got away or worked to bring the duo back. Kim Bruckner won the stage, and the time they gained placed Mari in the overall lead by more than three minutes - what a stellar effort from them in an extremely gruelling stage!!! Saturday, May 6, 2000 Criterium: 20 laps of 1.08 mile circuit Today was to be a rest day for Mari, unless a late opportunity arose, while we were to keep things under control by going with all the moves and only working in a non-threatening break. The circuit was challenging with a two-part roller coaster climb on the back straight a fast, rough descent on the side straight and a fast rough drag to the finish. Not a bad circuit except for the rough roads. I was feeling better today, going with breaks, shutting dangerous moves down. I used the intermediate sprints to sound out the field and won these as well. Kim and Odessa were really getting into the thick of things and Mari was keeping a solid eye on Longo while also riding good position to seize an opportunity should it arise. The whole team was working really well, until Odessa suffered a mechanical, and retired from the race. She had done a great job until her unfortunate mishap. Today I was actually looking forward to a bunch sprint, if I was able to recover from the last prime I had sprinted for at four laps to go! At just over three to go a severe attack went. I couldn't go with it, but Kim got to there easily. There were now seven or so riders up the road, all major teams represented and given the lateness in the race any time gained would hardly put a dint in Mari's lead. Mari was still watching Longo who had been relatively aggressive throughout the race, staying up near the front and even sprinting for primes on a couple of laps. In the break with Kim were a number of notable sprinters and strong riders including Sarah Ulmer and Tina Mayolo (Autotrader) so she did well to be there. Tina Mayolo won the sprint in the break group to snare the third stage victory for AutoTrader. We rolled across the line in the main bunch with Mari's lead still very safely intact. Sunday, May 7, 2000 Stage 4: 66 miles With a weather forecast of nearly 100 degrees today we prepared for a scorcher, and were surprised to actually have to wear a jacket to the start - the cool air evaporated as quickly as we welcomed it so we were in for the heat and wind again. Today's circuit was the reverse of the course we rode on Friday. I was already pondering over how I would get to the end in one piece, and concentrated on our job to get Mari to the climb in the freshest possible state. We were in good spirits, with Mari still commanded a three-plus minute lead over Jeannie and a long way over the rest of the field.We were all surprised and flattered to walk out to our bikes this morning, finding brand-new 'tour leader' handlebar tape to coordinate with our yellow and green Cannondales today, as a 'yellow jersey' treat! With the peloton realising that today's race would probably come down to a two-woman/team battle, nobody was terribly aggressive or forcing the pace early. Even the competition for the intermediate sprints was pretty low key. The major climbs were late in the stage and everyone appared to be 'saving themselves'. This didn't worry us at all. Then, about ten miles from the bottom of the climb, the attacks from Autotrader started thick and fast. Kim, Odessa and I covered everything, with Kim and Odessa working superbly. If a decent break went down the road, we were looking for Kim to be in it, and just a mile from the bottom our strategy worked and she went away in a break of about six riders. As we hit the climb, they were about twenty seconds up the road. The field strung out quickly as Mari and the climbers put on the pace. Then Jeannie blasted past us all, dropping everyone except Mari. She went again causing Mari to come unstuck. They had just gone past Kim's group. Kim was the saviour of the day, catching back up to Mari, urging her on, helping her to recover and regain her rythm until she could go again. Longo was still gaining time on the tiny chase group being towed by Mari. Kim tired after her outstanding effort and eventually dropped off, her job done. Mari chased Longo frenetically up the climb and the final fifteen miles over roller coaster roads to the uphill finish. Longo won the stage by two minutes in an awesome effort, but the Tour belonged to Mari who had cemented her ground as overall leader two days prior. I had a much better climb today, coming in with the next small bunch. All in all, it was a very successful week for Timex, having started with only four riders. In the lead up to the U.S. Olympic Trials Mari is in great form, Kim has improved to no end and Odessa's injuries are on the mend. I was happy to get through the race after haing been so ill in Williamette a couple of weeks ago, helping out where possible and feeling better towards the end. I'm off to Italy now to train and race with the National Team for two weeks. Timex results from the Tour of the Gila: Results from Stage One: 1. Jeanie Longo (Fra) Ebly 2. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 3. Andrea Ratkovic (USA) Auto Trader.Com 4. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team ... 9. Odessa Gunn (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 12. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team Results for Stage Two: 1. Andrea Ratkovic (USA) Auto Trader.Com 2. Sara Ulmer (NZl) Elita 3. Lysle Wilhelm (USA) 4. Jeannie Longo (Fra) Ebly 5. Odessa Gunn (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 6. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team ... 16. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 24. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team Results For Stage Three: 1. Kim Bruckner (USA) Auto Trader.Com 2. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 3. Tina Mayolo (USA) Auto Trader.Com ... 8. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 21. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 33. Odessa Gunn (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team Results For Stage Four: 1. Tina Mayolo (USA) AutoTrader.com 2. Sarah Ulmer (NZl) Elita 3. Julie Hanson (USA) Saturn 6. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team ... 10. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 19. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 35. Odessa Gunn (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team Results for Stage Five: 1. Jeanie Longo (Fra) Ebly 2. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 3. Kim Bruckner (USA) AutoTrader.com ... 10. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 16. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team Final general classification: 1. Mari Holden (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 2. Jeanie Longo (Fra) Ebly 3. Kim Bruckner (USA) AutoTrader.Com ... 10. Kim Smith (USA) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team 16. Tracey Gaudry (Aus) Timex Women's Pro Cycling Team |
