17th Hewlett Packard LaserJet International Women's Challenge - 2.9.1

USA, June 8- 18, 2000

Stage 4 - June 11: Rupert - Pomerelle Road Race, 56.4 mi/90.2 km

Anna Wilson's report

Today was a 26km time trial on a flat, out-and-back course. The main interest of the day was whether Jeannie Longo would be able to take 23 seconds out of Diana Ziluite to take over the leader's jersey of the tour. In the end, Jeannie won the time trial in a time of 31 mins and 43 seconds. Her time was 29 seconds better than Ziliute's and so she is now in the lead by just 6 seconds. The tour is getting exciting!!

Mari Holden was second in the time trial in a time of 31:53 and I was third in 32:07. I was really happy with my time. It means I am now in third place overall, 1 min 33 seconds behind Longo. Clara Hughes and Lyne Bessette also had good time trials and they are 7th and 10th overall respectively. So our team is in a great position and we now have 6 days of flatter racing where our team can start to do some damage. We are looking forward to that!

Tracey Gaudry's report

Markedly different from last year, the time trial was dead flat, out and back. Hence the only way to go was flat out, out and back! Perfect for those on form. I was relying on strength and endurance, with little energy reserves to recruit power and speed. I had a good 'rabbit' to chase, with Tina Mayolo starting one minute ahead of me. I had thought that the side tail wind was on the way out, but found it really hard. It was a slight uphill drag and so I was thankful on the turnaround to find it faster on the way home, so that confirmed why it hurt so much for the first half. I resolved to suffer with the continual pain in my quads and glutes all the way home with no fire power but maintaining a steady, somewhat bogged down rhythm. I caught Tina with just over 5km to go and continued to drive hard to finish in a time of 33 minutes 27 seconds. I finished 14th overall. I was happy that I had put in the best effort that I could, given the complete lack of fire power I have right now.

Meanwhile the real race was going on behind me, with fast times by the Top 10 GC riders being crucial to their overall positions. Longo won by only seconds from Mari, at a time of around 31 minutes 50 seconds (not confirmed). Longo's time has put her in the overall lead, overtaking Diana Ziliute. Anna Wilson also had a great ride and was able to put some time into Kim to move up into 3rd overall. Kim had a great ride, having improved so much this year and we're wrapt that she has a comfortable hold on 4th overall on GC, while Mari has moved up to 5th overall.

Autotrader.com report

The temperature today was in the 60's with little wind, and the course was 15 miles FLAT out and back. The AutoTrader.com team was feeling feisty, and we were all eager to turn in fast times. We did quite well considering the course wasn't particularly suited to us as we are climbers. Andrea was 31st with a 34:30, Kimberly 36th, Tina 44th, Pam 45th, Julie 51st, and Laura was 90th. Poor Laura was really feeling the after effects of her crash two days earlier; it was nearly impossible for her to stay in her TT position due to the excruciating pain in her tailbone. But, as usual Laura was a trooper and turned in a decent time of 37:04. Jeannie Longo rode an impressive time of 31:43 with Mari Holden hot on her heels in a 31:50. Anna Wilson rounded out the top 3 with a 32:07. Suzy Pryde of Saturn rode really well despite breaking a rib in yesterday's crash. She rode a 35:21 and placed 59th. We all got new Rudy Project time trial helmets but were unable to wear them due to USCF regulations. It was very cool trying them on, though, and checking ourselves out! We are looking forward to wearing them in the Tour de Feminin in France later this summer.

Karen Kurreck's report

Today was a 15 mile flat out and back TT. The wind was lighter than it has been but it seemed to pick up a little during the time I was warming up. It seemed to be a cross headwind on the way out and cross tailwind on the way back. We raced in Burley, which is at an elevation of 4000 feet so it is lower than where we have been racing but still not quite sea level. I could have used a few more oxygen molecules! The weather was cool and we had a light on and off rain. Not a good combination for my already irritated lungs. SOme of the race favorites had a little bit of help from the media motorcycles surrounding them from time to time, but that seems to happen a lot in TTs. I guess you have to earn the right to be a favorite!

Longo won the TT and took over the leader's jersey from Diana by 6 sec! I think it will be tough for her to hold on though because of all the time bonuses on the hotspots and the finishes. Diana is a much better sprinter than Jeannie and also has a stronger team. I was 6th, which wasn't too bad but not too good either. I moved up a few spots on GC to 14th.

An interesting note on the crash yesterday - it was caused by a rider talking on her radio with one hand and hitting a bump and losing control of her handlebars with the other. It is the cyclist's version of talking on a cell phone while driving. And the UCI thinks crashes are caused by handlebar extensions.

Karen's and Autotrader.com reports courtesy of racereport@vcnet.com