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The Emma James Diary 2004
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Welcome to one of Cyclingnews' up-and-coming female talents, Australian Emma James. Emma has spent the past two years with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) team based in Italy, and in 2004, she has graduated to a full professional contract, firstly with Team S.A.T.S. and now with Bik Gios. She's a gutsy rider who's decided that she'd rather be testing the waters of professional cycling than testing the salinity of the Sydney's waterways as an environmental scientist - which used to be her previous occupation before Emma decided to take the plunge.
La Primavera Rosa, Italy, March 20, 2004
More grunt required
It was a damp morning, and the waves crashing onto the beach at Varazze had a bit of power in them with stormy weather around. It was dry as we started, and the conditions were not bad for racing. An undershirt and arm warmers were enough to fend off the cold, and the racing keeps your blood flowing!
The pace was high with a tailwind and a solid bunch of about 150 riders. There were some attacks and pressure put on when the terrain got tough along the coast, but any small gaps were pulled back by the AIS and by the momentum of the group.
The major climbs of the day included the Capo Berta at 80 km, Cipressa at 90 km, and finally the Poggio. The speed was high leading up to the first climb still on the coast, and I started further back in the field than I should have. I did not have enough grunt when I needed it and was spat before the final two climbs. While I think more about the racing coming up in Spain, this race story would be best told by my teammate Anita Valen, who finished fifth.
The Basics
(just so I can be sure the basic details get included before I hand over the pen to Anita!)
Halfway up the Cipressa, as she did last year, Zoulfia Zabirova (Let's Go Finland) got a gap and time trialled away from the splintering group. On the descent of the Poggio, Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites Hartol), flew down leaving the rest of the front group behind, and all unwilling to commit to chasing her back as the finishing sprint was just three kilometres away. Oenone settled for third place, winning the bunch kick and retaining the World Cup leader's jersey. A stylish ride by Zabirova for the win, and classy move by Melchers for second.
The Valen Report
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When we came to the first climb on the coast, Luperini attacked and the pace was really high. It seemed like everyone had been waiting for that climb. It was going very fast up there. We had a good gap there with maybe between seven and ten riders (with Susanne and Anita). Like Susanne said she felt she had lactic acid in her arms from the effort with the pace up there.
It bunched up again before the Cipressa. It had been fast before the climbs but it seemed people were too tired to be pushing for position. There were gaps on the side of the bunch. Coming on to the Cipressa I was about 10th wheel, and it wasn't too fast at the start of the climb. Zabirova must have gone about halfway up but I didn't see exactly when she went. I was too focused, you know. On the descent Mirjam led the bunch down, and at the bottom there was a group of eight to ten riders. Even with encouragement from Mirjam, the group didn't seem willing to work - maybe they needed to save something for the Poggio.
The descent was crazy. Susanne slid out on one of the corners. Her bike moving sideways like it was on ice. I was sure Susanne was going to crash but she managed to hold it up. The roads for the descents were slippery, with all the oil in the dark asphalt, not like the roads in Norway. (The roads looked to be recently resurfaced.)
Over the top of the Poggio I was 6th wheel, Mirjam on the front then Oenone. Oenone held the wheel to start with but as the speed picked up coming into the corners the gap opened up behind Mirjam. I was trying to get past the riders in front, but the bends kept coming up too quickly. By the bottom, Mirjam was 100m up the road. Olivia moved up and encouraged Oenone, but we had only three kilometres to go.
I was 10th wheel coming to the second last corner on the inside of the round about and then just tried to use my power to move up position in the sprint. I thought I had fourth, but Regina just came past me on the line. There was a big gap after us. It was a good start to the season with this being the first race of the season after a long winter with skiing, running, weights and spinning. It is good to be back racing again.
