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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.
Warming up for a chilly world cup
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, March 24-26, 2004
This three day tour in Spain is a good lead up to the world cup round here. We are racing at about 700m, so some people feel the effects and difficulty of racing at moderate altitude. The Castilla region is in the north, not too far from Madrid. As we drove in from France, passing San Sebastian and Bilbao it was raining and cold at the base of the Pyrenees. A couple days later other teams were stopped there with snow falling on the motorway, and a snow plough having to clear the road!
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We were staying in a hotel on the side of an autostrada in a town called Tordesillas, not far from Valladolid. The wind was incredibly cold and strong. Digital signs on the motorway warned of moderate winds - but they are anything but moderate! I have decided (as a novice to all this European cold weather stuff) that it is all about how strong and damp the head wind is as to how much it makes it miserable to be on the bike! The low temperatures are not so much of a problem with a tail wind or sheltered behind buildings or just being outside for a couple minutes going to a warm parked car. But you can not imagine what an Australian has to wear to handle riding in a strong head wind, blowing off snow for a couple of hours when the chill has time to seep into your core. Sara Symington, my British team mate at SATS, has adopted the beautiful black skull cap beanie thing, 'head gear', that we were given in Copenhagen. It does wonders for keeping the head warm - but as I discovered in one stage, it is impossible to take off without removing your helmet, and you have to choose between keeping your ears warm, and being able to hear anyone talking to you. I opted for leg warmers each day - feeling like a wimp along side all the Dutch riders (and almost everyone else) who felt bare legs were the go. I love the temperature control with gloves on or off, and arm warmers for similar reasons. Undershirts have become essential kit - and I am looking forward to summer when I can box all this stuff and go back to jersey and shorts like in Sydney!
Stage 1 - March 24: Valladolid-Valladolid, 78.5 km
The first stage was a debacle for me - I think I finished 160th, but did not contest the fight for 130th place with the Russian who took off in the last two kilometers to get an eight second lead on our laughing group. Nor did I assist the American Basis riders who were keen to chase her in a hang over from the cold war rivalry! The stage had a small climb, but the crosswinds after the descent were where it all broke up. A group of 16 got away including SATS riders Anita Valen and Susanne Ljungskog. Anita punctured and was not given service until the chasing group had got to her (just under a minute behind). The front break was caught towards the end, in the last few kilometres. Rochelle finished third behind two riders from Safi-Pasta (former AccaDueO team) in Regina Schleicher and Giorgia Bronzini. Susanne was unlucky with a crash in the last corner, but was not hurt too badly.
Stage 2 - March 25: Toro-Zamora, 123.8 km
The next day I felt I was finding my legs, riding strongly at times - but still not climbing well. We had a beautiful descent into a deep gorge, with a bridge crossing before climbing out again. I was in the second group chasing, and was surprised it came back together with around 20 km to go. Kate Bates (Tom van Bemmelen) and Anouska van Derzee (Farm Frites Hartol) got away in the final ten kilometers of the stage and managed to hold off the chasing group by 17 seconds. Kate took the stage, but Anouska took the leader's jersey (from a count back to minor placings on the previous day). In the bunch kick for third there was another nasty crash in the final kilometer on the other side of the bunch from me. I was looking to help my team in the head wind before the final bit of the sprint, but it was chaotic and hard to coordinate.
Stage 3 - March 26: Zamora-Salamanca, 104.3 km
The final day, I began to feel comfortable with the racing. I had to get rid of my jacket and gloves 10 km into the stage as the temperature picked up to 15 degrees, and the racing really warmed up - even in the neutral zone! Rochelle was caught up in a crash, still in the neutral, as someone behind ploughed into her, just as she had managed to stop behind riders held up at a narrow section leading off a bridge. The pace was on from the gun in the cross winds, and it was hard work ensuring our team were well placed and just keeping the speed and holding the wheel of the rider in front in the strong cross winds. I was impressed by the Farm Frites riders who seemed to be doing heaps of work controlling the front of the group and maintaining the pace for much of the race. We got on to a nasty small rough road. The speed was not high into the cross-head wind, but the road took all your energy. I was in my smallest gears, but working hard. I hid as much as I could, knowing I would need my energy later. We were approaching a descent just before a one kilometer climb, but a crash split the field. A couple girls were badly hurt, and at the time it looked even more serious. We continued and began the climb with the team cars coming from behind. I chased back to the main group with Zabirova, Luperini and a few others. Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites) and Trixi Worrack (Nurnberger) had attacked and quickly got a gap of about half a minute. I was recovering from getting back to the group, and it did not look like teams were interested in working to pull Melchers back. A bit later the pace was being slowed by at least four Farm Frites riders, and the gap blew out to more than one minute, still with 20 km to go. I rode hard down a descent, but as soon as I eased up in the strong head wind, the only riders around me were Farm Frites, and all of them blocking aggressively. We tried to get support from other teams to get five or six people to contribute to the chase but everyone must have been thinking about the world cup in a couple of days and realizing we had left it too late. Anita and Suzanne drove it along one section - and I tried to help! - but it came to blows with Farm Frites, and seriously nothing short of pushing us into the gutter. As we approached a climb towards the end Sara Carrigan (Australia) had a go but the bunch stayed together. With about four kilometers to go Vicky Pincombe (Great Britain) got a gap, but she was reeled in the final corners for the final sprint for second place. Melchers had ridden well to finish nearly two minutes ahead and take the tour.
Rest day
We had a rest day staying in a beautiful four star hotel just outside Salamanca. I was lucky to have a Dutch friend Giel who acted as guide for a ride in the morning with the Fanini team, and he also showed me all the magic spots in the old town center that afternoon. Salamanca has a beautiful old center and lively mood from the 70,000 students at the university. The recent restoration of stone work on the huge gothic cathedral entrance now includes an astronaut! The well trodden path for hardworking students between the library and university passes a building where the ornate stone facade includes a frog sitting on top of a skull. It is said to be lucky (for your studies) to find the frog - as it suggests you have gone to the library a few times at least! The Plaza Major was cold but the chairs were set up outside the cafes and student buskers were dressed up, wandering through the old town and playing guitar in real Spanish style. I believe the reports that in summer it is packed with students, locals and tourists soaking up the amazing atmosphere until two am. Salamanca was a great place to recover a little from the headwinds of the tour and prepare for the world cup round the following day.
GP Feminas Castilla y Leon world cup
Daylight saving brought the race time one hour earlier over night, so the start just before 11am seemed early. It seemed way too early as the snow falling outside my bedroom window started to collect on the garden below! Now I was scared. More clothes came out than during the tour (adding booties, a Spanish scarf thing I bought the day before, two thick undershirts, two pairs of gloves, and a long sleeve jersey on top of normal jersey and arm warmers.) No wonder I found the climb tough with all that extra weight! I didn't take much of it off either! After a fair bit of procrastinating in the car, I kitted up and joined the riders rolling around the plaza, and we then were led down to the circuit and the racing began.
The first couple laps were fast, but I didn't notice it too much. I was just amazed by the conditions, the clothing, the circuit, and everything else. It was 4 degrees, but it didn't seem half as cold as I thought it would be, and definitely better snowing lightly than if it had been raining! There was a bit of action with attacks from Farm Frites riders, small groups getting little gaps and towards the end anticipation that Mirjam Melchers might be ready to launch something as a counter to one of her team mates' moves. Each small move was brought back with the group strung out and the speed high for a bit, but you sensed the peloton would still be together for the final approach to the sprint. The 10km circuit had a little rise (50m) from the bridge over the river up into town with about two kilometers to go. A roundabout just before the little drag meant that you lost a fair bit of speed approaching it, and it was not far from there along a main road leading down to the final last sweeping corner and final 500m. The finishing straight looked great with barriers down each side and a heap of enthusiastic Spanish supporters out - in nasty conditions! The road surface was not great with strategically placed potholes and sewer grates that had me worried about damaging my wheels when all my focus was staying stuck to the wheel in front.
On the final time over the bridge an Italian national team rider got a gap but was caught at the round about. On the final climb Olivia Gollan led it up at a good pace, putting pressure on the true sprinters. Suzanne led Rochelle out, but the win went to the German National Team rider Angela Brotka. Oenone Wood (Australia) was second, Mirjam Melchers (Farm Frites) third and Rochelle Gilmore (SATS) was fourth, Susanne Ljungskog (SATS) sixth.
It is good to be settling in to the racing, and getting ready for a strong season with a solid year of racing ahead in the next six months through until October!
