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The Kimberly Bruckner Journal 2004
Like many top riders, 2001 US road champion Kimberly Bruckner has the Athens Olympics in her sights as she returns to racing after surgery for a soft-tissue tumour in her ankle cut short her 2003 season. With her T-Mobile squad in its second year, her diary this year will document the highs and lows of the US' top women's team.
February 24, 2004: Geelong Women's Tour, stages 2 & 3
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We're staying at the Port Lonsdale Villas out on the Bellerine Peninsula, just about 30k from Geelong. All six girls are staying in one villa, the staff in another. Stacey Peters lucked out this year and took the one bedroom. But she fully deserved it since she was the one that had to sleep on the floor last year. The other five of us are in the upstairs "room". It's like we're living the sorority life all over again. Dede's been awesome and has been making us muffins almost every day. She says she makes muffins for her husband, Michael, and that he eats about 5 a day! I think my husband would shoot me if I left that many baked goods laying around the house.
The Great Britain team is staying at the same villas as us, so we planned to ride over to Geelong for the start of the crit together. Unfortunately, most of us Americans rode over listening to our iPods, MP3, and mini disc players. The Brits probably thought we were the most stuck-up bunch they had ever met! I hope they don't take it personally. I think we were just really nervous for the crit since we were going up against girls that had two months of racing under their legs already. We needed the benefit of music to get our adrenaline going.
When we arrived at the course, we found they had changed the circuit from 1k to 2.5km. Sixteen laps of pain. As Heather, our soigneur, was lubing up our legs with start oil, I couldn't believe it was all starting again. The racing season has truly begun. And even though the crit was tough and made the muscles really burn, I still was having fun. I love what I do! Little breaks formed all throughout the race, but nothing was sticking. It was definitely coming down to a sprint finish. With about 3 laps to go, our team did a good job of congregating at the front in hopes of doing a lead out for our sprinter, Lynn Gaggioli. It was too tough though with girls swarming all over the place and so many teams going for the win. Not surprisingly, Aussies took the top 3 spots of the day. But the T-Mobile girls were encouraged. We're committed to getting this lead out down.
The second stage started at 10:30am the next morning. It was a new circuit from last year....a 15km circuit with a long slightly uphill drag to the finish. The start/ finish line was right along the ocean too. They couldn't have picked a more beautiful site. Bike racing or surfing....hmmm, it was a tough choice. We raced 5 circuits for a total of 75km. And the race was slightly reminiscent of racing in Holland...which for those of you who are familiar with me know that's not my country of choice in which to race!
Well, really it wasn't that bad... just certain stretches when the cross winds coming off the ocean really kicked in and the field was strung out single file. I can't wait to read my SRM file on this one! Amber got off solo at one point in the race, and even though she knew she was a sacrificial lamb, she did a great job of pushing herself through the wind ahead of the field for almost a lap. Unfortunately for her, we couldn't quite muster up the right counterattack once the field absorbed her. It wasn't without trying though. With about 10km left to go, two girls snuck away up the road and got a decent gap. But the Nurnberger and AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) teams were focused on it coming down to a field sprint and pulled the two escapees in.
It was a bit of a sketch finish with everyone jostling in the wind for position. But with a strong headwind, no one wanted to take the risk of jumping off the front. First across the line was über-German, Petra Rossner. Second place was Rochelle Gilmore of the SATS team, and then Oenone Wood of AIS. Petra and I were teammates for two years and that woman never ceases to amaze me. Her teammates did a great job of keeping her at the front at the finish, and you know that if Petra's going for it, she's going to take the win. Enough said.
Just one more day to go in the Tour and we've got the longest, hardest stage ahead of us. Last year we heard from one of the race directors before the start of the stage that girls would be walking up the climb. We told the guy, "You must not know women's cycling very well!" But of course we were proven wrong. Girls did in fact walk up this climb. So we're geared up and ready to go for tomorrow.
Stage 2 results
Stage 3 results
Until then!
Kimberly
