Monday, October 12, 2009
Providence Cyclocross Festival
Sally and Arley headed to the Providence Cyclocross Festival UCI event this past weekend in Rhode Island to take another crack at the New England Verge Series. The weather was excellent with warm temps and dry conditions. Turns out that some of the best women in the world would be competing in Providence, showing us how it is really done.
Sally and Arley both had some traffic to work their way through at the start on both days due to an unusual staging protocol. Off of the start/finish paved section, Arley settled into 8th place. She maintained that position for a little over a lap before succumbing to some breathing issues that have been plaguing her of late, and fell back into a group of 3 battling for 10th place. She was able to ride some wheels in that group for a bit, then jump ahead of the group, catch Amanda Carey (Kenda/Trainwitheric.com), and outsprint her for a 9th place finish.
Sally would suffer a minor crash in a corner due to a noodly wheel, which would set her back a distance that would be difficult to overcome, resulting in a 20th place finish. Sunday would be a much better day for Sally. She negotiated the early traffic congestion at the start to settle into 14th place and hold that position for most of the race. Riding a new front wheel, she was feeling more confident on the course, and rode smoothly. Mid-race, Sally helped her teammate Arley gain back a few positions after she crashed on a sharp turn onto a gravel road. Arley would fall from a battle for 10th place to 14th, but with Sally's help, fought hard and made up enough real estate to finish 12th ahead of Linnea Koons (October Factory Racing).
Arley and Sally are both featured in Cyclingnews.com. Here are a few of the pictures to check out.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/providence-cyclocross-day-2-c2/stages/stage-1/photos/91313
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/providence-cyclocross-day-2-c2/stages/stage-1/photos/91311
Look for Arley and Sally this weekend at Granougue and Wissahickon, MAC series #3 and #4. Looks like a chilly weekend is in store!
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