Ritchey Design - Blogs

United Healthcare Pro Cycling - Team Camp

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:31 PST

Ritchey has been a proud sponsor of the United Healthcare Pro Cycling Team since the beginning. We recently had the opportunity to join the team at their training camp in Thousand Oaks, CA. The team is riding Ritchey Handlebars, stems, seatposts, TT bars and new to 2011 they are riding and racing on Ritchey saddles.

Here's a few photos from the weekend:

The team rolling down the coast

(Photo credit: Jonathan Devich)

Robert Forsters Bike
1 Win and 4 total podiums in the 2011 Tour of Langkawi

Cluster of Saddles within the mechanic's grasp

(Photo credit: Jonathan Devich)

Max Jenkins choose our WCS Ti Streem Saddle

Scott Zwizanski is riding a WCS Contrail Saddle, WCS Logic Curve Bars and a WCS 4-Axis Stem

Sean Coffey and Tom Ritchey getting ready for the Sponsors Ride
(We rode the Tour of California's Thousand Oaks Circuit with the team)

Tom snapping a "selfy" on the ride

Team Director Mike Tamayo addressing the crowd at the team presentation

(Photo credit: Jonathan Devich)

Great video from the ride. In the video you'll see Tom climbing next to Brad White.

Omega Pharma Profis optimieren im Windtunnel Ihre Position auf Ihren Canyon Rädern mit Ritchey-Komponenten.

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:31 PST

Wir waren am 27. Januar bei Drag2Zero im Windkanal von Mercedes GP. Ich muss zugeben, wenn ich die ganze Infrastruktur und den Fuhrpark des Formel 1 Teams sehe werde ich richtig neidisch. Da denkt man immer, man betreibt richtig viel Aufwand aber im Vergleich dazu schaut es im Radsport direkt ärmlich aus. Da stehen 12 Trucks mit einer Ausstattung wie wir nicht einen haben. Aber gut, die haben auch ein Vielfaches an Budget. Ich war jedenfalls froh das wir dort Gäste sein durften.

Das Ergebnis ist auch sehr gut. Ich dachte nicht, dass wir noch so viel Verbesserungspotential hatten. Und wie so oft sind es die kleinen Dinge die den Unterschied machen. Wenn man zum Beispiel die Handgelenke etwas überstreckt dann ist das deutlich besser für die Aerodynamik und der Helm sollte immer auf dem Rücken anliegen. Ansonsten kann man nichts verallgemeinern da jeder Körper anders ist und von der Luft unterschiedlich umströmt wird.

Die 3 Fahrer waren jedenfalls sehr zufrieden. Die haben ja schließlich auch 2 Tage ihrer knappen Zeit investiert und bin ich auch immer froh wenn es sich rentiert hat und das ist hier definitiv der Fall. Jetzt liegt es an den Fahrern sich auf die neuen Positionen einzustellen und damit zu trainieren um das ganze auch in messbare Ergebnisse umzusetzen.

Außerdem war unser Kamermann mit in England und hat es geschafft, ein paar Bilder zu schießen – das war nicht so einfach, weil eigentlich auf dem gesamten Gelände absolutes Filmverbot herrscht. Viel Spaß mit dem Film:

Tom Ritchey, In His Own Words

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:31 PST

Chris Kostman recently posted a great article/interview with Tom Ritchey on the RoughRider's Blog. The article answers many questions about Tom's history of frame building (fillet-brazing & TIG welding).

Questions asked and answered include these and more:

Tom, did you build any TIG-welded frames yourself?

What else can you tell us about the origins of TIG-welding in relation to frame-building?

How many, if any, lugged frames do you think you have built ,and how and why did you make the shift to fillet brazing?

The full article can be found here: Tom Ritchey, In His Own Words.

This is a great interview that has sparked some very interesting comments, such as:

Guitar Ted from TwentyNineInches.com
"Great post, Chris, and thanks for sending me the link. I enjoyed this thoroughly. Tom has amazing talent and what a prolific builder! That part still blows me away."

Owen W.
"Because of that cover story in the spring of 1981, I ordered my custom Ritchey a couple months later. It cost more money than I had to my name, but I had a new job for a non-profit overseas. I had the bike shipped to me in Thailand. It arrived in early Spring '82. I rode it for the next 30 years in Asia, until it was stolen a few years ago. I'm still in denial -- and still looking for an 80-82 built replacement.

LOVED the Interview. Very well done. Thanks for posting it."

Mark Manson
"Great article. One of the coolest racing bikes in existence is the one Tom built for his father in 1974. Thought-provoking, minimalist, purpose built. A stunning example of his pure design brilliance. "

Ed Felker
"thanks for this. I have a '95 Toyo-made Ritchey Logic that I just had
refurbished, I love that bike so much I'll never sell it and I get
lots of compliments on it."

Special thanks to Chris Kostman and the Rough Riders Blog for interviewing Tom and documenting this info. We are very proud of our history here at Ritchey and it's great to read these great comments and see the excitement outside of our doors.

Yet Another Happy Break-Away Bike Owner

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

Recently, we received an email from Robert Unger to tell us how much he loves his WCS Ti/Carbon Break-Away Road Bike. It seems he does quite a bit of traveling with it, racing (and winning!) and has even moved it from "travel bike" status to "go-to bike" for everyday riding/racing.

He tell his experience and love for the bike below:

I love to take my bike with me when I travel and thus over the years I have had a number of travel bikes—an S & S mountain bike, a Bike Friday, and a couple of other 20” wheel bikes. They all work, but provide limited satisfaction. When the Ritchey Breakaway emerged I got interested and when the titanium/carbon model appeared I began to ogle. So last year when I planned a two week tour of the Dolomites I decided to buy one. I switched all of the components from my long-standing Serotta Titanium and off I went. The breakaway weighs in at 16.2 lbs. with pedals. The ride was so satisfying that I sold the Serotta Frame, making the Breakaway my only road bike.

This spring I decided to try some racing and entered several races in the 65+ Masters class. As is everything else in Colorado, this class is extremely competitive. I did very well, gaining a first, two thirds, and two fourths (usually 12-20 in the class). The Breakaway is sure footed and confidence-inspiring, climbs like a rocket, and descends with confidence. It seemed to give up nothing to the bevy of high end carbon bikes against which I was competing.

Now I’m back in Europe, this time on a two-week tour of the Pyrenees with Erickson Cycling Tours. We are ascending many of the tour-de France climbs, averaging 60-90 miles and 6000-10000 vertical ft. per day. In a group of 25 very experienced cyclists the Breakaway has me climbing near the front every day and still feels comfortable after 5+ hours in the saddle.

With my two trips to Europe as well as two domestic trips this year the Breakaway has saved me about $2000 in excess baggage fees as well as the toil involved in transporting a full size bike case. I can now do assembly/disassembly practically blindfolded. And for those of us who are concerned about aesthetics, the Breakaway has classic, beautiful lines. People are shocked to discover that it is a “take apart” bike. All in all, for those of us who can’t bear to be without a bike wherever we are, nothing matches the Breakaway in design and value.

Thanks for writing us Robert - enjoy the ride!

Riding My Ritchey Break-Away In the Etape Du Tour

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

Excel Sports Boulder has a very cool contest going right now:

"What is the best adventure that your Excel purchase has taken you on? Tell us your adventure story and Win a $250 Excel Sports gift certificate! Details available in the Excel catalog and Facebook page"

The most recent catalog had a story that definitely caught our eye. Fred Corbit tells a great story about riding his Ritchey Steal Break-Away Road Bike on some of the most famous mountains in Europe.

We'd like to thank Fred and Excel Sports Boulder for this amazing story! Hope you have many more great rides Fred!

As a high school kid, which was many years ago, I saved up my money from odd jobs and bought a nice road bike, but I did not have enough money to buy as nice of a bike as I really wanted. (I lusted after a blue mink colored Raleigh Professional, with Campagnolo Nuvo Record components, and silk sew-up tires). Similarly, I could not afford to travel to Europe to ride the famous climbs of the Tour de France that I dreamed about. Nevertheless, while fanaticizing that I was riding over the Col du Tourmalet or up Alpe d’Huez, I put thousands of miles on my bike pedaling to the top of Mt. Spokane on the service road or climbing over the Cascade Mountain passes.

Over the next decades I continued to ride and was able to afford better bikes, but it was not until just recently that my climbing of famous mountains in Europe was more than imaginary. In the year before last, when my oldest son was at college in Hong Kong, my other son was planning to go to Spain and live with a family for a few weeks between his junior and senior years of high school, and when my wife decided that she should drop off our youngest son in Spain so she could do some traveling, I decided that I too could dip into our family’s savings for a big trip.

By happenstance, I found that the time and place for the upcoming Etape du Tour coincided with my wife’s plans to travel through the Pyrénées Mountains that are along the border between Spain and France. Also, I was fortunate enough to gain an entry into the event. (The Etape du Tour is an annual citizen’s race that follows the same course as one of mountain stages in the upcoming Tour de France.) My only two problems would be getting in good enough shape to avoid being swept up by the fleet of gendarmes who force off the road those riders who do not maintain a fast enough pace, and figuring out how to transport a high quality road bike to Europe.

I solved the first problem the old fashioned way – I spent hundreds of hours on my bicycle. I rode in many century rides sponsored by various charities and pedaled up all of the hard climbs I could find in Washington. (On a typical weekend training day I would ride up and down the old Blewett Pass Highway at least three or four times in a row.) I solved the second problem by buying a Ritchey Break-Away bicycle frame from Excel Sports.

With the training in my legs, and a good road bike that could fit into a travel case, I flew off to Europe to rendezvous with my wife. (With the Ritchey Break-Away I was able to put bike gear in between the frame parts in the case and then check-in the whole works as a regular piece of luggage without any additional charge.) My Ritchey bike case arrived in Europe, but my other bag with toiletries and changes of clothes did not; however, with a little bit of local shopping I was able to quickly acquire all that I needed for my trip.

My wife and I stayed in beautiful Saint-Savin in the Hautes-Pyrénées for several days. Each day I would ride my Ritchey over one of the famous nearby passes as preparation for the Etape du Tour and then I would meet my wife for a nice lunch and sightseeing.

Each day we were in Spain and France was beautiful, until the day of the race when it rained hard. I had some rain gear, and was as ready as I could be, but I was nervous about staying ahead of the “broom wagon” over the entire 169 kilometer course because there were two hors catégorie climbs. The first was up and over the Col du Tourmalet and then there was an equally difficult finishing climb to the Hautacam ski resort.

The Etape du Tour was different than the U.S. group rides, such as RAMROD, STP and the Markleevile Death Ride, in which I have participated over the years. The Etape started out more like the USCA races in which I rode (with little success) decades earlier. The riders in the Etape were very serious and the pace was fast from the start. The feeling of riding in fast pace lines, which split-up around traffic circles in the villages between the City of Pau and the slopes of the Pyrenees, is as close as a regular guy like me can get to know what it is like to ride in the Tour. (I cannot ride nearly as fast as Lance, but like Lance I have now ridden as fast as I can on a closed course that passed through one of the most scenic regions of France.)

Cheered on by my wife, who was alongside the road near the final climb, warmed up by the sun that was finally showing through the clouds, and motivated by knowing how disappointed I would be if I failed to finish the event for which I trained so hard, I slowly, but steadily, climbed to the finish at Hautacam. After completing the 11th kilometer of the 15 kilometer final climb, I knew that I had built up enough of a time cushion to reach the finish line long before the broom wagon. (The 11th kilometer is a real leg buster – it has an average grade of more than 12%). I rode into the finish area and across the finish line, which looked similar to what I have seen on television when watching the Tour, my official time was recorded, and I was handed my finisher’s medal.

Photos by Merilee Corbit

Ritchey Commutes - Bike To Work Day (5/13/2010)

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

May 13th was "Bike To Work Day" and we at Ritchey Design were more than happy to participate in the festivities. Many of us already commute via bike often, so this was an easy one for us all to jump onto...add the beautiful weather (and tailwind for us heading South) and it was even more enjoyable.

Nick and I (Angelo) started off from San Francisco, heading south to the office in San Carlos, CA. We encountered soooo many more riders than we typically see during our morning commute, which was an awesome sight to see. We met a nice cyclist that was heading from San Francisco to Sunnyvale...he joined us and helped us trade pulls on this quick pace down.

Here's Nick at the SF Bike Coalition's bike stop on 3rd and El Camino Real:

Stopped by a red light...myself and a gaggle of other riders:

Angelo and our Sunnyvale friend cruising down the Bay Trail:

Angelo and Nick's Route (San Francisco to San Carlos, 33 miles):

Ming's Route (San Jose to San Carlos, 28 miles)

Jesse's Route (Palo Alto to San Carlos, 25 miles) - he forgot to reset, so both directions are mapped.

Dave's Route (Mt. View to San Carlos, 14 miles)

All of our commuters lined up at the office:

Tour of the Gila - Stage 4 Criterium

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

The Tour of the Gila crit is always hard and with 19 sec. worth of time bonuses on the line and 4 riders within seconds behind Erinne wanting to knock her off the GC podium, the Webcor team had our work cut out for us. In the end, Shelly Evans of Peanut Butter & Co won the race and Andrea Dvorak (Colavita) moved up within 1 sec. of Erinne, but we held onto the podium for another day.

It has been fun to have our Amy back in green again for these races and everyone likes her race reports, so here it is:

Colorado's ambiguous weather has kept the wooly boots, mittens and snow shovels beside my front door, so I was looking forward to a trip to Silver City, NM where sun and heat normally don the Tour of the Gila. I scoffed at my winter booties as I packed my bag, but Gila's wind and frigidity scoffed me in the bootie.

Stage races are always a hurry up and wait kind of atmosphere. So it was nice to have a relaxing morning before the gun was fired for today's downtown pain city criterium. But of course as soon as noon hit it became a frantic herding of cats. Our train of Erinne, Katheryn, Andrea, and Amy knew we had to be smart about our efforts as the other teams had 2 to 3 more bodies. Our little Canadian Erinne slid into third position on GC from her smoking time trial so we wanted to keep her protected like a diamond in the rough. Strong winds and an ominous sky greeted us on the start line for our 2pm start. I think these winds helped keep the ever-shrinking field together as any attacks and breaks were kept on a tight leash.

The race was 25 laps and 27 miles. The lap begins with a straight of 200m which was a head wind before hanging a left into a guttering straight before a hard right up a snippy climb where the crowds gather to see the look of agony, grit and pleasure in our faces. As you crest this kicker your heart is half way up your throat but is pushed back down through a choppy descent into a wicked fast left which gives you the sensation of when Batman tucks in his wings to bullet through the window of a 50-story building. Pop out of that corner hard and the finish banner is looming 400m ahead and you hear the Joker laughing down your neck.

There were 3 time bonus sprints, in addition to a time bonus at the finish. Erinne was sitting in third slightly ahead of Andrea Dvorak of Colavita, so we didn't want her to pick up any precious seconds. The pace grew hotter when there were primes or time bonus laps, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot of instigating. Webcor did a stellar job of being attentive, while Peanut Butter & Co, being a no-stir variety, kept things under control in protecting their leader's jersey and providing an opportunity for a sprint finish. With 2 laps to go Alison Powers put in a valiant attack that had serious potential, but again the wind kept the race in check and Peanut Butter didn't like this separation. The sprinters were licking their chops and kicked it on in. The green train did a good job of following wheels to ensure no time gaps.

We head into the final day to attack the Gila Monster and protect our Canadian diamond.

Tour of the Gila - Stage 5 The Gila Monster

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

The final stage of the Tour of the Gila is a tough one with another hilltop finish. The cold weather continued and there were snow flurries at the finish! Luckily, the forecast of more gusty winds did not materialize though. The goal of the day was to defend Erinne's CG podium position. The team rode well, but a couple of others were just a bit better on the day and we ended up with Erinne in 5th and Katheryn in 8th.

Here is Erinne's Report:

Today was the the 5th and final stage of the Tour of the Gila, nicknamed the “Gila Monster”. It was about a 70 mile race that started in downtown Silver City. There were two time bonus sprints at 10 miles and 38 miles and both were 3,2,1, seconds up for grabs. After the time bonus sprints we hit the Gila Monster and climbed (with a few descents) until the finish. After yesterdays crit, I was still sitting in 3rd GC but Andrea Dovorak had gained 3 more seconds in a sprint and was only sitting 1 little second behind me.

We wanted to get either an early break away or have Andrea try to take some time in the sprints. So only about 2 miles into the race one attack went, Andrea covered and helped to drive the break until the first time sprint. Unfortunately her effort to make the break work got her dropped after the sprint but she still did a great job and we were still happy with having a break up the road. For most of the day the 3 girls in the break worked together while back in the main group the Peanut Butter team kept things under control and set tempo on the front. They kept the break at about 1 minute all day.

Nearing the base of the initial climb we started gaining more time on the break and caught them right at the base. Peanut Butter and Colavita were on the front going into the hill and once on the hill there was an acceleration. Katheryn had a gap, Cath Cheatley reacted and jumped across followed by Mara. The three had a good gap on us and my group was now being pulled by Alison Powers. The three up the road split up and Katheryn came back to our now small group. She put in a big effort the rest of the way home leading the chase Cath Cheatly who was just behind Mara. We tried to recruit Vera Bradley’s help but unfortunately we didn’t get much. Cath caught Mara up the road on the descent and ended up winning the stage, about 2 min. ahead of our group, moving Cath into 3rd overall. With about 3 miles to go, Alison Powers attacked us on a descent and finished 3rd on the stage. Our group started attacking each other and I was covering Andrea Dovorak who also had teammate Carmen Small with her in the group. At the finish Carla Swart and Andrea kept attacking me and I was with them until about 200 meters to go but couldn’t keep up and I finished 6th on the stage. I dropped to 5th in GC as Andrea got a couple of sec. gap on me at the uphill finish, but overall it was still a good week with 2 stage podiums. It was good and hard racing and I can’t wait to get down from this altitude. At the moment we’re in the cars driving to Arkansas for the Joe Martin Stage race which will start this Thursday.

Tour of the Gila - Stage 3 TT

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

The Time Trial at the Tour of the Gila is always a big factor in the GC and this year was no exception. Erinne had a great day and finished 2nd in the TT and moved up to 3rd overall.

Here is Erinne's Report:

Yesterday was the 3rd stage of the Sram Tour of the Gila and on the days agenda was the 16.15 mile ITT. The conditions were not as windy as the day before but still a strong enough breeze that some riders were debating using a disk, but in the end at least all of us Webcor riders chose a disk and held it up. The course was a out and back that begun with a very long gradual uphill into the cross/tail wind and then some big rollers until the turn around. After the turn around we had more rollers back with one bigger uphill and then the super fast gradual descent with cross/head wind home.

We were on our new Tescher TT bikes, Ritchey equipment and Fizik saddle and I must brag because after 15 years of bike racing this is the first and only TT bike that has fit me properly and where I could get a great position that I wasn’t fighting with. I was out on the road and I didn’t have to constantly re-adjust myself. Exciting eh?

Another exciting part is Karen’s excellent advice. On our pre-ride the other day, Karen said that the first hill is where we could gain a ton of time so I raced to the top of the first hill! Also, I was debating using a 53 versus a 55 front chain ring (because of the tail wind of the hill and the head wind on the descent) and again got Karen’s advice to use the 55 and I’m I sure glad I did since 95% of my race was in that gear.

So anyhow, warming up I was listening to some good punk music on the trainer and once I got on the road I just focused on catching my minute man. Because I went as hard as I could to the top of the first hill I caught my minute man by the top, but then she caught me on the descent again (oops), I had gotten out of my TT bars on the descent because I was scared of the wind and I also had to recover from my effort on the hill. Anyhow, we stayed even until the turn around. After the turn I decided to turn it up a notch again because I got re-motivated when I saw that I still had good time on the girls behind me and knew I was still in good contention. So I passed my minute man again and hammered all the way home into the wind and stayed in my TT bars even though I was still being shaken by the wind.

It turned out really well and I finished 2nd in the stage with a time of 40:51. Katheryn also had a good day finishing 9th with a time of 42:04. Alison Powers won with a time of 39:18 and Meredith Miller was 3rd. The GC got shuffled from the days efforts but Mara Abbott held onto the lead with Alison Powers moving into 2nd and myself now in 3rd. Katheryn is in 8th. The GC places 3rd to 9th are so close and we are all within 33 seconds of each other. I anticipate today’s crit in downtown Silver City will be very hard and fast; people will be wanting to move up on GC.

Tour of the Gila - Stage 2

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

Another great day for Ritchey sponsored teams at Stage 2 of the Tour of the Gila. Luis Amaran (Jamis-Sutter Home) out-kicked Levi Leipheimer for the stage win. UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling landed 2 riders in the top 10 for the stage (R. Sutherland 4th and M. DeMaar 8th).

Colavita-Baci pulled off a podium sweep in this windy stage with C. Small, A. Dvorak and C. Cheatley taking 1-2-3! Katheryn Mattis of Webcor stuck close to the front with a 6th place finish.

I was trying to keep up with the race via Twitter updates and the one common theme I saw was WINDY! Here's a quick note about the windy conditions by Karen Brems, the Director of the Webcor Builders Womens team, followed by Erinne Willock's race report - enjoy!

I have raced bikes for 18 years all over the world and directed Webcor for 7 years and I have never seen winds as strong as what blew through the women's peleton in Silver City, New Mexico today!! On the final, exposed climb about 15 miles from the finish, I saw riders literally being blown 180 degrees around and headed back down the hill! The women passed stragglers from the men's fields who slowed to let the women by and then lost so much momentum they could not get started again and had to walk their bikes up the hill! Every few minutes the group would sort of explode sideways as a gust came through and then come back together again. It was a day I was glad to be in the car! Miraculously there we no crashes all day until 1 rider unfortunately went off the road with only about 500m to go in the race.

It was a hard day of racing and the Webcor riders gave their all. We slipped a couple of spots on GC, but hopefully can move back up in the TT tomorrow.

Here is Erinne's Report:

Can I say WIND WARNINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Winds between 50-86km/hr and I swear we got more of the 86km/hr winds than those at 50.

It was truly one of the most horrific days on the bike and probably very amusing for the staff to watch from the car (much worse than any day in Holland).

Anyhow, on with the race report. Today was a 77.9 mile loop with 5,854 feet of climbing. At 6 miles we had a 3 second time bonus sprint which Alison Powers attacked hard and it splintered the field pretty well. Joelle did a big effort and got 3rd in the sprint! Unfortunately she was not able to recover in time for the climb and had a long day of chasing.

After the sprint we immediately started the climb up to Pinos Altos. Robin Farina from Vera Bradley got a small gap and then Andrea Dovorak went to bridge, I was on the other side of the road from Andrea and tried to go with her but unfortunately I just don�t have any acceleration at this altitude or this early in the season. After Pinos Altos the Peanut Butter team started chasing down the two leaders. We had another climb up to Meadow Creek and then a very technical and long descent which lead us into a valley. On the technical descent, Alison Powers went to the front and drilled it. She is one of the fastest descenders and it is very hard to hold her wheel but I was determined, and it was a great chance to truly test out the technical ability of the Teschner and Ritchey wheels. Anyhow, they were performing great and I was hanging onto Alison�s pace until unfortunately so close to the bottom of the descent Cath Cheatley took a corner, (or should I say didn�t take a corner) and went rolling into the ditch. I was right behind her and had to unclip and we lost the lead descending group.

Once we hit the valley I sat up and waited for the now quite small group that contained katheryn and Andrea, as well as many Peanut Butter and Vera Bradley girls. Up front Andrea Dovorak and Robin Farina were caught by Alison Powers, Carmen Small and Alexis Rhodes. I imagine (but not positive) that the Vera Bradley girls drove the break while back in our group the Peanut Butter team was chasing. The valley was about 30 miles and the chase was on. Sometimes the break would gain time and then the gap would shrink again - the gap kept fluctuating between 1:30 and about 40 sec. Nearing the bottom of the final climb our group was totally gaining and we got to about 35 seconds. I thought for sure we would catch them.

But, when we hit the final climb it was like we hit a wall head on but also like there was also someone hitting you from the side every once in a while. There were girls being pushed to do 180 degree turns. Also, to give you an example, when the master men who we were catching were asked to pulled over to the right of the road they were sometimes unable to get back on their bikes and had to start walking! Then there was the sand that was blown into us like a hail storm. Anyhow, Mara Abbott was doing most of the work on the early part of the climb, and up ahead the group of 5 had split up. Eventually we reeled in Alexis Rhodes and Robin Farina. Later, we were catching Alison Powers and Carmen Small when Carmen attacked again to get a gap and catch up to her teammate Andrea. I also tried multiple times to get away, but Katheryn said either Abbott or Cheatley were always bringing me back.

The two Colavita girls only had a small gap at first but unfortunately Peanut Butter had lost some riders by that time and it took teams too long to organize a chase. Vera Bradley had 6 riders and started the chase first and then Andrea and I helped out. It was really hard to keep a consistent echelon since the wind would blow people around too much. Carmen and Andrea ended up with about 2.5 minutes ahead and we came in with the group. There were time gaps at the end in our group because of a bad crash within the last 1km when a girl got blown over. I can�t find official results online yet but I believe Katheryn will now be 5thoverall and I will be 9th.

Tomorrow is the Time Trial and the wind warnings are over... it�s only supposed to be �breezy�.

Tour of the Gila - Stage 1

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

Today was the start of the Tour of the Gila Stage Race. Ritchey has several teams in the mix for this one and stage 1 results are looking good for us, which we anticipate to continue throughout.

- UnitedHealthCare Pro Men's Team

- Jamis-Sutter Home P/b Maxxis Men's Team

- Webcor Builders Women's Professional Cycling

- Colavita-Baci Women's Professional Cycling

Webcor Builders Director, Karen Brems, gives a great description of the Tour of the Gila: "The Webcor team is in Silver City, NM for the 5 day Tour of the Gila. This is a tough race - probably the most climbing of any US stage race and also takes place above 6000ft elevation, which is hard for those coming from sea level."

Men's Pro Race:

An early break of 10 riders got away and stayed out for most of the stage.

“Morgan (Schmitt) and Roman (Kilun) did yeoman’s work on the front to help reel in the break,” said UnitedHealthCare's Team directeur sportif Gord Fraser. “They were critical to neutralizing the break and keeping the rest of our guys fresh.”

In the end, Luis Amaran of Jamis Sutter Home P/b Colavita and Chris Baldwin of UnitedHealthCare both pulled off top 10 finishes (7th and 9th respectively) in what was an extremely tough stage, won by Radio Shack's, Levi Leipheimer.

Women's Pro Race:

We received a great race report from Katheryn Mattis (Webcor Builders) who had an excellent race, battling back hard for an outstanding 3rd place finish just behind Catheryn Cheatley of Colavita-Baci (2nd) and the stage winner, Mara Abbott (Peanut Butter & Co.)

Here is Katheryn's report:

Stage 1 of The Tour of the Gilla was the infamous Mogollon Road Race - a 73.1 mile point-to-point race. We had a 2.1 mile, neutral parade through downtown before turning onto US 180, a 2-lane road with wide shoulders. The first 40k or so of the course would be slightly downhill and then begin gently rolling up and down until about kilometer 104 where a right turn would take us onto NM 159. The final 10k of the race climbed for about 3.5k before hitting a mesa that gave a small respite before kicking up again (at points of 17%) and topped out at just under 6,800ft.

Stage races typically start with some sort of individual time trial and as this was not the case for Tour of the Gila, it left a bit unknown on which team would control the race. All of the top women's teams represented with strong teams (this was the second race in the Women's Prestige Series), and Peanut Butter definitely had one of the strongest as they had Mara Abbott (winner of Gila in 2007, while racing for Webcor).

With an early start of 8:15, many of us had barely begun to feel the effects of the caffeine before we heard the starter's gun go off and we made our way through town. As soon as we turned onto US 180, Anne Samplonius (guest riding for Vera Bradley) attacked solo. As it was so early in the race, no one gave chase or went with her. The peloton seemed fine to let her just ride off and as the early kilometers ticked by, her gap grew.

Soon the gap was over 3 minutes and there was a bit of uneasiness in the peloton since no one really seemed to take control and keep things in check. Colavita, Tibco, Peanut Butter and ourselves each put a rider up front (we had Ange, guest riding for us from the Bridge Team) just to roll tempo to keep Anne's gap in check and even with that, it grew to over 6 minutes. Peanut Butter felt to most uncomfortable with the situation and lined up their entire team on the front and had four of their riders rolling through a hard tempo. With someone finally taking control, Anne's gap began to come down. It looked as if her solo effort off the front was not going to stick.

The energy in the peloton escalated as the right turn approached as riders jockeyed for position at the front before the first part of the climb. Kat Carroll (Peanut Butter) drove the pace hard and we swallowed up Anne within 1k or so of making the turn.

Unfortunately, at one point, just before the road kicked up, there was a cross of wheels right in front of me and several riders went down. I managed to sneak through without injury or going down. Alisha Welsh (Peanut Butter) took over the pace setting with Mara glued to her wheel. About half way up the first climb, Mara just took off like a rocket. I knew better than to try and chase as any effort in the red at altitude could blow me for later. Cath Cheatley (Colavita) took up pace and just before hitting the mesa, I could not hold on and got gapped. Alison Powers (Vera Bradley) came around me and joined Cath and Alisha. Cath and Alison pushed the pace on the mesa and I did all I could to to minimize the distance they put on me. Unfortunately I had Andrea Dvorak (Colavita) on my wheel and with a teammate up the road, she was not going to offer me any help.

As soon as the road kicked up again, I tried to ride my own race and keep the others in view; Mara was no where in sight. Cath ended up dropping Alison and Alisha and I slowly started to real them in. With about 2 or so k to go, I caught Alisha and Alison and kept the pressure on to drop them. I could see Cath up the road a bit but had nothing left in my legs to try and catch her. It was all I could do to keep the legs from turning over and the last 500m felt more like 5k!

I rolled across the line for 3rd. Erinne had a great ride and finished 7th. Unfortunately Andrea got caught up in the crash and although she did not get hurt, was tangled with another rider's bike. Joelle suffered the worst of the crash for us (although she did still finish) and at first thought her hand might be broken but after a quick (yes, quick) trip to the ER, determined that there was no break, just bad bruise, whew. Ange did a great job for her first race at altitude and Amy found a good group to ride in with.

We at Ritchey are very excited for the success and safety of everyone out racing the Tour of the Gila and wish Joelle a speedy and quick recovery!

Sea Otter Circuit Race Report - Pro Women

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 16:33:30 PST

Karen Brems, Director of the Webcor Builders Women's Professsional Cycling Team, recaps the team's day at the Sea Otter Classic. They came down with a small team of 2, but raced smart and had a great placing...read on!

On Saturday, April 17th, the Webcor team of Katheryn and Andrea headed down to Monterey for the Sea Otter Circuit race. Sea Otter is a "celebration of all things cycling" with road events, mountain bike events, fun riders, trials and just about any other event one can think of that takes place on a bike! In addition, there is a huge Expo event - "Interbike for the consumer" so it give the team a rare and valuable chance to meet many of our cycling industry sponsors who we know more as a voice on the phone and an email address the rest of the season! Lindsay, fresh off her crutches, joined us for the expo tour and helped support the team in the feed zone during the race. We got to talk to our representatives from Ritchey, SRAM, DeFeet, Thule, Voler, Speedplay, Fizik and Maxxis - valuable people who help keep the team going! We got a podium finish in the race too!

Here is Katheryn's report :

Although Sea Otter can seem like a four ring circus at times with so much going on within the confines of Laguna Seca Raceway, the value of being able to visit with the sponsors out-weighed the zooiness.

Andrea and I were the only Webcor riders to line up at the start with about 50+ other women. Fortunately, despite a history of horrible weather, we were blessed with warm, sunny skies and only a moderate breeze. The course was a circuit of the raceway that we would do for 2 hours. For those of you not familiar with Laguna Seca course, it "is 2.238 miles (3.602 km) in length with a 300 foot (91 m) elevation change. It has eleven turns, including the famous "Corkscrew" at Turns 8 and 8A" (wikipedia).

This would definitely be a race of attrition as the first handful of times up the climb did not feel so bad but as race went on, the efforts built up in the legs and you got that "not so fresh" feeling.

The first part of the race was animated by several regional riders who would get a good gap off the front of the field but eventually be pulled in by others wanting to keep the race together. The first significant move came when Alison Powers (Vera Bradley) attacked and the ever attentive Andrea was immediately on her wheel. They stayed away for about a lap while Kristin Lasasso (Tibco) set a steady tempo at the front to keep them insight. Coming through the feedzone and rounding the lefthand bend to begin the significant part of the climb, I could see that Andrea was getting gapped a bit by Alison. Knowing the strength of Alison, I immediately responded and put in a hard attack to bridge up to Alison and keep the pressure on the peloton to chase. Alison stayed on my wheel cresting the hill and Kat Carroll (Peanut Butter & Co, 2012) was not far behind and the three of us went down the descent together.

This was a perfect break for me as I knew both Alison and Kat would be motivated to keep us off the front. We all took equal pulls to gain distance from the chasing peloton (both Colavita and Tibco missed the break so we knew we had to push it to make the break stick). We still had half the race to go and I knew that I had to pace myself so did my best to pull on the tail wind sections and not go too hard on the climb.

The motobike did a great job of keeping us informed of the time gaps (no more race radios makes it crucial that this happen) and our initial 15" gap grew to 25", to 45" and then over a minute with several laps to go.

Knowing that my breakmates were very strong, I had to play to my strength and try attacking on the climb. With two laps to go, there was a slight gap to the others and I kept the pressure on going over the hill, but Alison used her skills on the decent to bring us all back together. Coming through the feedzone, I found myself in front and although I ideally wanted to be third wheel. I put in an attack at the base of the climb to try and get distance from the others. I did manage to gain a few meters and dug deep to get over the top, unfortunately, there was not much left in the tank and Alison and Kat were soon back on my wheel. Rolling down the decent, Alison put in a strong attack and using her strong downhill skills, quickly got a gap.

Kat fought hard to catch her and I tagged myself to the back of Kat but in the end we could not catch her and Alison rolled across the finishline for the win, with Kat close behind, having put in a strong acceleration coming into the finish, I rolled in for 3rd about 2" later, with nothing left in the tank having left it on my last attack on the hill.

Andrea did a great job hanging in with the chasing peloton and finished 9th.

After the race we had a great time visiting with sponsors.

:)