April 7th was TARGETRAINING's first encounter with the big
names in US Cycling. While El Salvador was exciting, the
US Open provided the first chance for the team to see how it
matches up against veteran competition from the US peloton.
A long drive down to Virginia resulted in it going from cold to
colder. That is not Vermont in the picture but Virginia on
the morning of the race. Please see the beautiful
TARGETRAINING Aegis Victory team bike on the roof of the team
car.
The team did well despite racing against strong squads from,
among other teams, Advil-Chapstick and Colavita-Sutter Home.
All three teams have plenty of ties in common but for this race
the gloves were off. Advil-Chapstick was gunning for a win just
kilometers away from their sponsor’s headquarters. Colavita-Sutter
Home was hoping to display sprinter Tina Pic’s usual finishing
prowess. The TARGETRAINING women wished to show that they
belonged with the top teams (either due to talent or guts).
From the gun, TARGETRAINING’s Robin Farina strung out the pack.
So strung out in fact, Robin only had herself, Advil-Chapstick’s
Laura Bowles and Colavita’s Iona Wynter with her. Momentarily sitting up, Robin lost their wheels as they
accelerated. TARGETRAINING dug hard to bring it back. First
Anna and then Robin countered the break, to no avail. No break
stuck for long and attacks by any team at that point were
stifled immediately. Going into the final turn before the
finishing climb, Mandy and Leigh led it out for Robin, Hiroko
and Kathleen. TARGETRAINING came away with a very respectable
8th (Hiroko), 9th (Robin) and 11th (Kathleen).
While a top three placing did not happen, TARGETRAINING showed
that they may have both talent and toughness. With this debut
done, the team is looking forward to its campaign against national
caliber teams.
The following pictures were taken by Emory Ball.
