92 km Stage I departed from the seaside
village of La Libertad after a late lunch and musical
entertainment. The rolling terrain, oppressive heat, and
incessant attacking by Schick-TARGETRAINING and Brazil
whittled the field to 35 going into the final climb to
Nahuizalco. At the top of the mountain, Anna came in 11th,
just 9 seconds shy of a top-10, with Hiroko and Kathleen
close behind.
111 km of Stage II were duked out on El
Salvador’s roads between San Salvador and Santa Ana.
Megan attacked from kilometer 4, and played the role of
tireless domestique all day while Kathleen and Anna, the
two highest GC riders, sat safely in the field. By the
decisive climb, Anna, Hiroko, Andrea and Kathleen were
ready for the ascent. The field sprint saw Kathleen
securing 9th with
Anna a strong 10th.
Sadly, Megan’s hurclean efforts ended in
hospitalization, as heat, dehydration and stomach cramps
took their toll on her body.
Stage III’s treacherous 10.2 km time
trial wove through San Salvador’s busy streets, and
Anna’s blistering time of 10:48 garnered 5th place,
moving her GC position up to 9th going
into the afternoon circuit race.
In the Stage iV 61.2 km circuit race, the
field played it cool during the first lap. When Mandy
attacked through the start-finish at the conclusion of
Lap 1, it set Andrea up for a counter that would take 4
riders with her. They worked to gain an advantage on the
field, with the Schick-TARGETRAINING women controlling
the rest of the chasing peloton. At the conclusion of
the race, Andrea mixed it up in the sprint and took 4th;
an impressive result for a young lady in her second year
of racing.
Stage V unfurled an atypical net
elevation loss for the 102 km course. Setting out from a
local airforce base to the tune of a brass band, the
peloton rode at a leisurely pace through the El
Salvadorian countryside. A harrowing descent halfway
through the race into a small village, followed by a few
criterium—style corners (which the Schick-TARGETRAINING
women reslished) divided the field. Kathleen, Hiroko,
Andrea and Mandy made the selection; and Andrea and
Mandy began attacking the field in earnest. In the
slightly-uphill drag to the finish in San Luis Talpa,
Andrea sprinted to 8th with
Kathleen close behind in 10th;
Hiroko in 12th.
Anna, valiantly battling the ill-effects of unfamiliar
bacteria, rolled in 22 minutes later to the cheers of
her teammates.
The
queen stage of La Vuelta doesn’t look intimidating on
paper: just 52.2 kms. However, the 13k finishing climb
to the top of the San Salvador’s El Boqueron volcano was
not to be taken lightly (the stage-winner climbed it in
just under an hour). Anna attacked from the gun, taking
a Brazilian with her. About 6 miles from the climb they
were caught, with Mandy and Andrea countering Anna’s
move. As the road pointed upward, Kathleen and Hiroko
sat comfortably in the field. Kathleen rode the ride of
her life, nearly falling off her bike a few times due to
the steep pitches. Her 8th place
for the stage moved her into 8th overall.
The team’s GC placings of 8th (Kathleen),
12th (Hiroko),
21st (Andrea),
24th (Mandy),
and 25th (Anna)
garnered a well-earned 3rd place
in the team GC. With their newfound racing legs, the
team is sure to make a huge impact on North American
racing in the months to come!
