May 1/09 23:01 pm - US Crits Speedweek: Spartanburg Regional Classic

Posted by Editoress on 05/1/09
 

Brooke Miller wasn't actually trying for the win in Spartanburg today. Instead, she was trying to help – and reward – TIBCO teammate Joanne Kiesanowski for her stellar lead-outs, including the one she executed for Miller into and out of the final corner at Spartanburg today.

“Jo did an amazing lead-out” Miller said. “On the final lap, coming out of corner two, Meredith (Miller) took me up to Jo's wheel with a half lap to go. I told Jo I was there and she just took off. It was hard for me to even hold her wheel.”

It was even harder for everyone else. When they came out of the final corner, the TIBCO duo had several bike lengths on the rest of the field.

“I really wanted to wait to see if Jo could hold on and take it to the line,” Miller said.

But Kiesanowski started running out of steam coming to the line on the 250-meter finishing straight, and both Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home) and Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) were starting to overtake the Team TIBCO duo.

“It was a long finishing straight, and the pavement was a bit bumpy and uneven, which made it a little bit harder,” Kiesanowski said.

So when Pic and van Gilder started to close, Miller did what she does better than anyone else in the country: she jumped off Kiesanowski's lead-out and charged up the left side on her Look 595 to take the win, her third in four races she's contested during the USA Crits Speed Week.

As it had for the previous three races, Team TIBCO brought its patented attacking style to Spartanburg. “It was a hard race, but we made it really hard,” Kiesanowski said.

“The girls were really aggressive again today,” said team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett said. “There wasn't a move that went off the front that didn't have one of our riders in it. It forced a lot of other teams to chase.”

Brooke Miller and Emma Rickards attacked early, while Lauren Tamayo got into a move that took up 10 of the 50 laps of the race following a mid-race prime. But it was Meredith Miller's attack with nine to go that may have truly sealed it for Team TIBCO.

“That was a great move, really clutch,” Corbett said. “It forced a lot of teams to burn their final matches and took the sting out of a lot of other people at the finish. Our plan was to hold Jo and Emma back for the final 10 laps of the race and save them for the lead-out and let Lauren and Meredith off the leash. They did a lot of great work.”

With two laps to go, Tamayo, Kiesanowski and Brooke Miller found themselves with three other riders and a gap on the rest of the field. “We didn't really attack,” Kiesanowski said. “It just seemed to be really hard toward the end. People were dropping off wheels and gaps were forming. It set us up well for the sprint.”

When that move was shut down coming into the bell lap, “we were in a good position for the sprint,” Kiesanowski continued. “I was floating around 5th wheel. And when I heard Brooke tell me she was on my wheel, I just clicked it down a couple gears and took off.”

“That was an incredible lead-out,” Brooke Miller said. “It gives me a lot of confidence for the sprints knowing that I have five teammates here who I can trust to take me to the line for the sprint. They're making my job much easier.”

Which is making it that much harder on everyone else.
Team Tibco press release