August 9/09 13:05 pm - Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium

Posted by Editoress on 08/9/09
 

Presbyterian Hospital Invitational, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Team TIBCO handled the heat in Charlotte to deliver Brooke Miller to victory in the Presbyterian Hospital Invitational Criterium this evening, and it wasn’t just the weather that was hot.

“It was a really aggressive race,” Miller said. “The whole race was animated, and we weren’t even attacking that much. We covered a lot of moves. There were a lot of women who came here to race their bikes tonight. It was really fun!”

It was also really tactical on Team TIBCO’s part, but as Katharine Carroll noted, “we had a good plan, but sometimes things don’t go according to plan. We had to do a lot of improvising tonight.”

One thing that did go according to plan was a mid-race break by Carroll that lasted four laps. “I countered an attack by Emma (Rickards) and got off with Rachel Heal (Colavita/Sutter Home). Team Type 1 missed the move and had to chase, which was good for us.”

As the race wound down, Team TIBCO started planning to set up Miller for the bunch sprint. But then those plans got disrupted when Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) attacked with two laps to go.

“Her attack through a monkey wrench in our lead-out,” said team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett.

Miller’s regular lead-out, Lauren Tamayo, had to chase down that move. And when Cath Cheatley (Colavita/Sutter Home) countered, Joanne Kiesanowski had to cover that one.

“Lauren and Jo did a lot of work covering moves the last few laps, and Emma did a great job of keeping the speed high,” Carroll said.

On the final lap, Colavita took over the front with a three-rider train towing their sprinter, Tina Pic, toward the finish.

“When Colavita got to the front with one to go, I was a bit concerned because the laps are 1.3 miles long and I wasn’t sure they’d be able to control it until the end, and I only had Jo with me at that point,” Miller said. “I had confidence in Jo, but I was worried she’d have to start her lead-out too early. Then Kat and Meredith (Miller) came up.”

Carroll and Meredith Miller took over the front with a now isolated Pic sitting between them, and Kiesanowski and Brooke Miller sitting behind Meredith Miller. But Brooke still had to fight to keep position.

“A few turns from the end, (Laura) Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) bumped me off of Jo’s wheel,” Miller said. “The third to last corner, I had to dive inside her to get back on Jo’s wheel.”

With the lead-out restored, they quickly approached the final corner. Perhaps sensing that her best chance was to jump early out of the last corner in hopes of catching Team TIBCO by surprise, Pic took off with 300 meters to go.

“Tina was really the only rider I was worried about coming around me in the sprint, and when she went I didn’t want to let her get too far,” Brooke Miller said.

Meredith Miller jumped to get Brooke up to Pic and from there, Brooke did what she does best and finished it off with the win. Kiesanowski kept going for 6th place, while Tamayo, Meredith Miller and Carroll occupied the 12th, 13th and 14th places.

“When we came around the last corner, I knew we were good,” Miller said. “When the girls are setting me up that well, when everyone does their jobs like they did tonight, it’s a lot easier to get the win.”

Carroll agreed. “It was total teamwork tonight,” she said. “It’s good to get things dialed in.”

Team TIBCO will get another chance to dial in Sunday at the Hanes Park Classic.

Report courtesy Team TIBCO