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April 27/09 10:54 am - Athens Twighlight Criterium


Posted by on 04/27/09
 

April 25th, Athens Georgia

The Athens Twilight Criterium race plan was executed so flawlessly that coming down the finishing straight to the line, Brooke Miller was sprinting against her own shadow. "Because we were racing under the street lights, I kept seeing my shadow," the reigning national criterium champion said. "I kept thinking someone was coming around me, so I kept going harder."

In reality, the lead-out had worked so well that Miller had a gap coming to the line, and took the win by several bike lengths.

"When things came back together in the final laps, we knew it was going to be a sprint finish," Miller explained. "On the last lap, we took control of the front, with Meredith (Miller) and Lauren (Tamayo) on the front. I was third wheel and Jo (Kiesanowski) was on my wheel sweeping."

Meredith Miller opened it up on the hill on the back stretch on Washington Street, heading toward turn three on the four-corner course. "This is when we were most vulnerable and no one was coming around us!" Miller said. "Meredith destroyed the field with her lead-out."

Brooke’s super lead-out specialist Tamayo took over between turns three and four, keeping the pace scorching. Tamayo swung wide out of turn four and dropped off Brooke Miller for the long, slightly downhill drag to the line. By design, Kiesanowski hesitated and let her sprinter open a gap. Only Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home) and Jen McCrae (Team Type 1), both previous Athens winners, were even able to come around Kiesanowski in pursuit of Miller, who took the comfortable win.

The New Zealander, coming off a strong performance at Sea Otter last weekend, held on for 4th place, while Tamayo kept rolling and took 6th.

Aggressive from the start

"The team put on a clinic (Saturday)," said team directeur sportif Jeff Corbett. "It was impressive to watch, and I enjoyed directing my first Athens on the women’s side."

"Our plan was to make everything count because we only had four of us in the race," Miller added. "We wanted to start aggressive, then sit back a bit, and then get aggressive again. The team raced flawlessly. It was so much fun!"

Brooke fired the first salvo of the race, barely half a lap in, when she went on the attack and stayed away for two laps. When she was corralled, the next six laps saw continuous attacks, with Tamayo and Meredith Miller keeping things under control. An attack by Tamayo on lap eight drew out Team Type 1’s Jacquelyn Crowell, and the duo stayed away for the better part of 20 laps.

"That put pressure on Colavita and some of the other teams to chase," Miller said. When they were caught, the attacks from Colavita and Team Type 1 came fast and furious. From that point, it was an exercise in control.

"We were all in the top 15 of the bunch the entire race," Miller said. "We shut down everything the last half of the race."

Those efforts set the stage for the sprint, and Team TIBCO executed a textbook lead-out for Brooke Miller, who showed how she earned her stars and stripes.

Team Tibco press release

Pro Women
1 Brooke Miller (Team Tibco) 1:15:49
2 Tina Pic (Colavita-Sutterhome)
3 Jennifer MCrae (Team Type 1)
4 Joanne Kiesanowski (Team Tibco) all s.t.
5 Laura van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom) 0:01
6 Lauren Tamayo (Team Tibco) s.t.
7 Rebecca Larson (Jittery Joe's) 0:02
8 Samantha Schneider (Team Type 1)
9 Erica Allar (Colavita-Sutterhome) both s.t.
10 Carla Swart (Team Lipsmacker) 0:03
11 Anna McLoon (Altarum Women's Cycling Team)
12 Jacquelyn Crowell (Team Type 1)
13 Kristen Lasasso (Ind) all s.t.
14 Kirsten Davis (Sorella Cycling P/B Bvm Engine) 0:04
15 Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) s.t.
16 Jennifer Wilson (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:07
17 Jennifer Rasmusson (Cyclelife Powered By Specialized) 0:08
18 Tiffany Pezzulo (Dft P/B Treads) 0:10
19 Julie Bishop (Florida Velo) s.t.
20 Leigh Hopkins (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:11
21 Meredith Miller (Team Tibco) 0:12
22 Kathryn Clark (Team Kenda) 0:13
23 Silke Wunderwal (Team Kenda) s.t.
24 Leslie Jennings (Cyclelife Powered By Specialized) 0:15
25 Nicole Johnson (Team Kenda) 0:18
26 Jennifer Reither (Vanderkitten Racing) s.t.
27 Elizabeth Hatch (Vanderkitten Racing) 0:25
28 Laura Bowles (Vanderkitten Racing) s.t.
29 Veronica Leal (Team Type 1) 0:31
30 Kelly Benjamin (Colavita-Sutterhome) 0:33
31 Jackie Kurth (Team Kenda) 1:10
32 Mary Pat Jones (Blue Competition Cycles) 3:37
33 Veronica Martinez (Hub Racing) 16:19
 
Pro Men
1 Heath Blackgrove (Team Hotel San Jose) 1:40:12
2 Mark Hekman (Mt. Khakis)
3 Adrian Hegyvary (Hagens-Berman Llp Cycling) both s.t.
4 Ken Hanson (Team Type 1) 0:11
5 Aldo Ilesic (Team Type 1)
6 Kyle Wamsley (Colavita-Sutter Home)
7 Andrew Pinfold (Ouch p/b Maxxis) all s.t.
8 Jake Keough (Kelly Benefit Strategies) 0:12
9 Adam Myerson (Mt. Khakis)
10 Rafael Meran (Gs Mengoni) all s.t.
11 Yosvany Falcon (Champion Porsche) 0:13
12 Carlos Vargas (Team Hotel San Jose)
13 John Murphy (Ouch p/b Maxxis)
14 Cesar Grajales (Rock Racing)
15 Zach Bell (Kelly Benefit Strategies)
16 Tom Soladay (Mt. Khakis) all s.t.
17 Adam Bergman (Texas Roadhouse) 0:14
18 Marco Aledia (Kenda)
19 Chad Hartley (Team Geargrinder) both s.t.
20 Joey Rosskopf (Jittery Joes U25 p/b Kudzu.com) 0:15
21 Dirk Pohlmann (Texas Roadhouse)
22 Bennet Van Der Genugten (Kenda)
23 Issac Howe (Mt. Khakis)
24 Chad Burdzilauskas (Kenda) all s.t.
25 Diego Garavito (Aerocat Cycling Team) 0:16
26 Boyd Johnson (Dlp)
27 Brian Toone (Tria Market / Ivan Leonard Chev) both s.t.
28 Kevin Attkisson (Texas Roadhouse) 0:17
29 David Forkner (Globalbike) 0:18
30 David Guttenplan (Mt. Khakis)
31 Casey Magner (Locos) both s.t.
32 Craig (Richmond Pro Cycling) 0:19
33 Tyler Hawes (Globalbike) 0:20
34 Ben Renkema (Kenda) 0:21
35 Stephen Housley (Myogenesis.Com P/B United Health)
36 Rob (Team Geargrinder)
37 Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit Strategies) all s.t.
38 Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) 0:22
39 Sean Sullivan (Team Hotel San Jose)
40 Sean Weddell (Globalbike) both s.t.
41 Josh Tucker (Clemmons Bicycle Racing) 0:22
42 Karl Menzies (Ouch p/b Maxxis) 0:23
43 Mike Stoop (Mt. Khakis)
44 Scott Jackson (Richmond Pro Cycling) both s.t.
45 Steven George (Fly V Australia) 0:24
46 Lang Reynolds (Hagens Berman Llp Cycling Team) s.t.
47 Benjamin (Richmond Pro Cycling) 0:25
48 Matt (Richmond Pro Cycling)
49 Phil Gaimon (Jelly Belly) both s.t.
50 Jeff Buckles (Richmond Pro Cycling) 0:26
51 Seth Hansley (Champion Porsche) s.t.
52 Jonathan Cantwell (Fly V Australia) 0:27
53 Frank Travieso (Champion Porsche ) 0:28
54 Emilio Asconeguy (Aerocat Cycling Team) 0:29
55 Ty Stanfield (Kenda) 0:34
56 Chris Schmidt (The Bike Rack Of Wash Dc) 0:35
57 Jared Nieters (Haymarket/Function Drinks) 0:36
58 Jesse Anthony 0:37
59 Mack Chew (Arete Racing) s.t.
60 Patrick Harkins (Nashvillecyclist.Com P/B Bike) 0:38
61 Thomas Brown (Jittery Joes U25 p/b Kudzu.com) s.t.
62 Evan Fader (Richmond Pro Cycling) 0:39
63 Ryan Sullivan (Myogensis.Com P/B United Health) 0:40
64 David Kemp (Fly V Australia) s.t.
65 Jim Cunningham (Globalbike) 0:42
66 Eugene Boronow (Gs Mengoni) s.t.
67 Jeremy Grimm (Panther/Rgf Pb Felt Bicycles) 0:47
68 Aaron Johnson (Hagens Berman Llp) 0:51
69 Robert Gunn (Fly V Australia) 0:54
70 Nick Reistad (Jelly Belly) 0:55
71 Daniel Holt (Team Type 1) 1:10
72 Luca Damiani (Colavita-Sutter Home) 1:16
73 Bobby Lea (Ouch p/b Maxxis) 1:22

 

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