Season's Greetings from Manressa Beach

Here's wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from Manressa Beach, CA. It was a Very Early morning in order to see both the moon set and the sun rise but totally worth it! Breakfast was pancakes and coffee (sans sand by the way). With our new trusty propane torch from our weekend of installing a new tankless hot water heater, Chris got the fire started without a hitch : )

Where were you for the Holidays?????

New Aaron's Team Website Coming for 08'!!

The team is super excited to have a new team website for 2008! Please make note of the new web address http://www.aaronsprocycling.com in order to follow the team throughout the season.

Hope all our friends, host families and fans are doing well. We are looking forward to seeing you all in 2008!

Chicken to Race?

The Velo Bella Surf City Annual Halloween Cyclocross Race never disappoints. Ask anyone, the Bellas know how to put on a fun party! If you've never experienced this race you should definitely not miss it next year so mark your calendars now.

Although a bit apprehensive to test out my cross legs after 4 yrs. of retirement, I was excited to utilize some of the creativity that I've been storing up all season long and went into costume making mode.


Ingredients as follows:
1 LS White T-shirt
1 pr. White bikini panties
2 feather boas
1 hood off an old hooded top
1 piece of red felt
1 pr. industrial gloves
Hincapie bib shorts and knee warmers

My one prayer would be that the weather would be sunny as the thought of wet chicken feathers just ain't pretty.

I was very excited that not only did my chicken feet stay solidly positioned on my feet but they were as much an advantage as disadvantage on the run-ups. With a necessary exagerated knee lift in order not to trip myself and go head over heals, I propelled myself up those run-ups like the champion chicken I've always imagined myself to be! My construction was rock solid...I retained most of my feathers and the ones that did go flying others were able to enjoy. For my efforts I received an entire flat of California Giant Strawberries...yummy!

So gals, the competition is on! Can you top it?

Another Aaron's rider feature

(Readable Text Below)

West Palm Beach’s Kristin Sanders, 36, is one of South Florida’s toughest female cyclists. A pro for three years, she’s been in the top 10 in national championships in road races and time trials and won the masters national championships in road races, time trials and criteriums.
Q:What’s your training routine?
A:I usually train on beach roads, north on A1A to Juno Beach or south, sometime to Fort Lauderdale; it takes five hours to Commercial Boulevard and back. My routine depends on the day, anywhere from two hours to six hours. We’re so lucky we can ride outdoors 12 months a
year. When I’m training I can enjoy the scenery.
Q:Have you ever been hit by a car?
A:No. I try to be proactive with cars because I know they don’t know what we’re going to do. Accidents are a little the fault of the riding community. Some are riding against traffic, some stop at traffic lights and some run them. West Palm Beach is like a big beach town, not like Fort Lauderdale. It’s slightly slower, more laid- back. Up north in Jupiter it’s like farmland.
Q:What does it mean to be a pro cyclist?
A: I race for Aaron’s Corporate Furnishings, a national women’s team based in
Atlanta. We have salaries, etc. I also have a full-time job managing advertising accounts for Cox Radio Miami but we can work from home so I have amazing flexibility.
Q: What is your race schedule?
A: Our team goes to every one of the national race calendars, the professional-level women’s races. Some of our members are suited better for some races so our director decides who races
in each. I get 60 to 80 starts per year. People have this misconception that because I’m in Florida and criteriums are in Florida, that’s what I do. But I usually do stage races (like the Tour
de France) because my skills make me competitive in time trialing and climbing.
Q: What bicycle do you ride?
A: I absolutely love my Specialized Ruby, which takes a woman’s proportion and weight into consideration. Women are different from men. And it’s super lightweight.
Q: What’s your diet?
A: You want to be as light as possible without losing strength. My diet is pristine. I eat lots of really good food but no bad food. I’ve taken everything that won’t benefit me out of my diet including ketchup and butter. I went a whole season without candy or cake. I eat tons of
vegetables, red meat, whole grains and pasta.
Q: Have you done other sports?
A:I’ve been doing sports forever. I showed horses for 10 years then had a college swimming scholarship. After that I was burned out on the structure and lifestyle of being an athlete so I was a regular person for a few years. But I’m better off being an athlete.
Q: How did you start cycling?
A: When I moved to Florida I gravitated toward a couple of girls who were run-
ners, but I was never a great runner. Then I ran the Disney Marathon and 5Ks for fun. Eventually I started triathlons, which was a no-brainer since I had the swimming background. Of the three sports, cycling turned out to be my best.
Q:How does South Florida rate for cycling?
A: We have a ton of great cyclists but the problem is getting courses for races. It’s very difficult and expensive. You need road closures, police support... There used to be a great race in West Palm Beach, but no more.

Aaron's in Bicycling Magazine and Women's Adventure Magazine

Aaron's, Katharine Carroll, aka "The Kat" is currently featured with her Mom, Vida Greer in the November issue of Bicycling Magazine...check it out!


Aaron's Team Director, Carmen D'Aluisio is currently featured in the Sept/Oct. issue of Women's Adventure Magazine.
And coming soon...Kristin Sanders will be featured in the November issue of South Florida's Adventure Magazine!!!

Next Generation of Specialized rider

After the Crit World Championships in Las Vegas last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Millie Tanner and her family. Millie is a young rider from Southern California who also rides a Specialized S-Works Ruby like us. In 2007 she was the 2nd strongest rider in the Women's 10-12 age group in SoCal/Nevada.

While its a little weird that I have been a licensed driver longer than she's been breathing, its pretty cool that we're both working hard to get stronger and faster. I have heard so many of the women that I race with and against state that they wished they had found cycling at a younger age. One day cycling as a junior will be just as popular as little league baseball and rec soccer. Keep up the good work, Millie!

Ah, Bermuda

Team presentation: Carmen, Felicia, Sarah, Rebecca

Someone missed their flight : (

This past week 4 members of the A-Team arrived on the island of Bermuda to race in the final race of the Women's Prestige Series, The Bermuda Grand Prix.

This go around I was thankful to arrive a day early to relax and hang out with Felicia who had also arrived early straight from the Tour of Leelanau in Traverse City, MI.

The day proceeding the opening day of racing the organizers put on a reception at the Bacardi Headquarters where teams are all formerly presented and everyone has a nice dinner and of course a little rum, perhaps in a Dark and Stormy or maybe a Swizzle.

The first night of racing gets things rolling with a 30 min. criterium in downtown Hamilton. It's and evening race starting at dusk and ending in darkness. Some of the A-Team was still finding it's legs while Felicia was duking it out with some of the top sprinters in the US. She would finish 4th on the evening behind race winner Kelli Benjamin, Laura Yoisten, and Laura Van Gilder.

Day 2 - The Lighthouse Challenge, a 1K uphill time trial, would see Felicia Gomez take the leaders jersey with an exciting stage win. Felicia bested her time of the previous year by 7 seconds!! Teammate Sarah Caravella would put in a good ride placing her in the top ten. With solid rides by everyone, the team was in the hunt for the team competition, trailing first place by a mere 3 seconds.

Hill Climb Podium

Day 3 - The Dockyard Criterium would prove to be a tough day for the A-Team. Upon completion of the race Catherine found she had a loose spoke that was causing her wheel to rotate "out of true". Generally what this means to a rider is a little unplanned resistance training. Felicia would try time and again to sprint for bonus seconds only to be outdone each time by LVG and Karen Brems. Let's just say, it was a good learning experience : )Felicia Leads the bunch at the top of the Cork Screw Hill

Day 4 - The Catlin Hamilton Circuit Race would be a new stage that would take the riders up a steep twisty hill which we were excited to see, however, not really long enough to take the sprinters out of the competition it would again be a day to contest the intermediate time bonus sprints. Powers was back and the team gave it a good go but at the end of the intermediate sprints it was LVG with 9 seconds, Karen with 9 seconds, and Felicia with 9 seconds...a net gain of zero. There was still hope, as the finish of the race offered still enough seconds for Felicia to be able to place 2nd overall in the race which would be enough to take the series. It wasn't meant to be as Felicia just didn't have another jump in her to go with the sprinters to the line. Sarah would be the team's top finisher in 6th for the stage.Team Podium: Sarah, Felicia, and Powers

Once all the seconds were tallied Felicia would be the team's top finisher in 3rd place overall. Catherine and Sarah would round out the top ten in 9th and 10th respectively. The A -Team would take the win in the Team Competition!

Manny, Felicia, Laura, Sarah, Kelli, Carmen, Catherine

It was a GREAT Bermuda this year! The best trip in my three years of going to the race. Our host families were the best...thank-you's go out the the Pilgrim's, Conway's, Manny Packwood and Lynden Rowe. We had a lot of fun hanging out on the beautiful beaches with several of the women from the other teams as well as nights out dancing and scooter racing...oops, I mean riding : )

After race Awards Presentation: Jon, Catherine, Felicia, Rebecca


And now...it's Viva Las Vegas!!!

Write up on Ardeche

Cyclingnews diary entry on Ardeche.

Kat Carroll WINS both final stage and Sprint Jersey

I will have to let Kat do the talking on this one but I wanted those inquiring minds to know that Kat not only won the Sprint Jersey in Ardeche but also got the final Stage win!

Sooo proud of you Kat!

Sprinter or Horse Jockey?

Three stages into the Tour Cycliste Feminin International de l'Ardeche I am in the sprinters jeresy. I'm hoping to keep it that way and help get another stage win before its all said and done. Brooke Miller bested her 2nd place finish in stage one by winning stage three. So far the USA national team has been working great together to dominate the intermediate sprints and the finishes.

Nice jerseys, huh?

Aaron's Team Does the Double

The Aaron's Atlanta Race Weekend, September 8 - 9, kicked off with the Grant Park Criterium. The "A-Team" comprised of Shannon Hutchison-Krupat, Sarah Caravella, and Rebecca Larson would give the home town crowd a taste of what was to come on Sunday for the Aaron's Buckhead Grand Prix. Sarah Caravella would convincing win the event with a two lap solo finish with teammates Rebecca Larson winning the field sprint for 2nd and Shannon finishing 4th.

On Sunday, it would be Rebecca Larson standing on the top step of the podium at the Aaron's Buckhead Grand Prix, after lapping the field to clinch the Double Win Weekend. To top that off she would be flanked by her teammates on the podium for an Aaron's Clean Sweep! Way to go ladies!

Still Going Strong

Just a quick up date for all our wonderful supporters out there who have followed the "A-Team" all season.

The US National Championship weekend in Downers Grove, IL had it's high points and certainly its low points. On day one, Katharine Carroll escaped the peloton early in a four woman breakaway and would finish on the podium in 3rd place along with race winner Brooke Miller and 2nd place finisher, Alison Powers. On day two the hoorahs and high fives were replaced with tears of pain and frustration as Carmen McNellis would end the day with a refractured collarbone from a crash in 2007 and Kristin Sanders would end the day with a fractured wrist. "It was crazy...there were crashes throughout the entire race. Everytime I would turn around another rider would be rolling into the pit from a crash somewhere on the course." Aside from the crashes and broken bones the women did have two great team races...I think a lead out train is coming.

The weekend after the US Nationals, Sarah Caravella traveled solo up to Binghamton, NY to compete in the Chris Thater Classic. She would score valuable points toward the "A-Team's" 3rd place NRC overall team standing by placing 6th on the day.

On Labor Day, Rebecca Larson, Shannon Hutchison-Krupat and Sarah Caravella would hit the streets of Atlanta bright and early to race the Atlanta 10K. No, it wasn't a running race but a 10K drag race on 6 open lanes of downtown Atlanta, GA. One might wonder why someone would be crazy enough to awake at 5:00am for a 7:00am race start to race for a total of 17 min....well how does a prize list of $10,000.00 sound! Agressive team riding by all would be finished off with a strong second place finish by Rebecca Larson only bested by the multi-time crowned US National Criterium Champion, Tina Pic.

Meanwhile...Katharine Carroll has joined the US National Team in Europe for some tough european racing. Beginning with a World Cup race in Poulay, France followed by the Holland Ladies Tour currently underway.

Last Two Days at the OTC

I am home and I have had some time to regroup. We had a fun last two days at camp. Saturday and Sunday we did testing out on the road. The tests were hard in the blistering hot weather, but we ended up adding to the ride each day. Who can give up a group ride, sure bets riding by yourself.

Here is a picture of me getting tested int the lab. It wasn't fun, but not a lot of people can say they've been tested at the Olympic Training Center. So the feeling of excitement took over the feeling of "I have a big tube in my mouth and can't breath out of my nose."All in all the camp was a wonderful experience and was so happy to be invited. It was awesome not to have to cook for yourself and just worry about resting, recovering, and riding. Now I am back in the real world of having to go to work (teaching), training, racing, cleaning the house, walking the dog, etc... But I really can't complain that much, I do have it pretty good compared a lot of people. Crit nationals are next!

Women's Endurance Talent ID Camp

I was very fortunate to be invited to the Women's Endurance Talent ID Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Other "new" talents that were invited: (left to Right) Ashley Anderson, Me(Carmen McNellis), Carol Hutton, Susannah Pratt, Megan Guarnier, Marissa Asplund, and Shelly Olds.

Day one: This was, for most of us, our first or second time on the track. Bikes with no brake, no gears, and worst of all fix gear (no coasting, you can't stop pedaling). Well, I guess you could stop pedalling but the outcome would not be so pretty. Luckily we all survived a really long morning on the track. We had lunch and then went on a great ride through the Garden of The Gods. Later that afternoon (evening) we had a presentation by USADA, nutrition discussion, and meet with a sport Psych. They sure kept us busy for the first day.

Day two: We started of the morning by completing a timed flying 2k on the Track. For you who have no idea what that first sentence was saying...We had to go as hard as we could around the track for 6 laps. The flying part means we didn't start for a standing position, we had speed going into it. We had a little more down time today, which was nice because my legs didn't feel that great from being on the track for 2.5 hours the previous day. Dirk Friel spoke to us about Training Peaks and then we were off to the track again for evening races. Every Tuesday and Thursday they have evening races at the Velodrome in Colorado Springs. Jim gave us the opportunity to race and I was glad we did because it was a blast. I came out with one win and 2 seconds. Not to bad for my first night of track racing.

Day 3: This morning we did some testing in the lab. Not much fun. I was pretty tired from the night before doing so many efforts. I was able to get in a quick needed nap. This afternoon we had beautiful weather and road a nice 3hr ride through the Air Force Academy. Now it is time for bed, more testing tomorrow!

We have two more days left so tune in for another update!

Carmen McNellis

Kat Carroll Podiums again in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem podium

L to R: Kori Seehafer, Kat Carroll, Tina Pic, Laura Van Guilder, Gina Grain

This past weekend the "A-Team" flew back to the east coast to duke it out with some the of the best sprinters in North America at the Charlotte Presbyterian Health Care Criterium and the Hanes Park Criterium in Winston-Salem. Report to follow by Kat.

Saturday night the "A-team" lined up on the downtown streets of Charlotte to try their hand at winning one of the biggest prize purses in women's cycling. I was joined by Shannon, Rebecca, Catherine Powers, Sarah and Kristin. After a couple warm-up laps around the course it was time for staging and call-ups. When they called my name, I thanked my lucky stars for the chance at good positioning and waved to my mom, granny and brother who had made the trip from TN to see me race. The race started and things were quickly strung out. Coming through the start/finish for the first time we heard the bell for a $250 prime the next time through. I jumped for it with Kori Seehafer from Lipton, and we raced all the way through the line for the cash. When we crossed I looked back and saw we had a group of six that had separated from the field. Not everyone was committed to working and after a little time off the front, we were back in the field. That was a bit of a preview for the entire night. A prime would draw a group out, but without organization or motivation, it was all back together going into the final lap. Cheerwine and Colavita were working to set up their sprinters, while I tried to insert myself as far up as I could. Coming out of the last turn a small gap opened up that I had to come around to reattach to the top four riders. Once I made contact, they had started their sprint and there was no chance to move up any further. I rolled across in 5th, with Rebecca 11th and Kristin and Catherine keeping themselves in the money on the day. We definitely were looking forward to another opportunity to race like we knew we could.
A highlight of Saturday evening was having a large Aaron's Corporate Furnishings cheering section. They were super active in their cow bell ringing during the race. We got the chance to meet several different staff members in the Charlotte/NC Area who came out to support us. I really feel like it would be hard to match or beat the type of support that we get from our sponsor, from the President of the company all the way down to individual store employees. They keep up with our results and cheer us on at races whenever we are close to their town, even when it is close to 100 degrees outside! Thanks Aaron's!!

Sunday was another day...another race and another chance to improve upon our results from the night before. We drove to Winston-Salem for our 12:30 start time. The start list was virtually the same from the night before. The race started out pretty fast, but the A-team was ready to make its presence known my attacking and covering every move. While some breaks looked promising, nothing really seemed like it would stick and the field readied itself for a bunch sprint. Coming out of the last turn, I used my momentum on the outside to move up past the women who were getting pinched on the inside. I jumped immediately coming out of the corner, but was not able to get around super speedy and consistent Tina Pic and Laura Van Gilder. Nevertheless, finishing on the podium with company like that was a nice reward. Shannon sprinted in for 8th and Rebecca and Kristin once again finished in the money to make it a pretty successful day of racing for the "A-team".

Next up...Sarah and I head to Elk Grove as a warm-up for the following weekend's Crit Nationals in Downers Grove, IL.

Catherine meets the the local wildlife at the farmer's market in Asheville, NC

The Final Day of Racing

Altoona's 2007 Top Ten

Top Row L to R: Felicia Gomez, Mara Abbott, Kristin Armstrong, Kori Seehafer

Front Row L to R: Rick Geist, Kathryn Curi, Chrissy Ruiter, Annette Beutler, Kristin Sanders, Amber Rais

Photo by Carmen D'Aluisio

Stage 7 - The Final Day of racing in Altoona always comes down to the Altoona Downtown Criterium. Intermediate Sprints for time bonus and Sprint Jersey points always keep the race fast and interesting. With few lulls in the race the fast pace and constant accelerations would prove too much for many of the racers. At the end of the day it was a mad dash to the line with Laura Van Guilder once again taking top honors. Aaron's Kat Carroll would be the team's best finisher in 9th.

"This was definitely the most aggressive and hardest Tour de Toona I've ever seen. It's really evident that the depth of women's racing just continues to get better and better."

At the end of every Tour de Toona a special photograph is taken with long time race promotor Rick Geist. It's an honor to make it into the "Top Ten" photo each year and it's not and easy thing to do for sure. This year the "A-Team" placed two of it's riders into the top ten which is a great accomplishment for a second year team.

4 - 5 - 6

Hollidaysburgh Circuit Race - Stage Podium

Allison Testroete, Laura Van Guilder, Katharine Carroll

Photo by Christina Grace

Stage 4 - Hollidaysburgh Circuit Race has a long uphill drag at the finish: the type of finish that has been good to Aaron's Katharine Carroll. The race was aggressive from the start with constant attacks and counter attacks tempting riders with the hopes of a strong break being established off the front, however, at the end of the day it would be a made dash to the finish with most of the top sprinters going for it up the final hill into the small town of Hollidaysburg. Only veteran sprinter Laura Van Guilder and Sprint Leader, Alison Testroete would finish ahead of Kat on the day. Teammate Kristin Sanders would finish a strong second for the team in 8th place.

Felicia Gomez retains QOM jersey

Photo by Carmen D'Aluisio

Stage - 5 Martinsburg Circuit Race would finish with both Kristin Sanders and Kat Carroll in a small group of 13 riders off the front by 1:27. Teammates Carmen McNellis, Rebecca Larson, Sarah Caravella, and Catherine Powers would have to work hard on the day to keep the break in check as if it gained too much time it would threaten Felicia's 2nd place overall. This break would move Kristin up to 8th place in the overall standings and thus putting two Aaron's riders in the top ten. Goodluck seemed to be with the team on this day as a late race mishap to team leader, Felicia Gomez, would seriously jeapordize her 2nd place overall, however, SRAM technical support got her rolling again and with the okay to motorpace her back to the field Felicia would "motor" at speeds over 35mph on the back of the team car. Teammates Catherine Powers and Sarah Caravella had dropped back to help her back to the group, however the speeds would prove impossible to accelerate up to fast enough and they would be left behind to roll in on their own on the day.

Stage 6 - Altoona Blair County Road Race would prove to be the deciding race of the Tour. As current World Champion, Kristin Armstrong, and current National Road Race Champion, Mara Abbott gapped the remainder of the field up the first Blue Knob climb with Felicia Gomez being the only rider to attempt to follow the strong duo. Felicia would find herself in "no man's land" with a long decent ahead of her and decided it was best to ease off and join the group for the chase down the other side. Felicia would however, be the lone Aaron's rider to make the front group and would be isolated with some other very strong team representation until teammate Kristin Sanders would join her when another group made contact on the long descent.
Team's being hesitant to work together to bring back the strong duo off the front would cause the time gap to the leaders to grow rapidly and the tactics of Team Lipton would change when the virtual yellow jersey on the road would switch from one Lipton rider's shoulders to another. At the end of the day Felicia would slip from 2nd to 4th overall and teammate Kristin Sanders would remain in 8th place.

Team mechanic, Josh Boggs speaks out

Photo by Carmen D'Aluisio

1 - 2 - 3

From L to R: Rachel Heal, Rick Geist, Kori Seehaufer, Felicia Gomez

A Team Time Trial greeted the women on Stage 1 of the Tour de Toona. A fun and challenging event that most of the women out here have never experienced before. It's one thing riding at speeds up to 45 miles per hour in one's aero bars by oneself and yet another glued to the back wheel of a teammate. With this in mind the team headed out on Monday morning to preview the course and go over some simple instruction on how to make this event our friend in about one hour.

Later in the evening the team great the TTT with excitement and a bit of nerves and delivered a fourth place finish with 5 of it's 7 rider team crossing the line together.

Stage 2 would introduce a brand new course to the event. One of the shorter course of the race at only 48 miles, would prove to be very difficult and would finish with a lead group of around only 20 women. Included in this select group was Aaron's Felicia Gomez and Kristin Sanders in 10th and 11th place. Former world class alpine ski racer, Alison Powers would show yet again her love and talent of the "fast decent" and leave her competitors behind for a solo win on the day putting her in yellow going into Stage 3.


Felicia Gomez receiving the QOM Leaders Jersey

Stage 3 Johnstown to Altoona would be the first of two 95+ mile stages with opportunity to gain or loose big time on the day. The race began to take shape as Catherine Powers of Aaron's would make it into a small break of 5 strong riders later to be joined by Felicia Gomez and another group of strong and motivated riders. With two in the break and one of our strongest climbers we were more than happy to keep the ball rolling. "Powers" was our rock star on the front today working consistently with about 5 other women from other represented teams putting over 5 min. on the chasing peloton by the base of the first long climb. From the base of the climb it would be ALL Felicia Gomez setting a tempo that would pop rider by rider until only Kori Seehaufer from Team Lipton would remain on her wheel. With Kori motivated and in position to take over the leaders jersey and Felicia motivated to take the QoM jersey and move into 2nd place overall it was game on over the top and down the descent. By the last 5km the two would open up a 1 :42 gap on a chasing group of 4 riders that crested the top together only 30 sec. behind and 3:00 to the main group containing Aaron's Kat Carroll and Kristin Sanders.

International Tour de Toona 2007

The "A-Team" arrived in Altoona, PA several days ago to begin one of the best stage races held in the US.

For a long time now, this race has prided itself in the length and difficultly of it's courses, the quality and size of it's field, and the fact that they have managed to offer women an equal prize purse to the women and the men which is quite rare in the sport of cycling.

The courses here in Altoona and the surrounding counties challenge women with varied terrain as well as long tough stages of up to 98 miles in length. Climbs of 2 - 4 miles in length aren't extremely long climbs for these women, however, add on top of that miles upon miles of never ending rollers these courses become very challenging day after day.

Altoona has always attracted the top women in North America as well as many european racers. This year alone the 100+ women's field size has reigning World Champion and current US National Time Trial Champion, Kristin Armstrong, current US National Road Race Champion, Mara Abbott, current Canadian National Road Champion, Gina Grain, current Canadian National Time Trial Champion Anne Samplonius...and the list goes on and on. Bottom line, the competition is top notch.

At the end of the day it's not easy to come home with a pay check when you are battling the top women in the sport, however, knowing that the opportunity to receive equal prize money to the men is very satisfying and gives one hope that the sport is going in the right direction.

Catherine dominates Superweek

C. Powers

Catherine Powers
Full of...culture and grace
Outside the Milwaukee Art Musuem

Supa-Dupa Week! Fun in Wisconsin

On July 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19 Catherine and Sarah participated in the Point Premium Root Beer International Cycling Classic (Superweek). From Friday the 13th through Sunday the 15th, we stayed with Don and Peggy Jorgensen and their children in Blue Island, Illinois outside of Chicago. Blue Island went all out to make us feel welcome, holding a barbecue on Friday night for the riders and lining the course for the races. Claire Jorgensen generously donated her room for us to stay in and we enjoyed chatting and watching The Tour de France with the family.

Superweek in all its entirety seemed not as much about the racing as the experience.
After being thoroughly spoiled with the welcome barbeque's and pancake breakfasts, Catherine and I set out to conquer the first race of the series, Blue Island.

The flat four corner crit seemed a good introduction back into racing after our three week hiatus. Lining up at the start line was a strong representation of teams hailing from all corners of the United States. Among them, the powerhouse Cheerwine had brought three of their riders. With one up on us we knew it would be a challenging week.

Before the battle began with Cheerwine, we were faced with challenges of our own. Catherine got caught up in a crash on the backside of the course coming away with only a couple of bruises and mild road rash. Then only a few laps later another crash occurred taking Catherine down again. What luck!

Thankfully for the rest of the race the girls managed to stay upright on their bikes. The race decidedly came down to a pack sprint as we aggressively vied for position on the last lap. It was a long windy sprint coming into the finish and Catherine set herself in position for the lead-out. Kelly Benjamin from Cheerwine jumped early into the headwind and made it difficult for the lead-out we had tried to set up. I jumped, but Kelly was able to hold her sprint to the finish. I finished second and Catherine finished 7th. Not a bad day, but we wanted better.

The next race was in Bensenville, IL. Another flat crit with only a few more corners.
Kelly Benjamin was in the leader's Jersey after the first race, so we knew what we were up against. The race started out fast and aggressive and never seemed to let up. There were a series of threatening attacks that Catherine was over all day. If she wasn't in them then she was forcing the pace and chasing them down. With only 7 laps to go, Catherine drove a break that seemed promising. The field was hot on them, but the break was so strong they maintained a gap that only came back with two to go. Then it was everyone's race, and it reflected it . The field was fighting for position with every last bit of energy they possessed. Catherine again set up for the lead-out, but as the field closed in the group came over into the barricades. I got knocked on my bike and knocked out of position. I chased back up to 5th wheel by the final corner, but it was too little to late. I would have to settle for 3rd. Almost there, but luckily we had 3 more days of racing.


On the evening of the 15th we traveled to the Cudahy area of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where our new host, Barbara Johnson was waiting for us. The next day our legs were feeling the travel and the racing and we decided not to race in the rain, thinking of the long week of hard racing ahead of us at the Tour de Toona. Barb’s beautiful garden and the family of bunnies (including 4 babies) were just the restful environment we needed. Later in the day we went to the Milwaukee Art Museum, using the passes Barb’s friend had secured for us. It is an amazing building and the Pissaro exhibit and large contemporary collection are fantastic. In the evening we took a spin and ran into our Cheerwine buddies Kelly and Sarah, who teased us for playing hookie.

The race on the 17th was held in the Whitnall Park Botanical Gardens and featured a steep hill, winding descent, rollers and slightly uphill finish – like a shorter version of New York’s Central Park races. We rode to the race (well, Sarah rode to the race and I rode half way until my tire got ripped to shreds by some glass and I had to hitch a ride with Al, an elderly gentleman on his way to buy supplies for a Knights of Columbus picnic – thanks Al!) and with some help from our friends at SRAM (thanks Jose!) got ready to rumble. Sarah initiated a couple of attacks but soon discovered that Cheerwine was unwilling to work with her. Catherine bridged up to a group of riders and ended up riding through them and was off the front alone for a couple of laps before a series of attacks brought the field back together. On the final laps, the fight for Cheerwine sprinter Kelly Benjamin’s wheel was vicious and Sarah got bounced around like a ping-pong ball between the eager riders vying for position. Meanwhile, Catherine was attempting to lead it out from the front, unaware of Sarah’s troubles behind. Catherine ended up 4th and Sarah managed to stay upright despite having to unclip as a result of a particularly hard hit.

On the 18th we raced at the Proving Grounds in Lyons, WI. The 9.7 mile course has many rollers and a kicker hill into a flat finish. Sarah started the attacks off and in the next lap Catherine attacked and then countered herself, eventually forming a break of 4, including Sarah Uhl, Christen King and Sydney Brown. The group worked together, steadily increasing the lead over the field, which gave up chasing after a lap. In the finish, Catherine positioned herself well and managed to out-sprint Sarah Uhl for the win. Yippee! Sarah was 5th in the field sprint.

On the 19th we took advantage of the late race time to stage the first annual Cheerwine vs. Aaron’s Egg-off. Chefs Sarah and Sarah whipped up eggstraordinary creations for the hungry judges. In the end we decided we couldn’t possibly decide on just one winner since both the smoked salmon-poached egg on goat cheese crostini and Southwest breakfast burrito were eggceptional. That afternoon we raced the Shorewood Criterium, a flat course with a fun chicane and some very bumpy sections. The community there is very supportive and crowds lined the streets, offering up premes every couple of laps. Catherine and Sarah eagerly gobbled up several of these. Catherine went for the field sprint, getting second place to Kelly Benjamin, while Sarah worked hard during the race and ended up 11th.

We’ve had a great time here in Milwaukee/Chicago! Thanks so much to our hosts the Jorgensens and Barbara Johnson! Thanks as well to the SRAM mechanics for all your help, to Jordan of Rock Racing for feeding us at the road race, to Sven’s Coffee Shop for internet access and to The Palomino for switching from the Brewers game to The Tour!

The "egg-off"

National Pictures!

Katharine Carroll on the last leg of the four 180 turns. It started raining about half way through the start list. It made things interesting on the 180's, but our team navigated them well - no crashes!

Rebecca Larson During the Time Trial

Kristin, Rebecca, and Katharine on our recovery ride. It was very hard to do a recovery ride, all the roads were either fast downhills or steep uphills.

Carmen McNellis made the other girls stand in mud to get this great photo. Didn't it turn out nice girls!

Nationals - Seven Springs, PA

The A-Team just finished up Nationals. Friday, 13th was the time trial and Monday, 16th was the Road Race.

The Road Race was 2 laps of 27 miles with hard climbs and fast down hills. We had four girls racing, Rebecca Larson, Kristin Sanders, Katharine Carroll, and Carmen McNellis. The race started out pretty mellow for the fist 12 miles and then the attacks started. We did a great job as a team covering dangerous moves. Katharine got in a break with about 10 people, we were hoping this would stick, but it didn't as the group sat up. Katherine kept going hard as the group got caught and she was off the front for a while before the climbers caught her. A small group was off the front for awhile until we hit the long highway climb and it came back together with about 20 girls. As soon as this happened someone attacked again and about 8 girls got away. Sadly we were not part of this group, but we had 3 in the next group back of about 10 girls. We chased hard up the last big climb and into the finish. Our group was sprinting for 9th place. Laura Van Gilder sprinted it in for 9th with Kristin following for 10th. Carmen came in 12th, Katharine 19th, and Rebecca 34.

1. Mara Abbott (Webcor Builders)
2. Kristin Armstrong (TEAm Lipton)
3. Amber Neben (Buitenpoort/Flexpoint)

Stay tuned for pictures!

US National Road Race

Teammates Kristin Sanders, Kat Carroll and Carmen Small before the start

The "A-Team" sent four of its eight riders to the US National Championships in Seven Springs, PA this past week. This championship course would truely crown the strongest rider on the day with it's constant rolling profile topped off with two tough climbs. The team rode a great race with Kristin Sanders being the team's top finisher in 10th place. Carmen McNellis, in her first National Championships would finish in 12th, Katharine Carroll finished 19th and Rebecca Larson 34th. Webcor's young rider, Mara Abbott would be crowned both the Elite National Champion as well as the U23 National Champion after winning in a close sprint with Lipton's Kristin Armstrong.

Aaron's, Kristin Sanders WINS the US National Time Trial Master's Championship in Seven Springs, PA...CONGRATS Kristin!!!

Tour of Grandview

This weekend was the Tour of Grandview in Columbus, Ohio. This is one of my favorite races. Not only are the races great, Jay Baumeister puts on a great race, but I have some great host families there. I thought that I would give you a little background on my great host families. They have really made my travels to Ohio memorable and enjoyable and helped me to feel at home.

The first year that I did this race was in 1999. I rode for Cox Atlanta Velo that year and I stayed with the Sohner's. They have three kids Dan, Bradley and Kyle. I haven't stayed with them since that first year, but they still come and cheer me on. This year Dan is actually in college in Athens, OH. Talk about feeling old! He also came to pick me up at the airport. Wow he is driving too! All three of the boys work at the races and help out and Bradley even did the announcing. Their mom and dad were also at both races cheering me on. It is so awesome to see them and catch up with them!

My other family is the Evans family. John and Stephanie have been great hosts! We have figured that I have stayed with them 5 of the last 6 years. (I didn't go two years ago because I flew to Italy and got married.) My first year with them they had two boys Luke and Eli. Just after I left that year Steph found out that she was pregnant. Now they little Isabelle who will be in kindergarten this fall. I always look forward to seeing them and see how they grow and listen to their great stories. Usually I get to see a swim meet before the Saturday races. All the parents get a kick out of the crazy bike folks that show up to cheer the Evan's kids on.

On to the races. After putting my bike together and a quick PB&J it was time to warm up for the races. I got my number and warmed up and got to the race with about 15 minutes to spare. As I sat underneath a tree to relax and stretch a little a couple of local girls asked if they could sit with me. They introduced themselves and told me that this was their first race ever. They had gotten one day licenses and were there to check it out. They asked me what category I was and when I replied a one they looked more nervous. It was so cute hearing them telling me about their riding and asking about racing and how to get on a big team. I told them that they would be just fine. Find a good wheel to follow and just stay with that person. It would probably get strung out, but just ride through it, it would get easier.
As the race started three girls quickly jumped off the front. The field slowed and I knew that I had better jump across. I attacked and one girl came with me. We traded pulls and we were across. Our group was a little unorganized and eventually my group grew to 8. I encouraged everyone to just pull a little bit so that it would stick. Our lead grew and with 3 Kenda and 2 from the local scene attacks started. When we came up on the field I attacked and hoped to get away in the confusion, but it didn't work. Eventually we were down to the last lap. The girl that had bridged with me attacked with two corners to go. I jumped on her wheel and out of the last corner I accelerated around her for the win!

Sunday I knew was going to be more difficult. There were more women and it was hot and it is a hard and technical course. Basically down hill and then up hill.
As the gun went off Priority Health attacked and took Kenda and Roadhouse with her. Several girls went in front of me and I was waiting for them to go up but no one when anywhere. Going up the hill the Roadhouse girl had fallen off so it was just two of them in the lead. I should have went across then, but I waited for the other teams that had several women to react. Then the Kenda girl came back to us and the Priority girl had 20 seconds! I attacked several times over the next laps trying to get up to the leader but never could get away. With about 5 laps to go I had to think about the sprint to the finish. It is a long uphill finish. Probably about 1k from the last turn. I wanted to go with about 200 meters or so. Not to early because there was also a headwind. As we hit the last lap I put myself about 4th wheel on the downhill. The Kenda girl in front took it hard on the descent and gaped us out on the last two corners. I yelled for the girls to go, but no one was reacting. As we started the climb she still had a gap and everyone seemed content to let her get second. Well, I wasn't content. Way earlier than I had wanted to go..about a quarter of the way up the hill I jumped. Not crazy hard, but enough to get a gap and I just kept ramping it up. I passed the Kenda girl and accelerated more. I thought please just hang on to the line without anyone else passing! I hit the line and had 2nd place!

Thanks to everone for a great weekend! I had a great time in Ohio. Thanks Sohner family, Jay Baumeister, and the Evans family. I hope to have some additional pics for you guys later.

SHK

Aaron's Shannon Hutchison-Krupat takes win in Grandview Heights, OH

Shannon Hutchison-Krupat WINS at Tour of Grandview!

Photos by: Paul Forsythe

Congrats to Shannon on her win in Grandview Heights, OH...story to follow.

Nature Valley Grand Prix Final

Photo by: Carmen D'Aluisio

The final day of the Nature Valley Grand Prix had it's ups and downs for the Aaron's Team. The team reached it's goal of keeping Rebecca Larson in the "Wheaties Sprint Leaders Jersey" which was a fantastic accomplishment. She was also awarded a $500 bonus for being the "Wheaties Cybersprint Champion".. Rebecca would finally be awarded the Red Sprint Leaders Jersey for the Women's Prestige Series that she will carry into the International Tour de Toona, the next stop in that series.

Photo by: Carmen D'Aluisio

Felicia Gomez would be the team's top finisher in 5th place in the overall standings which should give her a lot of confidence going into her National Championships in St. George, Canada early in July.

Photo by: Paul Forsythe

On the flip side, Carmen McNellis would find herself off her bike on the second lap of the race after having dropped her chain mid-way up the steep 14% grade on the Stillwater circuit. Maybe a miss-shift, maybe a mechanical, either way it was a tough way to lose time after having fought so hard all week.

Photo by: Paul Forsythe

Kristin Sanders would also fall into difficulty when two of her chain ring bolts went flying off her bike. Stuck in her big chain ring for the final two laps of the race she would also come off her bike on the steep 14% losing precious time that would have placed her well into the top 10 in the overall GC standings. Instead, I'm sure it left people wondering what had happened to her in the final results. Kristin is well prepared for the US Nationals coming up in July and we should see good results from her there in both the individual time trial and the road race.

Photo by: Paul Forsythe

Sarah Caravella, Catherine Powers and Michelle Kiesanowski played a major role this week riding in strong support of our team's leaders.

Photo by: Paul Forsythe

This was Michelle's last race with the Aaron's Team before leaving for France with the New Zealand National Team where she will complete her season. It was a pleasure to have Michelle as part of the team and we wish her well and much success for the remainder of her season!