Central Valley Classic Women's Reports
Catherine Powers of Aarons Pro Cycling Team and Kirsten Robbins of Victory Brewing with a close up look at the Women's racing in the Central Valley Classic Kearney Road Race and Tower Criterium. Full Results for both races and the Omnium Final.

Central Valley Classic
Kearney Road Race, 120 km
Catherine Powers Aarons Pro Cycling
Following the trend as of late, weather forecasts for Saturday’s Kearney Road Race were for a cold and rainy day, and the weather did not disappoint. The men’s race that started earlier in the day had sporadic rain throughout most of the race with a cold bite in the air. With two laps to go in the men’s race the rain started to pick up to a heavy steady downpour. On the last lap of the men’s race the promoter announced that the Women’s start would be delayed approximately 20 minutes.
The rain really started to pick up, and the promoter started waffling between an on time start and a delay. Roughly 10 minutes before the scheduled start time the promoters rallied everyone for an on time start. Catherine was having a debate whether or not to wear a rain jacket and finally decided to take a brief poll of the immediate surroundings of fellow racers. Results landed her at cutting the sleeves off and donning the custom rain jacket vest! And a good thing she did!

Catherine was feeling great and energized by the TT the day before. She and Road Manager Jeremy Hutchinson Krupat talked through the course in detail and despite the rain she was psyched for the race. The course covered many a flat and straight road turning in and out of vineyards, Palm tree lined streets and past  farms surrounding the Kearney Park.
Once at the park the riders made a 90 degree right hand turn into the park where they had 500m of winding fence lined course to the finish followed by several kilometers of a tight turning circuit through the park before heading back to the surrounding palm tree lined roads. The feed zone was just outside the park on a straight and fast section that made feeds quite difficult for the slippery handed, which in the wet is most!

Jeremy sat in the feed zone waiting for Catherine as the sleet, heavy downpours and ever so short periods of sunshine dealt the riders quite a variety of (not so sunny) Central California Valley weather. Several riders pulled into the feed zone frozen to the bone and retired for the day. Catherine had made a good decision on the rain coat! She came through lap after lap looking very comfortable sitting in the top 10 as the field behind was strung out with riders having to close gaps created in each turn in the circuit. The weekend held great prospects for Catherine as the road race and crit were well suited to her ability with a good chance of a top placing in each race and a great prospect for a top overall.

Unfortunately, this was not to be; with 2 laps to go Catherine flatted on the back half of the course and was unable to get back into the race to contend the finish. As Catherine rolled into the feed zone, you could see the disappointment in her eyes. Jeremy urged her to get into the car and warm up yet she made sure she was outside cheering for fellow racers as they came by. The women’s race finished with Victory Brewing setting their sprinter Laura Yoisten up for the win as the field came into the park strung out.

Kearney Road Race
By Kirsten Robbins Victory Brewing Team
The Victory Brewing Cycling Team wins
The women gathered to the start line in undesirable weather conditions where discussions of a reduced race took place. The teams agreed that due to the cold, rain, and hail the race would be shortened from six laps to five. The circuit was a 24 km and flat, finishing in the Kearney Park.

There were many unsuccessful attacks during the race but the field stayed together until the finish. The race was also marred with flat tires and crashes. Victory Brewing's Leigh Hobson and Team Lipton's Laura Van Gilder were forced to stop their race due to a crash on the second to last lap.

The Victory Brewing Cycling Team planned a perfectly executed lead out for Laura Yoisten beginning with approximately three kilometers to go. With the train tight, communicative, and intact, Yoisten was dropped off with 250 meters to the finish line. "The team was amazing and I felt like I didn't have to do a thing except sprint," says Yoisten. Victory Brewing placed three riders in the top ten with Yoisten winning the race, Franges taking fourth, and Lyons ninth.
Yoisten has accumulated enough point to move her into third place in the overall omnium behind Webcor's Christine Thornburn and Team Liptons's Kristin Armstrong.

Pro 1/2 Women Road Race
Saturday March 11, 2006
Place FirstName LastName TeamName
1  Laura Yoisten Victory Brewing Team 
2  Sarah Tillotson Colavita/Cooking Light  
3 LISA SWEENEY CPT-COLNAGO
4 Lauren Franges Victory Brewing Team
5
6 Kori Seehafer Team Lipton
7  Kristin Armstrong Team Lipton
8  Brooke Miller PABW Powered by TIBCO
9 Christine Thorburn Webcor Platinum
10 Brenda Lyons Victory Brewing Team
11 Christina Becker Tmobile
12 Dotsie Bausch Colavita/Cooking Light 
13 Rebecca Larson Cycle Science
14 Taitt Sato McGuire Cycling Team
15 Felicia Gomez Webcor Platinum
16 Audrey Lemieux Colavita/Cooking Light 
17 Kristin DRUMM PROMAN/Paradigm
18 Kimberly Anderson Tmobile
19 Laura Bowles Victory Brewing Team
20
21 NICKY WANGSGARD CPT-COLNAGO
22 Alisha Lion Velo Bella-Kona
23
24 Katharine Carroll Victory Brewing Team
25 Charm Breon Cheerwine
26
27 Rebecca BROEDER Hub Racing / Cannondale
28 Hiroko Shimada Velo Bella-Kona
29 Betina Hold Webcor Platinum
30 Martina Patella McGuire Cycling
31 Holly BOROWSKI McGuire/USAArmed Forces
32 Miranda Duff CPT-COLNAGO
33 Betsy Galenti Americas Dairyland
34 Lara Kroepsch Team Lipton
35 Natalie Klemko Americas Dairyland
36
37 Moriah MacGregor Dizzy Chicks
38 Meredith Miller Team Lipton
39 Kirsten Robbins Victory Brewing Team
40
41
42
43 Lisa HUNT the olympic club

Sunday’s Tower District Criterium
Catherine Powers Aarons Furniture
Yet again, Sunday started out with a cold rain and looked to be much more of the same weather yet today the afternoon start time did work to the women’s advantage. As Jeremy packed up the rental car for the race the sun started to peek out and the roads were drying up. Ahhh, the sun had arrived!

Today’s race was a fairly basic course with a 180 degree turn following the finishing straight accompanied by a slight chicane before the finishing straight. The finish line was roughly 200 metres from the final corner. Following the road race it was pretty evident that Victory would want to keep the race together while some of the other teams with quite a bit of depth would like for there to be a break. Catherine had come to this race by herself and hence she would have to ride a smart race, which she did.

The race progressed much as expected with Lipton and Webcor being aggressive at the front and Victory content to keep the race together. Catherine stayed in good position throughout the race; as the laps wound down it was apparent there was not going to be any break in the race. The last lap came with a Victory, Webcor and Lipton trains setting up their riders. Catherine put herself in the mix coming across the line for a respectable sixth place earning her a 10th place overall in the omnium.

Central Valley Classic
Tower District Criterium, 50 minutes
By Kirsten Robbins
Victory Brewing sweeps the podium
The final stage of the Central Valley Classic brought all riders lined up to begin a furious race for points. After yesterdays road race, Webcor's Christine Thornburn, Lipton's Kristin Armstrong, and Victory Brewing's Laura Yoisten were in first, second, and third respectively for the overall omnium.
The points accumulated in the Towers District Criterium, would decide the winner of the overall.
The circuit was technical with the addition of a 180 U-turn just after the start/finish line. The pace of the race was fast as riders were trying to break away from the field. Both Webcor and Lipton put forth their efforts to try to get their rider's off the front but Victory Brewing would only be content to have the race come down to a field sprint.

During the final five laps of the race Victory Brewing began to establish their lead out train for Yoisten. With three laps remaining the blue train was linked tight and no one was able to interrupt their momentum. Coming out of the final corner Victory Brewing sewed up first, second, and third places on the podium with Lauren Franges, Laura Yoisten, and Laura Bowles.

"I am very pleased with they way our team has come together to race. Our goal was to set a tempo for the team from the start and our goal now is to keep it going. We had a great race this weekend and we will be focused on building our team and our strengths further," says Director Mike Tamayo.

Yoisten gathered enough points during the criterium to win the overall omnium, just one point ahead of Webcor's Christine Thornburn. Lauren Franges also gained enough points to move her into third place for the overall omnium.
Omnium Results

CPT-Colnago Climbs onto Podium at Central Valley Classic
Lisa Sweeney CPT Colnago Team
In cold and windy conditions, Lisa Sweeney (North Victoria, British Columbia) placed third in the 75-mile Kerney circuit race, part of the three-day Central Valley Classic in the Fresno area. Sweeney's third place marked Colorado Premier Training-Colnago's first NRC podium in the team’s inaugural year.

The previous day’s time-trial results were not what was hoped for, so the team was motivated for a day of good representation and to leave their first mark on the 2006 circuit. Miranda Duff (Beaverton, Ore.), Molly Hummel (Durango, Colo.), Mary Schuette (Fort Collins, Colo.), Nicky Wangsgard (Longmont, Colo.) and Sweeney took the start, and the strategy of the day was to match all other teams in number and speed. The team certainly did that, placing Duff, Hummel, Wangsgard and Sweeney in the final selection.

Sweeney picked the fast line into the chicane at 300 meters to go, and was beat by two -- Laura Yoisten (Victory Brewing) and an unmarked Colavita Cooking Light rider. The 24-year-old neo-pro attributed her comfort in the inclement conditions to living and training in British Columbia, where she often trains in cold, wet conditions.
“The sprint was more a sprint of saavy rather than pure speed. Nicky told me that the real race was to the park entrance, and so that’s what I focused on, and it paid off.”

Tower District Criterium Results:
Sunday March 12, 2006
Place Name Team Bib
1  Lauren Franges Victory Brewing Team 23w
2  Laura Yoisten Victory Brewing Team 24w
3  Laura Bowles Victory Brewing Team 28w
4  Christine Thorburn Webcor Platinum 33w
5  Sarah Tillotson Colavita/Cooking Light  42w
6  Catherine POWERS Aaron's Pro Cycling 69w
7  Kori Seehafer Team Lipton 10w
8  LISA SWEENEY CPT-COLNAGO 53w
9  Nicole Freedman Velo Bella-Kona 84w
10 Mari Holden Tmobile11w
11 Anna Webb San Diego Bike Club 65w
12 Brenda Lyons Victory Brewing Team 29w
13 Laura VanGilder Team Lipton 1w
14 Rebecca Larson Cycle Science 73w
15 Alisha Lion Velo Bella-Kona 89w
16 Kristin Armstrong Team Lipton 9w
17 Laura Downey Americas Dairyland 70w
18 Taitt Sato McGuire Cycling Team 57w
19 Kimberly Anderson Tmobile 12w
20 Melodie Metzger McGuire Cycling Team 60w
21 Leigh Hobson Victory Brewing Team 25w
22 Sue Palmer-Komar Colavita/Cooking Light   47w
23 Martina Patella McGuire Cycling 92w
24 Kristin DRUMM PROMAN/Paradigm 80w
25 Unknown  
26 Audrey Lemieux Colavita/Cooking  43w
27 Brooke Miller PABW Powered TIBCO 63w
28 Felicia Gomez Webcor Platinum 31w
29 Jane Ziegler Velo Bella-Kona 19w
30 Christina Becker Tmobile 13w
31 Erinne Willock Webcor Platinum 34w

Ominium Results Final
1 Christine Thorburn Webcor Platinum 22
2 Kristin Armstrong Team Lipton 21
3 Laura Yoisten Victory Brewing Team 20
4 Sarah Tillotson Colavita/Cooking Light  17
5 LISA SWEENEY CPT-COLNAGO 15
6 Lauren Franges Victory Brewing Team 13
7 Kori Seehafer Team Lipton 10
8 Erinne Willock Webcor Platinum 10
9 Felicia Gomez Webcor Platinum 9
10 Brooke Miller PABW Powered  TIBCO 8
11 Leigh Hobson Victory Brewing Team 6
12 Brenda Lyons Victory Brewing Team 6
13 Chrissy Ruiter Victory Brewing Team 5
14 Christina Becker Tmobile 5
15 Dotsie BauschColavita/Cooking Light   4
16 Catherine POWERS Aaron's ProCycling 4
17 Rebecca Larson Cycle Science 3
18 Betina Hold Webcor Platinum 3
19 Anne Samplonius Team Biovail Pro Cycling 2
20 Taitt Sato McGuire Cycling Team 2
21 AMBER RAIS Webcor-Platinum 1