Nature Valley "Stage 1" and Stage 1 again

By now on the various cycling news websites it has been well documented that the first stage was a complete washout for both the men and the women. Thunderstorms and constant rain soaked the course and the officials decided to start the fields anyway. MANY crashes later, the races were neutralized and or discounted.

We had 2 casualties: Nikki and Iona. Nikki broke her frame and had to get a new one and came away with some road rash. Iona hit into the barricades which had hay bales on the OTHER side of them (good thing the barricades are being protected, not the riders crashing into them) and suffered a concussion. They decided that stage 1 would not count as too many women got taken out.

Fast forward to stage 2, ahem stage 1 again, and we started everyone minus Iona, just to rest her head. This stage was filled with attacks from the get-go. After a windy, rolling road race section, and a crash involving Tina and Shontell, the field entered the finishing circuits for 5.5 2mile laps. The girls all worked well to cover moves and stay up front and Tina did an especially good job with positioning and staying tough after the crash here to take the win.

We have no photos...boy do we miss Tiffy and her camera.....maybe we can score some later.....

Tina in yellow, Kristin in the best amateur jersey.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Rimettiti presto Iona !!

Melissa Weddell said...

Sorry to hear about the wrecks. Good luck this weekend! Great meeting with you and riding with you in Indianapolis Iona!