Last weekend, a skeleton crew of Leigh Valletti and Megan Esmonde represented the team at Criterium Nationals. With crashes having taken out half of the travelgirl roster originally slated for this event, the Leigh-Megan duo would have to fight it out against the rest of the teams, all hungry for the title of national champion.

Saturday’s warm-up race saw fierce racing, with Megan and Leigh working well together to deliver Leigh to the line in 10th place, a great result.

Sunday, the two again worked well together despite the persistent kamikaze racing style that dominated the race (it seems everyone was out for blood in this big event) and a last lap crash, which took out 2 of the race favorites, Tina Pic (Colavita/Cooking Light) and Jen McCrae (ConexTrain).  Both Leigh and Megan finished the race unscathed.

Theresa Clif-Ryan (Verducci Cycling) bested a handicapped Laura Van Guilder (TEAm Lipton), who was still struggling to clip in 200 meters from the finish line after colliding with Pic coming out of the last turn, for the win.

Next up:  US 10K and BERMUDA!!!!!!

Travelgirls Tiffany Ballew, Kim Foland, Tracey Grimshaw, Kim Sawyer, and Leigh Valletti had a great race at the first annual Sandy Springs Classic crit. The triangular course, with a never-ending uphill finish, seemed to suit the team, as one team member or another was off the front for essentially the entire race.

The action started with Tiffany’s attack on the 2nd lap, which stuck for 4 or 5 laps before being brought back by a combination of the Aaron’s and Cycleworks teams. As Tiffany was being caught, Leigh launched a counter and quickly distanced herself from the field.  Kim F., Kim S., and Tiffany kept any eye on the field, and her lead grew. Eventually, she successfully lapped the field and also handily took the gambler’s prime with one lap to go. 

With Leigh’s win sewn up, the field sprint saw Tiffany crossing for 6th, and Kim F. taking 13th.

Trish Albert’s great photos can be seen at cyclingnews.com:

www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2006/aug06/aug13sandysprings/DSC_0070

Thanks for your support!!

Upcoming races:  Crit Nationals, Augusta Georgia Cup (and state crit and road race championships), US 10K, and Bermuda Grand Prix.

In its 2nd year for the women, the Bank of America Criterium in Charlotte is the richest women’s criterium in the country.  With a $25,000 purse ($12,500 of that slated for 1st place), this is a high-stakes event, with all teams arriving ready to race hard.

Deb Borden, Megan Esmonde, Kim Foland, and Leigh Valletti lined up on the jam-packed streets of Charlotte for what would be a very active race. Early on, a break containing most of the major teams got up the road. Eventually, this break was brought back to the field, prompting others (most notably Katherine Carroll of Victory Brewing) to launch their attempts to foil the sprinters. The combination of numerous crashes and a fast and furious attempt to capture Carroll before the finish made the final laps both fast and chaotic. 

After the dust settled, Leigh emerged in a very respectable 12th place.

Next up:  Sandy Springs Criterium; Criterium Nationals; the Georgia State Time Trial, Criterium, and Road Championships; and the Bermuda Grand Prix.

Thanks for your support!