However, we were named Dare to Be/BMW.  (Laura was kind enough to register the composite portion of the team in the name of the charity that I am starting, The Dare To Be Project, Inc.  I will write more about this in the future.)

 It wasn’t a big race for the BMW girls.  They only had a bare bones set up, but that was ok with me.  I was close to home, and it is always refreshing to race and work with new riders who are on the development  end of the sport.  My guest teammates and support crew for the week included Sarah C, Rachel, Kathleen B, and Cora, while my husband and Sarah’s mom helped out  where they could. 

The race started well!  I won on my super fast D6.  It was cool to be back in the yellow jersey at Redlands.  Of course, that also meant that I was in a position to talk to the other girls about racing and defending, so we all piled in the rented mini van for a race strategy session where we discussed the various ways of how or what they could do to help.  I think it was a new experience for them.  Their eyes were huge, but their hearts were into it. 

The first road race stage looked relatively flat and wide open.  There were a lot of riders and teams still in the mix.  However, it seemed that most were interested in either the mountain points, sprint points, or the stage, so the racing was not as aggressive as I had expected.  Unfortunately, though, during the race, I lost Sarah (asthma) and Corah.  Rachel fought hard and did what she could on the final lap.  Kathleen made the cut and was ready to help the next day.  The good news was that I still had the yellow jersey.

The crit wasn’t good.  I was missing some able bodied teammates to help control, and the dangerous Ina T got up the road.  I risked relying on the other teams who also had GC interested riders to chase.  There is only so much one person can do.  However, the expected response did not happen, and Ina took a huge lead in the GC.  The break also moved some other riders up.  I was down to 7^th, but I was ready to ride hard on the Sunset Loop to try to take things back. 

The final stage was a battle for all 9 laps.  Mara and I climbed hard throughout, trying to put the yellow jersey in trouble.  We were close.  We escaped multiple times, but we were never able to stick anything.  Ina’s superstar strength, smarts, and will combined with her hard working and talented teammate, Evie, kept the lead safe.  The last move kept us away until 5k to go, but there just was not enough cooperation in the break to keep it away to the finish.  The podium was only 2 sec away for me, but it was not to be.  I ended up 4^th in the GC and 5^th in the final stage sprint. 

It was a hard, fun day of racing.  I always enjoy those challenges.  I would have liked to have been on the podium again, but I couldn’t make up enough of the time that I lost in the crit.  I will look forward to another attempt next year.

Thanks again to all the support from the Redlands community and the local socal scene.