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Tamara Fraser on Jun 6, 2010

Race name: O'Fallon Grand Prix Road Race Race date: Sunday, Jun 6, 2010

I decided to race the Women's Open at the O'Fallon Grand Prix because it was two laps, 45 miles, as opposed to the Women's 3/4's single 22.5 mile lap. I do better in longer races. And 5 hours is a LONG drive for 22 miles.

I lined up with eight other women. The women's fields have been robust this season, so this was a disappointing throwback. Five of us were Illinois residents, competing for the State Championship jersey.

I figured a small field like this would stay together for the first lap, and we did. I was obviously the slowest on the hills -- little digs saw me gapped several times -- but I was able to catch back on without too much difficulty. There were prime sprints each time through the start/finish, which I knew would be challenging to a non-sprinter like myself, so I clung to the group up the final hill and when the jump came, I was ready -- I was solidly on the wheel in front of me. Then the racer in front of her popped and we were gapped. We chased hard, but someone attacked in the feed zone and that was it.

There was a woman chasing ahead of me and one behind. I knew they could both outclimb me, so I didn't wait. I TTed the entire second lap, putting enough time on the woman behind me that I could no longer see her, even when the course turned back on itself. I had tantalizing glimpses of the yellow kit of the racer ahead, and finally at 2500 meters from the finish, I caught her. I expected her to grab my wheel, but she had nothing, so I rode right by and into 7th place.

My training was derailed a bit when I was injured in a crash a month ago. It's good to see my long-term endurance hasn't been affected. Explosive power is another story -- I'll be training hard for that.