Category: Blog

This was the first year for the Tour de PEI, a 4 day, 5 stage UCI road race put on by the organizers of the Montreal World Cup and tour de Grand Montreal. The idea behind having 3 big races back to back was to give the international teams coming to Canada for the World Cup lots of racing while they were here and to motivate them to come over for the racing.

I rode for the “Advil-Chapstick” womens composite team in PEI. Our team was well taken care of by Sean Scott, our team director and Scott Kelly, our mechanic for the week.

The organization of the race was exceptional. The athletes were treated really well. We were fed 3 meals a day, put up in accomodations and transported all around the island on a coach bus. I highly recommend this race to anyone who is thinking about doing it next year. Apparently, the race has a 3 year commitment from their sponsors and I definitely plan to be back next year.

Here’s a brief race report:

Stage 1: Sunday was a circuit race. There were many attacks and I hung on for the first half of the race, even making a presence at the front of the group and going with surges. My legs went into a bit of shock after several surges from the pack and I couldn’t hang on with just over 4 laps to go after getting caught in the back half of a split. I finished with a small group within the time cut, 11 minutes back.

Stage 2: Monday’s race was a 28.8 km Time Trial across confederation bridge. It was a really big deal that they closed the bridge – only the 2nd time they’ve ever closed it. It was a straight on tail wind going out and a straight on strong headwind coming back. I peaked at 67.5 km/ hour going out and struggled to do over 20 km/h returning. I finished a little more than halfway down the field – legs were pretty toast. Some of the top results from today were questionable. I think the commissaires made some mistakes and riders were given faster times (not me), and unfortunately it was not resolved, affecting the overall General classification. My teammate, Elisa Gagnon told the commissaires that the time they gave her was wrong (too fast by 4 minutes) and they corrected it.

Stage 3: Tuesday featured a 121 km road race. One big loop. It was WINDY again (Hey – we’re on an island. What do you expect I guess?). My legs finally started coming around today and I felt good. There’s definitely something to be said for not working and only having to concentrate on racing! There was alot of gutter action with the crosswinds today and I chased back a few times after thinking I was dropped for good. I managed to (sort of) finish with the main group. With 1 km to go, there was alot of jostling for positioning going into the sprint. I was with the main pack and got kinda shoved onto the side of the road. I did a bit of cyclocross and got back on the road but the pack was flying and I couldn’t catch them as they set were setting up for the sprint. I finished in 65th?, just 15 secs or so behind the main pack. It was good to feel the fitness that I know I have starting to kick in.

There’s been a banquet every night and we’ve been treated really well. Tonight’s was at Cavendish, home of Ann of Green Gables. They had an “Avonlea” band, featuring the entire cast of characters from the book. Quite funny! The weather has been great. Not too hot and no rain yet.

Stage 4: Wednesday was the 4th out of 5 stages in the tour. We did a point to point 96 km road race. The terrain was rolling and there were 3 sprints and 3 QOM (Queen of the Moutain) sprints. The pace felt a little more relaxed today (that’s to say I wasn’t feeling my heart in my throat for the entire 2 hours and 33 minutes). Also, I felt like my race legs were really starting to come around. Oftentimes at this point in a stage race, I really start to suffer by I seem to be getting stronger every day – a good sign my fitness is there waiting to come out!

The first sprint was at the 24 km mark, and I was up near the front for it, so after the sprinters did their thing, an Expresscopy team rider attacked. I was in the right place, and went with her. It didn’t last long, but it was good to test out my legs and see how I was feeling. Shortly after that, the pack was riding along slowly, and I tried to see if I could just roll off the front, as sometimes the pack will let that happen if the rider is not an overall contender. Again, it was shortlived, but fun to play around.

With about 10 km left in the race, some of the main contenders tried to go up the road, including the overall stage leader, Diana Zilute from Lithuania. I was near the front and tried to go with them, but could not even hold their wheels. There are some seriously strong riders in this field. I thought this break would stick, but we ended up all coming together a few minutes later.

In the end, an Australian and a Russian rider got a bit of a gap on the field and finished 1st and 2nd. The last QOM was 2km before the finish and I got dropped on this but managed to bridge up through the caravan to catch back onto the main pack to finish with them. I think my place was 50-something?, same time as 3rd.

Last day is tomorrow – a 50 km crit in Charlottetown, then a big party afterwards featuring some Canadian rock n roll!

Stage 5: The last stage of the tour de PEI was a criterium in Charlottetown. It was a fairly straightforward course but not without a few crashes. I got caught behind/ beside one in the first half of the race. I got back in but was not in good position and got behind a rider who gapped us. So… I chased with a few other riders and we managed to stay in long enough before getting lapped that we got a finishing time. The stage was won by Giorgia Bronzini and former World Champ Diana Ziliute took the overall title.

In the evening we had a big banquet with awesome food. Great race!!!

For full results and reports go to: www.cyclingnews.com

The team RACE women hit the road again, heading to Syracuse, New York for the “Syracuse Race Weekend” stage race. Diana Joness and I raced in the Senior 1-2 category and Celeste Merey raced with the Cat 4 Women.

The weekend consisted of 3 races – a 66 mile hilly road race (33 miles for the women’s category 3-4), a 1 mile time trial and a 20 mile criterium in Onondaga Park in downtown Syracuse.

ROAD RACE:
The weekend kicked off Saturday morning with the road race. The temperature was hot and the course was hilly! The senior 1-2 women did 2 laps of a 33 mile circuit and the cat 4’s did 1 lap.

Women 1-2:
Each lap featured a long, hard climb that splintered the field. 3 riders got away on the climb and stayed away until the finish. 5 of us chased in the 2nd group. Diana and I were both in the second group. The finish line was at the top of a 400 metre climb and we sprinted it out for 4th place. I finished up 5th and Diana came 8th.

1) Jocelyn Loane (Australian National Team)
2) Candice Sullivan (CATS)
3) Yvette Labombard (JW Dundee’s)
5) Julia Bradley (Team RACE)
8) Diana Joness (Team RACE)

Women 4:
Celeste Merey was the lone representative for Team RACE in the women’s 4 field. She had a good race and finished 15th out of the 23 starters for the day.

1) Martha Bush (CRCA/Sanchez-Metro)
2) Amy Kneale (VeloSportivo.com)
3) Debrah Mattemand (Jobone BBX)
15) Celeste Merey (Team RACE)

TIME TRIAL:
After a bit of food and a brief rest, we hit the road again for a 1 mile Time Trial. The course was a fun, twisty circuit that went from the road to the bike path and back on the road again. It was a really fun course and quite a contrast from the day’s earlier stage.

Women 1-2:
I raced through the circuit in 2 minutes and 24.47 seconds, just over 1 second behind the winner to take 2nd place in the stage. Diana also had a strong performance, finishing 5th in 2:33.22.

1) Candice Sullivan (CATS)
2) Julia Bradley (Team RACE)
3) Jocelyn Loane (Australian National Team)
5) Diana Joness (Team RACE)

Women 4:
Celeste improved upon her earlier performance of the day to finish up 14th in a time of 2:48.44.

1) Jenny Ives (CBRC)
2) Martha Bush (CRCA/Sanchez-Metro)
3) Heather Mclendon (GVCC)
14) Celeste Merey (Team RACE)

CRITERIUM:
The women got up early Sunday morning to race the criterium in the Onondaga Park. The course featured a small climb and downhill just before flattening out for the start/finish. The road was wide with rough patches of pavement on a round circuit, without any real corners to speak of.

Women 1-2:
After Saturday’s races, I went into the criterium in the 1st place in General Classification. Diana patrolled the front of the group for the entire race, chasing down attacks and protecting me from the wind. There were a few primes that she resisted going for in order to work for me. (The massage and the beer primes were the toughest for her to resist). Good job Diana – that was real team work!! In the end, it was a drag race to the finish. I finished 2nd in a very, very close sprint and maintained my lead to take the overall win.

1) Caryl Gale (CRCA-Comedy Central)
2) Julia Bradley (Team RACE)
3) Gaetane Perreaut (Velo Bella)
6) Diana Joness (Team RACE)

Women 4:
Celeste had great legs in the crit. She went for the beer prime but got pipped at the line. She improved once again on her previous day’s performances and cracked the top 10, finishing a solid 9th.

1) Martha Bush (CRCA/Sanchez-Metro)
2) Jenny Ives (CBRC)
3) Nancy Heller (tri state velo)
9) Celeste Merey (Team RACE)

FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION:
Women 1-2:
1) Julia Bradley (Team RACE)
2) Caryl Gale (CRCA-Comedy Central)
3) Yvette Labombard (JW Dundee’s)
4) Diana Joness (Team RACE)

Women 4:
1) Martha Bush (CRCA/Sanchez-Metro)
2) Jenny Ives (CBRC)
3) Heather Mclendon (GVCC)
14) Celeste Merey (Team RACE)

It was a successful weekend for Team RACE. We had 11 riders representing 3 different categories and our presence did not go unnoticed. After winning the overall General Classification, the announcer called me to the stage to find out exactly what team RACE was all about.

Congratulations to all the team RACE members who raced in Syracuse. A special thanks to Amy Moore for standing out in the heat to feed all of us in the road race on Saturday and to James Layfield who came out early Sunday morning to cheer on the women’s team.

For full results go to:
www.syracuseraceweekend.com

This weekend marked the start of the road racing season for the Team R.A.C.E. Women’s road team. Celeste Merey, Diana Joness, and I raced in Brockville at the Brockville Road Race for Habitat. The race is held on a 9.6 kilometer flat- to- rolling circuit and starts in the small town, Lyn, Ontario. We did 8 laps for a total of 78 km.

The race went off in 3 waves, and the senior women were grouped with various senior and masters men’s categories. There were a total of 64 riders in our field, 25 of them women.

There were many breakaway attempts including a valiant effort by Diana, but nothing was able to stay away in the windy conditions. The race organizers had some organizational issues, and our group had to restart the race after one lap because we were catching the group in front of us! Also, when the Senior 1-2 Men’s group passed us, there was a major mixing of categories, as noone could tell who was in what group. Miraculously, we all got sorted out on the last lap and our group finished together.

New to the Team R.A.C.E. Women’s team this year is Senior 3 rider Celeste Merey. Celeste had a great day and pushed herself to hang in with the main pack of riders for 5 laps. Way to go Celeste! Watch for Celeste to come on strong as the season progresses.

Diana and I were in the main pack going into the last lap. With 3 kilometres to go, there was a crash that took Diana down. She picked herself up and managed to finish solo, 1:33 behind the group in 12th place. Until this point, Diana was feeling great and was hoping for a strong finish.

I got stuck behind some tired riders going into the sprint and had to go wide into the crosswind to make up a gap. Despite this, I managed to finish 2nd in the women’s category and 2nd out the entire group of 64.

Next up for the women’s team: Diana will be racing at the “Niagara Classic Road Race” this weekend in Pelham, Ontario. Then on May 26 and 27, Diana, Celeste and I will be heading to Syracuse, NY for the “Syracuse Race Weekend” stage race.

Full results from all categories can be found here:
http://www.ontariocycling.org/web_pages/results/brockvilleresults_2.htm

All the best!

Julia Bradley
Team R.A.C.E.
www.juliabradley.net

Here is some video from the first few minutes of the Women’s Scratch race qualifier at the Manchester World Cup #3 (Feb 25/07).

I had a good race. I sat in the top 5 for most of the race, followed moves and had good positioning and reaction. Towards the end of the race I went on an attack but got caught with about a lap to go. I didn’t qualify for the final but it was a great race – very fast and aggressive, quite different from the Scratch race at the L.A. World Cup.

I’m in the blue and yellow Team R.A.C.E. skinsuit with the blue helmet.

Videographer: Sherali Najak

Some video of me climbing in South Carolina at Table Rock State Park in March. We were checking out my climbing position on my “easy” day. For that, we found the steepest climb in the park!

Videographer: Susan Brown

This year, training in South Carolina marked the end of my Track racing Season and the start of a new season. It was nice to get away for a “holiday” with a great group of people and train our butts off in the mountains.

Our group consisted of: myself, Celeste, Diana, Emma, Michelle, Jana, Steve and Susan.

We were training near Greenville, South Carolina, which is a 16 hour drive from Toronto and we usually do the drive in 2 days. This year, my friend Diana and I decided to do the drive straight through, thus “saving” a day. We left my place at 9am and arrived at the doorsteps of our cabin at half past midnight. I was pretty tired by the time I got there and took a couple days to recover. I was still recovering a bit from the travel and jetlag from Manchester, but some rest, riding and fresh air in the mountains was all I needed.

We did all the classic rides that I’m so familiar with after going to SC for the last 9 years – the Blue Ridge Parkway, Saluda, Caesar’s Head, Pumpkintown, the Continental Divide Sassafraz, which is a 7.3 km steep, leg busting ascent – as hard of a climb as you’ll find anywhere! Fun times! Every year, we do the Caesar’s Head climb as a time trial, and this year I did a personal best, both in terms of time and wattage!

What a life! Eat, sleep, ride…

Getting ready for my first road ride of the year.

Diana and in beautiful Pumpkintown.

Steve is exhausted after the Blue Ridge ride.

Our chefs for the evening: Diana and Michelle

Barbecue night. On the menu? Steaks and Veggie Kebabs. Yum!
We made a friend in South Carolina – Officer Joey.

How cute is this guy?!

Photos courtesy Susan Brown

Team R.A.C.E. is all about the charitable foundation (Race Against Cancer Everywhere), and recently I got to participate in one of the foundation’s charities, “The Inside Ride”