Team Basis made its racing debut at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race in Phoenix, Arizona February, 13-15, 2004. Team Basis had four riders at the race: Nicole Freedman, Lauren Gaffney, Kele Holser, and Heather Albert. The team goals coming into the race were to get some good hard training and to place well in some stages.

The race started on Friday with an 11.6-mile out-and-back time trial. The course was 30 miles west of Phoenix, so we were in the middle of nowhere. This meant that there was very little traffic on the road used for the time trial, and the pavement was excellent. The time trial course was mostly flat with a crosswind/headwind out and a crosswind/tailwind back. This is the first race of the season, so hundreds of people turn out; they have races for every category of racer. There were 60 women 1/2 riders in our field. To demonstrate how many people come to this race, the time trial started at 9 am with one rider going off every 30 seconds, and the last rider started at 3:46 pm. The women started at 1:45 pm. I used aerobars with my very unaerodynamic PowerTap wheels; I was using the race strictly for training, so I wanted the power data from my wheel. Nicole, Lauren, and Kele all had their beautiful aero Reynolds wheels. Mari Holden (T-Mobile) won the TT, followed by Katrina Berger (Rona), and Lyn Gaggioli (T-Mobile) 3rd. Heather finished in 13th place, 1:07 behind Mari. Nicole was just 2:12 behind Mari, which became important the following day. My parents came down to watch me race. They dropped me off for the long drives. We arranged for them to pick me up at a corner fast food place. Two employees were in front of the place dressed as food items; Nicole and Lauren took a photo of me (still in racing skinsuit) and my bike with them.

Saturday was the road race in Casa Grande (another 50-mile drive from Phoenix). On the way to the course, we discussed team goals and personal goals for the race. Nicole jokingly said, “I think we should launch me to the win.” The course was a 16-mile lap which we did 3.5 times. The course had one climb, but it wasn’t that steep and only lasted 1.5 miles; the finish was at the top of the climb. The second time up the climb there was a QOM sprint with time bonuses on the line for first, second, and third places. It was windy and a little cool when we started. My plan was to go from the gun. I started in the back, and we had the centerline rule. We went down the road (2 miles maybe) and made the right turn. By that time I was in the front. I attacked immediately after the turn. They let me go. Carolyn Donnelly told everyone that it was too windy and no one would stay away. I was off for an entire lap. Once they caught me, I was able to go with a few attacks. I sat in and hoped to get the QOM time bonus. They started winding up the sprint, and my legs were wasted, so I didn’t get any bonus. Lynn Gagiolli (T-Mobile) won the QOM with Katrina Grove (Rona) 2nd, and Kim Anderson (T-Mobile) 3rd. Then the attacks started. I launched, countered, and bridged many times. Right after the QOM, I noticed that my PowerTap was missing. It somehow fell off the bike. I was just sick. I covered several attacks and counters. A Genesis-Scuba girl attacked. I was trying to get into a position to bridge up when Nicole attacked up to her. They worked together and quickly opened a gap, which kept widening. As I saw that happening, I said to myself, “And Nicole launches to the win.” Going up the hill, Nicole dropped the Genesis girl and was on her own. As we approached the hill, I heard Mari Holden (T-Mobile, wearing the leader’s jersey) ask who was up the road. They said, “Nicole.” Mari said, “Oh, Nicole.” Shortly after we crested the hill, the men caught us, so they neutralized us. After the neutral, the attacks started again. I went with every move. With less than seven miles to go, a group of six got off (Kathryn Curi (Rona), Catherine Powers (Dasani), a Genesis, another Dasani, Missy Thompson, and I). They worked it and I sat on. I didn’t want to chase down Nicole, so she could get as much time as possible. One of the Dasani girls kept asking me to work. I finally had to explain that I would not work because my teammate was up the road. On the climb, I could see T-Mobile trying to bring our break back. I attacked several times. The sprint came down to four of us with Kathryn 2nd, Catherine 3rd, me 4th, and Missy 5th. The rest of the field finished shortly after we did. Nicole stayed off and put 1:55 min on us, and she picked up a 20-second time bonus, which put her in the Leader’s Jersey.

Sunday we raced in downtown Phoenix. It was a nice course and many people came out to watch us. My parents, aunt, and cousin came to cheer on Team Basis. We were all excited to defend Nicole’s leader’s jersey. Right before the race started, the officials told Nicole that she was being penalized 1 min for drafting off the men yesterday. That changed our entire plan for the day. My legs felt good at the start of the race, and then they got heavy. I went with attacks and got two primes. It came time for the finish and Nicole had me close a gap and go hard with over half a lap left. I gave it all I had, and then the field blew by me. Nicole was in perfect position going into the last corner (2nd). Nicole started sprinting too early and ended up 5th. Laura Van Guilder (Genesis) won it with Lynn Gagiolli 2nd and Katrina Berger (Rona) 3rd.