Saturday arrived bright and early. We had an 8:30 AM start. It was actually foggy, and it remained so until the last hour or so of the race. That made the racing temperature perfect. My warm-up felt good, so I had high expectations for the day. I saw my college roommate, Lisa Robbins, who drove up to see the race, accompanied by her friend Kristin. Bobbie and Mike stopped by to wish us well. We took team photos before the race. There was a festive atmosphere as many people showed up to watch the race. Uhl and Chrissy’s mother and twin sister went to the feed zone, to hand us up bottles during the race. Nicole drove Rick’s car in the caravan, with Rick and John (mechanic) along for the ride. Before the race started, the announcers highlighted several of the riders; most of the riders introduced were from T-Mobile. A high school girl sang an amazing acapella National Anthem, and then we were off. We had a four-mile neutral start. For a neutral, we were cruising. Lauren helped pull me to the front at the end of the neutral, so I was in position when the race started. We made a right-hand turn onto a small climb and the race was on. The race had a rolling enclosure, so for most of the course, we had the entire road. On the false flat leading up to the first major climb, everyone was jockeying for position. Nicky helped me get into position. However, I didn’t fight hard enough to stay in position and started the climb farther back than I should have. They just rode steady up the climb, but I got dropped. I started chasing hard after the climb. On the next climb, I managed to crest with a group, and we chased together. After a major descent, no one wanted to seriously work, so I took off on my own. I made it back into the caravan and worked my way back to the pack. I caught it just before the start/finish line.

I was hoping that the first lap inability to climb was a fluke. I got into position for the next climb. As we approached the climb, I saw Dede Demet-Barry and Kristin Armstrong talking. At the base of the climb, I saw Kristin attack. She went off like a rocket. Only Christine Thornburn was able to stay with her. This surge resulted in another split in the pack. I again was left chasing like crazy. I got with a pretty big group, but no one seemed intent on catching the front group. Kele was in that group, so she and I worked hard all lap to catch, but to no avail. We passed the start/finish still behind the pack. On the next climb, I got dropped once again. It was then I realized something was still dreadfully wrong with me. I should have been able to climb with the group I was with, but I got dropped like a rock. I chased to try and catch that group, but they were gone.

According to Dede’s diary, T-Mobile had decided to work for Amber Neben. When Kristin and Christine had a gap of 90 seconds, Amber tried to bridge up to them; however, Amber was unable to close the gap. On that course a gap of 90 seconds would be huge for anyone to close. The group behind Kristin and Christine had 12 women in it; six were T-Mobile, along with Tina Mayolo-Pic (Genesis Scuba), Katrina Grove (RONA), Brooke Ourada (Victory Brewing), and Chrissy Ruiter (Basis). Up ahead, Kristin and Christine stretched their lead out to three minutes at one point. It came down to a sprint finish, and Kristin beat Christine to the line to secure her spot on the Olympic team. The last time up the big climb, a group of four got off and finished two min behind the leaders; Tina won that sprint for 3rd place. After the group of four got away, the others in the second group didn’t want to work. Chrissy and Brooke ended up doing the majority of the work to get to the finish line. Due to the work they had done, the others outsprinted them at the finish, and they finished 11th and 12th. On the fifth lap, I could see Kele up ahead of me. On the last lap as we started the first climb, Kele was just ahead of me. Some spectators told her a teammate was just behind her, so Kele waited for me at the top of the climb. We worked together to get to the finish line. About three miles from the finish, we caught a group of three riders. We tried to fly by them, because they were tootling like their day was over. However, they ramped up their speed and jumped on our wheels, which is where they sat. They were unwilling to work until 200 meters to go they sprinted. Sometimes I don’t understand people. Why sprint when we are going for 47th place? Kristin Johnson finished in a group behind Chrissy. Nicky did a lot of work for teammates and finished the day in a group behind Kele and me. Lauren did her teamwork at the start of the race and withdrew after two laps. There were a lot of women who did not finish the race. Each time I went through the feed zone, I saw more and more riders standing on the sidelines. That race was tough. Kristin and Christine won it in 3 hours 26 min. Kele and I finished 15 minutes behind them. I am just glad it was cloud-covered for most of the race.

The outcome of the race was extremely disappointing for me. However, coming into the race I knew how long I had been sick, so a good result would have taken a miracle. It was still difficult for Uhl and me to realize the dream was gone.