"Our 2010 BMW-Bianchi team camp in Cleveland, South Carolina was a
brilliant success and we thank you all for your gracious support that
makes the team possible.
After a horrible winter, spring finally sprang for the team camp and we
enjoyed clear skies and warm weather for our gathering.
On Saturday, the team arrived en masse, all 12 BMW-Bianchi members
causing a brief panic for the other women warming up on the course when
they saw us coming. I reassured them that we weren't entering all of the
team, just half, for the River Falls road race. Unfortunately for them,
we only needed half the team to dominate the race.
With Cora Olson, Deb Whitmore, Lauren Shirock, Kathleen Billington, Kate
Ross, Rachel Warner and Sarah Caravella controlling the race, it wasn't
long before the action started.
Deb was the first agressor, and when she was brought back, KB set a
fierce tempo on the climb which set up Kate for the counter-attack. Kate
stayed away for 15 miles before Veronique Labonte, down from Quebec,
went off in pursuit, bringing along Lees McRae riders Cinthia Lehner and
Erica Zaveta, Giselle Weeks of Team Headstrong and our own Sarah Caravella.
Kate was caught, briefly dropped and then fought her way back to the
lead group to help Sarah on the final lap. With her teammate there to
help, Sarah was able to match all the attacks up the hill coming into
the finish and then sprint to victory ahead of Labonte, Lehner and
Weeks. Kate held on for fifth while Rachel cleaned up the field sprint
for 9th behind the remnants of the earlier split.
The team enjoyed a fabulous group ride on Sunday in the foothills of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, with the Caesar's Head climb as the final
challenge of the day. Sarah, Rachel, Kathleen and Cora proved they were
ready to take on the Redlands Classic in two weeks with amazing
performances on the climb.
We've got a big surprise on our roster for the first NRC event in
Redlands, California but we're not quite ready to announce it yet.
Needless to say, we're going to have a great team and could have a
pretty good shot at winning some jerseys!"
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