Team VBF Wins in Banff; Misses podium at NVGP
Testroete wins stage and takes over lead; Swart 4th at Uptown Minneapolis crit
By Lisa Hunt
Banff, AB, Canada - Alison Testroete earned her second win of the season on stage two of the Banff Bike Fest in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. With the win, Testreote gained valuable time bonuses that launched her into first in the overall ahead of compatriots Tara Whitten (Specialized Mazda) and Julie Beverage (Vienne Futuroscope)
The 1A Sprint course covered 81 kilometers in an out-and-back route that began and ended at Lake Louise. Testroete described the rolling terrain as having “a little bit of everything.” The field raced aggressively as riders launched repeated attacks. Once or twice a break that could have had the power to stay away would get up the road only to be quickly reeled in by the field. “I didn’t think an attack would go,” said Testroete, “so I didn’t put in any effort there. I knew to wait for the finish.”
When Testroete saw 500 meters to go, she jumped. “I went early,” she explained. “I caught the field off guard.” The gutsy move paid off. Testroete held off the charging field to cross the line first.
Heading into stage two, Whitten held an 11 second lead over Testroete. Testroete’s jump shattered the field and caused gaps at the finish. She was rewarded with both a ten second time bonus and a 3 second gap over Whitten. Testroete currently holds the leaders jersey with a slim lead of 2 seconds.
Tomorrow Testroete faces a double day. The race continues with a 21-kilometer time trial in the morning and a 40-minute criterium in the afternoon. “Tara [Whitten] and Julie [Beverage] are strong time trialists,” said Testroete. “I’m looking to do well in the crit in the evening and cut my losses in the trial. I’ll give it my all and hope to finish less than a minute behind Tara in the time trial, and then I’ll just slay myself in the crit in the evening.”
Testroete is happy with the racing in Banff. She says: “It’s a good tune up race for Nationals because it’s at altitude. It’s good for the head to have success leading up to a big race. You win a race, and you feel good. The support for the riders, the prize money here, that’s nice, too.”
Testroete is the current Canadian National Road Champion. The Banff Bike Fest marks her final race prior to defending her jersey at Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta next week.
At the Nature Valley Grand Prix in Minneapolis, Carla Swart just missed out on the podium at the Uptown Minneapolis criterium this evening, taking 4th place. HTC Columbia's Chloe Hosking took her second victory this week, with Brooke Miller (TIBCO) 2nd and Shelley Evans (Peanut Butter & Co/Twenty-12) taking 3rd. The race was aggressive from the gun, with Team VBF's Robin Farina driving the pace and taking the first $200 prime early on in the race. The race has been dominated by the sprint specialists, who have gained valuable time bonuses, with Evans now taking over 1st place on GC after snagging valuable time bonuses in the two criteriums. Yesterday's 66 mile road stage was called off due to weather, as a tornado touched down within 5 miles of the race course. "It's hard to do battle against all those sprinters," stated Alison Powers, who was in 4th place after the stage 1 time trial, but dropped down to 6th place after the back to back criteriums. "But tomorrow's road race will change things." The 77 mile road course in Menomonie, Wisconsin is new this year and has more challenging terrain. "It's a great course with a lot of short steep climbs with little recovery in between," commented team director, Lisa Hunt, who previewed the course today. "You need a course like this to offset all the fast, flat criteriums. And I think it suits us well."
Photo: © Craig Douce
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