NEBC Women’s Report: Norwell Circuit Race
August 5, 2011 By Julianne
NEBC 3/4 Women’s Team Race Report
Norwell Circuit Race
Norwell, MA ~ July 31, 2011
Cat 3/4, 25 starters, 8 laps, 18.5 miles.
Course
A 2.3 mile lap in a pretty neighborhood with nice roads. A sharp right hand turn takes you onto an uphill finish then a false flat into a slight downhill. The rest of the lap was gentle rolling terrain where you have two gradual right hand sweeping turns into mostly flat or a false flat. Overall the course is a non-technical loop with really one hill to split the field.
Results
Jacqueline Zider 1st
Julianne Oberle 4th
Elizabeth Cummings 7th
Cathy Rowell 9th
Carrie Mosher 15th
Lisa Ludwig 19th
Megan Graham 22nd
Summary
This was one of the team’s last targeted races since it was local and offered a 3/4 combined field. Our plan was to get as many NEBC women out to the race as possible and to have a great time racing as a team, practicing the skills we’ve been working hard to develop. We wanted to see if we could control the race and get Jackie to the top step of the podium. All of these goals were met and it was a great team experience! We had a new teammate, Megan Graham come out for her first race. Please read our race reports below!
Race Reports
Jacqueline Zider
Great showing by the NEBC ladies and I was VERY lucky to have their support on Sunday. During our pre-race meeting, I stated my goal was to win the race, as I really wanted to use it towards the upgrade I’m hoping to get at the end of the season. Cathy immediately responded that she would fully support me, so I was pretty excited because she knows a lot about racing and would organize the other women to help me.
The race start was slow and nobody really pushed it. There’s a small incline at the finish, which we go through 9 or so times (2+ mile laps). I noticed that I had more kick up the hill than some of the other girls, but I held myself back because I didn’t want to burn out. At about the 4th time through the finish line, I made a big attack, mostly to see what gearing I should be in for the actual finish, since it would give me time to recover before sprinting at the end. I noticed that no one had gone after me and I had a little lead, but I decided to let others catch up anyway. However, Karen Williams of Cycling Concepts came up behind me and said something like “Hey! Let’s keep going and push away!” Usually I’m not one to like TT’ing for half the race, but I figured we could at least try. Another two women came up to us, so we had 4 in our little breakaway.
We didn’t have much of a lead because the downhill after the finish area usually allows people to catch up quickly. But the chase group didn’t seem to be gaining any ground, so we kept pushing away (now I know that it was the NEBC ladies doing a TON of blocking for me!! Thank you!!!) Fast forward about two laps – one of the girls fell off the back at the hill, and so there were only 3. On the bell lap, Karen and I dropped the LadiesFirst woman up the hill, but she caught back up on the downhill. We had been rotating to share the work pretty well, but at this point we had a decent lead over the chase and none of us really wanted to work too hard so we could reserve for the sprint.
Nancy Labbe-Giguere of LadiesFirst did a lot of pulling in that last lap, then Karen was pulling for a bit. I didn’t want her to think I was just going to draft off of her until the final sprint, so I pulled up alongside her (also so she couldn’t draft off of me unless she fell back). We came into the final turn to go up the hill and I saw Nancy coming up on the inside. I pushed to cover the attack, then pulled back a bit. Then I heard Karen on my left side, so I accelerated, head down for a while. Then I looked quickly behind me and realized I didn’t need to sprint all the way through the finish, so I put my hands up across the line like the pros do! 
Thanks again to great team support from Cathy Rowell, Julianne Oberle and Elizabeth Cummings!!
Julianne Oberle
Last year the Norwell Circuit race was my very first road race ever, and I was excited to come back this year newly upgraded as a cat 3 to try again. It’s an awesome course that is very well suited for my ability to climb short punchy hills very fast. My goal was to prove I deserved that Cat 3 upgrade, and race confidently at the front. I was nervous about this because I did the Grand Fundo the day before with 5000+ feet of climbing. My legs felt surprisingly good Sunday morning, since I think I managed to stay conservative on Saturday with my Fundo pace, even walking up King’s Highway with Sunday’s race in mind.
As for the race, I was hoping to make the break if there was one with Jackie and take a spot on the podium. Field sprints are my favorite, so if it came down to that I would be happy.
During the race Karen Williams attacked every single time up the hill. She is strong! I followed all of them but noticed there was some slowing down after. It was the one attack up the hill by Jackie I didn’t chase that turned into the break, so I missed it. This was with about 3 or 4 to go. But that’s ok because then Cathy taught Elizabeth and I how to block for our teammate. That was fun! With about 3 to go we had Jackie in a break of three just in sight and Cathy, Elizabeth and I in a group of six riders comprising the chase group. Cathy laid out the strategy to block and from there on we made sure those three riders could sail off out of sight. The non-nebc riders didn’t really attack at all in the last lap. Eventually the follow car went around us signaling that the break was far away. Nice! In the race for 4th our group was going pretty slow, giving my Fundo legs lots of rest for the final sprint. Lisa Ludwig paced us up the false flat to the final attack up the hill. Earlier, I paid attention to how well the ladies around us climbed, and I knew I had fourth place with a solid effort to the finish. I was happy that my mom came out to watch and was at the top of the hill for when I finished. It was an awesome team race, perfect tactics, teamwork, and tons of fun!
Elizabeth Cummings
The NEBC women’s team arrived in Norwell, MA on a lovely, sunny summer morning for the 18.5 mile Norwell Circuit Race. We had a brief team meeting following our warm-up and one of the other racers in our field tried to sneak into our meeting–clearly, the red, blue and white NEBC kit is a force to be reckoned with! The 2.3 mile course begins with some rolling downhills leading into a flat and then a short, punchy climb to the finish. Our field rode the first few laps as a pack. A few riders made moves to break away early on, but the pack caught up with them. Teammate Jackie Zider made a move with 3 laps to go (I think?) and 3 riders chased her. Cathy Rowell got a hold of the group directly behind Jackie, which included myself and team mate Julianne Oberle, and masterminded a plan to block the other riders from breaking away, leaving Jackie at the front of the race with the smaller group. One of the 4 top riders fell off the front and we controlled the chase pack for the remainder of the race. Approaching the finish, Julianne made a strong effort up the hill and won our field sprint, coming in 4th overall. I sprinted up the hill into 7th place and Cathy claimed 9th. As we crossed the finish line, we heard the great news that Jackie had won the race! A great team tactical effort, a strong NEBC showing (we had 7 NEBC women in the 3/4 field!), and a fun day of racing.
Cathy Rowell
I’ve been pretty absent from the road racing scene this year, but I really like the Norwell race. I debated a bit about registering though – I planned to ride the Fundo (64 miles and almost 5000 ft of climbing) the day before, and wasn’t sure how the legs would hold up. The early morning start was also unattractive after getting up early for the Fundo. I briefly considered racing with the Master men who started later (which I have always done in the past), but figured with so many teammates heading to the early women’s race, I needed to be a team player .
At the pre-race meeting, Julianne asked what everyone’s goals were. Mine was simple – hang in. My legs felt like lead on the pre-ride, and 9 times up the finish hill was certain to hurt. Jackie was more direct though – she wanted to win. I told her I would help if I could.
The race started out steadily enough, but with some suspicious bike handling by a few riders. We had a couple of strong women who tried attacking downhill – something I have learned (the hard way) never works 
. The first time the break went up the road, it was launched on the finish hill – the perfect place for it. We could see that group for a long time, and it was pretty easy to tell that they weren’t working together. With a little effort from various racers, we caught the break.
The next time up the finish hill, though, another small break formed with three riders, including Jackie (again). After telling another NEBC racer NOT to chase her teammate, I sat on the front for a bit, literally sitting up, and let the group of three get a good sized gap. Then, it was just a matter of defending. The chase group was made up of 6 racers, with 3 of us from NEBC. At this point, my goal was to sit second wheel and not do any work to bring back the break. Now, we were racing for 4th place!
The tactics worked perfectly. At one point, another racer (and NEBC member, but racing for another team) tried to wave me through, but I was having none of it given that I had a teammate up the road. She and a Pegasus racer did try to work together for a time, but they couldn’t shake any of the NEBC women .
In the final lap, I found myself on the front of our group (not where I wanted to be or should have been, but I drifted there climbing the hill). As we descended the hill on the backside, teammate Lisa L. was there, and I jumped on her wheel. I told her that she needed to go as hard as she could despite being tired. Lisa pulled like crazy along the false flat leading to the finish (later commenting that she felt like a sled dog with me calling mush!), delivering our group to the base of the final climb. I started the sprint, and was happy to see Juliane take the field sprint for 4th, and Elizabeth finish 7th. After all of the work, I was happy with the 9th place finish, and excited that after the previous days’ effort, my legs held up for the team.
There was real racing happening in this field. Constant attacks and perfect team tactics. I might have even had some fun racing my road bike …
Lisa Ludwig
Almost didn’t attend this race because I was very sore and tired from the day before (75 hard miles on the MassBike ride). But glad I did. What a great team atmosphere and strong attendance of NEBC women! My goals were not aggressive due to fatigue. I was going to try to stay with the front pack as long as I could. The course seemed pretty non-threatening initially… I stayed a few rows behind the front for the first three laps. The circuit was mostly rolling, except for one nasty little hill! Well that “little hill” wasn’t as fun the fourth time around. My legs were so burned out from the hills the day before that I dropped off the back. I caught up to the pack once the road flattened but lost ground as soon as we hit the next slight incline. Next, were leg cramps at around the 6th lap! What a day. There was nobody in sight behind me to ride with so I just pedaled steady (but not too hard) to try to work out the cramps. Eventually the pack I had been riding with started to lap me. They were on their last lap. I noticed Cathy R and Julianne O in the group. Maybe I could help them out! So I jumped on a wheel. As we approached the last mile or so, I pulled out in front for the leadout. Cathy R was right behind me, encouraging me to continue a strong pull. (My leg was still cramping and I was basically pedaling as hard as I could with one leg!) Anyway, I pulled as hard as I could until the turn up the hill to the finish. At that point, the NEBC women were able to pull around and sprint up the hill to the finish! What a great day with several placements in the top 10. Even though the race didn’t go well for me, I felt it was well worth it to be able to help my teammates!
