This past weekend Team Nanoblur-Gears took to the roads at the Ontario Provincial Championships. At the criterium Carrie took 3rd on the podium and we were happy with our aggressive racing! The hill climb was next with the team performing well. Krystal had a great ride placing 2nd, Leigh 3rd, Anne 7th, Carrie 9th and KK 12th. At the end of the day we finished up 2nd, 3rd and 5th and moved up with Leigh 2nd and Carrie 3rd in GC while Merrill Collins put it down hard for the sprint win.
A 2km loop for a total of 60km. Cara Gillis of Canada attacked from the gun and the team waited for the locals to start the chase. Eventually after many attacks and counters Vero L and Vero B and Leah Gulein were up in the break. 3 Canadians. With the break working well and hard up the road the plan was to get a Canadian on the podium. With an aggressive last lap and Vero L launching an attack, the speed picked up and set Leah up for a good sprint finish for 2nd place. It was a great day for Team Nanoblur-Gears and Canadian women!
A 6 stage UCI race. The team put on their game faces and amongst some of the best racers in the world were able to pull off 2 top 15 finishes in 2 stages. On top of this Veronique Bilodeau finished amongst the top 5 for "best young rider" competition! This is an incredible result considering the world class teams represented at the Tour including HTC-Columbia, Cervelo et Safi-Pasta to name a few. Of the 89 starters only 59 finishes the tour which is considered once of the toughest international races on the calendar.
After the first QOM there was a fast windy and very narrow descent which saw a few crashes. Included in these was Joanie. Krystal and Anne waited up for Jo as she was the team's designated leader for the day for the sprint. At the front along for 25 minutes until they were able to get Joanie back into the peloton. The excitement didn't end there! As we were coming into the final circuits Joanie got a flat. Finally, the whole team entered the circuits in the main bunch. Just after the break of 2 women went up the road. Which would stay away to win the race. With only 2 laps to go (18km) in the race everyone was feeling pretty good and in the peloton. The last lap proved to be fast and we learned that a sprint on the pave needs to be approached a bit differently than a regular road! But the team did everything they could to give the finish a good go! Great job ladies.
With the help of the team Joanie was able to take 2nd place and get the team's first NRC podium of the season! In the RR Krystal, Anne, Audrey did their work to keep the race together and be aggressive, allowing Vero and Joanie to go for the finish. With a tough hilly day in the saddle many riders dealt with cramps and fatigue from the heat. A good fight from the team was had. The team did well in the TT with Vero in 11th, Anne 32, Krystal 34th.
Leigh and Carrie took turns launching attacks and letting the rest of the pack chase them down. KK kept her legs as fresh as possible for a likely bunch sprint finish. However, with two and a half laps to go Carrie launched an attack that saw her off the front solo right up until the end of the race. One competitor snuck in for second place with KK and Leigh sprinting in for 3rd and 4th place. It was fast and smart racing today with the Nanoblur-Gears ladies putting on a demonstration of effective and satisfying team-work.
Team had a goal of helping Joanie to get to the final sprint to go for the win. Director Nat Falkner gave direction to the team and we set off with our individual roles. The team raced very well together and Krystal was up the road on a solo break for a lap which forced the others to chase her before the finishing lap. Great move. In the end Team Nanoblur-Gears Joanie ended up 4th in the sprint. Great job! The team performed well together and seems to be building better racing chemistry with every passing race.
Four racers from Team Nanoblur-Gears were at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a six stage race held in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region of Minnesota. Two top ten results were achieved by the team, even with a small team and a high level of competition. Audrey Lemieux got things going with a 10th place finish at the St. Paul criterium. Next, Joanie Caron scored an 8th place finish at the Uptown Minneapolis crieterium.
In the race the team was aggressive in chasing down any breaks. Our team sprinter, Joanie Caron was 5th wheel at the last corner with 300meters to go. Unfortunately one of the racers in the top 3 crashed in this corner and Joanie was caught up behind the crash, putting an abrupt ending to our team plan. Ultimately this was another great race for improving team cohesion and yet another example that Team Nanoblur-Gears is competitive against the best racers in the world.
While the rest of the team was off at the UCI race in Gatineau this past weekend. Team Nanoblur-Gears team member Kaitlin Michener stayed back and represented the team in a local Ontario race, the KW Classic. The only race of the day to happen in the rain, and after many attempted attacks Michener was able to secure a 10th place for the team.
Last weekend Team nanoblur-Gears took to the roads in Philly for the famous Liberty Classic. Nanoblur-Gears was racing for team leader-sprinter Joanie Caron today. It was all about getting Joanie to the line for the final sprint. An unfortunate incident on the last lap found Joanie with her wheel caught in a competitor's cassette. The team did everything they could to bring their group up to the break. Not an easy feat. Joanie took second in the bunch sprint. Although the day didn't turn out as planned the team was very happy with the teamwork.
With a team of 5 riders, Nanoblur-Gears entered the race with a plan. A nice tempo to the base of the first climb followed by a flurry of attacks led by Katie, Leigh and Anne on lap 2 was able to create a break of 7 up the road for the remainder of the race, including Krystal Jeffs and Carrie Cartmill. With Carrie battling for QOM points against Heather Logan and Krystal working to keep Carrie as fresh as possible for the finish and leading Carrie into the final climb, it was a great battle today!
Labonte climbs onto first place on the podium after a 35km solo breakaway at the Grand Prix Vaudreuil-Soulanges Hudson this past Sunday the 23rd of May. The peloton was not able to get organized and Labonte was able to stay away crossing the line with 40 seconds on the pack.
Véronique Labonté was Team Nanoblur-Gears sole member to race the Grand Prix de Saint-Raymond. She represented the team and finished 3rd in the general classification after placing 3rd in the first stage, 2nd in the clm and 2nd in the last stage.
Last weekend Team Nanoblur-Gears had great success at the Joe Martin stage race. At the hill-climb prologue of 4 km, Anne Samplonius got 5th place in G.C. Less than 1 km to go in the last stage, the teams leader took a corner too aggressively and fell, so she finished up in 6th place in the general classification. Veronique Labonte also had a great weekend, placing in 13th place.
On the May 2nd Team Nanoblur-Gears team member Véronique Labonté finishes 2nd in a sprint finish after a 6 rider breakaway in the criterium of Grand Prix de Brossard.
In NY at the Tour of Battenkill Véronique, Krystal, Anne and KK took to the dirt and pavement for a challanging 100km course that was a race of attrition. Véronique finished as our top rider in 7th place.
Leigh Hobson took first place at the Tour of Bronte race in the women's field and 7th in the men's field. Congrats Leigh! That cross season is looking good already!
Team Nanoblur-Gears has just completed 2 stage races in California: San Dimas stage race (March 21-23) and Redlands Bicycle Classic (March 25-28).
Team nanoblur-Gears has a mission to support and develop some of the best cyclists in Canada with leadership and mentorship from Leigh Hobson: Anne Guzman, Krystal Jeffs, Leigh Hobson, Kaitlin Michener, Veronique Labonté, and Joanie Caron. The team will be racing both locally and in the NRC circuit, and eventually in Europe.. Les coureuses seront actives autant sur la scène locale canadienne que sur le circuit national américain (NRC).