Terrapin Twilight Crit--or how to lose your mind on a start line

Posted by Tiff P (aka "Hot Mama")

This past weekend we headed to Atlanta, GA for stop #4 on the USA Crits calendar: The Terrapin Twilight Crit in Athens, GA.  Athens kicked off the supersweet southeast Speedweek crit series--aka what racing is meant to be!

In setting up our clinic, Prof got us hooked up with Frazier Cycling and some of the families and coaches behind this grassroots program quietly formulating future superstars. We stayed with Coach Kelli (Kelli Rogan--a former pro roadie and track rider) and her son, 6-year-old Baden. On the morning of Athens, a few Frazierites (Zoe Frazier, her brother, his friend and Dominique) took us on a spin around Lawrenceville where we were staying. Super great to get to know these awesome young-uns.

We headed down to Athens for the race several hours later. Athens is a huge race with tons of fans. It can be really hard to deal with parking, finding registration, etc. Thanks to Frazier Cycling, we were super styled and were able to come camp right on the course under those welcome blue tents covering legions of junior riders and their parents. We adopted speedy Zoe to race with us for Athens and pulled Dominique into our little Primal racing web too. We had our pre-race meeting and then it was race time!

All the Speedweek races are tremendous--great crowds, cool towns, excellent purses...But Athens is sort of the crown jewel of the series. The vibe is just ELECTRIC and there is no way to not get totally pumped (and totally nervous/tons of port-o-potty trips) for this race.

With Joanie and I in the top 5 of the USA Crits overall, we were super lucky to get call-ups...A very key thing in the throw down that happens in this race. Sitting on the start line--I tried to take a moment to just absorb the awesome-ness of the whole scene: racing with great teammates in front of a huge crowd! My adrenaline was supercharged and I just had one of those moments of "wow--I'm so lucky to even be here!" A year ago I was toward the end of my pregnancy--a huge whale that had to pee all the time and craved cured pork products.

The race started out very fast and aggressive with lots of primes to keep things interesting. I was able to test out the legs in a prime sprint and then sort of settled in to wait for the finish. Teammates Kaytie, Mel and Prof were rockstars of coverage making sure no move got too far up the road. As the race went on, the night got darker, the shadows got weirder and the crowd got louder. Thank god for the excellent bike handling skills of most of the pro women's peloton. Sometimes I think what we do is crazy--even though I love it!

In the last few laps, Mel got Joanie I towards the front but on the last lap we just got a bit jumbled and ended up finishing 12th and 15th respectively. Not horrible but certainly not what we were hoping for. Joanie's finish kept her in 2nd in the USA Crits overall and hungry for more podiums in the upcoming Speedweek races!

We had a blast getting to hang with the Frazier Cycling crew--it really MADE the experience! Can't wait to see the talent that keeps coming out of the program!

While I had to head back to Salt Lake City for mom and work duties after race #2 in Roswell, the rest of the team continues on with the series races. I'm cheering them on from home and I hope you'll do the same! Remember to check us out on Twitter and Facebook! Thanks for reading and see you at the races!

USA Crits #4, Clinic, and Speedweek

Primal Pro Women are on there way to USA Crits #4 in Athens, Georgia. They are looking forward to defending their USA Crits Team overall first place and move Joanie Caron and Tiffany Pezzulo up in the individual rankings. Joanie is third and Tiff is 4th. Most of all, we can't wait to host another clinic. We have just loved sharing our expertise and advice to up and coming cyclists. Racing and teaching the clinic will be Kaytie Scott, Joanie Caron, Nicky Wangsgard, Melina Bernicker, Tiffany Pezzulo, and Zoe Frazier. Zoe will join us as a powerful local guest rider. She is still in high school and fast as lightning! We can't wait to have her positive young energy around.

After Athens, the girls will race speedweek which is composed of seven fast and exciting criteriums. We will keep you posted on our progress at the series.

Picture of Tiffany Pezzulo and Nicky Wangsgard racing the Athens Twilight in 2011.

 Primal women in action at clinic in Charlotte, NC.

 Zoe Frazier can't wait to race with Primal.

Meet Kaytie Scott

We are proud to announce the addition of Kaytie Scott to our Primal Pro Women's roster. Kaytie guest rode for Primal Pro Women at two national races (Redlands Bicycling Classic and the Old Pueblo Grand Prix). Kaytie proved that she a team player and 100% dedicated to the teams mission on and off the bike. When she is not training, she is a full time nurse saving lives. In particular, she works in the neonatal intensive care unit. Yes, she helps save the lives of premature newborns. Still in her twenties you could consider Kaytie the youngest on the team, but when you meet her, you will realize that she is wise and confident. We feel very lucky to have Kaytie on board.Welcome Kaytie.

Kaytie Scott's Bio

Kaytie Scott Age: 26 From: Ogden, Utah Cycling Specialty: All-rounder Major Championship’s and Awards: Overall winner Top of Utah Crit series 2010 & 2011  Top Cycling results for the past 3-5 years: 2012 Season 1st Bear Lake Classic Road Race 1st SUU Spring Break Classic Crit and TT 2nd Valley of the Sun TT and Overall 3rd Valley of the Sun Crit 3Rd Salt Lake Valley B4K Stage race Crit 4th Harvest Moon Classic 2011 Season 1st Tour Del Sol Overall GC 1st Tour Del Sol Road Race 1st Tour Del Sol Crit 2nd Capital Reef Classic TT 3rd Harvest Moon Crit 3rd Capital Reef Classic Road Race 3rd Antelope Island Road Race 3rd LOTOJA Classic 2010 Season (Started Racing) 1st Antelope Island Road Race 2nd Garden Creek Gap 2nd Sanpete Classic Road Race What are you doing in your community to mentor/promote cyclist? For the past three years I have been the Threshold Sports women’s team director/coordinator. I have organized and lead women’s only group rides on a weekly basis to encourage and help teach women better bike handling, group riding skills, and bike safety. What you like to do when you are not bike racing: I enjoy spending time with my supportive husband and our amazing families. I also love snowboarding, mountain biking, eating sushi, and spending time in the great outdoors. Your most memorable experience on and off the bike: Two weeks before the Bear Lake Road Race my training partner was in a life threatening bicycle accident. She had to be air lifted to a trauma center, spent 18 hours in surgery, and spend the night on a ventilator. She broke over 9 bones and completely shattered her elbow. After the accident I had an extremely hard time getting back on the bike, but I did, and that next weekend I won the Bear Lake road race for Toby. That was my first win as a Cat 1,2,3. It was an amazing experience watching her strength and determination as she learned to walk again and later joined me on a ride. This experience helped me realize every moment in life is a gift. Occupation off the bike: Respiratory Therapist, Davis Hospital, working NICU and ICU. What inspires you? “Suffering is essential to the beauty and mystery of the sport. It gives the ride meaning. The greatest racers have a love of suffering that goes beyond any ratio of sacrifice to payoff.” –Allen Lim. What are your prerace tunes? Calm like a bomb Eminem Linkin Park