Cherry Blossom Crit - April 9, 2011

Sturdy Girl: Judi Rivera

I drove to Newark, NJ bright & early Saturday morning (actually dark & early... verrrry early).

I raced the Cherry Blossom Challenge last year, & my goal today was to finish better than my 9th place last year. --- I won!!! My very first FIRST!!!

This race in run in Branchbrook Park on a 1.5 mile counterclockwise loop with one corner. The road surface was a little better than last year, but still had some rough pavement in spots. There were 16 racers pre-registered, but the field was actually only 12 women. There were several strong riders, and there were a 3 or 4 attacks. I was able to bridge every attack successfully and didn't let anything get away from me. One of those times we had a good gap. I tried to get the group organized so we could make a bigger gap, but we didn't organize fast enough & got caught. In the last half of the final lap, there was an attack at the turn, as we approached the finish I saw my opportunity and jumped and never looked back. As I approached the line, I kept waiting for someone to come around me..then next thing I knew... I was across the line. It was awesome!!!

:)

Judi