This Week/Weekend and Beyond!!!

Happenings this week, weekend and beyond!!

Well the week is almost over! We had just about every type of weather. The weather is driving me nuts. Seems to be taking the same effect on others too. Eugene Roubaix is around the corner. Are you EXCITED!!! I am….  hope to not flat this year. I know the GIRLS plan on putting the GRRRRRRRRRR in girl at this race!! It’s looking like we are going to get a respite from the rain, snow, wind and hail. The tan line I got at kings Valley is fading so I am stoked to have some sunshine in the forecast for the weekend. The usual crew will be out at Roubaix this weekend and of course planning on racing hard.

Shout out to Becka Hartkop as today 4/25/08 is her Birthday!! Happy,Happy Birthday Becka!!!!! She is the one with the flowers, and the Queen of the Valley. Pictured with her are from left to right Laura, Becka, Miranda, and Tina.

Jennifer Withers is going to be at her final college race before nationals. Apr 26-27 WSU/UI, Conference Championship, Pullman WA and Moscow ID. I want to WISH her a Huge GOOD LUCK plus all the other PSU riders. Collegiate Nationals will be in my Home town of Ft. Collins May 9-11 National Road Championships, Fort Collins, CO. Wish I could be there to see the action and say hi to a few Friends.

By the time table rock rolls around we should have a few other riders in Veloforma Jerseys. It may be the first time we can have the whole team together. Which would be awesome!!!!

Please support the Brett Jarolimek Memorial Fund – This is May 1st @ the bike gallery. brettjarolimekmemorialfund.blogspot.com

I would like to announce that we have signed Alice Pennington to the Veloforma Elite women’s team. Her first race with us will be Table rock!! This has me extremely excited to have added another awesome all around rider with a good head on her shoulders. We have been very lucky to have signed so many good riders in our first year as a team. I know she can bring a lot to the table. Which has me excited!!! If you did not notice already!! 

We are stoked to be doing MT. HOOD!! www.mthoodcyclingclassic.com . The riders who will be on the start list for Veloforma team will be …
Hillary Billington
Tina Brubaker
Rebecka Hartkop
Miranda Moon
Alice Pennington
Veloforma Guest rider #1

Wow!!! The month of May is huge for Veloforma women!! Oregon Cup # 3 race May 4th. Which we are sitting 1,2,7 and12 in the overall series. Then there is the BIG UCI race called MT. HOOD May 13- 18 which is a big goal for three of our riders and will be a huge learning experience for us all. Then Orgeon Cup #4 May 24 which is also a the women’s state championship race from what I can tell. May 31st is the Team Time Trial Championships. So the month of May is a big one to say the least!!! We just need to make sure we keep every one healthy.

Thanks for reading.

Zym - our presenting sponsor!!

Zym is the presenting sponsor for Veloforma Elite this year. They have an awesome new product out called Catapult, I for one love the stuff.
Brian Koff - President of Zym was out at sea otter sitting in for ZYM spokes woman Eva Longoria and did a nice job. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Longoria But I think Eva might have gotten a little more attention.
Check it out.



We will have a bunch of this stuff at the Team trailer for every one to try out at Mt.Hood stage race. If you happen to go to Eugene Roubaix this weekend. We'll have some samples there as well.
It's a little windy out right now, but it's not raining. Go for a ride.
Cheers
Mark

Victory in Washington

The Veloforma team continues to win - this time in Washington. Hilary won both road races associated with the Tour of Walla Walla this weekend. She won the Friday road race out of a break of six that put nearly five minutes on the field. That stage did not count toward the stage race classification (too bad, because she gave up too much time in the Saturday morning TT to fight for the overall win). On Saturday afernoon she won the road stage from a large group in an uphill finish. She's looking forward to Mt. Hood in just a few more weeks!

Stage one was VERY VERY windy by the Looks of the Average speed for both Pro Men and Women.

TOUR OF WALLA WALLA Presented by Banner Bank
USAC Permit #2008-588 April 18-20, 2008
RESULT: Kellog Hollow Road Race
Wom Pro-1-2
Average Speed of Winner 16.10 MPH 25.91 Km/H
Pl Bib Name Team Time Behind
1 218 Billington, Hilary Veloforma 1:53:39 @ 1:53:39
2 211 Stewart, Sarah Total Restoration Cycling Team " "
3 210 #Weldon, Suz Union Bay Cycling/Wines of Was " "
4 236 Bailey, Tricia Union Bay Cycling/Wines of Was " "
5 226 Hannah, Jessica Giant Canada/Team Whistler " "
6 209 Barber, Sarah Bobs-Bicycles.com " "
7 214 Roorda, Steph Giant Canada/Team Whistler 1:58:32 @ 4:53
8 230 Gaertner, Jenni Bobs-Bicycles.com " "
9 201 Stacher, Ally Bobs-Bicycles.com 1:58:35 @ 4:56
10 203 Macleod, Fiona Trek/Red Truck Racing presente " "

TOUR OF WALLA WALLA Presented by Banner Bank

USAC Permit #2008-588 April 19-20, 2008

RESULT: Waitsburg Road Race

Wom Pro-1-2


Average Speed of Winner 19.31 MPH 31.07 Km/H

 Pl  Bib Name                      Team                     

1  Billington, Hilary  Veloforma                        

2  Bailey, Tricia      Union Bay Cycling/Wines of WA       

3  Stewart, Sarah      Total Restoration Cycling Team 

4  Roorda, Steph       Giant Canada/Team Whistler 

5  Turnbull, Lisa      Sound Velo/Team Group Health 

6  Stacher, Ally       Bobs-Bicycles.com     

7  Weldon, Suz         Union Bay Cycling/Wines of WA   

8  Secrist, Robin      First Rate Mortgage         

9  Beall, Allison      Bobs-Bicycles.com            

10  Barber, Sarah      Bobs-Bicycles.com      

The other impressive thing about Hilary's victories is she did it free lance. No team present to help her out. It will be a different case @ Mt. Hood. :) (input by Mark)
We actually have 3 ladies that will be able to ride high in the GC at Mt. Hood!!!

Guinness & Peaches

The boys on the Guinness Cycling Team will be rocking Veloforma's this year.

Peaches aka Patrick Marzullo came by and we built his rig last night. While enjoying some mexican food. They are white and bright! You won't miss them in the pelaton that's for sure!

Check them out for your self...(you can click on an image for a larger format)




the finger test, patrick went to about a 100 finger curls before his finger got tired.

close ups of the cock pit and Guinness logo's


What a nice clean ride, it's a shame it's got to get dirty. Wonder what it will look like after Eugene Roubaix??

Good Weekend!!

Veloforma women had a good weekend, actually an AWESOME weekend. They brought home the big V for Victory. Four to be exact. Becka – Kings Valley, Miranda – Icebreaker, Laura – Icebreaker, Jennifer – CWU Ellensburg, WA.(lapping the field twice). But winning isn’t everything. They are also bonding as a team and figuring each other out. It’s one thing to have a bunch of strong women that race on a team, but when you can take that group and get them to work as one that’s when it gets exciting. For me, seeing this happen at Kings Valley was awesome. So much so that I started to think we should do Mt. Hood. Then I get an email forwarded to me from Eric Lynch and bang we’ve got it in the works. I can say I don’t like to do things rushed. I only like to do things if you are going to put your best foot forward. We’ve got a lot to get together before the first stage but right now it’s a go. So the Veloforma team will be at Mt. Hood and it is going to be a amazingly fun learning experience. Thanks for reading and keep looking for updates.

Cheers.

Oregon Cup # 2 Quick update.

Oregon cup # 2 is done. Becka got the win!!! Congratualtions Becka! I really need to say Congratulations to all the ladies. Team work is key and I'll have to say that they worked very well as a team today. I love the fact that these ladies are willing to work for each other and lay it on the line. Special thank you and Great Teammate award goes out to Hilary Billington!! Thank you Hilary. You put the definintion into team player today. Veloforama is sitting 1,2 in the oregon cup after today, Tina is still in the lead with Becka in 2nd, Hilary is 7th. My prediction for Oregon cup #3 will be similar. But you'll see Hilary moving up a bit. She is always game when it comes to killing it in a race. We should have our new addition to the team at #3 so Veloforma will be that much stronger!! I am having a tuff time trying to deciede who will be our remaining addition to the team, those that have sent me emails and have talked directly to me, you are still in consideration. I just need to make sure the fit is right. Any how... time to go play at the Icebreaker Crit. I love this race, wish more people would come out and do it. I know it's short but hey you can go for a great ride after you race in the wonderful country side of south Eugene.

Update!

Becka wins Willamette!!!!!

Things just continue to be busy in the Veloforma house hold. So much has been going on to report. I am way behind on updates...sorry!
The development squad has been doing awesome and will soon be joining the elite ranks at there current rate of success. Laura McGraw (cat 4) Won P.O.C - making the statement. Wow- Guess I can sprint. Yeah she can… she can climb too. She’s going to be another tuff cookie on the squad. Jennifer Withers is currently doing the collegiate season. In her first criterium she went solo from the gun and that was the last they saw of her. She won by a huge margin and took all the primes!! These two ladies have big motors that will complement our current roster once they move up.
Speaking of our current roster, we are still looking for one more elite lady. If you can work in a team environment, be a team player and have the desire to race hard. Contact me mark@veloforma.com
Negotiations. We are in negotiations with another huge northwest talent, more to be disclosed soon. I have to say we are going to be fairly dominating this year in any race weather we come with 3 or a full squad.
Congratulations to Hilary and her success at Redlands! She is on her way to un-corking a big one on the NRC circuit this year.
Congratualtions to Becka, Miranda and Tina for an EXCELLENT Job at Willamette Valley Stage Race!! With just three women they dominated. The Veloforma women lead on GC from the Alpine Road Race stage and held it to the finish. I can’t express how proud I am of these ladies and how hard they worked. The Final GC was Becka 1St,Tina 7th and Miranda 13th. We took two spots on the podium at the tt (2nd,3rd) two spots on the podium at Alpine RR going 2,3 again. Again two spots in the Crit. 1,2. Final stage we took the win and WIN overall on GC!! Below is final GC http://app.obra.org/results/event/12993 and congratulations to all the women that raced!!
Veloforma women are sitting 1,2,3 on BAR Tina, Miranda and Becka. They are leading the Oregon cup - Tina 1st, Becka is sitting 5th. Oregon Cup is a priority for sure.
I have to say that I feel very lucky to have these ladies and all the Veloforma women on our team. They are truly a great bunch!
If I left out anything that has happened I am sorry. I will work harder on keeping things updated. I look forward to the fun we are going to have as a group this season!!!
Next stop is Kings Valley Road Race on Saturday and Icebreaker on Sunday. It’s Oregon Cup (Kings Valley) and we plan on racing hard and keeping the Oregon Cup lead. See you out there.
Cheers.

Hilary's Redlands Update (by Scott)

Hilary is flying back from Redlands tonight (Sunday), after a painful but rewarding six-day trip. Here's the brief story. Her prologue time Thursday put her in 43rd. Friday was a brutal circuit race (exactly what she excels at) and she cracked the Top 20, finishing 17th on the day in a small group that had lost the top, top girls about 10km before the finish - she finished with Suz Weldon that day. That moved her into 20th overall. Saturday she kept it upright and out of trouble in the criterium. She averaged 30 miles per hour for 60 minutes. She finished 38th, I think, and that kept her in 20th overall. Her recovery after the crit Saturday afternoon got a little out of whack due to team commitments, so she wasn't feeling 110% for Sunday's suffer-fest. Unfortunately, Sunday she came off the leaders before she wanted to and the time gaps started blowing out. She finished a very respectable 30th on the stage, and ended up finishing 30th overall (in the money!). For her first time at an NRC stage race outside of Oregon, she's pretty pleased. She's pissed, of course, that she didn't have a better day on Sunay, but is encouraged by knowing she's right there with the big girls and with more experience and tactical savvy she's only going to get better.

I've only seen one photo of her on line, on the Redlands web site from the crit. The picture doesn't do her beautiful Veloforma bike justice - in fact, what sticks out are her white arms and legs. . . all that beautiful winter riding in Oregon.

She's looking forward to hearing all about Willamette . . . . and to having a good time at Kings Valley Sunday.