Winston Salem Cycling Classic 2018

The Winston Salem Cycling Classic 2018 DORNIER Racing Women

The Winston Salem Cycling Classic is a Memorial Day weekend cycling event complete with bike racing, concerts, Gears and Guitars, Gran Fondos, celebrity bike rides, and retired-pro-mini-celebrity Phil Gaimon chasing KOMs (while eating cookies and riding with locals wearing jean shorts). This was a huge weekend for the DORNIER Racing Women and their Domestic Elite status - which allows them to be invited to big events. And the WSCC Pro Crit and Road Race are big events.

DORNIER Racing Women Pre-ride the UCI course in Winston Salem

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and is manages most of the largest global bike events, fondos, and races (Except the Tour de France run by ASO). This weekend in Winston-Salem DORNIER Racing had the opportunity to race in the UCI Winston-Salem Cycling Classic. This UCI 1.1 race is very popular and has become one of the most exciting weekends of bike racing in the Southeast. Teams from all over the world come to compete in a crit and on a nine mile circuit through the closed roads of Winston-Salem. The DORNIER Racing Women faced off against  continental and world tour teams like Astana, Rally, TIBCO, Hagens Berman, and UHC, to name a few. These are teams that make full-time jobs out of racing bikes while our women are at work in professional jobs like accounting and teaching. ​

Alder Martz reviews important details about the road race at the pre-race meeting.

Phil Gaimon chasing KOMs and cookies on the famed Pilot View climb

In order to participate in these races a number of things have to happen. One, you need a team of strong domestic elite women; two, you need a budget and invitation to enter the race; three, you need all the other surrounding items that help you get to the start line and compete - including bikes, mechanics, and cars. To make those three things happen you need to have sponsors and management. This weekend the team, on and off the course, were fantastic in assembling all the things needed to get to the start and compete fairly and competitively. In the end, we didn't win and Lily Williams of Hagens Berman did - a top racer from a top team. Along the way, the experience was great for the DORNIER women; and everyone learned a lot - further establishing the Women as a serious team with big goals.

Alder, Ben, and Bryan prepare - in style - for the Winston Salem Cycling Classic Road Race

Theresa, Austin, Emma, Danielle and Kristina at the start of the WSCC

Now, to the race. The nine mile circuit is a rolling course through the city and surrounding neighborhoods of WS with a lot of turns, curbs, and traffic furniture. A key feature is the final climb where splits always happen. This famed Pilot View climb rises 130 vertical feet at an inconvenient pitch of 10-15% over .3 of a mile. Racers in the women’s field see that hill eight times and like a paper cut it hurts more and more and causes more cumulative damage at each cut or ascent. On this day, the threat of rain persisted throughout the forecast prior to the race but in the end a few showers appeared but didn't materially affect the race.

The women - Theresa O’Sullivan, Austin Thompson, Emma Langley, Danielle Clark, and guest riders Kristina Vrouwenvelder (Colorado USA) and Edwige Pitel (France) - all rolled to the line to start the race. Behind them in Car 11 DS Alder Martz, Driver Ben Turits, and Mechanic Bryan Dubuc. In the feed zone Merrill Thierman, out with illness, and friends of the team Jeff Montgomerie and Ben Spain. Success and challenges in this race can be measured in more than one way. For example, showing up, starting, laps completed, KOM points, TV time, winning, finishing with the field, or some other team-inspired measure like helping a teammate or getting into a breakaway.

Emma Langley hard at work in the 2018 WSCC

Theresa O'Sullivan up and over the KOM in the 2018 WSCC

In the end Emma Langley had the best overall finishing place - surviving the long war of attrition over three hours and 80 miles finishing with the field in place 70/120 - ahead of a number of big team professionals and known badasses; many of whom did not finish. Kristina 85/120, Theresa 89/120, Danielle 97/120, and Austin 111/120. So we are super proud of those results even though it’s not 1, 2, or 3… The team they pedaled hard, took bottles from the feed zone, churned out "laps", rolled back to the car for bottles, talked on the radios, and rode until the officials told them to stop trying - like real bike racers do. That effort is all that we can ask against this caliber of racer and teams. Ride to make themselves and others proud - and that is the case here. Team inspired goals for sure.

As for TV time - Emma won the day working the back of the field for the first half of the race where the only in-race camera on the USACrits.tv broadcast was working - and she owned the screen and dialog for a better part of an hour while riders shuffled back behind her getting dropped from the field at a rate of 10-15 per lap. Great results for sponsors, Emma, and the rest of the team.

​See you next time as this now UCI raced team comes out more experienced and in search of even more impressive races and results. Next up is Tour of America's Dairylands (TOAD) the largest competitive road cycling series in the US. It hosts 11 straight days of racing throughout Southeast Wisconsin. And then the Junior Tour of Ireland for the Juniors.

Thanks to the UCI, USA Cycling, The City of WS, police, volunteers, and residents of Winston-Salem, and the sponsors who made this possible:
American DORNIER, Keffer Mazda, Keffer VW, Charlotte Knights, Freedom Financial Solutions, Unknown Brewery, Unknown Bike & Brew, Hincapie Sportswear, BikeSource Charlotte, B-LINE Natural Energy, Weldon Weaver, and Veristor Systems. And finally, Sterling Swain and Alexis Batista for getting the team invited to the event.