Fremont Bank Women 2012: 3-Time Jr National Champion Jerika Hutchinson Joins Veteran Catherine Robertson-Goodkin

A competitive Fremont Bank women’s squad has always been a goal and key component of our program. 2012 represents a season of rebuilding for us.

 

We will continue to implement our proven model of bringing together accomplished veteran racers, such as Cat1 Catherine Robertson-Goodkin, with young up-and-comers like former 3-time Junior National Champion, and U23 and Collegiate National runner-up Jerika Hutchinson.

 

Our goal is to provide support and guidance on and off race courses, giving up-and-coming riders the opportunity to take cycling at the elite level as far as they are able.

Jerika finished 2nd at 2011 U23 TT Nationals to Peanut Butter & Co phenom, Tayler Wiles, as well as 2nd at 2011 Collegiate Track Nationals in the pursuit.

Jerika has trained with the US National Team and its director has great faith in her talent and potential. So have other elite team managers whose support is crucial.

We are looking to add more strong women over the coming months, providing Jerika the opportunity to develop her skills, as well as progress as an athlete.

We have followed Jerika over the years and have great respect and fondness for her and her parents. She is also a dedicated college student!

 

Fremont Peak Hill Climb

1st Place !!

Challenge RR - WIN!

1st Place !!



Mt. Diablo Hill Climb Time Trial - WIN!

1st & 2nd Places !!

Held in Walnut Creek, CA the 10k (6.2 mile) time trial up the North Gate side of Mt. Diablo begins at the entry kiosk on North Gate Rd. and finishes at the ranger residence just short of the junction. Both finished the day very happy and went home with some Peet's Coffee and GU products. Unfortunately, no one snapped any pictures of the ladies. Luckily, bykgrl, created a wonderful video of the climb for anyone interested in finding out more about the course.

Lodi Cycle Fest - WIN!

1st Place !!

Davis 4th of July Criterium

6th Place

Leesville Gap RR - Podium!

2nd Place !!

Leesville Gap is another challenging course on the NCNCA calender. With gravel, broken pavement, and just enough climbing to make a selection - the 65 mile loop is unforgiving and always scorching hot. All of the ladies were happy to have made it to the finish and went straight to find some water!

Burlingame Criterium

5th Place !!

Nevada City Classic - Podium!

3rd Place !!

The 51st edition of the Nevada City Classic brought local pro riders Katerina Nash and Emily Kachorek to challenge the rest of NorCal.

Taleo Criterium - WIN!

Beth Newell - 1st

Beth continued her NorCal domination at the Taleo Criterium in Benecia, CA.



Mt. Hamilton Road Race - Podium!

Beth Newell - 3rd

Susannah Breen

Catherine Robertson-Goodkin



Berkeley Hills RR - Podium!

Beth Newell - 3rd

The Berkeley Hills Road Race is a challenging 71 mile course in the East Bay that travels over the "3 Bears" a total of four times. Beth, Susannah, and Catherine were joined by 15 other P1/2 NorCal women for the event. Jane Despas from Yahoo! Cycling Team started the racing by rolling off the front for a 2 lap solo effort. By the last lap, she was caught and the front group was down to about 10 riders. Beth attacked and split the group before the final turn onto Bear Creek, bringing Webcor's Rebecca Werner and Anna Barensfeld with her along with two Metromint Riders. Rebecca's final surge up the finishing climb proved too strong and Beth finished 3rd. Congrats to Beth on another podium finish!

Wente Vineyards Classic RR - WIN!

Susannah Breen - 1st

Beth Newell - 3rd

Susannah and Beth again joined forces for the Wente Vineyards Classic Road Race. The course is a 15 mile loop near the Altamont Pass, and the P1/2 women completed 4 laps for a total of 66 miles. On the 2nd lap, Susannah attacked from the base of the main climb and brought 3 riders with her, including Beth. The four riders rotated a bit together, but Beth and Susannah did the most work in an effort to stay away. The four were caught and re-absorbed into the pack and were content to ride the 3rd lap at a steady pace. Molly VH from Metromint was able to get a significant gap on the backside of the 3rd lap, forcing Beth to lead and rally the chase. Molly was caught with enough time for Beth to recover and Susannah attacked on the main climb again, bringing 6 other riders with her. Again Beth was right on the competitors wheel, ensuring Fremont Bank had 2 riders in the break. Marley Smith from Touchstone Climbing drove the pace for much of the final lap, and Susannah again attacked from the base of the climb holding off Webcor's Rebecca Werner. Beth rounded out the podium for 3rd. Congrats on a great team victory!

Copperopolis RR - Podium!

Susannah Breen - 2nd

Beth Newell - 3rd

The Copperopolis Road Race is a Velo-Promo spring classic for NorCal racers. Held in Milton, Ca the course is a 21 mile loop that includes two significant climbs and a fair amount of bad pavement. Beth and Susannah were joined by 15 other P1/2 women, including a handful of Metromint and Webcor/SportVelo riders. Despite both riders efforts to split the group on the main climb over the first two laps, many of their competitors were not interested in working together and the group stayed mostly intact for the first 40 miles. Susannah got a rear flat on the 2nd lap, but was quickly back in the group due to the excellent follow-car support (thanks Rob Van Houweling and Michael Hernandez). Beth attacked at the beginning of the third lap and the group let her go. She held her gap for most of the main climb where she was joined by Susannah and Webcor's Rebecca Werner. Susannah took over the pace-making and the 3 riders went clear of the others and quickly built up a minute gap. Unfortunately, Beth suffered a bit of cramping and dropped off. Susannah and Rebecca continued to share the workload and Rebecca jumped first and was able to hold her gap for the win, Susannah 2nd, and Beth stayed clear of all the other women for 3rd. Thanks to Lynne Lamoureux of Podium Insight for the great pictures.

Santa Cruz Classic Criterium - 4th

4th Place !!

Chico Stage Race - Podium!

Beth Newell - 2nd

Beth raced in Chico, California over the weekend with a group of cat2/3 women. Despite the smaller field, Beth started the road race by constantly attacking the group but was unable to get away. Metromint had the most riders in the field and they kept everything under control. The course contains a 4 mile gravel section that the group hit together and unfortunately Beth lost some time, as the other women charged ahead. However, she was able to catch most of them by the finish, ending up 1:20 behind first place.

Sunday morning in the TT, Beth won by 50 seconds - making up valuable time going into the afternoon criterium. Beth needed 36 seconds to win the overall, so she started attacking early to try to get away. Metromint responded each time to protect their riders overall placing, until finally Beth got a good gap with one of their riders. Despite only a small gap, Beth was committed and the other rider was also looking to move up a spot in the overall so they worked well together. Unfortunately with only 1.5 laps to go, Beth overlapped wheels and went down. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt and finished the crit, her 2nd place GC finish intact.

Bariani Road Race - 5th

Amy Chandos - 5th

Amy was joined by Tanja, Francesca, and Susannah for the Bariani Road Race, held in Zamora, Ca. Almost 50 P1/2/3 women started the race, and with windy conditions many of the larger teams were not willing to set pace. Susannah kept the pace high on the first lap and attacked a few times as well but it seemed like none of the other teams wanted to spend time off the front. Unfortunately, Tanja was caught up in a crash on the first lap and spent the entire race chasing down riders. Amy put in some good attacks, but was only able to take one rider with her each time and was eventually chased down. Francesca stayed near the front and followed wheels, while Susannah continued to set the pace so that Amy could get ready for the final sprint, where she ended up 5th. Congrats on a great weekend of racing for Amy!

Land Park Criterium

Amy Chandos - 4th

Despite a constant drizzle, Amy raced Land Park Criterium on Saturday with about 25 other P1/2/3 women. Although she raced solo, Amy kept out of trouble and finished 4th. Congrats Amy!

Merco Credit Union Cycling Classic

Beth Newell - 8th GC

The 2011 Merco Cycling Classic included 4 stages over 4 days, all located around Merced, Ca and was an incredibly well run event by first year promoter TopSport Cycling. With almost 45 cat1/2 women starting the event and riders like HTC-Highroad's Ina Yoko-Teutenberg racing, Beth and Susannah would be competing against some of the best female racers in the nation. Thursday started well for the women at the MID Road Race, with beautiful warm weather and a hilly course Susannah and Beth stayed with the front group. Susannah finished 8th on the day just 32 seconds from 1st place and Beth wasn't far behind in 16th.

Friday, the Individual Time Trial was held on a 12 mile course with rolling terrain and both riders knew that the GC would be changing after this event. Unfortunately, Susannah flatted in the final 4k and was given the last riders time. Luckily, Beth had a fantastic ride finishing 8th on the day and also taking over 8th on the GC.

 

Saturday was the Downtown Grand Prix, 30 laps over a P-shaped course with a 180 degree turn 400 meters from the finish. Despite a lack of enthusiasm for the hair-pin turn, Beth and Susannah agreed that downtown Merced knows how to put on a bike race! Live music, a beer garden, and lots of cheering fans made the course fun and it was also fast.....Beth and Susannah were happy to finish and maintain Beth's placing heading into the final stage.

Sunday was the Almond Blossom Road Race, a 72 mile rolling course with a wickedly fast finish. The good weather had come to an end and the entire race was rain-soaked. Despite numerous break attempts by various teams, eventually it became obvious that the stage would come down to a sprint. Beth stayed out of trouble without loosing any time while Susannah was happy to finish. Congrats to Beth on a top-10 in her first major stage race!

Snelling Road Race

Beth and Susannah met up for this early season event held near Snelling, Ca last weekend. This would be the ladies first race together and they were up against an entire Tibco/To the Top Women's Professional Cycling Team not to mention numerous other NorCal strong-women. Despite other teams having 4-6 riders, Beth and Susannah were active during the entire race, testing their fitness. Both escaped into early breaks with lots of potential, but Tibco had full control and they waited until 1.5 laps to go before getting Erinne Willock solo off the front for the eventual win. With no other teams willing to chase, it was obvious that Tibco would also be setting up a leadout train for the sprint. Susannah attacked  just before 1km mark, and the pack reshuffled a bit and Beth looked to be in good position amidst the Tibco riders. Unfortunately, the final sprint didn't end as planned and both Beth and Susannah ended up just out of the top-10. Not to worry, the girls knew it was just a warm-up for this weekends Merco Stage Race!

Pine Flat RR - WIN!

1st & 4th Places !!





Cantua Creek RR - WIN!

1st Place !!

Cantua Creek Road Race is held near Coalinga, Ca and despite predictions of cold and rainy conditions, the event was dry and even a little sunny.

Bicycles Plus Early Bird Criterium - WIN!

Elizabeth Newell - 1st

She did it again! Beth scored another win for Fremont Bank Cycling Team over the weekend and we all know she is just getting started. Beth was among a strong group of women, many racing solo, that traveled to Folsom, Ca for the early season criterium. Touchstone Climbing had a strong team that started the racing off with some coordinated attacks - but with solo riders like Mary Maroon, Ruth Winder, and Beth nothing was able to stay away as the group continually chased down any break away attempts. In the final lap, Maroon and Winder had a slight gap on the field, but Beth's patience payed off and once the duo was in striking distance Beth closed the gap and then attacked again, jumping out of the final turn and unleashing her incredible sprint for another victory. Congrats on another win! Next up - the women will be racing in the Central Valley over the next few weekends.

Cherry Pie Criterium - 7th

Amy Chandos - 7th

Amy raced solo at Cherry Pie and was ready for the challenge of racing against some of NorCal's best female riders, showing exactly why we are so excited about having her on the team for 2011. Despite Webcor, Metromint, and Vanderkitten having more riders - none of the teams seemed to take control of the race. Strong efforts by solo riders kept most of the attacks under control except for a solo break driven by a Swiss rider, Pascale Schnider, who would eventually win. Amy maintained her good position in the pack and allowed the bigger teams to lead the chase of Schnider. Amy finished 7th, and was pleased with her race for such an early season event.



Cal Aggie Criterium - WIN!

Beth Newell - 1st

Amy Chandos - 4th

Christina Yglesias

Held in William Land Park, just outside of Sacramento, the Cal Aggie Criterium marks one of the first races on the NCNCA calender where teams can show what they are made of for the up-coming season. For the cat1/2/3 race there was some considerable NorCal talent, making the race fast and fun for Beth, Amy, and Christina.  Former teammate Emily Kachorek now racing with the Primal - Map My Ride Professional Team had a teammate in Liza Rachetto, while Lindsay Myers formerly of the Webcor Women's Professional Team raced solo amid a good representation of local teams like Touchstone and Vanderkitten. With a break unable to stick, Beth attacked with 5 laps to go and once caught Amy countered. Amy was also caught, and the group was all back together with only 1.5 laps left in the race. Amy maintained her good position at third wheel, and Beth took control of the race in the final turn and was able to hold of Kachorek in the sprint for the win. Amy finished close behind Kachorek and Rachetto for 4th and Christina finished with the group.

Fremont Bank Women's Cycling is very proud to be represented by such talented and wonderful women, on and off the bike. Great team racing, no matter how many riders represent, is the ultimate goal. Amy, Beth, and Christina are all new additions for the 2011 season but have already shown that they will be instrumental in the teams success. When and where is the next race?

Early Birds......

Our youngest rider, Christina Yglesias, was out at the Early Bird Criterium testing her legs over the weekend. This will be Christina's first year out of a junior development program and we are very excited to have her be part of the Fremont Bank Women's Cycling Program. Christina will be racing as a cat3 (for now), contributing in P1/2/3 races and also competing on the track in 2011.

2011 San Bruno Hill Climb - WIN!

1st Place !!

Held every January 1, the San Bruno Hill Climb kicks off the NCNCA season with a 3.5 mile event that starts with 7-8% Guadalupe Canyon, then continues to Radio Rd. and includes narrow switchbacks and grades up to 10%.