ROSSNER DOESN'T WIN LIBERTY CLASSIC

For the first time since 1997, Petra Rossner does NOT win the Liberty Classic. From reading
cyclingnews.com's coverage, sounds like an excellent race with a great solo win by Lyne Bessette,
breaking away in the last kilometer.

 

"Steven L. Sheffield" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BB08BF34.3C0F4%[email protected]...
>
> For the first time since 1997, Petra Rossner does NOT win the Liberty Classic. From reading
> cyclingnews.com's coverage, sounds like an
excellent
> race with a great solo win by Lyne Bessette, breaking away in the last kilometer.

Expect to see some of that on OLN. DeDe Barry, Amber Neben, Mari Holden, Nicole Freedman and Laura
Van Gilder were on the start list, but did not place in the top ten.

B-

 

I watched the coverage on the local station. It was a good women's race for once. Bessette attacked
on the wall to establish a good gap but was brought back on the downhill, and then T-mobile fired
rider after rider up the road attacking again and again whenever the previous attack was brought
back. They pretty much made the race by never letting the peloton get re-consolidated after the
final time up the wall. Eventually 5 girls got away with 2 T-mobiles, Bessette, Lynn Gaggiola, and
Arndt. Gaggiola attacked and got a good gap at one point and then looked like she was lost. She'd
slow, turn around and look for the chase like she had given up, and then get out of the saddle and
reaccelerate and persist with the attack. She did this several times before she was caught by the
other four. Bessette attacked over Lemon Hill and held the gap to the finish. Great TV shot of
Bessette with the four chasers just behind and then the bunch closing down on them (very Paris-Tours
like). T-mobile made the race and then got very little to show for it. I thought they got the last
two places in the 4-up sprint for second, but not even, cyclingnews results show that one of them
even got pipped on the line by Rossner for the 5th spot as the bunch caught them at the line!

 

"Wayne" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I watched the coverage on the local station. It was a good women's race for once. Bessette
> attacked on the wall to establish a good gap but was brought back on the downhill, and then
> T-mobile fired rider after rider up the road attacking again and again whenever the previous
> attack was brought back. They pretty much made the race by never letting the peloton get
> re-consolidated after the final time up the wall. Eventually 5 girls got away with 2 T-mobiles,
> Bessette, Lynn Gaggiola, and Arndt. Gaggiola attacked and got a good gap at one point and then
> looked like she was lost. She'd slow, turn around and look for the chase like she had given up,
> and then get out of the saddle and reaccelerate and persist with the attack. She did this several
> times before she was caught by the other four. Bessette attacked over Lemon Hill and held the gap
> to the finish. Great TV shot of Bessette with the four chasers just behind and then the bunch
> closing down on them (very Paris-Tours like). T-mobile made the race and then got very little to
> show for it. I thought they got the last two places in the 4-up sprint for second, but not even,
> cyclingnews results show that one of them even got pipped on the line by Rossner for the 5th spot
> as the bunch caught them at the line!

From what I saw of the race by the side of the road and snippets on TV, it looked to me that it was
as much Saturn making the race as anybody else...for example, wasn't Jutras out by herself for
quite a while?

Andy Coggan

 

"Andy Coggan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Wayne" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > I watched the coverage on the local station. It was a good women's race for once. Bessette
> > attacked on the wall to establish a good gap but was brought back on the downhill, and then
> > T-mobile fired rider after rider up the road attacking again and again whenever the previous
> > attack was brought back. They pretty much made the race by never letting the peloton get
> > re-consolidated after the final time up the wall. Eventually 5 girls got away with 2 T-mobiles,
> > Bessette, Lynn Gaggiola, and Arndt. Gaggiola attacked and got a good gap at one point and then
> > looked like she was lost. She'd slow, turn around and look for the chase like she had given up,
> > and then get out of the saddle and reaccelerate and persist with the attack. She did this
> > several times before she was caught by the other four. Bessette attacked over Lemon Hill and
> > held the gap to the finish. Great TV shot of Bessette with the four chasers just behind and then
> > the bunch closing down on them (very Paris-Tours like). T-mobile made the race and then got very
> > little to show for it. I thought they got the last two places in the 4-up sprint for second, but
> > not even, cyclingnews results show that one of them even got pipped on the line by Rossner for
> > the 5th spot as the bunch caught them at the line!
>
> From what I saw of the race by the side of the road and snippets on TV, it looked to me that it
> was as much Saturn making the race as anybody else...for example, wasn't Jutras out by herself for
> quite a while?
>
> Andy Coggan

I got a photo of Jutras off the front which lasted around 18 miles I believe.

B-

 

[email protected] (Wayne) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I watched the coverage on the local station. It was a good women's race for once. Bessette
> attacked on the wall to establish a good gap but was brought back on the downhill, and then
> T-mobile fired rider after rider up the road attacking again and again whenever the previous
> attack was brought back. They pretty much made the race by never letting the peloton get
> re-consolidated after the final time up the wall. Eventually 5 girls got away with 2 T-mobiles,
> Bessette, Lynn Gaggiola, and Arndt. Gaggiola attacked and got a good gap at one point and then
> looked like she was lost. She'd slow, turn around and look for the chase like she had given up,
> and then get out of the saddle and reaccelerate and persist with the attack. She did this several
> times before she was caught by the other four. Bessette attacked over Lemon Hill and held the gap
> to the finish. Great TV shot of Bessette with the four chasers just behind and then the bunch
> closing down on them (very Paris-Tours like). T-mobile made the race and then got very little to
> show for it. I thought they got the last two places in the 4-up sprint for second, but not even,
> cyclingnews results show that one of them even got pipped on the line by Rossner for the 5th spot
> as the bunch caught them at the line!

Lynn Gaggioli was looking for some riders to group up with her without the pack catching. She knew
she'd get caught alone and she knew she had no chance in a bunch sprint. She had essentially no
teammates, so she needed some of the big teams in her group to keep the pack from catching. Way to
work the teams when you are a solo rider.

Sabine www.velobella.org

 

> From what I saw of the race by the side of the road and snippets on TV, it looked to me that it
> was as much Saturn making the race as anybody else...for example, wasn't Jutras out by herself for
> quite a while?

I was mainly referring to the finale, but yes Jutras was out alone for awhile and then was caught at
the base of the wall the last time. The pack went up the wall together for awhile, then Jutras told
Bessette to attack (according to her post-race interview). She splintered the field but it was
definitely T-mobile that kept Rossner from winning. Their incessant attacking until the 5 rider
winning move was established kept it from being a bunch finish. Actually, Bessette still appeared to
be riding defensively in the miles up to the establishment of the definitive break. She would
close-down an attack (usually initiated by a T-mobile rider) and not pull-through, but for once the
women kept attacking and it didn't come back together.

 

> Lynn Gaggioli was looking for some riders to group up with her without the pack catching. She knew
> she'd get caught alone and she knew she had no chance in a bunch sprint. She had essentially no
> teammates, so she needed some of the big teams in her group to keep the pack from catching. Way to
> work the teams when you are a solo rider.
>
> Sabine www.velobella.org

Yeah but unless I'm getting things mixed up, I'm pretty sure this was after the 5 girls were already
off the front. Why attack them in the first place, if you want their help? Oh well, maybe I'm
confusing it, and it was her attack that started the break of 5 with the other 4 bridging up. I seem
to remember Phil and Eustice trying to figure out who she was, so maybe it was her attack that
established the winning move and waiting for the chasers made sense.

 

"Wayne" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Lynn Gaggioli was looking for some riders to group up with her without the pack catching. She
> > knew she'd get caught alone and she knew she had no chance in a bunch sprint. She had
> > essentially no teammates, so she needed some of the big teams in her group to keep the pack from
> > catching. Way to work the teams when you are a solo rider.
> >
> > Sabine www.velobella.org
>
>
> Yeah but unless I'm getting things mixed up, I'm pretty sure this was after the 5 girls were
> already off the front. Why attack them in the first place, if you want their help?

<snip>

In this specific race, Arndt is there to help Rossner (6? time defending champion in this race). So
when the break of 4 goes, Arndt is going to sit on and wait for Rossner to catch up.

If Arndt sits on, then so do Bessette and Anderson.

Gaggioli attacks. Arndt can no longer sit on, she has to cooperate, can't let the win go up the
road. Bessette counters when Gaggioli is caught. Arndt continues to work. Smart racing by Gaggioli -
with more luck perhaps Bessette may have not been able to make it stick.

This is all pure guesswork on my part, based upon what I read.