A Big Win For TIBCO

Joanne Kiesanowski gets 3rd place finish against the very best in the world.

Today’s stage exits the tiny village of Aunat on mostly down hill roads for the first several kilometers. But, don’t think today is an easy stage. The route includes a “properly savage hill climb” said one pro from another team.

Brooke Miller was in the initial break with Jo and worked hard to establish the break and keep Jo’s legs fresh. After doing her work on the flats, Brooke rides in with a small finishing group over the final kilometers of the climb.

Joanne fought very hard over the mountains and with Amanda Miller’s help, stayed with the first chase group.

Four riders got away on the first category-1 climb of the Col de Razouls. Then, the mayhem began. “The first big descent blew apart the peloton” said TIBCO’s Directeur Sportif, Chris Georgas.

After the mountain, the main group got broken up into four groups, each separated by about a minute. Jo and Brooke worked hard to be the first over to the top and be clear of the traffic down the hill for maximum speed. It was a very dangerous 8-kilometer descent. Separations formed as some riders slowed in the frightening curves.

Then, the groups came together somewhat on the following flat roads. “Two teammates of Ina Teutenberg’s HTC-Columbia team were pushing very hard to catch the first group” reported Amanda Miller. They kept chasing and getting closer to the four leaders. Amanda Miller cooperated with some HTC-Columbia riders and eventually she and Jo spotted the leaders up ahead.

And, right at the end, with only 2-kilometer remaining they succeeded in catching the breakaway. At the end, Jo sprinted against Marianne Voss and Ina Teutenberg–the very best riders in the world.

Today’s Quiz:
Please see the photo at the end of this message. These objects were spotted before the race. What are they? Click on the photo for a larger view.

If you think you know, send your answer to us here. You could win a Crumpler bag from Team TIBCO. Check it out–they’re the perfect combination of form and function.

Beaucoup des bouteilles. Attention TIBCO fans: you are not hydrating enough. No answers were near enough the amount needed.

Our soigneur was loaded down with 36 energy drinks, 24 containers of water, plus 12 empties to be filled out on the course. 6 more bottles of recovery drink for afterwards. (Now that’s thirsty.)

Sharon of Mountain View, California got closest to the correct amount.