An amazing and exciting race weekend. 
It all started early Saturday morning as Christine Phillips contested the masters women's race at the Sun Devil Crit. She took on a tough group of women who were unable to hold her back. Christine added this victory to a long list of wins over the past couple of years. Congrats, Christine. 
Somewhat later, we showed up to set up the team canopies for the Women's Cat 3/4 race and the weather was miserable. It was cold, very windy and raining. Several of us struggled to get the canopies up and secure...we finally attached one side to a sign pole and staked everything to the ground. Madi Cocuzza helped in the process and while holding the Strada banner so I could zip tie it to the canopy, it was flapping around and her feet were barely on the ground. We thought we might lose her in the wind! 
While all this was going on, Mary Jane Colson and Jerri Manley were trying to warm up for their race. As the picture shows, our women were brave and in spite of the hard rain went out to race with far more experienced competitors. Both of our riders were unable to hang with the leaders but fought until the end without quitting....a tough duo who deserve a lot of credit. Based on their rate of improvement, we forecast they will be in the prizes before this season is over.
Immediately after their race, Drew Albert competed with the Cat 3 men. It was far more exciting than usual and the weather was much improved and with just damp roads. There were a number of attacks and somehow Drew missed the attack that looked bound to succeed. It was obvious that he was judging the risk that the attack might succeed (they rarely do). All of a sudden, he burst from the pack and, in a solo effort, he caught the leaders in just one lap. His competitive juices were flowing and he kept the pace high to ensure they were free from capture by the pack. His pace resulted on a whittling down of the lead to just Drew and two other riders and as the picture we sent last night showed, they were suffering from their efforts. The finish became a tactical match sprint and Drew notched a great second place finish to add to his ever-increasing legend. Another great race and indicator of his fitness and toughness.
The junior race was next and the field was so big the referees split the junior women (15-18) from the junior men (13-18) and the junior men under 13. We had riders in each group with Michael Hemmerlin and Aaron Apel (his first bike race) in the under 13 group, Madi Cocuzza in with the women who were 17 and 18 years old (plus, Madi had a cold) and Johnny Angelone, Sean Biever, Don Henley and Nick Thorpe in the 13-18 group. It was a very entertaining race  to watch since there were three separate battles going on at the same time. Michael and Aaron immediately shattered their pack and raced off in perfect formation. They looked like two seasoned pros. In an amazing and unscripted finish (at least unknown to all of us) they arrived at the finish line with their hands joined together in a victory salute! Aaron was awarded the win and Michael got a hard earned second place as he had to fight off Aaron's strong attacks most of the race. A fantastic performance and a great show.
We were really proud of Madi at her first race back from a lay off...as she fought to stay with her fellow racers in spite of coughing much of the race....she finished in third place and while still coughing after the race, the usual "Madi-smile" never left her face.
The large junior men's pack had a great fight in a race that was very aggressive. There were several strong 17-18 year olds but in spite of that our juniors could not be denied their place in the victory circle. Our riders rode with great professionalism and tactical sense and once again provided us with an exciting sprint finish. Our juniors scored second, third, fourth and seventh place finishes. It was a very tight finish as our juniors showed their speed once again. Congratulations to Nick Thorpe on his second place, Sean Biever on this third place, Don Henley for his photo finish with an 18 year old that netted him fourth place and for Johnny Angelone who came in just a few feet behind in 7th place. Just two years ago, a junior race consisted on less than six riders with no more that one or two who were truly competitive. Now, the junior races are as exciting as any race on the schedule and the final sprints are furious. Congratulations to all. By the way, the professionalism and courtesy of the Strada team is gaining...we heard from a parent who praised Drew Albert for helping some first-race juniors belonging to another team with their limited gear ratios.
From first on the race day to last race....Christine Phillips returned to ride the womens Pro/1/2 race. She lined up with five members of one team and three of another...and just Christine. She fought hard but could not overcome the team attention that was focused on her. The good news?...she is convinced her conditioning has resulted in a further improvement over the level that brought her a National Championship last year! Go to the club website for pics...