Los Altos, California – One of the main goals of the TIBCO Women’s Pro Cycling Team for 2009 was to be the top team in North America. After Sunday’s Atlanta Women’s 10K Classic, the final race of the NRC series, it’s official.

Team TIBCO has won the overall team classification of the USA Cycling NRC series.

“This was one of our biggest goals for this year,” said Team TIBCO founder and manager Linda Jackson. “Team TIBCO has consistently been the strongest team this season, winning the overall team classification of three of the biggest stage races in the U.S., and racking up numerous wins and podiums in NRC competition. We’re proud to have earned the NRC team title. To reach this level from such modest beginnings in 2006 is a testament to the dedication of everyone involved in the team, both on and off the bike.”

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St. Louis, MO – Brooke Miller and Team TIBCO have swept the four-race Women’s Tour of Missouri Series, part of the Gateway Cup in St. Louis this Labor Day weekend. The four-rider squad, which included Katharine Carroll, Alison Starnes and Rushlee Buchanan, had to contend with full rosters from teams like Colavita/Sutter Home and Team Type 1. Yet they still delivered Miller to four consecutive victories.

This morning, on a course that covered part of the circuit for today’s opening stage of the men’s Tour of Missouri, Miller once again took advantage of a stealth leadout from Carroll.

“It’s our new tactic, leadout from behind,” Miller joked.

Coming into the final lap, Miller was situated behind the Colavita train, with Carroll behind her on her wheel. With about 500 meters to go, as she had done Saturday, Carroll launched from behind Miller, who jumped on her wheel. Carroll dove the final two corners and dropped off Miller coming out of the last turn with 200 meters to go.

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No blues in St. Louis so far for Team TIBCO: Miller takes wins in first two Women’s ToMO races.

St. Louis, MO – Team TIBCO sent four riders to St. Louis for this weekend’s Women’s Tour of Missouri Series, part of the Gateway Cup. Despite being outnumbered by the likes of Colavita/Sutter Home and Team Type 1, those four women seem to be riding like eight, having now delivered Brooke Miller to wins in the first two races of the series.

Saturday, on a wide open, 1.3 mile St. Louis Hills circuit, Miller took advantage of a sneak attack leadout from teammate Katharine Carroll, who took Miller to the last turn and let the sprinter finish the job.

“We wanted to be the aggressors again today,” said Miller. “We launched a lot of attacks but nothing was getting away. About half-way through the race we decided to change tactics and race a bit more defensively. We thought Colavita might attack more since they had the numbers, but they weren’t going on the attack.

Instead, with two laps to go, Colavita set up their train on the front.

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Los Altos, California – Team TIBCO goes to the next installment of the NRC series – the Chris Thater Memorial Grand Prix on Sunday – with a five-rider squad that has proven to be a criterium powerhouse all season.

Sprinter Brooke Miller headlines the crew, bolstered by rotating lead-outs Lauren Tamayo and Joanne Kiesanowski. Katharine Carroll, who won the Downer’s Grove warm-up race two weeks ago, brings her firepower and Emma Rickards adds her aggressive attacking style to the squad.

“This group has raced a lot together this year,” said Miller, who enjoyed four wins in six races over nine days in April and May in the Southest criterium with this core unit. They also helped Miller to wins in Charlotte and Hanes Park earlier this month.

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Team TIBCO wins Women’s Prestige Series overall title.

Los Altos, California – Following their overall team general classification victory at the Cascade Classic in July, the TIBCO Women’s Pro Cycling Team sealed a convincing win in the team overall title of the 2009 Women’s Prestige Cycling Series. Team TIBCO won the overall team general classification in three of the four races comprising the WPCS, including the Redlands Classic and the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

“One of our goals coming into this year was to be the top women’s team in North America,” said Team TIBCO founder and manager Linda Jackson. “We’ve shown race after race that we have the strongest team, and we’re proud to have earned the team title of the Women’s Prestige Series.”

Team TIBCO won the overall by a comfortable 500-point margin over Team Type 1, with five of the team’s riders placing in the top 11 of the individual standings, including Katharine Carroll in 2nd place, and Joanne Kiesanowski in 4th. Julie Beveridge, who finished 10th in the individual standings, finished 2nd over all in the Young Rider category.

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SAN CARLOS, Calif. - Meredith Miller with Ritchey Design-sponsored Team TIBCO captured the 2009 U.S. Elite National Road Championship title in Bend, Ore., July 30. This marks the second year in a row for Team TIBCO to wear the National Championship jersey following Brooke Miller’s win with Team TIBCO in 2008.

Miller was part of a five-rider break away that formed late on the last hilly lap of the four-lap circuit. She attacked the breakaway on the final kicker just 2 km from the finish line. This proved to be a stellar move as she gapped her breakmates and was able to solo in with style.

The U.S. National Road Championship course is a four-lap circuit totaling 72 miles and more than 1,000 vertical feet of climbing per lap.

Team TIBCO benefits from the lightweight, stiffness and quality of its Ritchey Design WCS components, including WCS 4-Axis Stems, WCS Logic II Bars and WCS 1-Bolt Seatposts.

Bend, OR – In her first crack at the under-23 U.S. National Time Trial Championship, Jerika Hutchinson of Team TIBCO posted a strong 2nd place finish to earn the silver medal. Hutchinson, a month short of her 19th birthday, came in 0:14 behind Jacquelyn Crowell (Team Type 1), who posted a time of 53:44 on the hilly, 35 km circuit. Hutchinson’s time would have placed her solidly in the top 20 of the elite women’s group.

“It was a really challenging course,” Hutchinson said. “It was also really hot. I had a bag of ice on my back before I started, and a wet towel on my back for the ride trying to keep me cool.”

The course was similar to the course used for the Cascade Classic the week before, opening with a climb to the turn-around point 12 km out and return back to the start area. However, the national championship course added a 11 km loop with several rollers to bring it to 35 km.

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Meredith Miller, the consummate teammate, keyed off a perfect team effort to take solo glory in the U.S. road national championship race.

Bend, OR – The U.S. National Road Champion’s jersey is staying in the Team TIBCO family, with Meredith Miller earning the jersey her teammate Brooke Miller wore for the past 12 months.

“Meredith is such an incredible teammate,” Brooke Miller said. “She’ll ride herself into the ground for any of us. She really deserved the win today.”

Meredith Miller attacked her four break-mates on the final kicker just 2 km from the finish line, “and then I put my head down and never looked back,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to win until I came around the roundabout and made the last right turn with 200 meters to go.”

At that point, she not only knew she had the gap to win, but the time to celebrate it coming across the line.

Miller was part of a five rider break that formed late on the last of four laps around the hilly Aubrey Butte Circuit. The break was instigated when Kori Seehafer (Team Type 1) attacked solo ahead of the final climb. Miller was part of a four-rider group that bridged up to Seehafer.

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Los Altos, California – Team TIBCO full contingent of America riders are up in Bend, Oregon this week to compete in the women’s U.S. Road Race and Time Trial National Championship races.

Competition for Team TIBCO kicks off Thursday with the Elite and U23 road race, where Brooke Miller returns as the defending national champion. The road race will cover 111km over four laps of the same course as the final stage of the Cascade Classic this past Sunday – the Aubrey Butte Circuit – which features a particularly steep climb which starts about 6 km from the finish each lap.

“It’s a really good course, and also a really hard course this year,” Brooke Miller said. “The past couple years, you had a pretty good idea of who would be there at the end to contest for the jersey. Last year, the course lent itself to a bunch sprint. Depending on how the race plays out this year, it could be a wide open race that favors more of an all-arounder. Honestly, this year I expect to be working my butt off to help my teammates, and the course is really well-suited to our team.”

That team includes four riders who put in strong performances on this course last Sunday: Amber Rais, Katharine Carroll, Alison Starnes and Meredith Miller. All four finished in the top 15 overall at Cascade, with Rais finishing 2nd overall. Lauren Tamayo is another rider who could figure in the finish, as well.

“This really is a strong person’s course,” said Meredith Miller, one of the team’s captains. “It’s not a pure climber’s course. If you have good legs and can get over the climbs you can do well on it. It’s really hilly and there aren’t too many places to rest and recover. Even after the main climbs there are false flats that you still need to kind of power through. The course offers a lot of places to attack.

“The circuit was hard on Sunday, but we were at the end of a six-day stage race,” Meredith Miller added. “With three days of rest plus adding a lap, a lot gets thrown out the window. If the pace is easier, it could be a pretty big group at the end. If it’s harder, then we’re probably looking at a smaller group, which we’d like to have one or two riders in. I think that would be more advantageous for us. I think whomever comes to the end in the front group will be hurting. It’s going to be a matter of who can dig deeper in the end.”

All of the riders except Brooke Miller will also be contesting the Time Trial on Friday. Following her 2nd place in the ITT during Cascade a week ago, Starnes looks to be Team TIBCO’s top threat to unseat reigning champion Alison Powers (Team Type 1). But Carrol, Rais and Meredith Miller also put in good rides last week, and Saturday’s course covers the same terrain, with an extra roughly 10km added on to the end of the Cascade course.

Jerika Hutchinson, at 19 years old, will be going for the U23 road crown tomorrow, as well as the U23 time trial on Friday. She’ll contest the U23 Criterium on Sunday.

Team TIBCO Roster for the Women’s National Road and Time Trial Championships, July 30 - Aug. 2
Katharine Carroll
Jerika Hutchinson (U23)
Brooke Miller
Meredith Miller
Amber Rais
Alison Starnes
Lauren Tamayo

Photo (c) Jason Mancebo

Team captains Amber Rais (left) and Meredith Miller lead a deep Team TIBCO squad into the Cascade Classic, beginning Tuesday

Los Altos, California – Team TIBCO will bring one of the strongest, most balanced stage race rosters into this week’s Cascade Classic, which begins tomorrow.

“We have a lot of options with our roster,” said Meredith Miller, one of the team’s captains.

The squad includes three of last year’s top 10 finishers, including Canadian Julie Beveridge, who finished 3rd overall and won the best young rider competition. Amber Rais finished 8th overall last year, while Miller slotted in at 10th overall.

Add in Kiwi Joanne Kiesanowski, who has been one of the team’s most consistently strong riders this season, and it gives the Team TIBCO numerous options in the battle for the overall title.

“Looking at the overall, we have a lot of different cards to play this year,” Miller said. “Julie is probably our best climber, and Jo is climbing and sprinting really well. But above all, we want to make the race as hard as possible each day.”

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