After a highly successful showing at the Philadelphia Liberty Classic, the team set their sights on one of the nation’s biggest stage races: The Nature Valley Grand Prix. To say the team rocked is an understatement. Instead, let’s take a look at the figures.

Team TIBCO earned 1 stage win, 10 jerseys (including the Most Aggressive Rider jersey in 4 of 6 stages), 6 podium finishes and 9 top ten finishes. All told, Team TIBCO appeared on the podium 16 times for either jerseys or stage finishes and earned the praise of countless other racers and directors for the team’s aggressive racing style.

Stage 1: Downtown St. Paul Criterium
Under torrential rains, Team TIBCO lined up with 140 other racers to race over the short, technical course in St. Paul. While others balked at the weather and tough course, and while countless riders slid out and crashed on nearly every corner of the race, Team TIBCO roared to the front of the peloton, racing themselves into 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th place. Not one Team TIBCO racer crashed. Unfortunately, the team’s fearless determination would not count toward the overall General Classification for the stage race, as race officials had too much difficulty in determining the placement of lapped riders. This meant that the battle for General Classification would begin anew the following day, on Stage 2. In the meantime, the team collected the Most Aggressive Rider jersey (Brooke) and the Sprinter’s jersey (Jo).

Stage 2: Cannon Falls Road Race
Fired up after their strong showing in the opening crit, Team TIBCO again went on the attack, making a 60 mile road race as intense as a 30 mile criterium in terms of speed and difficulty. Rushlee Buchanan, Victoria Bastide, Helen Kelly and development rider, Ali Rosenthal, shattered the field with their constant attacks. Amber Rais managed to break away solo twice, dropping riders who hadn’t already been shelled by the team’s previous efforts. Jo Kiesanowski finished second in the bunch kick and took the lead in the Sprinter’s Competition, while Amber earned the Most Aggressive Rider jersey for her strong attacks on the stage.

Stage 3: St. Paul Riverfront Time Trial
The time trial proved to be a challenging course with a steep uphill finish. Amber finished 11th on the stage, and Jo 12th, both retaining the Most Aggressive Rider jersey and the Sprinter’s jersey on the stage.

Stage 4: Downtown Minneapolis Criterium
The team again threw down the gauntlet in this flat, fast race, with Lauren Franges attacking repeatedly off the front of the race. Despite her aggressive moves, the race came down to a bunch sprint in which the team led Brooke out for the finish with perfect execution. Brooke again delivered with a strong sprint to take the stage win. Lauren earned the Most Aggressive Rider jersey, while Jo kept the lead in the Sprinter’s jersey once again.

Stage 5: Mankato Road Race
This grueling 90 mile race ends on a circuit with a steep climb. The team worked well together to cover all dangerous moves prior to the finishing circuits, and once on the circuit, the ladies in blue continued their domination. Jo Kiesanowski covered a mighty attack by Kristin Armstrong, but was later brought back to the field. Covering another late move, Lauren Franges then countered with an attack on the climb, dropping the other riders to finish second on the stage behind Kristin. Jo continued to lead the Sprinter’s competition, again on the podium in the Wheaties Sprint jersey.

Stage 6: Stillwater Criterium
The team stayed vigilant at the front of the race, as Kristin Armstrong attacked the field and managed to escape with a solo effort. The team raced on pure adrenaline, attacking repeatedly to keep the pace high in hopes of bridging to or bringing back Kristin Armstrong. The team’s strong work set up Jo well for the finish, and she took third on the stage, earning yet another podium appearance for TIBCO. She also won the overall Sprint Classification, taking home the Wheaties Sprinter’s jersey.

Coming UP
This weekend the team heads to Austin for the next NRC criterium. Stay tuned for more exciting results!