I was pretty nervous yesterday, on the way to the UWW Road Race. It was an unfamiliar course with some good hills and I really wanted to do well -- coach said one more strong finish and I should apply for my upgrade. And I want that upgrade monkey off my back.

15 women lined up for the cat 4 race, which doesn't sound like much, but there were 9 at Spring Prairie and 4 at Fox River Grove. So 15 was cool. Two teams had two or more racers. We had 5 laps of a 6-ish mile course that started out with a series of short climbs and false flats, turned into rollers, and two longish flats with a long descent in between. There was a little downhill into the finishing stretch.

I mostly sat in for the first two laps watching to see who climbed well, who seemed strong. I'd raced with a couple of the women before and had an idea what to expect from them. On the third lap the little Kenosha Velosport junior attacked on the hill. I started to chase . . . but then I realized a) the junior was not a threat on her own, and b) other women were also chasing. So I tucked in behind them and we let the junior dangle off the front for a few minutes, wasting her energy.

I figured that the real action would start in the fourth lap, and I wasn't disappointed. When we hit the longest in the series of hills --the only small ring climb -- a Tati girl jumped hard. This time I chased in earnest and caught her at the top of the hill. I looked back and realized that she, I and the junior had a good gap on the rest of the pack. So I got on the front and pushed hard. We quickly dropped the Tati girl, but Kenosha Velosport and I kept pushing.

Towards the end of the first flat stretch, I looked back and could see a chase group. They're coming, I said, we can't slow down. The junior pointed out that we had another whole lap. We have to build this gap now, I insisted. I was frankly surprised that two or three of those women had let us get off in the first place.

The junior and I were working well together, and I couldn't drop her -- she clung to my wheel tenaciously -- but she didn't have a lot of power. So I dragged her around the course for the last lap, making sure she pulled through regularly so she couldn't save up for the sprint -- and I could. When we crested the little rise before the finishing stretch, I popped up to a big gear, stood up and mashed gamely, maxing my HR well before the line -- while I'm not a good sprinter, I figured I could beat junior gears. And I did, handily.

I have to say, I'm really excited about this win. I beat a number of strong competitors, I read the race well, and I had the strength to seal the deal. And I get seven points -- enough to finally upgrade!