Drafter Tour de Dane Femmes Wrap Up
The Tour de France Femmes was an extraordinary event, held the first time in 33 years. In order to support these incredible women throughout 8 stages in their pursuit of watts, teamwork, integrity, podium finishes and putting women's cycling on the map, the Drafters held a Tour de Dane Femmes.
The mission was simple: encourage women to pedal, support local bike groups, bike shops and worthy causes, instill the spirit of racing with time trial and mountain stages, and have FUN while drafting responsibly. In that, we enjoyed tremendous success.
In order to earn the YELLOW JERSEY, a rider had to meet the following criteria: 1) complete 3 of 5 organized events including the N+1 50 mile ride, BrickO's Drafters Monday ride, Wheel and Sprocket Women on Wheels ride, Lake Ripley Ride for JDRF or the Trek 100 Ride for Hope; complete the 2) Mountain Stage, and 3) Time Trial Stage, with a finisher photo at Crossroads Coffeehouse.
Just like the professional racers in the Tour de France Femmes, these women had to overcome mechanical issues, road obstacles and unanticipated barriers to success.
Dan-yelly, with the support of her hubby, Tobacco City Boy, left him in charge of their three children to fearlessly climb Cleveland and Deer Run for a shot at the Polka Dot jersey. A dropped and trapped chain would have been the end for most Femmes, but not this Drafter. With a rapid fire GroupMe message, the Drafters were quick to respond. Unfortunately, Amazon Prime was unable to guarantee same day delivery in the mountains, but the link for Wolf Tooth Pack Pliers was not unappreciated. Wheel and Sprocket was able to remedy the mechanical failure and get Dan-yelly back on the road to finish the stage, although not claim the podium.
Not all of the Drafter Femmes were able to be in Dane for the race. And yet, their spirit was in full force. Belle organized the union of BrickO's Drafters and the Stonefield Wheelmen and the support of N+1 to host a 50 mile ride to kick off the first stage of the Tour de Dane before she headed out of the county (and state).
While Belle was out of state, Thing One was out of the country doing the Tour de South Africa. From another continent, and without WiFi, T1 still supported the Tour de Dane.
Other Drafters had competing races on their schedule. Cujo was tapering at the Drafter ride on Monday (leading the B team) for her Washington Island Ultra Triathlon, where she completed 17 triathlons, plus an extra swim lap for good measure. Cujo turned in the most miles during the Tour de Dane at 312.
Cookie Monster provided fuel for her fellow Drafter Femmes at the Lake Ripley Ride. She had her hands too full to complete all of the stages of the Tour de Dane, but she provided enough cookies and raspberry tarts for everyone to race for a month. Cookie Monster is the first women in the history of cycling to complete a stage with her mother and daughters.
Motherhood is one of life's greatest gifts. And while it may limit time on the bike, it makes the time we are able to spend on the bike another one of life's greatest gifts. Coach Arms was able to squeeze in the Lake Ripley Ride and the Mountain Stage between recruiting trips for the University of Wisconsin Women's Hockey Team and life as a mother of two beautiful Femmes. Coach Arms has quads that are polka dot jersey worthy, but an unfortunate timing for chip sealing Deer Run Rd had her slightly off route and pace. The win isn't always rewarded with a podium. There is no coming down from a win like this one.
The polka dot jersey was worn by the same Drafter for the entire tour. Columbus knows her way up a mountain her roar could be heard for miles.
The green jersey changed... hands (?) several times throughout the Tour de Dane. Squeak laid claim to the sprinter jersey in Stage 8, acing out Nemo by 0.32 seconds. Nemo didn't leave the tour without a jersey, however. The Drafter Tour de Dane awards a silver jersey to the most mature cyclist. After a stage win in the Tour de France Femmes, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), age 39, credited her victory over younger riders to more time in the saddle. Annemiek went on to win more than just a stage. Age isn't always our enemy.
Squeak entered the Drafter Tour de Dane as part of her training for Ironman Wisconsin. After coming off a 70.3 in Finland, Squeak was in prime condition to claim yellow but decided to split her efforts between swimming, cycling and running. She arrived early to the Lake Ripley Ride to get in some laps, rode an extra 20 miles after completing the metric century, and then ran out the rest of her glucose stores. That was on Stage 7. For the final stage, she awoke to run 15 miles before claiming the green jersey and coming close to dethroning Columbus from Queen of the Mountain. And then she went mountain biking.
The winner of the 2022 Drafter Tour de Dane Femmes completed all 5 stages ON THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY of her bike accident, which left her unable to walk for many weeks. An inspiration for women's cycling and for life, congratulations to Pit Stop on earning the YELLOW JERSEY. She might ride with the B team on Monday nights, but she is part of the A Medical Team (Nitro, Pit Stop and Squeak) and the epitome of integrity, grit and strength.
There is one more jersey to be awarded. And that goes to the Tour de Dane Drafter who embodies the spirit of support even when they aren't pulling their teammates to the podium. The vote for the Drafter Excellence Award was unanimous, and the fact that it was a committee of one shouldn't take away from that. Congratulations, Sandlot. She volunteers on her day off from the clinic, where she also received the Nurse Excellence Award, to ride sweep for the W&S Women on Wheels ride, and provides clever and positive feedback for her teammates on nearly every Strava post throughout the tour. Coming off a serious knee injury, she has been working hard to add miles in the saddle and finished the 40 mile Lake Ripley Ride without the slightest hint of fatigue. She is the sunshine on a cloudy day.
Congratulations to all of the Drafter for participating and contributing in so many ways to the first annual Tour de Dane Femmes. And thank you to our sponsors at Online Cycling Gear for their generous donation of the podium jerseys. Please use code 20%brickson for all future purchases. And thank you to Hincapie Sportswear for the stunning kits that keep all Drafters in a green jersey. Use code SBRICKSON for 20% all non-custom orders.
Draft responsibly,
BrickO
Stage 2 Drafter Tour de Dane Femmes
Stage 1 of the Tour de Danes was a tribute to teamwork. Belle organized the joint effort of two Middleton teams, the Drafters and Stonefield Wheelmen, who worked together on Sunday to dominate the stage. Thank you to the N + 1 cafe for hosting!
Stage 2 of the Drafter Tour de Femmes was action packed, minus any wheel touches or crashes. 29 cyclists, including 3 new riders on the tour, lined up for what might have been the most glorious day in Tour de Dane history. Low heat and humidity, a gentle breeze blowing and protective cloud cover provided perfect conditions as the Drafters pedaled over some of the most gorgeous rolling terrain in Dane County.
The winners were decided before the stage began. Three generations of the Monster Family swept the podium.
A chase group of 13 Drafters, including first time tour riders, Sherpa and Pepe, set out to catch the breakaway group, a 15 min gap created by Duracell, Dan-yelly and Ditch.
Sherpa carried the Drafters up every hill, earning the polka dot jersey. Pepe carried the group past an inordinate number of odiferous road kill obstacles, weaving through the carnage as he bravely inhaled to minimize the collateral olfactory damage to his teammates. Nitro, usually in charge of noxious gas, was relegated to Lantern Rouge after accumulating 90 miles in the past 2 days. Her warm up for the tour may be considered excessive by some. Squeak gave it all she had, but her legs had just come off of turning 40 and finishing a 70.3 in Finland earlier this month. Cujo sprinted down the flat stretch of road along Crystal Lake, catching the dynamic duo and earning the green jersey. This was a huge sacrifice for her team, as she is cutting the tour short to race the Washington Island Ultra this coming Friday.
Keez made her 2022 Tour debut after switching teams from Iowa State to University of Wisco. The Drafters are happy to have her back home.
Huge thanks to Online Cycling Gear for donating the green and polka dot jersey to the winners of the Tour de Dane Femmes. The yellow jersey won't be yellow at all, but rather a Hincapie Drafter jersey.
If you would like a jersey but don't think you will be top on the podium, the Hincapie Store Link is open through the tour, closing Sunday July 31 at midnight. All non-custom Hincapie gear is 20% off with code SBRICKSON.
The Tour de Dane Femmes also awards a silver jersey. Similar to the white jersey which recognizes the top young rider, the silver jersey awards the strongest rider with the most years. Pending birth certificate verification and testing for PES (performance enhancing sunscreen), which apparently leaves skin flawless for decades. Congratulations, Nemo! You've inspired every single woman in the peloton put on sun screen and pedal harder.
A dozen members of the peloton had a 30 minute gap to the chase group. Sarge led the troops out Pheasant Branch, until UPH (unidentified pot hole) caused a rapid ejection of her fuel tank. Forging ahead, Sarge completed the stage without water, retrieving her water bottle on the last few meters of the Avenue des Champs-Pheasant Branch. Slim, making his 2022 Tour de Dane debut, moved up the ranks and assumed command alongside Vintage. Not having pedaled all summer beyond a 3 mile commute to work, Slim had fresh legs. The same could not be said for Vintage, who seem unscathed by his 50 mile gravel bike pre-stage warm up.
The breakaway, chase group and peloton all finished with a beer and a smile.
The next televised stage will be Wednesday, July 27th at 5PM from Wheel and Sprocket for the Women on Wheels event. And don't miss the Lake Ripley Ride on Saturday, July 30th.
OFFICIAL RULES OF ENGAGEMENT AMENDMENT: The sprint for the green jersey and climb for the polka dot jersey will not be televised, as Tour de Femmes riders can complete those two stages anytime before Sunday July 31st. Individual stages and total miles for the yellow jersey must be submitted in one document by Sunday July 31st at midnight. The Tour de Dane Femmes committee convened earlier this week to modify the original stipulations set forth for earning the yellow jersey: a Femme Drafter is not restricted to completing the original 3 stages (Monday Draft, Wednesday W&S and Sat Lake Ripley Ride) in order to be in considered for the yellow jersey. Riders may substitute the N+1 Stage, or the Trek 100 on Saturday. Non femme riders are not eligible for the podium prizes, but their support of the Tour de Dane Femmes will not go unrecognized.
The post-tour ride on Monday August 1 will take us through the scenic 36 mile Spring Valley loop. A short pour 27 miler option is to cut off onto Pine Road (just before marker 15 on the map below) from Spring Valley, joining back onto KP (left turn).
RidewithGPS link Spring Valley
PDF cue sheet Spring Valley Loop
PDF cue sheet Pine Loop Short Pour
Draft responsibly,
BrickO