September 19, 2003 – The T-Mobile Women's Professional Cycling Team faced a
double day on Friday, September 19, at the Giro della Toscana
Internazionale Femminile with both a morning circuit race and an evening
criterium on the schedule.

First up for the T-Mobile women was the 69.9k circuit race that featured a
few parade laps along a 3k circuit before three laps of a 20k
out-and-back loop from Porcari to Montecarlo. The course was mostly flat
except for one category-three climb per lap. Along with sprints for points
and time bonuses, the profile suggested a challenging day ahead.

Early on, Rachel Heal (Farm Frites Hartol) initiated an attack before
the first climb that was tagged by Alessandra D'etorre (Chirio-Forno).
With the duo ahead, T-Mobile animated the chase with Kristin Armstrong
(Boise, Idaho) attempting to bridge across. After her efforts were
consumed by the peloton, an attack from Dede Barry (Boulder, CO)
resulted in a group of eight escaping from the main bunch, but was soon
caught from the main group behind.

On the ensuing hill, Heal pushed the pace ahead and opened up a solo gap
which she held until a group of four, including recent T-Mobile
International winner, Nicole Cooke (Ausra Goudis), Rasa Polikeviciute
(Team 2002-Aurora), Silvia Parietti (Prato Bike) and Sandrine
Marcuz (Michela Fanini), attacked on the second climb and bridged
across to Heal. As the five worked to distance themselves from the
peloton, Cooke attacked on the third and final climb. The others were
unable to respond as the overall World Cup Champion quickly gained 30
seconds on her way to the stage win.

Behind, a fast chasing peloton just caught the four remaining breakaway
riders on the line with Heal holding on for second and Magali LeFloch
(France) taking third. Barry led home the T-Mobile women, claiming fourth
place in the stage.

With a brief break in between, the women next tackled an evening criterium
in Camp Bisenzio, a 54.6k pancake flat, four corner affair under the
lights. Deemed a criterium, but more like a Belgian style Kermess thanks
to the 4.6k circuit, the action was intense from the gun. With only
seconds separating the top riders in the overall classification, the
sprints for time bonuses were important and hotly contested. Every attack
failed due to the 43k.p.h. average that was cranked out by the peloton, and
in the end, it was the Ausra Goudis team that put together a leadout for
their sprinter Giorgina Bronzini (ITA) who took her second stage win of the
tour in a field sprint ahead of Susanne Ljungskog (Bik-Powerplate).

T-Mobile's Barry once again showed her trademark aggression after
puncturing with two laps to go. With her overall G.C. position on the
line, Barry chased hard to rejoin the peloton and receive the same
finishing time as the winner.

Saturday's stage takes the riders 112.7k from Segromigno in Piano to
Capannori and will take the women over five categorized climbs including
the category-one Valgiano.

Complete coverage and results of T-Mobile's progress at the Giro della
Toscana is available at: www.usacycling.org/tmobile