A gesture of victory: Miller has easy finish

Mon May 29 2006
Posted May 29, 2006
5,092

Mount Union native pulls away to win Women's Category 4. By GARY HADENFELDT sports@thehawkeye.com At this point in her young and burgeoning career, the only thing 20–year–old cyclist Amanda Miller seems to lack is a demonstrative victory celebration. On the last lap of the eight–lap Women's Category 4 race at Saturday's Snake Alley Criterium, the Mount Union native broke away from a tight battle with Maria Osborne for an win. Rather than sitting up on her bike and raising both arms over her head, as has become customary — or resorting to some of the more outlandish histrionics that have started to creep into the sport — Miller's subdued but classy gesture consisted merely of lifting her left hand off her drops only enough to give a simple point toward the podium stand. "I know. Everybody tells me that (I need to work on my celebration), but I'm afraid I'll wreck or something," Miller quipped. Miller's actions on the criterium course were all the gesturing she needed to do. One year after placing third in the event on her first try — a week after she took part in Mediapolis High School's 2005 graduation ceremonies — Miller appeared to be the race favorite with defending champion Samantha Schneider and runner–up Jane Riessen both bumping up to the Women's Open race this year. "But then you get a lot of out–of–staters and you don't know what they are like," Miller said. "So I wasn't expecting anything. I was just going to give it my all." Sporting the team jersey of Iowa City's Atlas/Core Cycling — in stark contrast to the "plain" jersey she wore last year when riding unattached, Miller sprinted to the lead by the bottom of the Sixth Street hill on the opening lap and bolted to a sizeable margin by the time she reached the top of Snake Alley. "I was just trying to get up the hill first," Miller said of her quick start. "Actually, I didn't even realize I split it apart that much." By the end of lap 1 Miller had a seven–second gap on the lead pack of chasers. The status quo remained relatively unchanged until the start of lap 4, when Osborne made her move. Jumping around eventual third–place finisher Kaitlin Antonneau, with whom she had been dueling over the opening laps, Osborne took off in pursuit of Miller. Osborne cut an eight–second gap down to three seconds by the end of lap 6, and by the start of the final lap was right on Miller's back wheel. "I'm from Colorado so I'm used to climbing," Osborne said. "I thought if I could just keep it close and then keep on her wheel on the downhill that on the last climb I could just pull it through." Miller showed some climbing moxie of her own. Far from Osborne taking over, Miller actually pulled away slightly going up "the Snake" for the final time. After negotiating the final turn Miller sprinted away down the finishing straight to win by seven seconds. "She was a little bit better cornerer and a little faster on the straightaway," Osborne said. "I was banking on the climbs but that's only a fifth of the race, I guess. "I knew she was excellent — I'd heard her name before. So I was just trying to keep in close." "Everybody was screaming at me and she was right there. I'm like, 'I gotta go,'" Miller said. "(After the final turn) I just put my head down and sprinted. I'd been slowing — around this last corner here I'd been slowing up. I knew she was right there so I just kept it in the big ring and kept going."