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BISBEE — The last time Mari Holden was in Bisbee she was pondering retirement even as she helped push her T-Mobile teammate Lynn Gaggioli to the overall women’s title.
Two years later, Holden is back in Bisbee, still pondering retirement, but this time she’s wearing the yellow jersey for today’s final stage — the Tombstone Road Race.
“I say I’m going to retire every year,” Holden said. “But I like racing and I like this town. This is one of the especially fun races.”
 Mari Holden celebrates as she crosses the finish line as stage winner of the Sulphur Springs Road Race Saturday morning in Old Bisbee. Holden, a former world time trials champion, nearly missed Saturday afternoon's time trial when she locked her keys inside her car. (Courtesy of Mason Ibas photography) |
Holden wears a rainbow-colored band on her sleeves, designated for those who’ve won a time trial world championship, a feat she accomplished in 2000.
Yet in this weekend’s 28th running of La Vuelta de Bisbee, it’s been her road racing skills that have vaulted her to the lead. She trailed Felicia Gomez by 44 seconds following Friday evening’s prologue time trial under cold, windy conditions. But she erased that deficit and built a one-minute lead over Gomez heading into Saturday afternoon’s Warren Time Trial.
“There were little series of attacks,” Holden said. “I came up on it with some speed and just went for it. You know you’re getting older when you see exactly what’s happening in front of you… I’m older, wiser and more adjustable.”
Holden’s only T-Mobile teammate, Rebecca Much, helped Holden as much as she could in the road race, and even more so in the moments before the Saturday time trial.
Given Holden’s spectacular time trial history, she should have been an easy favorite to build on her lead on the 6.3-mile trial that started just south of Warren Ballpark on Airport Blvd. Except for one thing — Holden locked her keys and her specialized time trial bike in her car.
“I had time to warm up, so I went back to my car, pulled the trainer (prop to ride bike stationary) and shut the trunk. Then I realized, I locked my keys in the trunk and my race bike was in the trunk,” Holden said. “(Much) chased the cops down… and the police tried to open it, but it wouldn’t open. There were five minutes left before my run, so I broke the window.”
Using a small hammer to shatter her backseat window, Holden opened the door, grabbed her time trial bike and raced to the starting gate just in time for her run.
She came in second among all pro class women with a time of 16:15, 13 seconds behind stage winner Anne Samplonius. Holden managed to match the time of 16:15 posted by Gomez to hold a 56-second lead.
“It wasn’t like the ideal warmup,” Holden said. “And then in the time trial, my seat slipped. It was one thing after another. But we have to learn to adapt … and we can laugh about it later.”
Holden has been in too many La Vueltas to count, her first in 1994, when in a reverse showing of 2006, she won the Friday prologue. She doesn’t feel her shortage of teammates should keep her from grabbing the title.
“It’s always good to have the lead, to see what you can do with it,” Holden said. “I don’t think (a big team) makes much of a difference. I’m psyched about Rebecca. One good teammate is all you need.”
Wiillie wrote on Mar 2, 2009 7:42 PM: