A winner many times savors the feeling again

Crossing the finish line first was not the feeling Brooke Miller missed most. It wasn't raising her arms on the top of the podium as fans cheered for her. It was the little moments that follow a cycling victory that she wanted back.

Miller, who rides for Team Tibco, beat out Laura Van Gilder of Altarum on Friday to win the Uptown Minneapolis Criterium. The race was Stage 4 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

After leaving the podium and being congratulated by spectators, Miller went behind the stage. For the first time since the race, no one was around her. So Miller looked at the bouquet of flowers that was given only to her. She closed her eyes and put the flowers as close to her nose as she could and took a deep sniff.

Miller then exhaled. She was a winner again.

"There was pressure," Miller said of getting back on track. "It began with a slow start to the season, and almost everything went wrong."

Miller won this same event last year. It was one of many wins that made her the rising star of Team Tibco. She won the U.S. national championship in both road and criterium categories in 2008. Ever since her win at the Cannon Falls Road Race in 2006, Miller had been performing better each year.

It was hard to tell that Miller had won all that after she won Friday. Since December, Miller has been going through the toughest stretch in her career. She remembers when she started waking up at 3 a.m. having trouble breathing.

Ever since Miller was a kid, she'd had trouble with asthma. When her career started, it wasn't an issue. In December, though, it started taking over her body. Miller had trouble competing and even had to sit out major events.

The problems were only starting for Miller. She soon found out that to treat her asthma, she would need to take medications that were banned. That meant Miller had to wait until March for her treatment to get an exemption from drug testing.

There were other obstacles, too. Miller came down with a sinus infection and laryngitis. It was enough to make her to question whether she would get back to cycling.

"It's one of those things where you never feel good," she said. "You start to wonder how it felt when you did win."

Miller was able to win the race with the help of her teammates. During the final laps, Miller's teammates lead the pack, giving Miller time to conserve her energy for the final lap. Once the pack made the last turn, it was up to Miller to race to the finish line.

"Any time you get a win after a long time it has to feel great," Carroll said. "Hopefully, this will not just give her confidence but also the team."

When Miller crossed the finish line she put her head down and smiled. Sure, she said, it felt great to win the event last year. This time it was obviously different.

"This place," Miller said, "has a special place in my heart."