The first annual Marshall and Sterling Racing City Grand Prix went off Sunday, and in lieu of a full account here on the blog, I've decided to share some emails. The first one was sent by me to our race volunteers and supporters, the second letter is from Dieter Drake to our racers:

Greetings everyone!

Thanks to everyone for your tireless help today. Through the rain and the wind, and, eventually, the sun, we did have a tremendously successful race. It could not have happened without you, so I wanted to send a quick note to express my gratitude that so many of you came out for nothing more than a heart-felt "Thank you," cold pizza and perhaps a bagel.

From the dozens of you who stood on intersections helping old ladies get to church, to Tony and his boys bucking hay, Connie and Graber for their top-notch work on course design, and Mike & Company putting up with us trampling through the flower beds, we had, without a doubt, a crack team for this year's race. Thanks again for all that you did!

Unfortunately, I am not sending this email under the best of circumstances.

As most of you already know, we had a terrible tragedy during the women's race, and a beloved local cyclist (and fellow volunteer), Natalia Hogan, has died.

I don't know the exact cause of Natalia's death, and I think it would be most appropriate to let her family decide what information to release, but several witnesses said that she was riding alone, and appeared to crash her bike without an apparent cause. Police are conducting an investigation, and hopefully we will know the outcome at some point.

As a result of this incident, we decided to cancel the last race of the day, the men's Pro/1/2/3, and will donate the purse ($1,000) to an appropriate cause to-be-determined, most likely one that will benefit her son.

I've asked Natalia's friends to let me know if there will be any kind of memorial service, or other ways to express our sympathy to her family, and I will pass anything I hear on to you all.

Although I only just met Natalia this morning (seems like a long time ago), it was immediately clear that she was a wonderful person -- her death is truly a loss to the community.

Thank you again for coming out and volunteering, be well and ride safe! AB

P.S. I'm very concerned that I might have missed someone on this email. If you know anyone who should have recieved this, but did not, please pass it along. Thanks.

Hello Racers,

On behalf of the race organizers, thanks for racing the 2009 Marshall and Sterling Grand Prix in Saratoga Springs. It was our first year for this event and we were glad to see so many regions represented as it was also the 2009 NYS Criterium Championship. Thank you to our title sponsor - Marshall & Sterling Insurance - for enabling the race this year. Also, thanks to our major sponsors the Local Pub & Teahouse, Bonacio Construction, the Saratogian, the Residence Inn by Marriot, Sigma Sports, the Breadbasket Bakery, and Blue Sky Bicycles. Finally, thanks to the City of Saratoga Springs and the West Side Community for their very generous support for the event and our beneficiary - www.teambilly.org .

You may now know that we had a very tragic conclusion to the day during the Women's race. Natalia Hogan - who had volunteered earlier in the day - collapsed during the last lap of her race. Despite the efforts of emergency personnel she later died at Saratoga Hospital. I first met Natalia on Sunday morning and she was a very enthusiastic volunteer and happy to have a race in her hometown. This is very sad for the City of Saratoga Springs, the Saratoga Springs City School District where she was a teacher, and for the West Side Community where the race was held and where she was also a resident. This is, of course, tragic for her family and friends and our thoughts and prayers go to them during this very difficult time. The race will be making a donation to her family.

Out of respect for Natalia and her family, we cancelled the Men's Pro/1/2/3 Race at the end of the day. Those riders who paid an entry fee for this race will be refunded their money unless they indicate to me otherwise via e-mail - in which case we will be adding this to the donation.

In addition, there is news coverage here. The police have blamed the death on an "undisclosed" medical condition.