It’s been a fun late winter and early spring. I’ve gotten a
lot of miles in and tons of training and good rides with good friends. I
honestly really miss collegiate racing. Every weekend hearing of shenanigans,
triumph and all the drama, how can someone not feel a little left out? Feels
like something is missing this year, but in the long run I think the break from
college and collegiate racing has been good to me. My head is sitting squarely
on my shoulders, which is in stark contrast to previous years. Hopefully I’ll
return to collegiate road in spring 2013 and make it really count.
But that phase is over now. The base miles are in, possibly
some more to come. I’m still looking to get a coach and like I said before, I’m
not sure where exactly to go from here with my training. One thing is for sure,
racing is starting up and it’s time to show everyone just how hard I have been
working.
The plans for this past weekend were promising for it to be
an excellent weekend. We had a KS/TW
ride on Saturday to get to know each other better and hang out, then a MTB race
on Sunday. The ride on Saturday was all it promised. The weather was perfect
and I always have a good time with my teammates. One rider I hadn’t spent a ton
of time with was Julio. I knew him from UW-Cycling, but not very well. He has a
wealth of experience and a want to share
it. He took the time to show me some pointers as well as get the team to do
some organized sprints. Then he gave me some personal help on improving my
sprint. He’s not the strongest rider, but he’s very smart and that’s how he
does so well even out of shape. That’s the kind of stuff I’m really looking
for. I have a rough idea of how to get faster, but it’s all the little things
that make the big difference.
We met up and cooked dinner. I was bummed to hear that my
ride to the Iowa MTB race was not going, so neither was I. I decided to race
the GDVC race with everyone else instead. But after dinner we hit the bars. I
took it easy, only had one drink and went home early. Between normally going to
bed at 10:30 and having a race the next day, I left at midnight, rode home in
the pouring rain and got some sleep.
On a side note, I miss the bars too, haha. Probably not
healthy, but who cares. Working at Saris is really cool and I really love
training, but I’ve definitely been missing out on the social life a little. But
I digress.
The day before all the talk was about the rain and how it
would factor into the race. But when I woke up it was starting to dry out and
the forecast had rain staying away until after the race. I packed up and rode
with Alex Martin, a new teammate and fellow UW rider, to the crit.
When we got there the wind was taking center stage as the
dominant factor. It was blowing hard and gusty from the south west. I thought
it would be a day for sitting in, I thought. The race started up and we took
the first lap pretty chill. We came around for the second lap and the attacks
started, but nothing too tough or threatening. We did about 4 laps at a good
pace with attacks trying to get away, but nothing could. On lap 5 a guy from
Platteville who I knew from collegiate MTBing went off the front. I saw this as
a good wheel to follow so I did. Immediately we had a gap after we traded a
hard pull. We talked and decided this was going to stick so we set to work taking
half a lap pulls keeping the pace high. After a few laps the gap was pretty
huge at about 50 seconds. We settled into a slightly easier pace as we began to
think about the finish. Just then I flatted in the straight before the last
corner, but was able to get a wheel and get back in. I felt bad because Mike,
the Platteville guy had to do a full lap himself, so when I got back in I made
a point of pulling a whole lap to give him the needed extra rest. We came around
with 4 to go. There was a 4 man chase 45 seconds back and the pack was just in
sight ahead. I told Mike that we could catch them so we pushed on. We saw 3 to
go and Mike seemed to ease off a little, obviously thinking of the finish. As
we came around the lap again still trading pulls the field was getting closer
in sight as they were obviously thinking of the sprint as well. I took a long
pull and let Mike come through. I sat on his wheel for a lap and attacked him
very hard in the headwind section and gunned it. I was able to catch the field
in about half a lap as I got the bell, although no bell was actually rung. I
think the officials were a bit confused as was everyone in the pack. I rallied
the troops and got them to keep the pace high so Mike couldn’t catch on. I came
through mid-pack with my hand up. Win #1 in the bag.
The GDVC crit was by no means a big race, so the win there
doesn’t really show that my form is blistering or that I’m a crafty racer. Admittedly,
I won in a dominating fashion, but with the help from an equally strong rider.
But the confidence that I got from winning is really the most important
outcome. Julio was telling me how upgrading without any wins can almost make
you afraid of winning. He was right. I was nervous about the race, much more
than I should have been. I was nervous because I knew I had to form to crush
it, but having been in that situation before and lost, I knew it was possible to
lose. Putting it all together and coming out with the win really only motivates
me more for the season. I’m not only strong, but tactically smart now. Knowing
I can win was very critical.
On the flip side, I still wish I could have raced my MTB
this weekend. I’ve got a few more
weekends of road then Iola in 3 weeks! I can’t wait!
Thanks for reading
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