After a bit
of a low time after Uganda (to let some injuries heal…like a minor separated
shoulder to name one) I entered ‘base-building phase’ and began ramping the
volume up on all my tri sport training.
Looong runs, loooooooonger bike rides and specific 1500m swim training. The main goal this summer is to claim that
podium at Age Group Triathlon World Championships hosted by the city of
Edmonton (home town advantage)!!! The
plan this year is to really train the bike portion, not only for triathlon
worlds but also to see where I fit in the cycling world as a straight up
cyclist. I have a few pro races in
mind. I got picked up by a fantabulous cycling
team to race for this season and I’m stoked to be a part of their team dynamics. So a shout out to Glotman-Simpson Cycling out
of Vancouver! A team that rides with a purpose:
to cure pancreatic cancer. At any rate,
the season has been building!!! Read on!
Bikes on
Broadway – Saskatoon, SK – May 17-19, 2014
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| Photo by Alex Jackson |
There is no pack riding here in
rural Alberta, so when farming stalled because of rain I drove out to Saskatoon
for a stage race: time trial, road race and criterium. I signed up for Mens Cat 3 to get in more
distance and because I knew a local girl who was doing the same. The 8km TT I raced with my Scott road bike,
no aero bars, aero suit or aero helmet AND I left my bottle cages on (haha
cyclists are usually - aka always - trying to throw off grams or wear their
clothes tighter to go faster). Anyway, I ended up near the bottom of the results
but not last.
Saskatchewan did not disappoint for the 100km RR, offering a steady
flow of 35kph winds that took the group 56kph easily down the back straight and
17kph max into the head wind. So although the course was flat the headwind
effort resembled climbing an 8km mountain.
The group broke up right away but I was able to work with (or rather
hang on to) a smaller group of men to catch the lead pack about 15km before the
finish but I was dying and got dropped 8km out.
The group turned into the head wind and on my own my 30sec gap turned
into almost 1min. I placed better
overall in the RR than in the TT.
Sunday the bad weather caught up
with us drowning the crit course in rain and disguising all the potholes in the
road as puddles. Not many riders
bothered to show up to race because of the dangerous combination of potholes,
rain and narrow roads. The other girl
rider and I lined up and ended up racing around the course as just the two of
us off the back – a steady and safe training effort. At any rate I was soooo thankful (Praise
God!) that I did not crash! It was safe
racing for everyone. Also, I got to stay with an amazing family that I just met but they took me in on account of their son offering the connection. I hope they enjoy the bison meat I brought them because I sure enjoyed sharing stories, occupying a very comfy bed, jumping into clean showers, and eating spinach & eggs for breakfast!
Banff Bike
Fest – Banff, AB – June 12-15, 2014
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| Me and my bikes. Thanks Ironman Ross for the P3! |
I had been gearing up for these
5 races in 4 days for all of May to test my cycling fitness and skills against
a larger pack of competitive cat1&2 women. For the individual efforts, the 1.2km prologue
and the 8km TT, I managed to just miss the podium by receiving the consolation
prize of 4th. The crit I
raced tactically and hard for a 5th place but whenever there was a
mass start race the one and only team to have 6 riders racing controlled the
races. The rest of us individual riders
couldn’t ban together soon enough to take on the team. At any rate I put in some good efforts and
was happy that by the end of the week I was feeling fresh and strong! I was getting really frustrated with 4th
and 5th place finishes and was determined to podium on the last
stage: Tunnel Mountain RR. I grabbed a
sprint point in the middle of the race and was in good position coming into the
final corner before the sprint but I made an error when I braked with the girl
in front of me around the corner, lost my momentum and had to sprint to 7th
place from 10th. I ended up 5th
in the GC and won some money to help cover the costs of the trip.
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| crit face ;) |
I also have amazing support at the race with my husband and a few friends
there to cheer me on!! When I wasn’t
racing, I was shuttling Alex up the mountain in Canmore so he could get his
cycling fix on the downhill trails. I
also had a few great teammates to talk though race tactics and have people to
warm up with (YAY!)! In this cycling
world I am really thankful to get to meet loads of great people to race with
and get coaching tips from.
Devon Grand
Prix – Devon, AB – June 21/22, 2014
This two-day weekend included
sunshine, a crit and a RR. The onmium
(overall winner) was determined by points collected throughout the
weekend. The crit was run as a scratch race
meaning that every 5min there was a sprint lap for points 3, 2, and 1. The final sprint was worth a max of 30pts for
1st down to 4pts for 10th. Again, I signed up for Mens Cat 3. At the last minute they decided to rank the Women
Cat 1/2/3 separately within the Cat 3 race.
Sure…but there were only 2 of us in the crit and then 3 women in the
RR.
The crit was fast and narrow but the road was smooth and clean. I had a great start clipping in fast, and although I never
was top 3 (in the men) for any of the timed sprint laps, I was in the lead
group that ended up lapping out almost half of the riders that started. There were a few guys who were really sketch
to ride behind and after figuring that out they were never allowed to pass me
again ;). Coming into the final lap 4
riders had opened a small gap on us. I
thought the riders that I was behind would close that no problem and lead me to
the sprint but they had less pep left than I thought. I noticed too late to close the gap but ended
up winning the sprint of the chase group to take 5th. This 5th place I was happy with in
comparison to the frustrating podium misses at Banff! However the results don’t show me as 5th
with 15pts in Mens Cat 3, instead I was the only Womens Cat 1/2/3 to finish
after winning all the timed sprints and the final sprint…not a true indicator
of how the race went. After the race the
triathlete in me pulled on my running shoes to finish the day as a brick
workout bike/run. Then I got to join the AIA triathlon crew for a delicious BBQ and even better people!
Good morning road race: 117km with two KOM challenges for points. After Banff I was nervous to let any breaks
happen without me and put in a solid effort with a group of 6 off the front at
about 30km into the race. The group
caught us and I noticed that the group was doing well to never let a break stay
away for very long. I decided to sit in
a little more for the rest of the race and let my legs recover for the KOM and final
sprint. The first KOM I was 5th
(no points) and before I could challenge the second KOM at 100km I
flatted! Argh! The wheel vehicle was quick to arrive but not
so quick to do the wheel swap (we laughed about it later). I got to draft for a little while to make up
some lost time but had to TT effort the last 15km to the finish. The thing is I was killing the TT effort! Pushing the wattage and feeling peppy! I caught a few stragglers from the group but
was too far back to be a part of the sprint finish – but maybe it was God’s
grace to get left behind but I was nowhere near the crash that occurred at the
finish line leaving one rider with broken bones!
This third weekend of bike racing shows me that I am riding strong –
way stronger than I was in May at Saskatchewan bike races! Next up, is BCsuperweek: 9 races in 10 days
that includes UCI stages with pros and BIGGGGGGA money (so you know its
pro). Wish me luck! And send up your
prayers!
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| While in Edmonton I got to order my FAVOURITE salad at Greenhouse Gardens and my FAVOURITE scone at WildEarth Bakery |
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| Edmonton: A hidden gem |
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| Sometimes it pays to win. Thanks ABA and Juventus for putting on a great race in Devon! |
