Block II – Racing Like a Pro

In bike racing, a first-year pro is called a Neo-Pro.  I am a Neo-Pro: new to pro racing and almost as new to bike racing.  This first year my husband and I understood that there would be a lot of ‘new’ and a first-time for everything.  My family is just as excited as I am to work hard to make this career a success.  In bike racing you need a strong team to be successful and luckily for me I have three teams – my family, my trade team and a great coach (Alison Testroete).

My parents listening close to the live race feed while at lunch with Alex and my sister

Alex and I out for a bike tour: Roadie vs. Mtn Biker 

It has been really exciting for me to have the opportunity to race pro and UCI races in the USA.  The opportunities for me to grow as a cyclist stem from the support I have to develop as an athlete from my team, TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.  My team directors believe in me and push me to learn quickly in race settings and my teammates guide me along in my bike racing education.

Photo by @dmunsonphoto

During this second block of racing:

I won my first NRC yellow leader’s jersey after winning the Highlands stage 1 of the Redlands Bicycle Classic (after crashing at 2 laps to go),

I claimed 2^nd in the Sea Otter Classic road race,

I took home the Points/Sprinters Jersey at the UCI Tour of the Gila while standing on the podium in 3^rd place for two stages, and

I finished the Amgen TOC in 7^th place overall while contributing to the overall team win for TWENTY16 p/b Sho-Air.

Photo by @cyclingnutz

I have been learning a lot and writing it down so I don’t forget it, but I know there is a lot more to learn and experience.  Right now, I am spending a little bit of my time learning how to ride a fixed gear pursuit bike on the track.  Riding around a velodrome is another new thing for me this year and I look forward to making these skills stick.  It has been humbling and inspiring to ride with the Canadian Women’s Pursuit Team who took home the Bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games and the Silver medal at the 2014 World Championships.  These girls started from nothing prior to the 2012 Games, paid their way to World Cups while having no official training camps together and have worked hard and steady to set the bar for Canada’s Women’s Team Pursuit.  Now, after achieving big results, they don’t have to pay for their own team kits and they have several training camps together in order to refine skills and be the best athletes they can be.  I am so inspired by these girls who believed in their dream and did it with whatever they had at the time.

Wearing the green for the final stage at Tour of the Gila

Next up for me:
Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau UCI 1.1 RR – Thursday, June 4 **I get to ride for the Canadian National Team!

Chrono Gatineau UCI 1.1 ITT – Friday, June 5 (with TWENT16 p/b Sho-Air)

PhiladelphiaInternational Cycling Classic RR – Sunday, June 7 **This will be my first World Cup race!!

Canadian CyclingNational Championships – June 25/26/28 **This will be my National Championship debut!

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