My Worlds Narrative

February 2nd, 2011

I woke up the morning of Worlds feeling like I do on any other race day, a little nervous but excited. Ok, maybe a little more nervous than usual – it IS the World Championships. The big day had finally arrived and I was ready for it.

We got out to the course around 8:45am to start warming up…it was COLD (probably 25 degrees) so we literally needed to warm up. Benno and Alessio were already at the Specialized tent waiting for me with my bikes ready to go.

Around 9 I hopped on the rollers to get my legs moving before heading out to the course for a preride. And I had my usual trance music playing in my ears to get the rhythm flowing.

While I was warming up in the big “S” tent, Dave Towle (race announcer extraordinaire) and Iri Greco (BrakeThrough Media/Panforte) came around to ask Katie and I a few questions about our SRAM and Zipp equipment. I’m not sure how Katie responded but I’m sure our answers were similar – SRAM and Zipp have provided us with the best equipment available. When it comes to equipment, I never have any doubt that it will perform to perfection, rain or shine.

Finally it was time to roll out on the course. When riding the day before around noon, the course had started to soften up a bit, but I knew that at 9 o’clock in the morning with the temperatures still dipping below 0 Celsius the course would anything but soft. The tricky off camber section was rock solid and ridable. The descents were straight forward and the frozen ruts that hadn’t been shaved down weren’t that hard to navigate. In my mind there were only a couple sections that could cause any grief. I rode one lap, felt good about it, and finished my warm up back in the tent.

The mood all around was enthusiastic – Katie, Sue, Amy, Kaitie and I were feeling good and super charged to go. Katie was going for the rainbow stripes and Amy, Sue and I were hoping for a top 10, which was all within our reach. Kaitie was starting her 2nd CX race in Europe and her first ever World Championships so she was there to take it all in, learn a few things and enjoy the experience.

The minutes seemed to be counting down faster and faster, and finally it was time to make my way to the starting area. Unlike every other CX race I’ve done, we didn’t start/finish on pavement but on a running track. When we arrived it was still coated with a light layer of frost, causing a tinge of concern, but the sponginess of the track kept it safe and tacky.

In the starting area photographers armed with cameras the size of small animals draped from the neck and shoulders were milling around to capture the nervous energy and excitement as the riders rolled back and forth to stay warm, practiced a few last minute starts and chatted with media and spectators. Managers stood on call to give last words of encouragement. Anthony was there to keep my nerves in-check, reminding me that it was just another bike race.

The ubiquitous voice of Richard Fries, who for the 2nd year was announcing all the races, began calling “elite women to staging”. We were corralled into the staging area and one by one each rider was called onto the starting grid. Katie was called up numero uno since she was number one in the world. Lined up in the 2nd row were Sue and I, Amy was 3rd row and Kaitie was 5th row. I was the last person to be called to the 2nd row so I didn’t have a choice of where to line up. I was hoping for middle to outside but the decision had been made for me – far inside of the track behind Helen Wyman of Great Britain. We were packed like sardines in the grid, but it was important to somehow keep the blood flowing to avoid freezing so I hopped from one foot to the other, shook out the legs, (carefully) swung the arms around.

At the 2 minute mark we shed our extra layers, which with the temperatures hovering around 27-28 degrees not a lot came off. At the 1 minute mark everyone was clipped in, elbows out, wheels overlapping, chomping at the bit. At 30 seconds all eyes were on the stop light – it can change from red to green at any time. Bam, we got the green and it was go time.

I hadn’t wanted to line up on the inside of the track because I knew that everyone would automatically drift inside as we rounded the first turn. Sure enough, I was boxed in on the inside and had to fight tooth and nail not to roll over the rail that lined the inside of the track. As we came out of the first turn some space opened up but it was quickly shut down again as we rounded the last turn onto the first hard packed section of the course. I was no where near the front. I saw a sea of colors filling the course in front of me but I had to stay calm. I’d been there MANY times before so I knew it was too early to panic.

Within 600m from the start we hit the trickiest section of the course – a couple slick turns into barriers into an off camber section into a steep drop in. During my warm up lap I was able to ride the off camber section without problems, but I knew that on the first lap this section would cause chaos so I was fully prepared to start running. Sure enough, there were bodies flying everywhere so I dug my toes into the hillside and ran.

I made it through the mess unscathed, got down the steep drop in safely (this particular section had become so rutted and frozen that it had to be shaved down smooth for safety) and hit the arduous, leg burning climb. I made up a little ground here before we hit the next drop in, cautiously turned right at the bottom, hit the next drop in, turned left at the bottom and started going up again past the first pit and into the stairs (of which there were 20).

Over the top we dropped down again and went flying into a steep uphill. Here’s where chaos ensued again…with enough speed it was easy to get over the top of the hill without too much trouble but even at high speed the last couple pedal strokes over the top were a bit of a grind. I imagine that as people slowed down over the top it caused a domino effect which forced people behind to slow down even more thereby making it difficult to ride over the top cleanly. As I came in hot I noticed riders in front of me on the ground. I tried to thread my way through a hole but just as I was making my way through a rider picked up her bike and clipped me. I went down. No big problem though. Recovering quickly I began grinding my way up the last difficult climb on the course. Again, another section where I was able to make up spots. Then we hit another quick hill that popped us into a fast serpentine, rutted section. This particular section was still so hard packed that riding through it was amazingly easier than it had been during my preride the day before when the sun had started to warm things up. If you hit the ruts at an angle you could ride right over the top of the ruts without getting tossed around in them. Another little drop in and then we were speeding past the 2nd pits and back onto the track.

On lap 2 I came into the off camber section with more space around me so I decided to try to ride it. Didn’t work. I hit the ground pretty hard but was able to bounce back up to start pedaling again.

I’m not really sure where I was in the order of things at this point but I do know that every time I hit the climbs I was able to pass groups of riders. The first time I recall hearing someone yell to me my position was somewhere in the 20’s. Maybe after lap 2 I came through the finish and saw that I was 19th. Top 20 was not good enough. I kept big pressure on the pedals on the climbs to continually pass riders, eventually moving into 11th place.

Then disaster struck. Just as I was passing the 2nd pit my rear tire went flat. Poof. It wasn’t a slow leak, it was completely empty. Just my luck. I was as far away from getting a bike change as possible. The same shitty luck plagued Danny Summerhill the day before in the same spot. He fought his way back to 13th. Unfortunately for me when I hit the track with my flat I only had 2 laps to go. I had to ride more than half a lap with a completely flat tire, not such an easy task. All the riders I had previously passed were now passing me back. Finally I got to the first pit for a bike change and was able to ride the last lap and a half at full gas again.

But I had lost so much ground I couldn’t even see riders in front of me to chase down. Amy D. rode up to me (she’d also suffered from bad luck) and we rode to the finish together.

During that last lap I tuned my ears into what was unfolding in front of me – since my race was essentially all but over, I wanted to hear if Katie Compton was going to be the next World Champion. I was listening to Richard give a blow-by-blow account of Katie, Marianne and Katerina battling each other for the coveted rainbow stripes. From what I could tell it was a fierce battle, but I was sincerely disappointed that it wasn’t Katie who would don the rainbow jersey on the podium. She’s a class act, a leader in the sport and in my mind a World Champion. That aside, I can’t say that Marianne Vos didn’t deserve her 3rd rainbow jersey. She, too, is a classy woman, a deserved champion. And, wow, so stoked for Katerina to round out the podium. It says something about the competition in the US to see 2 woman who race in the US to step onto the podium at the biggest event of the season.

I didn’t get the result I wanted, but I’m confident that had I not flatted I would have ridden myself into the top 10. At least that is something to give me some piece of mind when thinking back to what coulda, shoulda, woulda been. Not one to be dragged down, I’m already thinking forward, planning next season, counting down the months until ‘cross season rolls around again.

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Euro Adventures Round 2

January 24th, 2011

Let me start off by saying, “phew, that’s just what I needed”. I’m talking about my result at the Hoogerheide World Cup yesterday, of course. After the disastrous European trip over Christmas, I needed to come back and redeem myself. I’d say 12th place isn’t so shabby. Actually, it ties for the best result I’ve ever had in Europe – I’ve now had 3 of them. 12th places, that is. The next step is to take it 2 places higher to a top 10. I wonder if I can do that before this ’10/’11 season is over? The only place to find out is at Worlds next weekend in St Wendel, Germany.

Last season I came to Europe to race the Roubaix and Hoogerheide World Cups as a prep for Worlds. Roubaix was the first WC I had ever done, my first CX race in Europe. I finished 12th. Going into Hoogerheide the next weekend I was hoping for a top 10 but I ended up 20th. That was hard to swallow. Not exactly what I wanted going into Worlds in Tabor the next weekend, but I went to Worlds and walked away with a 12th place, which I was definitely happy about.

This year I came to Europe for the Kalmthout and Zolder Worlds Cups with rather high expectations. I ended up sucking, bad. Epic fail. My result at Kalmthout was pathetic. I DNF’d at Zolder, something I had never done in a CX race before. I had a meltdown, went home to recover and in a couple of days found my mojo again. I knew that I wanted to go back to Europe for redemption and to be part of Team USA in St Wendel. But my spot on the team was not for certain and I had to wait until Jan 7 to hear the official announcement. It was music to my ears when I finally heard that I had been chosen for the team.

While waiting for the selection to be made, I couldn’t sit around twiddling my thumbs so I headed to CA to do some cx, mtb and road training around Watsonville/Santa Cruz. It was possible to ride on the road in CO but it was impossible to do any sort of off road training with all the snow that we had gotten. My biggest limitation in CX is my lack of skills so being able to get out on the trails was important to my pre-World Cup/Worlds prep. My favorite ride in CA was a mtb ride in Wilder State Park with a crew of 8 guys and me. Specialized hooked me up with a sweet Epic Evo for the day so that I could rip around with the boys without getting too destroyed. The guys were fast and skilled but it was the perfect mix of people – no one tried to be the super star although easily any one of those guys could have taken it up about 10 notches. I held my own for most of the ride but when it came to railing the fast, technical descents I was happy to bring up the rear. There’s nothing I hate more than holding someone else up when I know they want to hit the throttle hard. I did yard sale spectacularly once and that’s when I knew I had to take it down a couple notches so that I didn’t take myself out with a stupid injury. Almost 5 hours later we rolled back into town purely satisfied with smiles on our faces and growling stomachs. It’s those kind of rides, through the Redwoods under a canopy of trees, over roots and leaves, popping in and out to see the ocean, that I miss in CO. Of course I love the riding in CO, too, but it’s so different in CA. A very contrasting scenery but a similar feeling of bliss.

To wrap things up in CA I raced the Surf City CX race in Santa Cruz to practice skills while going full out. Skills practice just isn’t the same when you aren’t gasping for breath and wondering why your legs hurt so much. It was a fun little course, zipping through the trees, over barriers, and up stairs, that was perfect for brushing up on skills. Just as fun though was heckling Eric and Ben Bostrom, Jordi and AJM during their race. In turn I was heckled just as much although Eric and Ben have a little learning to do in that department. I’m pretty sure on the track they aren’t used to such shenanigans and tom foolery.

Back in the Fort I did my final tune-up rides in some ferocious wind. No joke, I had to walk my bike across a bridge because I was afraid I’d get blown off onto the highway below. But, a HTFU ride like that was good for the body and mind.

Finally it was time to ship off to Europe. My traveling partners, Kid Kaiser and Danny Summerhill, and I met up in Denver for the trek over. After a loooooong day on the plane and then in the car we ended up at our apartment for the week in Brecht. After a few jet lagged sleeps it was race day already.

Back to Hoogerheide. Last year I struggled with the course because, although Roubaix was a really tough course, Hoogerheide was technically like no other course I’d ever raced on and I floundered. So this year I was unsure about how I would do but I was determined to make the most of whatever it threw at me. During the pre-ride on Saturday, there were a few deep, muddy sections and some fast, hard packed sandy sections. Question was, as it always is in Holland/Belgium, would it rain and how would that change the course? Sure enough, we woke up to darkness and rain on race day. The course had become even more challenging because the muddy sections had become peanut butter-like, thick and crunchy, and the fast sections had become slick. It was going to be a low tire pressure day to maintain as much traction as possible.

Because of my dismal performance last time, I lost several UCI places and was now third row in the starting grid. Ugh. I’d been practicing my starts, though, so I was feeling somewhat more confident about getting off the line faster. Unfortunately, it’s the other people lined up in front of you who dictate how fast you can make your way through the chaos. Sure enough, someone almost put Sue (who I was behind) into the barriers and I had no choice but to pull some brake. As usual the first section off the pavement was where shit would hit the fan because there was a muddy bog that would slow everyone down creating a domino effect for everyone behind. The speed slows down so much that there’s no way to power through a section like that so it means dismounting to run through it. Fortunately, I made it through still pedaling so now it was game on to try to catch the front group.

Lap after lap I was catching and passing riders, particularly when they pitted and I didn’t. I was smoother than I ever have been through the ruts (I still have a lot of work to do, don’t get me wrong) and I was feeling strong in the grueling power sections. Running through the mud and up the run-up hurt, a lot.

I remember at one point someone yelled out to me I was in 19th, right around where I finished last year. Determined to improve my result, I kept digging deep and stayed focused. Although I should have done bike changes I never did because I was afraid to lose any places I had gained. Probably not the best decision – just one more thing I have to become comfortable with – but it seemed to work for me. I raced a flawless race, meaning I had no crashes or mishaps, and gave it everything I had.

So was I happy with 12th? Yes, very happy to have bounced back after the last trip to redeem myself, but of course there’s that part of me that wishes I’d had just a little more gas and deftness for a top 10. Flawless maybe but faster is what I need. Speed, luck, confidence, focus, determination, and a lot of true grit will hopefully get me there one day. Sooner than later would be nice.

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