Race the Ridge April 27 Road Race and TT
First I would like to thank the small army of people who came together to make this race possible for me. First Barry, owner of Local Rides and host of Race the Ridge, and his family for finding me a couch to surf, letting me use their shower and dryer between the RR and TT so I didn’t die of pneumonia, and for his absolutely incredible support of womens’ cycling and equality in the sport. Also, thank you to Lister for driving me to and from Maple Ridge from Victoria. Thanks to Steve and Marie for the use of their very comfortable couch, driving to and from the races, and feeding me multiple times a day. The Local Rides team for sharing your tent and space heater, bike racks, and mechanic. I would have been one miserable puppy had it not been for your efforts to keep me and my bike dry and warm before and after the races. Last but definitely not least, here’s my shout out to Trek Pro City and all the guys. Thank you for providing me with amazing equipment, bike fit (Bill Fry), and the motivational pre-race trash talk and beer. A very special thank you to our mechanic, Arran Spencer, who fixed the unfixable old Cervelo AND built and tuned the new Madone, delivered only a few hours before I left town.
The Road Race
The morning of the road race started with a persistent drizzle enhanced by an icy wind. By the time the cat ¾ women were called to the start, “drizzle” was somewhat of an understatement. The usual announcements about safety and sponsorship were rambling on although I was more preoccupied with the crushing sense of dread and doubt that had evolved rapidly from some harmless pre-race butterflies. The instructions were clear: attack ruthlessly off the line; get away right from the start. I just didn’t know if I had it in me. It was a hilly course with some scary, break-neck descents and I was surrounded by fitter, thinner and more experienced women. What I did have was the bike, a brand new Trek Madone 5.2 from Pro City Racing. After months on a 22lb aluminum 9-speed, the Madone was a whole new world: light, stiff, aerodynamic, and most of all SEXY! Having only test ridden it, I still had no idea what this bike was capable of.
The whistle sounded and it was all over: I pushed down with everything I had and exploded out of the group. The course started on a long, straight stretch. You could not get out of sight, the peloton had the advantage and there was zero room for doubt or hesitation. There was only one thing you could do: suffer. The bike accelerated like I’ve never experienced and before I knew it I was ripping down the asphalt at over 50km/hr, my legs were ready to explode, every breath burned, my heart pounded and eyes watered. One glance back told me it was not going to be an easy get away. Maggie, an incredible sprinter with years of racing under her belt, was leading the chase and they were gaining. The first turn was rapidly approaching and I knew I had to get out of site. Tucking down as far as I could I pushed harder, chin bumping the bars, knees slamming into my chest, and leaned into the corner. Making it around that corner butter side up and rubber side down was a minor miracle but luck was on my side that day. A few more meters, another turn and I was out of site and into the back stretch with the nightmare hills.
These next kilometers were what the race was known for. It’s a series of deceptively steep hills long enough to hurt but too short to ease off the throttle. One thing’s for sure, Barry and the crew know how to pick a soul crushing race course. Once you survived the hills you got a short respite before launching down a suicide descent into a 90 degree right hand corner. This corner had already claimed a lot of spandex and would claim quite a bit more before the day ended, especially with the wet conditions.
The laps wore on and coming into the final round I finally could not stand the suspense of not knowing where the pack was. I shouted out to a marshall and he responded “40 seconds and gaining”. Well, that got my attention. After an hour of suffering alone in the rain I was not about to let myself get caught in the final lap. It wasn’t pretty. There was snot and spit and sweat and tears as wheezed and coughed my way through those last 10km. Turns out the marshall was referring to the group in front of me and the panic was unnecessary but it was a good character building experience and training opportunity.
The Time Trial
I pedalled my bicycle really hard for 12.5km. So did everybody else.
The Criterium
25minutes plus 3 laps didn’t sound so bad but the girls sure spiced it up! I tried to jump at the line again but this time the others were ready. Maggie immediately jumped on my wheel and there was no shaking her. No matter how hard I tried I could not get away from that girl. After three or four attempts at getting off the front I tried to settle into the group in an effort to save my legs for the finish but, as soon as I found some shelter, another girl attacked and it was back to the grind stone. There were two primes worth time bonuses and bragging rights. Maggie and I furiously battled for the primes and she came out victorious both times. As the minutes ticked away the group became more and more aggressive. We lapped a few stragglers but the rest of the field was there, going strong and working together like a well-oiled machine. Coming into the final laps it was gloves off. The winner of the crit would receive a 20 second time bonus towards the GC time. Women were taking risks, cutting the corners, attacking relentlessly. A crash coming into the final S-bend split the group in two with Maggie, Katie and I in the front. We screamed through the last bend and simultaneously rose out of our saddles for a furious sprint past the crowd into the finish. Katie ended up winning by a wire width while Maggie snagged second. While not my best result, I think this was the best race. There was no respite. It was just hard, aggressive racing.
RESULTS: http://www.localride.ca/wp-content/uplo ... _3-4W3.pdf
madness absolute madness