National Championships: June 23 & 24, 2011

Some days everything comes together seamlessly for a near perfect ride; this is what every cyclist works year round to achieve come race day for those competitions they’ve targeted as “A races”.  In theory this seems like it should be relatively easy to achieve.  In practice, well, it doesn’t always work out perfectly.   Even after years of practice. 

As I write this I have time trialing in particular on my mind.   I suppose that’s because it’s the event you- the rider- have the most control over, and for me a favorite.  I’m not sure how many TT’s I’ve raced in my career, but I suppose close to one hundred.  Of all those I can count on one hand the number that I’d assess as being near perfect rides; where the process was executed perfectly, pre-race conditions ideal, fitness & health optimal, equipment flawless, etc.

So, it’s a rare day when everything falls in perfectly.  While the result was fair, unfortunately my Nationals TT ride wasn’t one of those rare near-perfect ones.

Team-wise Juvederm-Specialized was well represented with Rams winning what would be the first of two U23 titles (there’s a under 23 competition within the Women’s race for both the TT & road race).  Well done Rams!

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Friday evening would see 70 or so elite women take to 8 laps of a grueling 12+km circuit in pursuit of the National Championship Jersey.  The course included a steep 800m switch-backed ascent up the escarpment, locally know as Rattlesnake Point. 

As a team, our goal was to win, as it always is.  We would race as a team, and race aggressively.  Too often (women’s) Nationals are raced passively as no one wants to gamble, to go out and lay it all on the line early. 

One of the amazing things about being on a well-balanced (aptitudes) cohesive team is that it makes it easy to race the way I like to race- aggressively and all in.  If everyone on the team races this way it elevates each individuals game, and subsequently what the unit is able to achieve.

Our team plan involved sending specific riders out early in an effort to take pressure off our top climbers; Lex & Rams.  Sarah did a perfect job of initiating a small break on the first lap.  Despite their getting a good initial gap the peleton swallowed them up the first time up Rattlesnake. 

My turn.  As the peleton sighed a little breath of relief at the crest of the climb I slipped up the left side of the pack.  Pow- off the front.  Steph Rhoada, track star extraordinaire had marked my wheel; working together we grew our gap to around a minute before tackling the climb.  I set a steady pace up the ascent and at the top realized that Steph had fallen off the pace.  Now I was alone. Not ideal and not the plan to a T, but forward is the only direction to go in a race. 

Knowing that I had capable team mates behind me, and that being off the front was where I would be of greatest use to the team objective I clicked into a sustainable tempo and set to work.  The photomoto and lead com cars would be my primary company for the next 80-some kilometers. 

Our team car paid a couple visits to bring me fresh bottles of eload and updates of what was happening behind.  This along with incredible support from what sounded to be 100’s of spectators lining Rattlesnake and the finishing stretch at the top, I had all that I needed to forge on.

Here’s where I’d like to pause to give props to Randy Fergeson, the race announcer.  I am always so impressed when a person’s innate abilities so clearly match their chosen profession.  When a person can make a job or task appear easy:  Natural.  Randy has the ability to engage the crowd and racers alike.  When covering international events he pays attention to the correct pronunciation each racer’s name - no easy task when you are faced with a diverse international field.  Randy has the capacity to remember a ton of details about each rider, drawing the crowd into the stories behind the riders.  He personalizes the peleton for spectators.  And he’s always smiling.  Thanks Randy for rallying the crowd- you’re a pro.

The laps ticked by.  My nutrition formula of one eload gel plus drink per lap sustained my effort.  I watched the gap swell and shrink, fluctuating between 2.5 and around 4.5 minutes. 

Cheers from the crowd carried me up the climb.  The bottom of the ascent where there were less people felt more difficult, the top almost effortless: I was lifted by the energy of the spectators.

Reaching the last laps, surprised that the peleton hadn’t closed the gap I started to wonder whether I could hold it off?  What an unexpected reward that would have been!  But it wasn’t meant to be.  Some strong team work behind narrowed the margin.  The 7^th time up Rattlesnake it was everything I could do to keep my focus, to keep from what felt like losing consciousness.  My tank was drained.

The last lap was a series of shrinking time gaps displayed on the white board carried by the moto- despite my best efforts it was ticking down.  46 seconds.  35 seconds.  16 seconds.  Over my shoulder I caught a glimpse of the line of riders as I rounded a corner.  My former team-mate Tara at the front doing her job, setting up Errine and Joelle for the finish. 

My solo bid was over with about 4 kms to go.  After a few moments recoup in what was left of the peleton, I spent my last matches covering an attack by a Team BC rider and positioning Rams into the base of Rattlesnake.  Job done and match-book empty I rode with Tara to the top, albeit I wasn’t probably the best conversationalist given my state of fatigue.

Out of sight ahead the final show was on: Lex powered to a solid 2^nd and Rams 4^th!  Vernique Fortin showed her exceptional climbing ability, climbing right atop top step on the podium.   Errine Willock rounded out the podium crossing the line 3^rd.

Overall it was a good race for the team with solid results!  Well done ladies, and thank you to our sponsors and incredibly dedicated staff for making it all possible!!

Post Nationals:  I spent the next week in the area: enjoying a little down time; recovering from the cold I started to catch the night after the TT; and savoring some last tastes of being on Canadian soil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QVFsyFzE1s&feature=player_embedded

Interview with Malcolm, Anne and myself starts at 17:26 into the clip....

Next up will be Europe: first my team mate Mary and I will work as guides for a tour that follows the Tour de France route (first 10 stages only), then we will join our JSM team mates for a block of UCI racing in Germany, Sweden and Belgium!!  Whoot-whoot!!!

MoJo

Turtle Rescue

I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the tortoise of the tortoise & the hair fable.  Slow & steady, you know the story.  Several years ago my favourite cycling socks had a tortoise on one side of the ankle, a bunny on the other.  So depending on the day - and whether I felt speedy, or steady- I would wear either the tortoise or the hair on the outside.

During the week leading up to Nationals I was out training one evening and came across a turtle the size of my helmet in the middle of the road.  I’ve never seen a turtle that big in the wild in Canada!!

Rescue instinct took over- I leaned my Specialized Transition against a post & looked around for an implement to prod the prehistoric looking creature off the busy road with.  Left where he was he’d surely meet his death.  The next few minutes were spent waving traffic around the feisty little guy who actually snapped at a tire as it whizzed past.  He wasn’t proving to be the smartest creature! 
After deservingly garnishing quite the number of inquisitive looks I located a stick & proceeded to flip the turtle over & over; the stick bent under his weight, he hissed & snapped.  Several minutes later & after creating quite the spectacle for the passing onlookers- he was safely off to the side of the road.  Mission accomplished.  Back to training!

Slow & steady J!

MoJo