From the
camp that I was very lucky to attend at the OTC earlier in August, I was
selected to race as part of a composite team for the Aspen Community Valley
Hospital in a criterium in Aspen. This crit used to be part of a larger stage
race that coincided with the men’s pro-challenge, however this year it was the
crit only. The promoters and race directors worked very hard to create a
women’s event that was raced just before the men entered Aspen. This meant huge
crowds and vendors.
I
arrived in Aspen early so that I could ride alongside my composite team members
Abby Mickey, Lindsay Bayer, Jenna Kowalski, and Sarah Strum in a charity ride
for Komen for the Cure. This gave me plenty of days of training in beautiful
Aspen (“ahh, California”), “where the beer flows like wine and the women flock
like the salmon of Capistrano” (no, I was not mature enough to refrain from
making Dumb and Dumber references the whole time I was there- I am pretty sure
that I saw Lloyd Christmas on a motor bike that he obtained by trading the
shaggin’ wagon “straight up”).
First, I
cannot express how beautiful the drive alone was to Aspen. If you know me, you
know that I detest driving because I fall asleep in cars; so obviously, the
best method of travel for me was to drive by myself 13.5 hours to Aspen. Yes,
this was the best method. The drive
was amazing- from deserts to canyons; my eyes were wide with amazement over our
beautiful country the entire drive. Next, Aspen was stunning. A small town
situated at 7,900’ surrounded by mountains, Aspen offers plenty of activities
and great riding for those of us who enjoy the hills and the altitude. I was
fortunate to be staying with Jenna and Lindsay and we were able to go on several
training rides in the area. The Komen ride for the Cure took us through amazing
places in Aspen (Lindsay saw her first marmot). Did I mention that there are beaver
dams in and around Aspen? My point: I am so lucky to have had the opportunity
to make this trip to a beautiful place with my bike. I met wonderful people,
stayed in amazing housing, and saw beautiful scenery.
The day
of the crit was hectic to say the least. Jake (who had met me in Aspen the day
before) and I packed up the car early that morning so that we could leave for
Humboldt immediately after I raced. I did my usual spin before the race then
headed over to the course to warm up. It was a huge festival! The race director
and promoter had really done a wonderful job of showcasing women’s cycling
through our race. The course was a four-corner course with a nice riser after
turn one. As we waited on the line for the start of the race, the dark sky began
to sprinkle. I was surrounded with some of the US’s finest racers- Lauren
Tamayo fresh from her Olympic silver medal in team pursuit, (Coach from camp!)
Katie Compton, and several other huge names in women’s cycling. I felt grateful
to be there.
The race
started and I managed to stay at the front for the first few laps. This is big
for me, because it was a large field with fast women and I did not feel
intimidated by the speed, jostling, or damp course. Katie pushed the field hard
and I tried to hold on to my position. I lost a few places and found myself mid
pack when I break went up the road (lead relentlessly by Katie). I used the
slower pace to move my way back to the front, primarily on the corners. When I
made my way back up, the break had been caught and I felt fresh. Yes, I felt
fresh. So I decided, “why not attack?” I attacked just after the start/finish
and went hard into turn one and up the riser. I was caught by turn two and
overtaken by the mushroom on the backstretch. As I worked to recover, I made
the mistake of allowing myself to slip to the back of the field where I was
gapped out by another rider who dropped out immediately after falling off the
back. She later apologized for gapping me out, but as I told her, if it wasn’t
her, it would have been someone else and my decisions had put me in the
unfortunate position at the back of the field.
I saw
women falling off left and right (and center, and everywhere really). Many were
simply rolling off of the course, but I decided to time trial. I turned on a
steady hard pace and chased, picking up a few other stragglers along the way to
hopefully catching back on. Alas, it was not to be and this would be my first
crit that I did not finish. The field, lead by Katie Compton, Allison Powers,
Carmen Small, Jade Wilcoxan, and Mara Abbott continued picking up speed.
Several riders were dropped and pulled. My teammate for the week, Lindsay
stayed near the front the whole time and raced incredibly well. The race came
down to a field sprint which Optum expertly lead Wilcoxan to the top spot on
the podium. Lindsay finished fifth and Katie Compton who had driven the pace
the entire race finished sixth.
Whew!
I learned so much in that race and I was happy with the experience that it left
me. I finished mid-field, then I immediately showered and jumped in the car to
drive 24 hours to Northern CA. Special thanks to the Talent Id Camp for placing
me on this team, to Jan Koorn who helped to organize us and direct the race, to
Jessica van Garderen for putting on the spectacular event, to my teammates for
the week, to my team SC Velo/Empower Coaching for helping to get me to Aspen,
and to Jacob my biggest fan and supporter.
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