EURO UPDATE
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| DS Jack, Janel & I ride to Valkenburg & beyond on an uncharacteristically sunny day in Holland. |
So much has happened here in
Northern Europe over the last 2 weeks. We returned to Belgium for Le Samyn and
Omloop van het Hageland, and ventured north to Drenthe for a series of races,
which included a World Cup (Ronde Van Drenthe). I technically finished my first
European race, and have gained tons of racing experience.
Le Samyn des Dames: 122.6
km
Unfortunately, I had to sit this
one out. Following Omloop Het Nieuwblad, I came down with a nasty cold. However,
I had a great replacement-- Megan Guarnier. Megan races for RaboBank Liv/Giant
and is the current US Road Race National Champion. Her team wasn’t competing in
Le Samyn, so she was able to share her extensive European racing experience
with Team USA. The team was plagued with lots of crashes, but fortunately we
have some great mechanics—Rico Suave (aka Pinky Winky), and Merick (a giant Polish
teddy bear).
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| Right to left: Me, Merick, Heather. |
I learned
that for me moving up on the climbs is easier than moving up on the flats. Each
time we’d approach a climb, I make a huge effort to move up. When it’d flatten
out, I’d have a hard time maintaining my position in the group. I also learned
that another really good way to move up is to take the sidewalk, the dirt, or
the rumble strips. However, it is risky.
The race really
split up after a crash. There were 2 poles sticking up from the middle of the road and then a pile of bikes. The race blew up even more on the cobbled climb.
Heather and I finished in the same group on the finishing circuits. We made it 95 km and then cheered on our teammates from the sideline.
We then had the best Cokes and sandwiches and sea salt vinegar chips EVER. Food tastes exponentially better after suffering on the bike all day.
Drenthe 8
The morning of Drenthe 8, a special
guest joined us for breakfast—the Dutch rider Marianne Vos. Admittedly, I was
star struck. I could hardly eat my
cereal. Vos is the reigning road and cyclocross world champion and won a gold
medal in the road race in London, and a gold medal in the points race in
Beijing. Because of her versatility, some call her the best rider of all time. At breakfast, she talked about the MTB stage race she'd done the previous week. She's working on her global domination of mountain biking now. I believe in her.
Drenthe 8 is a pancake flat
figure-8 race that starts in Dwingelo, Nederland. One makes 3 total figure
eights over the course of 144.1km. There is one cobble section 200 meters long
that’s repeated 6 times. I was in the very front row at the
starting line. From my first two European races, I learned that it takes a lot
of skill and experience to move comfortably through the group to get to the
front. I thought that by starting in the front, it would be easier to maintain
position. What I learned at Drenthe 8 is that it takes even more skill,
experience and great mental stamina to maintain position in the front. Women in
the European peloton ride so much closer together and aggressively than they do
in the US. The moment you’re not thinking about moving up or maintain your
spot, you’re immediately pushed back.
It was super fast, and strung out
from the beginning. Of course, there were crashes. Lots and lots of crashes. I actually saw the worst crash of my racing career. It was really scary. Post race though I was able to talk to my more experienced teammates about what happen. They gave me advice on how to black these moments out of your memory, as these moments are an inevitable part of racing.
Check out this VIDEO from the race. I showcase my mad dirt
skills, and Heather crashes.
And as we've learned, it’s not a true European race unless somebody gets lost. In Drenthe 8, I was the one who got lost. Note the deviation from the Figure 8 in the GPS file.
Despite getting lost, I was able to technically finish my first European race! Score!
Ronde Von Drenthe World Cup
Team Presentation
At fancy World Cup races, you get free dinner and party favors at Team Presentation. Each team is called up individually to the stage. Again, I was surrounded by women I’ve idolized since beginning my cycling career. In the dessert line, I stood behind Giorgia Bronzini. She had banana yogurt and fruit cocktail. So I did too.
The Race
It was raining. There were cobbles. There were lots of crashes. It was very, very fast.
I made it over the VAM with the group, descended the opposite side and fought on the flats in the crazy cross-winds. The most important thing I learned from this race was to never stop to check to see if you have a flat. Because if you don't, it's really embarrassing. And it's really hard to catch back on to anything. I rode through the cobbled section with a grupetto. We were caught in the middle of the caravan. The caravan is a very chaotic place to be during a race. It's another area I've been learning a lot about on this Euro Trip.
My race ended in the Argos-Shimano van. They had dry clothes and food. They brought me back to the start-finish. It was amazing. As much as I wanted to finish the race, I wanted to avoid getting sick again.
Noviolon
Cancelled due to a blizzard.
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| Skratch Labs Musettes make great purses! Jade Wilco and I making a fashion statement in Dwingelo, ND. |
This week: Remedial Worlds Camp
Stay tuned!
