Can I start by just saying that I am cooked well-done this morning? I think muscle memory and accountability are the only things that got me through a run this morning.
I did not go into this weekend's races with the best attitude. I will openly admit that I was scared of the first hill of the road race. I set a goal for myself of a super strong TT, followed by holding my own in the crit, and simply holding on in the road race. I knew there would be nine women going for the Omnium, several of them Cat 3 racers, I wanted a podium spot there.
Of course, Saturday morning we were running late...that's usually what happens when I travel with Klucker. We got to Hermann and got our chips with only 20 minutes till our TT start times. I got on the bike and warmed up as much as I could. I made sure I did a hard effort to agitate my heart rate a bit. I rolled up to the start house and got in line. My time came up and I moved onto the ramp. For the first time since I began TTing I clicked into both pedals right away...I felt very comfortable being held. Buddy gave me my count down and I was off. In my head I was screaming up, up, up. I stayed up on the bars through the first two turns. After that second turn I went down into the aero bars and powered over the bridge. The wind was crazy strong. I crested the bridge and tried to get my breathing under control. I concentrated on my cadence and pedal stroke and talked myself through the race. I made the next turn onto the two lane country road and told myself it's only 5.5mi out in the wind. About seven minutes in the lactic acid build up began its burn and I got passed for the first time. Three minutes later another guy flew past me. I just kept pedaling and kept them in my site. I got to the turn and flipped around...I still need to work on that with this new bike. I got out of the saddle to get a little power and got back into position. I added a gear but was disappointed not to have the true tail wind I was wanting; still it was better than the way out. In my mind I was trying to calculate if I could finish the race in less than 30 minutes. I saw the turn back to the bridge...the ride back seemed much shorter. All of sudden I was passed twice like I was sitting still, first by a guy, then by a woman. Onto the road to the bridge and the finish. The diagonal cross wind felt like it had
picked up. I was doing my mental math again as I approached the crest of the bridge and saw the finish. I could have given a little more and finished in under 30, but I was afraid I wouldn't have it left for the crit. About 100 feet before the finish, another guy blew past me but I was just happy to be done. I rolled back into town and spun for a couple of minutes before heading to the truck to head over to the crit.
We drove over near the crit course and got ready to go. I rode the course twice and knew that two hills would make the race. The uphill was nasty, about 16% grade (I'm glad I didn't know that at the time) and the downhill was just as steep with awful pavement. About 150 yards after the downhill was a sharp right turn that was torn up on the inside. I had Ashley and Kelly with me on the course and I tried to talk them through what to think about because they're both new racers. I think that was good for me as well. We got back to the start/finish at the top of the hill and the final TT results were posted. I won by one second! YEAH! As they were staging it, Aero announced our results. We were getting our pre-race instructions when Aero announced the TT results were wrong; some woman from IA had beaten me by 8 seconds. WTH????I told myself that it wasn't the time to worry about it; I had another race to do. The whistle went off and so did Woodard. She took a quick jump and all of a sudden I was sitting 8th.Cory was up there with them and I told myself to relax and outlast them. Buddy had changed our time to 15 +3 so I just needed to race strong and smart. As we went around, I made my moves. At the end of the first lap, I was sitting 6th.I crested the hill and Amy, my teammate, was yelling at me to get back in my big ring. I listened and concentrated on moving forward. Next lap I was 5th across the line. This time I had Lo telling me to remember to smile because the photos would be on Facebook. Back in my big ring and back around. Third time across I was in 4th and right up with Ashley.
Fourth lap and the prime point bonus bell. I had moved into third and heard Amy tell me to keep my gap. Back down and around and up again. I couldn't catch Woodard or Allison for the point’s bonus. I saw 16 minutes on the lap cards and secretly hoped they would read two to go on the next time around. Back around to the hill, nope three laps to go but we got a bell for another prime. I would make ground on the two leaders on the climb, but they took it back on the downhill and corner. With two laps to go, Allison took the lead from Woodard for the first time. Had she cracked? I was tired by this point but as I climbed, Stephanie ran along side of me telling me to spin and turn them over. Leave it to my incredible friend to know exactly what I needed and when I needed it. This was it, if I was going to do something I needed to do it this lap. I went all out on the downhill and didn't let them get that ground back this time. We weaved through the turns at the bottom and back to the climb. I had done the previous climbs seated (and from the photos I need to work on posture) but this time I was up and out of the saddle. I didn't give Woodard a second look as I took second from her. I gave it everything and put a pretty good gap on her as I crossed the line behind Allison. 
With two good finishes I was sitting in first for the Omnium, I tried not to think about how I "had to finish" to win it all. I wanted to go out Sunday and race hard and stay on as long as I could. I didn't want to get over confident.
Sunday was a much quieter but start than Saturday. We got there in plenty of time. I went out for a warm up and wanted to pre-ride the first hill so I knew exactly what to expect. As I headed out of town, I asked a volunteer which way the race went and she pointed straight ahead. It was a big, long hill so I started climbing. I was about 3/4 of the way up when a pickup truck pulled alongside of me and told me I was going the right way. It was very nice of the guy, but he also kept edging me over until I was in the grass. Finally, I had to tell him thanks but go away. I turned around and found the right hill. The girls who told me it wasn't steep were lying--I'm thinking 20-21% at one point. It was steep, long and deceiving. I went about a third of the way up and knew that it would definitely crack the field apart. I headed back to town and towards the start line. I met up with Teresa and she told me to watch Woodard, she would be strong and that if I could make it through the first 12-15 miles, it would get easier. I also met another Big Shark woman who had finished 2nd in the TT the day before but hadn't raced the crit. Cheryl graciously told me she would do whatever I needed her to do to keep my place in the Ominium.
We rolled up to the line for prerace instructions and Aero called me out for leading the GC.I didn't want the attention because I just wanted to quietly race and maintain a good position. We got a whistle and rolled out. We had about a mile of neutral riding before we turned onto the hill and the official start. I did my best not to go out to aggressively but tried staying near the front. We had a moment where the hill flattened and it pitched up again. I stayed up with the leaders and got to the top. There were six of us at that point. I think we took a collective breath and organized for the descent. It was a quick down and back up. Five more riders got on with us at the bottom. I looked around and saw Ashley and Cheryl were there. We rotated through our line several times before the third climb. After the third descent, I was on the front and Ashley came up and said it's flat for a mile, let go. Our attack was off. It didn't last though. We were quickly caught and back in the group and head up the fifth climb. I fell to the back of the group during that climb. I knew I need to stay on and we'd have a respite at the top. We got up there and again regrouped. I took a GU and some Gatorade at that point. Our pace seemed to slow a bit as well. We had two women with us who were not strong in a pack. I did my best to stay clear of them.
From there, we had a progressive, gradual downhill to mile 20.Our next small climb came up and I saw Klucker up ahead. That meant he had fallen off of the men's group that started 10 minutes ahead of us. Cheryl came up and we talked about the end of the race. She offered to give me a lead out if we could get into position. We finished the climb and descent and headed to the QOM climb. Woodard and Allison attacked. I didn't have it left in me to stand and go after them for the points. Ashley and Cheryl went by me and I yelled to Ashley to go for the QOM. She didn't get them so that meant they would have extra Omnium points. I was off the back and tired. I crested and continued to pedal through the descent--no rest for me if I wanted to get back on. I heard Madeline come up alongside of me. I dropped back and took her wheel for about a minute to rest. We were heading into town and I was gaining ground. The pack slowed down a bit--I found out later that a truck got in front of them. Whatever it was, it was to my advantage. The group turned made the first turn towards the finish and I was about 5 bike lengths back, next turn I made up more ground. Two blocks to the final turn and I had Cheryl's wheel and told her to give me the lead out. She sling-shotted me around that corner and I was out of the saddle and going. I caught Allison's back wheel but couldn't pass her. I heard the Aero announce Cat took first with Ashley in second. I didn't know what Woodard had done.
I spun my legs out for a few minutes while I was waiting for the results. Woodard had taken fourth, but they also changed the TT results again--I had won. By my (and Stephanie via text msg) calculations that meant I maintained the Omnium lead, Woodard took second and Allison was third. YES!
Special note has to go out to a few ladies who raced 3/4s this weekend:
Two of our Racing 101 women did their first races this weekend: Kelly M. jumped in the hardest crit course I’ve seen and stayed strong. Madeline raced the road race and finished in the top half of her field!
Nicole L. raced the Omnium in fine fashion. She’s really doing a great job of jumping back into racing.
A big woo-hoo goes to Kate and her 3rd in the TT. Impressive!
And Ashley…4th in the crit, 2nd in the road race. Watch out when this girl gets some more experience under her belt. She’s incredible now and she’ll be unbeatable!
*Photo credits to Paul Pate. Thx, man!
I did not go into this weekend's races with the best attitude. I will openly admit that I was scared of the first hill of the road race. I set a goal for myself of a super strong TT, followed by holding my own in the crit, and simply holding on in the road race. I knew there would be nine women going for the Omnium, several of them Cat 3 racers, I wanted a podium spot there.
Of course, Saturday morning we were running late...that's usually what happens when I travel with Klucker. We got to Hermann and got our chips with only 20 minutes till our TT start times. I got on the bike and warmed up as much as I could. I made sure I did a hard effort to agitate my heart rate a bit. I rolled up to the start house and got in line. My time came up and I moved onto the ramp. For the first time since I began TTing I clicked into both pedals right away...I felt very comfortable being held. Buddy gave me my count down and I was off. In my head I was screaming up, up, up. I stayed up on the bars through the first two turns. After that second turn I went down into the aero bars and powered over the bridge. The wind was crazy strong. I crested the bridge and tried to get my breathing under control. I concentrated on my cadence and pedal stroke and talked myself through the race. I made the next turn onto the two lane country road and told myself it's only 5.5mi out in the wind. About seven minutes in the lactic acid build up began its burn and I got passed for the first time. Three minutes later another guy flew past me. I just kept pedaling and kept them in my site. I got to the turn and flipped around...I still need to work on that with this new bike. I got out of the saddle to get a little power and got back into position. I added a gear but was disappointed not to have the true tail wind I was wanting; still it was better than the way out. In my mind I was trying to calculate if I could finish the race in less than 30 minutes. I saw the turn back to the bridge...the ride back seemed much shorter. All of sudden I was passed twice like I was sitting still, first by a guy, then by a woman. Onto the road to the bridge and the finish. The diagonal cross wind felt like it had
picked up. I was doing my mental math again as I approached the crest of the bridge and saw the finish. I could have given a little more and finished in under 30, but I was afraid I wouldn't have it left for the crit. About 100 feet before the finish, another guy blew past me but I was just happy to be done. I rolled back into town and spun for a couple of minutes before heading to the truck to head over to the crit.We drove over near the crit course and got ready to go. I rode the course twice and knew that two hills would make the race. The uphill was nasty, about 16% grade (I'm glad I didn't know that at the time) and the downhill was just as steep with awful pavement. About 150 yards after the downhill was a sharp right turn that was torn up on the inside. I had Ashley and Kelly with me on the course and I tried to talk them through what to think about because they're both new racers. I think that was good for me as well. We got back to the start/finish at the top of the hill and the final TT results were posted. I won by one second! YEAH! As they were staging it, Aero announced our results. We were getting our pre-race instructions when Aero announced the TT results were wrong; some woman from IA had beaten me by 8 seconds. WTH????I told myself that it wasn't the time to worry about it; I had another race to do. The whistle went off and so did Woodard. She took a quick jump and all of a sudden I was sitting 8th.Cory was up there with them and I told myself to relax and outlast them. Buddy had changed our time to 15 +3 so I just needed to race strong and smart. As we went around, I made my moves. At the end of the first lap, I was sitting 6th.I crested the hill and Amy, my teammate, was yelling at me to get back in my big ring. I listened and concentrated on moving forward. Next lap I was 5th across the line. This time I had Lo telling me to remember to smile because the photos would be on Facebook. Back in my big ring and back around. Third time across I was in 4th and right up with Ashley.
Fourth lap and the prime point bonus bell. I had moved into third and heard Amy tell me to keep my gap. Back down and around and up again. I couldn't catch Woodard or Allison for the point’s bonus. I saw 16 minutes on the lap cards and secretly hoped they would read two to go on the next time around. Back around to the hill, nope three laps to go but we got a bell for another prime. I would make ground on the two leaders on the climb, but they took it back on the downhill and corner. With two laps to go, Allison took the lead from Woodard for the first time. Had she cracked? I was tired by this point but as I climbed, Stephanie ran along side of me telling me to spin and turn them over. Leave it to my incredible friend to know exactly what I needed and when I needed it. This was it, if I was going to do something I needed to do it this lap. I went all out on the downhill and didn't let them get that ground back this time. We weaved through the turns at the bottom and back to the climb. I had done the previous climbs seated (and from the photos I need to work on posture) but this time I was up and out of the saddle. I didn't give Woodard a second look as I took second from her. I gave it everything and put a pretty good gap on her as I crossed the line behind Allison. 
With two good finishes I was sitting in first for the Omnium, I tried not to think about how I "had to finish" to win it all. I wanted to go out Sunday and race hard and stay on as long as I could. I didn't want to get over confident.
Sunday was a much quieter but start than Saturday. We got there in plenty of time. I went out for a warm up and wanted to pre-ride the first hill so I knew exactly what to expect. As I headed out of town, I asked a volunteer which way the race went and she pointed straight ahead. It was a big, long hill so I started climbing. I was about 3/4 of the way up when a pickup truck pulled alongside of me and told me I was going the right way. It was very nice of the guy, but he also kept edging me over until I was in the grass. Finally, I had to tell him thanks but go away. I turned around and found the right hill. The girls who told me it wasn't steep were lying--I'm thinking 20-21% at one point. It was steep, long and deceiving. I went about a third of the way up and knew that it would definitely crack the field apart. I headed back to town and towards the start line. I met up with Teresa and she told me to watch Woodard, she would be strong and that if I could make it through the first 12-15 miles, it would get easier. I also met another Big Shark woman who had finished 2nd in the TT the day before but hadn't raced the crit. Cheryl graciously told me she would do whatever I needed her to do to keep my place in the Ominium.
We rolled up to the line for prerace instructions and Aero called me out for leading the GC.I didn't want the attention because I just wanted to quietly race and maintain a good position. We got a whistle and rolled out. We had about a mile of neutral riding before we turned onto the hill and the official start. I did my best not to go out to aggressively but tried staying near the front. We had a moment where the hill flattened and it pitched up again. I stayed up with the leaders and got to the top. There were six of us at that point. I think we took a collective breath and organized for the descent. It was a quick down and back up. Five more riders got on with us at the bottom. I looked around and saw Ashley and Cheryl were there. We rotated through our line several times before the third climb. After the third descent, I was on the front and Ashley came up and said it's flat for a mile, let go. Our attack was off. It didn't last though. We were quickly caught and back in the group and head up the fifth climb. I fell to the back of the group during that climb. I knew I need to stay on and we'd have a respite at the top. We got up there and again regrouped. I took a GU and some Gatorade at that point. Our pace seemed to slow a bit as well. We had two women with us who were not strong in a pack. I did my best to stay clear of them.
From there, we had a progressive, gradual downhill to mile 20.Our next small climb came up and I saw Klucker up ahead. That meant he had fallen off of the men's group that started 10 minutes ahead of us. Cheryl came up and we talked about the end of the race. She offered to give me a lead out if we could get into position. We finished the climb and descent and headed to the QOM climb. Woodard and Allison attacked. I didn't have it left in me to stand and go after them for the points. Ashley and Cheryl went by me and I yelled to Ashley to go for the QOM. She didn't get them so that meant they would have extra Omnium points. I was off the back and tired. I crested and continued to pedal through the descent--no rest for me if I wanted to get back on. I heard Madeline come up alongside of me. I dropped back and took her wheel for about a minute to rest. We were heading into town and I was gaining ground. The pack slowed down a bit--I found out later that a truck got in front of them. Whatever it was, it was to my advantage. The group turned made the first turn towards the finish and I was about 5 bike lengths back, next turn I made up more ground. Two blocks to the final turn and I had Cheryl's wheel and told her to give me the lead out. She sling-shotted me around that corner and I was out of the saddle and going. I caught Allison's back wheel but couldn't pass her. I heard the Aero announce Cat took first with Ashley in second. I didn't know what Woodard had done.
I spun my legs out for a few minutes while I was waiting for the results. Woodard had taken fourth, but they also changed the TT results again--I had won. By my (and Stephanie via text msg) calculations that meant I maintained the Omnium lead, Woodard took second and Allison was third. YES!
Special note has to go out to a few ladies who raced 3/4s this weekend:
Two of our Racing 101 women did their first races this weekend: Kelly M. jumped in the hardest crit course I’ve seen and stayed strong. Madeline raced the road race and finished in the top half of her field!
Nicole L. raced the Omnium in fine fashion. She’s really doing a great job of jumping back into racing.
A big woo-hoo goes to Kate and her 3rd in the TT. Impressive!
And Ashley…4th in the crit, 2nd in the road race. Watch out when this girl gets some more experience under her belt. She’s incredible now and she’ll be unbeatable!
*Photo credits to Paul Pate. Thx, man!
Great recap Suzanne! I felt like I lived this weekend vicariously through you! You did an awesome job and I know more good things are headed your way!
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