I won Koppenberg last year as a Cat 4, and I can’t think of any time I wanted to win more. I love the course, and the previous years I was last or bottom five – so it meant a lot to me to get that win. I decided I was going to win again this year as a Cat 3. I didn’t make it to the podium, but I’m proud of how I raced and proud to have placed fifth. I’m not hungry for upgrade points, so I figure I can enjoy progressing as a 3 and take pride in my improvement!
A big challenge for me is my self-talk and mental health before, during and after racing. I just opted to be cocky and go into it “knowing” I was going to win, and I realize I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going in with that attitude. I just kept telling myself “I can beat all of these girls.” I couldn’t help but be intimidated when I saw that Erin Kummer, a Pro in both mountain biking and Xterra, would be racing in our field. Christa Ghent (Natural Grocers) and Lori Emerson(GS Boulder) are also super duper strong. There were 11 of us altogether.
My plan was to be first up the hill and then do a burst at the top to really show I mean business and maybe even drop some of the “pack.” There was a lot of contesting for position even though the start was mellow, and I protected my position and kept on “my” wheel when someone would try and squeeze in. It was breezy and staying in the draft as much as possible was crucial.
I hustled to be first going into the hill, but almost immediately the field swooped up on my left and right. There was some bumping and calling out as we tried to choose ideal lines without cutting off each other. It’s 17% grade on dirt, but a short climb, although it feels much longer. I noticed they were all out of the saddle and I was too afraid of sliding out so I sat and worked on keeping my cadence high.
Leading the field up the hill first lap - note that teammate Carol Kauder hauled ass and passed half the field before the top of the climb!
Then, the swarm...notice Christa and Lori on top of each other!
Every lap at the top of the hill was very similar. A mini gap was formed, I would get on Marta’s wheel right away, then rotate and pull to catch Susan Hersey (Pro Design) and then we would catch the front group not too far from where the dirt meets asphalt on 66th. That was tough – it wasn’t a huge gap but it was extra work that I didn’t need to do. Still, I was proud when we’d catch the lead group and later when we had dropped half the field.
The third lap Marta dropped off and it took me longer to catch Susan. I finally did and was able to ride her wheel downhill on the asphalt of 66th, and when we turned right onto Marshall I sprinted to try and catch the lead group (Christa, Lori and Erin). Susan rode on my wheel but I hammered so hard I couldn’t grab onto hers when she pulled in front, and I watched her catch the group as I tried to catch my breath. This felt just like Stazio when I did the same thing – sprinted really hard with someone to try and close the gap, but ultimately giving them a leadout so they catch the group and I explode. I think I should have taken a “normal” hard pull, rotated quickly, and been more patient to catch the group. They slowed down a great deal anyway, but I was never able to catch them or Susan on the last lap. I’d come so close though. 10 seconds. I realized I was unconsciously saying “They’re too far, you won’t catch them” but I stopped myself and, as phony as it may sound, I said “I believe you can catch them!” over and over, and by golly I’d get closer! Their pace was fluctuating of course, and they’d slowed quite a bit before the hill. By the time we got to the hill, the gap was even less – 6 seconds maybe! Still could not get to them, and on/after the hill the gap became pretty wide again.
The final results showed I was 21 seconds behind Susan and 44 seconds behind the winner (Christa Ghent). It really would have been great to stay with Susan – I bet we could have worked together to catch the three leaders and I would have been strong in the sprint. In any case, it was a great race and I learned a lot and had fun!
"My plan was to be first up the hill and then do a burst at the top to really show I mean business and maybe even drop some of the “pack.”"
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty good plan for any race. An early attack often gets you in the mood; sometimes if you sit around in the field for awhile to "see how things go," you wind up feeling less like a champ as you struggle to hang on to a middling pack position. However, if you go on the warpath early, you get the mental gears engaged and the difficulty of the race gets swamped by the desire to compete.
Good ride; nice report. I think that you're on the right path when you add a cocky attitude. When you put a little ego on the line, you tend to ride harder to back it up. ac