SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I managed to make it to Edmonton with the help of some friends and team sponsors!
The flight was spectacular..... 1st class, thanks to an upgrade from a gate attendant that was also a cycling fan!
So I arrive in Edmonton - and it's cold.
I mean reeeeeeeeeeeally cold. +4 celcius was the high on Thursday. Got to my Hotel and put the bike together... then got my gear on and went to the site of the race to ride around trying to get a feel of the terrain of how the course would be.
(at that point it was not set up yet, but there was a rough course map we had on hand)
We rode around....
first impression - it was going to be a drag race for 50 minutes.
50 minutes of 2000% effort. it's wide open, exposed to the wind, the grass was super hard packed and short which makes for a fast surface.
The technical sections were insane, and the run-up's were even more insane.
Friday afternoon we pre-rode again now that the course was about 90% marked out.
This was going to be even harder than we expected!
I picked up my race package and asked about the start list and how it was to be determined... they had no info for me
That brings me to today....
It was -4C this morning... thankfully sunny, but brutally cold.
I hate racing in the cold, so I had special liniments and balms layered on my skin for hours before the race to keep the muscles warm.
My start was 11am, I arrived with my brother around 10:25... put my spare wheels in the pit area and then proceeded to the bike check-in. Thankfully I had no problems as my bike was well within spec from the UCI (governing body)
Line up.... and wait in the freezing cold for our call up.
I was in the back of the third row of just over 30 of the Nation's best racers.
NOT GOOD.
the course is tight and fast, so passing would be very challenging... starting so far back was going to be more of a challenge than I could have ever expected...
GO!
I pinned it off the line and passed a ton of people... into the first set of turns I was sure to watch anyone coming into the section with too much speed so they wouldn't hold me up.... keep pedaling harder and harder... (there's a saying in racing... if you aren't moving forward... you're moving backwards) so I kept gunning it over and over and over.
My heartrate was insane... but I managed to hold onto 4th/5th position for the first 4 laps....
lap 5 I kept trading spaces with this guy who had what seemed like 50 of his fans all over the course. I couldn't believe how many people were screaming at this guy....
On my last lap I was behind the guy with the cheering squad, at the instruction of one of my peers on the sidelines... he shouted, "it's easier to chase this guy than to lead on the last lap"
so that's exactly what I did..... 3/4 through he was dogging it and we were losing ground to the next guy behind us... so I made my move and pinned it again.
This time it stuck. I had him side by side for the remainder of the lap... coming into the last corner, he pulled ahead slightly.....
but!!!!
he came in too hot... had too much speed and scrubbed the corner, so his rear wheel slid out and I went into him. I got clipped back into my pedal and sprinted like I've never done before....
this guy went past me backwards so fast he didn't even know what hit him.
the announcers were screaming at the effort I put out.
it was epic beyond my dreams.
5th place in the country in my event.
My bike was perfect
the day was as good as it could have been, and I'm stoked to crack the top 10.
my goal was to come here and leave my legs on the course.
I can say without a doubt that I did just that.
and now I get to do it again tomorrow..... at another race here in Edmonton before I make the trip back home.
Hard work pays off every time, and with supportive friends and family around me... I couldn't ask for anything more.
I managed to make it to Edmonton with the help of some friends and team sponsors!
The flight was spectacular..... 1st class, thanks to an upgrade from a gate attendant that was also a cycling fan!
So I arrive in Edmonton - and it's cold.
I mean reeeeeeeeeeeally cold. +4 celcius was the high on Thursday. Got to my Hotel and put the bike together... then got my gear on and went to the site of the race to ride around trying to get a feel of the terrain of how the course would be.
(at that point it was not set up yet, but there was a rough course map we had on hand)
We rode around....
first impression - it was going to be a drag race for 50 minutes.
50 minutes of 2000% effort. it's wide open, exposed to the wind, the grass was super hard packed and short which makes for a fast surface.
The technical sections were insane, and the run-up's were even more insane.
Friday afternoon we pre-rode again now that the course was about 90% marked out.
This was going to be even harder than we expected!
I picked up my race package and asked about the start list and how it was to be determined... they had no info for me
That brings me to today....
It was -4C this morning... thankfully sunny, but brutally cold.
I hate racing in the cold, so I had special liniments and balms layered on my skin for hours before the race to keep the muscles warm.
My start was 11am, I arrived with my brother around 10:25... put my spare wheels in the pit area and then proceeded to the bike check-in. Thankfully I had no problems as my bike was well within spec from the UCI (governing body)
Line up.... and wait in the freezing cold for our call up.
I was in the back of the third row of just over 30 of the Nation's best racers.
NOT GOOD.
the course is tight and fast, so passing would be very challenging... starting so far back was going to be more of a challenge than I could have ever expected...
GO!
I pinned it off the line and passed a ton of people... into the first set of turns I was sure to watch anyone coming into the section with too much speed so they wouldn't hold me up.... keep pedaling harder and harder... (there's a saying in racing... if you aren't moving forward... you're moving backwards) so I kept gunning it over and over and over.
My heartrate was insane... but I managed to hold onto 4th/5th position for the first 4 laps....
lap 5 I kept trading spaces with this guy who had what seemed like 50 of his fans all over the course. I couldn't believe how many people were screaming at this guy....
On my last lap I was behind the guy with the cheering squad, at the instruction of one of my peers on the sidelines... he shouted, "it's easier to chase this guy than to lead on the last lap"
so that's exactly what I did..... 3/4 through he was dogging it and we were losing ground to the next guy behind us... so I made my move and pinned it again.
This time it stuck. I had him side by side for the remainder of the lap... coming into the last corner, he pulled ahead slightly.....
but!!!!
he came in too hot... had too much speed and scrubbed the corner, so his rear wheel slid out and I went into him. I got clipped back into my pedal and sprinted like I've never done before....
this guy went past me backwards so fast he didn't even know what hit him.
the announcers were screaming at the effort I put out.
it was epic beyond my dreams.
5th place in the country in my event.
My bike was perfect
the day was as good as it could have been, and I'm stoked to crack the top 10.
my goal was to come here and leave my legs on the course.
I can say without a doubt that I did just that.
and now I get to do it again tomorrow..... at another race here in Edmonton before I make the trip back home.
Hard work pays off every time, and with supportive friends and family around me... I couldn't ask for anything more.
raced again today. MUCH colder than yesterday.... I wanted to drop out because I could barely control my bike... my hands were numb and frozen.
anyway... I toughed it out and got another 5th placing!
weekend complete.
I'm stoked!
d.