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| Ready to travel in style with new World Traveller bag and Bike Bag from Evoc and Cyclelogik!! |
About a month ago I travelled to the wonderful city of Mazatlan in Mexico to race in a Continental Cup in April. Travelling to Mexico is always an adventure...but the trip was made easier with the help of coach Craig Taylor, the rest of the RTC crew, and my awesome room mate Manon Letourneau.
The race was talked up a bit by other experienced athletes who had done the race a couple years back and all of us who were racing were also shown this video. I was initially worried about the waves, but when I arrived it was pretty clear that the waves weren't anything like they were in '08.
The morning of the race was smooth and the most interesting part was trying to find a place to warm up on the bike. The age group races were going on before our race and it was really fun to watch...age group races in Mexico are draft legal so you could see huge packs of 15 or more riders all crammed together trying to catch a draft. There were athletes on aero bars in the middle of the pack and others with race wheels and full TT set ups leading the charge. Then there were those that were completely overjoyed to be in a pack and hanging on in the back with running shoes and cages spinning at 200rpm.
I warmed up with Domi and Manon and then headed over to the course.
I was very fortunate to talk with Alison Hooper and the technical delegate before the race and clarify the swim course as it varied slightly from the course shown at the race meeting. I was lined up far right on the line as I had no ranking going into the race and got one of the last positions.
The swim went fairly well. There was a fair bit of confusion as some of the other athletes were unsure of the swim course and I just followed the buoys as I was told prior to the race. I was so excited to exit the water with the lead group and had a fast transition to be one of the first ones on the bike.
Out on the road, the canadians worked well together to chase down or stop any breaks and did a lot of the work in the pack. Domi attacked after one corner and went for it, she managed to stay away for almost a whole lap before being caught. I felt like I had a new set of batteries after taking a gel and was ready to get out on the run course.
Transition two felt like it always does - I had no idea what the gelatinous masses underneath me were and I hoped I could trick my mind into thinking that they were real, functioning legs. I started off on the run and didn't get into a good rhythm until the second lap, but I had built a pretty comfortable lead on third place and first place had accelerated early on to build a comfortable lead on me. I attempted to take another gel near the end of the run, but I think more ended up on me than in me.
In the end, I finished second in my first Olympic Continental Cup and was happy with the placing and the execution of the race.
I got to pop my first bottle of champagne on the podium and thanks to some precise and helpful coaching from Craig I was able to actually get cork out. I won't mention how I was the last one or that there was barely any foam but I am sure that I will have more times to practice.
After the race there was a medal ceremony with the mayor. There were also dancing girls and a dancing mascot who did strip tease. It was interesting.
I couldn't have even gotten to the race or been able to participate if it weren't for the help from Cyclelogik in Ottawa. They provided me with everything I needed to race and perform to my abilities.
I am more than ready to keep trucking along and get in some good training. Currently I am in Sedona with most of the RTC crew, Coach Craig, and some fun additions. The atmosphere is great here and we are all getting the work done.
