I had the good fortune to be driving down three other girls, Ashton and Emma from Bakehouse/Teter and Aryn from Chi-O. It was great to have a mix of old friends and a new girl to get to know and by the end of the weekend we were a really tight knit group. It really makes me look forward to next year when Aryn and Ashton will hopefully upgrade to join Emma and I in the "A" field.
Like past years we got to Columbia, KY around 9pm and were staying in a set of cabins along the lake there. So much fun as always. That night we had got the chance to meet a couple guys from the Wisconsin team (so nice!) and then it was off to bed for an early morning TTT.
To be honest our goal going into the TTT was just to keep all four of us together. We wanted to do well but had never had the opportunity for the four of us to practice one. Our plan worked really well and all four of the girls rolled through the finish line together. We ended up 5th out of 7 teams and everyone was pleased with that.
Heading from there to the road race course was ominous. Lindsey Wilson is almost universally considered the hardest road course of the Collegiate season, with this hill at the very end of the loop that I have seen some riders walk up in the lower categories. This was only my second race since my wreck this past summer and I was a little worried how my nerves would handle the larger pack, particularly descents. I'm a goofball though so I tried to handle this stress by joking with some of the other riders (particularly a few Lindenwood riders) while we watched almost every single race start before ours. Passing D riders midrace? Not fun.
The Lindsey Wilson finish line, waiting for the rest of the As to come in. Paul is collapsed from his 4th place finish!
Anyways, the first lap went as expected, there was an attack about fifteen minutes in (ish?) that everyone just kind of let go. I think they assumed there was no way it would last with such a long race. We hit the base of the last climb on the first loop with mostly everyone together. Looking back as we hit towards the top I was "panic" climbing. I knew this was where the race would really stop and instead of relaxing I was mentally all over the place and that hurt how I was climbing (I was all over the road, whoops). I got to the top of the hill maybe 4-6 bike-lengths off the main pack but as we turned into the wind they started launching attack after attack and I could not close the gap. I spent the next 4-5 miles chasing by myself before being caught by a teammate and another girl. Cashed out, I was dropped from that group about a mile later. I spent the majority of the last lap by myself, getting caught by a train of girls from Lindenwood at the base of the climb. Unfortunately two of them beat me up the climb out of the group and I ended the day in 22nd. Not last, but not at all where I wanted to be.
However overall IU had an amazing showing at the RR with Ashton coming in 3rd in the Bs, Paul in 4th in the As, Emma 10th in the As and a few other finishes that I can't remember off the top of my head without the results sheet. I was super excited for Emma's finish and am looking forward to training and racing with her this summer for Bakehouse.
Hanging out at the cabins the night after the Road Race. Exhaustion doesn't even come close.
The Crit the next day was, in my opinion, much better. I was not quite ready for the hammer to drop from the whistle and that hurt me. I found myself in a second, smaller pack with a teammate, a few Lindenwood girls and others. After we got organized there were a few attempts to attack and split the chase pack. My goofball self was in full swing (there may have been singing involved) but I managed a strong attack up the small climb on the backstretch and broke away with a Lindenwood rider. We stayed away for the next 7 laps or so as the pack we left behind got caught by the lead pack. We tried to hold off the now-together field but were swept in with one lap to go. I think I rolled in somewhere in the top 20. Regardless of this though I was very happy with how the Crit went. I felt comfortable in the turns and was feeling very good the majority of the race (except those first five laps or so) and I could not have been more pleased with my personal performance regardless of final placing.
Aryn, Alyssa and Emily lining up for the B crit.
Hanging out at the start finish line waiting for the Men's A sprint.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. I got to reconnect with some old friends (special shout out to Jane from Michigan and Beth from Marian), as well as meet some new people (the entire Wisconsin team, some of the Lindenwood girls, etc.). After not being able to race much last summer due to illness and injury it really reminded me how much I love road racing and refocused me for the months to come. For those of you that know me well you know that since September I have said that Collegiate/ Road Racing is the priority for me going into this season and after this weekend that could not be more true. I may not have lived up to my personal expectations but I can only improve. Depauw is next weekend.
Best quote of the weekend, from my coach:
"It will come... patience young Skywalker"
The entire team the night we got to the cabins.
It's a good start Em! It's a looooong season.
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