Cat's Hill: 60 minute race Teammates: Helene, Kristin, Rachel, Tracey, Niki Cat's Hill Classic is truly a classic race. It is great for spectators, very challenging, and my hometown race. One of my goals for this season was to win Cat's Hill, so I had asked for the support of my teammates to help achieve my goal. Thanks to everyone who showed up and suffered through this race with me. I had really good support, but unfortunately I still have a lot to learn about bike racing and in the end the race was won by the smarter rider. The race started at 2:00 p.m. and it was a beautiful day. The field was much smaller than previous years with many of the great local riders away at an NRC stage race for the weekend. We knew exactly who we needed to worry about throughout the race and we did our best to control the race. Helene went on the attack early as planned and tried to scoop up some queen of the mountain points. However, Taitt was determined to defend her title from last year and she attacked before the climb several times to eventually win the QOM competition once again. The ValueAct Team rode a great race keeping it active and interesting. My teammates worked hard to cover any dangerous attacks. About half way through the race, Rachel went with a move that ended up being just her and 2 ValueAct riders. They played the game with her, attacking one after the other and making her chase. But Rachel's just too strong to get rid of. Eventually, the move came back to us and it was all together for the final 5 laps. I kept position at the front of the race with Rachel, Helene and kristin protecting me and keeping me where I needed to be. With 2 laps to go, Rachel began her leadout and kept it strung out until the bottom of the climb on the final lap. I had my competition in front of me so I attacked into the climb and drilled it over the top. I knew I had a gap and looked back to see only Karen behind me. I just kept my head down and rode as hard as I could to the line, hoping Karen would not come around me. This was my biggest mistake. Well, she did. Just before the turn she took me on the inside and I knew that was the decisive moment. I tried to get on her wheel, but the sprint is just too short in that race and it is truly a race to the final turn. Every race I learn something new. Karen taught me many things about bike racing today. I will take what I have learned and use this experience to grow as a cyclist. I can't thank my teammates enough for their support in this race. A huge thanks to Giana as well for her support. This was a great race and I'm already looking forward to next year.-Shelley
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4 comments:
How do you think you should have played it differently? Instead of putting your head down and going as hard as you could, what should you have done?
I should have for sure sat up a bit and let Karen come around me on the back straightaway before the downhill. Or a least force her to make a decision about what she was going to do. Basically, I gave her a free ride to the finish line. There was a headwind up there, so she was able to recover a bit. We had a big enough gap on everyone that I had time to play the tactical game with her.
Inexperience, that's all. I learned my lesson for sure.
Good insights. Thanks for sharing. So much to learn.
potential
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