COPENHAGEN WORLD CUP , PONTS 3rd!

A moment to remember…

The thought of standing on the podium at an international UCI event, was one that made me shiver with excitement. My anticipation for the day was becoming more real every time I took the track to race, and I knew it was only a matter of time. One of the most valuable assets an athlete can have is belief in themselves, and although it has taken some time and lots of hard work, I am finally starting to believe.

My goal for the Copenhagen World Cup was to challenge myself more than previous world cups and make progress from my last race. There are of course, many ways to make improvements, but the most obvious one would be a better result. Always in the back of my mind, was the prospect of making the 2009 Worlds Team in either the Points or the Scratch Race by scoring a top five result in a World Cup. I had been close in Manchester with a 6th in the Scratch and again in Beijing with a 6th in the Points. But now it was crunch time and I wasn’t about to leave my dreams and everything I have put into this season to chance.

The Scratch Race was fast and near the end of the 40 lap race, I found myself in 4th wheel with 2 laps to go and 2 riders off the front of the pack. I tried to make an early move with 1.5 laps to go but got pinned high in the turns. I pretty much held position to the finish with one rider squeezing underneath me to push me back into 7th. I came off the track pretty bummed, because I felt I hesitated at a crucial moment in the finish and that indecision cost me the top five. Well, it actually just fueled the fire for the next race and my priority for the next 4-8 years, the Points Race.

Jim Miller, Head Coach of the US National Team, sat me down before the race and we discussed tactics. We had a game plan. It was different than what I previously intended to do, but I trusted his judgement and in the end, it paid off. . He was right on with his prediction. He called the winner, Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands. My job was to wait for the move that she would undoubtedly initiate and make sure I was in it. I was also to watch Lizzy Armistead and Jarmila Machacova who were both in contention for the overall UCI if they could just dethrown the Italian, Georgia Bronzini. My plan was to play off that inner-race between those girls and use their distractions with each other to my advantage.

So, a couple of sprints go by and Van Dijk’s teammate, Vera Koodoeder launches some vicious attacks to get the field chasing and I am sitting patiently in the field, always monitoring van Dijk and her whereabouts. After two sprints, a move is instigated and I am not in it. It’s dangerous and it’s gaining distance on the field rapidly. Looking up the road, I can see that it is in fact van Dijk, along with a very strong Canadian, Tara Whitten, an Italian and a Great Britain rider. Three of the four riders have teammates in the field and I determine immediately that I need to be in that move.

I got a good run off the rail and dropped into the pole to start the chase. They’ve got a little over ¼ lap and they’re moving, but some eye contact with Jim says “you gotta get there!” and that’s what I did. I put my head down and buried myself to cross the gap, all the while chanting in my head, “you can rest when you get there, just get there.” As soon as I made contact, van Dijk had just taken a pull on the front and was getting ready to drop back in. So, like any 5’2 rider would do in those circumstances, I moved up track and let her back in so that I could benefit from her AMAZING 6’2 draft.

We worked really well together and stayed out there long enough to get some points. Jim was on me right away about scoring. I scored a 2nd in the sprint and took the 3 points, which moved me into 2nd where I would stay nearly the entire race. We took a few more laps to make contact and it was my pull that brought us back to the field. Wow, what an awesome feeling. We had lapped the field and gained 20 points.

After making contact, there was a lull that lasted about 5 laps, which was just what I needed to recover and get myself ready for the next 50 laps of racing. I knew I had to stay near the front, mark dangerous moves, and ideally score as many easy points as possible. Well, I did the first two well, but failed to score any more points throughout the rest of the race. The attacks were firing constantly and they didn’t let up the whole race. There was a battle for points going on between all the girls in the field who hadn’t lapped, like Armistead, Bronzini, Machacova, and the Spanish rider, so that made getting points no easy task. Still, I should have been more aggressive and less complacent with my 23 points. I kept looking up at the scoreboard and seeing my name in second place. It was only at the 7th sprint that I moved into third.

For the final sprint, I was lined up perfectly to go for points with about 3 to go, but the Italian rider came over the top of me and chopped me real good, making me react and hesitate while the rush came flying over the top. I managed to get myself out and into the final paceline effort to the line, but it was too little too late to score points. Had I scored only one point, I would have moved myself into 2nd and taken home the silver medal. Oh well, you live and learn. I will fight that battle the next time I take the track. For now, I am content with my bronze medal.

That moment of glory standing on the podium at a World Cup was one that I never want to forget. I was so proud to stand there as my country’s flag was raised for everyone to see. I believe I have earned my ticket to the 2009 World Championships in Proskow, Poland and I will proudly be representing the United States of America in the Women’s Points Race if i am selected. This is truly a dream come true, but only one of many I have for myself in this sport.

Huge thanks to Jim Miller for giving me this opportunity and believing in me. Thanks to Andrew Hawkes for doing a solid job wrenching and Andy Sparks for lots of good tips. Also, to my teammates, Daniel Holloway, Kacey Manderfield, Kim Geist, Taylor Phinney, and Colby Pearce for all the support, encouragement, and words of advice. This trip has been inspirational for me and I am optimistic about the future of American track racing. So far, we have 4 medals with 2 Golds by Taylor Phinney (Individual Pursuit and Kilo), Daniel Holloway (Scratch Race Bronze), and myself with the Points Race Bronze. Madison and Team Pursuit are tomorrow. Watch out World, Team U.S.A is starting to build speed.

Thanks for reading ~ Shelley