The Race: UCI Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau
The Course: 12 laps of a 10km rolling course
The Field: 1/2 women
The Finish: Laura finished 5th, I finished 9th

The night before Gatineau, my mother said goodnight to Jen and me in our shared hotel room and started to offer words of wisdom and inspiration. It was late, the lights were out, I was punchy from nerves, and suddenly I had the urge to call out into the darkness, “Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get up now, it’s bobsled time!” I knew my mother would get the reference, but was thrilled when Jen followed immediately with “COOL RUNNINGS!”

I warmed up on the course and practiced taking the full roundabout just before the finish at speed so I knew what to expect come race time. Staging was uneventful – with 74 starters and a smooth 120k ahead, it didn’t feel critical to elbow my way to the front. Most of the race was equally uneventful. The course had only minor hills, Tibco and Optum kept everything very controlled, and the handful of attacks that spent time up the road didn’t seem to be a real threat. A Team Canada rider and another girl got away about halfway through and were joined some laps later by another Team Canada rider, but without representation from the other teams, I was confident the move was coming back.

There was a small crash in the middle of the field about halfway through the race that broke Jen’s shoe irreparably, ending her day. The rest of our team talked quickly about whether losing one of our sprinters would change our tactics, but we decided to stick to the finish plan. I continued to play it conservative, staying out of the wind and alert for any attempts to attack or bridge.

Around four laps to go, Tibco and Optum massed on the front of the field, cranked up the pace, and started to reel in the break. We had a minute to make up, but with the strength and numbers of the chasers, I wasn’t concerned. It was actually nice to have the pace pick up – it meant less shuffling in the field, so things felt safer and holding position was easier.

We caught the break and then it was time for the last lap. The pace stayed quick enough to keep the field lined up and I held position towards the front (despite some poking elbows and actual hands-off-the-bars pushing). Coming into the final 1K, the field surged a bit and I slipped back a few wheels. Jamie and Laura were off to the right of the Tibco/Optum leadout train, so I stayed near them as we headed into the roundabout. I took the inside line, which gave me clear air to move but meant carrying less speed out into the finish. As soon as I hit the straightaway, I started sprinting. Laura was ahead of me and picked up 5th, while I crossed the line in 9th. Jamie and Leah (the rest of the remaining Team Colavita riders) weren’t far behind.

[Throughout the entire race, I kept thinking, “…get up now, it’s bobsled time!”]

I was happy with finishing in the top ten, but of course I immediately started analyzing the finish to think how I could have played it better. Part of the problem is that I’m still reacting to the race instead of being aggressive enough; if I had held my position better at 1k to go, I would have been in the leadout train, protected from the wind, in the outside (faster) line on the roundabout, and able to wait to start my sprint until closer to the line. As soon as the first mistake is made (losing a spot in the first few wheels), everything that comes after is about recovery and generally doesn’t lead to the best result.

As for the team, it was awesome to have Laura in the top five. Everybody rode well and communicated throughout the race, so it felt like we were really putting out a team effort. When Jen was definitively out, we regrouped and made sure we were still ready for the finish. For everything from feeds to staying motivated to moving up in the field, it felt like the team was there for each other. It was a good feeling and led to a good ending.

Now we’re headed to the National Championships (Mary, Jamie, Jackie, and me) and the Somerville Crit (Jen, Leah, Laura, Whitney).

Team parking…

Team Colavita signing in before the start.

The roundabout we circled before the finish of each lap.

The finish.

A happy team following the race.

Mom, champion of the feedzone, after the race. She’d never done a feed, so Jen and I taught her how the night before the race and then practiced running at her and grabbing bottles.

Back in the States, Mary was picking up a podium spot at Wilmington.

The Race: Speed Week NCC Sandy Springs Cycling Classic Criterium
The Course: 40 laps with a bunch of corners and an uphill finish
The Field: 1/2 women
The Finish: 2nd place team overall

Wow. I can’t believe my third Speed Week is already over. Four flights, seven races in seven cities, five hotels, five nights at my team director’s house, many hours in the team van, a lot more rain and cool weather than expected, gallons of coffee, and more laps than I would ever want to count.

No meals at Waffle House. SUCCESS!

That being said, I did have chicken & waffles, grits, collard greens, and beef jerky. I also ate more coconut peanut butter than any person ever should, discovered that Puffins are delicious, and solidly maintained my role as the person on the team who eats the most.

As for the final race, there were good parts and bad. I was tired going into it, which is to be expected after so many days of travel and racing, and I made some tactical mistakes in the way I covered moves and spent my limited energy. Although the field was active, the peloton was unwilling to let anything get up the road for any length of time. I didn’t have the legs for any strong attacks.  Jamie was able to get away for a few laps near the end in a move that looked promising, but it didn’t stick. A few others tried to break away in the final laps, but I worked with the riders at the front to keep the gaps closed. With one to go, Kelly Fisher-Goodwin had a small gap on the field, so I got on the front and cranked up the pace to keep her close and set up a lead-out for the end. I made it through the back of the course and was cooked. The field came around and blew through the final corners to the finish, while I made an effort to get across the line in a semi-decent place.

And that was it. Speed Week done. Team Colavita finished 2nd overall in the team competition, Jen was our highest-place overall finisher in 7th, and I wrapped up the week as 2nd in the lap leader competition. We would have liked to have seen more podiums, but we did get in a win and learned so much about how to work together as a team. From a personal standpoint, I figured out how to be a smarter and more patient racer, how to bury myself for my teammates, and how rewarding it can be to see collective hard work pay off. It was a great week of racing.

The team podium presentation happened so quickly after the race that we didn’t make it there in time to stand up for 2nd place team. Really sorry to miss it, but congrats to Fearless Femme on 1st and Rose Bandits on 3rd!

Team Colavita’s post-Speed Week press release (see the website here).

It feels like something is ending now as the whirlwind of the last eleven days comes to a close, but in reality this is nothing like an ending. I’m going to St. Louis this weekend to race Tour de Grove, then immediately on to Gatineau and Nationals. If it weren’t for a need to do laundry and swap out the half-empty jars of peanut butter for full ones, I’m not sure I’d even bother to unpack.

The Race: Speed Week NCC Belmont Criterium
The Course: 25 miles, one long climb through the start/finish and descending the rest of the time
The Field: 1/2 women
The Finish: Strong! 5th, 6th, 9th

Belmont was a new addition to Speed Week and offered a great course with a long climb set in a cute town. Team Colavita’s goal was to work together better as a team throughout the race and play off each other strategically. The race started in the middle of the climb and after the initial surge, I settled in near the front of the field. After a handful of laps, Starla Teddergreen attacked following a prime and Jen and Jamie jumped on it. It was a perfect response and a promising break. When Teresa Cliff-Ryan jumped to join it, I knew it would hold until the end. A lap or two later, another rider (Whitney Schultz) attacked to bridge and I got on her wheel for the ride. Sara Clafferty joined us and I sat on them while they tried to bridge to the front group. They started to slow down after a while so I attacked and established a small gap, but after working hard alone for a number of laps and not making any progress in catching the leaders, I sat up and rejoined the two of them. The three of us circled the course and I did some courtesy pulls until I heard that our riders from the front group had been separated and were in their own group, at which point I started taking more regular rotations.

As the race neared the end, I heard from the announcer that the front group had lapped the field and was back in the main bunch. Beth Newell had been dangling between our break and the field, and finally caught on to make us a group of four. Since I knew we weren’t going to end up lapping the field, I stopped working and sat on the back of our group while the three of them took pulls. I sprinted to pick up the remaining points for the 5-to-go points prime and then settled back in to wait until the end. At one to go, Whitney led up the climb with me on her wheel and then pulled off. I panicked a little: was it better to get on the front at a dangerously late time or let the pace drop while we played cat-and-mouse and risk the field swallowing us up? I got on the front and planned to make a move going into the final turns, but just as we approached the second to last corner, Whitney blew past me with Sara on her wheel. Now sitting third wheel, I braced to jump hard for the sprint after the last turn. It still could have worked out, but just before the last corner, a guy crossed the course with his bike. Whitney and Sara yelled at him but made it through without interference and I should have been able to do the same, but instead I lost my focus for a moment and blew the corner. Shaved off too much speed and then took a more sweeping line up to the finish, ending up 3rd out of our break for 9th overall. I was furious at myself – how could I ride a smart race and then blow it at the end with a series of stupid mistakes??? Of course I burst into tears, because DUH. [In my defense, I was tired. A beer later, I was back to being all smiles.]

Back in the rest of the race, Jamie and Jen had worked their butts off to follow the lead group in lapping the field and were in it for the final sprint. That resulted in us picking up 5th and 6th overall. It was an excellent race – active, exciting, and a great show of teamwork – and while I was disappointed by my own failure at the end, it was awesome to see how things came together for the team. Now to carry that momentum through to the last race of the week at Sandy Springs…

Getting ready to roll.

Scoots killing it on the front.

Fraternizing with some awesome competition after the race.