Robert Cameron Cycling Series
Posted on June 4, 2013 2 Comments
Thank you Trek Pro City for the time trial bike, my new Speedconcept is AMAZING. As always, special thanks to Bill Fry for fitting the bike for me. Huge thank you to Arran Spencer, our mechanic, who somehow managed to make time in his incredibly overbooked schedule to actually build this bike for me. Further thanks to my best friend, Bryson Bowers, for letting me use his super sexy wheelset and for donating his Dura-ace components to the “build Anika a tt bike” project.
I would also like to thank Scott Mitchell who fixed my road bike for me last minute and let me leave work early to get to the time trial (I may have been freaking out a little bit from pre-race jitters). Another big thank you to Colin Hynes, who stayed late to fix my road bike again after I it broke in the road race.
Brad Head, owner of Zed Wheels, made a huge difference this weekend by loaning me a set of Hurricane SL wheels in place of my crappy set. Those wheels were phenomenal! At sub-1500g per set they were perfect for the gruelling hills of the Westhills Cycling Classic, but were still stiff and smooth enough for me to rip through the corners of the Bastion Square Grand Prix. I am looking forward to riding my own Zed wheels for the remainder of the season (Diable SL).
Thank you Rumble for hooking me up with awesome recovery drinks fresh from the cooler after each event. Ice cold Rumble is exactly what the body needs after efforts like this weekends’ races.
Further, I would like to thank my outstanding physio therapist, Barbara Bialokoz. I pretty much break myself every week and then she somehow fixes me every week. Barb, you’re a miracle worker! This week she spent extra time and went out of her way and pulled out all her fancy acupuncture needles and physio tools to make sure that my legs were in top shape for the weekend.
Finally, this was my first local race and I was blown away by the number of friendly faces out there to cheer me on. Thank you everyone for coming out to watch us race!
Rumble Time Trial
At only 5km long, this was by far the shortest time trial I have ever ridden. I was nervous but also excited; with an expected race time of seven to eight minutes this was exactly the kind of length my background in middle distance track running had prepared me for. I knew this kind of effort and this kind of pain and I was ready for it. There is no tactic, no plan, you just shut up and suffer.
With three minutes to go I was nervous, two minutes to go I was focused, one minute to go I was ready. The final countdown: 3…..2…..1…..GO! Using the momentum of the ramp, I exploded down the opening stretch and settled in for the pain. The first few minutes you feel strong, then it hurts, then every muscle starts to scream and every nerve is on fire and you want nothing more than to quit: push harder. Turn off your brain, push into the hurt, and settle into the rhythm of your pounding heart. Stroke for stroke the pavement flew by until I could see the finish looming ahead, prompting a rush of adrenaline that gave me new strength. I soared across the finish line feeling invincible and then promptly threw up in my new helmet (such a pretty sport, eh?).
Westhills Cycling Classic
So perhaps this was stupid, but at the gun I immediately attacked. If there is one thing I want to be known for its aggressive, strong and entertaining racing. What better way to spice things up than to go on a solo flyer on kilometer one of an 80 kilometer race? Clearly no one expected this kind of suicide attack and mass chaos ensued; it was exhilarating. The crowd was cheering, the women behind me were yelling and scrambling, the lead car was in the way. Finally, the car pulled off and I was escorted by a motorcycle through lap one of eight. I managed to get out of sight fairly quickly and gained almost a minute on the pack before they got organized and started chasing me down.
As I crossed the line into lap two I looked back to see that what remained of the pack was gaining on me. Knowing that a counter attack was coming I sat up and prepared myself. As soon as they caught me Kristine attacked and I jumped on her wheel. The two of us got away from the field but were quickly pulled back on the ensuing descent. It was Megan Rathwell’s attack at the crest of Liberty that dropped what was left of the field. A couple women clung on for a few minutes but then it was left with Megan and Kristine (both riding for Red Truck), Nik Vogler, Mical Dyck and I.
It was about this time that my old clunker decided to stop working. The front shifting totally quit, not a good thing on a course that doesn’t have a single inch of flat pavement on it. After this the race became a bit of a “character building” experience. I started getting dropped at the top of every climb forcing me to claw my way back onto the group lap after lap, hill after hill. A thousand excuses to quit ran through my head: my shifting doesn’t work, I don’t have a fancy bike like the others, they’re all pro riders and I’m an amateur, this hurts, etc etc etc. But with every excuse that popped into my head I became more determined not to quit. I thought of Jens Voigt saying “shut up legs” and forced myself to keep going and to focus on the task at hand: get rid of Megan.
Megan was dangerous. She was the best climber, she was the best sprinter and she was the only one there with a team mate. Nik and I started launching alternating attacks knowing that Megan would be forced to work to pull us back. We let her sit out in the wind, we pushed the pace relentlessly when we were up front, we attacked too many times to count but we couldn’t get rid of her. Not only could we not get rid of her, she seemed completely unphased while the rest of us were cross eyed in pain. Coming into the final lap we accepted the fact that, come hell or high water, we weren’t getting rid of Megan. In the sprint Megan took her well earned win and became the 2013 BC provincial champion. Congratulations Megan!
Bastion Square Grand Prix
My hopes were not particularly high for this race. There was the infamous “crash corner” where I feared I would leave my spandex and butt skin on the asphalt. Trek Red Truck made up almost half the field, which promised plenty of attacks and an overall high speed event. The sprint to the finish was on a slight uphill and after the Wethills Classic my legs twinged at the thought of more hills even if it was just a little one. Finally, it was crystal clear to me that if it came down to a bunch sprint I would not do well. The field had far too many women who were far better sprinters than I was. So I decided to make lemonade out of lemons. Fairly certain this wasn’t going to be “my race” I decided to ditch all common sense and sound racing tactics and make this the most exciting and aggressive race of the day. In the end I would much rather come 5th having worked hard and put on a spectacular show than come a couple places higher having just sucked wheel for 45 laps.
The first few laps were scary but then I found a rhythm and forgot about the corners focusing instead on the excitement of the race. Thank you Nik Vogler for being there to show me the ropes once again. It seems like every race you’re there coaching me through it to make sure I don’t die because of some rookie mistake.
Trek Red Truck launched girl after girl off the front and I fought to pull each of them back. This was going to be a real race, I wasn’t going to let someone just waltz off the front and solo to victory. For 45 laps I covered every attack, countered every move, pushed the pace whenever it threatened to slow, forced people to suffer. Megan used her sprinting talent to snag prime after prime but still worked hard in between the sprints. Kristine attacked relentlessly but failed to stay away. Finally, with three laps to go they called the last prime and a furious sprint ensued ending in everyone sitting up and coasting into the second last lap looking for positions for the final lap and trying to save the legs for the final sprint. Boring! So I attacked, basically a Kamikaze move. The gap opened immediately and widened further and further. I flew around the second last lap at break neck speed while the women that remained behind me scramble to get back on my wheel. With three quarters of a lap left to go they caught back up to me and I jumped in for the sprint. Mical ended up taking the win with Megan a close second.
Thank you ladies for another awesome weekend of good, strong racing. See you all at the next one!
Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race
Posted on May 21, 2013 1 Comment
Once again this race was only possible thanks to the generosity of many. I would like to thank Troy Woodburn, owner and world class mechanic at Trek Pro City, for making my old, worn out bicycle feel like new. Also, Bryson Bowers for changing my bike from a tt set up back to a road set up late the night before I left. Lister Farrar for his coaching, race support and bike fit. Jim Pauly for driving to and from Enumclaw and all his mechanic services. Huge thank you to Brenna Pauly for the use of her time trial bike and disc wheel. Thank you to my roomies Erin, Megan amd Justine, the “Canadian room” was awesome and you all had so much knowledge to share. I hope to see you at the next race. Local Rides Racing was, as always, hugely supportive by organizing accomodation and offering race support. Owner Barry Lyster is amazing for his support of womens’ cycling and active role in bringing gender equality to the sport. The caliber of his team reflects the high quality of his program.
On the racing side I would like to thank Megan Gray who took a hard pull for me, even though I was her biggest competitor, because she wanted me to catch a break after my own hard pull. This showed true sportsmanship and, given how much we were hurting 80k into the race, showed some real strength of character. Also, Megan Rathwell and Nik Vogler who were there to show me the ropes and worked with me even though we were all on different teams. Thank you to Jessica Cutler who worked incrediby hard, despite being GC, spending way more than her fair share of the time at the front. Being able to ride with such an accomplished athlete was a huge honour. Thank you for teaching me and best of luck at nationals.
Stage 1 – The Time Trial
The course was 10km long, the perfect distance to truly suffer, with several corners and one incline long and steep enough to rob your speed and momentum. Having never ridden a real time trial bike, I was nervous about the bike, a beautiful carbon Felt tt bike with a Zipp disc, that I would only have 30min to become acquainted with before racing. A late starter lead to some confusion at the start and I ended up starting foot on ground. Luckily, my cleat immediately clicked into place and I was off. Hammering down the opening stretch I watched my speed and heart rate climbing. The jitters and nerves were gone replaced by an intense focus on the road ahead. Leveling out at 45km/hr and 185bpm I settled into the rythm of my breathing and whooshing of the disc. Sweat started streaming down my visor as the bike ate up the last of the pavement before the first turn. Hard lean right, some gentle swerves and back to straight, open road. Before I knew it the 1km to go warning sign loomed in front of me; time to bury myself. Luckily there were no photos of that finish as I am fairly certain I was cross eyed wih an expression that would have made children cry. However, I had bought myself 47 seconds over second place and some confidence going into stage 2.
Stage 2 – The Criterium
The rain set in as the criterium races started and my heart sank. It was a flat figure eight course promising high speeds and countless corners. After watching several of the boys hit the deck I opted to hide in our hotel room instead of witnessing further carnage. Miraculously, the rain stopped and roads dried just before we started making death by bicylce crashing seem a little less likely. Waiting for that race to start was like waiting for your execution. Time seemed to be moving way too fast amd with evey passing minute dread clenched me tighter. My goal was simply to not die and finish with the group. The whistle blew and we were off. The pack worked well together and it wasn’t long before I forgot to be afraid and got caught up in the excitement. Having the chance to ride this course with so many talented women was an invaluable experience and I quickly learned how to cut through the corners at mach1 growing more confident by the lap. Megan Rathwell was an especially favorable wheel to follow; always at the front and taking the course’s swerves perfectly. For the cash prime I lead her out and she laid down a phenomenal and successful sprint against some seriously strong competitors. My own sprint on a different prime lap earned me a romantic gondala ride for two in the small town of Enumclaw, WA. Any takers?
The sprint for the win was fierce as a 10 second time bonus was on the line. Leia and Anna from Ironclad p/b Yakima worked together seamlessly in the final stretch securing first and second place. Megan Grant positioned herself well and crossed the line third, a great result considering she had just upgraded to Cat 2.
I had jumped on Megan’s wheel but could not outsprint her in time so I ended up being fourth to cross the line but first out of the cat 3 women.
As far as I know not a single woman in our group went down in over 40 minutes of intense crit racing. It was aggressive and fast wih 7 sprints for primes in less than ideal conditions showing the incredible level of skill in this group to be able to race the course so cleanly. Congratulations ladies and thank you for all that I have learned from you.
Stage 3 – The Road Race
The road race was the longest I have ever raced, just under 100km, including four laps of a grueling 3km climb. The climb was not terribly steep but long and mentally tough followed by a fast and long descent. The descent was long enough that the draft advantage of the peloton would not allow a small breakaway to be successful. Dynamics were also interesting as the cat 1/2 women were being scored separately from cat 3 and both Jessica and I were wihout team members. We were both leadig our respective caegories by about one minute so we had to finish with the lead group to secure the GC win. No one was going to go out of their way to help us do that. In the first lap there were several agressive attempts to get away solo by oher riders there without teams. No one managed to put more than a few meters between themselves and the group before being caught. I sat back watchig the dynamics unfold and quickly realized that a solo attack would be suicide. Our only option would be to thin out the group and the only place that would happen was on the climb. Comig up to second climb I got to the front and dropped the hammer. Not hard enough to be truly red lining as I knew the descent was coming up fast and there was no way I would be able to stay away solo, but fast enough to hurt. Poker face on I climbed up the hill fighting to control my breathing and form. Make it look easy, don’t let them see you are suffering and you will beat them mentally. I fought the urge to look back, forced my brain to shut off and embraced the pain stroke for stroke. As I made it over the crest I refused to ease up , immediatly threw the bike in the big ring and continued to hammer. Leaning hard into the corner before the descent I stole a glance back. It worked. At least half the field was gone. This small success and the imminent descent gave me a second wind and I pushed through with new found power. Soon after Jessica, hot on my wheel, shouted that we had a gap and to work it. Job done I pulled off as a seamless paceline started rolling and settled in the back to recover. The break didn’t stick but the group had thinned noticeably.
Coming up to the next hill I dug deep and started flying up it again pretending it was nothing. This time only Jessia stuck with me over the crest so there was no chance for long recovery. She pulled through and holy $**t was she ever strong. Over the previous lap we had come to somewhat of an unspoken agreement to work together and so we rotated. Each pulling hard we had some serious horse power and opened up a sevral hundred meter gap in no time. Unfortunately the field behind us had organized and were all too aware of our rapid get away. As we started on the descent they began closing fast. Admitting defeat we sat up to recover for the next attack.
The final lap was tough but at the base of the hill Jessica took the lead and crushed it. It took every ounce of will power and physical strength I had to stay on her wheel over those gruelling 3 km. At the crest it was gloves off, wih 12km to go the finish was tangible but we could still lose our leads. Leia, Annna, Megan Gray, and Megan Rathwell were all still there, looked fresh amd were obviously the biggest threat. I was at the front and it is here that Megan Gray came up beside me. Immediately suspecting an attack I got ready to jump o her but instead she slowed down level with me and told me to let her pull. That gesture saved me, there is no way I would have finished the way I did without Megan. Coming into the final kilometer there were only a handful of women left. Anna lead Leia out for the win with me on their wheel. Megan Rathwell sprinted solo for second and I crossed third narrowly beating Megan Gray for the cat 3 win.
Results: http://www.moestagerace.com/
Race the Ridge April 27-28
Posted on May 2, 2013 1 Comment
Several people have been asking me how racing is going so here’s a short report on this past weekend. Thanks to all the TSC members for getting me on my bike and out racing. I’m looking forward to many more early mornings with you guys 
First I would like to thank the small army of people who came together to make this race possible for me. First Barry, owner of Local Rides and host of Race the Ridge, and his family for finding me a couch to surf, letting me use their shower and dryer between the RR and TT so I didn’t die of pneumonia, and for his absolutely incredible support of womens’ cycling and equality in the sport. Also, thank you to Lister for driving me to and from Maple Ridge from Victoria. Thanks to Steve and Marie for the use of their very comfortable couch, driving to and from the races, and feeding me multiple times a day. The Local Rides team for sharing your tent and space heater, bike racks, and mechanic. I would have been one miserable puppy had it not been for your efforts to keep me and my bike dry and warm before and after the races. Last but definitely not least, here’s my shout out to Trek Pro City and all the guys. Thank you for providing me with amazing equipment, bike fit (Bill Fry), and the motivational pre-race trash talk and beer. A very special thank you to our mechanic, Arran Spencer, who fixed the unfixable old Cervelo AND built and tuned the new Madone, delivered only a few hours before I left town.
The Road Race
The morning of the road race started with a persistent drizzle enhanced by an icy wind. By the time the cat ¾ women were called to the start, “drizzle” was somewhat of an understatement. The usual announcements about safety and sponsorship were rambling on although I was more preoccupied with the crushing sense of dread and doubt that had evolved rapidly from some harmless pre-race butterflies. The instructions were clear: attack ruthlessly off the line; get away right from the start. I just didn’t know if I had it in me. It was a hilly course with some scary, break-neck descents and I was surrounded by fitter, thinner and more experienced women. What I did have was the bike, a brand new Trek Madone 5.2 from Pro City Racing. After months on a 22lb aluminum 9-speed, the Madone was a whole new world: light, stiff, aerodynamic, and most of all SEXY! Having only test ridden it, I still had no idea what this bike was capable of.
The whistle sounded and it was all over: I pushed down with everything I had and exploded out of the group. The course started on a long, straight stretch. You could not get out of sight, the peloton had the advantage and there was zero room for doubt or hesitation. There was only one thing you could do: suffer. The bike accelerated like I’ve never experienced and before I knew it I was ripping down the asphalt at over 50km/hr, my legs were ready to explode, every breath burned, my heart pounded and eyes watered. One glance back told me it was not going to be an easy get away. Maggie, an incredible sprinter with years of racing under her belt, was leading the chase and they were gaining. The first turn was rapidly approaching and I knew I had to get out of site. Tucking down as far as I could I pushed harder, chin bumping the bars, knees slamming into my chest, and leaned into the corner. Making it around that corner butter side up and rubber side down was a minor miracle but luck was on my side that day. A few more meters, another turn and I was out of site and into the back stretch with the nightmare hills.
These next kilometers were what the race was known for. It’s a series of deceptively steep hills long enough to hurt but too short to ease off the throttle. One thing’s for sure, Barry and the crew know how to pick a soul crushing race course. Once you survived the hills you got a short respite before launching down a suicide descent into a 90 degree right hand corner. This corner had already claimed a lot of spandex and would claim quite a bit more before the day ended, especially with the wet conditions.
The laps wore on and coming into the final round I finally could not stand the suspense of not knowing where the pack was. I shouted out to a marshall and he responded “40 seconds and gaining”. Well, that got my attention. After an hour of suffering alone in the rain I was not about to let myself get caught in the final lap. It wasn’t pretty. There was snot and spit and sweat and tears as wheezed and coughed my way through those last 10km. Turns out the marshall was referring to the group in front of me and the panic was unnecessary but it was a good character building experience and training opportunity.
The Time Trial
I pedalled my bicycle really hard for 12.5km. So did everybody else.
The Criterium
25minutes plus 3 laps didn’t sound so bad but the girls sure spiced it up! I tried to jump at the line again but this time the others were ready. Maggie immediately jumped on my wheel and there was no shaking her. No matter how hard I tried I could not get away from that girl. After three or four attempts at getting off the front I tried to settle into the group in an effort to save my legs for the finish but, as soon as I found some shelter, another girl attacked and it was back to the grind stone. There were two primes worth time bonuses and bragging rights. Maggie and I furiously battled for the primes and she came out victorious both times. As the minutes ticked away the group became more and more aggressive. We lapped a few stragglers but the rest of the field was there, going strong and working together like a well-oiled machine. Coming into the final laps it was gloves off. The winner of the crit would receive a 20 second time bonus towards the GC time. Women were taking risks, cutting the corners, attacking relentlessly. A crash coming into the final S-bend split the group in two with Maggie, Katie and I in the front. We screamed through the last bend and simultaneously rose out of our saddles for a furious sprint past the crowd into the finish. Katie ended up winning by a tire width while Maggie snagged second. Although not my best result, I think this was the best race. There was no respite. It was just hard, aggressive racing.
RESULTS: http://www.localride.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/RTR13_3-4W3.pdf
ANIKA (the beast) TODD 