Cyclocross National Championships  Bend, OR  Dec 13, 2009

The National Championships have been a long time coming.  It’s something I’ve been focused on since I started training back in April.  To think about a race for that long is stressful and nerve racking to say the least.  But you can’t help it when it’s the biggest race of the season.

This year the event was held in Bend, Oregon, a hotbed of cycling in the state of Oregon.  The week leading up to the race was the coldest they’ve had in years.  I spent the entire week indoors riding the trainer.

The course was set around the Deschutes Brewery with a mix of rough trail, soft grass, steep climbs, a huge set of stairs, and some tricky off-camber sections.  When I pre-rode the course on Friday everything was completely frozen.  The only dry part of the course was the pavement through the start/finish.  Even though I hate riding on ice I knew it would favor my bike handling skills, if I could stay upright.  Haha!

By Saturday the weather changed and the sun came out, warming things up to a balmy 30 degrees.  I did a few more laps and was pleasantly surprised to find that everything had melted.  I was shocked because 24hrs earlier the course was under a few inches of frozen snow and ice.  Now it was wet, muddy, slushy, sloppy, and slick.   The conditions made the course a lot more fun and not nearly as stressful.  Made for an easier night of sleeping as well.

Overnight the temperatures dropped and the course froze once again.  I pre rode one lap at 10:30am and had a few close calls trying to stay upright on the icy turns.  Even though the sun was out the air temperature was still chilly and things weren’t warming up as fast as I had hoped.  Oh well.

My biggest mistake of the day came at the end of my warm-up.  Not realizing there were 105 women at call up, I mistimed my warm-up and arrived at the start grid after my name had been announced.  The official started call-up 5 minutes earlier than normal.  It was dumb luck that I was only a few seconds late, otherwise I would have missed out being in the second row.  As it was, I didn’t get to line up behind Katie Compton.  Darn!

The start was blazing fast and I was only able to move up into 4^th position by the time we hit the first grass section.  The first lap of any cross race is always total chaos.  Riders get ahead of you that can’t ride their bikes and slow things down.  Riders are trying to pass in places they shouldn’t, and girls are going down all over the place.  Meanwhile Katie Compton is riding away as I’m stuck behind slower riders.  Ugh!

Trying to stay upright in an icy corner

I finally got around everyone and had a clear track ahead.  Whew!  The crowd was huge with lots of fans cheering my name.  I was maxed out but having fun.  Lots of linked recoveries and near misses.  The course was changing by the minute as things slowly warmed up.  I was passed by Amy Dombrowski after the first lap and stayed 20 feet behind her for another lap.  Then Meredith Miller caught and passed me as I slid out on one of the turns.  Damn!  I lost some momentum after my crash.  I rode in 4^th for the rest of the race, having to hold off Laura Van Gilder, who was chronically only 5 seconds behind me.  Close enough to make things stressful.

Running the barriers

By the last lap I stretched my lead over Van Gilder and was able to relax coming into the finish.  My 4^th place was good enough for the podium.  I wanted better but I was also very satisfied and happy with how things went.  It’s been a challenge trying to play catch-up to riders that have been competing all summer, and for the past four years for that matter.

Getting ready for a steep drop

The podium ceremony was in the beer tent so the crowd was very vocal.  Plus it was warm with all those hot steamy bodies.  Afterwards I watched a great men’s race and caught up with friends.

Elite women's podium

It’s been a great season and a lot of fun.  I’m glad I came back to racing and I’m glad I was able to be successful.  My goals were to ride up front, be competitive, and not embarrass myself and I know I accomplished all of those.  Now it’s the long awaited off-season.  I will take some time off the bike and enjoy the holiday chaos.  Time to dust off the skis!

Happy trails

Alison

USGP Series Finale  Portland, OR  Dec 5-6, 2010

I’ll admit that I haven’t been looking forward to the last race of the USGP series in Portland, OR.  After looking at pictures and hearing stories from last year’s mud fest, I was not psyched to spend two days slogging around in the mud with temperatures only supposed to be in the 30’s.  Imagine my joy when I looked at the forecast and saw it was supposed to be sunny and dry.  Yippee!  I might luck out and get a dry course and some fast racing for the first time all season.

It rained a bit over night before the temperatures dropped below freezing.  In the morning the earlier categories were treated to a thin layer of mud on top of frozen ruts.  As things warmed up and more categories raced, the course dried out and became quite fast.  Still a few mud sections and some challenging ruts, but overall the course was dry.

I got lucky and was called up to fill the last spot on the front row.  Whew!  I got a good start and was third going into the first grass section.  I was able to stay in the top five the entire lap, avoiding most of the chaos behind.  Katerina rode away like she always does with Amy Dombrowski close behind.  I rode in third for part of the first lap and was quickly joined by Alison Sydor and Meredith Miller.  We stayed together the rest of the race.  I felt strong and confident going into the last lap.  Unfortunately I hit a root hard with my front wheel and flatted early in the last lap.  Damn!  First flat in a cross race all year.  I was able to ride hard on the flats, but had to slow down in the turns.  Half a lap later I got a quick bike change and ended up finishing in 5^th.  I would have loved to have gotten on the podium, but I was super psyched to have finally felt good.  I haven’t had good legs for a cross race in almost six weeks.  Things are finally starting to come together, and just in time with Nationals only a week away.

On Sunday I wasn’t as lucky with the call-ups and had to line up in the second row.  I guess there was a rider that had more UCI points than me, but failed to show up for Saturday’s race.  I lined up behind Katerina Nash, my teammate, figuring she’d be leading the charge.  The start was fast, but luckily the pavement was half a kilometer long so I was able to move up and jump into the grass section in second.  The legs felt great and I was able to stay up front the entire first lap.  Eventually Katerina rode away from me and I was joined by Meredith Miller.  I stayed with her for half a lap, but couldn’t hang with her impressive bursts of power on the flats.  Then Amy Dombrowski caught me.  We rode together for another lap.  I had a fluke crash on a left hand turn that took me out of contention for the podium, again.  Unfortunately I went down at the bottom of two climbs so I had to run my bike up, down, and around before I could jump back on.  Lost a lot of time, and some confidence.  I rallied and finished in 5^th.  I wasn’t disappointed because I had another day of great legs.  It was fun aggressive competitive racing, which I love!  And I was at the front making things happen, which was my goal at the beginning of the cross season.

I’m hanging out in Portland with friends and then driving over to Bend on Friday for the US National Championships.  Katerina won’t be there, but Katie Compton will.  I’ve got to have great legs and a flawless race to get on the podium.  Can’t wait!!

Until then….

Alison

Alison chasing Amy Dombrowski

Flying over the barriers