After a brief bout of cool Autumn-like weather, summer
returned with Labor Day weekend temperatures approaching 100 (38°C). I headed
south to the St. Louis area (see my Tour
de Grove post about St. Louis) for my third time this season, commencing the
four-day omnium on Friday with a twilight crit under the lights. The evening
start did little to cool to sweltering heat of the day. To add to my own
challenges, I started the weekend with a great big swollen painful belly and
grumpy diaphragm that has only just now begun to resolve, a sign that my
recovery is not quite complete and some time off the bike in the coming weeks
will do me good.
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| Twilight racing under the lights on Friday at Lafayette Park. (Matt James - Copyright 2013) |
The racing was animated and exciting throughout the four
days with attack after attack coming from multiple riders, especially FCS and
Primal. I did my best to keep an eye on the moves to help Laura stay fresh for
the finish each day. Friday night’s race stayed all together for a bunch
finish. Getting us off to an awesome start, Laura powered to an exciting win to
take the early lead in the omnium. Hot on her rear wheel were talented
sprinters Sam Schneider (TIBCO) and Amy Culter (FCS) in second and third.
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| Friday podium: Amy Cutler (FCS), Laura Van Gilder (Mellow Mushroom), and Sam Schneider (TIBCO). (Matt James - Copyright 2013) |
In race two, a break of Tiffany Pezzulo (Primal), Abby Ruess
(St. Paul Racing), and I escaped for a good 25 min. But FCS drove the pace to
reel us in with only two laps to go. Vanderkitten teammate Jenn Reither, guest
riding for Primal, put in a perfectly timed attack to escape the bunch and take
a solo win. Laura powered to the finish to win the bunch sprint for second with
Sam and Amy close behind in third and fourth.
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| Tiffany Pezzulo (Primal) and me off the front. (Matt James - Copyright 2013) |
In race 3, Anna Saunders (FCS) and I escaped off the front
twice in promising breaks, but we were caught with one lap to go, with the
reaction from the field leaving both me and Laura swamped. Amy took the win followed
by Sam. Showing her amazing strength and ability of a crit racer, Laura somehow
managed third.
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| Racing through the Italian neighborhood of The Hill on Day 3. (Matt James - Copyright 2013) |
The result put the overall up for grabs with only five
points separating Laura, Amy, and Sam in the top three spots, promising an
exciting finale. We knew Monday would be a tough race, so we fuelled up with a visit to Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard,
now located on historic US
Route 66 and a St. Louis icon since about 1930. Apparently about a 1000
others had the same idea.
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| Ted Drewe's Frozen Custard is a popular summer destination in St. Louis. |
deally
we wanted a small group off the front to absorb the highest weighted points. I
definitely wore myself out watching moves and working for a break! Eventually, Coryn Rivera (Marian University) and Christa
Ghent (Exergy TWENTY16) slipped off the front. Although Christa faded, Coryn
survived to take the win, followed by Anna who escaped in the last lap. Laura took
yet another bunch sprint for third, clinching the overall win. Racing with
Laura was a real pleasure and honor, and a win was an excellent way to bring my
season to a close.
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| Me patrolling the front of the bunch on Monday. (Matt James - Copyright 2013) |
The weekend was made extra special by the wonderful
generosity of Heather Testa and Greg Kates for host housing, including
incredible and delicious dinners prepared by Greg. Thank you also to Michael
Weiss and Big Shark Bicycle Company for
putting on an excellent event, and for supporting women’s cycling with equal
prize money, and to Matt James for fabulous photos.
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| Delicious cauliflower steaks made by Greg Kates. |
After six fabulous months in the US, I’m now back in New
Zealand to recharge. My adventure took me to races in six US states (CA, CO, IL,
IA, MO, and WI), plus a visit to Rhode Island in March for a work conference. I
spent 2 weeks in El
Salvador (sort of) racing, 6 weeks training in Northern
California with amazing hosts and cycling legends Katheryn Curi-Mattis and James
Mattis, and the remainder of the time with my parents in Illinois. I raced
56 races for 13 wins and 22 podiums, as well as supporting teammates to 6 wins
and 14 podiums.
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| NorCal coast on one of my spring training rides. |
Only 2 races were rainy (Galena
Crit & Glencoe),
including a torrential downpour at Glencoe, and, way down from last year, only
about 7 were ridiculously hot. I had one minor crash (while training), zero
punctures, and ZERO sick days. The lack of sick days is HUGE because since my
start in cycling I’ve contracted a lung infection EVERY season, indicating that
possibly what was causing stress on my lungs has now been removed.
The jury is still out on that one. Although racing through recovery was
definitely challenging, who could say what I would face when the journey began.
I met so many amazing people and made lots of wonderful friends, making every
moment of pain worthwhile.
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| Vanderkitten team training in February. Photo by Jono Coulter |
My season was made possible in so many ways by amazing
support from my parents, Eugene and Peggy Kuhajek, for whom I am grateful
beyond measure. I’m thankful to Rob Curtis (PSIMET) and Wayne Simon (ENZO’s
Buttonhole) for believing in me and for being outspoken supporters of women’s
cycling, and to Vanderkitten manager Jono Coulter for amazing dedication to the
team. Karrie Ozyuk (Lucky Brake Bikes)
helped to perfect my fit on the bike and expert podiatrist Timothy Jantz fixed my foot alignment to give my feet and IT bands relief; Lorrie Janeczko (Algonquin Sports Massage) kept
my recovery progressing, and Hamish Ferguson kept my training on track. Sponsors who supported Vanderkitten
Racing this season include the Canary
Foundation, DeFeet, ENZO’s, Kask Helmets, Microshift components, OSMO Nutrition, Pactimo Clothing, PSIMET custom wheels, Selle SMP saddles, Smith Optics, TRP brakes, Vanderkitten Clothing, Vittoria shoes, and Züca bags.
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| Pre-race meetings made easy by Züca.
Photo by Jono Coulter
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