2015 Racing Plans

March is nearly here and my 2015 racing season is just about to blast off. So time to get out an announcement on my racing plans!

First, I apologize for skipping a wrap up of 2014. The reality is that 2014 was an incredibly challenging year, fraught mental and physical challenges that are best left where they are: in the past.

“...nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. It ain’t about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward.” -Rocky Balboa, Rocky VI  

While times of great adversity can offer incredible opportunity for personal growth and improvement, the true lessons come not in the flames, but in the rise from the ashes. So on to 2015.

I’m excited to announce that I will be riding with the ISCorp Cycling Team presented by Smart Choice MRI. While ISCorp has been around since 1998, 2015 will be the inaugural year for a women’s domestic elite team -- which is pretty darn cool to be a part of. 

The team is composed of nine awesome and talented riders with some pretty impressive kudos in the mix. Careful selection for complimentary skills by our experienced Team Director Dave Schneider gives the team a race-winning composition. The team will focus on the US National Criterium Calendar (NCC), commencing with the Gasparilla Criterium in Tampa FL in March and ending with the Connecticut Cycling Festival in Hartford CT in September. In between? Heaps of racing all throughout the US!

Confident that warm temperatures will grace the MidWest soon, I head state-side to join the team at the end of the month for our official team launch on 27 February. In March, we’ll head to Asheville NC for some team training and pre-season prep for Gasparilla.

My ISCorp teammies have been busy getting set for the season with a productive team camp in Austin TX this past week, so I’ll have lots to catch up when I arrive in a few weeks. I’m taking advantage of southern hemisphere summer, staying put in New Zealand to race the Trust House Women’s Tour of New Zealand, a five-stage UCI tour 18-22 Feb. Based in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand, north of Wellington, the tour has attracted a classy international field of thirteen 5-rider teams. Racing begins Wednesday afternoon with a team time trial.

For the tour I’ll be guest riding with DNA Cycling p/b K4 Racing, a talent-packed Utah-based stage race team that is guaranteed to be a dominant force in the 2015 National Racing Calendar. I’m excited to be included in their team for the tour.

At the moment, we’re busy in the Wairarapa reconing stages, getting used to riding together, and enjoying the area. I’ll post an update in about two weeks to tell you about the tour!

Be kind. Always. Everyone is struggling with something. Most times, we have no idea.