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Heading into July, building form from a week of hard racing at TOAD, I took advantage of the 4th of July holiday to get in several consecutive days of long, solid rides. With my form not quite up to scratch to justify the trip to Vancouver to join my teammates racing BC Superweek, I was fortunate to find the Winfield Criterium within only an hour’s drive. The Winfield Criterium course is super fun with fabulous neighborhood support (although I must admit I was happy to find the vuvuselas absent this year) and an excellent effort from the ABD Cycling Club to put on this well-run event for 15 years running. Definitely one for all Chicagoland racers to add to the schedule next year. Adding additional excitement to the day, the race doubled as this year’s American Bicycle Racing (ABR) National Championships.
The week found me finally making some solid progress on the
health front. My diaphragm, extremely grumpy after TOAD, started to settle down
and my lungs finally began feeling healed enough to handle the demands of
racing. The second week of July I suddenly started to feel like a completely
different person!
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| Feeling better! |
I decided to put my health to the test at Winfield, racing
three races over the course of the day to take advantage of the excellent
training session that the day offered. The day started sopping wet, the sky bucketing
down with rain. The eight-corner course, complete with four fast, downhill
corners, while super fun on a dry day, was a concern in the wet. The downpour
dwindled just in time for the start of the first race of the day, the Masters Women’s
Championship, leaving just wet roads (rather than bucketing rain AND wet roads) and the first challenge of the day. My confidence, hampered by struggling through several months of
poor form, was on the low side, and tackling the wet slippery corners was not
high on my list of fun things to do. So my goal with this race was to build
some confidence. I didn’t start out so well.
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| Rainy TV interview with local announcer Todd Busteed and ABD racer Joe Berenyi before the race. |
Heading to the line for the start, I picked up a staple with
my rear tire, just minutes before the start. ABR is a small grass-roots
establishment compared with the larger and more widely known USA Cycling. Meaning
no neutral wheels. Fortunately Rob Curtis is an amazing and diehard supporter
of Chicagoland racing, putting up the PSIMET tents at nearly every Chicagoland
race out there. Rob had me set up on a new PSIMET wheel in the blink of an eye—plus
fixed my flat overnight. That’s awesome sponsorship!
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| Despite being already swamped by the demands of cross season, Rob continues to provide awesome support on the road. Thanks Rob! |
Off and racing. One lap in, I attacked hard on the climb to
ensure my own line through the downhill corners. This gave me lots of
opportunity to practice and, continuing to push hard each lap, I was able to
build back confidence in my cornering skills over the course of the race.
Drying roads as the day progressed meant faster speeds through the corners, and
more confidence, with each lap.
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| Celebrating my first win of the day. |
My next race of the day was the Open Women’s Championship. I
was a bit surprised (and worried!) to see seven (yes, seven!) speedy Columbia-Specialized
Team riders on the line. Yikes! My initial thought: this is going to hurt!
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| Women's Open Championship podium. |
The women’s races complete for the day, I thought I’d take
advantage of the opportunity and jump in on the men’s 30+ race to really push
my fitness. I was really happy with how I felt—given that even the week before
I would’ve cracked well before the third race even started. The progression of races,
building in both speed and field size, was perfect for building back both my confidence
and my fitness. Two National Championship jerseys for my efforts isn’t a bad
deal!
Look for another update soon as I finish up the Prairie State Cycling Series on Sunday.
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