Day One – First Road Race
The first stage was a 106 km road race starting and finishing in Leavenworth. We began the race on a gradual climb and once at the top of the climb, the race continued with two loops. Being one of two teams at the race, there were a lot of individual riders, which made it more challenging to start a break. Suzanne, Anna, Denise, and I tried throughout the race to initiate a break. We made extremely strong efforts to attack; however, with so many individual riders, everything we tried was brought back to the group very quickly. We descended down the climb for the final KM and back to the town of Leavenworth. The pace of the group quickly began to pick up as we were beginning to enter the final stretch. It was extremely important to be in a good position when entering the sprint because the street was very narrow and it was very easy to get boxed in. When it came down to the final sprint, all the Trek Red Truck girls finished in a good position and finished at the same time. Our next focus was resting up for the hill climb and crit!
Day Two – Up Hill Time Trial and Crit
Day 2 was the hill climb and crit. Going into any kind of time trial, the goal is to go as hard as you can and try to maintain speed and power throughout the time trial. This hill climb was no different. As a team, we wanted to try to do the best we could so we wouldn’t lose too much time in the overall GC. The hill climb was a mass start and that makes things a little more interesting when it comes to pacing. For myself, I quickly knew I went out too hard trying to pace with three of the ladies that broke away early from the group. I was able to stay with this group until the last 2.5 km when I got popped. This was a valuable learning lesson for myself. Pacing is vital and it is important to find the right pace so you don’t blow up in the race. As for the rest of the Trek Red Truck girls, they all showed extremely strong performances. Overall the team had another solid race! It was now time to go back to the house eat, rest, and focus for the crit starting at 7pm. This day was particularly hot and it was extremely important that we were all hydrated going into the crit. Luckily our teammate Geordie made “build your own burritos” for dinner. This delicious meal gave us all the fuel we needed to perform at the crit. Thanks Geordie!! Our team plan going into the crit was to be aggressive, attack when you can and commit! Throughout the race, the Trek Red Truck girls were constantly off the front attacking and claiming the prime laps! It was such an awesome team effort; we rode strong as a team and made the crit a fun race.
Day Three – 2nd Road Race
We finished off Tour de Bloom with another road race. The road was a long flat loop, with crazy head and cross winds. We knew that with the wind conditions and how open the course was that it would be a more selective race. Originally we were supposed to race two laps totaling 110km; however, because of the wind it was revised to a one lap, 55km loop. With the new distance of the course, it was obvious to our team that there would be early moves and attacks. And that’s exactly what happened! There was an early break in the race that Denise and myself were apart of, however, I eventually got popped from that break and joined the chase group of about six riders. Throughout the rest of the race, it was extremely windy which made it a lot more taxing on the body. The chase group was in distance of the break for most of the race as we tried to close the gap but we ended up not being able to. The race finished with multiple bunches of riders coming in together, the wind definitely made this race interesting! Denise ended up with fourth place and also led the Trek Red Truck girls finishing in 4th place in the GC.
Overall, Tour de Bloom was a great weekend of racing and fun with the team. I am so excited for the rest of the season! Thanks to the whole Trek Red Truck group for providing continuing support!