Another year of a superb sunny week of some of the fastest racing in North America came to town. BC Superweek is our time to shine as we are a local team and these are HUGE opportunities to really get your name out there!

I was fortunate enough to be selected for the team of six to start the UCI 1.2 Road Race. I had a crack at this race two years ago but flatted on the first lap and was unable to chase back on to the pack; this year I had a chance to redeem myself.

The race was 12 laps cornering around the town of Tsawassen, making it a 156km course. It was a hot day so I knew my biggest goal was to avoid cramping at all costs! Needless to say, I was drinking like a fish and staying well fed. I got near the front a few times, and I got near the back, mainly I was focusing on finishing as my number one priority.

I've never done a race with so much attrition, riders pulling the parachute lap by lap. I was hanging in comfortably and with two laps to go I said to myself "you've managed to hang in relatively well so now try using some matches." I moved up as far to the front as I could, following wheel-to-wheel, and even making it over the last climb with my quads at full cramp. It was like some kind of out-of-body experiencing while I was pedaling with legs I couldn't feel!

At the end of the race I came in at 40th place, which is not a significant result but in a field of this caliber I was more than satisfied. Another look at the results and I realized I finished as the 9th best U23 rider. This really gave me a sense of achievement, and put me in a good headspace mentally and physically for the remainder of the week of racing. And it was all made possible by the team and management at Trek Red Truck racing, which I believe we won the best bottle hand-ups for the day, not one dropped!

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