The Elite Provincial TT was a definite focus for me. I spend a lot of time on the TT bike and I love going fast and the TT dynamic itself is something I really enjoy about bike racing. The fact that you get to decide how your race will go, it’s you against the clock and nothing else.
The day of the TT I was feeling good, got a good warm-up in, bike was working well, everything was good to go. I was super stoked to be wearing my new Sugoi speed suit which is so comfy and aero, exactly what I need to perform. My pacing in the TT was perfect, I didn’t start out too hard and I just kept building and building. My goal for the TT was to average between 360-370 watts, and I managed to average 367w for 46 min and two seconds which was a personal best for me. Results-wise, that landed me in fifth place which was a little surprising to be honest. In previous years, I have averaged less power overall and did better; second last year and third the year before. Now the top two spots were taken by local pros Jordan Cheyne and Nigel Ellsay. Still I had a good ride and I know I can keep building in that performance.
The Provincial RR took place on a hilly course that made up a 140km race. The two pros, Nigel and Jordan, were racing again as well so there was some good horsepower in the bunch. Honestly it was kind of a weird race for the first while. The first lap there was a few attacks and one rider from Langois Brown racing got away which was ok, no big deal at all. Our plan for the race was to make the pros do most the work to bring back breakaways so they would be tired later. After the first move of the day got brought back there were many more moves coming and going. I was very active the whole race, I really wanted to sprint from a select breakaway so I just kept trying.
On the last lap, Jordan attacked hard on one of the climbs and split the field which was super good for us, fewer guys to beat in the end. Then there was a flurry of attacks from both pro guys, I felt good and could follow all the moves basically attacking and attacking over and over again. On one of the last climbs Jordan attacked and we got away with three others, super close to the finish we had to really drive it. Coming into the last corner Jordan accelerated and I got on his wheel, unfortunately he almost crashed in the final corner so I had no choice but to sprint from there.
In the end I ended up third because of my early sprint. It was still a good day though, I felt really good, we all raced well as a team, and had a great time as well, and there’s nothing better than that.