June never fails to be a great month for the Red Truck women. The warm weather brings some pretty epic races, one of the biggest of which is Gatineau. With Nationals based in Ottawa and the Gatineau Park at the end of the month, Gatineau would also give us a chance to test our legs out on some of the tough roads we’ll be facing.
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2016
A full Squad of Trek Red Truck guys was set to crush the 2016 Tour De Bloom featuring Brendan, Christian, Craig, Dylan, Geordie, Ty, Mike, and myself. Leavenworth Road Race. 100 km’s of breakaway is a good way to describe this stage. In the first 10 km or so Michael, Dylan, and myself got into a large breakaway of 10 riders.
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.
A friend once said "The Tour of Gila, this race is the hardest race ever, it will literally make you hate cycling." A week later, the Monster has passed and the stage race is now over.
Do I hate cycling? Not at all. Was it the hardest stage race ever? Pretty much.
During Redlands I got an email asking if I would like to guest ride for Team Rally (formerly known as Optum). My initial thought was; “f*** ya!” as signing a contract with a team of this caliber at the end of the 2016 is my number one outcome goal of the season.
I'm not going to lie. I was nervous as all hell heading into the Redlands Cycling Classic. Going into April I thought I was better prepared for a season of racing with North America's best talent on two wheels. I put in the work my coach prescribed, I had rested, when I raced in Vancouver's Spring Series I raced both patiently and hard, I had big goals and I wanted more than anything to accomplish them.
As a first year U23 joining the North American pro peloton for the first time, time cuts are always in the back of your mind. Although you want to think about racing to win or get a good placement, evading the time cut quickly becomes your number one concern.
California has been absolutely phenomenal so far. With a pretty successful spring series season I had high hopes of finishing the 2016 Redlands Bicycle Classic. My fitness was all there and things were looking good. Unfortunately the last spring series for me was a long rainy day, which ultimately led to me being off the bike for 11 days with a cold.
Day five of the Redlands Bicycle Classic was the infamous Sunset loop Road Race. After four solid days of racing there were some tired legs in the peleton but for me I felt pretty fresh and ready go.
The Redlands Bicycle Classic is arguably one of the toughest races the Trek Red Truck calendar, and the five grueling stages always bring out a top-tier woman’s field. This year, eight TRT women lined up with some 120 starters to tackle the California hills in rain, shine, and everything in between.
Stage one of San Dimas was an uphill TT, so basically ride as fast as you can for 7 kilometres and try to make yourself sick…mission accomplished. Leah started 1 minute behind me so of course once we both got to the top and caught our breath the typical post TT conversation started...
The Sunset Road Race is the finale of the Redlands Bicycle Classic and it is known for whittling down the field from the gun. In the past couple of years I have raced Redlands, it has been a feat all on its own just to make it to this last stage without being time cut.
IDGT = I Don't Get Tired - a very important thing to remember in stage races. Each day is hard, each day is a fight, yet you have to be on, race your best, and support your team mates with all you have.
The Redlands Time Trial is a fast 11 km out and back. On the way out this course is a stepping climb with the toughest part of the climb in the last two kilometres, and it was a tricky one to pace for a number of reasons: rough roads, grinding climbs, and fast down hills.
I will be the first to say that having a positive attitude is essential in achieving goals, but after my season last year I also learned to balance that zest with realistic expectations.
In the wise words of my coach, biking is hard, try harder. This pretty much sums up the last couple of months of pre-race season perpetrations.
Last week my brother (Nigel) and teammate Kyle Buckosky started our trip home from Oxnard, California. We had had been renting a house with various other cyclists from BC, Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec for the last two months. It was so nice to get away from the rain and to be able to prepare for the upcoming season in a warm, sunny climate.
The season had been off to a good start down in California for me. With this being my first year as a U23 and first year racing with TRT I wanted to make sure I set my season up as best as possible.
80,000 screaming, drinking, and jeering fans. 80,000. Within my three months in Europe, I’ve been to a lot of big ‘cross races where spectators were lined shoulder to shoulder around the entire course, but this was at a whole new level.
Trek Red Truck Racing Team is pleased to announce their 2016 roster. Their high performance program is focused on developing young cyclists on and off the bike. TRT wants to build off of last year's successes which saw six team members race on the World Stage (World Juniors, World Championships, Pan Am Championships). Other 2015 highlights included taking multiple podiums at the Sea Otter Classic, National and Provincial championships and team captain, Denise Ramsden, winning the prestigious women’s Gastown Grand Prix. Just as importantly, TRT contributed over $5,000 in scholarships to team riders pursuing post-secondary education.